Chapter 272 — Just Before Death
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Wei Zhao was left nearly speechless. With him right here, was there any way she could die?
Splash. The two hit the water. Shen Yushu had been screaming moments before and it took her a beat to register that seawater was already flooding into her mouth.
"Gurgle, gurgle..." Bubbles began rising from Shen Yushu's lips.
Wei Zhao wanted to reach out and clamp a hand over her mouth to stop her from yelling - any more and she would drown for real - but his arms were pinned fast by Shen Yushu, who clung to him like an octopus, leaving him unable to move a muscle.
In desperation, Wei Zhao could only seize her mouth with his own, pressing his lips against hers to block the water from rushing in.
Shen Yushu had been dazed before, so she had not even noticed the seawater pouring into her mouth. But now, with Wei Zhao's lips on hers, she did notice. She wanted to open her eyes wide to look at him, but the salt stung them shut.
Oh - so this was it? Before dying, Brother Arrow had granted her wish! She had just said she had never been in love, never had a boyfriend, never kissed anyone - and now she was about to die. And just like that, Brother Arrow had kissed her.
Shen Yushu felt her cheeks flush. Did that make Brother Arrow her boyfriend? Surely it counted - hadn't they already confessed their feelings to each other? She comforted herself with the thought: if this was how it ended, then so be it. At least she would be dying in a double suicide with Brother Arrow - all things considered, it was not a life wasted. Meanwhile, Wei Zhao was trying to pry Shen Yushu's arms loose from around him. The current was already swift, their waists and legs were bound together by the rope, and there was still Shen Yushu hanging off him - Wei Zhao had no way to swim at all.
In the brief time it took to struggle once, the current had already swept them far away.
At last Wei Zhao broke the surface with Shen Yushu in his arms, and all around them stretched nothing but open sea...
"Hah..." Wei Zhao uncovered Shen Yushu's mouth and drew a deep breath. Thank goodness he could hold his breath underwater for a long time; otherwise he would already be dead.
And Shen Yushu, held in his arms at that moment, had already passed out.
Wei Zhao reached down to his shoe and pulled out a blade, which he used to cut the rope binding their ankles together. As for the rope around their waists, he left it alone, keeping Shen Yushu lashed to his own body, so that carrying her would be a little safer.
The blade in his shoe was Wei Zhao's trump card. He had used it once before to blow out the tires on the two Yellow Rank experts of Li Ci's crew, and it had not been long before he needed it again.
He put the blade back into his shoe, narrowed his eyes, and studied the sun in the sky to judge his bearings. After a moment, Wei Zhao took a deep breath and swam with Shen Yushu toward his front left.
Swimming while carrying another person is exhausting work, but ever since Wei Zhao had cultivated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Anchor Art, he no longer felt fatigue; a single silent recitation of the mental formula would restore his vigor at once.
His most pressing concern now was to find a place to land and drain the water from Shen Yushu's belly; if too much time passed, her life would be in danger.