Chapter 126: Hundred-Yard-High Cliffs, Thousands Tilt over Lavafalls

XIE LIAN BLINKED. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything…”

“Then why did you draw that weapon?” Hua Cheng demanded.

“To…defend myself?” Xie Lian replied.

Hua Cheng’s expression was terrifyingly dark, and he squeezed Xie Lian’s hand harder. “How do you plan on defending yourself? Put that sword down!”

That was the first time Hua Cheng had ever spoken to him in such a tone or worn that kind of expression. It shocked Xie Lian.

“Who are you to force him to put down his sword?” Feng Xin said, alarmed. “Let him do what he wants!”

A battle axe hurtled straight at them. Xie Lian raised his blade and slashed with one swift motion, sending the axe flying. “How do I plan on defending myself? Like…this!”

Only then did Hua Cheng’s demeanor and tone relax a little. Still, he didn’t let Xie Lian go. “You don’t need to defend yourself. Just stand behind me. Put the sword down.”

While on the move, Feng Xin accidentally stepped on his bow, which was still on the ground. He retrieved it and gripped it in both hands, raising it high to wield like a sword, then batted away a meteor hammer. He glanced their way warily. “What are you doing, grabbing him like that? Are you actually the real thing? Your Highness, are you sure you’re the only one who knows Crimson Rain Sought Flower’s verbal password?”

Xie Lian realized that Hua Cheng’s spiritual communication password wasn’t a secret between the two of them alone. A third person had heard it before.

Jun Wu!

He had heard it very clearly at the Palace of Xianle when he forced Xie Lian to contact Hua Cheng and monitored their conversation.

But Xie Lian still felt that the person standing before him was the real Hua Cheng, without a doubt. It was just…he must have thought of something unpleasant, which was why he was acting this way.

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Lian replied, “All right,” and put Fangxin away.

In the next second, the scimitar was unsheathed with a flash of silver light!

The entire armory shimmered brilliantly the moment Eming emerged. Sparks flew, and the cracking of metal reverberated and echoed nonstop. Xie Lian and Feng Xin stood motionless and trapped at the center of the chaotic light show, hemmed in by chilling glares and killing aura.

After no more than ten blows, Hua Cheng turned around and re-sheathed his scimitar. Xie Lian’s gaze moved from Hua Cheng to the ground beneath him.

Eming had slashed hundreds of weapons to pieces…

Xie Lian crouched, feeling grave pity as he picked up two sword fragments. “Those were all such good, rare swords…”

“Your Highness,” Feng Xin spoke up just then. “The door. A new door appeared!”

Xie Lian dropped the fragments and stood up. “I see. So we can only leave once we’ve dealt with the weapons.”

Opening the doors should’ve required the spilling of blood, but Hua Cheng had forced them open more directly. Just as that thought crossed Xie Lian’s mind, Hua Cheng took his hand and started dragging him out the door.

Seeing that Hua Cheng was boiling with murderous intent, Feng Xin asked them both, “What do you plan on doing next?”

“Find Master and Mu Qing, of course,” Xie Lian replied.

“And then, if Mu Qing really surrendered to Jun Wu, I’ll take his shit life,” Hua Cheng stated calmly.

“…”

The trio exited the armory and walked for a while. Xie Lian hesitated, but in the end, he still asked the question that was nagging at him.

“San Lang, did you think I was going to stab myself earlier?”

Hua Cheng didn’t respond, but his expression was still extremely sour.

“I wouldn’t have,” Xie Lian added.

Hua Cheng gave him a look. “Really?”

That look made Xie Lian feel quite guilty. At one point in his life, perhaps he really would have done that—in a truly dire situation. But now, he never would again.

“Yes! I promised you,” Xie Lian replied. “Besides, there were so many weapons. Sabers, spears, swords—wouldn’t I have been reduced to mush if they all stabbed me? Ha ha ha ha…”

He started to laugh, but the sound died in his throat. Hua Cheng’s head had jerked back to stare at him the moment he said the word “stabbed.” His gaze was hard to describe, but it obliterated all the words Xie Lian had to say.

Without warning, Hua Cheng reached out and wrapped his arms around him, hard.

Feng Xin, bringing up the rear, was shaken at the sight. “What the fuck?! I’m still here, you know!”

