Qin Mo drew a dazzling arc with his long sword. A cold light flashed from it, and the sword tip directly stabbed into Lin Zizheng"s chest. Bright red blood flowed down the smooth blade and slowly spread into the water, dyeing it red.

Lin Zizheng"s spear came near Qin Mo, but the silvertip pa.s.sed above Qin Mo"s head, stabbing behind him.

Blood sprayed out, and a chill swept down Qin Mo"s spine as the hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

Slowly turning around, he saw that Lin Zizheng"s spear was inserted into a large lotus stem that was slowly turning into a pool of green blood.

Qin Mo spun back around and looked at Lin Zizheng. He pulled out his sword from his chest.

Fresh blood gushed out of the wound, and the two men stared at each other, separated by the blood. The whole s.p.a.ce was silent.

The corner of Lin Zizheng"s lips raised slightly, trying to smile at Qin Mo, but there was a burst of pain from his body. Qin Mo hadn"t had the slightest intention to hold back his attack.

He moved his lips, wanting to say something, but there was a tightness in his chest. His expression changed as he realized he had stayed too long in the water and couldn"t hold on much longer. He had to leave quickly.

Qin Mo pursed his lips, thinking the same. He quickly grasped onto Lin Zizheng"s hand, pausing for a moment when he felt blood, but he held it even tighter to leave quickly. They could talk later.

Looking at their conjoined hands between them, the smile on Lin Zizheng"s face grew wider as if Qin Mo hadn"t just stabbed him, and the surrounding blood wasn"t his.

Even if he was injured, Lin Zizheng hooked both of his hands and easily wrapped the unsuspecting Qin Mo into his arms.

He brought out a crystal-clear ball within his clothes. This was one of the water repel beads he had accidentally gotten, and he planned to place it on Qin Mo"s hand. But as if he thought of something, Lin Zizheng"s eyebrows rose slightly, and with a twist of his wrist, he popped the bead into his mouth and bowed his head towards Qin Mo.

When Qin Mo felt a cold pair of lips touch his, he froze in place.

While Qin Mo was stunned, Lin Zizheng"s wet tongue pried his lips open, and the cool round bead slid into his mouth along with the tip of Lin Zizheng"s tongue. As soon as the bead entered his mouth, Qin Mo could breathe easily again, and the surrounding water no longer affected him.

Qin Mo failed to react until now. Lin Zizheng"s lips were still against his, tightly stuck together. Planning to push Lin Zizheng away, he reached his hand out and touched the sticky blood on the other man"s chest, a result of his attack earlier.

When Lin Zizheng noticed Qin Mo"s movement, he straightened himself and separated his lips from Qin Mo. Looking at the somewhat dazed expression on Qin Mo"s face, he suddenly laughed out loud, "Da s.h.i.+xiong, this is a water repel bead…" Before he could finish, a mouthful of blood emerged from his throat.

A complex emotion flashed through Qin Mo"s eyes. No longer thinking, Qin Mo clung to Lin Zizheng"s hand and headed upward.

Behind them, the green blood which had almost mixed into the water rolled violently and turned into a slender long whip-like object that came straight towards their back.

Qin Mo was in a complicated mood while Lin Zizheng was injured and concentrated only on Qin Mo. Neither of them felt the attack coming from behind. Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, it tied them up in the blink of an eye and dragged them underwater.

The pool didn"t look so large from the outside, but entering it would find it to actually be very deep.

Dragged by the vine down into the watery depths, even though Qin Mo could breathe normally, he gradually felt a strong discomfort. The pressure on his body sharply increased, and the temperature in the water became lower and lower to the point of almost freezing people into ice.

Qin Mo found that Lin Zizheng"s face had grown much paler, and fresh blood flowed faster from his chest wound. He could no longer hesitate. He clasped onto Lin Zizheng with a death grip, twisted his sword in his right hand, and a cl.u.s.ter of lightning fire ignited from it. The lightning fire was miraculous, and it burned vigorously even underwater.

The sword slashed against the green whip. When it made contact with the lightning fire, the whip made a burning sound, and the place where it was touched immediately blackened. However, no matter how much Qin Mo tried, the vine didn"t let go of them. Instead, it sped up, and stubbornly went down faster.

