Human World (II)

He Shu couldn't hear clearly.

At this moment, his mind was in a mess, as if he was thrown into a boiling oil pot. He could not distinguish anything and could not understand anything.

The only thing she could feel was the hairpin in her sleeve that was getting hotter and hotter.

Hot and sharp, like a red-hot iron brand or a poisoned thorn.

It clung tightly to his skin, burning him to the point of making him tremble with fear, and prickling him to the point of making him panic, as if wanting to completely melt and devour him from head to toe.

He could hardly hold on.

Whether it was this scalding hairpin, the elixir within that could overturn fate, or the fragile future between him and Qingshan...

Everything was slipping rapidly through his trembling fingers.

He Shu thought dejectedly, despair entwined around his heart like a cold vine.

He was like a mad beast that was forced into a desperate situation. He had lost all rational guidance and could only run wildly based on instinct, one step deep and one step shallow, and suddenly plunged into the depths of the dark green forest.

No matter the direction or the appearance.

The sound of the wind whistling past his ears was mixed with his heartbeat as heavy as a drum.

The dense branches whipped at him, leaving burning scratches on his arms and cheeks. Every rapid breath was accompanied by a subtle pain, and even a sweet taste of blood welled up in his throat.

After running for an unknown amount of time, He Shu stumbled out of the last patch of tangled bushes, and the view in front of him suddenly opened up.

The crystal clear Yangchun Creek stretches before your eyes, with the sound of gurgling water.

On the other side of the stream was Fu Qingle’s simple courtyard.

And in the small courtyard, there stood a figure that He Shu most wanted to see but was also afraid to see.

He was gripped by an indescribable emotion, a mixture of immense panic, deep guilt, and the unbearable weight of choice.

His chest was heaving violently, unable to think. Without hesitation, he used up the last bit of air in his lungs and screamed out the name:

"Qingshan——"

"nameless?"

Hearing the call, the figure suddenly turned around.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The stream still flowed and the wind blew through the grass, but in He Shu's world, all sounds disappeared. Everything was silent, and only the pair of eyes on the other side of the river looking at him remained.

Those gentle eyes, filled with a hint of surprise and worry, were looking at him.

"Oh, are you that impatient?"

A white cat jumped onto Qingshan's shoulder at an inappropriate time.

It squatted lazily with an elegant posture, and the tip of its tail swept across the neck so close to it from time to time as if threatening.

Those amber pupils flashed with a strange and cold luster in the afterglow of the setting sun, looking down at the disheveled He Shu on the other side of the stream.

"I asked you to wait for me... but I didn't ask you to come to me on your own initiative."

The cat clearly didn't open its mouth, but its coquettish and somewhat playful voice clearly entered He Shu's mind.

His heart instantly rose to his throat. Without thinking too much, he picked up a leaf that fell in the air, injected a little spiritual power into it, and shot it towards the white cat with a "whoosh".

"Oh? You noticed something was wrong so quickly?"

A white shadow then nimbly stepped onto Qingshan's head and easily avoided the attack of the leaves.

The tail that was originally swaying gently suddenly became longer and thicker, and it was wrapped around the neck of the person under it. The cat demon's malicious voice sounded again:

"You're quite alert, but unfortunately... it's too late!"

"Notice what!"

He Shu clenched his palm into the air, and a longbow of flowing light appeared instantly. The bowstring was fully drawn, and the sharp tip of the arrow was aimed at the cat demon's vital point. However, his fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and he was afraid to shoot the arrow.

The entangled cat's tail suddenly tightened a bit.

Qingshan's breathing suddenly stopped, his face showed pain, a suppressed "ho ho" sound came from his throat, and his body began to struggle instinctively.

"Ahem—uh…"

"Qingshan!"

He Shu was frightened by what he saw, but he was afraid to act rashly.

He forced himself to suppress the surging blood and anger, retracted his longbow, and his voice trembled slightly with fear and anger:

"Chiyu... this is a matter between us, don't involve innocent people!"

"nameless……"

He Shu watched helplessly as the slender cat tail tightly bound Qingshan's neck, leaving a terrible dent.

His cheeks were abnormally flushed due to lack of oxygen, and veins on his forehead bulged, but he still tried to open his eyes and look at himself.

The pair of eyes that always held a smile were now bloodshot. He shook his head imperceptibly, and tried to force a comforting smile:

"No, uh—it's okay…"

"Shut up!"

The cat demon shouted, still maintaining her beastly form, staring at He Shu sinisterly, the threat in her tone undisguised:

"Stop talking nonsense! Hand over the hairpin, or else... I'll break his neck right now!"

"you--"

He Shu clenched his fists and was about to rush forward subconsciously, but he saw that the cat demon's tail tightened again. Qingshan's eyes rolled back suddenly, and his struggle weakened.

He was so frightened that his soul flew away. He stopped in his tracks and shouted hoarsely:

"I'll give it up! I'll give it up! Just let Qingshan go!"

