14 Linzi (VII)
◎Is it even now?◎
Seeing this, the people standing nearby also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Qu Lingfei strode forward to help him up and patted him on the back a few times: "Thank you, brother. I'm glad you're okay."
Xie Changyan was soaking wet, and having been in the water for so long, he looked rather disheveled. But despite his exhaustion, he still exuded a heroic spirit. He stared at Qu Lingfei, his brows furrowed slightly. "You saved me?"
"How could I possibly be that capable?" Qu Lingfei immediately waved his hand, pointed behind her, and said with a smile, "It's Miss Li's attentiveness that brought you, Brother Xie, ashore."
The young man's expression froze when he heard this, and his gaze slowly shifted to the girl.
Seeing that his face was still frighteningly pale, Li Jintang raised his hand and touched his forehead. He felt relieved when he found that he did not have a fever.
"Do you still feel uncomfortable somewhere?" she asked.
Xie Changyan stared at her for a while, then shook his head at her embarrassed look.
"I never thought that Brother Xie, with such high martial arts skills, couldn't swim," Qu Lingfei marveled beside him and said casually, "My junior sister and I learned martial arts from our master. Did Brother Xie's parents only teach us martial arts? Haha..."
Xie Changyan had previously said that he had never been a disciple of any master, so when Qu Lingfei asked this question, he directly replaced "master" with "father and mother".
Before he could answer, Li Jintang interrupted, "Who knows everything?" As she spoke, she glanced at the boy's face. Seeing that he looked normal and didn't look extremely sad, she felt a little relieved and continued, "Xie An is with us, so it's not too late to start learning now."
She said this to Qu Lingfei, so she didn't notice that the boy's eyes were always on her.
Dusk was approaching, and a hint of crimson appeared at the end of the dense branches. Everyone was exhausted, so they decided to find an open space to rest for the night.
Li Jintang sat cross-legged on a large rock, looked up at the bright moon surrounded by stars in the sky, then lowered his head to look at his hands.
The wrinkles on her fingers caused by soaking in water had disappeared. She rubbed her fingers and picked up the belt she had just picked out - it was hanging precariously on her sleeve, looking a little out of place.
She lowered her head and wanted to take off her belt, but suddenly, a shadow covered her from top to bottom.
Li Jintang let go of her hand and looked up. She saw the young man standing silently in front of her, staring at her for an unknown amount of time.
The moonlight shone on his face. After a while, he smiled faintly: "Thank you."
Li Jintang stared at his face, suddenly remembering what happened during the day. She spoke cautiously, "So, are we now even with what you said during the day?"
He was startled, a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes, and after remembering what she was talking about, he curled his lips slightly.
What I said during the day was just a casual remark, but she actually took it to heart. It was really funny.
Li Jintang didn't get a reply, but saw him lifting his clothes and about to squat beside him, so he quickly moved to the other side.
"How can that be?" Xie Changyan observed her movements. He folded his hands behind his head, reclining on a large rock, and said lazily, "Let's put things in perspective. Otherwise, I'll grant you another condition."
"No need," Li Jintang turned around and noticed the other person's eyes glancing down, so he quickly turned away and said softly, "I want to go home. It doesn't matter whether we are even or not."
The young man had his eyes closed, and she spoke her last two sentences very softly, so they did not reach his ears.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Li Jintang assumed he was asleep. He quietly stood up, picked up the letter, and was about to move when he heard the other party's calm voice say, "Today, Qu Lingfei mocked me for not being able to swim. It's true. Why are you speaking for me?"
Li Jintang turned around to look at him, his expression slightly changed, and he answered irrelevantly: "Brother Qu didn't mean it, he didn't mock..."
"You're so kind, why don't you just say you'll protect me from now on?" Xie Changyan interrupted her, one hand hanging on his knee, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Instead of lecturing me?"
"Why are you talking so much to this kid?" The fate book was furious. "You saved him out of good intentions, but he's taking advantage of you. Don't pay any attention to it, kid. Just leave now."
Li Jintang withdrew his hand and pressed it back into his arms. He met the boy's gaze and asked curiously, "Why do you always have to wait for others to protect you?"
