The moonlight here is bright, which is why everyone feels secure traveling at night. The two of them, astride tall horses, looked exactly like a pair of sweethearts out for a leisurely ride. Zhou Ni remarked, "Brother Zhao, since the journey is dull, tell me about him on Earth. Don't worry, I'm not asking for his name. You and Sister Yun Yao are so secretive, you won't even tell me that much."

It had been a long time since I'd heard the address "Brother Zhao." Zhou Ni used to call me that all the time. Hearing it now felt like a lifetime ago. The reason I wouldn't invent a fake name for her was that I didn't want to create a real imaginary rival for myself. If we ever returned to Earth and Zhou Ni’s memory hadn't returned, and she happened to meet a man whose name I had made up, wouldn't I have lost both the battle and the prize?

"Alright," I said, "I'll tell you how you two first met."

In truth, Zhou Ni remembered most of their initial meeting quite well. Except for the man's appearance, she could recall many details. Yet, for some reason, she still wanted the "Brother Zhao" right here in front of her to recount the story from the beginning. "Mm, tell me more, be very detailed. Perhaps if you elaborate, it will spark more memories for me."

Seeing that Zhou Ni was no longer as gloomy as she had been recently made me extremely happy, so I spiced up the tale, retelling my heroic deeds with extra flair. Of course, for safety, I still dared not tell her that I was that great hero.

Listening, Zhou Ni whispered softly, "Did he really treat me that well? But why do I never feel his presence? It’s almost… as if the person you're describing is illusory, unlike you, Brother Zhao, who feels so real right here."

If I had heard Zhou Ni say that a while ago, I would have been overjoyed, as it meant I was starting to win against the boyfriend in her mind. But at this moment, I was sweating buckets, having no mind to focus on what she was saying.

"What's wrong? Brother Zhao?" Zhou Ni noticed my distress and questioned me.

"We... we seem to be lost," I said, looking around before finally admitting it sheepishly.

Zhou Ni exclaimed, "No way! Didn't you come this way during the day?"

"I did, but I was too caught up talking just now and didn't pay attention to the landmarks. Now... now I don't even know where we are."

"Ah!" Zhou Ni let out a sharp cry too. "Then what do we do? Let's turn back."

I glanced around. "Which way is back? We've probably circled around several times already."

Zhou Ni suddenly laughed. "Silly! There's the moon in the sky; can't we just move in the direction we see it?"

I praised her profusely. "Clever! I was just thinking we'd have to struggle to chop down a tree and read its rings to figure out the direction."

"Giddy-up!" Since we were lost, I dared not boast anymore. Finding the way was the priority; we had to speed up.

The thud-thud-thud of hooves shattered the quiet night. The two of us galloped across the grassy forest floor, reaching a downhill slope. I shouted toward the moon in the sky, "Giddy-up!" and charged down first.

Whoosh. The hooves seemed to land on something soft, like broken cotton. After four or five steps, the horse finally slowed to a stop. Then, the horse's body slowly began to shrink. The moonlight was bright, but only then did I see what lay below the slope. It was green grass, true, but this grass was growing on a marsh! The swamp had likely accumulated centuries of decaying leaves mixed with rainwater. Later, a thin layer of topsoil had settled on the debris, allowing the grass to grow. This was clearly a natural trap, just like the one I and Ma Xiaoda had set for the bandits—only theirs was an artificial design, while this one was nature's camouflage.

Is this the consequence of ill deeds rebounding? If I knew Qinggong (lightness skill), I could leap from the horse and escape this peril right now. But I didn't. If I had anti-gravity boots, I wouldn't need to worry, but I didn't have those either. The standing water had already covered my feet. I shouted loudly to Zhou Ni, who was still rushing down, "Stop! Danger ahead! Stop!"

Zhou Ni didn't understand, but hearing me cry danger, she immediately pulled the reins hard. These warhorses were well-trained; upon receiving the command, their front hooves braked sharply. However, the momentum from the fast descent could not be stopped. With a soft cry, Zhou Ni was thrown from the saddle, landing right in front of me with a plop. Now both of us had tumbled into the mire.

Sitting on the horse, my life wasn't immediately in danger. I reached out and pulled Zhou Ni from the sludge. She had fallen headfirst, so fortunately, she had closed her mouth in time, or a mouthful of mud would have choked her to death.

