[Old Cold Wood] Her brother's heartbeat was too fast
Her voice began to tremble, and every word seemed to be covered with thick ice crystals.
"And then... they came. Those transparent, yet extremely lethal, yet unkillable monsters...!"
Ming Luo's eyes were instantly filled with great fear, and her voice trembled even more violently, unable to even form a complete sentence.
"Xuan Yangming... he didn't do anything himself. Those ghost soldiers he brought with him, and those strangely twisted bones... they can't feel pain and can't be killed... They don't even feel pain, they only know how to... kill..."
"They... they were like a tide, rushing forward and biting anyone they saw... The elders... and my fellow brothers and sisters, they fought desperately, but it was useless... Kill one, and there were tens or hundreds more to come. Their blood... splattered everywhere. Xuan Yangming... he was like a ghost, moving through the pain he had created... just to find me... just to find me!"
Her voice grew fainter and fainter, as if immense pain had already gripped her throat.
"Suyao..." Mingluo said softly, "You said... if I hadn't gone to Xuan Yangming's meditation room to look for this jade token... my senior brothers and sisters... the elders of the mountain gate... wouldn't they have to suffer this cruel fate..."
She opened her palm again, revealing the cracked jade token. The word "faith" engraved on it seemed so heavy in the mist.
Zhou Suyao stared at the jade pendant in her hand, speechless for a long time. She finally understood why the sadness in Ming Luo's eyes was so deep, and why her obsession with rebuilding the sect was so strong.
Because...it's not just about revenge.
"You, don't be too sad." Zhou Suyao said softly. She had never been very good at comforting others, but now, she actually had a few more words to say. "You must rebuild the Xincong Sect and let Xuan Yangming know that his greed can only destroy himself, not others."
Hearing this, Ming Luo raised his tear-stained face and nodded, "Yes... I understand. The more difficult the situation is, the stronger I must be."
The two chatted quietly along the way, the atmosphere gradually relaxing. The bluestone path meandered downward, passing through a dense bamboo forest. The swaying shadows of the bamboos accentuated the tranquility. Not far away, the eaves of the guesthouse were faintly visible.
Just then——!
"call out!"
An extremely subtle sound of breaking through the air, almost blending into the sound of the wind, came without warning and went straight to Ming Luo's back.
Their goal was clear—to kill him with one strike! They wanted to turn Ming Luo into a speechless corpse!
Too fast!
The assassins were obviously proficient in concealment. Their aura blended completely into the environment. Until the moment before the arrow was shot, none of the three people present had any sense of it!
Zhou Suyao had just recovered from a serious injury, and her spiritual power was far from restored. She only felt a cold breath of death sweeping over her in an instant. It was almost a subconscious instinctive reaction. Before the shrill whistling sound that broke through the wind swept over her, she suddenly pushed Ming Luo aside.
Phew!
The sharp arrow pierced through her flesh and instantly went through her left shoulder. She groaned and staggered backward, her light-colored clothes quickly stained red with blood.
Ming Luo was pushed to the ground, still in shock. She looked at the dark red bloodstains that were rapidly spreading on Zhou Suyao's shoulder, and her face turned pale in an instant: "Suyao!"
Seeing this sudden change, Zhou Zonglan, who was hiding in the dark, suddenly appeared from the bamboo forest. His simple long sword brought up a sharp green sword energy and slashed towards the direction where the sharp arrow came from.
However, there is obviously more than one assassin!
The moment Zhou Zonglan appeared, two other ghostly figures suddenly appeared from two other directions. They were wrapped in black tights, their faces covered with pale masks, revealing only a pair of emotionless, cold eyes.
Their movements were incredibly fast, like incorporeal ghosts, holding a black bone dagger in their hands, emitting an ominous cold light, and silently stabbed at the frightened Ming Luo.
Their goal has always been Mingluo!
As for Zhou Suyao and Zhou Zonglan, they are just obstacles that need to be eliminated!
Zhou Suyao's left shoulder was severely paralyzed. At the moment, she could only swallow blood and circulate her spiritual power to try to prevent this fatal blow.
At this critical moment——
Time seemed to be gently fluctuated by an invisible big hand.
In an instant, an indescribable pressure enveloped the entire bamboo forest.
The two men in black who were rushing towards Ming Luo suddenly froze in their movements. Their pupils suddenly shrank under their masks, revealing an expression of incredible horror.
Immediately afterwards, a figure appeared out of thin air and stood quietly in front of Mingluo.
It’s Zhou Shanyuan.
No one could see clearly how he arrived. It was as if he had always been standing there and had just appeared from nothingness.
He still had the same thin body and pale face, but there was no expression on his face, as if it were a pool of stagnant water that had been calm for tens of millions of years.
However, in his hand, he was still gently holding the peach branch that seemed to have just been broken.
The peach blossom branches are dull and inconspicuous, just like dead branches and leaves picked up casually from the roadside.
But the moment this dead branch appeared—
As two crisp sounds like striking jade were heard, the two stiff-moving assassins, along with the daggers in their hands that were shining with terrifying silver light, silently and without any warning, turned into two tiny wisps of black smoke. Without even a scream, they completely dissipated into the air.
As if they had never appeared.
The other assassin who was entangled by Zhou Zonglan also trembled suddenly, and his eyes under the mask were staring intently, filled with endless fear and despair.
