Fatty Kui was the first to break the silence, collapsing onto his rear with a wheeze. "I… I think I left half my soul back there…"
Han Yu wiped his forehead and gave him a weak grin. "Good. Maybe without it you'll talk less."
"Heartless!" Fatty Kui cried dramatically, clutching his chest as if the words had wounded him deeper than any blade.
But even Han Yu's attempt at humor couldn't hide the sharp edge of tension still lingering in the air.
After a minute of ragged breathing, he forced himself upright and stepped closer to the jagged edge where the corridor had fallen away. Dust still trickled down in faint streams, vanishing into a bottomless darkness.
He swallowed, peering over the lip. "Looks like an abyss…"
Fatty Kui, who had crawled up beside him despite his protests of exhaustion, stared down wide-eyed. "How… how deep do you think it goes?" His voice trembled, as though even speaking the question might summon something from the darkness.