Xie Lian blinked and patted Hua Cheng’s back. “What’s wrong?”

“Your Highness, please don’t laugh like that anymore,” Hua Cheng whispered. He hugged Xie Lian tightly. “It’s not funny, really… It’s not funny at all.”

“…”

Recalling how upset Hua Cheng had been when he picked up the skulls coated with corpse poison, Xie Lian was apologetic. “I’m sorry. I won’t joke about that with you again. I just didn’t want you to worry; I didn’t think it’d have the opposite effect.”

The mood startled Feng Xin, and he stood there baffled for a while, unsure how to react. Eventually, he said, “I…agree? Since he’s so serious about it…”

Hua Cheng finally released Xie Lian. “Let’s go,” he said quietly.

Without the state preceptor to lead the way, the three of them had no choice but to continue into the depths of the palace. They hadn’t been walking for long when Xie Lian sensed something unusual in the air.

“Don’t you think…it’s gotten hotter?” Xie Lian said.

When they initially entered the underground palace, a haunting chill had permeated the area. But after walking for a while, the air around them had started to feel warmer and warmer until it was sweltering.

Feng Xin felt it too. He glanced back, then stopped in surprise.

“Your Highness, behind us!” Feng Xin pointed. “There’s a light!”

When the others turned, they also saw a light behind them, slowly moving closer.

It was rather strange to stumble on an unknown light source in the pitch-black underground. Had someone come?

By the time the light revealed its true appearance, Xie Lian finally realized that the suffocating, sweltering heat in the air wasn’t his imagination. The light itself had brought it to them.

A bubbling, scarlet-gold lava stream was rolling down the slope toward them. The lava outside had flowed into the underground palace along the watercourse!

Oh no! Xie Lian cried internally. Suddenly, he sensed someone rapidly approaching from behind, then dashing past. He tossed his hand, and his silk band whipped out in an instant.

“Please wait! We just need to ask for directions!”

The man was barely able to dodge, but it did slow him down for a moment. In the light of the nearby lava stream, they could make out the man’s face.

“Mu Qing!” Feng Xin shouted. “You bastard, stop right there!”

As if Mu Qing would do any such thing. Without another word, he broke into a run.

The others were about to give chase and strike when the ground shook violently. The scarlet-gold lava surged and swelled over the river’s banks, spreading with great speed and rushing straight toward them! They were about to be overtaken, but Xie Lian had already encountered an identical problem before coming here. This time, the difficulty level was just a little bit higher.

“Feng Xin, there are probably many empty-shelled people in the lava,” he said. “They’ll float, so you can step on them to keep from sinking!”

Then he targeted an empty-shelled person vigorously paddling its arms in the lava flow and jumped on!

When he landed, Xie Lian was delighted to discover that these empty-shelled people were larger than the ones he’d previously encountered. Even when he touched down on their backs, they only dipped slightly and kept floating on the surface of the lava stream. As long as the creatures didn’t start anything, they could practically serve as little boats!

Feng Xin targeted one and leapt aboard. He brandished his bow and threatened the empty-shelled person, “Swim properly! Don’t sink!”

The threat of a weapon, naturally, made the empty-shelled person work even harder, not daring to offend him. Meanwhile, Hua Cheng only had to cross his arms and glance down for his empty-shelled person to behave and abandon all thoughts of trying anything wicked. It swam the fastest, going full power the whole way.

As for Xie Lian, he joined his hands together in a prayer and very sincerely negotiated with his empty-shelled person. “Take me for this ride, please take me for this ride! I’ll burn incense for you afterward! You don’t want incense? Then what offerings do you want? Just let me know!”

The empty-shelled person was obviously extremely dissatisfied, and every so often it would swing its arms to try to force him off. But Xie Lian was as sticky as gum, and even as he tumbled, he refused to be bucked. As usual, Xie Lian had found himself in the worst position of them all!

The three of them rode these creatures and flowed with the current. The farther downstream they went on their rafts, the steeper the slope became and the faster they went. Over and over, they had to dodge obstacles jutting up from below the molten rock; it was a journey of endless perils.

After a while, they finally caught up to Mu Qing.

“Mu Qing! Why are you running?!” Feng Xin yelled.

Mu Qing was also using an empty-shelled person as a surfboard, and he shouted his response over his shoulder. “What, should I wait for you all to attack me together?”

