True Friends Follow Through Dangerous Path

When Ping'an came to realization, she was hanging in midair. She landed with a jarring thud on a small tree on the side of the mountain. She felt a sharp, agonizing pain in her left rib, as if someone had stabbed her. She felt her right arm being pulled down strongly. She lowered her head, and Lee Dachin was hanging below, supported by her whip, his body dangling precariously.

Ping'an groaned in pain, and blood gushed out her mouth, staining her lips. "Hold on. Don't move, Dachin. If you are afraid of heights, please don't look down." She still grasped the whip tightly and slowly moved her right leg onto the small tree, bracing herself. She was able to pull herself into a sitting position on the branch. Then she pulled Lee Dachin up onto the tree beside her. The two friends were now sitting precariously on the small tree on the side of the mountain. She looked around, and there were hundreds of small trees growing on the mountainside, dotting the sheer face of the cliff.

"How are you doing?" Lee Dachin asked, his voice strained with worries.

Ping'an wiped the blood off her lips. "I'm fine. How about you?"

"I think I either broke my arm or my arm was dislocated," Lee Dachin admitted, wincing. "I couldn't move. We were lucky that there were many trees planted on the mountainside. These trees prevented us from falling to our deaths."

"As soon as we get up, Baiyu will take a look at it," Ping'an reassured him. Just then, she heard Guo Baiyu calling her name from above.

She shouted back, "Baiyu! Down here! We are okay!"

"Dachin!" Fang Yaoting's desperate shout echoed down to them.

"He is okay!" Ping'an shouted back, then began to cough violently, spitting more blood. "Dachin, he is very worried about you. Are you still mad at him?"

"Are you alright?" Lee Dachin asked, ignoring her question, his concern focused on her.

"I'm fine," Ping'an insisted.

"It will take a while for them to take us out of here," Lee Dachin observed.

"Let us chat," Ping'an urged. "You did not answer my question."

Lee Dachin nodded, recalling the previous night. "He admitted that he hired two women to make me jealous. Actually, it was my fault. I was the one who ended our relationship after us... you know. I realized that I was actually hurting myself. I have always admired talented men in the past, so everyone thinks I like men."

Ping'an suddenly laughed, a weak, but genuine sound.

Lee Dachin laughed softly and continued, "That's how I got the title 'The Beauty Lee Dachin.' Many rich people offered me money to sleep with them, which made the situation worse. I was labeled a cutsleeve without anyone asking me if I truly am."

"Because of these," Ping'an said, showing Lee Dachin her two distinct scars. "I was called the devil's child."

"I don't feel the same to another man as I feel to Yaoting," Lee Dachin confided, his voice soft. "This strange feeling is only towards him. Baiyu said everyone has courage in them; it's just a matter of when we decide to put our courage to use." He smiled at Ping'an, tears in his eyes. "I'm very happy to have a friend like you. A true friend, someone who is willing to jump off the cliff with me. All you had to do was let go of the rope, but you didn't."

Ping'an teased, "This whip is a special magic whip invented by the late Master Zhao. I will not let it fall off the cliff with you!"

The two friends continued to laugh and chat, finding solace in each other's presence amidst the danger.

An hour later, a woven vine, secured from above, fell next to them. Ping'an grabbed the vine and tied it securely to Lee Dachin's waist.

"You go first," Ping'an instructed. She shook the woven vine gently, and Lee Dachin was slowly pulled up, ascending towards the cliff edge.

After a while, the rope slid past Ping'an, now empty. She tied it securely around her waist, then shook the woven vine, and she was slowly pulled up. When she emerged from the edge of the cliff, Xiao Dan was there and pulled her up, her white fox form now human again. The two men, Zhao Renshu and Guo Baiyu, rushed over and hugged her tightly.

Ping'an grunted, "Ouch....don't hold me tightly. My entire body hurts!"

"Let us find a place to rest and heal the wound before we continue," Guo Baiyu said, his face etched with concern.

Zhao Renshu grabbed Ping'an's hand, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I have something special to show you!" The two ran to the carriage, and Zhao Renshu took the baby wrapped in a blanket and showed him to Ping'an. "The spirit of our pursuit leads us to him. Can we keep him?"

"Do you want to keep him?" Ping'an asked, looking at the tiny infant.

"Even if this child is not our own child, we can teach him to be a worthy person," Guo Baiyu said, his voice soft.

"Like me," Zhao Renshu chimed in. "I was picked up by my master when I was young."

"When we go out hunting, who will take care of him?" Ping'an asked, ever practical.

Lee Dachin quickly replied, his face lighting up, "I will! He will be my first student!"

Fang Yaoting smiled, a genuine smile replacing his earlier coldness. "I will teach him all my swordsmanship skills."

Lee Dachin looked at Ping'an. "Give him a name," he suggested.

"Me?" Ping'an asked, surprised.

Guo Baiyu smiled. "Yes. Unless you're going to have Renshu name him."

"No offense, but I think you are a better choice than Renshu," Fang Yaoting added, teasing Zhao Renshu.

"Hey, I will name the next child!" Zhao Renshu protested, feigning annoyance.

"Shanquan," Ping'an said, a name coming to her.

"Shanquan, mountain spring," Guo Baiyu repeated, a smile spreading across his face. "I like that."

"You hear that, Xiao Shanquan," Zhao Renshu said to the baby, gently tickling his chin. "You are our disciple."

When the group of friends reached a small temple, the sun was setting on the horizon, casting long shadows. There was a monk sweeping the leaves on the front stairs. Guo Baiyu got out of the carriage and talked with the monk, then returned to the carriage.

"The monk will talk with the lead monk," Guo Baiyu reported.

After a while, two monks came out of the temple, one older and one younger.

The elder monk walked towards the group of friends. He said, "We have a small wooden house on the side of the road from here. Everyone can spend the night there. Later, I will ask the disciples to send you your meals."

"No need. We have food," Guo Baiyu replied. He looked at Ping'an, a question in his eyes. "By the way, what do you feed a baby of two or three months old?"

The elder monk smiled gently. "We have soy powder. You could mix it with water." The elder monk turned to the younger monk. "I will have one of our disciples send the powder once everyone is settled down."

"Thank you," Guo Baiyu smiled, truly grateful.