Escaping from the jaws of death

"The Dongfang family, you’ve truly crossed the line this time." Fan Qiuming drew his sword and charged straight at Dongfang Jingming.

"Fan Qiuming, cough… Leave now! You’re no match for Dongfang Jingming at all," Shangguan Wanwan struggled to say, her complexion once again deathly pale, blood spilling from her lips.

"Hmph, overestimating yourself," Dongfang Jingming sneered. He reached out and caught Fan Qiuming’s sword with his bare hand, gripping it tightly—no matter how Fan Qiuming pressed, he couldn’t break through Jingming’s defense.

"The Kaiyang Control Realm…" Just from that brief exchange, Shangguan Wanwan had already surmised roughly what level Dongfang Jingming had reached.

"That’s right. Seems you’re not entirely hopeless yet, you can at least see I’m at the Kaiyang Realm. But it won’t help you," Dongfang Jingming replied, clenching his fist, and Fan Qiuming’s sword shattered instantly.

He hurled a broken piece of the blade at Fan Qiuming, aiming to pierce his skull, but Fan Qiuming dodged in the nick of time—the sword only grazed his forehead.

Retreating, Fan Qiuming tried to put distance between them, brandishing the broken sword, but Dongfang Jingming pursued relentlessly, landing a solid punch to Fan Qiuming’s chest.

Fan Qiuming was sent flying over ten meters, crashing into a parasol tree.

"Now that you’ve caught up, don’t expect to get out alive. If you die in the Divine Ruins, no one will ever know. Once I obtain the core of the ruins, you’ll never have another chance," Dongfang Jingming threatened, advancing step by step.

Fan Qiuming knew he was no match—biting back the pain, he pulled Shangguan Wanwan to her feet and ran toward the lakeshore.

There was only one thought in Fan Qiuming’s mind: As long as we escape, there’s still a chance…

"Where do you think you’re going?" Dongfang Jingming demanded, sending both Fan Qiuming and Shangguan Wanwan flying with a single blow, their bodies tumbling toward the lake.

Just as Dongfang Jingming was preparing to follow them into the water and finish the job, a disturbance came from the entrance.

"Dongfang Jingming! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!" boomed a powerful male voice from the entrance.

"Ximen Wending? I didn’t expect you to show up as well," Dongfang Jingming replied, and the two instantly clashed, Dongfang Jingming’s attention fully diverted from Fan Qiuming.

"Why shouldn’t I be here? Do you think a few Inner Origin Physical Realm weaklings could stop me? You’re underestimating me," Ximen Wending scoffed.

Behind him, members of the Ximen family poured in through the entryway. Clearly, the Dongfang family’s remaining members had been eliminated.

"You lot, go find the core. I’ll hold off Dongfang Jingming. Move quickly!" Wending ordered.

"Yes, Brother Wending," the group answered in unison.

"You dare?" Dongfang Jingming roared.

"Your opponent is me, Dongfang Jingming," Ximen Wending declared, blocking his path.

The two were soon locked in a fierce struggle.

For the sake of the Divine Ruins, the great families engaged in a bloody battle, with countless casualties. The Yuwen family was wiped out; only Dongfang Jingming survived from his clan.

But who could truly measure the benefits a single Divine Ruin could bring? Some families nearly faced extinction over it.

The value of a Divine Ruin was simply beyond reckoning.

At the bottom of the lake, Fan Qiuming swam desperately toward Shangguan Wanwan. She had fallen in without a chance to catch her breath and was already close to drowning, sinking steadily deeper.

Though it was a spiritual spring, it was still water—and could still drown a person.

"Just a little more… just a little more," Fan Qiuming thought, panic rising as he closed the gap to less than five meters.

He reached out and grabbed Shangguan Wanwan’s hand, pulling her into his arms and swimming upward.

Once ashore, Fan Qiuming immediately began resuscitating her, paying no mind to propriety. Yet Shangguan Wanwan remained unresponsive, her breathing shallow.

"No way! Do I have to give her mouth-to-mouth?" Fan Qiuming hesitated, torn between saving her and his sister’s admonitions.

…

Night had fallen. Fan Qiuming and Shangguan Wanwan hid in a cave behind a waterfall, too afraid to light a fire for fear of drawing Dongfang Jingming’s attention.

In the end, faced with a choice between saving her and his sister’s warnings, Fan Qiuming had chosen to save her. Now, Shangguan Wanwan’s breathing had stabilized, though her body still trembled uncontrollably.

This was a secluded spot; they could rest safely for the night.

Mingxuan Mountain was vast—Fan Qiuming wasn’t worried about others finding the Mingxuan Hall so easily. After all, he’d left plenty of tricks and traps in his own territory.

Ironically, being knocked into the lake by Dongfang Jingming had been their salvation; anywhere else, they’d have been caught.

He hadn’t expected a martial artist of the Kaiyang Realm to be so formidable. Of course, he hadn’t realized his own strength was, at best, at the Tongming Realm—two full realms beneath his enemy. That they’d escaped at all was fortune indeed.