Witnessing Qin Mo"s struggle, Lin Zizheng slowly stopped his hand movements. That"s it, even if he died, at least he was with his Da s.h.i.+xiong. He held Qin Mo"s hand tighter. 

"Dong… Dong… Dong…" Suddenly there was a m.u.f.fled sound under the dark water. Even though the lightning fire burned the green vine, it didn"t release the two men trapped tightly within it.

"Dong… Dong… Dong…" The sound amplified, and the surrounding water quickly boiled, visible to the naked eye. The originally cold temperature rose rapidly.

"Zizizi…" As if affected by a great stimulation, the vine trembled, and the original green color gradually became transparent. Suddenly, the whip waved once and tossed out the two men.

Qin Mo"s face was pale. He still hadn"t figured out what had just happened when he was thrown out. In a hurry, he only had the time to hug Lin Zizheng tightly. Not able to use much force in the water, the both of them could only slide down under the current

"Dong… Dong… Dong…" The sound continued to ring slowly, as if it were right next to their ears.

The figure of two men kept descending, and a bronze door suddenly appeared behind them. On this door was a painting of a strange-giant bird. The bird"s body shone faintly, which was very out of place in this gloomy underwater.

The two men slammed into the bronze door, and when it was touched by them, the strange bird"s eyes opened. The tightly closed door opened instantly, and since they couldn"t struggle anymore, it sucked them in.

After the two figures disappeared, the bronze door closed immediately, and the strange bird"s eyes slowly closed. The whole s.p.a.ce was quiet once more. Only the "Dong… Dong… Dong…" sound continued spreading throughout the water.

Inside the bronze door was a vast area of water. But unlike the outside, the color here was pitch-black, and hot waves rolled within. Strings of black gas filled the air, and huge barren hills surrounded the pool. There was a dark cave, and the two looked at each other from far away, separated by water before heading inside.

Qin Mo glanced at the surrounding environment and helped place Lin Zizheng on a clean flat ground. He watched the figure before him with a complicated look, then took out a medicine pill and put it into Lin Zizheng"s mouth. He bent over to squat in front of him and tore the clothes on Li Zizheng"s chest with both hands.

Lin Zizheng"s skin was very white. Now there was a very noticeable wound on it which was very long, running through almost his entire chest. It was shocking. The skin and flesh carried some blackened color, and a faint lavender light could be seen from it.

Injured by Qin Mo"s Thunderbolt, it stained the wound with violent thunder elements. Without Qin Mo"s help, it would have been very difficult to heal.

Qin Mo slowed his movements. He stretched out his hand and gently brushed through the wound. The elements slowly returned to his body.

Lin Zizheng"s eyes hung low as he watched Qin Mo closely. After a series of previous events, the trance caused by the dewdrops fragrant had disappeared. Thinking of his actions in the cave, Lin Zizheng"s eyes grew dark and heavy. He wondered if he felt more regret or sadness.

"Da s.h.i.+xiong." Lin Zizheng"s hoa.r.s.e voice echoed in the s.p.a.ce, breaking the silent atmosphere. "I"m sorry. Before, someone drugged me to do such a thing…"

Suddenly, Qin Mo"s hand pressed directly onto the wound, and the bright-red blood flowed out from it again, painting his chest red. Lin Zizheng"s face went pale, and he was in so much pain that he couldn"t speak anymore.

Qin Mo"s hand continued to move without hesitation until the purple light on the wound disappeared, and he slowly retracted his hands.

"Done." After crus.h.i.+ng the red medicine pill into a powder and sprinkled it on Lin Zizheng"s wound, he took a clean cloth out from his Qiankun bag. He tore the cloth into strips and used them as bandages. Once done, he stood up straight. 

After a glance at Lin Zizheng, whose complexion had improved a lot, he trained his eyes on the surface of the dark water before him. He faintly said, "The things that happened before and afterward…" Qin Mo"s voice was almost inaudible.

Looking at Qin Mo"s back shadow, Lin Zizheng gradually lowered his head, his expression invisible. He vaguely heard himself whisper, "Just let them go?"

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and a cry came from deep within the mountains.

Both of their faces became solemn. They immediately held their breaths and stared ahead.

Translator(s): Teo
Editor(s): Dark
Proofer(s): Sarah