Chapter 318: Die Here Together? Absolutely Impossible

The whole ordeal lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour.

The water roared past, arriving and receding with equal speed, ultimately leaving behind a knee-deep layer of silt.

Even pressed against the stone wall, they were both caked in mud.

Xiao Li slowly opened her palm, and the light of the Luminous Pearl shone out once more. Before her was Rong Qing’s chest. Tilting her head up slightly, she saw blood trickling from the corner of his mouth—he had bitten his lip so hard it bled.

Blood was at the corner of his mouth, his head was drenched in sweat, and the bulging veins on his forehead had yet to fully recede.

Xiao Li said nothing, instead reaching out and hugging him tightly around the waist.

Rong Qing’s stiff, tense body trembled slightly, then slowly relaxed after a long moment.

"Your Majesty... are you hurt?"

Xiao Li shook her head and let go, only to be pulled into a tight embrace by Rong Qing the very next moment.

"Your Majesty, this servant deserves death!"

"This servant failed to protect Your Majesty. For a moment, when I almost couldn’t hold on, I actually thought... that dying here with Your Majesty wouldn’t be so bad."

"This servant is guilty..." ’Desecrating Your Majesty, failing to protect you—my crimes are unforgivable.’

He had already sentenced himself to death a thousand times over.

Rong Qing’s voice was masculine, deep, and rich. It was usually unremarkable, but now, colored with emotion, it was magnetic and raspy, enough to make one’s heart tremble.

But this was hardly the time for sentimentality.

Xiao Li neither scolded him nor answered him. "Let’s go."

’Die here together? Absolutely not!’

Hearing her indifferent tone, Rong Qing’s heart suddenly clenched. Now he understood how Lou Yan and Song Junzhan must have felt.

He knew he couldn’t compare to them, knew that Your Majesty didn’t feel that way about him.

But of all emotions, love was the one he could not control.

Once those words were spoken, it was like an arrow loosed from its string. There was no turning back.

Whether he lived or died was now entirely up to Your Majesty.

Rong Qing reined in his emotions and once again extended his hand to Xiao Li.

As he held it out, his heart pounded with anxiety, terrified she would refuse. Thankfully, she placed her hand in his palm.

Your Majesty’s calm composure only made his own thoughts seem all the more contemptible.

He cherished the feeling as he grasped her slender, delicate hand, swearing a silent oath: even if he had to die, he would see Your Majesty to safety.

Xiao Li wasn’t having such complex thoughts. In this wretched state, she had no mind for anything but escaping this godforsaken place.

After this torrent passed, it left behind a great deal of mud and sand. The path was narrower than before, and the silt was much deeper.

Xiao Li ran her hand along the wall and aimed the Luminous Pearl at the ceiling. Sure enough, there were marks from the rushing water. "If the quicksand was a permanent feature, those desert bandits familiar with this area would never have chosen that spot for an ambush."

"This means the underground river is temporary. After a few more floods, it will be completely blocked by sand and silt. This time, the sludge came up to our calves. Next time, it might be our waists. If it gets that deep, we’ll be trapped for good."

The fastest way out would be to follow the current downstream, but the conditions in here were too complex. There were all sorts of sharp, protruding rocks, and the current was ferociously fast.

If a person were to be swept downstream, they would surely be sliced to pieces.

But no matter how urgent the situation, they simply couldn’t speed up.

"Keep moving."

All they could do was keep moving.

The only silver lining was that the river current was so violent that there were no snake dens here. In fact, it was unlikely any living creature could withstand such a powerful torrent.

As they forged ahead, they occasionally spotted venomous snakes and lizards, battered and half-dead from the flood. They even saw a human hand, sheared clean off.

It was a good thing Rong Qing had held on so tenaciously just now, or they would have been the ones sliced to pieces.

But the path was far too long. They walked until their stomachs growled with hunger, until they were utterly exhausted.

Xiao Li’s strength gave out. Her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, her whole body ached with fatigue, and she was moving forward on sheer willpower alone.