Zhou Ni spat out the foul mud and burst into loud tears. Most women are like this; when facing danger, crying is the first reaction. Although Zhou Ni had endured much hardship, her past memories were like phantoms to her now. Sometimes she felt she was less resilient than a child.

"Stop crying, Zhou Ni. We need to figure out how to get out quickly, or we'll both be buried in this swamp."

My words instantly snapped Zhou Ni back to reality. Her sobbing stopped abruptly, almost unnaturally so. She wiped the mud and water from her face and looked around. "Brother Zhao, the bank is too far. We can't jump across. What should we do?"

The horse beneath me had all four hooves trapped by the mire, resignedly accepting its slow descent. The mud was already up to its belly. Holding Zhou Ni, I surveyed our situation. Because we rushed down too fast, I was already in the central, deepest part of the swamp, seven or eight meters from the edge. Zhou Ni was flung out by inertia and also landed near the center due to the slope—this was a stroke of luck, as I wouldn't have been able to save her if she'd landed elsewhere.

"Strip!" I ordered Zhou Ni.

Zhou Ni jumped, startled. When she was in my arms, fear had masked any strange feeling, but my sudden command to undress made her think I was trying to take advantage of her in our final moments. "Brother Zhao, I know you're not that kind of person, don't scare me."

I realized my mistake. "You misunderstood. Of course, I'm not a bad guy! We strip, tie the clothes into a rope, and escape. Are we trying to sink and become fertilizer in this mud?"

"Ah," Zhou Ni blushed deeply. How could her mind drift to such things at a moment like this? Perhaps her own thoughts were rather vulgar. Still, wasn't stripping in front of him too much?

I placed Zhou Ni on the horse and then started taking off my own clothes. Since sitting made it hard to remove my trousers, I abandoned the idea of going completely bare. I drew the military knife from my waist and quickly cut my clothes into strips. Seeing Zhou Ni hesitating, I admonished her, "Miss Zhou, are you willing to die here to save face, or will you bravely show off your magnificent figure and walk out alive?"

Zhou Ni felt the sludge reaching her instep. She knew the situation was critical. To survive, and to find the boyfriend she had lost, she had to live. Furthermore, her mother and brother were still on Earth; she absolutely could not die here.

Strip! Zhou Ni forced herself. It wasn't like she was completely naked underneath; she still had other layers. She tore off her outer jacket and threw it to me. I swiftly cut it into strips, tied them together, then took off my leather shoes, tied them to one end of the cloth rope, surveyed the area, and threw the shoe toward a small tree on the bank.

Thwack. The shoe landed on the surface of the mire, but the length was completely insufficient—it was far too short. By now, the mud had reached our calves. The horse, seemingly sensing the danger, thrashed its head around restlessly, nearly throwing Zhou Ni off. I quickly stabilized Zhou Ni. "The length isn't enough. We need to strip more," I said.

Beneath her outer layer, Zhou Ni wore a white chemise, which was now stained black. But it was better than nothing. With this one layer, she didn't feel too embarrassed. However, if she removed it, she would only have her bandeau top left. Although she had worn the bra she brought from Gemini under her bandeau today, she couldn't bring herself to take it off in front of a man.

I finally stripped completely, leaving only my trousers—trousers I had brought from Earth and worn again after washing them from the bandit fight. People here didn't wear underwear, and I wasn't accustomed to that. I cut my trousers open with a swift stroke and tore them into strips to tie to the rope. Seeing Zhou Ni hesitate, realizing she was too shy to strip bare in front of me, I decided to sacrifice my modesty.

Thwack. The leather shoe finally caught onto the small tree. I tugged tentatively, but it pulled right back. The mud was already up to my knees. I silently prayed for divine help. After two failed attempts, I finally managed to secure the cloth rope to the tree.

"Go quickly! Pull the rope and get out!" I instructed Zhou Ni, who was also extremely tense. "You go first," she surprisingly offered.

I was touched. Even now, she was thinking about how difficult this was for me. I pushed her. "Don't be polite now. It's a matter of life and death. If you get out, you can come back to save me. Besides, who knows if I can hold on here?"