He hurriedly took out the hairpin from his sleeve pocket and threw it into the air without hesitation.

At the moment when the cat demon was distracted trying to snatch the hairpin, He Shu quickly spread his wings, flew to Qingshan's side, and hugged the almost exhausted man tightly in his arms. At the same time, he flapped his wings rapidly and retreated more than ten feet.

"Qingshan? Qingshan, how are you?"

After standing firmly, the huge wings folded forward, covering the two of them.

He Shu's fingertips trembled violently as he tried to touch the shocking purple bruise on Qingshan's neck. He felt so distressed that tears immediately burst out.

"I was careless...it's my fault..."

A string of tears rolled down his cheeks, dripping onto Qingshan's trembling eyelashes, and then flowed along the corners of his eyes into his messy hair.

He Shu seemed afraid of hurting him, and withdrew his hand before it actually touched that piece of skin.

He sobbed violently, wiped the tears from his face, and forced himself to calm down.

When his limbs, weakened by fear, gradually regained some strength, he immediately formed a seal and set up a small but sturdy barrier to protect Qingshan.

"You rest here for a while, I'll be back soon."

Before he finished speaking, He Shu had already retracted his wings and suddenly stood up.

"Wuming...you, calm down! Don't be impulsive!"

Inside the barrier, Qingshan weakly propped himself up and called out anxiously.

But He Shu's reason had been overwhelmed by anger at this moment. He turned into a sharp white shadow, carrying ethereal immortal power, and rushed towards the cat demon like an arrow.

The cold murderous aura emanating from his body caused the air around him to become chaotic and vibrate.

He no longer hesitated, and the light arrows, each condensed with a murderous aura, shot continuously at the small figure that was fleeing rapidly in the forest like meteors chasing the moon.

"Hahaha--"

The loud and sharp laughter echoed in his mind, full of provocation.

Faced with He Shu's extremely swift attack, the cat demon's body staggered noticeably, and several strands of its snow-white hair were cut off by the sharp wind of the arrow. Its breathing also became rapid, and it seemed that it was at the end of its strength.

But she always managed to avoid the arrows that were flying past her at the critical moment by using all kinds of weird and tricky angles.

He Shu's patience was completely exhausted. A fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he madly poured a large amount of immortal power in his body into the bowstring, condensing it into a fatal arrow. The bowstring vibrated, tearing the air and going straight to the cat demon's heart.

"call out--"

The arrow broke through the air with a huge impact force, throwing her backwards violently until it hit a thick tree trunk and finally stopped.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

The cat demon's amber eyes revealed just the right amount of fear and fatigue, but it couldn't hide the cunning in his tone.

Warm blood flowed out, quickly soaking her snow-white fur, making her look extremely pitiful.

"You really have the guts to do this!"

At this moment, a resentful and extremely familiar voice came from behind.

I've fallen for it again! It's a clone!

He Shu widened his eyes in disbelief. The "cat demon" nailed to the tree in front of him twisted and dissipated like a bubble, and finally turned into a light white cat hair, floating slowly to the ground.

"Now, it's my turn!"

The surging demonic power exploded, and He Shu didn't even have time to turn around before a huge force like a tidal wave hit his back.

"puff--"

He was like a kite with a broken string, being knocked away by a palm strike, crashing into another tree in a mess, and then falling heavily to the ground. A fishy and sweet taste instantly surged in his throat, and he suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.

This demonic power...how come it is filled with fairy spirit?

Something is wrong!

"You...you have actually taken the elixir!"

He Shu understood instantly and cried out in horror.

He reacted extremely quickly, endured the pain and rolled over, bending his body to block, barely taking the fierce claw attack that followed from the cat demon.

"I thought you would have noticed during our last fight that I had already taken the elixir... I didn't expect you to be so clueless as to believe my nonsense about 'each taking one'..."

The cat demon's aura was violent and chaotic, with a bloodthirsty red light flashing in its eyes. Its attack was like a violent storm.

"There's only one elixir left, how could I possibly leave it to your lover! Hahahaha——"

It turns out that her sudden increase in power was not due to being possessed by a demon, but the result of forcefully swallowing the elixir!

He Shu was horrified and tried his best to retreat backwards, trying to keep some distance.

The cat demon shrieked and pressed forward, then leaped into the air and swung its sharp claws straight towards his neck.

In a flash, something unexpected happens.

When he saw who was coming, He Shu's pupils suddenly shrank and he shouted:

"Stop it!"

“Puff—”

The dull sound of sharp claws digging into flesh was very clear.

The cat demon's outstretched sharp claws had already dug deeply into Fu Qingle's chest, bringing out a spray of warm blood that splashed on her face.

The calculation and coldness in his eyes froze in an instant, turning into bewildered horror and confusion.

She stood frozen in place, blood still dripping from her claws.