chapter 48

Between the two cliffs, which was a few dozen li¹three hundred (or three hundred sixty) paces apart, there was nothing, not even a bridge connecting them. Even the Gate of Illusion was nowhere to be seen, and only unreal emptiness could be viewed everywhere. Murong Yunshu found a rock and sat down, while staring at the misty emptiness with her chin in her hand, pondering on her next countermove.

There was no second way up this mountain other than the secret passage that they just took, so those wolves must have come from the opposite mountain. However, there was no passage between the two mountains, so how did they get here? Could it be that it came through the Gate of Illusion? But where the hell was this Gate of Illusion?

At the same time, Chu Changge was also thinking of a problem, but of course, this problem was not on the same level as the one Murong Yunshu was thinking about. He was thinking, were all the rich girls nowadays so afraid of getting tired? He himself was also a type of person who especially attached importance to pleasure, and if he was given a seat, even he would not willing to stand. However, she was more hopeless, that if she wasn’t given a seat, she would be unwilling to stand. It was merely that, her attitude of being able to adapt herself to different circumstances was a bit impressive compared to the other young ladies of the boudoir.

Each of them had their own thoughts, and somehow, it was surprisingly quiet around them. Even the wind was still.

After a long time, Murong Yunshu suddenly asked with a very serious look, “If I were to jump, what would you do?”

Chu Changge was stunned but still replied, “Of course I will hold you back.”

“Then you jump.” Murong Yunshu said it straightforwardly and resolutely.

Chu Changge was unable to make head or tail of her words²Chinese idiom : baffled. He never thought that she would be able to talk this senseless previously…..

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Murong Yunshu added, “The Gate of Illusion must be between these two cliffs. Since none of us can see it, you try to jump down and have a look. Maybe you can get an unexpected result.” How would one catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger’s lair, right?³Chinese idiom : Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Chu Changge understood her motive this time, but, “Why should I be the one who had to jump?”

“I would have jumped, but you said you would try to hold me back, wouldn’t you?” said Murong Yunshu with a natural look.

When Chu Changge heard what was said, he couldn’t laugh or cry⁴Chinese idiom : find sth. both amusing and annoying at the same time. As it turned out, she had already set him up…..

Murong Yunshu raised her eyelids slightly, took a faint glance at him, and leisurely said, “If you’re really unwilling, then I will…..”

“I’ll jump!” Chu Changge interrupted her as he continued saying, “If you’re thinking of letting yourself die on the way, you might as well just directly go home. You don’t have to find the antidote. It’s better to die because if you die of poison than to fall to death.”

Murong Yunshu didn’t have time to reply before he leapt off the steep cliff. Her eyebrows slightly twisted. She looked down at the misty filled cliff as he muttered, “There’s no need to rush to be reincarnated. Should you at least leave a last message or something like it first…..”

Murong Yunshu didn’t know how long it had been, but there was no sign of Chu Changge coming up somehow. She gradually became restless from her initial calmness, as she would from time to time peer down, and all that could be was a blanket of white mist in the end. As time went on, within seconds, Murong Yunshu’s doubt on her own judgment increased by a point. Could it be that it was really just a cliff down there?

No, definitely not. The more Murong Yunshu thought, the more uneasy she felt. Finally, she cries out angrily, “I didn’t actually tell you have to jump. Why are you being so active!”

“I’m going to jump anyway. I’m going to end my suffering by quickly die and being reincarnated.”

When Murong Yunshu heard what had been said, her heart became very pleased, and her eyes looked up at the person who suddenly flew up from the mist. Her eyes followed him until he naturally landed on the ground with the fluttering of his clothes. His appearance had loosened her tight heartstrings, and accidentally revealed the restraint worries and joy, as she calmly said, “I didn’t actually tell you must jump.”

“Besides me, is there anyone else willing to personally take any risks?” Chu Changge said with a teasing face, intended to laugh at her ‘greedy for life, afraid of death’ attitude.

Murong Yunshu completely ignored his teasing remark and raised her eyebrows as she stated “There are no people here, but there are many wolves.”

When Chu Changge heard these words, he suddenly remembered what she had just said, ‘If you’re really unwilling, then I will…..’ Was she trying to say that if he was unwilling, she would throw down the dead wolves?

Murong Yunshu seemed to read his thoughts from his expression, as she nodded with a smile, which seemed to be full of pride in Chu Changge’s eyes.

Chu Changge also laughed along, laughing quite helplessly. What did he do wrong to her in his last life, to be played by her like a monkey in this life…..

In fact, the reason why he jumped without hesitation, in addition to his trust in her, was also because he was confident that he could protect himself. Even if there was nothing below, he could easily return to the top of the mountain.

“Did you find anything down there?” asked Murong Yunshu.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“I won’t tell you.” Chu Changge curled his lips and smiled. His expression was harsh and childish, which was clearly saying ‘begged me’.

Murong Yunshu felt so angrily ridiculous that she turned to face the cliff and said, “If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll just toss another wolf down to explore the way.”

Chu Changge placed his hand on his forehead. He was properly a person, but in her eyes, why was his worth the same as a beast? ᵀᴺYou know you can’t beat her when it comes to playing with words, Chu Changge.

Just forgot about it. This was not the time for them to bicker.

Chu Changge urged, “Take another close look at the cliff. Do you find anything different from before?”

After hearing what he said, Murong Yunshu squatted down to stare with her big eyes as she carefully observed, when she suddenly discovered that there seemed to be something looming in the mist at a distance away from the cliff edge. She tried to reach out for a touch. It was a rock…..no…..it was a stone bridge! It was actually the Gate of Illusion, which was what people said, the legendary Ashes Bridge, that was hidden inside the mist…..wait a minute…..if this stone bridge had been here a long time ago, so from where did Chu Changge jump just now?

Ashes Bridge…..rose from the ashes…..placed someone on a field of death and he would fight to live⁵idiom based on Sunzi’s “The Art of War” 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3]); to fight desperately when confronting mortal danger…..did this bridge appear after he jumped? How could there be such a mysterious thing in the world…..

When Chu Changge saw her puzzled face, he smiled and explained, “This stone bridge was originally a hundred meters down from the top of the cliff. After I jumped on it, it began to rise slowly.”

Murong Yunshu suddenly realised what had happened. Those wolves jumped from the opposite cliff to the stone bridge, and then they waited for the stone bridge to rise and soon after, took advantage of the bridge as a way towards this side.

However, wolves were mountain creatures and would only gather where there was food. So why would they go to a lifeless place when they were already in a good situation?

Murong Yunshu looked at the opposite side with a solemn face. She couldn’t tell how heavy her heart was.

She was afraid that the road ahead was a hundred times more tortuous than what they had now.