Madam Yu watched helplessly as Mu Yue Ran pulled Yuchuge over the cliff’s edge right before her eyes. A piercing shriek tore from her throat, as if her very sanity had plummeted with them.
She scrambled to the precipice, peering desperately downward. Only endless, churning waves met her gaze—no trace of sound or movement remained.
Despair hollowed her eyes. Like a salted fish relentlessly battered against the rocks, another chance for House of Yu’s glory had slipped away.
“Find them! Get down there!” she shrieked, clawing at a subordinate’s clothes, nearly hurling him over the edge too. The man staggered, gripping his uniform in panic. “Madam! It’s impossible! The waves are too violent! Jumping from here—” He bit back the truth—that Yuchuge was surely dead. One wrong word, and Madam Yu might toss him down to join her. Instead, he summoned locals to explain.
Their verdict was unanimous: survival was near-impossible. Bodies might wash ashore days later—if sharks hadn’t devoured them first, leaving only tattered cloth.
“Even strong swimmers get knocked unconscious by these waves,” one fisherman said. “Two girls? No chance. If luck spares them the first current, swimming ashore demands impossible stamina and lung capacity.”
The old butler sighed inwardly. The kidnapper might survive—if she hadn’t spent the afternoon playing hide-and-seek with House of Yu’s guards in the forest. But Yuchuge? He knew her frailty. Her daily walk from bed to dining room was her only exercise.
House of Yu’s young mistress was gone.
Yet Madam Yu refused to yield. Madness fueled her denial. “Search! Alive or dead—I want proof!”
The butler reluctantly deployed men to patrol the shore and comb the shallows by boat.
---
Below the cliff, Yuchuge drifted in the icy depths. Her arm lifted weakly, grasping at nothing before sinking again. She remembered clinging to Mu Yue Ran as they fell—so why was she alone now?
*Alone? Did the kidnapper survive? She must have.*
*Good… that’s good…*
*Did I help her, even like this?*
Light faded from her eyes. Her body and mind grew leaden, surrendering to the abyss.
Like star-crossed lovers in tragic tales, choosing death together felt romantic—a final, loyal embrace. Or like Shakespeare’s endings: one lovebird left earthbound, wings clipped by fate.
But this was no grand tragedy. Just a cheesy romance drama penned by a third-rate editor. No profound meaning. No poetic deaths.
*Nobody dies here.*
As darkness swallowed her, a flash of light pierced the gloom. A strong arm seized her wrist, yanking her upward.
Mu Yue Ran’s eyes—wide as saucers—locked onto Yuchuge’s lifeless face. *She didn’t hold her breath like I told her!* No time to waste.
Guilt flared in Mu Yue Ran’s mind as she cradled Yuchuge’s head. Her lips met Yuchuge’s softly, sealing out the seawater. Her tongue parted Yuchuge’s lips, breathing life into her.
*[Life Transfer activated. Monitor your vitals.]*
The System’s weary sigh echoed in her skull. Vitality drained from Mu Yue Ran’s body, visibly reviving Yuchuge. Her dull eyes flickered back to life.
The skill did exactly as named: siphon her life force to heal others. But after multiple body enhancements, Mu Yue Ran could spare it. *I can handle a few more rounds.*
Yuchuge felt gentle hands stitching her soul back together. Through blurred vision, Mu Yue Ran’s eyes filled her sight. The warmth on her lips drowned out the ocean’s chill, pulling her deeper into instinctive longing.
When Yuchuge’s tongue tentatively brushed hers, Mu Yue Ran nearly sobbed in relief. She poured another surge of life into her before breaking away, ignoring Yuchuge’s dazed, wanting gaze.
Mu Yue Ran hooked an arm around Yuchuge’s waist, kicking toward shore. Staying submerged was safer—for the raging surface currents, and to evade House of Yu’s search parties. She surfaced only to gasp air, then dove again to share breath and life essence.
Heart pounding, she dragged them ashore. Solid ground beneath their feet felt like rebirth.
Timing was perfect. House of Yu’s men were still reeling, shorelines unguarded. Still, Mu Yue Ran activated her remaining twenty minutes of *Presence Diminishment*, hoisting Yuchuge onto her back.
At the coastline’s end, outside a shuttered beach cabin, Ji Yueyi paced frantically. She slapped the hood of a waiting taxi. “Stay awake, Dad!”
Two drenched, staggering figures emerged from the gloom.
