Chapter 47: Escaping White Mountain (Part 2)

Kun Shang sucked in a breath at how simple but logical the explanation was. He quickly delivered her safety tips to everyone, especially telling Xiaogua to expand the water as fast as he can. Then put a current on it. When he finished speaking, he turned to Xiu'er and suddenly remembered something.

"Xiu'er, I know you can't swim so I was thinking if I should tie us together. That way I won't lose you in the water."

She held up a hand to stop him in his thoughts and said this time, she had things prepared to avoid this. There was no way she would be drowning again.

"How will you do that?" He tipped his chin with a hint of worriness in his eyes. "I don't want to be scolded by your brother again. Just listen to me--" He reached for her arm but she pulled it back before he could grab it.

"I'll be fine. I promise you. Here, let me talk to my brother." She hurriedly went to put her hands on the wall and spoke. "Brother, I'm going to use my hairpin!"

"That's fine with me!" was the only reply from her brother. He didn't even care about his sister's decision at all.

"See?" Xiu'er turned her head back to reassure the confused man.

"What does that even mean?" Kun Shang's eyebrows creased. How could an older brother trust his younger sister, who doesn't even know how to swim, to be fine all by herself at a time like this?

"Are we ready yet?" Silang yelled from the other side. "I'm hungry, too."

Xiu'er urged him not to ask any more questions and gave in haste to escaping the mountain first. He was still very worried about her and took hold of her arm tightly before she could move. He wasn't going to let her go until he was completely assured that she was safe.

You need to stop playing dangerous games. You will harm yourself someday. The words couldn't come out but he said it with his eyes.

"Kun Shang," Xiu'er whispered, her head was craned back in order to look up into his concerned eyes. Their bodies were closer than what a man and woman should be, their fronts almost touching. Her face was relaxed and reassuring. "Trust me, I will not let anything happen to A'Li."

Of course! Kun Shang suddenly realized that and relaxed his tension. She could do whatever she wanted with herself: play with fire, endanger herself to get a thrilling experience. But she had A'Li on her back. The one person she wanted to protect more than anything. Maybe she really did have something up her sleeve to prevent them from drowning. He'll just have to wait and see what it was. If anything else, he's a great swimmer too.

He finally gave in and released her arm.

"But I cannot create water out of thin air!" Xiaogua shouted from the other side.

Kun Shang put a hand on his waist. "The canteen. Use your canteen!"

Xiaogua was carrying a large canteen of water for everyone on the trip. He had it strapped around his waist and always remembered to refill it every time before leaving a lodging.

At the sound of readiness from all five, Xiaogua loosened his canteen from his waist and poured the water on the ground. The puddle rolled in different directions on the stone ground. Then, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest.

The water on the ground expanded and became more and more. It went from a puddle to a running stream until it was overflowing all the tunnels in the maze. The water rose at a very quick pace from the ankles to the waist in less than five seconds. Within a minute, it was rushing to get out at the base of the mountain. In less than seven minutes, six humans were spat out from a cave in the woods. The nearby grass and shrubs were flooded, and probably almost killed in the process.

Everyone struggled to get on their feet with their clothes completely drenched. They coughed and collected themselves. The sun was currently on its way to setting, painting a bright orange and purple color above them. They had been in there for the entire day.

Xiu'er stood up and put her hairpin back in her hair. Her clothes were noticeably dry, unlike the rest, with only the bottom of her outfit wet from the rushing water at her feet. She quickly ran to her brother and dug her fingers into his arms.

"I've found it!" She tried to keep her voice down as much as possible so the others wouldn't hear.

"What are you talking about?" Her brother thought his sister had gone crazy.

"The Celestial Illusion!" Her eyes were so large they almost popped out. A minute passed and she was expecting him to explode, but he didn't.

"Nuh uh…," he stopped breathing all together. His breath was caught in his mouth.

He was underreacting, and because of this, she was even more afraid. He searched her eyes for lies, but they were sparkling with excitement and truth.

"And you're telling me that now!?" He suddenly turned away from her and was going to head back into the cave. She grabbed his arm and pulled.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going back to get it. Duh!" He pointed at the cave and looked dumbfoundedly at her as if she was a moron.

"No! Are you stu--"

"Xiu'er, I thought I heard you yell something like, 'Xiao Lanlan'?" Kun Shang coughed as he was amazed to see her dry outfit.

"So?" She turned her head at him but not letting go of her brother. "I'm never telling--"

Xiaogua was on his knees, his hands holding onto his head as he was screaming. He was having a splitting headache, his entire face as red as the fabric used for traditional weddings. The inside of his head felt like it was clenched tight, while an enormous pressure was pounding against his skull.

They all rushed to surround him right before he fainted.