Bai Zhi's hand was still resting on Chen Wuya's arm, her fingertips slightly cold. She had only just steadied herself when the dull ache in her abdomen faded away, like wind passing over water and leaving behind only a faint ripple.
Chen Wuya wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked toward the end of the passage. The stairs extended downward, and a ghostly blue glow seeped through cracks in the ice walls, like cold fire leaking up from the earth.
"Are we going or not?" Mo Feng crouched at the edge of the steps, rubbed a finger against the ice, then swiftly pulled it back. "There's something wrong with this ice. It didn't form naturally."
Chen Wuya did not answer. He took a step forward. His foot landed firmly; the stair neither collapsed nor slipped. He glanced back at Bai Zhi. "Stay close."
Bai Zhi nodded, withdrawing her hand from his arm and resting it on the flexible sword at her waist. The sapphire on its hilt brushed her palm. She did not look at the reliefs again, nor did she mention the fetal movement from earlier.
The three descended one after another. The stairway was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. The ice walls on either side grew thicker the farther down they went, their surfaces coated in grayish-white frost, as though something had been buried beneath it for years and had only now awakened.
After around thirty steps, the air grew even colder. Chen Wuya could see his breath, and the circulation of Misaligned Force within him slowed, as though something were dragging it down.
System Notification: Environmental anomaly detected. Misaligned Force circulation efficiency reduced by 15%.
He did not stop. Instead, he quickened his pace. The jade