Raindrops pierced through the leaves, striking the muddy ground of the forest and quickly creating a puddle at the mouth of the tree hollow.
The sky was dim, and the evening wind howled.
Qin Yu felt the cold, damp clothes on her body stripping away all her warmth.
“It’s so cold…” Qin Yu sat at the entrance of the hollow, her face buried between her knees as she curled into a ball.
Her body, however, would not stop shivering.
“I need to start a fire…” Qin Yu said as she walked out of the tree hollow.
She used magic to manipulate a pile of wet soil, leveling it out inside the hollow, and then gathered some fallen branches to toss onto the dirt.
This way, Qin Yu could light the wood without worrying about the tree hollow catching fire.
Qin Yu looked up toward the top of the hollow.
It was pitch black, and she had no idea how far it extended, but a faint, cool breeze blew down from above, suggesting there was another exit up there.
This meant Qin Yu wouldn’t have to worry about the smoke from the fire suffocating her and Luo Shangyu.
Qin Yu used magic to ignite the wood.
Soon, a cluster of flames rose, and the warm glow dispelled the dark chill.
Qin Yu dragged Luo Shangyu closer to the fire and removed her soaked outer coat.
Luo Shangyu’s complexion looked much better than before.
Her breathing had become deep and steady; she had likely fallen asleep.
Qin Yu stepped outside the hollow again, using magic to cut down several long, straight branches before bringing them back inside.
Following what she had seen on a survival show in the past, she built a simple wooden drying rack and placed it near the fire.
Immediately after, Qin Yu stripped off all her soaked clothing and hung them on the rack to dry.
She sat by the fire herself, enjoying the warmth.
As Qin Yu watched Luo Shangyu sleep, wicked thoughts began to surface.
“Last time, you were the one who bullied me…” Qin Yu muttered with a smirk as she pulled Luo Shangyu into her arms.
Her movements were incredibly gentle, for fear of waking the other woman.
Although Luo Shangyu was extremely weak, Qin Yu was afraid that if she woke up, something unpredictable might happen and interrupt her plan.
Qin Yu stared at Luo Shangyu’s face from a close distance.
She looked quiet and peaceful.
Despite a day of fleeing, Luo Shangyu still gave off a faint fragrance — it wasn’t strong, but rather a subtle, hazy scent that lingered in the air.
‘They say the reason I feel this way about Luo Shangyu is because…’ Qin Yu recalled an explanation she had seen in a short video back in the real world.
The video suggested it was because she had fallen for Luo Shangyu…
‘How could I possibly like her?’ Qin Yu felt a bit dazed.
She had been defeated and captured by Luo Shangyu, yet she didn’t hold a grudge.
Instead, she had developed feelings for her.
Was it admiration for the other woman’s strength, or… was it Stockholm syndrome?
Had her fear and hostility toward Luo Shangyu gradually turned into affection and dependence?
Thinking of this, Qin Yu couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.
When she had first heard of Stockholm syndrome, she thought it was unbelievable, but now… she seemed to be deeply mired in it!
As this thought crossed her mind, the movements of Qin Yu’s hands slowed down.
Luo Shangyu, cradled in her arms, let out a long groan.
‘Is Luo Shangyu going to wake up?’ Qin Yu thought in surprise.
Qin Yu cupped Luo Shangyu’s head with her right hand while her left hand pressed against her lower abdomen.
“Mm… Where am I?” After the groan, Luo Shangyu opened her eyes and blinked in confusion.
“We’re in a tree hollow,” Qin Yu explained.
“I see… What happened…” Luo Shangyu’s eyes were still filled with a daze.
She tapped her head with her hand as if trying to recover her memories.
“Ah! I remember everything now.” Soon, Luo Shangyu nodded, “I’m okay.”
Seeing Luo Shangyu trying to force herself to sit up, Qin Yu applied a bit of pressure with her left hand, pushing her back into her embrace.
“Don’t move. Your body is still very weak.”
“Your potion was very effective,” Luo Shangyu said with a smile, “That extremely pure life element not only healed my injuries but even replenished my physical strength. I’m not weak anymore.”
“You’re still an injured person; you need to rest!”
“Oh?” Luo Shangyu stared into Qin Yu’s clear blue eyes and revealed a meaningful smile.
“Do you really just want me to rest, or do you have a selfish motive?”
Seeing her plan to punish Luo Shangyu seen through, Qin Yu’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained a forced smile and replied, “I do not!”
Luo Shangyu reached out a finger, lightly trailing it across Qin Yu’s smooth chest.
“I don’t think so. I’m quite familiar with your every move. Your expression right now is unnatural — you’re clearly lying.”
Qin Yu felt the spot where Luo Shangyu’s finger passed turn burning hot.
Her face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head in silence.
“Afraid to speak?” Luo Shangyu gently pinched Qin Yu’s chin, forcing her to look up.
“Feeling guilty?”
The mirth in Luo Shangyu’s emerald-green eyes was hard to hide, which made Qin Yu even more embarrassed.
“Hehe,” Luo Shangyu chuckled, “You really don’t understand your own position! Look at what you’re wearing. If we really played rough, it’s hard to say who would be punishing whom!”
Qin Yu looked down at her exposed body with a troubled expression, “I just wanted to dry my clothes. I was going to help you take yours off, too, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet…”
“There’s no need for such trouble just to dry clothes.” Luo Shangyu sat up from Qin Yu’s arms and pulled out her staff.
As she waved her staff, the water in the clothes was instantly stripped away, condensing into droplets.
“Such incredible control over the water element!” Qin Yu joyfully felt the clothes.
They were warm and dry, just as if they had been dried in the sun.
Qin Yu put her clothes on, and Luo Shangyu also used magic to dry her own.
“This is much better!” Qin Yu sat by the fire after getting dressed.
Outside the hollow, the heavy rain continued.
Since it was a sudden autumn downpour, the weather had turned quite chilly.
Qin Yu’s current body was particularly sensitive to temperature, something she hadn’t experienced before.
Perhaps the cold air from the cold plains was moving south, or maybe it was just psychological, but Qin Yu felt it was as cold as early winter.
“Tell me, since that Lu Zhen is also a Seventh-rank Quasi-god, why is he able to chase us constantly without exhausting his magic?”
“Well…” Luo Shangyu pondered for a moment and replied, “He might have potions that can restore mana, allowing him to keep fighting indefinitely.”
“Can my life element potion substitute for that?”
“No.” Luo Shangyu shook her head.
“One person cannot bear too much life energy. Any more and it would be counterproductive.”
“So, since we don’t have supplies, we can’t fight a war of attrition. We have to end things quickly?”
“Exactly.” Luo Shangyu nodded, “We can only win with a single decisive strike. Otherwise, they’ll drag us down until we die.”
“Oh, right,” an idea struck Qin Yu.
“Why can’t you use Space Magic to teleport us away?”
“Heh…” Luo Shangyu scratched the back of her head awkwardly and said, “I planned to spend my life quietly farming and growing flowers. I never thought that I’d end up in a situation like this, so I never learned Space Teleportation Magic…”