Seeing Xie An's expression change slightly, she met his slightly surprised gaze and said slowly: "In this world, only you can save yourself, and only I am the most trustworthy."
The girl's figure stood under the bright moonlight, looking even thinner. At this moment, the wind blew through the treetops, causing her long black hair to flutter.
The corners of his lips curved up as he asked nonchalantly, "Did your father also tell you this?"
Li Jintang didn't answer the question. After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes again, presumably not caring much about the answer. She moved her steps and quietly left the boulder.
"Sister Atang," she had just sat down beside a large tree when she heard footsteps. Qiuyan came briskly over and sat down beside her. She said with a smile, "Do you want to go find something to eat with me?"
Li Jintang exclaimed "Ah" and was about to ask why she was not with Brother Qu, but then she saw Qu Lingfei and Nangong Xiu gesturing at something, probably talking about something she couldn't understand.
"Okay." Li Jintang put the book of fate down casually, and then heard it shouting in dissatisfaction: "You go to find food without taking me with you? Humph, you are so disloyal!" He had no choice but to take it along.
Passing by Qu Lingfei, Li Jintang hesitated for a moment and said, "Why don't you tell Brother Qu?"
Qiuyan snorted, remembering how he had just rejected her in order to compete with Nangong Xiu in swordsmanship. So, she took Li Jintang's arm and quickly walked around the two of them: "Let's go quietly. Even if we find any food, we won't leave any for them."
Since childhood, the person closest to Li Jintang was his elder sister. How could he understand the love between parents and children? Seeing that Qiuyan didn't want to ask, he didn't say anything more and let her pull him along all the way.
Fallen leaves covered the ground, rustling as they stepped on them. They walked for a moment, their dark shadows flickering past them in rows. Li Jintang tightened his grip on her arm and whispered, "Let's not go too far..."
Upon hearing this, Qiuyan stamped his feet, lit the fire and held it high up, illuminating the surroundings.
I saw a few big red fruits hanging on the tree nearby, and when the wind blew, they gently bumped into each other.
Qiuyan swung a stream of spiritual energy upward, knocking down four fruits. She handed two to Atang and muttered to herself, "They look good, but I wonder if they're poisonous."
"There shouldn't be any," Li Jintang said, also holding a fire starter. She looked up at the tree and said, "This tree is so lush, there shouldn't be more than a few fruits. But there aren't any fallen on the ground, so passersby must have picked them and eaten them."
Qiuyan clapped her hands upon hearing this and said happily, "That's right, if this fruit was poisonous, no one would pick it."
After she finished speaking, she began to worry again: "It's a pity that so many have been picked. What's left on the tree is only enough for a snack."
Li Jintang handed the two in his hand back, his eyes gleaming with the reflection of the moonlight: "I'm not hungry, give them all to sister."
"Then you can't accompany me for nothing," Qiuyan said. After that, she had bitten the fruit down to the core in a few bites. Seeing that she still held out her hand, she coughed dryly twice and took it with a smile: "Then I'll take care of it for you."
"Let's go back first." Seeing that there were almost only leaves left on the tree, Li Jintang tugged at her sleeve and said, "It's too late to come out. I'm afraid Brother Qu and the others will be worried."
"Humph, who cares about him?" Qiuyan said, but she also felt that they had been out for a while, so she said, "Okay, but I can't remember the way here, so I have to follow you."
Li Jintang opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly heard a roar not far away, which made her swallow back the rest of her words.
The black clouds moved slowly, covering half of the moon, and the light suddenly dimmed a lot. With the light from the tinder, the two men vaguely saw a huge black shadow on all fours, coming at them quickly.
Li Jintang was shocked, wondering where this monster had come from. She thought to herself, "Oh no!" Terrified, she couldn't utter a single word. She grabbed Qiuyan's arm and ran back.
After running a few steps, they suddenly saw another nearly identical shadow in front of them, emitting two faint lights and occasionally letting out a low roar. They both stopped in their tracks, their arms tightly clasped together, and cold sweat immediately broke out on their backs.
There was more than one of these huge creatures, and they were surrounded.
Li Jintang felt his legs go weak, and he took a few steps back holding the girl, but then he remembered there was another one behind him.
