Minutes and seconds went by. Not fast nor slow but agonizing.
Their comrades had lessened with time, yet the number of those black-coated men appeared to have known no limits. Resignedly, Norman said, “Let’s go.”
The remnants of the sun had the color of the blood; the forests were dyed red on both sides, adding creepiness to the smell of blood in the air.
Mary breathed heavily, loosening the sword in her hand, asked, “To where are we going?”
The afterglow of the sun shone on her face had cast a blurry shadow on her, accentuating her agile figure. A single bit of blood-red not knowing when instilled between her eyebrows, embellished her blood-thirsty charisma.
It was already evening; she knew the dusk would not last long. Once twilight descends, it is time for the murderous ambush to fall in.
Their enemies’ power seemed to be endless; one army came after another; and then they were all defeated. Continuing the battle would only make them suffer losses.
Yet, there was not a single panic look in Norman’s eyes when encountering the current dangerous situation whereby their enemies outnumbered them. His long and feathery eyelashes tremored, his eyes were as calm and deep as a dry well.
Cold, faint light was reflected from his white jade mask when his body was shone by the twilight afterglow. His lips flapped, uttering two words, “Trust me.”
Just as he finished his words, he put his arm over Mary. Before them, a gapless human wall had been formed. After some considerations, he took a deep breath, hopped and lifted both of them upwards to the cliff behind them.
“Get them,” the black-coated men chased after Norman the moment seeing him escaping, yet no matter how fast they were, they could not get him.
Norman took a leap, engulfed by the abyss underneath him. The thick clouds swayed, vaguely revealing the seemingly bottomless pit of darkness and silence.
The wind, resembling blades, scratched the body, leaving painful sensation on the skin. Norman clasped Mary to his chest to minimize the injury she got. A fairly stout tree branch forked out from the cliff face caught his eyes.
Exerting himself from head to toe, he spun and changed his falling track, landing steadily on the branch without causing any further quiver on it.
Mary detached herself from Norman. Peeking what was underneath them, she startled. After regulating his breathes, Norman wrapped around Mary firmly with his arm and jumped down once again.
There was no guarantee of safety going down, but there was certainly no chance of survival staying on that branch.
“Hold tight,” Norman’s voice calmed the uneasiness in her heart, as if she was comforted by his spell.
Both of them fell towards the unknown depth, holding each other tightly. Feeling each other’s body temperature, their hearts were as clear as water.
They were the same kind of people.
The wind kept on blowing beside their ears, whizzing as if coming close to wear out Mary’s eardrums, but in regard to what would happen at the bottom, she did not have a single bit of fear.
It was because of what that person had said.
Trust me.
There might be a rocky beach with jagged rocks of grotesque shapes underneath, or a river with shallow sands and stones, or even a forest formed by crooked trees and shrubs.
Falling on any of these would cost their lives.
Yet, in an inexplicable way, she was able to gain peace in her mind.
Without knowing how long had passed, Mary realized an exponential increase in the wind speed. The sensation of descending slowly just now had disappeared all of a sudden and they were falling down with gravity at high speed.
She knew the person in front of her had lost all his energy and strength.
Mary hugged Norman tightly, not for any specific reason, but for what she thought that the possibility of two people surviving would definitely be higher than the possibility of only one. As if accepting their fate, she closed her eyes.
The sound of branches broken apart came into ears, followed by a whirling sensation. They landed strongly on the ground. The impact towards her chest made Mary fainted right away.
A long time had passed.
The sound of a gurgling brook woke Mary up. Upon opening her eyes, she realized she was lying on top of someone else, below her body. She can feel her heart pumping strongly, her eyes fell on Norman’s white jade mask as she started to lift herself up from him.
What kind of face was hidden under the mask of this demon-like human being?
Could it be unexpectedly stunning, or appalling instead?
Mary’s hand slowly approached Norman’s face. Her breath slowed down. As she was about to touch the brim of the mask, that pair of tightly-shut slimmed eyes opened almost instantaneously. Mary was shocked, and she withdrew her hand in a split second.
“Such a furtive behavior is not how a man with virtue should possess,” Norman’s silhouette spread across the empty valley like a clear spring.
Blush rose to her cheeks, feeling awkward but quickly regained herself, she turned her body over to get herself away from Norman’s. With an indifferent look, she said, “Since ancient times, women and villains are the ones hard to deal with. And I am that hard-to-deal-with woman, not a man with virtue.”
Glancing through their surrounding, they realized they had fallen into a valley. That valley was a hidden wonder, with a smoke-wreathed cold pond in front, and a graceful peach blossom ground behind.
What a magnificent view!
Mary stood up. Just as she was about to proceed to the pondside, she felt a pain on her heel all of a sudden, and her body lost energy. She collapsed like a kite with its string broken off.
A white shadow shot past and managed to catch her from falling onto the ground. Norman gently let her down, sitting on the ground.
“What happened to your leg?” Norman frowned, eyes fell on Mary’s heel. Blood dripped down to the ground, drop by drop from a wound resembling a blooming, flirtatious red plum.
Despite the mask covering his face, she can still tell from his slightly sagged eyes that he was frowning.
Not knowing why, she had a sudden impulse to smoothen those wrinkles between his eyebrows.