Late Night Tales Of The Capital

Jue Shuo from the Judicature was the first to spring into action; without any shred of hesitation, another look into the main hall, nor any forlorn longing for the Divine Tool, he roused the company, with Li Jianqi in tow, and everyone rushed toward the entrance of the cave. The rushing flow of water coming in would flood the pa.s.sage coming into the hall with water from the Luo River by now.

The hall, where the Divine Tool had manifested, was a perfectly-furnished circular chamber with no other way out.

Even in the presence of a secret pa.s.sage, it would be impossible for the company to find the mechanism to open the portal in a short time in the midst of the turmoil.

The most direct way would be to retrace their way and escape from where they came. Li Jianqi"s immobility would hardly be an issue, as all members of the Judicature were trained in myriads of methods to avoid contact with water.

Nevertheless, the rest of the company were reluctant to leave empty-handed.

Fighting alone with either the Demon King"s conjured doppelgangers or the strangers from Mount Shu would be nothing but folly. But with the Divine Tool manifested, and Demon King"s doppelgangers in a b.l.o.o.d.y battle against the eight strangers from Mount Shu, the rest of the company were hoping to count on the opportunity that surfaced when both parties were already weakened from their fight.

What is an opportunity if not this?

They could have sworn that they had saw Wuming, who was seen in possession of the River Soldiers Divine Tool earlier, was very much dead now. The Divine Tool now belonged to no one.

"Should we leave or stay?"

"Should we fight for it or not?"

"Fortune favors the bold!"

The same thoughts flashed across the minds of everyone in the company that very instant.

Jiang Liuyun too was staring at the glowing dot of radiance that stood out in the midst of the fierce clash. But he was cunning enough to look around and study the expressions of the rest, and carefully bide his time.

On the other hand, Ye Que has already obtained a page from the Divine Book. To him, the quest of the Imperial Mausoleum had been a fruitful endeavor, hence he was hardly eager to place himself in harm"s way only for the Divine Tool. He understood full well that although his bounty could in no way compare to a level-five Divine Tool, he needed to stay and protect the still-unconscious Red Bean.

He could not leave her alone. This young lady, whom he was a stranger to in this desolate labyrinth, had saved his life. He must repay her no matter what.

But even if Red Bean had never tried to save him, being chivalrous in spirit, Ye Que could never leave her to fend for herself. He had begun to feel a fondness towards her since they first met.

"But there"s definitely no way we"ve met before. Still, she insists otherwise. Why? That"s strange." Ye Que muttered quietly to himself, as he bent to lift her up.

Then he stopped. Carrying her in his arms seemed hardly appropriate and this would hinder his escape.

For all his triumphant adventures and swashbuckling exploits across the Three Realms, Ye Que had scarcely interacted with members of the fairer gender. He had never thought himself to be good with ladies.

His was a live devoid of romantic and pa.s.sionate encounters!

Looking at the unconscious Red Bean lying on the floor, he felt nervous and fl.u.s.tered, not knowing what to do.

He had absolutely no experience in handling matters of such subtlety!

The great hall was flooded with ankle-deep water and Red Bean"s flowing white robes were beginning to soak wet against her skin, the drenched fabric beginning to mound to her curves that they also looked filmy and translucent around her chest.

Ye Que jerked his head away quickly, his face burning red as he blushed.

His mind went blank momentarily.

The water began to rise even higher and the stinging chill around his ankles reminded him that.

He pinched himself hard, trying to pull himself back into reality. He needed to take Red Bean with him. He could carry her in his arms, with his waist bent slightly forward. But that would look terrible. As same could be said for carrying her under his armpit and over his shoulders. Red Bean was a lady, not a sack of grain.

"Can I carry her on my back?"

Ye Que was still wondering his option when he peered at her again. Her chest was fully drenched and the diaphanous fabric on her chest was almost transparent now! Carry her in his arms would definitely be out of the question now!

"Gosh."

"Women... Troublesome indeed..."

There was no other way. Yue Que kept reminding himself that he was to save the woman, not to take advantage of her as he began to lift her.

Gently, he placed his hands under Red Bean"s thighs.

He lifted her up and placed her on his back, while trying to keep as much distance as possible between his back and her body.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could still feel the strange, tingling sensation of her chest b.u.mping on his back.

Ye Que gasped for breath. It was the first time he felt so dis...o...b..bulated. This was the first time he felt this way despite his lifetime of dangers and perils. He took a long, deep breath, and another. Still, the strange uneasy tension lingered over him as his heart thumped loudly, rendering him so uncomfortable that he began to feel his cheeks burning.

"I"m definitely not trying to take advantage of you."

"But I can"t keep walking like this anymore."

"I don"t know if you"re able to hear me, but I"ve just told you that I"m only trying to help. I"ll just have to a.s.sume that you are fine with this."

Ye Que gave a little toss, with Red Bean"s motionless body rising slightly before dropping back down on his back as he tried to get a better grip. He had no idea if she had heard him, or he was merely talking to himself.

He applied a bit more strength, holding her down on his back that her chest was lying flat on his back. He strengthened his grip too, holding her thighs with a little bit more force.

"She"s... Her... So soft!"

The thoughts came to his mind so suddenly, that he began to wonder if he was a pervert in nature. "How can my thoughts be so dirty?"

As Ye Que was still struggling with his own emotions for what seemed like an eternity, Time barely pa.s.sed. The Demon King"s doppelgangers and the eight cloaked strangers were still furiously fighting each other. The glowing radiance continued blazing gently, beckoning towards the group of handful of survivors watching from aside.

When two dogs fight for a bone, the third will be the one that runs away with it. Only in this case, everyone was hungry to be the proverbial third dog.

Ye Que alone tore towards the entrance of the underground cave without as much as a look back. There was no time with the rising water level and the unconscious Red Bean on his back for him to dwell any longer.

The building pressure from the Luo River had forced the mouth of the opening to be twice as large as it was! Water was rushing through the opening like a huge waterfall into the great hall which would have long been completely flooded if not for its s.p.a.cious length and breadth.

From his hands to Red Bean"s legs, Ye Que sent one sliver of Divine Energy to seal her mouth and nose, preventing her from drowning.

Straw Dog, his blue Spirit Sword, pierced forth against the raging water current;

Ye Que unleashed the Torrential Deflection, a Rank-2 technique of the Qingqiu Sword Sect.

He lowered himself into a half-squat and pushed with all his might! With Red Bean on his back, Ye Que sped out of the subterranean cavern, storming ahead in the path that his Straw Dog had opened.

On more mundane circ.u.mstances, Ye Que would have loved to appreciate the morning breeze and bask in the warm sunlight, while enjoying the sights of flowers fluttering down into the autumn ripples of the water. But in his haste to get to safety, he hardly felt any beauty in everything taking place around him.

He saw only the huge sapphire blue body of water he was swimming in, a world of blue that stretched out of view. The underwater undulations stroked lazily at him and he could see fishes swimming curiously around him. Below his feet, everything was laid submerged and dormant, as if held in stasis by the waters of the Luo River. Everything was quiet around him as colors begin to slowly fill his sight. The surface was near.

Something was caressing his nose, and it turned out to be Red Bean"s long hair streaming in the water. Her hairband had fallen off sometime during the escape, and her white robes were clasping tightly to her skin no longer.

A trail of blood; slicks of remnants left by the battle below were escaping from the mouth of the cave and a small whirlpool was beginning to build.