Chapter 113 Annoying: "Why did you risk your life for me?"

He clearly heard Bai Yuan's voice, but all he could see was darkness. There was no Bai Yuan; the fragments about Bai Yuan were like illusions in a chaotic dream.

No, this is not a chaotic dream; this is Bai Yuan's past experiences.

Zhou Yaren suddenly gripped the umbrella that Bai Yuan had left behind, and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Bai Yuan."

The death announcement was made quietly.

“Innocent,” Zhou Yaren tried to ask, “you’re still here, aren’t you?”

However, at this moment, the Death Umbrella was like an ordinary dead object, and it did not resonate with him.

That's impossible. He clearly felt it, so why did he suddenly stop reacting?

"Innocent." Zhou Yaren refused to give up and called out several times, but there was still no response from the Death Umbrella.

He feared that all of this was merely a self-created illusion, a delusion born from a dying man before his meridians ruptured and became disordered, and a delusional thought born from self-deception.

"Injustice..." In his extreme anxiety, his severely injured internal organs churned violently.

Hearing the commotion, the teenagers pushed open the door and saw Ting Fengzhi suddenly vomit blood. Their faces paled, and they rushed forward, crying, "Ting Fengzhi..."

"Don't come any closer!" The instant the blood stained the umbrella of death, his senses suddenly resonated with it, and the extra images in his consciousness proved that it was not a dream or illusion. He was now fully conscious and felt it with perfect clarity.

Zhou Yaren leaned weakly against the bed, looking as if she was about to pass away, but her thin, blood-stained lips turned up in a smile.

His appearance was somewhat shocking to the other teenagers. They wondered what he was laughing at, how he could laugh, and how strangely eerie his laughter was.

Because of the wind-riding incident last night, Tingfengzhi's qi was disordered, which should have made it very easy for him to go astray. Li Liuyun was also afraid that he would go into qi deviation and was about to go up to check his pulse when Tingfengzhi refused.

Zhou Yaren spoke as if she couldn't catch her breath: "I'm fine."

But Lian Zhao, standing to the side, couldn't shake his unease: "Ting Fengzhi, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?"

The smile flashed across her lips, and Zhou Yaren, unable to support herself, lay down as if all her strength had given way. She held the umbrella handle under the covers with one hand, tucking it into her arm.

He laughed at the line, "Zhou Yaren, are you addicted to spying on others' private affairs?" That was Bai Yuan's tone, but after laughing, he felt incredibly heartbroken.

After exchanging glances, the teenagers silently withdrew so as not to disturb his rest.

Through a certain empathy, Zhou Yaren glimpsed Bai Yuan's past, those unspoken memories that were closely related to his past.

Even at this moment, Bai Yuan is still trying his best to cover up the truth. When he can no longer cover it up, he breaks it into pieces and leaks some unimportant scenes to confuse the public.

“Bai Yuan, between us, we’ve come this far together, seemingly in the same boat, but in reality, we’re only superficially united, each with our own agendas.” He sighed helplessly in his heart, perhaps his inner thoughts could also be conveyed to the Death Umbrella. “What exactly are you trying to hide? Is there something I can’t know? About A Zhaosu?” he asked. “Did you see He Yan again afterward?”

Perhaps his question would touch upon the sealed memories of the Death Umbrella, but the master had been on high alert and thus did not cause any disturbance. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yaren turned to ask He Yan, and before he could cover it up, a certain scene immediately unfolded in Zhou Yaren's mind.

This time, Bai Yuan appeared at the execution ground, surrounded by crowds of onlookers. She squeezed into the crowd and saw a token with the name "He Yan" written on it being pulled from behind the prisoner's neck by the executioner and thrown heavily to the ground.

The executioner's blade, raised high, was deflected by a pebble, and the innocent man managed to storm the execution ground in full view of everyone.

Upon seeing the newcomer, He Yan stared in astonishment: "How come you..."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Just as the soldiers swarmed in to block him, Bai Yuan lifted He Yan and leaped over the throng of people.

