Chapter 72 Dreamlike Beauty: Tears
Is he in pain, or not?
What does his life or death have to do with me?
Tang Yu paused, ignoring the sinister smile on the other person's face, and added calmly, "Besides, you can't beat him."
Xie Xingzheng only glanced at her sideways, his expression unchanged, showing no sign of anything amiss.
He keenly sensed that something about Tang Yuzhen was different.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Tang Yu naturally noticed his reaction, her brow furrowed slightly, and a subtle, strange feeling welled up in her heart.
However, her emotions came and went quickly, and she attributed them to discomfort at Yueying's threat, rather than anything else.
Yueying caught that fleeting emotion and murmured softly, "Of course I can't kill him."
He seemed to be smiling gently, but his eyes were filled with surging ferocity.
“But, it’s different for Grandpa.”
The words fell.
From the depths of darkness behind, a thin, hunched figure emerged silently—it was the blind old man.
“Grandpa didn’t want to kill you because he was kind-hearted. Just like back then, he was willing to raise me, who failed to become a saintess.” Yueying’s words were full of tenderness and concern, but the dim light revealed a pair of eyes that secretly held a hint of pride.
"But……"
She paused, then changed the subject, her gaze turning fierce as she pierced Xie Xingzheng.
“The people of Daxia, especially the Xie family, are never within the scope of his kindness.”
Before he could finish speaking, his dull, unfocused eyes seemed to shoot out a chilling glint. The old man drew his Miao sword from his waist and, in a flash, aimed straight for Xie Xingzheng's chest.
Yueying smiled mysteriously and reminded him, "Grandpa, you must help me snatch the Holy Maiden back."
Xie Xingzheng's killing intent surged, and he drew his sword in reverse, leaping to meet the sharp edge.
The clang of metal weapons clashing echoed in the darkness. Their movements were so rapid and unpredictable that it was impossible to discern their techniques. By the time the old man came to his senses, Xie Xingzheng had already knocked him back several feet.
Despite having the upper hand, Tang Yu felt a strange unease.
Old Mu may be able to fight Xie Xingzheng, but he is by no means Xie's match. As long as the battle drags on, the opponent will undoubtedly be defeated.
So... where does Yueying's confidence come from?
She silently focused her mind and used her divine sense to explore her surroundings, but she did not detect any ambush.
Suddenly, the old man raised his knife, turned halfway, and with a ghostly arc, disappeared into the deeper darkness.
At the same time, Yueying smiled at her and then blew hard.
"call--"
In an instant, the oil lamp went out.
The surroundings were plunged into complete darkness once again.
Tang Yu felt a chill in her heart.
This is now the battlefield where the blind old man excels most. His five senses, honed by more than a decade of living in darkness, and his familiarity with the sacred ground are all his weapons against Xie Xingzheng.
The sharp wind of the Miao sword swept in from the upper left, aiming straight for Xie Xingzheng's spine!
Xie Xingzheng reacted quickly, nimbly using his toes to dodge to the side.
Unexpectedly, he stepped on the edge of the pool and almost fell into the black water that could swallow light!
Before he could regain his footing, he forced himself to steady himself and was about to use the momentum to leave the danger zone when the old man's second knife came at him.
A strong wind pressed down on his face, and the blade was as sharp as if it were cutting through the air, forcing Xie Xingzheng into a dangerous situation.
Tang Yu's breath hitched, but then she saw Xie Xingzheng suddenly thrust his longsword diagonally into the ground, leap back to avoid the blade, and then land steadily on the black pool, at the end of the sword hilt.
He used the scabbard as a sword, once again sending the man flying before he landed on solid ground.
However, danger lurked in the darkness. Although he was able to fight, he could not see his opponent or the environment, so he could only stand there blankly, appearing extremely passive.
Tang Yu calmly shifted her gaze from Xie Xingzheng and, using her senses amplified by the Dream Gu, carefully observed her surroundings.
After a moment, he suddenly spoke: "The black water is in your Kan and Qian directions, while the Zhen position is a dead end."
With her reminder, Xie Xingzheng visualized the terrain in his mind, no longer blindly dodging, and even daring to take the initiative to attack when swords clashed.
