We chattered along with jokes, and as the sky rapidly darkened, only a short stretch of mountain path remained before the Sea of the Dead. We needed to quicken our pace if we were to reach tonight’s campsite before the night fully settled in.

Xiao Shu whistled softly as he strode ahead, appearing even more cheerful than before on the surface. I recalled the stories of heartbreak my elder sister had told, quietly trying to guess at Xiao Shu’s current state of mind. Yet, he kept turning back every so often, pointing out the marvelous scenery along the way, showing no trace of being overshadowed by any gloom.

As we walked, he suddenly halted, staring intently at a clump of weeds by the path. He moved cautiously to the side and used the sturdy branch he’d cut at the mountain’s base as a walking stick to gently poke through the undergrowth.

I quietly approached and bent down to peer into the mess of grass. There, nestled amongst the blades, was a spider the size of an egg, utterly motionless. Seeing its bulbous abdomen and thick, powerful legs sent an immediate chill down my scalp and made my vision momentarily blur.

“Not again…” I was about to complain when Xiao Shu nimbly spun around, reaching out to clamp a hand over my mouth. Then, he smoothly pulled his stick back, retreated step by careful step, and quietly backed away from the weeds.

After that, our progress became frantic; we both moved with a hurried pace, almost willing ourselves to fly. Based on what happened last night, if we were surrounded by hundreds of spiders on this mountain trail, in mere minutes we would be reduced to two skeletons burned clean by venom, collapsing long before we could ever reach the Sea of the Dead. Therefore, survival demanded we move at full speed now.

After covering perhaps a few hundred meters more, the shimmering surface of the Sea of the Dead was just starting to appear in scattered glints through the tangled branches of small trees and bushes. Our destination must be close now.

At that moment, a faint rustling sound began to emanate from the thickets lining both sides of the path. Xiao Shu scanned his surroundings, his brow furrowing slightly.

“Let’s run, something feels off,” I suggested.

“Yeah,” Xiao Shu agreed with a nod, lengthening his stride and breaking into a fast run.

Initially, we kept pace—he ran, and I ran; he walked, and I walked. But within five hundred meters, I began to struggle for breath. The intestinal Gu worms inside me seemed to decide to join the excitement, writhing violently and causing unbearable pain. Just then, the voice of the Hunchbacked Granny echoed in my ears: “Slow down, slow down, they need air.”

Helplessly, I reached out, grabbed the fabric of Xiao Shu’s tunic, and pulled him to a halt. Gasping, I managed to say, “I can’t keep this pace. Those things in my stomach are suffocating, and they’re twisting me up painfully.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! If you die, they die too.” Saying this, Xiao Shu shrugged off his backpack, shoved it into my hands, bent down, and suddenly hoisted me onto his back.

Being carried like that genuinely startled me. I hadn't expected him to be so strong; carrying me felt as effortless as Zhu Bajie carrying his bride, and he only seemed to quicken his pace the further we went.

To be hoisted onto the back of another grown man, one fully able-bodied, felt profoundly damaging to my pride. I considered struggling free, but then realized that would only make me seem more like a fussy little wife. A true man knows when to yield, especially since Xiao Shu wasn't trying to harm me, only trying to get us both out of danger quickly. If I stubbornly clung to my dignity, I would not only ignore his kindness but actively hold him back.

With that realization, I resigned myself to lying passively on Xiao Shu’s back, one hand clutching the backpack and the other looped around his shoulder, bouncing along and uncomfortably enjoying this—for a man—undignified arrangement.