There was a bow in Feng Xin’s hand but no arrows, so he could only shout back. “We won’t attack you! First explain how you suddenly disappeared from the armory!”

Mu Qing looked back again, sneering. “You all—”

Before he finished, Xie Lian saw what lay ahead. His pupils shrank rapidly, and he shouted, “Ahead of you!”

Mu Qing whirled around. Only then did he discover that their path was coming to an abrupt end.

Some sort of underground chasm opened up in front of them, with a vertical drop hundreds of meters down. The lava rushed toward it, faster and faster as their sloping path grew steeper, carrying them toward the precipice. Mu Qing was caught by surprise at the sudden drop, and by the time he came to his senses, he was already tumbling through the air.

Mu Qing and the empty-shelled person under his feet disappeared in the blink of an eye. The other three were only a few moments behind him, rushing toward the cliff’s edge.

At the last second, Ruoye flew out far behind them and wound itself a few times around an upturned palace eave, then tied itself into a knot. With one hand gripping Ruoye and the other firmly around Hua Cheng, Xie Lian sent the other end of the silk band toward Feng Xin.

“Catch!”

With the silk band to link them, the three clumsily steadied themselves. They were only six meters away from the drop at most—if they’d been just one step slower, they would have gone over. They had literally saved themselves on the edge of a precipice. But lava was still pouring down nonstop, so Xie Lian gave another order.

“Withdraw!”

Ruoye quickly shortened itself and carried the three of them toward the palace. Soon after, they leapt onto the roof. It was a larger building than the ones surrounding it, so its roof was quite spacious. There was no fear of its stone foundation getting washed away by the lava, so they could relax for now.

After steadying himself for a moment, Feng Xin stared at the cliff’s edge in shock. It was a long moment before he said in disbelief, “Did Mu Qing…fall?”

Xie Lian had just barely managed to steady his pounding heart. Wiping away beads of sweat on his forehead, he panted and replied, “He didn’t!”

Poking his head out to peer over the furthest edge of the palace rooftop, Xie Lian could see a long saber nailed into the rocks at the edge of the cliff—and a pair of hands clutching its hilt tightly. Below the hands was a red, flustered face with vigorously gritted teeth.

Right now, Mu Qing was in a horrifying position. He was hanging parallel to the waterfall of flowing lava. Fiery sparks splashed his face, literally burning his brow.1 If it wasn’t for the sheen of spiritual light protecting his body and blocking most of the searing heat, his whole head would’ve been on fire, burnt beyond recognition. But that protective layer of spiritual light wouldn’t last long, and his bones would still dissolve into nothing if he fell into the pool of lava!

It was nerve-racking just to see him. Feng Xin asked, “What should we do?! Your Highness, can that white silk band of yours reach him?”

Xie Lian had already tried that and was now calling Ruoye back to pat the flames off it. “I can’t! He’s too far! Ruoye caught fire partway!”

Small tongues of flame were singing Mu Qing’s robes, and the hilt of his saber was scorching hot. Yet he still gripped it hard, afraid to let go and afraid to look down.

If he let go, there was nothing but a pool of blazing fire waiting for him below. The countless spirits of the dead wailed, their starving cries echoing all around. It was like they were calling out to the one struggling to hang on for dear life above them, beseeching him to hurry and join their cohort.

Mu Qing held on to the saber’s hilt with a death grip, his pale forehead covered with sweat. When he saw the others in the distance, his mouth moved like he wanted to call for help. But even at a time like this, he was the kind of person who had great difficulty forcing the words “help” or “save me” past his lips.

Besides, no matter how easy it would be for Hua Cheng to save him, he probably wouldn’t. It was hard to tell with Feng Xin too. Xie Lian was the only one who would be willing to rescue him, had the ability to do so, and could persuade the other two to help.

In the end, Mu Qing pulled himself up with enormous effort to shout to Xie Lian, veins bulging slightly on his forehead as he did. “Your Highness!”

Xie Lian was scanning the area rapidly but looked at him when he heard the call. Mu Qing held back for a good while, then sucked in a breath and yelled with a beet-red face.

“…Believe me! Your Highness, you know I’m not lying, right? You know I wouldn’t have really harmed any of you, right?!”

