His worry was uncalled for. In the six months I had lived on the uninhabited island, I had spent most of my time diving with Ghostie. I saw the colorful undersea world, a sight that was almost unheard of in the outside world.
It was the happiest time I"d had in a while. I had been surrounded by big, beautiful corals, and there were many unknown species of colorful sea fish. Schools of fish had often swam past me and engulfed me like waves. Sunlight shone through the water in a scattered and distorted gleam, creating a magical scene that couldn"t be seen on land.
Suddenly, Xing Chuan seemed to hit something. Bubbles escaped from his mouth. One of his arms stiffened with paralysis.
I immediately rushed forward and saw a bruise on his arm; he seemed to have been stung by something.
He quickly covered his mouth and pointed in front of him. He opened his palm, signaling that it was five meters ahead. Suddenly, another cloud of bubbles escaped from his mouth. I saw a black, eel-like creature entangling his arm!
Both of his arms couldn"t be used and he floated helplessly in the water. He shook his head at me anxiously and beckoned me to leave, but how could I leave him there?
The disgusting creature wrapped around his arm, and he didn"t seem to be in good condition. The surprise attack had made him let go of all his oxygen. His face began to distort in agony. Just as he was about to open his mouth and choke, I immediately kissed his lips. His eyes shot open with surprise as I pa.s.sed a mouthful of oxygen into his mouth. Then I turned and pulled him by the arm as I swam forward quickly.
Xing Chuan cooperated and didn"t move, like a piece of wood. It was better for both of us.
He had communicated that there were five meters left, so it would be much faster to head in that direction!
The air in my lungs began to run out because I had given some to Xing Chuan, but just when I thought I would be out of breath, we swam out of the cave and saw a s.p.a.cious, magical world!
There were luminous symbiotic flowers glowing around us. It turned out that they grew underwater! They grew on underwater cave walls, their colorful bodies spreading across the rock like an artist"s doodles.
Another burst of bubbles rose before me. Sh*t! I had been distracted watching the beautiful scenery and forgot about Xing Chuan. I rushed upward and the entire world seemed to be filled with symbiotic flowers. I couldn"t tell if there was a surface above us. It was as though we were hovering in a colorful universe with no direction and no end.
With a splash, I finally broke the surface of the water. I immediately dragged Xing Chuan up too. He had already lost consciousness. Is he dead?!
I looked around hastily and saw a huge rock in the middle of the water. I immediately swam over and dragged him onto the rock. I saw that his stomach was bulging, so I quickly pressed down on it and flipped him sideways.
He coughed a mouthful of water and woke up, gasping heavily for air. The black creature was still on his right arm! It was firmly latched onto Xing Chuan"s skin, and looked like a disgusting sandworm.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
“Are you okay?!” I looked at him. He nodded his head as he lay there. He was surprised at the sight above him. The ceiling of the cave was covered in symbiotic flowers as well.
“What do I do with that worm?” I looked at the worm and the hairs on my arms stood on end. On the other hand, Xing Chuan didn"t seem to mind much, saying, “That"s a Kost worm. It can"t leave the water. As soon as it comes ash.o.r.e, it dries up and falls off quickly.”
As he spoke, I saw the worm beginning to dry out! It became flatter and flatter. Soon, it looked like a black ribbon around Xing Chuan"s hand.
“Take it off for me,” Xing Chuan looked at me and said.
I felt s.h.i.+vers all over and shook my head continuously.
“Heh,” he chuckled. His gentle gaze overlapped with the Xing Chuan in Silver Moon City. “You have things that you are scared of too, huh? At least help me up.”
I extended my hand and helped him up, asking, “How long are your arms going to be paralyzed for?” His arms looked like they were still non-functional.
“I"ve never been so deep in here. I didn"t know there would be Kost worms.” Then, he bent his leg and used his toes to tear off the black creature and throw it away! His toes!
“You"ve never gotten this far? No one ever has?” I was suspicious, because it hadn"t felt that deep to me, but then I realized it might be related to my metahuman const.i.tution. Every time I went diving with Ghostie, I realized that I could enter very deep places.
Diving had a lot to do with stamina. When one"s stamina was good, one could last longer and go deeper. Those who had poor stamina could only pull out abruptly.
I frowned. Why did that sound like those filthy topics my cousin talked to me about?
Xing Chuan nodded guiltily, replying, “Yes.” He looked at his two arms, continuing, “I"ll need another half hour.”
“Another half hour?! Elena and the others will be worried.”
“They shouldn"t be. I have GPS on me and they should know that we"re okay.” He began to look around and quietly. His faint smile overlapped with the person that popped up in my head.
When he was quiet, they were too alike.
He reminded me of the Xing Chuan who lived in peace in Lavre Resort City, the real Xing Chuan and the life he wanted.
However, I was fooled by that Xing Chuan"s harmless appearance that looked as though he wanted peace. His character had turned out to be treacherous and brutal after all.
“I failed,” he sighed as he looked down at his arms.
I leaned against the side of the rock, answering, “You didn"t fail; you just had a small accident.”
“I should have worn a diving suit like you.” He looked at me as I dunked my head into the water. The beautiful world was once again in sight. This is so beautiful and out of this world. I have entered another magical place.
The beautiful symbiotic flowers decorated the stone wall with various patterns.
I left the water and continued to look at them, “I have seen a symbiotic flower.”
“You"ve seen one? In the outside world?”
“Mm, on the other Xing Chuan.”
“The other Xing Chuan again?” He was disappointed. His expression was reflected in the surface of the water as he continued, “Because you are too outstanding, he fell in love with you. Will you kill him, though?”
I sat up and creased my eyebrows, “Yes, I will.”
Xing Chuan became quiet.
“How do you pluck the flower?” I looked at him curiously.
He slowly came back to reality and looked at the water, saying, “A symbiotic flower is an intelligent creature. It chooses its own host. The relations.h.i.+p between the two has yet to be verified. There are too many unexplainable phenomena in this world. From a scientific angle, a symbiotic flower is a rudimentary creature. It shouldn"t be capable of having intelligence, and yet it does. Different flowers carry different poisons on them. They can even protect their hosts."
“They"re that magical?! What should I do then?” I asked excitedly.