67 Mirage Mirror (VII)
◎Pretend to be pitiful◎
Amidst the yellow sand stirred up by the strong wind, the girl grinned and laughed, her goose yellow long skirt blending into the background, and then gradually dissipated with the wind and sand.
Qiuyan retreated in panic, her face still pale, and tremblingly said, "Yes, since Master was just an illusion, then... then this Atang must be fake too. I was careless."
"I'm sorry I came late and frightened you." Qu Lingfei saw her expression and felt guilty. He comforted her, "Junior sister, the wind and sand are strong ahead. Please wait here. I'll go check it out and then come back."
She nodded, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothes, her eyes fixed on the front. "There seems to be someone over there..."
Qu Lingfei stopped in his tracks when he heard that, looked in the direction of her finger, and frowned slightly.
He saw the yellow sand ahead gradually dissipate, revealing several figures in white. His eyes widened, and his pupils trembled slightly.
It was the same scene as last year's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, with the brothers and sisters gathered around several tables.
"Junior sister, don't believe it, it's just an illusion..." Before he could finish his words, he turned around hurriedly, only to find that there was no one beside him.
The girl's eyes were empty, as if she was controlled by some force. She kept muttering words like "Senior brothers and sisters, we are here" and kept walking forward.
"Junior sister..."
He quickly took a few steps forward and grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back. The next moment, she really stopped, turned around stiffly, and stared at him.
"Junior sister, don't go any further. They're not from our sect. Everything here is an illusion!" Seeing that she didn't seem to understand, he held her arms and shook them vigorously, half-coaxingly saying, "Go somewhere else with my brother. There will definitely be a way out."
Qiu Yan raised her hand and gently tugged at the corner of his clothes, nodding slowly. He instantly put his mind at ease. He looked up and saw that the illusion was becoming clearer and clearer. He suddenly became very annoyed and was about to break it in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist the next moment. He lowered his eyes in shock, but before he could see clearly, a sharp gust of wind came over, and his chest was instantly in unbearable pain. When he recovered, he was half-kneeling on the ground.
Qu Lingfei supported himself on the ground with one hand, clutching his chest with the other. He looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief. Under the girl's icy gaze, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, then staggered to his feet.
"Junior sister, you..."
"You are not my senior brother." She looked at him coldly and said this lightly.
A light sentence, at this moment, sounded like thunder in his ears. The severe pain in his chest made him almost unable to stand, and even his fingertips were trembling.
"You... don't recognize me?" His lips trembled as he opened them. His voice was clearly weak from his severe injuries. "I'm Qu Lingfei, your senior brother!"
He almost shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop! You'll be in danger if you go any further!"
"have a finger in the pie."
She flicked her sleeves and turned around, and the dust raised by her skirt splashed onto his face.
"I would be in greater danger if I were with a fake senior brother."
"Junior sister, junior sister..."
Even though the injury was caused by her, Qu Lingfei still rushed forward in panic to stop her. However, just after taking two steps, he suddenly felt dizzy and lost consciousness in an instant.
Before his eyelids closed, through the ray of light, he could only watch his junior sister's back gradually move away and finally disappear into the crowd.
*
The blood color reflected in the pupils dissipated, and the surroundings gradually fell into silence. The palace, the snow, all floated up like bubbles in an instant and disappeared at the touch of a button.
It was like a huge rock pressing down on me. The feeling of blockage in my chest became heavier and heavier. Finally, I could no longer bear it and it turned into a line of crimson that flowed out from my lips.
He raised his hand and wiped it gently until there was no trace of blood on his paper-white hand, then he staggered back.
If he forced his spiritual power, the impact he had received in the illusion would also backfire on him. The boy bit his finger and stained his lips with the blood, which finally returned to its usual vibrant color.
He walked up to the girl, raised his hand and gently pulled on the spiritual rope. She sensed someone coming and immediately turned around. Before her vision returned to normal, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
"Xie An, why did you just..." Li Jintang raised his eyes and met his slightly tired eyes. He couldn't help but pause, and the remaining words with a bit of resentment were blocked back.
His face was frighteningly pale, and his breathing was extremely unstable. Even she could feel it...
She felt a soft touch beneath her body, and then she noticed that all the illusions she had just experienced had disappeared, and they were back in the small house.
So, he bore the damage brought by the illusion alone without telling her, and the smell of blood that penetrated her nose also came from him.
Li Jintang bit her lips, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart and tears in her eyes.
"Where are you hurt?" She took a step forward and without waiting for his refusal, she reached out and touched the blood-stained collar. The scorching temperature and the rugged touch were transmitted to her palm, making her heart tighten.
Xie Changyan's face drained of all color the moment her hand touched him. He grabbed her wrist, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm not hurt. Don't look."
She raised her eyes and saw that his gaze was wandering, as if he was absent-minded, but his complexion had gradually recovered a lot, and was even a little... redder than usual?
Suddenly there was a crackling sound behind him, the table was pushed over, and a figure fell heavily, with blood flowing down his hanging arm.
"Master Qi?" Li Jintang was startled after seeing the other person's face clearly. He asked, "Have you also fallen into this illusion?"