“…”

The way he spoke to Xie Lian, so full of hope, like he was hanging on to the last thread of his life, made Xie Lian remember another scene from another time. A time many, many years ago, when he begged Mu Qing with the same desperate hope as dusk fell overhead, “You know I’m not lying, right?”

How had Mu Qing answered him back then?

He hadn’t thought about that time for centuries, but Mu Qing’s question dragged the memories from the dusty corners where they were sealed away. Countless images and voices broke loose and flashed across his mind. It was only then that Xie Lian realized he remembered every detail incredibly clearly—that he had never forgotten a thing.

Mu Qing didn’t receive an answer. Xie Lian’s unusual silence sent his mind back to the same scene. As he realized that he’d asked for help with the wrong words—and in doing so, reminded Xie Lian of something he shouldn’t have at a time like this—the color of his face slowly changed.

From behind Xie Lian, Hua Cheng spoke quietly. “Gege, before you make your decision, I must remind you of a few things.”

Xie Lian finally snapped out of it. “What is it?”

“First,” Hua Cheng said, “unless the lava stops flowing, rescuing him will mean risking your own life.”

But who knew when it would stop? The saber’s hilt was already red hot; Mu Qing wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. How could he possibly hang on until then?

Xie Lian stayed quiet, and Hua Cheng continued. “Second, if Mu Qing has already given himself to Jun Wu, Jun Wu will certainly have a way to extract him from peril. But you, on the other hand—you will definitely be risking your life. And the possibility that he has indeed surrendered is significant; think about the way he acted this entire trip.”

Knocking Feng Xin out, luring them into the armory, refusing to admit he attacked Feng Xin and even making accusations back, disappearing without a word after the armory went berserk, the coincidental timing of the lava stream’s intrusion—all that had brought them to where they were now.

Was he once again attempting to lead Xie Lian to his demise?

Xie Lian’s silence was stretching a bit long. The saber’s hilt was burning hot, and Mu Qing let out a loud shout. He dropped one hand and hung for a while using only the other, but didn’t dare support himself like that for too long and quickly clutched the hilt with both once again. Wisps of white vapor were smoking from both palms, and while there was quite a distance between them, those on the palace roof could almost smell the stench of burning flesh.

Hua Cheng casually let loose a silver butterfly. The silver butterfly fluttered its wings and flew a few hundred paces, but it dissipated into silver smoke and vanished before it got even a third of the way to Mu Qing. Xie Lian understood he was demonstrating that the wraith butterflies couldn’t help—that it was a dead end and not worth dying for.

Mu Qing also saw the silver butterfly vanish, and his expression gradually turned into one of resignation as he understood. No one here could save him, and no one believed him. Thanks to his choice of words triggering unpleasant memories, there was no reason for Xie Lian to help him at the risk of his own life.

Frustration bubbled up at the unfairness of it all. But he refused to give up, even on the brink of despair. Mu Qing gritted his teeth and shouted to them, “If you don’t believe me, that’s fine too. But I will never fall that easily!”

He gripped the hilt hard and attempted a midair spin to stand upon it—yet he had only raised himself a few inches before he sank violently!

Mu Qing’s eyes reflected the countless bloodred vengeful spirits that had merged with the lava below. Their faces and limbs contorted and twisted as they pressed themselves onto his leg and pulled him down!

The vengeful spirits were originally one with the lava, but they popped out without warning, one after another, to hang from his lower body, heavy and boiling hot. It was like adding oil to fire, or frost to snow, and Mu Qing was driven to the verge of madness.

“Get lost!”

It wasn’t like he had never come close to death over the course of centuries, but it had always been when he was heavily wounded in some conflict. A death by drowning in lava was a thousand times more horrifying than death by injury. He imagined himself turning into a wisp of smoke like that wraith butterfly, leaving the world without a trace, and couldn’t stand it.

At last, Mu Qing’s hands reached their limit. His fingers loosened slightly, no longer able to maintain their grip.

The space under the saber emptied—he had fallen! A silhouette plunged downward to the blazing lava pool.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Despite his devastated screams, once he’d plunged for a bit, the drop came to a violent stop. He was suspended in midair!

Head half-numb, Mu Qing hadn’t yet regained his senses. His instinctive reactions were still intact though, and he quickly felt his body—to discover that a white silk band had wrapped itself around his waist.

