Wen Ran once again held back her desire to vomit blood. She told herself she couldn't beat him, and now she couldn't find anyone to help her, so she had to endure!
The deeper they went into the cave, the darker it became. Wen Ran attempted to cast a simple Fireball Technique to light the way. As soon as a lick of flame appeared, it instantly turned into a blaze as if fueled by an accelerant. If she hadn't stopped quickly, she might have been set ablaze herself.
Shen Wu said next to her, "The air here is strange; it's best not to act rashly."
Wen Ran knew she had been reckless. She uttered a low "oh" and didn't dare use any magic again. For the next while, the only sound was her gasping as she painfully bumped into walls.
Just as she was about to collide with something again, her hand was caught through her sleeve.
Wen Ran thought to herself, is this man finally going to show some gentlemanly grace?
But she heard his lowered voice from the darkness, "We can't go any further."
She suddenly felt nervous, "What's wrong?"
"There are a lot of snakes ahead."
Wen Ran was shocked, "A lot... how many is a lot?"
"More than the grains of rice you eat in a day."
Imagining this made Wen Ran shiver, and she felt her trypophobia act up.
Shen Wu began a calm analysis, "It seems those snakes are highly venomous. There are so many of them, for me to get through alone isn't hard, but..."
He didn't finish, but Wen Ran understood his meaning. At this moment, she was nothing but a burden to him.
Though she was aware of this, Wen Ran still didn't want to die. Her greatest strength was her ability to adapt.
With a few sobs, she said pitifully, "I know the situation now, senior brother. Rest assured, even if you leave me behind, I won't blame you. Alas, we are fated to miss each other in this life, unable to become a couple. But as long as I can think of the happy days of following you and other brothers before I die, I will be satisfied."
Her move to retreat while advancing, by invoking pleasant memories, was clever. As far as she knew, Shen Wu was someone who valued emotions greatly.
Of course, ever since he got stuck in the narrative of pursuing his wife, aside from his feelings for Qin Susu, other emotions no longer mattered to him.
Feeling anxious, Wen Ran suddenly heard Shen Wu say, "Alright then, since you said that, I'll go ahead."
Wen Ran felt the hand holding hers let go. She was speechless, standing petrified for a long time. After a while, she didn't hear any sounds; indeed, he had left her behind!
Grinding her teeth, she thought to herself that she ended up in this peril because she had nothing better to do, and he simply walked away!
But Wen Ran wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. She took a few deep breaths, deciding to rely on herself and continue forward. In the pitch-black darkness, her nerves were on high alert, and any slight rustle would make her panic.
Suddenly, her hand touched something warm.
Wen Ran was so startled she pulled her hand back, but before she could scream, a familiar voice spoke, "Ranran, it's me."
Then, a small glow appeared.
Seeing light again, Wen Ran was almost moved to tears, but seeing it was Shen Wu with a smile on his face made her both shocked and angry, "Didn't you leave me behind?"
"Just joking with you, did you really believe it?" Shen Wu held a firestarter in his hand. Its small light was enough to bring comfort in this dark world.
Wen Ran hastily said, "You can't start a fire here!"
"Don't worry, there's no problem along this part of the way."
Seeing that the firelight didn't cause any problems, she finally relaxed a bit. After glancing around, she suspiciously said, "Didn't you say there were many snakes here?"
He laughed, "I was bluffing. Who knew you'd be so gullible?"
"You!"
"Alright, let's hurry and get out of this creepy place." Shen Wu didn't give her a chance to explode and turned around to continue forward.
Wen Ran had no choice but to follow. Her nerves were still tense, so she couldn't help but observe the surroundings. The cave didn't seem naturally formed, as there were strange patterns on the stone walls. In the long silence, her gaze fell on Shen Wu walking ahead.
He was tall, and even his silhouette was pleasing to the eye. But somehow, Wen Ran felt like his waist wasn't that slim, his legs weren't that long, and even his buttocks weren't as perky.
She followed more slowly, and the person in front turned to look at her. His face in the light and shadow was intermittently bright and dark, and his pleasant voice revealed care, "What's wrong? Tired from walking?"
"Senior brother, since no one is around, I want to confess something to you."
He followed her lead and asked, "What is it?"
"Actually, I like women."
He had a momentary blank expression before habitually smiling, "Ranran, don't joke with me."
Wen Ran was certain, this person wasn't Shen Wu.
If it were Shen Wu, upon hearing this, he would only laugh and say, "What a coincidence, I like women too."