The Art of the Escape

It had been six full days since Qianwei last came. To Qiuyue Han, this was undoubtedly a sign of distrust—an attempt to escape the cave on her own.

Fortunately, the occasional sounds and faint crying from the cave proved the girl was likely still alive and hadn’t thrown herself into the mouth of the guardian beast outside. Considering the food supply was running low, Qiuyue Han knew she had to stop Qianwei from doing anything foolish as soon as possible.

Feeling a trickle of energy finally flowing within her, Qiuyue Han took a deep breath and tried once more to break the seal. The chains rattled instantly, and the stone pillar that pinned her body cracked with a sharp sound. But the residual energy of the seal remained stubborn, and the power she could muster was too little. In the end, she failed.

“Damn it! Almost there… Just wait for me. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Frowning and cursing under her breath, Qiuyue Han showed a hint of worry. Just then, she heard a noise behind her. She tilted her head and met a nervous, pretty face.

“Good morning?”

Qianwei, gripping the edge of the stone wall, blinked and looked nervously at the stunned white-haired woman. A pearl embedded in the cave wall emitted a faint glow, hiding the energy fluctuations on her body. He also carefully controlled the flow of energy within himself, trying to pass off as ordinary and convince Qiuyue Han that he hadnot awakened.

“Qianwei? You’re not dead. Thank goodness!”

“Huh? Can’t you say something nice?”

Tch!

Qianwei twitched the corner of her mouth in exasperation, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by the expression, the act was working. If she could keep this up, all the better. But that was only while the seal was still in place. The real challenge would come after it was broken.

Qiuyue Han realized her words were off. She coughed lightly in embarrassment, apologized, and quickly asked, “Sorry, sorry. I thought you had given up and tried to escape alone. What have you been doing these past few days? Why didn’t you come?”

“I wasn’t feeling well—caught a cold. I just lay around and didn’t feel like moving.”

Qianwei lied casually, then she squatted down in front of Qiuyue Han. He glanced at the cracks in the stone that held her and swiftly changed the subject. “If I’d come two days later, you wouldn’t even need my help, would you?”

“I thought you were going to do something rash, so I pushed myself, hoping to break free early…”

“Mm… Thanks.”

Qianwei was momentarily stunned, a little moved. He felt a pang of emotion—if he were a native of this world instead of a transmigrator, he would surely be charmed by such straightforward kindness.

“I’m glad you didn’t do anything stupid. I guess I was just overthinking it. So, do you trust me now?”

“Yeah…”

Qianwei snapped out of his melancholy, nodded lightly, and then put on an embarrassed expression. “Sorry for making you wait so long. What exactly do I need to do to help you break the seal?”

“No problem at all. If you help remove the seal, it’ll speed up my recovery. I should be the one thanking you. The seal’s core is on the wall behind me, right below my body. You just have to take it off. But the energy backlash might burn you. I’ll heal you afterward.”

“Alright.”

Without another word, Qianwei stood up and moved behind Qiuyue Han, to the other side of the wall. Looking at the two long legs pressed together, his mind couldn’t help but wander… Every time he came here and saw this sight, he had the urge to give those legs a slap. Too bad he didn’t have the guts.

“It’s directly underneath?”

“Yes… Can you see it now?”

“Um…”

From an ice dragon to a frog—it was too weird. Qianwei blushed and looked away, his strange thoughts and reason battling each other. It took a while before he calmed down. He looked down again but still didn’t see the seal core. That meant it was higher up, close to where the skirt blocked the view.

“Don’t move. It seems your clothes are in the way…”

As she spoke, Qianwei swallowed and crawled forward two steps. She reached out, pinched a corner of the skirt, and lifted it. Sure enough, there was a small hollow beneath, containing a glowing box about five centimeters square.

“Mm—this little box, right?”

“Yes, that’s the ‘Mountain Seal.’ Be quick.”

“O…Okay.”

So close, and so fragrant… Too bad the clothes were in the way. Sighing inwardly, Qianwei forced the intrusive thoughts away. Steadying his mind, she reached for the glowing box as fast as she could.

“Oww!”

The moment her fingers touched it, a searing pain shot up her arm. A powerful current locked her body in place, making it impossible to move. Qianwei cried out in agony. The electricity made her tremble uncontrollably, and the current also affected Qiuyue Han, causing her legs to reflexively clench together again.

Everything went black. A soft yet forceful pressure slammed against both sides of Qianwei’s head, making her feel like her skull was about to be crushed. Struggling to regain focus, Qianwei managed to grip the box and pull it out. Fortunately, once the box left its niche, the current began to fade.

When she finally freed herself, she saw that her arm was already charred…

“Sss…”

This was no minor injury! If he hadnot awakened and undergone trials to increase his pain tolerance, he would have fainted immediately. Gritting his teeth, she tossed the still-faintly-crackling box into her ring space. Just then, Qiuyue Han’s complex voice, tinged with apology and surprise, rang out.

“Move away first. Once I’m out, I’ll heal you right away.”

“Okay…”

Qianwei quickly retreated behind a huge stalactite. Remembering that he probably wouldn’t get healed in time after the seal broke, she pulled a healing potion from her ring and poured it over her arm. It was a special brew—enhanced with high-quality energy crystals to boost its effects, making it twice as potent as normal. As soon as she applied it, the damaged arm began to heal at a visible rate.

The pain faded. She flexed her arm slightly. Then, a deafening roar came from the seal wall. A wave of air and debris slammed into the rocks, and the noise continued for several seconds. When the sounds stopped, Qianwei held onto the stalactite and cautiously peeked out.

Before she could even see clearly through the dust, a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind. Qiuyue Han’s puzzled, cold voice spoke.

“You’ve already awakened?”

“!”

Damn… Of course it couldn’t be hidden.

Her body was immobilized. But he had anticipated this. Quickly suppressing his panic, she activated a trick with her voice.

“Art is an explosion~”

Poof!

A massive cloud of white smoke burst from beneath her skirt, instantly covering most of the cave. At almost the same moment, Qiuyue Han grabbed Qianwei and appeared near the inner side of the cave, out of the smoke’s reach. Still within his plan, Qianwei spoke again, unhurried.

“Explosion is art~”

“Huh?!”

“Hehe, don’t blame me. You’re the one who told me everything about your abilities…”

Qianwei’s voice carried a hint of pride, but inside he was tense. If he could knock Qiuyue Han out, most of his plan would succeed. Once she was unconscious, everything would be easy!

If he failed…