Chapter 57 A Glimmer of Hope
Qin Wuyan let out a long sigh of relief, glanced down at the cliff edge, his gaze lingering on a rock for a moment before he said, "Biyao, if we both fall and die, will you regret it?"
Biyao said, "What time is it? Even if I regret it, is it too late?"
Qin Wuyan remained silent, holding her even tighter. With his other hand gripping the vine tightly, he pushed off the cliff with his foot, which had been clinging to the rocks. The two of them were lifted off the cliff, and the long vines carried them forward like swings. The cold wind whistled across their faces, making them feel as if they were on clouds.
He spotted a hollow beneath the vines growing on the cliff face, and swiftly pulled Biyao into his arms, his back to the bottom of the cliff, before abruptly releasing the vines. Biyao felt a heavy thud as they both crashed to the ground. Qin Wuyan's hands remained firmly on her back, so she lay sprawled on top of him.
He always took such careful and considerate care of her, no matter the time.
The two were huddled in a recessed cave on the cliff face. The twilight and the vines above them obscured their figures, making it difficult to see each other's faces in the darkness.
Biyao quickly pulled his hand away, got up, gently helped him sit up, and nestled him in her arms. Seeing his eyes closed and a faint expression of pain on his face, her heart ached, and she cried out anxiously:
"Qin Wuyan, Wuyan! Wake up, wake up! Wuyan..."
The voice grew more and more urgent...
Biyao noticed that her clothes seemed to be wet, so she moved slightly to remove some vines and leaves, and the place where she was hiding immediately let in a sliver of light.
Her clothes were stained with bright red blood. She quickly and gently lifted Qin Wuyan up and looked behind him. A deep and long gash came into view. The bright red blood had stained most of his back. She suddenly remembered the sword that Qi Hao had slashed down from mid-air just now.
The Frost Sword is most terrifying when it kills with its icy sword energy. Even if the sword doesn't penetrate the body, the sword energy can still injure people invisibly. If Qin Wuyan hadn't protected her with his body at the time, she would be the one suffering this sword strike now!
Biyao gently pulled open the blood-soaked clothes on his back, completely unaware that her tears had started flowing, hot drops falling one by one onto Qin Wuyan's body.
The wound was pulled open, causing a sharp pain. Qin Wuyan slowly opened his eyes and saw her crying. He couldn't help but ask urgently, "Biyao, are you hurt?..."
Biyao sobbed uncontrollably, hugging him and shaking her head, choking out, "I'm not hurt, but you...you must be in so much pain right now!..."
Her cheek was pressed tightly against Qin Wuyan's forehead, her eyes closed, unable to bear to open them to see his wound. Her dark, shiny hair hung down beside Qin Wuyan's cheek, emitting a faint fragrance.
Qin Wuyan's face was deathly pale, but he still smiled. He slowly raised his hand with difficulty and stroked Biyao's head, saying, "Yes, it really hurts, but thankfully it wasn't you!"
Thank goodness it wasn't you. If it were, my heart would ache...
Physical pain is nothing compared to the pain in one's heart...
Biyao was deeply moved: "How could you be so foolish..."
A gentle smile appeared on Qin Wuyan's face: "I told you, I would protect you!"
Upon hearing this, Biyao dared not open her eyes to look at him even more, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
She never imagined that one day, Qin Wuyan, who had lied to her countless times, who was scheming and ruthless, who was helpless and had a tragic fate, would actually do everything in his power to protect her.
She had once taken those words as a pretext for him to win over the Ghost King Sect, as one of his many schemes, but she never expected that he had deceived her about everything. Only that one sentence, "I will protect you," was so incredibly sincere!
Seeing that Biyao remained silent and only buried her head in her hands as she wept, Qin Wuyan became anxious. He completely forgot that he was badly injured and near death. He forced himself to sit up, supported Biyao's shoulders, and gently wiped away her tears while smiling and pretending to be relaxed, saying, "Although I am very happy to see you crying for me, I thought I was going to die because you were crying so hard!"
Biyao quickly wiped away her tears, glared at him, and said irritably, "What kind of time is this to be joking around!"
Seeing that she had finally stopped crying and still had the energy to say hurtful things to him, Qin Wuyan felt relieved and said calmly, "It's much better to die with a smile than to die crying!"
"Pah, pah, pah! Qin Wuyan, do you really want to die?! If you die, I... I'll..."
"So what?" Qin Wuyan smiled knowingly, looking at her with amusement.
