Chapter Two: Unable to Bear Such Good Fortune

However, Lin Xiaobao knew this was not the time to be pondering such matters. He reached out to feel beneath the girl's nose; she seemed no longer to be breathing. Alarmed, he quickly grabbed her wrist while pressing his ear to the left side of her chest. Her pulse was faint, but he could still just barely make out the sound of her heartbeat. Lin Xiaobao immediately realized the gravity of the situation and crouched down, laying the girl across his knee. With intermittent force, he pressed on her back. With each fit of coughing, water gushed from her mouth and nose.

As his hand brushed the soft, smooth fabric of her gauze dress, Lin Xiaobao was convinced the girl hailed from a family of great wealth. Such a fine texture—he recalled feeling something similar only once before, when he had sneaked into the chamber of Miss Wang Yushan, the eldest daughter of the city’s richest man, during a storytelling session at their house the previous year.

Lin Xiaobao felt that the opportunity to change his fate had finally arrived. Perhaps today would be the turning point for him to leave the world of performing arts behind. Spurred by this thought, he redoubled his efforts to save the girl.

When the girl had finally expelled all the water she could, Ye Bufan turned her over to check again. Her heartbeat was still perilously weak.

What should he do? After a fierce inner struggle, Lin Xiaobao decided that, for the sake of his future happiness and to create a tale that would be sung for generations across Longxiang Continent, it would be a small price to sacrifice his first kiss in this world.

He fetched a smooth pebble to pillow her head, gently pinched her nose with his right hand, took a deep breath, and pressed his lips to hers, slowly breathing air into her mouth. Then, without delay, he locked his hands together and pressed several times on the girl's chest.

When Ye Bufan's palm met the girl's chest, the softness beneath his hand made Lin Xiaobao reluctant to let go. This sensation was a first for him—not only in this life but even counting his previous one.

Yes, best to give a few more compressions for assisted breathing! Lin Xiaobao reminded himself that all he was doing was in the service of saving a life.

He repeated these motions, though now every breath he delivered was followed by nearly ten compressions. Though his technique was far from textbook, Lin Xiaobao could not bring himself to remove his hand from that tender softness.

After all, having saved her life, she would surely devote herself to him in the future—he was merely taking a small advance, he reasoned. With such thoughts, Lin Xiaobao found the girl all the more beautiful, even in her unconscious state, and he threw himself into the rescue with increasing zeal. Especially during the compressions, if not for the fullness of her chest, her ribs might well have been broken.

Watching the soft curves beneath the white gauze shift shape with his pressing, Lin Xiaobao felt a wicked thrill rise within him. By now, the girl was breathing faintly again, so Lin Xiaobao took it upon himself to increase the compressions to fifteen for each breath.

Dreaming of a future where the girl would pledge herself to him, where they would live in perfect harmony, Lin Xiaobao breathed out once more and quickly pressed his hands to the girl's jade-like bosom to begin another round.

A soft cough escaped the girl, but it did not break Lin Xiaobao’s rapturous reverie. He continued his efforts, oblivious to the growing warmth beneath his palm.

“You…”

A sharp exclamation, like a thunderclap on a clear day, rang in Lin Xiaobao’s ears. Caught in the act, he sprang back like a startled rabbit, hands flying away from her at once.

Looking at the girl in shock, he barely had time to react before a rush of wind swept past his ears, followed by a ringing sound. He was sent flying sideways, his whole body trembling violently, as if his organs had shifted places.

Damn it! Isn’t this supposed to go by the script? After saving the damsel, shouldn’t she be weeping with gratitude, then pledging her life to him in eternal devotion?

Struggling to turn over, Lin Xiaobao found he hadn’t even the strength to stand. From the ground, he heard the girl’s unsteady footsteps approaching.

Turning, he saw that her gaze was not grateful in the slightest, but instead blazed with angry fire.

“What were you trying to do?” Though she could not yet practice martial arts, the force of her slap made it clear to Lin Xiaobao that she was a formidable fighter.

“I’m going to kill you—” she began, but before she could finish, she collapsed again in a faint.

Heaven hasn’t abandoned me! Heaven hasn’t abandoned me!

Grateful for his narrow escape, Lin Xiaobao broke out in a cold sweat. Ignoring the pain wracking his body, he forced himself up, only then realizing that he was clutching a bracelet of purple gold in his right hand—he had no idea what kind of material it was, and even with his experience, he could not identify it.

On the bracelet was engraved a shallow character: “Lin.”

Replaying the scene in his mind, Lin Xiaobao guessed that, as the girl had slapped him, he had reflexively grabbed her wrist and pulled off her bracelet. What an incredible coincidence…

The warmth of the girl’s hand still lingered in his palm, but Lin Xiaobao no longer had the courage to try rescuing her again. Clearly, people in this world did not understand the concept of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation; no matter how he explained, it would only seem like lechery. And once she woke again, he would never have a chance to explain himself anyway.

Especially in a world where the law was weak and might made right, the one with the stronger fist ruled.

He glanced at the purple bracelet in his hand, but lacked the courage to return it; instead, he tucked it into his clothes and hurried toward his home—he would just treat it as payment for saving her life.

Back at home, Lin Xiaobao collapsed onto his bed, still feeling his heart pounding in his chest. The pain brought on a wave of exhaustion, and he soon drifted off into a heavy sleep.

In his dreams, the duel between Dan Sage Mo Tianya and Array King Wu Hengdao reappeared, picking up where Lin Xiaobao’s unfinished story had left off.

The lofty Tianfeng Peak vanished into nothingness, leaving only swirling debris in its wake. Array King Wu Hengdao now wielded twelve array banners, each inscribed with countless intricate patterns Lin Xiaobao could not understand. As the banners fluttered, thunder and lightning raged, the heavens and earth transformed, and a colossal golden tiger materialized out of thin air. In the dream, Lin Xiaobao felt as if he were truly present, the invisible pressure from the banners nearly suffocating him, making his breath quicken even in his sleep.

Dan Sage Mo Tianya produced a pill of brilliant crimson, shrouded in flame, and the instant it appeared, the temperature of the space soared by dozens of degrees. Yet Lin Xiaobao felt no discomfort; instead, the scent of the pill filled his senses, refreshing his mind and body, even banishing the oppressive force of the banners.

With a simultaneous shout, the two men unleashed their power—the array banners and the flaming pill flew forth, and the space was instantly thrown into chaos. A gigantic fire dragon sprang from the pill, and as it lashed its tail, the very fabric of the array trembled. Countless energies and invisible forces intertwined, whipping up vortexes that shot out in every direction.