The well was deep, but once Gao Ming actually reached the water, it no longer felt quite so cold.
He forced his eyes open and saw the two shadow souls being torn apart by the bones embedded in the well walls. The scripture they had copied from Lord Tang's secret chamber fell from their grasp.
Gao Ming caught it without thinking. It did not feel like paper, but more like silk, and it struggled on its own as though it were alive.
Stuffing the copied scripture into his sleeve, Gao Ming felt his body growing numb and his breathing becoming harder. Only his heart kept beating, like a ball of fire.
This was still too much of a gamble...
The well connected to an underground river. Chunniang led Gao Ming through narrow caves, afraid to venture into the river's depths. She seemed fearful of encountering the River God and only dared search for an exit within the town's boundaries.
His consciousness grew hazy. Gao Ming could no longer tell whether the cold river water or Chunniang's body was wrapped around him. In his daze, he seemed to forget that this was a dream. Death descended without a sound.
Water flooded his nose and lungs. Gao Ming felt terribly cold, but even as he reached the limits of his endurance, his heart kept beating defiantly, as though it did not belong to him alone.
Blood-red tattoos quietly emerged. A Blood City rose upon the foundation of his flesh and bones, and it felt as though countless hands inside his heart were trying to seize his soul.
Chunniang watched the changes in Gao Ming's body with alarm and uncertainty. A tiny hole had been torn in the nightmare's barrier, and that opening lay within Gao Ming's heart.
Someone within the dream had