Biyao couldn't say what would happen to her, and then she remembered his injury, so she vaguely said, "Why ask so many questions? Aren't you still alive? Let me see how the injury on your back is."
After saying that, she took Qin Wuyan's arm, took out a silk handkerchief, and cleaned the wound on his back. After wiping away most of the blood, she realized that the wound was really deep, and through the red flesh, she could vaguely see the inch-by-inch of eerie white bone.
The Frost Sword was already incredibly sharp, and with Qi Hao's years of training, even just the sword energy was enough to kill with a single strike. Fortunately, he was only injured in the back and was not in mortal danger.
Thinking of this, Biyao breathed a sigh of relief.
When the wound was almost cleaned, Biyao remembered that she still had medicine with her, so she moved her body and went to take off his clothes. Just as she helped him take off his outer robe, she saw Qin Wuyan looking at her with a slightly surprised look.
Biyao then realized what she had just done, her face flushed, and she slowly withdrew her hand, turning her back to him and saying, "You...you need to take off your clothes to apply medicine to the wound on your back."
Her voice trailed off, her face burning hot. She thought about how she had just tried to undress Qin Wuyan without a word—it was so embarrassing!
Seeing her shy expression, Qin Wuyan couldn't help but laugh. He quickly took off his shirt, revealing his muscular chest and blood-stained back.
His back was covered in wounds; apart from a bleeding wound inflicted by the Frost Sword, the rest were old injuries. Several scars were particularly striking, appearing together as if they had been inflicted by an incredibly sharp eagle claw. Through these wounds, one could easily imagine the ruthlessness and viciousness of the person who struck him.
Biyao stared at the claw-shaped wound, a strange sense of familiarity welling up inside her. She vaguely felt that this wound was also left because of her... but she couldn't remember what had happened.
"Hurry up and apply the medicine, it's very cold here."
These words carried a pitiful tone. Biyao came to her senses, slowly lowered her head, turned around, sat behind him, took out the wound medicine she carried with her, and gently sprinkled it on his wound.
Qin Wuyan endured the pain without groaning, but his body trembled involuntarily. Biyao applied medicine to him while gently saying, "Bear with it for a little while, it will be over soon, it will be over soon."
After a while, she finished applying the medicine, then tore off a clean strip of cloth from her clothes, held it in both hands and covered the wound on her back, then wrapped it diagonally around his shoulders and crossed her arms in front of his chest, making it look as if she was hugging Qin Wuyan from behind.
Biyao suddenly felt a little embarrassed and stopped what she was doing, but then she felt that she had already had many intimate interactions with him before, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
But... those memories were ultimately blurry. She suppressed the jumbled thoughts in her mind, quickly tied a knot, helped him put on his clothes, and helped him move to a stone wall to rest against.
As dusk fell, the last rays of the setting sun shone through the branches onto Qin Wuyan's face, casting a tinge of yellow on his pale complexion. He kept his eyes closed, and Biyao sat beside him, unsure whether he was asleep.
“Qin Wuyan…” Biyao called softly.
"Hmm?" His eyelashes twitched slightly, and even opening his eyes seemed to take all his strength.
"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Qin Wuyan was slightly taken aback, lowering his eyes and not daring to look at her. How could he not have questions? He wanted to ask her why she had suddenly appeared, why she was standing on his side against Zhang Xiaofan, and even more so, he wanted to ask her... what she still remembered?
But when the words were on the tip of her tongue, she didn't know how to begin.
Biyao said, "You don't have any questions for me, but I have many questions for you."
Her expression turned serious as she stared at him and said, "Why do you want me to forget what happened in the last fifteen years?"
Qin Wuyan suddenly looked up, surprised, and said, "You remembered everything?"
Biyao naturally didn't remember, as only the person who cast the Forget-Me-Not Gu knew how much spiritual power was needed to undo it. Therefore, what she knew about the events of the past fifteen years was all from Su Zhenzhen and Wild Dog. Although she couldn't remember the details, she still understood what had happened.
But at this moment, Biyao just wanted to annoy him, so she simply said, "That's right, I remember everything that happened in the past fifteen years."
Qin Wuyan was skeptical, his brows furrowed: "Who helped you break the Forget-Me-Not Gu?"
"A man in black, I don't know who he is. He also told me that you made a deal with the Nine Netherworld Emperor to give me the chance to be reborn, is that right?"
Ever since she learned that she had spent nine years with Qin Wuyan, she had been puzzled about how she was reincarnated, what kind of deal it was, and what he had given in return. She just wanted to find out everything.
