Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Shui Sheng huddled beside the icicle, hugging her knees, trembling all over. Her face was covered in tears, her eyes were red and swollen, and her lips were trembling incessantly.

She looked at Di Yun with a numb expression.

There was no light in his eyes.

Di Yun slowly walked over, squatted down, took off his coat, and draped it over her shoulders.

Shui Sheng's body stiffened for a moment.

"Don't be afraid," Di Yun whispered, "I won't touch you."

Shui Sheng looked at him without saying a word.

What difference does it make whether we touch it or not?

If I've been insulted by that old monk, then it doesn't matter who I am after that.

Anyway, she had made up her mind that she would commit suicide if given the chance.

It's hard to live alone.

It's easy for a person to want to die.

He can't keep her pressure points sealed for the rest of her life; if the flow is blocked for too long, she'll die anyway.

Looking into her empty eyes, Di Yun felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of sorrow. He had seen that look before—in prison, on the faces of those who had been locked up for too long and had given up hope. He knew that look all too well, because he himself had once had it.

He didn't want Shui Sheng to become like that.

"Miss Water," he lowered his voice, his tone so serious it didn't sound like he was trying to comfort her, "listen to me."

Shui Sheng didn't react; she just hugged her knees and remained motionless.

"I have an older brother surnamed Sun, named Sun Fan," Di Yun said. "He will definitely come looking for me. He never fails to keep his promises."

Shui Sheng's eyelids twitched, but she still didn't speak.

"He can definitely get us out of here." Di Yun's voice was filled with an almost stubborn certainty. "He brought down a prefect in Jingzhou, saved me, Brother Ding, and Miss Ling. Even if the avalanche blocks the road, he will definitely find a way in."

Shui Sheng finally raised her head and looked at him. Her eyes were red and swollen like peaches, but there was something else in them—not hope, but something fainter, like a candle flame about to go out being blown away by the wind.

"Your older brother... he's really coming?"

"Yes," Di Yun nodded. "He will definitely come."

"But there's been a massive avalanche outside," Shui Sheng's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. "The roads are all blocked. How did he get in? By climbing over mountains? Digging a tunnel? Or flying in?"

Di Yun paused for a moment, then said, "He doesn't need to come in."

Shui Sheng was taken aback.

"He said he was a member of the Celestial Masters sect," Di Yun said, looking at her. "He can summon the souls of the dead. Even if your father... even if your father is really gone, he can still let you speak with him."

Shui Sheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

"What...what did you say?"

"I saw it with my own eyes in Jingzhou." Di Yun's voice was soft, but every word was earnest. "Miss Ling's mother has been dead for many years. Brother Sun summoned her spirit back and spoke to Miss Ling. After hearing it, Miss Ling never tried to kill herself again."

Shui Sheng's lips were trembling.

"He can even summon the souls of the dead; a mere avalanche can't stop him."

Shui Sheng lowered her head, looking at the wound on her wrist where an ice pick had pierced her. The blood had congealed, forming a thin scab. She reached out and touched the scab, her fingers trembling slightly.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice as soft as the wind: "He really...will let me talk to my father?"

"Yes," Di Yun said. "He never fails to keep a promise he makes."

Shui Sheng's tears fell again. But this time, she didn't cry out loud, she just wept silently, the tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the coat that Di Yun had draped over her.

"Then I'll wait for him." Her voice was still trembling, but much steadyer than before. "I'll wait for him to come."

Di Yun breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped the outer garment even tighter around himself.

"You get some sleep first. I'll think of something when it's light."

Shui Sheng wasn't asleep. She leaned against the icicle, hugging her knees, watching the figure sitting cross-legged by the fire. The Blood Blade Ancestor slept soundly, his breathing even, occasionally turning over and muttering a few words in his sleep. The firelight reflected on his wrinkled face, flickering like a ferocious Buddha statue.

She hates this person.

I hate them to the core.

But Di Yun was right—there is hope as long as you live. If you die, you have nothing left.

She wants to live.

We'll live and wait for Brother Sun to come.

Live to see Blood Saber Ancestor die.

The next morning, Blood Saber Ancestor woke up.

He was in better spirits than the night before; the wound on his left shoulder had scabbed over, and although he still couldn't exert himself, at least it wasn't bleeding anymore. He stood up, stretched his limbs, walked to the entrance of the ice cave, and looked up.

The snow is still falling.

The entrance to the cave was mostly blocked by snow, leaving only a small opening about the size of a washbasin through which a sliver of grayish-white light shone.

"Damn it," Blood Blade Ancestor cursed, walked back, and sat down by the fire. "The snow has sealed the cave entrance."

Di Yun's heart sank.

"It's sealed off?" Shui Sheng's voice changed as well.

"It's sealed off." Blood Blade Ancestor glanced at her, his tone as indifferent as if he were commenting on the weather. "When the old monk came in just now, the cave entrance was big enough for a person to crawl out. Now it's only the size of a bowl. If it rains again tonight, not even light will be able to get in tomorrow."

He took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and inside were several pieces of dried meat and two hard steamed buns. He tossed one of the buns to Di Yun, kept one for himself, and divided the dried meat into three portions, one for each person.

"Eat sparingly," he said. "I don't know how long I'll have to stay in this godforsaken place."

Shui Sheng looked at the thumb-sized piece of dried meat in her hand but didn't eat it. She raised her head, staring at the Blood Blade Ancestor with eyes full of hatred.

"You're trapped here, and you can't get out." Her voice was cold. "Once the food runs out, you'll die too."

Blood Saber Ancestor took a bite of the steamed bun, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then laughed.

"Little girl, do you think the old monk is like you, unable to survive without food?" He pointed to the wall of the ice cave. "There are fish under this ice, and snow outside the cave. When thirsty, eat snow; when hungry, catch fish. The old monk has lived on this snow mountain for decades and hasn't starved to death."

Shui Sheng's face paled slightly.

The Blood Blade Ancestor looked at her, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "As for you, with your delicate skin, how long can you last?"

Shui Sheng clenched the dried meat in her hand, her knuckles turning white.

Di Yun didn't speak. He lowered his head, slowly munching on his steamed bun, his mind racing.

The entrance to the cave has been sealed off.

Blood Blade Ancestor can't get out, and neither can they.

But Sun Fan can't get in either.

unless--

He recalled a quote from Sun Fan: "There are no dead ends in this world, only people who can't think of a way out."

way.

There must be some way.

Di Yun raised his head and glanced at the entrance to the ice cave. A sliver of light shone through the bowl-sized opening, dim and hazy, like a candle flame about to go out.

He suddenly remembered something.

The Blood Blade Ancestor said there are fish beneath the ice.

The presence of fish means there is water beneath the ice.

Where there is water, there is a way out.

The ice cave isn't completely sealed. Water must flow in from somewhere for the fish to swim in. That place might lead to the outside.

Di Yun's heart skipped a beat.