Chapter 145: Going with the Flow

Inside the cave, Li Sanjian stood tall and straight, dressed in a tight-fitting undergarment. The King of Wu sword hanging at his waist gave him an air of great majesty, though he also looked somewhat comical.

Stepping forward to Nong Zhigao’s skeletal remains, Li Sanjian bowed respectfully and said, "Senior, I shall address you as Senior. You are undoubtedly a peerless hero, born at an unfortunate time and lacking the twists of fate. Even in death, your desire for the grand ambition of restoring the state remains undimmed, an aspiration for which I hold the utmost admiration. However... however, Heaven is truly blind to let me arrive here first. I am merely a scholar, lacking even the strength to truss a chicken, and thus unable to fulfill your final wish. As the saying goes, fortune plays with mortals—alas! Oh, alas! Nevertheless, Senior, I shall lay you to rest here. Should I ever escape this plight, I will surely seek another auspicious location to bury you properly. If I ever encounter your descendants, I will do my utmost to care for them. Of this, Senior, you may rest assured. Moreover, I ask that your spirit in heaven protect us all so that we may escape."

Having spoken, Li Sanjian touched the esoteric book hidden inside his tunic, *The Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War by Guiguzi*.

Originally, Li Sanjian had intended to throw away *The Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War by Guiguzi*, as it seemed entirely useless to him at the moment. However, Cai Rongxue had insisted it was a wondrous book, and since it was such, it might prove useful in the future. Thus, Li Sanjian had kept it on his person.

Out of respect for the giver—considering that Nong Zhigao had presented him with both a wondrous book and a precious sword that could cut through iron like mud—Li Sanjian had uttered those words.

Moreover, Nong Zhigao had raised an army to revolt against the Song dynasty, initially beating the Song forces into disarray. For that sheer courage alone, Li Sanjian held deep admiration.

Yet, Nong Zhigao’s uprising against the Song was entirely akin to an egg striking a stone—a reckless overestimation of his own strength.

Those who launch rebellions and achieve great enterprises without exception possess the right timing, advantageous terrain, and the harmony of the people. Nong Zhigao possessed none of these. Consequently, in less than two years, the Song court completely annihilated Nong Zhigao’s rebel forces, and the short-lived state of Da Nan came to an abrupt end. And this occurred even in the Guangnan region, where Song rule was comparatively weak.

What Li Sanjian admired, however, was Nong Zhigao’s courage and daring—qualities he himself lacked, at least for the present.

Above all, Li Sanjian felt an extraordinary sense of guilt for having inadvertently scattered Nong Zhigao’s remains in disarray.

Standing nearby, Cai Rongxue found Li Sanjian’s speech exceedingly comical, yet given their current predicament, she could not manage a smile. Furthermore, Li Sanjian rambled on endlessly, prompting her to ask impatiently, "Are you finished yet? I... I..."

"What is it you wish to do?" Li Sanjian had already noticed Cai Rongxue’s unusual expression, her face flushing alternately red and white in an utterly unnatural manner. He promptly asked.

"I... I... Oh, just don't ask!" Cai Rongxue’s face turned crimson under his questioning, yet she refused to reveal the reason.

"If I don't ask, how can I know what you want to do?" Li Sanjian asked, spreading his hands.

Cai Rongxue was so anxious she wanted to stamp her feet, yet she dared not, wearing a hesitant expression of a thousand unsaid words.

"What on earth do you want? What harm is there in speaking of it?" Growing increasingly perplexed, Li Sanjian pressed further.

After Li Sanjian asked a third time, Cai Rongxue stammered in reply, "I... I... nature is calling!"

Her voice was barely louder than the buzz of a mosquito. Only by straining his ears did Li Sanjian catch her meaning. He instantly wanted to laugh, yet dared not, fearing it would cause her even greater embarrassment.

Fighting down his laughter with all his might, Li Sanjian said to her, "That... that thing... just find a dark corner and take care of it."

Ever since the two of them had fled from the bandit lair to this place, a day and a night had passed without either of them answering nature's call. Not only was Cai Rongxue in desperate straits, but Li Sanjian himself was in urgent need. Once Cai Rongxue took care of her business, he figured he could take the opportunity to relieve himself as well, Li Sanjian thought to himself.

"But... I... but I'm scared," Cai Rongxue said in a timid voice, glancing fearfully about her surroundings.

"You want me to accompany you?" Li Sanjian asked upon hearing this.

"Rest assured, I won't peek," he added.

If Li Sanjian hadn't spoken, it might have been better; his words only made Cai Rongxue even more bashful and mortified. Yet, finding herself in such acute discomfort, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod.

Had it been any other embarrassing matter, Cai Rongxue would rather have died than submit to this.

"Go on. I will turn my back to you, and you can give me a sign when you're done." Li Sanjian did not wish to prolong the conversation, fearing she might burst from holding it in any longer.

A day and a night—it truly had been hard on her, Li Sanjian thought inwardly.

"Go... go a bit deeper in... he... he is over there," Cai Rongxue said softly, pointing toward Nong Zhigao’s skeletal remains.

