"Palace Master!" In the dead of night, two figures dropped from the sky straight into a tiny courtyard. (Ninja landing, 10/10 style.)
"Any news?" Adrian Night saw his guys show up and instantly jumped up to ask. He was crashing in a random village on his way down the mountain—sunset hit, so he just grabbed a cheap room at a local's house.
The two exchanged a look, then both hung their heads, totally helpless.
Seeing this, Adrian's heart did a nosedive. Still nothing? Ivy, where the heck are you? You're alive, right? You gotta be alive!
"Palace Master, do you really mean to go down and search? No one knows how deep the bottom of this cliff is, or if there even is a bottom. What if something happens to you...?"
"Enough, that's not your problem. Go ask Li Yaomei or maybe Emperor Ethan Chu—see if they've heard anything!" Ever since the squad split up to hunt for Ivy, they'd promised to report any news ASAP, because everyone was losing their minds with worry.
The two just nodded and poof—vanished into the night.
In the quiet little courtyard, Adrian Night looked up at the giant moon, feeling all kinds of feels. If it weren't for her last words—'Don't give up unless you find my body'—he would've tapped out ages ago and yeeted himself into the abyss after her.
But he just couldn't buy that she was dead. She had way too many unfinished dreams, enemies left to roast, and her sister still needed saving. No way she'd just peace out with so much left to do?!
"Ivy, where are you? Where are you..." His voice was low, hopeless, and his chest felt like it was getting stomped by a herd of elephants.
"Young master..." Suddenly, a very gentle voice slowly sounded.
Hearing the voice, Adrian Night turned to look at the plainly dressed girl. "Miss, do you need something?"
"Young master, this is large-leaf tea we picked on the mountain. It might not taste as good as city tea, but for us, it's the most refreshing." With that, the girl gently placed the tea on the wooden table.
"Are Uncle and Aunt asleep?"
"Yes, they have to work the fields early tomorrow, so they sleep early."
Seeing this, Adrian quickly asked, "Miss, may I ask you a question?" Although the mountain folk were warm and simple, they were still a bit wary of outsiders like him. Besides, when he asked about the cliff earlier, everyone avoided the topic, as if there was some unspeakable secret.
"Please ask, young master," the girl replied with a slight smile, her eyes full of admiration for him.
"Please, have a seat," Adrian said. He was no stranger to such admiring looks and decided to use her affection to gather information.
Hearing this, the girl quickly sat on the wooden stool and looked at him, waiting for his next words. Adrian also sat down, unable to wait as he asked, "Do you know what's at the bottom of that cliff?" He pointed to the distant waterfall that plunged from the sky.
"Uh? Why are you asking about that cliff?"
"A friend of mine fell from above. I want to go look for her," Adrian said, his face full of worry.
Hearing this, the girl was stunned for a moment, then frowned, "Then your friend is surely beyond saving."
"What? Why?" Adrian asked urgently, grabbing her hand in his anxiousness.
Seeing this, the girl looked at Adrian's hand holding hers, her face suddenly flushing red.
"S-sorry," Adrian realized his mistake and quickly let go, then asked again, "Miss, why do you say that? Do you know something?"
"Well..." The girl hesitated, then said, "We don't really know how deep the cliff is. Since you've been searching from above, you must know it's very high. I've heard the villagers say it's millions of feet deep—anything that falls down there can't survive. My parents once told me, oh, they heard it from their ancestors, that the bottom is a bottomless pit leading straight to hell. And the ancestors once saw a huge bird fly up from below, glowing white in the darkness like a monster. So they say the bottom is full of monsters. We all avoid going near it, because if you fall, it's like falling into hell—never to be reincarnated!"
"Never to be reincarnated?!" Those words deeply shocked Adrian. No, it can't be—impossible!
"Young master, are you alright?" The girl asked, seeing Adrian suddenly look dazed.
"Do you know if there's a way down?" Adrian asked urgently after recovering himself.
"Uh, I'm not really sure. But I once heard my father say there's a rugged path in the back mountain leading to a mysterious forest. Beneath the forest is an unseen chasm with lots of strange rocks—like stairs, but not quite. It's very mysterious. The villagers sent people to check it out, but no one ever came back up. There's white mist everywhere, so we can't see what's below. Maybe that's the way down?" the girl said, frowning as she spoke about the suspicious place.
"Really?" Hearing this, Adrian suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
Hearing this, the girl quickly looked around and whispered, "Yes, but the villagers don't let anyone talk about it. It's a taboo here."
Seeing this, Adrian hurriedly asked, "Miss, could you tell me where that place is?"
"Well..." The girl hesitated. After all, it was a village secret, and her ancestors had forbidden it to be spread. She'd already said too much, and if she told the location, it would be a serious offense!
(Chapter not finished yet ^.^, click next page to keep reading!)
"Miss," seeing her hesitate, Adrian resorted to his 'pretty boy' act, grabbing her hand earnestly: "The friend who fell is very, very important to me. Whether you tell me or not, I'll go searching. But if you do tell me, I'll remember your kindness forever!"
Seeing this, the girl was instantly captivated by his eyes.
"Miss, miss..."
"Ah..." The girl shyly withdrew her hand, murmuring, "But I'm not sure if that's really the way down. What if it's not..." She glanced worriedly at Adrian.
"It's fine. Even if it's not, I'll still be grateful to you for your kindness, forever."
Seeing this, the girl realized he was determined to go, so she nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you!"
====
"Young master, mercy!" A group of people knelt on the ground, begging for their lives.
"Hand it over." The man stood with his back to them, hands clasped behind him, his voice cold.
"We don't have it, we don't have what you want! Please, spare us!" Everyone knelt, pleading for mercy.
"You don't, huh?" The man's lips curled into a wicked smile as he drawled, "Three, two, one!"
"Ah..." As soon as he finished speaking, four or five men on the ground started foaming at the mouth, convulsing, eyes bulging, and died instantly.
"Ah, young master, mercy, mercy!" The survivors, terrified, kept kowtowing on the ground.
Hearing this, the man slowly turned around. His seductive peach-blossom eyes and wicked smile made him look both righteous and demonic. "I'll say this one last time: hand it over, or I guarantee the next to die will be you."
"Mercy, young master, mercy..."
"Three, two..."
"I'll give it, I'll give it!" The leader kowtowed, then quickly got up and went to the flower vase, moved it aside, opened a hidden lid on the wooden table, twisted a mechanism, and a door popped open. He grabbed the booklet inside and hurried to hand it to the man.
"Young master, we've given you the secret—please, give us the antidote!" The man knelt and wept, clearly terrified.
"Antidote?" The man's lips curled into a wicked smile as he teased, "Don't you know who I am? The poison I, Lucian Vane, release is never taken back!"
"What? You..." The men stared, eyes wide, legs twitching, foaming at the mouth, and collapsed dead.
"You scoundrels deserve to die, and you want an antidote?!" Lucian's voice was full of disdain.
*****
PS: Sorry, I got caught up watching the Olympics and totally forgot to write—my bad, my bad! There’s one more chapter coming, but it’ll be late. I apologize to everyone, sob sob, I promise I’ll update first thing tomorrow morning and try to post extra~~ By the way, Team China rocks, right?! So proud~~!