31 The Valley of No Return (Part 7)
◎People who don't matter, just die◎
"Nothing serious," Xie Changyan put a hand to his lips, coughed twice, and then raised his hand to close his drooping sleeve. "It's just an old injury."
Li Jintang clearly saw a shocking bloodstain on his arm, and judging from his appearance, he must have more than one wound on his body.
"What old injury? You weren't like this yesterday..." Her eyes softened and she muttered.
Xie An is the protagonist of this storybook. Is it because the protagonist always has some painful but unspeakable past, so he is so cautious now and unwilling to show his weaknesses to others?
"Xie An, you don't have to be like this," Li Jintang leaned down slightly to his level, gazing intently into his eyes. Her naturally gentle nature made her tone soften, like a pool of warm water, inviting one to indulge. "I don't know what you've been through, and I can't interfere with your past, but you don't have to be so cautious now. I told you we're friends, and you can trust me and rely on me, instead of carrying all the pain on your own like you do now."
The young man's hand hanging on the table trembled slightly, and a beam of light seemed to penetrate into his dark eyes, disappearing in an instant.
"you……"
He finally turned around and saw Li Jintang standing in front of him, quietly waiting for his next words.
But he didn't say anything.
She sighed inwardly and asked tentatively, "You promised me before that I could ask you a question. Does that still count?"
Xie Changyan looked up at her and curled his lips silently.
She had just said so much, wasn't she still trying to find out more about him? She spoke so beautifully, wasn't she still trying to get him to reveal his whereabouts?
He narrowed his eyes, and the hands hidden in his sleeves invisibly gathered a trace of spiritual power.
As long as she asked about what happened last night, he would take action immediately.
He is just that kind of person. He will do anything to achieve his goal. It's just killing one more person. What difference does it make who he kills?
She was indeed a little different. At most, we could build a cenotaph for her after her death and send some offerings to her, and the matter would be over.
He had so much blood on his hands, yet he never erected a tombstone for anyone...
"How can I save you?"
The girl's words brought him back to his senses.
Li Jintang had no idea that the man before her had even planned where to bury her. She thought carefully for a long moment before saying, "If you don't know either, could you please show me your wound? It will only get worse if it's not treated."
The young man's eyes froze for a moment. The idea of a cenotaph and offerings seemed absurd. He slowly raised his eyelids, and the spiritual power in his fingertips dissipated along with the coldness in his eyes.
"It's useless." After a long time, he uttered this in a hoarse voice.
After waiting for a long time, he finally heard these three words. Li Jintang felt angry and anxious - how could someone not care about his own life?
Yes, it’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I don’t trust her.
"Don't you want to know what I did last night and why I got hurt?"
Li Jintang was already furious. When he heard him speak, he said without thinking, "What does that have to do with me?" Then he remembered that the man was still a wounded soldier, so he sighed softly and looked at him with some helplessness in his eyes: "Xie An, I really want to help you."
Xie Changyan paused and said, "Hmm," "I know."
He lifted up his clothes, stood up, and was about to walk out the door.
Li Jintang turned around and called out to him, "Where are you going?"
He kept walking. "They left you that map yesterday, didn't they want us to go to the Valley of No Return first to open a path?"
"Qiuyan didn't mean that," Li Jintang followed him and walked beside him, glancing at his arm. "Besides, you're still injured, so you can't do it again."
"It's just a minor injury." Xie Changyan walked straight to the counter, took out a few silver coins from his arms and put them on the counter, then walked out without looking back amid the counter clerk's repeated thanks.
Seeing that he couldn't be persuaded, Li Jintang had no choice but to follow closely, clutching the map. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around and said, "Isn't the map in your hand?"
She understood that he wanted her to lead the way, so she went around to his side, and the two of them walked all the way, one in front and one behind. Suddenly, she remembered something, so she took out the sound transmission talisman from her sleeve and sent a message to Qiuyan.
The two of them walked in silence, and the only sound in the silent forest was the rustling of fallen leaves under their feet.