In the blink of an eye, they had regained some of the initiative.
This scene caught Yueying's eye, and the anger in her eyes deepened.
"Tang Yu." She sneered, her voice emerging from the darkness, filled with gritted teeth and hatred, "Do you think everything will go your way?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she shook the soul-summoning bell in her hand, and the sound of the bell exploded in the darkness.
Sharp, dense, and relentless—it was her retaliatory act born of anger and humiliation.
Tang Yu covered her ears tightly, but it was no use. The ringing seemed to strike her soul, making her heart beat faster and faster, even like thunder pounding on her eardrums, making her irritable and nauseous, and her mind instantly felt like it was covered by a layer of fog.
He felt as if all his strength had been suddenly drained from his body, his knees buckled, and he fell straight to the ground, almost fainting.
A murderous glint flashed in Yueying's eyes, and she raised her hand without hesitation.
"call out--!"
The sound of something cutting through the air pierced the darkness, heading straight for Tang Yu's heart.
Tang Yu was fully aware of the impending crisis, but her body was completely out of her control, and she could only watch helplessly as death drew near.
A strange sense of calm arose within her:
Just as I expected.
From beginning to end, Yueying still wanted to kill her.
"puff--!"
The sound of an arrow piercing flesh was exceptionally clear in the narrow, cold cave, and the air immediately filled with the smell of blood.
Tang Yu felt a sudden blankness in her mind, and the buzzing in her ears seemed to shatter instantly.
She unconsciously reached out, wanting to catch his swaying body. But Xie Xingzheng embraced her first, turned slightly, and held his long sword horizontally in front of him, firmly protecting the two of them.
Tang Yu looked up in a daze, and the person in front of her had an unusually cold expression.
Looking down further, the short arrow had pierced his left shoulder, and blood was flowing continuously, soaking the cloth, but he didn't even dodge a breath.
Is he in pain, or not?
Strangely, my mind started wandering to things I had no reason to think about.
Without warning, she reached out and, as if drawn by instinct, wrapped her arms around his waist.
As if in response, Xie Xingzheng tightened his embrace and channeled a wisp of gentle internal energy into Tang Yu's body, gently covering her hearing.
Although the ringing couldn't be eliminated, it seemed to make Tang Yu feel less uncomfortable.
She gently pressed her face against his chest, and could clearly feel his somewhat disordered and rapid breathing and heartbeat, which made her feel a little dazed for a moment.
Even after being struck in the left shoulder by an arrow, Xie Xingzheng still managed to withstand several attacks from the blind old man with incredible perseverance.
Tang Yu thought he was fine, but the truth was quite the opposite.
The arrow was poisoned, and Xie Xingzheng had almost lost sensation in his left shoulder.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, blood soaked his clothes, and his vision began to darken slightly.
The cold light of the Miao sword swept fiercely from the depths of darkness. He instinctively raised his hand to block, but because his strength was reduced by half, he was severely suppressed by the old man.
At this moment, Yueying's second arrow, also carrying hatred, came hurtling through the wind.
Xie Xingzheng knew he couldn't dodge it, so he could only tighten his arms, pull Tang Yu into his embrace, and take the arrow with his own body.
He groaned, and with almost all his remaining strength, he leaped back, carrying Tang Yu with him.
Upon landing, Tang Yu steadied his unsteady kneeling body and felt a sticky substance under his palm, clearly indicating far more blood than he had imagined.
Her mind felt like it had been struck by a heavy object, her heart clenched, and she couldn't breathe for a moment.
A sharp, intense pain suddenly and rapidly assaulted her heart, filling her with boundless rage.
She suddenly looked up.
Deep within his pupils, a burst of golden light suddenly exploded.
The old man's blade was only inches away from them when suddenly his body stiffened, as if his soul had been ripped away, and he collapsed to the ground without warning, unconscious.
The cave fell into a deathly silence. Yueying was incredulous and even forgot to ring the bell for a moment.
Soon, the black pool churned like boiling water, and countless dark figures crawled out from the bottom of the pool.
Those were countless Gu worms, as if driven by some irresistible will, surging out of hell to claim lives.
