"The enemies are already upon us. If you want to die, stay here and wait for them," Jiang Wuyan said, shaking off Xiao Jinxu's hand. She walked with remarkable speed; her blindness proved no obstacle as she tapped her cane rapidly against the ground to navigate, leaving him behind in an instant.
Xiao Jinxu paused, stunned. He had never seen a blind person move with such haste. He quickly gave chase, staying close by her side, his gaze studying her. This pace was nothing to him, and he still had the energy to show concern: "You don't look like you're just passing through. Are you being hunted too?"
"Why else would I have saved you?" Jiang Wuyan replied coldly.
She was intentionally creating the impression that she had been driven here by pursuers and, upon meeting a fellow victim of misfortune, had saved him on a whim—the idea being that having another person around would only muddy the waters further.
Should the worst happen, she could always use him as a human shield.
It was a conscience of sorts, though not a very deep one.
Xiao Jinxu fell silent for a moment, unsure how to judge this future sister-in-law, whose demeanor was a stark contrast to the "fragility" she had displayed earlier that day.
Suddenly, she stopped. Just as Xiao Jinxu was about to ask why she had ceased her flight, he realized why: they were standing at the edge of a cliff.
"How are you leading the way?"
"I am blind," Jiang Wuyan said.
Xiao Jinxu: "..."
*Why did I follow her?*
It was too late to turn back; he could already hear the pursuers closing in. Seeing her still expressionless and completely unruffled, he grew anxious. "Do you have any other plans?"
"A plan?" A faint, suspicious curve touched the corner of Jiang Wuyan's mouth. "I do have one."
She stepped forward, leading Xiao Jinxu to the very precipice. "Jump."
Xiao Jinxu: "..."
He hesitated. "Could we... maybe reconsider?" He touched his face. "What if I get scarred?"
Jiang Wuyan tilted her head slightly toward him.
He had heard that the Crown Prince was benevolent and kind. When he had met her earlier that day, she had seemed quite dignified, and when he grabbed her throat just now, there had been a flash of ruthlessness. But looking at him now, why did he seem so... naively ignorant of the world, like a pampered noble son?
Was the maturity he showed earlier just a facade carefully cultivated by the royal house, and now that he was in a real crisis, his "innocent" side was showing? Or... was he pretending even now?
Which one was the real him?
As the pursuers arrived, Jiang Wuyan grabbed the hesitant, flustered Xiao Jinxu and pulled him. "Jump!"
Without a flicker of hesitation, she dragged him over the edge with her—
It was as resolute as someone throwing themselves into the jaws of death.
***
There was a ledge halfway down the cliff. As a martial artist, Xiao Jinxu found the drop manageable.
Jiang Wuyan was a different story. She was frail and blind. When Xiao Jinxu turned to look for her, he saw her lying rigid and motionless, her body covered in blood and countless wounds. A snake, black in appearance but shimmering with a faint, iridescent light, was coiled on her chest.
At first glance, she looked dead, used as a new nest by a venomous serpent.
Xiao Jinxu approached. Startled, the snake slithered away. He spared a glance for the direction it vanished in, then looked down at Jiang Wuyan. He crouched, his fingers brushing against her fragile neck, hesitating briefly before placing his hand on her shoulder and giving her a push. "Wake up."
Jiang Wuyan woke. He had used a bit too much force, jarring her wounds and waking her with a jolt of pain.
She stared blankly into the distance for a moment before slowly sitting up. When she tried to stand, however, she realized her foot was either twisted or broken; the moment she moved, a surge of pain forced her to collapse back down.
"Don't move yet." Xiao Jinxu reached out to examine her leg. "It's not a major issue. I just need to set it back."
Before she could respond, he applied a sharp, sudden force.
He set it crooked.
Jiang Wuyan could not suppress a cry of pain.
"Apologies, I've never set a bone before. My mistake." He spoke, then—without warning—dislocated the misaligned bone and snapped it back into place. He offered a sincere smile. "There, that's better."
Jiang Wuyan groped for her leg, covering it. She could not bring herself to thank him. She didn't know if his first attempt had really been a mistake, but it was clear he was useless at setting bones while being disturbingly proficient at dislocating them.
"Are you alright?" His voice sounded genuinely worried.
Jiang Wuyan’s only reply was to begin fumbling around the ground beside her.
"Are you looking for this?"
Xiao Jinxu picked up the blind cane that had fallen nearby and placed it back into her hand—her hand that was covered in blood, dirt, and wounds.
The cane hadn't fallen far, which meant she had gripped it tightly until the very last moment. It must have been incredibly important to her. In her world of total darkness, perhaps it was her final lifeline.
Xiao Jinxu watched her hand, lost in thought.
Jiang Wuyan coldly pulled her hand back and used the cane to hoist herself up.
"Be careful. Your leg isn't ready for movement." Seeing her swaying unsteadily, Xiao Jinxu reached out to support her, ignoring her coldness and the distance she tried to maintain.
Jiang Wuyan wanted to refuse; she could manage with her cane alone. But his grip was powerful, steady, and firm—so firm it actually hurt her arm. She sighed in silent resignation, lowering her gaze and pursing her lips.
"What do we do now?" Xiao Jinxu seemed to have become dependent on her, waiting for her to decide everything, like a tiger that looked fearsome but possessed not an ounce of wit.
Jiang Wuyan asked him to describe their surroundings.
Xiao Jinxu looked around. The ledge they were on was ingenious; it was hard to spot from above, and one could only know it existed by jumping down. To reach them, their pursuers would have to take a long, winding path to the bottom of the cliff.
He suspected that Jiang Wuyan had known about the ledge all along and had jumped intentionally. Yet, that didn't feel right—if she had known, why was she so unprepared that she nearly lost her life?
He looked further into the distance and noticed a small village at the bottom of the valley.
"Go there," Jiang Wuyan said after he described it.
"But that village isn't well-hidden," Xiao Jinxu argued. "Not to mention the risk of the pursuers finding us, we might even run into them on our way down!"
Jiang Wuyan rubbed her fingers lightly against the handle of her cane. "They won't be able to find us."
"Why?"
"Don't you know? This is the infamous Wugu Cliff."
Legend had it that those who fell from Wugu Cliff left no remains behind. A young noblewoman had once fallen, and her family had searched the bottom of the cliff again and again, failing to find even a scrap of her clothing. That was how the cliff got its name.
Xiao Jinxu had heard of the cliff, but he suspected that those who fell and survived simply walked away, while those who died might have been caught on some inaccessible part of the cliff face, making it impossible for families to find them. But if he descended to the valley floor, he and his pursuers—a group of skilled killers—would surely find each other, especially with such a conspicuous village nearby.
Seeing his silence, Jiang Wuyan assumed he was too afraid to descend. She prepared to use her cane to feel her way down the mountain alone.
Xiao Jinxu watched as she faced the rock wall, one hand gripping a protruding stone and the other clutching her cane, her feet slowly searching for a foothold... but she was blind!
How could she be so calm while doing this?