Soon, this scene was hastily covered up and replaced by an insignificant field.

Bai Yuan later not only met He Yan, but also intervened in human justice for He Yan without being summoned by the dead.

Countless images flashed through Zhou Yaren's mind as they unfolded and were then erased. He hastily caught a few scattered words from He Yan: "You dared to storm the execution ground? You really killed those bandits, huh?"

Why would you risk your life for me?

"We met by chance, I didn't expect you to come."

"Bai Yuan, do you like..."

He was told what he liked, but the scenes in the Death Umbrella changed so quickly that he couldn't listen any longer.

At that time, He Yan was clearly not as cunning as Zhou Yaren.

He Yan was upright, frank, and open-minded, which made him full of vigor and spirit.

Looking at herself, Zhou Yaren appeared to be polite and refined, but in reality, she was full of suspicion and calculation, even distrusting a passing dog.

But what could he do? He was framed and imprisoned. To survive, he went blind and had to fight for power in a cutthroat world. He was careful and cautious at every turn and never dared to trust anyone again.

People's hearts are hidden behind their skin. There are so many hypocritical faces in this world, who knows what kind of evil heart is hidden beneath a body of flesh and blood? He has learned the consequences of blindly trusting others. A slight misstep can lead to utter ruin, thus hardening his heart and mind, leaving it riddled with holes.

Otherwise, he would have died at least a hundred times over.

Over the years, he only dared to befriend Lu Bing, who was straightforward and without any guile, and Lu Bing was his only true and sincere friend.

Even with Lu Bing, he dared not fully open his heart and could not speak freely and without reservation. He was afraid of bringing disaster to Lu Bing, and even more afraid of harming the Lu family because of himself.

The times have sculpted him into the person he is today. He can never be like He Yan, who met Bai Yuan without any reservations from the very beginning.

Moreover, at that time, Bai Yuan was imprisoned in Taiyin/Dao Body, carrying the souls of countless wronged deaths. In addition, Bei Qu had caused so many deaths before and after, and he personally witnessed Bai Yuan taking shape in Sun Xiuniang's blood sacrifice.

Zhou Yaren imagined that if he were to start over, given his deeply suspicious nature, he would still fall into the cycle of suspicion and doubt once again.

He couldn't judge himself in this way, and an endless sadness and sorrow welled up in his heart.

Zhou Yaren knew herself very well. Her temperament was really not likable. If it weren't for the sincerity left by A Zhaosu or He Yan, would Bai Yuan still treat her this way?

From the moment they met at Taiyin/Daoti, Bai Yuan seemed to be using Lu Bing and others' lives to force him to submit, but in a critical moment, he saved Lu Bing from the mouth of Bi'an and pulled him out of the river and threw him to him. Not to mention that Bai Yuan helped him many times afterward...

Zhou Yaren suppressed these inappropriate thoughts and subconsciously asked, "Who wants to kill you?"

On his way to the ferry, he clearly heard Bai Yuan mention an old friend. He asked, "Is the person who killed you today the same person who once trapped you in the Taiyin/Dao Body?"

"Who exactly is that person, the innocent victim?"

A misty haze spread through his consciousness as he resonated with the Death Umbrella. In the haze, a blurry figure could be vaguely seen, and it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female. The haze then surged and turned into a thick white mass.

Zhou Yaren was trapped in this vast expanse of white snow, trying to decipher the meaning of "white injustice." The fog represented that she herself did not know, or was it a way of concealing something?

"A wrongful death." He desperately wanted to dispel the fog of mystery, perhaps he could start with that lonely grave. "How did A Zhaosu die?"

Suddenly, a storm surged in his mind, like the storm that had swept over Fengling last night, except that the clouds were accompanied by thunder and lightning.

The moment lightning ripped through the sky, the world suddenly became bright and clear, as white as day.

The lightning bolts were like giant whips, carrying the might of heaven, lashing down from the heavens to earth and striking a person.