"Good, good, please lead the way, milady," Li Sanjian agreed without hesitation.

Really now, in times of emergency one must dispense with formalities. Why so many scruples? Was she truly afraid of a pile of dry bones? As if that skeleton could crawl over and peek at her! The more Li Sanjian thought about it, the funnier it seemed.

The two then walked deeper into the cave. Cai Rongxue finally found an ideal spot where the soil was relatively soft and sheltered on three sides by walls. At the sole entrance, Li Sanjian held the "bone torch" and stood "on guard" with his back turned...

Li Sanjian heard a rustling sound behind him, which made him exceptionally uncomfortable as his own patience wore thin. Yet he forced himself to endure, intending to relieve himself only after Cai Rongxue finished her task.

"Ah—" A moment later, Li Sanjian suddenly heard a sharp scream from Cai Rongxue behind him. At the same time, he felt the ground beneath his feet turn soft and begin to shake violently.

Not good, something's wrong! Sensing disaster, Li Sanjian abandoned all hesitation. He spun around to look and saw that a large section of the deep cave had collapsed, with dirt cascading downward in sheets. Cai Rongxue was swaying unsteadily on the crumbling ground. Simultaneously, both Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue heard the sound of a rushing torrent.

Yet, of all misfortunes, the greatest fortune was that Cai Rongxue’s skirt had not yet been undone...

"Careful! Take my hand!" Li Sanjian lunged forward with all his might, thrusting out his hand to tightly grip Cai Rongxue’s small hand in an attempt to pull her back.

Although he caught her in time, it proved futile. At that moment, a massive crash echoed from the cave floor as it collapsed entirely. With twin cries of alarm, both plunged downward.

With a resounding splash, they plummeted into a rushing torrent revealed by the collapsed ground.

The surging current swept Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue along, carrying them headlong down a long, winding tunnel.

The churning water pounded against the cave walls, creating a succession of deafening roars.

"Hold on tight! Don't let go!" Li Sanjian shouted at the top of his lungs to Cai Rongxue. Internally, he cursed his bitter luck, yet felt utterly helpless, as the swirling water offered nothing to push off against. Fortunately, there was nothing to grab onto; had the tunnel been lined with sharp rocks, wouldn't both of them have met an immediate doom?

However, this respite was only temporary.

Struggling desperately in the rushing current, Li Sanjian pulled Cai Rongxue close to his side, wrapping his left arm tightly around her while repeatedly reaching out with his right hand to grasp the vines along the cave wall. Yet his efforts were entirely in vain; whenever he managed to grab a vine, it snapped instantly under the force, doing nothing to check their descent.

The torrent roared with terrifying sound as it swept them plunging downward. Soon, a massive boulder appeared directly ahead, blocking the path of the current. Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue were hurtling straight toward it...

Borne along by the waves, they had no way to steer clear; it was beyond human power to avert.

At that critical juncture, the very instant before they slammed into the boulder, Li Sanjian drew the King of Wu sword from his waist and, with a fierce roar, thrust it directly into the rock.

The blade struck the stone with a piercing shriek, sending sparks flying in all directions. Li Sanjian felt his arm go instantly numb, nearly losing his grip on the hilt. At the same time, the razor-sharp King of Wu sword carved a deep gouge into the solid rock. Thanks only to the years he had spent conditioning his body and his decent arm strength, the sword did not fly from his hand.

To their immense fortune, the impact redirected the momentum of the floating pair, allowing them to glide past the side of the boulder and narrowly avert a gruesome tragedy.

What a fine sword! What a divine weapon! By this point, Li Sanjian had abandoned all other thoughts, leaving everything to the current and the will of heaven, resigning himself to fate... As they swept along, he brandished the longsword, constantly striking at the cave walls alongside the torrent to exert some control over their direction. Even as he slashed, he marveled at the sword: the King of Wu blade was truly miraculous. Though the arc of its bend against the solid rock had been extreme, it had not snapped, springing back into shape instantly while gouging deep trenches into the stone.

Had it been any other sword, it would likely have shattered long ago, or even rebounded to injure Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue.

Years later, when travelers eventually came to this cave and studied the sword marks on the walls, they would all assume them to be the work of some legendary master of extraordinary swordsmanship, lingering there to practice obsessively.

Of course, that is a story for another time and need not be told now!

"Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! This life is well lived!" Li Sanjian shouted aloud in the rushing rapids, leaving Cai Rongxue, who was clinging to him for dear life, utterly speechless.

Anyone else would have been screaming and weeping in terror, yet Li Sanjian seemed filled with boundless spirit. What on earth was going on in his mind?

However, Li Sanjian’s high spirits did not last long before the water current swept them toward a sheer precipice.

With a final cry of agony from Li Sanjian and a shriek from Cai Rongxue, the two plunged together into the deep water below the drop, which was some thirty feet high.

The fall from such a height, combined with the crashing water, instantly knocked both Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue unconscious, leaving them completely unresponsive.