SES Chapter 144 Part 2

Then she softened. “Be good, and when we get out, I’ll give you lotion and a manicure. Deal?”

Sweat poured down her back; her whole body trembled.

Halfway up, she made the mistake of looking down. Her vision swam, legs weak. She couldn’t even curse anymore. So she coaxed herself instead, her voice soft:

“If we fall, we both die. So let’s work together, okay?”

And somehow, that steadied her.

She climbed again, her sweat stinging her eyes. The cave narrowed toward the top, inverted like a funnel.

She was so close—just a few more meters—but she couldn’t go on.

She’d eaten nothing since she fell in. Her strength was gone.

Clinging to the wall, she panted heavily, her head spinning, ears ringing. The echo of her breath filled the hollow space.

The scene felt hauntingly familiar.

The damp air. The mold. The despair.

Then—like lightning flashing through her mind—Mu Dai froze, staring at the cave’s ceiling.

Cold stone. High above.

A chill spread through her chest.

Grains of sand began to fall past her face.

She remembered. The dream.

Without another thought, she threw herself sideways, pushing off the wall—right as something heavy fell past her.

Someone.

Maybe Luo Ren. Maybe not. But she couldn’t wait to confirm. A second too late and she’d lose the chance.

She timed it perfectly, slamming into the falling figure, gripping his clothes with one hand, and catching the opposite wall with the other.

Her hand slipped, their combined weight dragging her down fast. She kept one arm locked around him, bracing her legs against the wall for friction—anything to slow them.

And then—suddenly—light flared.

Their fall stopped.

The jolt hit her hard, flipping her upside down before strong arms caught her midair.

“Straighten your back,” said a voice. “Slowly.”

Luo Ren’s voice.

Mu Dai choked, tears filling her eyes. She grabbed his arm, breathing hard, straightening her back. Ten meters above the ground, maybe less.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

Luo Ren instinctively tensed. He wasn’t used to holding anyone close—it left his chest unguarded.

But this… this felt familiar.

“Mu Dai?” he asked.

He hadn’t even seen her face—just knew someone had slammed into him mid-fall and stopped his descent. Whoever it was, they’d saved him.

He took the moment’s reprieve to drive his knife deep into a crack in the stone. Sparks flew as the blade bit in and held.

He asked again, “Is it you, Mu Dai?”

She didn’t answer. Her mind was still blank, still reeling.

She hadn’t died. Not yet. And somehow, she was holding someone warm and alive.

She laughed through her tears.

Luo Ren tightened his grip, glancing toward the cave floor. His eyes adjusted slowly to the dark—it was still about ten meters down.

He kissed her forehead lightly. “There’s rope in my pack. Take it out, tie it to my waist, then you go first.”

Mu Dai didn’t move. She felt drained, hollow.

“Come on,” Luo Ren coaxed gently. “Be good, Mu Dai. Go first. This knife won’t hold much longer.”

Right. Not over yet.

She pulled herself together, fumbled open his backpack, and tugged out a coil of climbing rope. Luo Ren looped it around his waist and shoulder for leverage.

“Go,” he said.

Mu Dai slid down, using the rope rather than his strength, landing softly on the cave floor before collapsing, spent.

She blacked out for a minute or two.

When she opened her eyes again, Luo Ren was still above.

She blinked, then fished a small flashlight from her pocket, shining it up.

He squinted in the glare.

Mu Dai frowned. “Why aren’t you coming down?”

Luo Ren sighed. “As if I could. I’m not you—I can’t just climb walls.”

Oh. Right. He wasn’t built for that.

Mu Dai couldn’t help it—she burst out laughing, loud and breathless. The cold stone beneath her didn’t matter. Tears streamed down her face.

Luo Ren watched her carefully.

How long had she been trapped here?

Even professional cave explorers often brought psychiatrists—too much darkness and silence could break anyone’s mind.

He worried. “Mu Dai?”

She didn’t answer. After a while, she pushed herself up, flashlight in hand, sweeping the beam across the stone wall.

The lower wall had more cracks.

She backed up, panting, then sat down abruptly—her hand brushed something on the ground.

She said, “Hey, Luo Xiaodao, beg me. Beg me, and I’ll help you down.”

Luo Ren chuckled helplessly.

Then he said simply, “Please.”

No shame in that.

Mu Dai grinned widely. “Good. Then watch—Luo Xiaodao, I’ll make you a golden road to fortune.”

With a dramatic flourish, she flung open a red cloth pouch. Bright silver coins clattered across the cave floor.

She picked one up, kissed it, listened to its faint ring.

Then flicked it hard.

Clink! The coin wedged perfectly into a crack in the rock—half buried, half sticking out.

A foothold.

Another coin, another clink!—a meter below the first.

She lifted her head, eyes shining, meeting his gaze.

Luo Ren’s lips curled into a smile.

“Beautiful,” he murmured.