Ling Yue watched in silence as her Master applied acupressure to his injury. His usual calm demeanor was strained, and she could see the effort it took to suppress the pain. Her heart clenched with worry. No matter how confident he seemed, she knew the danger was real. She couldn't let him suffer alone.
With resolve, she grabbed the rope and, without another word, abseiled down into the death trap. The flare in her hand cast eerie shadows as she descended. What had caused her Master's injury? What hidden danger lay in the depths of this pit? The air had a metallic tang—blood, rust, and decay, a scent that made her stomach churn.
At the bottom, her keen eyes picked out the signs of something sinister: spikes at the base, drenched in fresh blood. She swung closer, waving the flare around as her gaze flicked from the gruesome scene to the skeletons wedged between the spikes. The discolored edges of the spikes screamed of poison. She scraped a small amount of blood from the spikes, placing it on a white cloth to analyze. She sniffed the sample, expecting the acrid stench of death; instead, a sickly sweetness filled her nose. Her brows furrowed. Poison that smelled pleasant? That was unsettling.
"This poison... must be native to this realm," she muttered, her mind working quickly. It was no ordinary trap; the remedy had to lie deeper within the cave.
After a quick check, she scaled back up, landing lightly in front of Shui Yi, who still seemed rattled by everything that had transpired. Her Master, in a meditative trance, seemed to be channeling his qi. Beads of sweat could be seen on his brow.
"Looks like it's up to me to explore, then," Ling Yue said, flashing the mermaid a grin. "Former princess, watch and learn. This is how you conquer an ancient cave."
With flair, she picked up a few pebbles, tossing them carelessly around the cave. The sound of creaking walls reverberated, followed by the tell-tale whoosh of darts flying past.
She took a mental note of the traps' placements, then somersaulted over the gap, dodging darts as she continued her swift movements.
A massive blade swung by, its edge gleaming with cold malice; a pendulum of death, rusted metal groaning as it cut through the air. She paused mid-step and timed the blade's swing. With a burst of agility, she leaped through the narrow gap, twisting in mid-air just as the blade whizzed past her, slicing the tip off her hair. She landed with perfect poise, her eyes flicking to the trimmed lock now drifting to the ground. She grinned, running a hand through the shortened strands. She needed a haircut anyway.
Another corridor appeared, but this one had poles sticking up from a pit. She dropped a pebble to test the depth, then raised an eyebrow, deciding it was bottomless. She thought of her Master carrying the mermaid before sighing. She better test these out herself.
With a burst of energy, she cartwheeled across the poles, tapping each one; some collapsed under her weight, and others remained standing. She noted the ones that had triggered traps and those that hadn't.
She ended up at a fork in the tunnel splitting into two. The wind howled, carrying a familiar sweet alluring scent. Where did that breeze come from? She sniffed the entrance of the split tunnels, but the breeze wasn't from there. She better not venture too far from her companions. She looked up and noticed a cluster of tiny blue herbs nestled within a crack. She scaled the walls to reach the herbs, her fingers tightening around the one she had scavenged before dropping back down to the ground. She crushed a leaf between her fingertips, releasing a strikingly familiar scent—sweet, with a faint undertone of zest. The antidote mimicked the poison's scent. She wrapped the herb up. Quest complete.
She hurried back and paused when a drop of water landed on her nose. She glanced up and saw a large lotus leaf overflowing with water. A devilish grin spread over her face.
***
Near the entrance, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Shui Yi clutched her sleeves, biting her lips. Then, the guardian's voice rang out, bold and brash.
"HAH! Take that, you filthy traps!"
Shui Yi flinched, her grip tightening on her sleeves. Long Fei, only shook his head, a knowing look in his eyes.
Moments later, the fierce warrior appeared at the entrance, covered in dirt and grime, yet beaming with pride. She strutted forward, a pile of strange contraptions in her arms.
"Behold," she declared, flinging the gadgets to the ground with a flourish. She kicked aside a rock and arranged the devices with great pride. "This, dear Master, is a perfect example of resourcefulness!"
Long Fei raised an eyebrow. "Look at you. You're a mess. You may have overestimated your abilities."
"Overestimated? Not at all." She pulled out a small herb and showed it to him. "Ta-da! This is the key ingredient to cure your poison. Am I the best, or what?" She beamed.
She took a mortar and pestle from her mystical satchel, crushed the herbs together, and handed the antidote to her Master. With a nod, he ingested it, immediately channeling his qi. His complexion slowly returned to normal.
She popped her head next to his, winking. "Well? A little pat for the hero?"
He smiled, patting her head in approval. "You've earned it."
The mermaid shuffled over, eyeing the gadgets warily. "What are those?"
Ling Yue grinned, flipping one over.
"This!" she said, practically bouncing with excitement, pointing to the sleek device. "The Rock-Splitter. Slip it under a pressure plate to deactivate it. And over here, the Echo Wand, for hearing traps too quiet for normal ears."
She then waved a set of little metal circles. "These are Trap-Baiters. They trigger the traps instead of you—precisely calibrated to set off pressure plates, tripwires, or dart mechanisms. Genius, right?"
The mermaid awkwardly caught one. "Really?"
Ling Yue nodded proudly. "Want to give it a whirl?"
The princess gaped at the contraption, unsure whether to be impressed or scared.
Long Fei examined the devices. "Ling Yue... did you set off all those traps just to collect these?"
"Pfft. Child's play. It was nothing. You should've seen me back there... slicing through tripwires, disarming pressure plates, dodging darts—I was born for this."
Shui Yi raised an eyebrow at her antics, but a flicker of admiration crossed her face. The danger aside, this guardian had somehow turned it into a game.
"You make it sound easy," she said incredulously, yet there was a spark of admiration in her gaze.
The resourceful one puffed out her chest. "You can thank me later. This is your first survival lesson: If you're stepping into unknown territory, send someone like me in first."
With a mischievous grin, she gave a twirl. "Now, who's ready to go deeper into the cave? There could be treasure, or an amazing adventure waiting!"