Catching a glimpse of a stone bench in front of him on the right, Li Jintang secretly glanced behind him and saw that the other person's expression had not eased and his steps were not as steady as before. He guessed that he must be in pain from his wound.
She paused, about to say that if they were really feeling uncomfortable, they could stop and rest for a while, but after thinking about it, she changed her mind and said, "Xie An, I'm tired from walking. How about we sit here for a while?"
Xie Changyan lowered his eyes and looked at her for a moment. Before he could react, the girl pulled his sleeve up and pulled him to sit on the bench.
Li Jintang brushed off the fallen leaves on the bench, then raised his hand to straighten the wrinkles on the map. As soon as he touched the cold stone bench, he heard several cries for help from the deep forest.
"Help... Murder, murder!"
It sounded like a woman's voice.
Li Jintang immediately looked intently, then turned to the person next to him and asked, "Xie An, did you hear anyone shouting for help?"
He didn't even raise his eyelids: "No."
Could it be that she had misheard? She lowered her head in suspicion, but a moment later, the voice rang out again, even more urgently this time, as if a hideous-looking thief, carrying a large knife, was about to attack a young girl.
Li Jintang immediately got goosebumps all over her body. After hearing what she had heard, how could she just stand by and watch? She was about to run over to find out what was going on when she heard someone behind her coldly say, "Do you want to go save them?"
She was stunned for a moment, then stopped and looked back at him, then hesitated and said, "You're still injured. Wait here for a while. I'll go take a look and be back."
She took a few steps, then turned back, put down the red bean paste bun in her arms, and stuffed the map into his hand - in case she really encountered something, the map must be kept.
Xie Changyan said nothing and did not try to dissuade her. He just watched the girl disappear into the woods.
He closed his eyes and gathered his energy several times. Although the internal injuries caused by the backlash of the Xuanyu power were not light, they had mostly recovered after a night of rest.
The bun in his hand was still slightly warm. He hadn't eaten for most of the day, so he was really hungry. He broke off a piece and put it in his mouth, the sweetness spreading immediately.
Suddenly, a man in a black robe, brimming with evil spirits, appeared from the empty ground. He glanced sideways, his brows etched with gloom.
The young man was wearing tattered clothes and kneeling behind him with his head down. His knees were already bleeding from being rubbed, and his lower lip was bitten until it was covered in blood, but he didn't say a word.
Suddenly, there was a heavy blow on his back, followed by a shout: "Why don't you confess your sins to the Lord?!"
The young man braced himself on the ground, his back straightened, his body already somewhat unsteady. He clenched his hands with resentment in his eyes, then immediately released them. As the man behind him tried to kick him again, he whispered, "I was reckless. I hope you'll forgive me."
The man called "Lord" turned around, but did not look at him directly. He just snorted coldly, threw down a snow-white object, and it rolled on the ground for several times before being caught steadily by the young man.
Everyone around him had left. He hadn't eaten for several days, and the feeling of hunger had long been like a rope that was getting tighter and tighter. The pain was so severe that he had no time to wipe off the black spots on the buns. He gobbled them up in big mouthfuls.
Unexpectedly, the feeling of nausea in his stomach became even worse. His legs were no longer able to support his body, and he almost rolled and crawled into the forest. He held onto a tree trunk and vomited out everything in his stomach in a panic.
If it weren't for the sake of survival, who would be willing to be humiliated to this extent?
Xie Changyan tightened his fingers, poking the smooth bun skin into uneven shapes.
Things that he could not get in the past are now specially kept for him by someone.
The leaves beside him rustled in the wind, and he looked up, but there was no one there.
The cries of "Help" just now came again from the treetops and echoed in the forest.
She's been gone for so long, hasn't she rescued the person yet?
Suddenly, he felt that the food he was chewing had no taste. Xie Changyan stood up and walked into the depths of the forest following the sound.
The cries for help gradually became clearer, and seemed to be mixed with a few sobs. He paused and glanced at the house standing alone among the weeds and withered vines.
