AUBTN -Chapter 180 Four Fall Off the Cliff

He abandoned all hope of saving himself and leapt, shadowing the direction in which Su Hewan was falling.

He had to hold onto her, even if it meant meeting death together.

“Commander!”

By the time the Jin Yi Wei and the Dongchang guards arrived at the cliff edge, it was already too late—they witnessed a scene that would be etched into their memories forever.

On Duanhun Cliff, only a few black-clad men trembled in fear, surrounded by the scent of blood.

Their commander, their supervising officer, and the two women who often joked with them—every one of them—had vanished into the swirling mists of a bottomless chasm.

All four had fallen off the cliff together.

Their fate was unknown.

Endless darkness and the sensation of weightlessness seemed intent on tearing the soul apart.

Yu Qing felt like a feather, helplessly tumbling in the howling wind.

The fear of death gripped her heart, making it impossible to breathe.

Just when she thought she was surely doomed, a pair of strong, powerful arms suddenly pulled her into a solid, warm embrace.

The familiar scent—it was Lu Yan.

“Lu Yan… you fool! Why did you jump after me? We’re all going to die!”

Tears escaped uncontrollably, mingling with the biting wind.

She clutched him tightly.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Lu Yan’s voice sounded low and hoarse in her ear.

He held her close, shielding her with all his strength.

She had never felt time stretch so painfully and yet pass so swiftly at once.

Just as Yu Qing feared they would be smashed to pieces, a deafening roar exploded in her ears, immediately followed by a piercing cold that engulfed them entirely.

Water!

They had fallen into the river!

The massive impact forced several mouthfuls of water down Yu Qing’s throat, but Lu Yan’s hold on her never loosened.

The icy water made her shiver violently; her survival instinct kicked in, propelling her to paddle desperately upwards.

“Splash—”

Finally, she broke the surface and gulped in fresh air.

“Lu Yan! Lu Yan!” she cried anxiously, scanning the water around her.

Not far away, she saw Lu Yan floating. She swam quickly to him and grabbed his arm.

“Lu Yan! Wake up!”

His eyes were closed, his face pale as paper, completely unresponsive.

Yu Qing’s heart sank. She checked his pulse—it was faint, but still beating.

She couldn’t waste a moment. Summoning every ounce of strength, she began dragging the much larger and heavier Lu Yan, inch by inch, toward the shore.

Her energy was draining rapidly; her limbs grew numb and heavy, nearly losing all sensation.

“Don’t give up! Yu Qing, hang on! He jumped for you—you have to save him!”

Gritting her teeth and fueled by sheer stubborn determination, she finally pulled Lu Yan onto the shore.

Once on solid ground, she collapsed, gasping for breath.

Once she regained her composure, she immediately checked his injuries.

When her hand touched Lu Yan’s back, a warm, sticky sensation met her fingers.

Blood.

His official uniform was soaked through, and a deep wound on his back, bone-deep, continued to bleed—likely from hitting submerged rocks during the fall.

Yu Qing’s heart ached so painfully she could barely breathe.

She looked around and realized they were in a valley that seemed like something out of a fairyland.

The towering cliffs rose into the clouds, completely isolating the valley from the outside world.

Within the valley, the grass was lush and green, wildflowers scattered everywhere, and a clear stream wound its way through, flowing into the deep pool where they had just fallen.

It was as beautiful as a dream, yet it was an inescapable cage.

First, she needed to stop the bleeding!

Yu Qing forced herself to calm down.

Although usually carefree and bold, at this moment she knew that this man’s life was literally in her hands.

Clumsily, she tore off a piece of her skirt and pressed it firmly against Lu Yan’s wound. Then she began searching nearby for any herbs that could help stop the bleeding.

She didn’t understand medicine, relying only on scattered knowledge she had picked up from stories in the past, blindly searching.

She chewed the herbs she collected, then carefully applied them to Lu Yan’s wound and tightly bandaged it with a strip of cloth.

By the time she finished, the first light of dawn was breaking on the horizon.

Lu Yan remained unconscious, his body cold from blood loss, and he had developed a high fever.

Yu Qing dragged him to a spot under a wind-sheltered cliff and hugged him tightly, hoping her meager body heat could keep him warm.

Seeing his bloodless face, tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably once again.

“Lu Yan, you big idiot… you have to wake up…”

She gently kissed his icy lips, her voice trembling with tears yet filled with unwavering determination: “Don’t worry, I will never let you die!”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the valley, downstream along the stream…

The icy river water sent a shock through Shen Jue, snapping him awake from his daze.

At the moment of the fall, he had caught up to Su Hewan and held her tightly in his arms.

In the end, he had used his own body as a cushion, absorbing the tremendous impact of falling into the pool.

“Wan Wan…”

Ignoring the searing pain throughout his body, he immediately searched the cold water for that familiar figure.

Not far away, Su Hewan floated on the surface, completely still.

Shen Jue’s heart tightened. Frantically, he swam over and pulled her into his arms.

Fortunately, she was still breathing.

He dared not waste a moment and dragged her toward the shore.

Once on land, he urgently checked her condition.

When his hand touched Su Hewan’s back, his fingertips met something warm and sticky.

Blood.

Shen Jue’s pupils constricted sharply. Carefully, he turned her over, only to see that the fabric on the back of her right shoulder had been torn open, revealing twisted flesh beneath. A deep wound, down to the bone, was bleeding heavily—a clear injury from sharp rocks or branches during the fall.

He scooped Su Hewan into his arms and frantically searched for a safe place to shelter.

Finally, beneath a cliff draped in vines, he discovered a dry, hidden cave.

Gently laying her on a bed of soft, dry grass, Shen Jue gazed at her increasingly pale face from blood loss.

He knew he had to treat the wound immediately.

“Wan Wan… wake up…” he whispered.

Su Hewan let out a pained groan and slowly opened her eyes.

Her vision cleared gradually, and the first thing she saw was Shen Jue’s face, etched with anxiety and worry.

“Shen Jue…” she whispered weakly.

“Are… we… alive?”

“Yes, we’re alive. Both of us,” Shen Jue said, holding her icy hand, his voice hoarse.

“Your injury is severe. I have to treat it immediately.”

Only then did Su Hewan feel the tearing pain radiating from her back. She shifted slightly, drawing in a sharp breath from the agony.

Shen Jue said in a low voice, “Don’t move. The wound is on your shoulder blade. I need to loosen your clothes to apply medicine.”

His words made Su Hewan’s cheeks flush instantly.