Wen Ran once again held back the urge to vomit blood. She reminded herself that she could only suck it up since she could neither win against him in a fight or find any help!
The surrounding became darker and darker as they ventured deeper into the cave. Wen Ran tried to cast a simple fireball spell to light up the cave, but as soon as she ignited that wisp of fire, it turned into a huge flame and it was almost as if it had been sprinkled with a burning elixir. Had she not stopped herself in time, she might have been charred to a crisp.
"There's something unusual about the air here, so it'd be best not to act rashly," Shen Wu said from beside her.
Wen Ran was aware that she had been reckless. She let out a low 'oh' and did not dare to use any more spells. Following that, the only sound that could be heard was her gasping in pain from hitting the cave walls.
When she was about to hit something again, someone grabbed her hand through her sleeve.
Wen Ran thought to herself, 'Is this man finally going to show his gentlemanly side?'
However, all she heard was a low voice in the darkness. "We can't go any further."
"What's wrong?" she asked nervously.
"There are a lot of snakes up ahead."
Wen Ran's heart skipped a beat. "A lot... How many is a lot?"
"A lot more than the grains of rice you eat in a whole day."
Wen Ran shivered as she imagined what it would be like. She could already feel her claustrophobia acting up.
Shen Wu began to calmly analyze the situation, "It appears that all those snakes might be venomous, but even with that sort of number, I wouldn't have much trouble charging through by myself. It's just..."
Wen Ran understood what he meant before he could finish his sentence—she was a burden to him.
She might be aware of that, but she still did not want to die. Her greatest strength was being able to adapt to circumstances.
She sobbed a few times and said pitifully, "I understand the situation we're in now. Fret not, Eldest Senior Brother! I won't blame you if you leave me behind. I can only lament that we were not destined to be husband and wife in this life. But I can die in peace if I can reminisce on the past and all those happy days that I and my other senior brothers have spent with you."
Recalling the beautiful memories in his heart was a tactic that she could use to advance her position by seemingly taking one step back. As far as she knew, Shen Wu was a person who valued relationships the most.
Of course, after he was caught up in the plot, he placed no importance on any other feelings aside from those that he had for Qin Susu.
Wen Ran's heart was filled with apprehension, and Shen Wu surprised her as she said, "Alright. If you insist, then I'll take my leave."
Wen Ran could feel Shen Wu's hand loosening its grip. Speechless, she stood frozen there and did not dare to move. More time passed, and she still did not hear any movement. That would only mean that he had left her behind!
She gritted her teeth and came to realize that she brought such a dangerous predicament upon herself. He, on the other hand, just left without so much as a thought!
Wen Ran, however, was not one to wallow in self-pity. She took a few deep breaths and decided to continue fumbling forward on her own. Her nerves were in a state of high tension in the pitch-black darkness, and even the slightest movement would cause her to panic.
All of a sudden, she felt something warm on her hand.
Wen Ran retracted her hand in shock, but before she could scream, a familiar-sounding masculine voice said, "It's me."
Then, a faint light appeared.
Wen Ran's vision finally recovered. She almost cried tears of joy when she saw the light, but as soon as she saw that the person in front of her was a grinning Shen Wu, she immediately turned indignant. "I thought you left me behind?"
"I was just messing with you. Did you really buy that?" There was a match in Shen Wu's hand, and although the fire was small, it was bright enough to set her heart at ease in that dark place.
"You can't light a fire here!" Wen Ran hurriedly said.
"Relax. It's okay to do it along this path."
Wen Ran's tense nerves finally relaxed after she saw that the fire was not causing any other problems. She then looked around and asked suspiciously, "Didn't you say there were a lot of snakes here?"
He laughed and said, "I was lying. Who would have thought that you'd be so gullible?"
"How dare you!"
"Alright, let's hurry up and leave this damned place." Shen Wu did not give her a chance to get mad at him and immediately turned around to continue moving forward.
Wen Ran had no choice but to follow him. The nervousness in her heart did not decrease in the slightest, and she could not help but keep her guard up against her surroundings. The cave did not seem to have been formed naturally, and there were countless strange patterns on the stone walls. After a prolonged period of silence, her gaze landed on Shen Wu up in front.
He had a tall figure and looked good even from behind. For some reason, however, Wen Ran did not think that his waist was slender. She also did not feel that his legs were long, and she felt that his buttocks were not that firm.
Her pace was becoming increasingly slower, and the man walking in front turned around to check on her. With his face half-lit and half-obscured in the flickering light, there was a hint of concern in his pleasant-sounding voice as he asked, "Are you alright? Do you feel tired?"
"I'd like to confess something to you since there's no one here."
"What is it?" he asked.
"I actually like women."
His expression went blank for a moment, and he flashed his characteristic smile after a moment. "You got me there, Ranran."
Wen Ran was certain that the person in front of her was not Shen Wu, because the real Shen Wu would respond to her confession by smiling and saying, "What a coincidence. I happen to like women too."