The pale white glow of the luminous pearls lit up the lotus pond like a white ocean. After two splashes, the tumult and ripples slowly subsided.
Hua Qingzhi had just been in the water. Her dress was already soaked, and her pinned-up hair had come loose, but she could spare no thought for any of that. She merely knelt at the edge of the lotus pond, staring at the bloodstained water.
"Young Master Ye?... Ye Jingtang?!..."
After the two figures fell from the air, they sank into the water without another sound. Hua Qingzhi knew no martial arts and had been unable to make out their exchange. Faced with this sudden deathly silence, her heart was consumed by fear and worry. After calling out several times, she gritted her teeth and started to slide into the water to search for Ye Jingtang.
Fortunately, the ever-reliable Young Master Ye did not simply leave her behind in these deep underground reaches.
Splash~
Just as Hua Qingzhi was about to enter the water, a figure suddenly burst out of the pond a short distance ahead, and a large hand caught the edge of the stone embankment.
"Ah!~"
Hua Qingzhi was so startled that she fell onto her backside. Once she recognized Ye Jingtang's hand, however, she nearly wept with joy. She hurriedly lunged forward, caught his wrist, and pulled upward.
"Heave~..."
But with her slight frame weighing less than a hundred jin, how could Hua Qingzhi possibly pull up the tall, powerfully built Ye Jingtang?
At the pond's edge, Ye Jingtang hooked one hand over the stone bricks and hauled himself up, lying forward in front of Hua Qingzhi's legs. He dropped the Son of Heaven Sword from his right hand onto the ground and took several breaths, panting like an ox.
"Hah...