Seeing the monster getting closer and closer, Qiuyan curled her fingers, her nails digging into her hands, and her veins bulged. As the monster opened its bloody mouth, she tightened her arms and violently flung out the fruit core that had been left in her hand.
Unexpectedly, she was too nervous and failed to hit the target, but instead angered the monster.
As the two faint lights gradually faded, the face of the huge creature became clearer and clearer. The two men could see that it was a monster with a tiger head and a bear body.
It stood on all fours, raised its front paws, and then pressed down hard, shaking the ground and causing leaves to fall from the trees.
Both of them were shocked. Their fingers trembled and the fire stick fell to the ground and went out, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
Am I going to die here today? Li Jintang's wrists were becoming increasingly weak. He just wanted to imagine what his family looked like, to see them once more before he died. But in his panic, he tried many times, but he couldn't imagine his parents' appearance.
"Sister Qiuyan," she said, suppressing the sobs of fear in her voice. She looked at the person beside her with a last glimmer of hope: "Where is your sword?"
My life is hanging by a thread, and I may win if I fight to the death.
Qiuyan's expression changed, and she spoke with difficulty: "I..."
She had only come out to find some food, but she had never imagined she would encounter such a monster. In a moment of carelessness, she even forgot to bring her sword.
When Li Jintang saw her like this, his clenched fingers suddenly loosened, and only despair remained in his heart.
The bear demon approached step by step, surrounding them from the front and back.
So what? So what...
Li Jintang couldn't believe it, but he would never be willing to die here.
Before she could think about it any further, she saw the bear monster in front of her suddenly rushing towards them, and it was right in front of them in the blink of an eye.
“Run!”
The two of them shouted at the same time, put their palms together in tacit understanding, and then used their spiritual power to leap back a big step, avoiding the monster's claws.
Li Jintang quickly picked up several stones, held them in her hand, and threw a few back as she ran. The bear demon was in pain from being hit, and although it continued to roar, its pace of pursuit slowed down.
"Kid, run this way!"
She should have been familiar with the route, but she was so anxious that she ran away in a panic. Now she didn't know where she was. When she heard the voice of the destiny book, she hurriedly turned a corner as it said.
Even though she tried her best, she could not outrun the four-legged monster. The sound of the bear monster running behind her was getting closer and closer, as if it was ringing in her ears.
She predicted the moment accurately, turned sideways, rolled on the ground, and stood up quickly, just in time to avoid the attack of the bear monster.
As a result, her back hit the tree trunk hard, but she was so frightened that she could not feel the pain.
Li Jintang reached back to his waist. Fortunately, he had the dagger with him all the time. If he couldn't escape, he would have to fight.
She let go of his hand, lowered her head and said, "It can't see you, run away."
But the fate book became furious upon hearing this, blaming her for treating it as a heartless villain. It immediately transformed into a spear, which she grasped in her hand: "Just fight it, what's there to be afraid of?"
Li Jintang looked at the spear, feeling despair and bitterness in his heart: "I, I don't know how to use it, you should just change back."
This thing is not as easy to use as her dagger.
The man and the book exchanged a few words, and the bear demon was already rubbing its front paws, as if it was about to pounce.
Li Jintang glanced to the side, thinking about where to hide so as not to get hurt.
She threw the dagger back, and it hit the branch squarely, then fell back into her hand.
The monster let out a long roar and ran towards her quickly.
Li Jintang had anticipated this and slid behind the tree when the bear demon was a few steps away. She had already cut the branch in half, waiting for it to hit the trunk and the thorny vines to fall down immediately.
Li Jintang curled up into a ball, and could hear his own heartbeat very clearly in the darkness.
Before the bear demon could run over, a figure suddenly leaped out and kicked the demon directly, knocking it to the ground.
Without giving it a chance to breathe, the young man drew his sword, its edge icing the moonlight like a layer of frost. He raised his hand and summoned a golden light, knocking the struggling bear demon down again.
"Thank you, Xie An."
The girl was stunned for a long time. After seeing that the monster had fallen to the ground, she struggled to get up, staggered to his side, and grabbed his arm.
"Stop, stop fighting." Dust had settled on her clothes and cheeks from rolling on the ground. She struggled to hold onto him, her voice broken. "Go save Qiuyan! She's in danger."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
