MLIAM Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Survival – One Step Down Leads to Utter Destruction

Chapter 22: Survival – One Step Down Leads to Utter Destruction

A damp mist blanketed the dense forest. Raindrops drummed against the leaves, creating a hurried yet crisp sound. Yu Shuli’s heartbeat gradually synchronized with the rhythm.

His fingers pressed hard against a tree trunk, knuckles white, his mind racing with thoughts.

Why would Princess Jiangning deceive him? He had no grievances with Jiangning, unless she was acting under someone’s orders.

Whose orders could she be under?

Yu Shuli exhaled deeply.

The horse swished its tail, its hooves stamping erratically in the muddy water. Separated by the dense trees, it was agitated and uneasy, tormented by the dripping rain.

Yu Shuli stroked its back, soothingly saying, “Wait for me a little longer.”

He glanced back at the dense forest, and finally stepped inside.

Even though he didn’t believe it, even though he felt it was a conspiracy, he still wanted to go in and see.

What if?

Yu Shuli walked through the layers of dense mist, marking the path as he went.

The person who set the trap had put in the effort, guessing that the winding, rugged path might make him suspicious, so the thorns along the way had been artificially cut, leaving only a narrow path barely wide enough for one person to pass.

After passing through the tortuous thicket of thorns, Yu Shuli vaguely saw a temple.

He felt a momentary dizziness and then breathed a sigh of relief.

There was indeed a temple; Jiangning hadn’t lied to him.

It was a good thing he came.

Yu Shuli almost ran the rest of the way, shouting as he ran, “Wei Yan, where are you?”

There were no servants outside the Temple. It looked dilapidated and deserted, not like a temple at all.

Yu Shuli was suspicious. Could it be that the group had finished their execution and left him here alone?

Yu Shuli took a few steps forward, about to push open the dilapidated wooden door, when he suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness where his foot should have landed inside the threshold.

His foot didn’t land on solid ground!

Yu Shuli abruptly bit the tip of his tongue.

The illusion before him vanished, and everything snapped into sharp focus.

Where was any broken temple?!

This was a cliff!

Beneath his feet were jagged rocks. The cliff was bottomless. One step down would lead to utter destruction.

Fortunately, Yu Shuli reacted quickly and was agile enough to grab a vine on the side just as his body was halfway falling.

However, who knew that the vine would be slippery in the rain, and his grip didn’t hold.

As if misfortune never comes singly, the place where he had been straining to keep his balance also collapsed, and pebbles tumbled down, falling into the abyss along with the rain.

Even as his fingers dug frantically into the cliff face to slow his fall, his body was gradually forced downwards.

The more critical the moment, the calmer Yu Shuli became.

The thoughts that had been affected by the miasma earlier surged back to him.

He couldn’t fall. Falling meant certain death.

His fingernails were completely broken, revealing bone and flesh.

Fortunately, this self-inflicted pain brought a turning point to his desperate struggle for survival.

Yu Shuli looked down and just happened to see an exposed rock. If he fell skillfully and landed on that rock, he might save his life!

He fixed on the target and, as he fell, thrust one arm out. With a “crack,” Yu Shuli groaned.

His hand was probably broken now, but he managed to accurately latch onto the rock face.

Yu Shuli endured the pain, using his other good hand to cling to the rock face, relying on his excellent core strength and leg strength to climb onto the rock.

After resting for a while, Yu Shuli began to assess the situation.

All around him were cliffs and clouds. He had already fallen a considerable distance. He would only be saved if someone happened to pass by.

But this place was so desolate that the chances of someone passing by were slim.

All he had with him was a sword, a belt, and a suit of armor, all soaked, including his inner clothing.

Fortunately, he had two oil cakes in his pocket, soaked with water, which he had prepared in advance to give Wei Yan to stave off his hunger.

Yu Shuli consoled himself: The situation was bad, but not too bad.

He used dry branches and vines from the edge of the cliff to splint his broken arm. Then, he took off his armor and stacked it to use as a container to collect rainwater.

He divided the oil cakes into seven portions, deciding to use only one portion per day. The rainwater he collected wasn’t much, but it would be enough to last a few days.

He had passed the survival stage. Now, the most difficult moment was ahead.

To survive in this godforsaken place, where there was no one to call out to…

As dusk approached, the rain stopped, but the prolonged exposure to the rain, coupled with hypothermia, caused Yu Shuli to develop a high fever.

Luck didn’t favor him.

In the latter half of the night, half of his arm also swelled up. If he didn’t get treatment in time, that hand would be useless too.

In his delirium, Yu Shuli pulled out a completely rotten oil cake from under his leg and ate it forcefully.

Originally, these provisions and his plan were supposed to last him at least seven days, but given his current physical condition, his only chance to survive was to gamble.

He had to gamble that someone would come to the mountains tomorrow, and gamble that they would see his horse and be kind enough to enter the thorny forest to look for him.

Yu Shuli smiled bitterly. It all sounded like a fantasy.

The wound was swollen and inflamed, his high fever wouldn’t subside, and the carefully preserved food and water were meaningless.

He wouldn’t survive seven days.

Yu Shuli thought that if he died, his parents would be very sad.

But this was an accident, and in the end, no one would find Jiangning, the culprit.

He himself was stupid for rushing in like a reckless fool, even after discovering the clues.

His father was right. He was too lawless and arrogant.

He wasn’t familiar with the terrain of The Capital City, nor was he familiar with the people of The Capital City, and he acted with nothing but courage.

And this The Capital City was far too deep. If he didn’t become more careful, he would die without a burial place sooner or later.

Now, Yu Shuli, who had already stepped into the gates of hell, lifted his eyelids, looked at the silent night sky, and listened to the whistling wind, pouring out all the rainwater in his armor.

He slowly avoided his injured arm and put on the armor.

The temperature that had been lost from his body gradually returned. Yu Shuli seemed to see a picture of himself lying in a coffin, hearing his parents crying in his ears.

Maybe it was another hallucination.

Because he hadn’t seen Wei Yan there.

If he died, Wei Yan would definitely come.

Speaking of which, he was dying for him.

Thinking this, Yu Shuli fell into a daze, leaving a question in his mind.

Would Wei Yan… also be sad?

As dawn approached, a series of hurried hoofbeats grew louder and louder, waking Yu Shuli, who was already sleeping restlessly.

His forehead was burning hot, and his throat could barely make a sound. Yu Shuli regretted pouring out the rainwater and putting on the armor; otherwise, he could have had a drink to moisten his throat.

Even dying was undignified…

The hoofbeats were very regular. Yu Shuli thought that the official road was nearby, so maybe they were merchants passing by.

Unfortunately, merchants valued profit and wouldn’t be interested in his warhorse, let alone waste time coming in to rescue him.

Yu Shuli was about to fall asleep again, but he tried hard to hold on.

Because he knew that if he fell asleep this time, he might not wake up. But drowsiness and fatigue finally overwhelmed him.

As the morning light dawned, a robust and anxious voice echoed at the edge of the cliff: “Quick! Save him!”