Yueying's eyes widened as she realized something was wrong and frantically shook the bell in her hand.
Despite the deafening ringing of the bell, the golden light in Tang Yu's eyes grew even brighter, concealing a murderous intent that should not belong to "Yue Qimeng".
“You…” Yueying’s expression changed drastically, and she stumbled backward.
She finally realized that Tang Yu's consciousness had far surpassed that of the Dream Gu.
Seeing the endless stream of Gu worms, Yueying spat fiercely, turned around in a panic, and fled into the deeper darkness.
Tang Yu watched coldly, but made no move to chase after them, and the swarm of insects suddenly quieted down.
The next moment, she felt a sweet taste in her throat and spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto Xie Xingzheng's blood-covered back.
She raised her hand to wipe away the remaining blood from her lips. Although her face was pale, she was in much better condition than when the bell rang.
The two supported each other and stumbled as they fled deeper into another part of the cave wall.
Although Xie Xingzheng's breathing was disordered, he protected her from sharp rock surfaces at all times, and even helped her when she lost her footing.
Tang Yu couldn't quite describe the thoughts in her mind.
On one hand, she wanted to tell him not to worry about her injury, but on the other hand, she felt that explaining it would be too much of a hassle. It was as if two contradictory individuals were clashing inside her mind, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Finally, they took refuge in a hidden crevice concealed by a boulder, ensuring they were safe enough not to be discovered by Yueying for the time being, and only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
The first thing Tang Yu did was to treat his two arrow wounds.
The toxin had spread along the bloodstream to his limbs, causing his skin to turn an unusually dark color, and even his body temperature to drop drastically.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Do you have any medicine?"
Xie Xingzheng mustered his strength and took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket. "The medicine that Little Doctor Si gave me back then might be useful."
Tang Yu first fed him medicine before removing his outer garment, intending to treat his arrow wound.
His back was already covered in scars, and now, two more arrow wounds have been added.
Tang Yu's eyes were stung by the bright red blood, and her hand holding the arrow's fletching trembled slightly as she hesitated to pull it out.
Fortunately, Qimeng suppressed all her emotional turmoil, which allowed her to calmly and quickly pull out the arrow and treat his wound.
As she bandaged him, her fingertips brushed against Xie Xingzheng's slightly cool skin. For some reason, tears welled up in Tang Yu's eyes, and then, uncontrollably, they streamed down her face.
Why are you crying?
Seeing Tang Yu crying with a blank expression, Xie Xingzheng raised his hand to cup her face and gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips.
"I don't know." Tang Yu shook her head, but her tears fell even more heavily.
My mind is in such a mess, like it's been torn in two. On one hand, there's the allure of Qi Meng, wanting her to return to "peace," and on the other hand, there's the most genuine emotion of being born Tang Yu.
She had no idea which part of her was controlling her.
When people are vulnerable, they tend to talk more, and Xie Xingzheng is no exception.
"It's fine."
He gently reassured her, "It's just a minor injury, you won't die."
"What about the poison?" Tang Yu finally stopped crying and asked.
"You've already given me the medicine, I feel much better now."
A rare, faint smile played on his lips as he changed the subject: "How did you escape?"
Tang Yu suddenly fell silent.
It took her a while to speak, and she recounted the events leading up to her transformation into Yue Qimeng.
"The Dream Gu reshaped my meridians and flesh, so even though I was seriously injured, I can still be lively and energetic now."
Xie Xingzheng's heart tightened as he listened, and he could almost imagine how much suffering she had endured.
Tang Yu raised her eyes and looked at the dimly lit passageway in the distance: "We were able to escape thanks to Yueying and the people of Nanyue, who are not of one mind."
"It was she who reminded me that the Soul-Summoning Bell can only put Qimeng to sleep, but it can't control me. If I put everyone into a dream first, then naturally no one can suppress me by ringing the bell."
Xie Xingzheng frowned slightly: "Why would she help you?"
Tang Yu said softly, "She's not helping me; she wants to steal the Soul-Summoning Bell."
"If this plan succeeds, she will not only get the bell, but also avoid those who want to save my life, and then..."
She looked up at Xie Xingzheng, her expression completely unmoved:
"Kill me."
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