Zhou Ni knew there was no time to waste. She gripped the cloth rope, leaned low over the grass on the swamp surface, and pulled herself outward. After moving about two meters, before her feet had even cleared the horse's head, snap! The rope broke!

Damn it, the quality of these clothes is too poor! Zhou Ni lost her grip, and her body began to sink as the grass underneath gave way. I lunged out, grabbed her foot, and yanked hard backward, pulling her back onto the horse's saddle. However, these few strenuous pulls, combined with the mud now reaching the horse's head, caused the poor animal to struggle, and soon my own backside was submerged in the muddy water.

Zhou Ni clung to my chest, sobbing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault; I broke the lifeline rope."

I comforted her. "It's not your fault. The fabric of those clothes was too weak. We’ll buy new ones later."

Zhou Ni gave a bitter smile. "Buy new clothes? When? We don't even know if we'll make it out alive."

I reached into the mud and pulled out my other shoe, holding it up for Zhou Ni. "I still have one leather shoe. We have one more chance."

Zhou Ni hesitated. "But where's the rope?"

I quickly cut the horse's reins free with my knife, tied it to the shoe, and measured the distance. "Zhou Ni, the critical moment is here. This rope is still a bit short. You have to make a sacrifice. Don't worry, my intentions are pure; I won't look at you with ill intent at a time like this. I can even choose not to look."

Zhou Ni had no reason not to understand what I meant. The horse beneath us was struggling, its head already sinking into the mire. Both of our waists were submerged. At this point, Zhou Ni wouldn't hesitate any longer. She pulled off her chemise and handed it to me. "Don't use the knife to cut it; if it frays and breaks, we’ll have no hope left."

Zhou Ni was the most curvaceous among the women, much like Yun Yao; she wasn't from a wealthy family, and years of rural life had honed her exquisite figure. As she stripped the chemise, her pure white chest was dazzling in the moonlight. Her unusually full peaks seemed to tremble with excitement. My hands fumbled as I tied one sleeve to the rope. "Cutting it won't be enough!"

Zhou Ni reached up and undid her bandeau top. "Tie this on too."

"Ah!" I stared at the faint whiteness visible beneath the black bra and momentarily forgot to reach out and take the bandeau top. I had just promised not to look, yet here I was, breaking my word.

Zhou Ni was getting anxious, but the sight of my lustful eyes didn't repel her; instead, it brought a familiar, exciting feeling. She found her own boldness strange, yet suddenly she had an impulse to take off her bra as well and show it to him. Was she really that indecent?

"Hurry up! What's so interesting to look at? Isn't there still time to look after we escape?" Zhou Ni suddenly said to me—a statement so bold she couldn't believe she'd said it.

"Ah, oh," I snapped back to reality and hastily tied the bandeau top onto the line. After testing it, I sighed. "It's still not long enough."

"The knife!" Zhou Ni's voice was firm, brooking no argument. At this moment, she strongly resembled the stubborn, impulsive girl I first met in the countryside.

Zhou Ni took the knife from my hand, turned, and cut the legs off her outer trousers, throwing the garment to me. Then, without waiting for me to say anything, she sliced off the underpants beneath her outer layer and handed them over, leaving only a pair of white briefs. By now, even those briefs were stained black. Those briefs were also an Earth product; the local girls did not wear underwear.

After tying on these briefs, still warm from Zhou Ni's body, I threw the shoe out again. I felt too ashamed to state the result—it was still short by barely a meter, but that meter meant I couldn't hook the shoe onto the small tree.

Zhou Ni saw my distress and felt the urgency. She said, "Zhao Qian, do you value your life, or that utterly meaningless face? Besides, it's just the two of us here. As long as you don't say it and I don't say it, no one will ever know about this."

"Don't say any more, Zhou Ni. I understand," I replied, and with that, I slashed open the front of my own trousers. Thwack! Muddy water splashed up around my exposed organ. Ha, I had to admire my own vigor at this moment; I couldn't deny it.

Zhou Ni lowered her head in shame. She took the military knife from my hand, turned, first untying the black bra and handing it to me, then swiftly cutting off her own underwear and trembling as she passed it to my hand. Since our lower bodies were already submerged in the mire, and Zhou Ni was facing away from me, there wasn't too much awkwardness.