A moment of stillness on the cliff edge was broken by the conspiratorial whispers of several kidnappers.
When their discussion concluded and they looked up again, the leader, dressed in black, declared righteously, "No! You must choose yourself!"
If her hands weren't bound, Shen Jianxi would have truly wanted to cover her face. It was too embarrassing!
"Why?" Qin Lang, playing along perfectly, posed the question.
"Because... because... because..." The man in black couldn't think of an excuse and stood there, scratching his chin incessantly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Seeing his expression, Shen Jianxi knew something bad was about to happen!
As expected, the next moment she heard the man shout, "Killing you would be too easy! I want you to watch the one you love die before your eyes, to make your life worse than death!"
Shen Jianxi: ...She didn't know what to say. Her feelings were complicated.
It was her fault for not considering intelligence when looking for actors.
With the black-robed man's words, even Qin Lang didn't know what to say.
He felt a bit awkward even trying to continue the act.
Everyone fell into silence, broken only by the calls of passing birds.
"How about..." Shen Jianxi couldn't help but break the awkward silence, swinging her bound hands in the air, "...you let me down first?"
"Being tied up is quite painful," she added, with a hint of shyness, her lips curling into a bashful smile.
Hearing their employer's words, the black-robed man seemed to snap back to reality, and he continued his performance, "Shut up! This is no place for you to speak!" Su Dan Novel Network.
After delivering this line, he secretly praised himself. This emotion, this expression, who else could do it as well as him!
However, when he happily emerged from his fantasy, he found that no one was paying him any attention.
A subordinate standing nearby couldn't bear it any longer. He stepped forward, leaned close to the leader's ear, and whispered, "Brother, I think Qin Lang has seen through it."
"How is that possible!" The black-robed man instinctively denied it. Turning his head, he met Shen Jianxi's speechless gaze.
He looked at his employer, then at Qin Lang, and finally at his subordinate, muttering with lingering disbelief, "No, it can't be..."
But his lingering hope was extinguished the moment his gaze fell upon Qin Lang's half-smile.
"So, can you let Qin's wife down now?"
With a sudden *swish*, a sharp sword was drawn, pointing directly at the kidnappers.
The gleaming blade emitted a cold radiance, its killing intent causing the fake kidnappers to freeze, cold sweat trickling down their spines. They scrambled forward, carefully lowering the woman, not daring to delay.
"Come here," Qin Lang's voice was flat, devoid of emotion.
Shen Jianxi hesitated for a moment, then took small steps towards him.
At that very instant, disaster struck!
A strong gust of wind suddenly swept across the cliff. The black-robed man's cloak was blown open and was about to fly over the edge.
The black-robed man was originally a poor beggar. This was the first time he had worn clothes made of such comfortable material. He had planned to take it back to wear or sell for money after the performance. Seeing his prize about to fly away, his expression changed drastically, and he lunged forward.
Fortunately, the cloak didn't fly far. Combined with his swift movements, he easily caught it. However, the black-robed man's excessive motion and his complete focus on the cloak caused him to accidentally bump into Shen Jianxi, who was preparing to return.
Shen Jianxi felt a tremendous push and then, losing her balance, tumbled backward.
"Xixi / Madam!"
Amidst the two men's anxious and horrified shouts, she felt a sense of weightlessness as she fell.
The black-robed man stared in disbelief at what he had done, his mouth agape in fear. He pointed at himself, then at the cliff, unable to articulate his words, "I, I, I, I, she, she, she, she, she..."
Just as he thought his end was near, two figures flashed past. The two men who had been standing on the cliff jumped down as well.
The black-robed man and his subordinate quickly crawled to the edge of the cliff and peered down. Even with their eyes wide open, they could only see a patch of white mist.
"Boss." The subordinate licked his chapped lips, swallowed hard, and looked at the black-robed man dazedly. "Is there treasure down there?"
The black-robed man: "..."
As for falling off the cliff, Shen Jianxi wasn't worried at all. She had a premonition that a pendant would prevent her from dying. Just as she was about to try and see if she could return, she saw two figures appear above her.
It was Xial and Qin Lang.
Sensing her danger, Xial no longer concealed his nature. His hands instantly became long and sharp. He leaped with incredible agility along the cliff face, covering more than ten meters with a single push.
Qin Lang, lacking such racial abilities, always found crevices for his sword to grip. Combined with his strength as a martial artist, he was momentarily as capable as Xial.
Soon, Xial caught her and, with a sweep to the right, landed on a tree growing on the sheer cliff face.
Seeing this, Qin Lang exerted force. The friction between his sword and the stone actually created sparks. The sword lodged in a crack, and using this leverage, he drew a whip from his waist and swung it around the tree trunk, swinging across.
Enduring yet another significant weight, the not-so-sturdy tree regrettably shed some leaves.