Chapter 38
The junior disciple’s shout shocked everyone.
They had always thought Wen Ying and Xu Tongtong were rivals.
So…
Was Fu Shuangxue the superfluous third party?!
Everyone rushed to the cliff, looking down.
For a moment, they forgot about the spectacle and were captivated by the beauty below.
Knowing the danger of the cliff, the disciples had never come close to it during their many visits to the mountain.
Only today did they discover—
Such beauty lay beneath the cliff!
Below the cliff was a vast sea of flowers. The flowers were of many varieties and vibrant colors. Influenced by spiritual energy, flowers from different seasons bloomed there year-round.
The many flowers weren’t chaotically grown; they were planted in a specific order. The precise arrangement by the gardener made the flower sea look like a colorful feather fan—beautiful, brilliant, captivating.
Did the elders plant them? Or… was it a miracle of nature?
If nature could create such a miracle, it shouldn’t be called nature, but the Creator God.
Wen Ying looked at the disciples who had completely forgotten what they were supposed to be doing, seeing the stars in their eyes.
It seemed Xu Tongtong wasn’t so foolish to admire the scenery by the cliff.
Wen Ying was also surprised to see this flower sea.
It was beautiful. Wen Ying remembered the last time she saw such a large flower sea was at a flower exhibition. It was truly beautiful. Especially in a cultivation setting, flowers from different seasons could bloom together, removing many limitations of Wen Ying’s previous world.
Beyond appreciation, Wen Ying felt a thrill.
This meant there must be someone at the bottom of the cliff.
Unlocking a new character? She liked it.
Jumping off the cliff had been the right choice.
“Everyone, stop looking at the scenery! Look at Senior Sister Xu! She’s stuck on a branch!” Among the crowd, a disciple was the first to regain his senses, shouting a warning.
It sounded like Lu Xiaojie.
Indeed, after his intelligence was reduced that day, he was still able to accurately settle accounts and remember so many things. It showed that his intelligence was relatively high among the disciples.
According to the cliff-jumping law: first, the protagonist always survives a cliff jump; second, a small tree on the cliff edge can hold countless people, but the branch will always break just as they’re about to be rescued.
Both laws applied to Xu Tongtong.
As soon as Xu Tongtong jumped, she got caught on a crooked tree by the cliff.
However, this law didn’t apply to Wen Ying, the second female lead.
So, Wen Ying simply landed softly.
After being pointed out by Lu Xiaojie, the disciples finally came to their senses.
“Junior Sister Xu? Junior Sister Xu?” A disciple called out twice.
Just as Xu Tongtong was about to look up, the branch holding her snapped with a “crack.”
According to the original plot, Fu Shuangxue should appear now.
Indeed, an anxious shout came from behind the crowd.
“Tongtong——!”
Fu Shuangxue quickly pushed through the crowd, reaching the edge of the cliff.
He stretched out his hand, reaching as far as possible: “Tongtong, grab my hand!”
“Senior Brother Fu…” Seeing Fu Shuangxue, Xu Tongtong’s eyes seemed to regain light and hope. She reached out to grab Fu Shuangxue’s…
“Crack—”
As expected, the small branch couldn’t bear the weight and broke just as their middle fingers touched.
“Ah——!” Xu Tongtong let out a familiar scream.
“Tongtong——!” Fu Shuangxue reached out, but only caught Xu Tongtong’s hair ribbon. He cried out in despair, and if others hadn’t stopped him, he might have jumped off the cliff.
“Why, why!” Fu Shuangxue pounded the ground, in unbearable pain.
“Senior Brother Fu, don’t… be too sad. It’s not your fault.”
In the crowd, some disciples tried to comfort Fu Shuangxue, but they hesitated.
Seeing Senior Brother Fu so heartbroken, how could they tell him that “Xu Tongtong jumped off the cliff to die with Wen Ying”?
“No, it’s all my fault… I didn’t protect Tongtong…”
Fu Shuangxue looked at the hand that hadn’t caught Xu Tongtong, clenching it tightly.
When he left the village, he had promised everyone he would protect Tongtong…
Fu Shuangxue closed his eyes in pain, repeatedly pounding his fist into the ground until blood welled up…
“Senior Brother Fu, don’t hurt yourself…”
Before the disciple finished, another “crack” was heard.
Something seemed to crack.
Was it another branch?
Everyone gathered by the cliff.
The cracking sound repeated, louder and louder.
But the branches… were completely broken…
“It’s the ground! It’s the cliff under our feet! It can’t bear our weight, and Senior Brother Fu hammered it so many times, the cliff is collapsing!!”
However, it was too late when the disciple shouted.
All the disciples on the cliff, those watching, those pounding the ground, those shouting in alarm—along with the cliff under their feet, fell down together!
“Aaah—”
Shouts rose from the valley.
Wen Ying: …
She thought Xu Tongtong jumping to save her was already absurd.
But now, something even more absurd had happened.
The cliff was knocked down by Fu Shuangxue.
Now, everyone had jumped off the cliff…
Wen Ying only discovered this after she jumped.
There was a reason the elders forbade disciples from approaching the cliff; it wasn’t simply dangerous.
The place where the disciples were standing wasn’t a cliff.
It was a viewing platform made of wood.
Over time, it had been covered with mountain soil and had grown plants similar to those on the mountain, even with vines climbing the sides.
This viewing platform was probably built to admire the flower sea below. But the builders weren’t from the Xun Xian Sect.
The architectural style… was similar to the ecological garden in the forbidden area.
The platform probably never expected to hold so many people one day.
It was already bearing more weight than it could handle, and then someone hammered it.
Truly, a weight beyond bearing…
Xu Tongtong didn’t die when she jumped; now that so many people had jumped, they didn’t die either.
Below the cliff was a large expanse of unusual soft mud; they weren’t just unharmed; they weren’t even scratched.
Wen Ying naturally didn’t want to land in the mud, so she had stood aside when she landed. Now the disciples were covered in mud, unable to even take care of themselves, let alone notice Wen Ying standing nearby.
At this moment, a simply dressed woman carrying a small flower basket happily walked over, humming a song, clearly in a good mood.
However, when she saw the pile of people in the mud, her expression changed.
“You—what have you done to my flower mud! You dare defile my precious flower mud!” The woman’s voice was shrill and terrifying. Her fingernails suddenly lengthened and sharpened, even slightly curved; her expression was ferocious, and behind her was the dark shadow of a terrifying beast!
The disciples, still emerging from the mud, trembled in fear, no longer caring about the mud on their bodies, huddling together.
This… thing in front of them… was far scarier than the one in the forbidden area!
At that moment, the woman caught sight of Wen Ying.
“Ah!” She suddenly screamed, her terrifying aura dissipating, her fingernails returning to their normal length.
She hurriedly covered her face and ran back the way she came.
Author’s Note:
Guess who she is! No prizes.