The young man walked forward with one hand on the hilt of the sword, and suddenly stopped when he was about to push open the door with his other hand.
"Help... Is there anyone here?"
A male voice with a sinister grin came from the crack of the door: "No one will come to save you even if you scream your throat out. Why don't you just surrender to me and hand over all the valuables you have on you..."
Xie Changyan didn't listen any more. He jumped onto the roof and loosened a tile with his sword. He saw a woman tied up and thrown in a corner. In front of her stood a burly man with a big waist and a big sword on his shoulder. He had a beard on his chin and looked very ferocious.
He completely ignored the two men and quickly scanned the room, but there was no sign of the third person.
If I had known this, I should have let her stay put. His brows knitted together in a hint of impatience—he had never done such a good deed as saving someone.
It’s better to let her fend for herself. If she can come back alive, it’s a skill. If she can’t, that’s her fate.
Xie Changyan moved back the loose tile and was about to jump off the eaves when suddenly a silver light flashed around him and several hidden weapons flew towards him.
The young man dodged it easily, raised his hand, grasped a hidden weapon between two fingers, and threw it backwards without looking back. With a wail, the soldier who was ambushing in the dark fell to the ground and died.
"What a trouble." He rubbed his eyebrows, and a green light flashed before his eyes, and the long sword was in his hand.
Dark shadows swayed all around, and several people dressed as soldiers jumped out from all directions, with swords pointing directly at him.
Xie Changyan ignored him, drew his sword, jumped off the roof, and kicked the door open. The two people inside looked over at him in unison, and the woman's tears were still faintly visible on her face.
"Do you want to confess yourself, or do you want me to cut off your tongue?" He said coldly. As he spoke, he flicked his fingertips and several silver needles flew out, crackling and shattering the white bottles placed in various corners. White mist filled the whole room for a while.
"You found out so quickly?" The burly man took off his disguise and revealed his original appearance. It was Tian Heng.
The woman on the ground also untied the ropes on her body, and the two of them raised their swords side by side, pointing them at him.
Lu Chengfeng kept calling the art of disguise "evil and unorthodox," yet his own disciples were using it openly. Xie Changyan didn't bother to waste time talking to them. With a flash of his sword, he thrust it into their chests.
Although he suffered from the backlash last night, he was still more than capable of dealing with Tian Heng. After a few rounds, the two men and the soldiers who rushed in from outside were knocked to the ground.
Xie Changyan pointed the tip of his sword at him and asked, "Where are the people?"
"It's not impossible to save her," Tian Heng said, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth. He rolled his eyes and smiled slyly, "I see you have quite a bit of cultivation. Why don't you give me your elixir and I'll tell you where she is."
“…”
The young man stared at him for a long while as if he were an idiot, then the corners of his lips curled up slightly, and with a cold face he raised his sword and was about to stab him.
"Wait, wait," the woman suddenly shouted, "I said, that girl is right there..."
She deliberately waited for a long time. Xie Changyan's eyes darkened, and with a flick of his wrist, the tip of the sword was against her neck.
Unexpectedly, the woman showed no fear on her face. She suddenly gathered strength in her palms and pushed Tian Heng out of the house with all her strength. Then she spat out a mouthful of blood and smiled creepily.
Dust and sawdust were falling all around.
Xie Changyan paused slightly, sheathed his sword, and leaped out of the house. When he looked back, he heard a loud bang and the house suddenly collapsed.
His chest suddenly felt heavy, and the young man frowned, feeling annoyed - it was just a dead person, he shouldn't feel this way.
What's more, he was just an insignificant person who couldn't help him at all.
He turned the sword and squinted at the stunned man lying half on the ground, the tip of the sword drew a long mark on the ground.
"Xie An, you're here?"
Suddenly, a girl's voice came from behind, with a mixture of surprise and joy in her voice.
He suddenly stopped, turned around in a daze, and looked at the girl with a dusty face under the ancient tree.