This person was suspended by chains forged from cold iron beneath a boiling sea of ​​clouds, wearing a blood-stained garment of indistinguishable color, and was being subjected to the heavenly whip of lightning!

"You are a sinner!"

At the same moment, a thunderous judgment descended from the heavens, and the whips, transformed from lightning, lashed mercilessly at the dying man.

"Your sins are unforgivable, and you deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"Even death cannot atone for it!"

Zhou Yaren suddenly heard the judgment she had heard repeatedly in her nightmares, and it felt as if she had been struck by a whip and a bolt of lightning.

"Ah Zhaosu, your sins are unforgivable, you deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"Heaven has punished you for your sins. From this day forward, Azhaosu shall be banished from this land and never be allowed to return!"

Under the divine punishment whip, Zhou Yaren heard desperate cries of anguish: "No, Zhaosu—, Zhaosu!"

The moonlight on the horizon was as red as blood. Zhou Yaren suddenly trembled uncontrollably. He never expected to witness such a scene: "A Zhaosu, died by heavenly punishment?"

The silent reporter, finally enraged, shouted: "Let go!"

Zhou Yaren didn't care at all. His palm, which was gripping the death umbrella, was wet with blood and sweat. He asked urgently, "What crime did A Zhaosu commit?"

No one likes being spied on so blatantly. The Death Umbrella spoke sharply, "Zhou Yaren, I told you to let go!"

"A wrongful accusation..."

"open!"

He felt a tingling pain in his palm.

Zhou Yaren released his grip, and the empathy he had established with the Death Umbrella severed at that moment.

His emotions were churning so violently that his breathing became rapid and unsteady, and a metallic taste of blood rose in his stomach. Zhou Yaren raised his hand to press on his stomach, closed his eyes, and felt dizzy and disoriented. He had to calm himself down, and after a long period of breathing exercises, he finally managed to swallow the mouthful of blood that was churning in his lungs.

He knew that what he had done was too much, that he was taking advantage of someone's vulnerability to pry into their privacy, but he was too eager to know, and he wanted to ask Bai Yuan.

Did you go to Xianyang for A Zhaosu?

What crime did Azhaosu commit?

What kind of crime would warrant such punishment?

But he ultimately restrained himself and did not try to peek at the Death Umbrella, because doing so would be too annoying.

Zhou Yaren lay still for a long time, then half-opened her eyelids and faced the Death Umbrella beside her pillow, saying, "You said you've never been a human being, so what are you now?"

"Bai Yuan, may I ask about your injuries?"

"I promise I won't spy on you again. I just want to see your injuries."

"I just wanted to touch you briefly. I want to know how badly you're injured and what I can do for you."

After he finished speaking, he waited a moment, as if waiting for the other party's permission, before slowly reaching out his hand. His bloodied fingertips lightly touched the edge of the umbrella, and he immediately received the words: "Take care of yourself."

Before this, he had been trapped in the terror of Bai Yuan's massacre, his nerves on edge even when he fainted. Until this moment, when overwhelming exhaustion struck, Zhou Yaren finally felt relieved and completely passed out.

It turns out that when a person truly loses consciousness, all senses are completely disconnected, and they won't pester others by desperately trying to uncover the memories within the "death umbrella."

People were coming and going outside the guest room, their footsteps hurried. Someone urged, "Hurry up and get to the ferry."

What are you doing?

"I don't know what happened last night, all the merchant ships at the ferry capsized, and a lot of good stuff sank into the river. Didn't you see a lot of people running to the ferry? Let's hurry, maybe we can salvage some good stuff. Hurry up, or we won't be able to salvage anything."

The voices faded into the distance, and the commotion outside the door did not disturb the two injured people on the bed.

The Death Umbrella briefly regained its human form. At that time, they slept in the same bed, sharing the same quilt, their black hair tangled together, making it impossible to tell who was whose.

Zhou Yaren's fingertips always rested on the edge of the death umbrella, or beside Bai Yuan.