Fu Jingshu walked away quickly, and she chased after him just as urgently. They walked for an unknown distance before Ai Qi, her gaze fixed on the tall figure ahead, failed to notice the ground beneath her feet and tripped.
She fell straight onto her bottom.
She pouted aggrievedly, and when she looked up again, the figure seemed not to have heard her and hadn't stopped at all. Her eyes welled up with tears.
"Brother Fu..."
Fu Jingshu stopped.
Ai Qi tried to get up, but failed. Her legs felt weak and her body lacked strength. Perhaps it was the shock of nearly falling off the cliff earlier; she was still shaken.
"Brother Fu, give me a hand."
Fu Jingshu turned and walked towards her. Before Ai Qi could feel joy, she saw him pick up a stick from the ground.
Looking at the stick being handed to her, she pursed her lips and reached out to grasp it.
As soon as she stood up, the other end of the stick was released.
She naturally held the stick as a crutch.
"Brother Fu..."
Fu Jingshu frowned slightly, his eyes darkening as he looked at her, as if displeased. "Since when did you start calling me Brother Fu?"
Ai Qi was startled and murmured, "I called you that before, and you didn't object..."
She thought men would like this form of address.
Fu Jingshu let out a cold snort, his gaze fixed on the distant, layered mountain peaks. "You should go back. Don't follow me."
"Why?"
"The place I'm going is dangerous."
However, when Fu Jingshu spoke of danger, it was as casual as talking about eating, without a trace of fear or nervousness.
Ai Qi bit her lip. "No, I'm not leaving."
He frowned and looked at her.
Ai Qi seemed to know what he wanted to ask. Though her voice was soft, it was firm. "I'm not afraid. Even if it's dangerous, I won't leave. Brother Fu, Pretty Sister fell because of me. It's only right and proper that I can't abandon her."
"If I watched Pretty Sister get into trouble while I hid, what kind of person would I be?"
Fu Jingshu didn't bother arguing with her. "As you wish."
This meant he agreed!
Ai Qi couldn't help but smile, but quickly realized that this was not the time to smile and hurriedly suppressed her grin.
"Brother Fu, I remember where Pretty Sister fell. I'll take you there."
"Mmm."
Ai Qi tried to recall the place where she fell off the cliff very carefully, but in truth, she didn't remember it very clearly. She had been too panicked at the time.
As they walked, Fu Jingshu noticed something was wrong. "Do you actually remember?"
Ai Qi quickly nodded. "I remember, I remember!"
Fu Jingshu looked at her steadily. "When we reach the place, you will leave. If you follow me any further, and we encounter danger, I won't protect you."
Ai Qi was taken aback and subconsciously looked at him.
His expression was cold, his eyes dark, all conveying that his attitude was serious.
There was not a shred of pity for her!
She clutched the stick tightly, as if vowing, "I remember, I really remember. I'm very useful. Brother Fu, when we find Pretty Sister, you won't be able to manage alone. There will definitely be places where you'll need my help. I..."
"Enough, let's go."
Fu Jingshu's indifferent attitude indicated that, without a doubt, he would not accept her explanation.
If he wanted to drive her away, it meant she had to leave.
Ai Qi had no choice and feared annoying him by saying more, so she dared not speak further. She led him for nearly an hour before finally arriving at the scene.
The cliff here was steep. Apart from rocks and some dead branches, there was nothing else.
Only the biting cold wind blew in gusts, chilling them to the bone.
Ai Qi shivered and walked to the edge of the cliff, glancing down. The cliff was very high, and a sense of fear washed over her, causing her to quickly pull her head back.
"Brother Fu, what should we do?"
As the words fell, there was no reply. She looked at Fu Jingshu, who was surveying their surroundings, his gaze sharp, as if searching for something.
"Brother Fu?"
Fu Jingshu ignored her, his eyes sweeping over the surrounding trees, the mountainside, and the giant rocks, before settling on a patch of grass.
There, a faint path could be seen.
He walked towards it, and Ai Qi had no choice but to follow. When she saw the steep and rugged path, she was utterly surprised.
They had searched nearby after seeing Shen Qingqing fall, but they hadn't found a way down.
She mentioned this.
The cold air around Fu Jingshu intensified. "That's because you weren't paying attention."
Ai Qi froze, opening her mouth but not knowing how to explain.
He was right; they had indeed panicked at the time.
They felt that Shen Qingqing was surely dead from her fall, and they were worried about staying there longer, in case someone else fell, and ultimately worried about...
How they would explain it to Fu Jingshu when they returned.
"Brother Fu, are you blaming me?"
"Can't I blame you?" Fu Jingshu turned to look at her, his gaze cold and indifferent, with no trace of shared hardship in his eyes. "If you don't want to follow, leave. If you want to follow, speak less."
He made no effort to hide the hint of disgust in his brow.
Ai Qi was devastated and stumbled back a step.
So, he was angry with her.
Back when they fell into the water together and he was implicated by her, having to spend the night in a cave, he had never uttered a word of complaint. But now...
He was angry with her.
Indeed, only Pretty Sister was his weakness.
While she was lost in thought, she looked up and saw that figure had already walked far away. Ai Qi rushed to catch up.
The two of them followed this small path and finally reached the bottom of the cliff.
The bottom of the cliff was no different from the top, perhaps even more desolate. There were no signs of anyone falling, nor any traces of human presence.
Ai Qi was a little worried. "Brother Fu, Pretty Sister she..."
Fu Jingshu pursed his thin lips, his eyes still scanning their surroundings, trying to find that person. He remained expressionless, seeming to have little emotional fluctuation.
But Ai Qi knew that wasn't the case.
The dark aura that permeated his body made it almost difficult to breathe.
Fu Jingshu searched for a long time.
He searched almost the entire area, but he couldn't find Shen Qingqing. As the saying goes, if someone is alive, you see them; if they are dead, you see their body. Currently, whether alive or dead was unknown, which was distressing, but also a good thing.
It was better than seeing a corpse.
After searching for nearly another hour, and seeing that it was getting dark, visibility decreasing rapidly, they had to go back.
Ai Qi said softly, "Brother Fu, I know you're worried, but we have to go now."
It would be very dangerous here after dark.
What if wild beasts appeared...
She felt scared and couldn't help but inch closer to him. Just then, Fu Jingshu took a step forward, again widening the distance between them.
...Was he doing that intentionally?
Ai Qi didn't dare to ask, fearing a humiliating answer. "Brother Fu, we really have to go. If we don't return this late, others will worry. What if someone else comes out looking for us..."