Transmigrating into the world of Jade Dynasty, I was targeted by the female lead in a reverse romanc

Jiang Xiaochuan panicked and shook her violently: "Xueqi! Lu Xueqi! Wake up!"

There was no response, only faint, fading breathing.

An immense panic gripped him without warning, more so than when he faced thousands of blood bats, and more so than when he fell into the abyss.

He suddenly looked down, trying in vain to see her face in the darkness, but could only see a blurry outline.

"Xueqi..." His voice trembled, and his arms around her shook uncontrollably. "Don't scare me... wake up..."

There was still no response, only the sound of the wind and the endless descent.

Jiang Xiaochuan's mind was in complete chaos.

"Sister Hongli—!!!"

……

It felt like a long time had passed, yet it also felt like only a moment.

The expected impact that would shatter the bones did not occur.

The speed of the fall seemed to slow down without warning at some point.

A gentle yet resilient force supported them.

No, it's not supporting, it's enveloping, like falling into a warm and elastic pool of water, the downward momentum being dissolved and eliminated layer by layer.

Jiang Xiaochuan opened his eyes with difficulty.

It was still dark, but no longer the abyss-like darkness that swallowed everything.

In this darkness, there are some faint lights—the light of water.

A deep, vast sound of water came from below, a slow, eternal murmur.

He and Lu Xueqi were enveloped in a dark red, hazy halo, suspended in mid-air.

The source of the halo was the God-Slaying Spear floating beside them. The spear trembled slightly, emitting a soft red light that illuminated a small area around them.

Below, there was a boundless expanse of pitch-black water, calm and still, yet exuding a chilling stillness and desolation. This was... the Heartless Sea.

The red light carried the two of them, slowly and steadily drifting them in a certain direction.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked down at Lu Xueqi in his arms.

Her eyes were closed, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows on her face. Her complexion was frighteningly pale, and her lips were completely bloodless, but her breathing, though weak, was still relatively steady.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and his vision blurred. He had just forced his spiritual power to work, was hit by the flood, and was terrified of falling. In addition, calling for Hong Li had almost exhausted his energy. Now that he was temporarily safe, fatigue and pain surged up like a tide.

He took one last look at the god-slaying spear that emitted a warm red light, his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't make a sound, his eyelids closed heavily, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

A dark red halo enveloped the two embracing figures, drifting slowly along the dark, boundless sea into the unknown depths. The God-Slaying Spear hovered silently to the side, its red light flowing as if it were alive, protecting its master and the aloof woman in his arms.

In the distance, the merciless sea's still waves crashed, one after another.

……

The darkness was so thick it felt like unyielding ink, pressing heavily on my eyelids.

Lu Xueqi opened her eyes, but all she could see was darkness. She blinked, her eyelashes brushing against the cold, damp air.

My body felt completely empty, devoid of any spiritual energy, and a series of sharp, needle-like pains emanated from deep within my meridians.

She lay there for a long time before her consciousness slowly emerged from the heavy darkness.

Beneath me were hard, damp, and cold rocks that hurt my bones. In the distance came the monotonous sound of water, gurgling—gurgling, slow and muffled, like the heartbeat of this boundless darkness itself.

Then she remembered falling.

She remembered the flood, his figure rushing towards her, the arms that tightly embraced her in the darkness, and the cool yet gradually warming scent emanating from him.

She suddenly turned her head to the side.

Jiang Xiaochuan lay less than an arm's length away from her, face up, eyes closed, motionless.

A faint but steady crimson aura emanated from the suspended spear beside him, enveloping the two in a hazy crimson glow within a radius of about ten feet. Beyond the aura lay an all-consuming darkness.

His face was paler than usual, his lips were bloodless, his hair was disheveled and fell over his eyebrows, and his chest rose and fell weakly with his breathing, very slowly, but still.

Lu Xueqi propped herself up on her arms, trying to sit up. As soon as she exerted force, her internal organs clenched violently, her vision went black, and she almost fell back down.

She bit her lower lip, swallowed the metallic taste in her throat, and slowly moved to his side, supporting herself on her elbows.

She reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly, and gently touched his cheek.

It was cool, about the same temperature as her fingertips.

But thankfully, it was the cold of the living.

She withdrew her hand, her gaze falling on his face. She looked at him for a long time; he was sleeping soundly, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were having some uneasy dream.

She remembered how he shielded her in his arms as he fell, how he rolled over and cushioned her fall, and how he mumbled "hmm" in the darkness, a response tinged with resignation.

Something inside me felt like it had been gently squeezed, causing a sour and astringent swelling.

She lowered her head again, her gaze unconsciously sweeping over his entire body.

His robes were torn to shreds by the water and rocks, and stained with mud and dark, dried bloodstains.

