Falling Dreams of Fang Hua ✔

Chapter 042

My brows furrowed, and I hastily opened the curtains to look outside, hands gripping the edge of the window. Fresh air mixed with hot, dense wind to assail my senses. My chest seethed, and a sense of disgust welled up within me. There was no one outside, and the quilt across the horse's back was splattered with tiny spots of blood.

The carriage was shaking violently now, and all I could hear was the sound of wheels crushing past stones mixed amidst thunderous hoofbeats. The scenery flew past us, branches occasionally scrabbling nosily against our vehicle. Startled by the fire dragon, the horse had his head bowed as he ran for his life. It was clear to see that the shock had frightened him out of his senses.

Straight in front of us was the edge of a cliff...

I gritted my teeth and reached for the reins whipping wildly in the wind. Just as my fingers were about to touch them...the carriage gave a heavy lurch and tilted to the left. Something seemed to be breaking apart. My eyes widened.

Curses! Someone had even sabotaged our ride...

"Shao'er, I think something's wrong with this carriage," someone spoke from within.

"That's right, it's about to fall to pieces."

Without anyone to control him, the horse ran past a bend in the road and kept rushing forward, dragging the shuddering carriage behind him straight over the cliff's edge...

I immediately turned towards the seated Han Zichuan and grabbed him by the arms. We burst through the carriage roof as I flew into the air, the wind whipping our robes.

"Where are we going?" Han Zichuan asked as I held him by the armpits, wind blowing his hair askew while he squinted at me. I ignored him, stepping lightly on air. He seemed as if he wanted to ask me more questions, but kept silent and held me tight instead.

This guy, he's so heavy...

Actually, I'd already regretted the moment I flew out of the carriage with him, so much that my intestines might've turned black and green. I didn't have much internal energy left, and here I was showing off. We hadn't even reached the top of the cliff before I ran out of qi. My foot slipped a few paces as my heart sank. One hand hastily reached out and grabbed an outcropping rock on the cliff face while the other carried the weight of a second person...a glance downwards revealed the carriage at the bottom of the cliff, utterly destroyed.

Our combined weights made it feel like my fingers were breaking.

"Shao'er..." he looked at me with a gentle smile. "Why aren't you letting me go?"

I choked on my silence as I held onto the rock in a death grip. Of course I wanted to let go, but for Fang Hua's sake, I couldn't just abandon you. The bottom of the cliff was a long ways down, but Han Zichuan kept smiling, though that smile...

...made me extremely uneasy. It was as if he'd come to some sort of decision.

My heart felt heavy as I tightened my grip on him, speaking in a tight voice. "Don't even think about moving around. I don't have enough strength to fish you back up if you drop."

He slowly smiled and reached out a hand to embrace me, those eyes shining like the light of shattered stars. Curses, I thought he was going to kill himself for my sake, but-hey, what's he doing with his hands like that...I...I really don't have any strength left!

My hand had stopped feeling sore and long turned numb, and blood was flowing down my wrist. The rock had cut into my flesh, but there was no pain as I raised my head, eyes searching. From here, I could see the light spilling over the edge of the cliff. Gritting my teeth, I summoned up all my reserves of internal energy and used brute strength to force my way up. My foot stepped on air as I leapt upwards, but before I could reach the top, qi burst into my chest and made me ill. It felt like my entire body was exploding from the inside. My vision blurred as everything grew hazy...