Chapter 88 (1/2)

”Mo Qi Qi—-” screams Jun Qian Che. He lets go of the rock and plunges down the chasm right after her.

'Splash'

The sound of water splashing can be heard as he falls into a river. He sinks down before slowly floating up. He wipes the water from his face as he looks all around him. The scenery is very beautiful, as though a painting has just come to life, but he is not in the situation to admire it. His heart sinks when he fails to find the person that he is looking for. ”Mo Qi Qi! Mo Qi Qi, where are you!” he shouts for her.

He swims around, trying to find her.

After a long time of searching, he fails to find any traces of her. He becomes even more worried as he continues his search.

The river is very long, and the direction that Jun Qian Che is swimming towards is the complete opposite of the direction that Mo Qi Qi took.

After Mo Qi Qi falls into the river, she seems to have heard the sound of Jun Qian Che calling for her. She must have heard wrong! Without her to drag him down, Jun Qian Che has probably flew up the cliff using whatever energy he has left. She struggles for a moment under the water. Lucky she knows how to swim, so, at least, she will not drown to death in this place. She swims to the riverbank, hoping to find someone who can help her get out of this place.

As she sits on the riverbank, soaking wet, she looks at the cliff that she fell from. She cannot even see where the peak of the cliff is. She could almost cry, ”How am I still alive after falling from that height? Now what? Not only have I failed to return to my own time, I am also stuck in this place with no way up. There is no one around, what if I b.u.mp into a wild beast? Wuwu, I am so going to die here! From either hunger or from being a wild beast's food. If I had known that there is a river here, I would have dragged Jun Qian Che down with me. At least it will be safer with him around. No! I cannot just sit here and wait for my death! Since the Heavens have allowed me to live, it means that it is not my time to die yet. I will definitely find a way to get out of this place!”

She gets up, spirit coming back into her heart. She walks along the riverbank, trying to find her way out of the gorge.

Jun Qian Che swims along the current of the river because he a.s.sumes that Mo Qi Qi has been washed up by the current.

His long arduous search turns out to be futile. Since he is very tired and has been poisoned and is therefore under the risk of drowning himself, he swims towards the riverbank, intending to try and find her from there.

After he reaches the riverbank, he walks along the banks, following the current to continue his search for her. Somehow, a tiny voice can be heard inside his heart saying; 'Go back. Turn around.'  Jun Qian Che does not know why his instinct tells him so. He hesitates for a moment, before deciding to follow his heart.

He turns around and walks the opposite way.

Mo Qi Qi drags her soaking wet body along the riverbank. Something tells her that she should turn around. She shakes her head, trying to will that feeling away. She wonders why her heart tells her so. Perhaps there are imperial guards over there, looking for her. She stops in her steps. Deciding to follow her instinct, she turns around and walks the opposite way, hoping that she will really find someone who can help her get out of this gorge.

15 minutes later, a man and a woman's path crosses at the riverbank. They are about 10 metres away from each other. Both of them stop walking and look at each other in disbelief.  Joy fills their eyes as their eyes lock.

For a couple of seconds, neither of them speaks. Then, they start walking towards each other. The distance between them feels like millions of lightyears away, and although not much time has pa.s.sed, they feel as though they have been away from each other for far too long.

When Jun Qian Che sees her, the weight in his heart slowly dissipates.

As for Mo Qi Qi, she wants to laugh upon seeing the dishevelled Jun Qian Che, but somehow, she doesn't. Her nose feels sour and she feels like she is going to cry. Something pools in her eyes. She holds it in and tries to appear as calm as possible, ”What are you doing here?”

Jun Qian Che does not answer her. Only the Heavens know how scared he had been for her. He suddenly pulls her towards him and hugs her tight, like someone who has just recovered his precious treasure. If possible, he really wants to put her inside him, to make her a part of himself, to let her run through his veins.

After living for 22 years, he finally knows what fear is.

Mo Qi Qi is stunned by his sudden action. Her heart momentarily blooms, but the joy is cut short by how tight he is embracing her. She feels like she is going to stop breathing soon, ”Y-Y-Your Majesty! I can't breathe!”

Hearing her, Jun Qian Che loosens his hold and looks at her without any words.

Mo Qi Qi feels a little weirded out at being stared at like that. She laughs sillily, ”Why are you looking at chenqie like that, Your Majesty? Is there something on chenqie's face?” The quieter he is, the more scared she becomes.

”Mo Qi Qi, your bravery sure exceeds the sky! How dare you let go of zhen's hand? Have you forgotten what zhen said? Without zhen's permission, do not even dare to consider leaving zhen'sside!” scolds Jun Qian Che after collecting himself. He really wants to choke this stubborn woman to death.