【Author’s words】
The same channel and the same theme have been pre-collected "Has the Male Lead Turned Dark Today?" Please collect it, and it will be published in the next volume. The copy is as follows:
[Robbery, Chasing Wife to the Crematorium]
After Xu Songhe's death, he traveled through the book, and his mission was to increase the male protagonist's black value and promote his transformation into a demon.
System: Please host strictly follow the previous plot to abuse the male protagonist
Xu Songhe silently glanced at the boy half-kneeling on the ground with a bruised face and nose——
Listen to what you're saying. Is this human language?
System: "If you don't do this, Qi Wuyang will kill you first when he turns evil."
Xu Songhe: …
In order to complete the task as quickly as possible, she had to harden her heart and make things difficult for the innocent man, and secretly give him special treatment behind the system's back to make up for her inner guilt.
With her diligent efforts, Qi Wuyang's blackening value finally reached 80%.
It was a drizzling day, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. Qi Wuyang, holding a long sword in his hand, walked across the sea of corpses and blood to come to her, and wiped the tears from her face with a smile.
"Ah He, no one dares to hurt you while I'm here."
But the person who really wanted to hurt him was her...
The evil-turned boy gave her all his remaining tenderness, but when he was completely devoted to her, she stabbed a sword into his chest, her movements clean and neat, without any hesitation.
The heavy rain washed away the hostility in him, and the youthful spirit was still there: "Why?"
Why? Because she wanted to live.
It was the system that transmitted the wrong message and told her that she had done the wrong mission for so long, and now she must kill the male protagonist with a maximum black value in order to protect the safety of the family.
After that day, Xu Songhe lived a leisurely life for a long time and was about to marry his gentle childhood sweetheart.
But on the second day after her wedding, she opened her eyes and was shocked to find herself in a dungeon. The shackles on her feet were heavy and made her feel pain all over.
Qi Wuyang leaned over and pinched her jaw hard, his smile still as gentle as before: "Ahe, will you come with me to meet someone?"
Although his tone was questioning, he pulled her up roughly, and the salty rain water from the dungeon splashed all over her face.
Her childhood sweetheart was being forced to lower his head, and he was in a state of disarray after being tortured all night.
Xu Songhe begged him to let him go, and the young man smiled faintly: "Okay, then you will take the rest of the punishment for him."
If she was wrong that day, then the endless torture of the past few days should be paid off. He hated her to the core, and she was only afraid of him. The little affection they had for each other in the past had long since disappeared.
Xu Songhe chose a perfect day for his burial. When Zhuma's sword was about to touch Qi Wuyang's chest, he leaned forward to block him.
Blood kept gushing out of her mouth. She closed her eyes under the boy's increasingly panicked gaze, feeling her breath slipping away bit by bit.
"I have never apologized to you. Now this sword is my repayment."
*
Qi Wuyang is the protagonist of the storybook who is heartless and devoted to cultivation just to kill his enemies. Love, such a ridiculous thing, should not belong to him.
But until he met Xu Songhe
He was of humble status, and she was the only one who would secretly bring him lots of delicious food and wine when he was in solitary confinement.
She was the only one who would be the first to rush into danger to save him, regardless of the danger.
Only she would hug him tightly with a pair of smiling eyes when he was obsessed with it, and was willing to live and die with him.
She was like a bright and beautiful flower blooming in a dark dungeon. How could he not be greedy for that little warmth, how could he not love her madly?
Later, Qi Wuyang watched with his own eyes as she stabbed the knife into his chest, and a bright red stain penetrated his clothes.
Before he could ask why, she cruelly pushed him off the cliff.
When she came back again, she was about to become someone else's wife.
He hated her and wanted to see her suffer a fate worse than death and then humbly beg for mercy from him.
The fact is, after saving his life, he never dared to harm her once, but what did she say?
He never asked her to pay back the debt, how could she be so cruel?
The young man knelt on the ground for a long time, bent over and hugged the dying girl tightly in his arms, his tears soaking her clothes.
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