Several pieces of fabric were pulled back on the shoulders, arms, and waist, revealing scratches and bruises of varying depths on the exposed skin.

His bones are incredibly tough, making him difficult to injure with ordinary attacks; it seems the damage came from being struck and scraped by rocks during his fall.

The gaze continued downwards.

Then it stopped.

On the upper part of his thigh, there was a sizable tear in his trouser leg, with jagged edges, as if it had been ripped open by something sharp.

Beneath the tear, the innermost layer of fabric was also torn open, revealing what lay beneath...

Lu Xueqi's face flushed instantly, and her ears burned.

She abruptly looked away, staring at the cold rocks beside her, her heart skipping a beat for no apparent reason.

Even in the darkness, that fleeting glimpse of the scene remained vividly clear and unforgettable.

She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and inhaled the cold air, which slightly suppressed the heat on her face, but the unfamiliar, panicked flutter in her heart remained.

She glanced at it again, the wound was still there, and her face seemed to get a little hotter.

Just then, Jiang Xiaochuan frowned even more, let out a muffled murmur, fluttered his eyelashes a few times, and slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was initially blank and unfocused, staring at the low, dark rocky roof above him, which was bathed in red light.

After a few breaths, the confusion slowly faded, and his eyes moved, meeting Lu Xueqi's gaze, who was standing guard to the side, watching him intently.

When Lu Xueqi saw him wake up, the breath that had been hanging in her throat finally escaped slowly and slowly, and her tense shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.

"Awake?" she asked, her voice softer and hoarse than usual, due to dryness and weakness.

Jiang Xiaochuan blinked, as if to confirm that he hadn't seen wrong. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but the movement aggravated the abrasions on his face, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Um. Are you... alright?"

"It's nothing," Lu Xueqi shook her head. Looking at the slight pain contortion on his face, she asked again, "Does it hurt?"

"It's alright." Jiang Xiaochuan tried to move his arm, feeling as if his bones had been broken and then barely put back together, with soreness and pain everywhere.

He slowly sat up, grimacing, and looked around.

Beyond the crimson glint of gunfire lay an endless, suffocating darkness.

"Is this... the bottom? The Heartless Sea?"

"It should be." Lu Xueqi's gaze followed his movement as he sat up, then drifted uncontrollably to the tear before quickly settling on his face.

"Your gun... protected us."

Jiang Xiaochuan then noticed the suspended God-Slaying Spear. The spear was dim and the red light was faint, but it did emit a gentle power, supporting them and dispelling some of the surrounding chill.

He had a slight thought and wanted to put the gun away, but he found that the connection between his mind and the gun was extremely sluggish and his spiritual power was also empty, so he had to give up.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Only the monotonous sound of the dark sea below and their shallow breathing were exceptionally clear in the silence.

After a while, Lu Xueqi suddenly spoke in a low voice, her gaze fixed on the darkness ahead, without looking at him.

"Before... on the platform, didn't you say that if anyone fell, no one should follow?"

Jiang Xiaochuan was stunned for a moment, then remembered that he had indeed said those words.

He scratched his head, his fingertips touching the congealed blood clots, then lowered his hand.

"That's different," he said.

"What's different?" Lu Xueqi turned her face to look at him. The dark red light reflected on her face, and her eyes were clear and stubborn, waiting for his answer.

"..." Jiang Xiaochuan felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, looked away, and said vaguely, "It's about the bond between fellow disciples. I can't just watch you fall."

"Just fellow disciples?" Lu Xueqi asked, her voice still very soft, yet like a tiny needle gently pricking her.

Jiang Xiaochuan's throat moved.

"...We're still good friends."

good friend.

Lu Xueqi didn't speak, turning her face back to the darkness ahead. The lines of her profile appeared somewhat cold in the red light. She silently snorted to herself.

Who wants to be your best friend?

Another silence fell. Jiang Xiaochuan found the silence unbearable; he felt cold and aching all over.

He tried to sense the spiritual energy in his body, but there wasn't a drop left, and his meridians were sluggish. He then looked at Lu Xueqi's pale profile; her breath was weak, and her condition was obviously worse.

"Can you... still fly on a sword?" he asked.

Lu Xueqi shook her head. "No. My spiritual energy is exhausted."

"Me too." Jiang Xiaochuan sighed, looking around at the boundless darkness and the bottomless black water beneath his feet. "This is troublesome."

Lu Xueqi didn't reply. Her gaze involuntarily fell back on Jiang Xiaochuan.

To be precise, it landed on his thigh; the tear was faintly visible in the dark red light.

Jiang Xiaochuan noticed her gaze, lowered his head in confusion, and followed her gaze to himself.

Then he saw the breach.

We also saw inside the breach.

His mind went blank for a moment.