At this moment, Qin Wuyan was rapidly analyzing the matter. The man in black actually knew about the Nine Netherworld Emperor? Could it be the Underworld Emperor? Absolutely impossible. The Underworld Emperor could not appear in the mortal realm, which was why he could only contact him through spiritual communication and ask him to do things for him in the mortal realm.
The Soul-Gathering Technique hadn't been triggered since she went to Xiaochi Town, so it couldn't be the Soul-Eating Monster. Could it be the man in black who was with the Soul-Eating Monster?
But if this person shared a common goal with the Soul Eater, why didn't they harm Biyao? Why did they even help her break the Forget-Me-Not Gu?
He thought and thought, but he couldn't figure out who the man in black behind the scenes might be, and he couldn't understand what he was trying to do.
Seeing that he didn't answer for a long time, Biyao continued to press, "Tell me! What exactly did you exchange with the Underworld Emperor?" She thought for a moment and then said, "Was that bronze pot artifact given to you by the Underworld Emperor? You went to great lengths to attack the Qingyun Sect, but in reality, it was just to obtain the Zhuxian Sword, because that was a task given to you by the Underworld Emperor? Is that right?"
She was always intelligent and quickly figured out the reason behind it.
Qin Wuyan felt there was no need to hide this from her, so he nodded and said, "That's right, I took the Zhuxian Sword because the Underworld Emperor needed its malevolent energy. As for what he intends to do with it, I don't know."
"Then what were your terms for the exchange? You still haven't said!" Biyao pressed on relentlessly, determined to get to the bottom of it.
Qin Wuyan closed his eyes again and murmured, "Biyao... I'm so tired, let me rest for a while..."
His voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared into the darkness, and his body slumped onto Biyao, falling into a coma.
In fact, he was already exhausted back in the Illusionary Moon Cave. He was only able to exchange a few blows with Zhang Xiaofan later thanks to the pills he had consumed. Then, while Biyao and Tian Ling'er were fighting, he used silver needles to force out his body's potential, which allowed him to grab onto the vines and survive when the two fell off the cliff. However, because his cultivation had been greatly depleted, his body was extremely weak, and in just a short time, he was already on the verge of death.
Biyao couldn't get an answer from him, and she was both anxious and angry, but there was nothing she could do about it. He was seriously injured, and she couldn't possibly beat him to make him tell the truth, so she could only let him rest with his head on her lap.
Qin Wuyan lay on her lap with his face up. Biyao looked down at him, his pale face and handsome features were sharp and distinct, a face that would make any woman's heart flutter.
But at this moment, his brows were slightly furrowed, revealing a hidden unease.
Biyao reached out and gently pressed her fingertips between his brows, smoothing the slight furrow in his brow. However, she noticed that his body temperature was dropping lower and lower, as cold as ice, and his body was trembling. She couldn't help but wonder, if the wound were infected, he should be burning up, but Qin Wuyan was ice cold all over. Could it be caused by the sword energy of the Frost Sword?
No... no, although the Frost Sword is known for its icy sword energy, it is only a sword energy that can hurt people. But Qin Wuyan is currently in a state where his whole body is ice cold. What's going on?
"Biyao... Biyao..."
Qin Wuyan shivered from the cold, calling her name in a dreamlike voice. Biyao quickly hugged him tightly and replied, "I'm here, I've always been here."
"Don't go... Biyao, don't go..."
Biyao was stunned for a moment, and similar memories flooded her mind. It seemed that not long ago, he had also been like this, holding her and muttering to himself incessantly...
She asked, quite puzzled, "You're telling me not to go anywhere?"
"...Don't go...to Qingyun..."
She froze, her expression dazed. She recalled how he had gone mad after falling into an illusion when she rushed to the Illusion Moon Cave, and how he had always stood in her way, repeatedly telling her, "I will never let you go to Qingyun again..."
In the end, he couldn't stop her. At that time, she only had Zhang Xiaofan in her heart, and even looking at Qin Wuyan would annoy her.
In an instant, it felt as if something had struck her heart hard, so heavy and bitter.
"No Flame..."
Tears welled up in Biyao's eyes again. She raised her hand and gently stroked his eyebrows and eyes, feeling a pang of pain in her heart, yet also a warmth in it.
Some vague memories also surfaced intermittently. She vaguely remembered that when she was still Mu Yao, he called out the name "Bi Yao" while he was unconscious. The girl who knew nothing about it got jealous and even argued and misunderstood him!
So, she'd been jealous of herself all along?
She suddenly burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
Although her memory is gone, her heart still remembers; she loves him.
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