If conditions had allowed, she would have dropped to the ground and crawled.

The tunnel stretched on with no end in sight, without a single speck of other light.

Damp and cold, weak, her body burning up, she shivered uncontrollably.

Before they could find a way out of this place, Xiao Li had fallen ill.

Rong Qing wasn’t in good shape either. Not only did he have to scout the path ahead, but he also had to guide Xiao Li to the safest footing.

He was focused intently on the path ahead, so by the time he realized something was wrong with Xiao Li, she was already about to pass out from a fever.

"Your Majesty!"

He quickly pulled her into his arms, and when he felt how hot she was, he panicked.

"Your Majesty, wake up! Hold on!"

Dizzy, Xiao Li slapped his cheek. "Don’t shake me. I’m not going to die!"

Her words did little to reassure him. He quickly lifted her and found a slightly higher spot.

He hurriedly searched for medicine. Fortunately, it had been wrapped in oil paper and had not gotten wet.

The Silver Armor Guards only carried life-saving medicine, not remedies for minor ailments like the common cold. But at a time like this, even a minor illness had to be treated with strong medication.

"Your Majesty, take the medicine first."

Rong Qing held Xiao Li, coaxing her softly with a hoarse voice.

Xiao Li knew she was in a bad way and obediently opened her mouth. But the pill was extremely bitter, and her throat, parched from a long time without water, was too dry to swallow.

Rong Qing had no choice but to find a dripping stalactite, catch the water in his hands, and help her drink.

A short while after Xiao Li took the medicine, another wave of water came rushing in.

Because they were on relatively higher ground, they were luckier this time. The water didn’t cause much harm, only soaking their feet.

The bad news, however, was that another layer of silt had been deposited, making it impossible to step down.

Xiao Li leaned against Rong Qing’s shoulder and said calmly, "It seems you really will have to die here with me."

"We won’t!" For the first time, Rong Qing firmly contradicted his Majesty.

"Nothing will happen to Your Majesty."

He would never allow Your Majesty’s life to end here.

He crouched down, lifted Xiao Li onto his back, and resolutely forged ahead.

The silt was already up to his thighs, making each step incredibly difficult, yet he continued on, carrying Xiao Li steadfastly on his back.

Drowsy from the medicine, Xiao Li was barely conscious for a stretch of the journey.

When she came to again, she could still feel Rong Qing carrying her forward.

Her fever had broken. Although she still felt unwell, she was lucid.

But her surroundings were pitch black. The light from the Luminous Pearl was gone.

"Rong Qing?"

Rong Qing chuckled in the darkness. "Your Majesty is awake? Don’t worry, we’ll be out soon."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, we’ll be out soon."

"The exit isn’t far. We’ll definitely make it out."

Rong Qing muttered the words like a mantra, whether to reassure Xiao Li or himself, it was hard to say.

Xiao Li didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, or how much pressure Rong Qing must have been under, carrying her alone through this dark, treacherous place.

She hugged him tighter. "Rong Qing, we *will* get out of here."

Rong Qing paused, as if just now processing it. "Your Majesty... you’re really awake..."

It wasn’t a hallucination. His Majesty was truly alive.

Suddenly, Xiao Li saw a faint patch of white. Her heart leaped. "Rong Qing, the exit is up ahead!"

Rong Qing looked up, took two more steps, and indeed, he saw the light of the exit.

Xiao Li slid off his back and pulled him along. "Quick, we’re almost out!"

Rong Qing smiled too. His bloodshot eyes were so heavy with exhaustion he could barely keep them open, but he was smiling happily. He had finally gotten Your Majesty out.

But in the very next moment, a familiar roar thundered toward them.

The undercurrent surged forth again. This time, with nowhere to run, they were swept away instantly.

Rong Qing’s body had reached its limit; he didn’t even have time to grab Xiao Li. Instead, it was Xiao Li who threw herself at him, tightly shielding his head.

’Her General can’t end up an idiot.’