Hearing her voice, Qi He's eyes flashed with joy, but then he lowered his head again, as if he was afraid that she would see him in such a miserable state. He frantically tried to cover his wounds, "I was careless for a moment and got into trouble. Master... Tang'er, are you hurt? Come closer and let me take a look."
The two men stood together, and anyone with a discerning eye could see that Xie Changyan's injuries were more serious, but Qi He acted as if he didn't see him, his eyes completely focused on the girl.
"I'm fine, but Master Qi, you look like you're seriously injured. Let me take a look at you," she said, glancing back at the young man behind her, but she didn't move. "Master, if you don't mind, you might as well wait here. I'll help Xie An heal his injuries, then I'll come..."
Qi He's eyes lit up, but soon darkened again when he heard the second half of the sentence. He smiled and said, "Since Master Xie just said that he was fine, I think the injury is not serious. Tang'er, why don't you come over first? We can discuss this outside."
"We really should get out," Xie Changyan half-leaned against the wall, staring at them expressionlessly, the corners of his mouth curled up, "Being affectionate in someone else's room in the middle of the night is really unacceptable."
Qi He narrowed his eyes and smiled. He walked straight forward, took her hand, and said, "In that case, Tang'er and I will leave first. If Master Xie encounters any unexpected events while he's alone, there's no need to be shy. The two of us will definitely do our best to help."
Li Jintang was pulled by him, looking back as he walked out. Just before he stepped out of the door, he heard a few light coughs behind him.
She immediately stopped and looked back, only to see the young man leaning against the wall with his eyes half closed. His shirt was half open, and the bright red color flowed down his porcelain-white skin, like a line of enchanting pattern drawn on rice paper with red ink.
"What's wrong?"
But she only saw this one glance. When Qi He followed her and looked back, Xie Changyan had already gathered up his clothes neatly and neatly, and was sitting upright with his expression as usual.
“…”
He deliberately avoided looking at her, his gaze drifting to the window, but his peripheral vision lingered on her intentionally or unintentionally, and even his fingers clenched into fists unconsciously.
How would she react? Would she still follow that person?
Li Jintang broke free from the hand that was holding her, and her eyes softened as she looked at him.
Looking back on the time they met until now, it seemed like this was the first time he had taken the initiative to show his injuries to others.
Is this... a sign of weakness? Li Jintang recalled what he had said to himself when the puppets were chasing him. If those enemies saw him like this, they would probably take his life.
She took a deep breath and thought for a moment, but the silence seemed long and unbearable to the other party.
Qi He lowered his head and looked at her, as if he had guessed something, and there was a flash of disappointment on his face.
Li Jintang didn't notice his expression. She just felt that these two people were injured so badly at the same time that she really didn't know what to do.
"Master Qi, I still have some medicine here. Could you please wait for me next door for a moment?"
Just this one sentence lit up the boy's dark eyes, and his unconsciously tense muscles gradually relaxed.
She lowered her head to search her purse, took out a tourniquet and handed it over. After the door was closed, she turned around, walked slowly to Xie Changyan's side and stood still, lowering her eyes to pull at another belt on her skirt.
The boy's dark eyes stared at her without blinking, his gaze lingering on her face, like a puppy waiting obediently to be comforted after being injured.
It even looks a little pitiful.
Li Jintang took the belt in his hand and said apologetically, "I... I didn't realize that there was only one left. I didn't mean to withhold it from you."
He looked incredibly weak, as if he was about to faint. Her heart suddenly softened, and she turned to leave. "Master Qi's injury isn't serious. I'll go find him and switch."
"It's okay." He suddenly grabbed her wrist and smiled softly, "He's alone, so it's okay to leave it to him."
She looked at him for a long moment, nodded, and said, "Then let go of your hand. I'm going to apply medicine on you."
He paused, and seemed to be reluctantly moving his hand away from that warmth.
The cold ointment was applied to his skin, accompanied by a burst of severe pain. He stared at her without changing his expression, and said nothing.
"Okay." Not knowing what had happened to Qi He, she patted the back of his hand, pointed to the belt hanging beside him, and said, "You take care of it first, and when I come back..."
"I won't."
The young man stared at her intently. The candles on the table burned brighter and brighter, the tallest flame almost illuminating the darkness in his eyes. However, he had no intention of taking the belt, and simply threw down these three words casually.
...No? Li Jintang was stunned for a moment, staring at him suspiciously. He had lost count of how many times he had bled along the way, how could he not even know how to bandage something?
He seemed to have the ability to read minds today. He raised his lower lip with a forced smile, "I've never treated any wounds. I always just waited for the blood to drain naturally."
"Atang, no one has ever treated my injuries except you."
He spoke lightly, glancing out the window, as if whether she would stay or not was just a matter of indifference.
"However, Master Qi treats you so well, it's only right for Miss Li to think of him first when something happens, right?" He smiled slightly, his eyes seemed to lure her to look straight at him, and then he fell deeply into the black pool.
The shadows of the trees outside the window swayed, casting a broken shadow between his downcast brows.
【Author’s words】
Xiao Xie: "Go find your senior brother, don't worry about me."
Tang Bao (half-believing, half-doubting, preparing to leave)
Xiao Xie (his face turned even paler): "Stop!"
It's gone during finals week. It's finally gone. [Spread flowers] I stayed up all night, and walking during the day felt like walking on cotton.
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