It was Ruoye, of course. But the palace where Xie Lian perched was nowhere near the cliff where Mu Qing fell. If Ruoye couldn’t reach earlier, how could it have caught him after he had fallen so far?

Mu Qing gazed upward and discovered with considerable shock that Xie Lian wasn’t on the palace roof at all. He was right above his own head.

Earlier, Mu Qing had nailed his long saber into the rocks and managed to hang on to the hilt for some time. And right now, Xie Lian was half crouched upon that very hilt!

Xie Lian was rapidly reeling Ruoye in, and he only breathed in relief when he saw Mu Qing was all right. “Thank goodness, thank goodness, I made it in time.”

“Your…Your Highness?” Mu Qing muttered.

The events of the last few seconds had been too much for his frazzled brain to sort out, leaving him deeply confused. The roof was so far from the cliff’s edge, with no landing points en route within the rolling lava. Xie Lian could’ve only jumped halfway at most. How had he gotten here?

In the distance, Feng Xin’s voice rang out. “Your Highness! Are you both all right?”

When Mu Qing glanced in his direction, he saw Hua Cheng and Feng Xin standing atop the palace roof. Hua Cheng was watching them with his arms crossed, focused solely on ensuring Xie Lian’s safety and indifferent to anything else. At the midpoint between the palace and the cliff where he fell, a frigid, ink-black longsword stood upright in the incessant flow of red-hot lava.

Fangxin!

So that was it! Mu Qing finally understood how Xie Lian had made the crossing.

At most, Xie Lian could only make half the needed jump—he’d never be able to make it all the way from the safety of the palace rooftop to rescue him from the cliff. Thus, Xie Lian had hurled out Fangxin and nailed it into the lava stream to create a landing point. Using Fangxin as a stepping stone, he then leapt onto Mu Qing’s saber and just barely caught him with Ruoye at the last second.

“I was trying to think of a way over. It took some time, since there was nothing helpful lying around,” Xie Lian said. “You were also panicking. Don’t lose your head, otherwise you’ll only fall faster.”

Mu Qing had thought Xie Lian’s silence was him hesitating on whether to save him, but it turned out that Xie Lian was just trying to think of how to save him—and thank goodness that he’d kept such a clear head in such a dire situation.

The beads of sweat on Mu Qing’s forehead rolled thicker as he looked up and saw that Xie Lian had reached down for him, a broad smile on his face.

“In any case, I know it’s a bit overdue, but I’m not extending a hand too late, right?”

“…”

Perhaps it was because he’d been gripping the saber hilt for too long, but Mu Qing’s arms felt impossibly heavy. He couldn’t raise them an inch.

Xie Lian stretched his hand lower. “Come.”

Mu Qing finally took hold. His entire arm trembled, but Xie Lian yanked forcefully and pulled him up. The pair stood together on the hilt of Mu Qing’s long saber, and Xie Lian turned around to wave at the palace roof.

“San Lang, it worked!”

“Very good, gege,” Hua Cheng replied. “Now come back right this instant!”

“Okay, I’ll be right over!” Xie Lian responded and then said to Mu Qing, “Can you still jump? If not, I can take you.”

Mu Qing’s lips moved. “I…”

Xie Lian studied his expression and said decisively, “I’ll take you.”

He grabbed him by the scruff of his robes. In the past, Mu Qing probably would’ve rolled his eyes and protested Xie Lian’s manhandling, griping about the disrespect. But now, Mu Qing couldn’t muster a single word.

Xie Lian was just about to leap when they both unexpectedly felt their feet dip. As if things weren’t bad enough, the long saber driven into the rocks just had to pick that exact time to come loose!

Hua Cheng’s face changed color. “Gege!”

This time, two figures plunged together toward the crimson-red lava pool.

Xie Lian could still think fast in that sort of ass-to-the-fire moment. He shouted, “It’s fine!”

He spun several times in midair and caught the long saber by the hilt with both hands, then wedged it into the rocks once more!

Clang! Sparks flew, brilliant and dazzling like grains of gold flecked across Xie Lian’s protective aura of spiritual light. Without that aura, even a speck of those flames could burn a large hole in someone!

Ruoye pulled Mu Qing up, and Xie Lian said to him solemnly, “This saber won’t be able to take the weight of two grown men for long. This can’t continue. Between the two of us, only one can remain.”

Mu Qing slowly came back to his senses. “Are you saying…?”

