NOVEL WEB Vol. 1 - Ch. 354 - The Choice
There was no way HuMing could've predicted an earthquake would strike at this moment.
Natural disasters, human malice—who could've foreseen something so sudden?
He didn't care how treacherous the ground was beneath his feet. He pushed through brambles and uneven terrain, rushing straight toward the cave.
Stones and soil tumbled violently down the mountain. A single misstep could mean being buried alive.
"YunXi, please—don't let anything happen to you!"
Finally, he spotted the spot where he had left Han YunXi. At that same moment, she came dashing out of the cave.
When she saw HuMing, a flicker of relief flashed across her face. But it quickly shifted to panic as she ran toward him.
Her instincts weren't wrong—staying inside that cave might have meant being buried alive. But reality was more complex than theory.
Above the cave's entrance, a landslide was underway. Though the trees scattered along the slope slowed the collapse somewhat, the threat remained terrifyingly real. One look was enough to know: if that mass of debris came down on them, they'd be crushed to pulp—or buried alive on the spot.
HuMing waved frantically at Han YunXi, urging her back into the cave.
She opened her mouth to speak, but a massive boulder crashed down beside her. The shockwave knocked her flat to the ground.
Eyes wide with terror, she screamed at HuMing through the chaos:
"HuMing, go! Don't worry about me!"
Her face had gone pale as paper. She knew that if HuMing ran now, he still had a chance. His speed was enough to escape this hell.
That thought brought her a shred of comfort—at least HuMing would survive.
But HuMing didn't even seem to hear her. He charged toward her like a madman, dodging falling branches and ignoring the deadly slope above.
Ignoring her cries, he reached her, scooped her into his arms, and turned back toward the cave.
He was betting it all—their lives—on the chance the cave wouldn't collapse.
He'd just made it a few meters inside when the landslide slammed down on the mountainside with a thunderous roar, swallowing the ground in front of the cave and dragging everything—stone torii gate included—down the slope in a torrent.
The cave shook violently, stones and debris spraying inward. A sharp wind howled through the entrance. HuMing dove forward, shielding Han YunXi with his body.
Outside, rocks slammed down in rapid succession. The ground trembled as if the world itself were breaking.
Light vanished, swallowed by darkness. What remained was a pitch-black void, a silence broken only by the sound of falling stones.
Curled tightly in HuMing's arms, Han YunXi should have been terrified. But in this storm of chaos, she felt strangely at peace.
Once the tremors began to ease and the sounds from outside grew quieter, HuMing finally rose to his feet.
He brushed off dirt and debris, then pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, scanning the cave's interior.
Han YunXi gripped his hand tightly, refusing to move even an inch away.
"YunXi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. What about you? I saw so many rocks come flying in… Are you hurt?"
"Just a few small ones hit me. Nothing serious."
He turned the flashlight toward the entrance—it was completely blocked by earth and rock. Digging with bare hands would only invite more collapse… or worse, a living burial.
Behind him, Han YunXi asked softly, "Do we still have a way out?"
"Not right now. There's no signal. No one will know we're in here. And more importantly, those people out there are still hunting us. We're in no position to act right now." HuMing's voice was calm, but the situation was dire.
He hadn't faced something like this before.
For now, the only thing they could do was wait for rescue. Luckily, before he'd come here, he had arranged for the Gu family to send people to the village—on the pretext of a charity effort. If they noticed his absence, they'd start searching.
Until then, they had to conserve energy.
Han YunXi hung her head, silent. HuMing placed a hand on her head gently.
"Don't overthink it. We'll be okay."
"HuMing… I told you not to come. You could've escaped from where you were standing. Now we're both stuck here. If things go badly, we could both die." She sat down, her voice low and filled with guilt. "It's my fault. If I'd insisted harder, none of this would've happened. Even if I died here, if you had made it out, you could've taken care of my parents… your family… The Gu family waited so long for you to return, and now this…"
Her voice trembled. She blamed herself. If HuMing had been selfish, he'd be safe now.
Why did he go so far?
Of course she would've been terrified alone—but she never wanted him to throw himself into danger for her.
"I wouldn't have felt at ease leaving you here alone. But if we're together, at least I can try to protect you."
By her logic, he should've stayed away. Once the Gu family arrived, he could've sent someone to dig her out.
But he couldn't bear the thought of her alone, trapped in the dark.
Maybe once upon a time he'd have chosen differently—but not now.
He sat down beside her, leaning slightly in her direction.
She could feel his warmth, hear his breath. She lowered her head and whispered:
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said those things."
"It's okay, YunXi. I'm not mad. You were right, honestly. But I just couldn't leave you."
Han YunXi bit her lip. The weight in her chest finally began to lift.
In this desperate situation, at least… HuMing was still here.
She hadn't imagined this trip would end in disaster—but here they were.
She leaned against his shoulder. The tension in her muscles slowly began to ease.
Exhaustion surged through her like a tidal wave.
Her eyelids fluttered shut. Before long, she drifted into sleep.
HuMing sat in the darkness, silent, deep in thought.
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