"It’s so cold…" a faint voice came from Shangguan Wanwan, her shivering growing more violent.

Both of them were soaked from the lake, so the chill was only natural. Fan Qiuming could afford to strip down and wait for his clothes to dry, but she couldn’t.

Left with no choice, Fan Qiuming held her close, sharing his body heat to keep her warm.

Although it was summer, the cave behind the waterfall was cut off from the sun’s warmth, and at night the temperature dropped even lower.

Two days had already passed. Fan Qiuming wondered what his sister, Fan Qiulin, was doing now.

He wasn’t too worried for her safety, but he did fear she might be bullied.

Unconsciously, Fan Qiuming drifted off to sleep.

At dawn, Shangguan Wanwan awoke first. Thanks to the spiritual spring, her wounds had already begun to scab over.

She realized she was wrapped in someone’s arms, warm and dry. Looking up, she saw she was nestled against Fan Qiuming, who was still sleeping soundly.

But seeing his bare chest, her face flushed scarlet in an instant.

Why isn’t he wearing any clothes? Did he take advantage of me while I was unconscious? No, it can’t be… He doesn’t seem like that kind of person, otherwise he would have done something earlier… But who knows if he’s just pretending to be a good guy?

But counting this time, he’s saved me three times. Even if I… No, no, Wanwan, where are your principles? Still, he’s quite handsome.

Her thoughts raced wildly, and her fidgeting woke Fan Qiuming.

Seeing that she was alright, his voice was languid, "You’re awake?"

He released her and stood up, stretching.

Only then did Shangguan Wanwan notice a smudge of lipstick at the corner of his mouth—her own lipstick, in fact.

She caught him with an accusatory look, prompting Fan Qiuming to explain hastily, "I had no choice—I didn’t do anything improper. It was just CPR and mouth-to-mouth. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here talking to me now."

"Why do you keep saving me? We’ve only known each other a day at most," she asked, meeting his gaze.

"Why? I suppose… because I’m a new-generation youth. Isn’t helping others what we ought to do?" he replied shamelessly.

"I want the truth," she pressed.

"The truth? I like you, is that reason enough?"

…

"I like you…"

"I like you…"

That phrase exploded in Shangguan Wanwan’s mind like thunder.

Her expression softened, her eyes losing their earlier sharpness.

"Nonsense… You can’t just say you like someone so easily," she muttered, covering her burning face with her hands.

Did he just confess to me?

Her heart pounded furiously.

He confessed to me—he said he likes me… Should I accept?

Fan Qiuming noticed his clothes, which he’d left to dry, were now ready to wear. As he dressed, Shangguan Wanwan stammered behind him, "What you said just now… Was it true?"

"Of course it was a li—" He stopped as he turned, finally seeing Shangguan Wanwan’s face clearly in the morning light.

A delicate oval face, elegantly arched brows, eyes like glimmering gems—clear and bright. Lips of vermilion, teeth like pearls. When she smiled, she could topple cities. Her jet-black hair cascaded down her back, as gentle as clouds.

Her beauty would outshine any famous star. Before, with blood and dirt on her face, it was hard to tell. But now, after being washed clean in the spring, her looks were fully revealed to Fan Qiuming.

He was momentarily stunned.

"So beautiful… I never realized you were this stunning before," he murmured.

Recovering quickly, he tried to change the subject, "Er… Well, it’s morning. We should get moving."

But his eyes kept straying back to Shangguan Wanwan.

"Mmm…" she replied, stealing glances at him as well.

At that moment, their gazes met—only to dart away just as quickly.

"This Divine Ruin is quite beautiful, isn’t it?"

"Ah! Yes, it’s beautiful…" they replied, awkwardly making small talk.

"Let’s… go. We need to find the core of the ruins."

"Yeah… okay."

From then on, something subtle and unspoken lingered between them.

As they walked together, they kept sneaking glances at each other. Sometimes their eyes met, making Shangguan Wanwan blush.

Mingxuan Mountain truly was vast. Even after walking until noon, the summit was still not in sight, though Fan Qiuming at least had some sense of direction.

The others, it seemed, were wandering blindly, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake as they searched the ruins.

Unconsciously, the two of them drew closer, their hands nearly touching.

"There it is," Fan Qiuming said, pointing to a floating island in the distance.

"The core of the floating island is most likely up there," he explained, as a ruined structure stood atop the island.

"How do we get up there?" Shangguan Wanwan asked.

"Don’t worry, there’s a teleportation array at the summit," Fan Qiuming assured her.

She wondered how he seemed to know the Divine Ruins so intimately, but chose not to ask. To her, this man was a mystery—one that only deepened her fascination.

"Let’s hurry—before the others arrive, we need to seize the chance."

"Mmm…" she agreed, and they sped up toward the mountain peak.

Unbeknownst to them, a shadow moved in the woods behind, watching their departing figures with a sly grin.

"So the core is on that floating island, huh? I’d better report this to Brother Wending!"

With that, he vanished into the trees…

…