“You can go,” Xie Lian said.

“…?”

Flummoxed, Mu Qing’s pupils shrank. Before he could speak, Xie Lian grabbed him and hurled him upward with a shout.

“Watch your landing!”

Mu Qing was thrown away from the cliff and quickly found that he was flying toward where Fangxin stood. Pulling himself together, he flipped in the air and landed on the hilt of the sword.

Only then did he understand why Xie Lian had to throw him.

Perhaps Xie Lian could make the long jump from the saber hilt from its new position several dozen paces down. But he couldn’t make a jump that long. The only way he was going to make it that far was with the help of Xie Lian’s mighty throw!

Feng Xin wiped away his cold sweat. “Thank goodness Your Highness reacts fast!”

Hua Cheng, however, still wore a severe expression. “Gege! If you don’t come back soon, I’m going to have to come and get you!” he called down below.

His voice carried a note of warning, and Xie Lian hurried to reply, “I’m coming back up now! Everything’s fine—I can handle it. I can jump back myself! Don’t come down here.”

Only then did Hua Cheng’s demeanor relax a little, though he still watched Xie Lian with an unblinking gaze.

Feng Xin glanced at him and couldn’t help but say, “…I’m a little surprised.”

“What?” Hua Cheng replied, not turning or showing a single trace of curiosity.

Feng Xin scratched his head. “Since you’re so biased against Mu Qing, I assumed you’d think he wasn’t worth saving and wouldn’t want His Highness rescuing him. I thought you’d prevent him from going.”

Only then did Hua Cheng spare him a glance. “Half-wrong, half-right.”

“Huh?”

“The first part isn’t wrong—I certainly don’t think he’s worth saving,” Hua Cheng said. “I don’t care if he lives or dies.”

“Isn’t that a little too blunt?!” Seeing that apathetic expression made Feng Xin start to sweat; when he realized that this man definitely held the same attitude toward him, he sweat even harder!

Hua Cheng snorted, then after a pause, he added, “But only His Highness can decide what he wants to do. I will never oppose his decisions.”

“…”

Feng Xin had never heard anyone say something like that before—not a man to a woman, and most definitely not one man to another. But he was quite sure that Xie Lian would only get all worked up and flustered again if he’d been here to hear it.

“Ah… I see,” Feng Xin said, not knowing what face to make.

Hua Cheng turned back to stare at Xie Lian, who was studying the fiery lava flow all around and formulating his plan, and gave a smile. “Besides, I already knew he was going to do this.”

On the other side, Xie Lian called out, “Mu Qing, hurry and move to the rooftop. And don’t run away again; we can talk out our problems properly later.”

Only then did Mu Qing realize that if he didn’t leave Fangxin, Xie Lian would have nowhere to land for his next step. Forcing himself to think calmly, Mu Qing was just about to leap to the rooftop when Xie Lian cried out from below.

“Who’s there?!”

As Xie Lian stood on the saber, silently storing energy, the lavafall behind him had suddenly parted. A pair of hands stretched out from the other side of the falls and quickly seized him. The creature had clearly come from within the lava flow, but its hands were frighteningly cold and Xie Lian shuddered at their touch.

He heard Hua Cheng exclaim from above, “Your Highness?!”

The owner of the hands hugged Xie Lian tightly, then threw them both off the saber. Xie Lian was shocked, but those above saw very clearly what had seized him from behind.

It was a man clad in white robes who wore a half-crying, half-smiling mask—as if he was rejoicing, as if he was grieving.

White No-Face!

Sensing danger, Ruoye whipped out on its own, flinging itself upward and casting itself before Mu Qing. Mu Qing grabbed it reflexively, but the power holding the other end was too great. Not only couldn’t he reel it in, it yanked him down with it too.

As he plunged amidst the wild, fiery sparks, Xie Lian heard the creature laughing into his ear.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha… Naive! Too naive, Xianle! Did you really think it would be that easy to achieve a perfect happy ending?”

Scorching waves of heat came from below, but his mind shivered with deadly cold. Awash in conflicting ice and fire, Xie Lian caught a glimpse of the domed ceiling, glowing with firelight. He could vaguely see a shape in silhouette—a red figure, approaching rapidly.

Hua Cheng had jumped down too!

But wait—the lava pool was right below!

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