Puff——
Zhou Zonglan's sword flashed, and the assassin's body was torn apart in an instant, with blood splattering everywhere.
Everything happened in a flash.
From the appearance of the assassins to their deaths, it only took a few breaths.
In the bamboo forest, the only sound left was the rustling of the bamboo leaves caused by the wind.
Zhou Suyao covered her bleeding arm and stared blankly at the thin figure standing in front of Ming Luo, and the broken peach branch in his hand.
Big Brother... Big Brother again...
Just like when he conjured up a peach tree in front of the Yangxin Palace to ward off attacks for her, the eldest senior brother appeared again when she was in the most danger and helpless.
He almost used his absolute advantage to instantly eliminate the fatal threat.
But...why.
Why would this person who could ignore the destruction of the demon clan in the illusion now choose to appear without hesitation at every moment she needs him, even at the cost of using such terrifying power?
A huge sense of contradiction once again assaulted Zhou Suyao's mind. The coldness of the illusion and the protection of reality, like two inseparable strings, tangled in her mind, causing her to suffer a splitting headache and almost lose her balance.
She almost blurted it out.
"Big Brother...are you the you in the illusion...or the you of now..."
However, Zhou Shanyuan seemed to have read her mind. Before she could speak, his eyes met hers, which were filled with confusion and struggle.
That look was too heavy, containing too many unspeakable things.
But, it was only a brief second.
The next moment, Zhou Shanyuan's gaze turned to the frightened Mingluo, and his voice was still calm: "Zong Lan, take Miss Mingluo to the guesthouse."
"Okay," Zhou Zonglan immediately accepted the order. He helped Ming Luo, who was lying limp on the ground, but he was still a little worried and turned to him, "Big Brother, you also take good care of Su Yao."
"Of course." Zhou Shanyuan nodded.
The third brother then left in the right direction.
At the entrance of the bamboo forest path, Zhou Shanyuan and Zhou Suyao were the only ones left.
Zhou Suyao covered her painful left shoulder with her hands, blood seeping out from between her fingers, instantly staining her light-colored sleeves red and making her face look as pale as snow.
But her eyes were still fixed on the thin figure in front of her. The question that almost broke through her throat was blocked by a more turbulent emotion when he turned to face her.
In front of her, Zhou Shanyuan's gaze fell on her shoulder where blood was flowing. The calmness in his deep eyes when facing the assassin was instantly broken, like a stone thrown into a deep pool of water, which quickly rippled in his eyes, and was then suppressed by an even more indescribable heaviness.
He stepped forward, and Zhou Suyao felt herself instantly enveloped by the clear and warm peach blossom fragrance on his body. This breath made her confused mind inexplicably tremble, and her body subconsciously stepped back, but stumbled due to the sharp pain in her shoulder.
"Don't move."
Zhou Shanyuan's low voice sounded, carrying unquestionable power, but it was also less ethereal than before, and more close and real and hoarse.
His fingers gently stroked her blood-soaked hand, which was covering the wound. His fingertips were cold, but when they touched her hot skin, she could keenly feel the slight tremor from his fingertips.
Then, he quickly pressed several of her acupuncture points to stop the bleeding.
However, Zhou Suyao could feel that his fingers were constantly trembling.
What is he feeling guilty about? Or is he suppressing something?
Zhou Suyao frowned. She stared at the profile of her senior brother so close to her. She could even see the pale blue veins beneath his pale skin, and the faint shadows cast by his long and thick eyelashes under his eyelids.
This face had seemed so cold and distant in the illusion, but now it was so close that I could feel the slightest ripple of his breathing.
"Big Brother..." she thought to herself, "What kind of person are you?"
Just as she was in a trance, she suddenly heard the eldest brother whisper again: "Bear with it."
In an instant, Zhou Suyao felt a pain far more severe than before. Her eyes were instantly shrouded in darkness, and her consciousness almost left her body.
In severe pain, she completely lost control of her body. Her uninjured right hand almost instinctively grabbed the wide collar of Zhou Shanyuan's chest.
The touch was cool, and beneath the fabric...
A solid chest belonging to an adult male.
Zhou Suyao pulled her hand back abruptly as if she had been burned. But the moment she let go, she suddenly remembered that she was completely leaning on the eldest brother. If she let go, she would probably fall face first to the ground.
All right.
It was too late to blame herself, so she had to close her eyes tightly.
But the expected pain did not come.
A pair of strong arms held her firmly in their arms and lifted her up before she completely fell to the ground.
His arms were tightly wrapped around her waist and back, trapping her entire body against his chest. Her injured left shoulder was carefully avoided, but her face was not so lucky, and was forced to press against his warm clothes.
In an instant, the smell of blood that filled her nose was diluted by the sharp breath.
Zhou Suyao's consciousness was already swirling in the dizziness of blood loss, her body too weak from the pain to move. For now, she could only passively lean against his arms. Through the thin fabric, she could clearly feel the rise and fall of his chest and his powerful heartbeat, which seemed a little... too fast.
"Big Brother..." She wanted to say something, but her voice was as thin as a mosquito.
"Don't talk."
Zhou Shanyuan's voice sounded above her head, still so low and calm, but it seemed to have a hint of soothing meaning.
As he finished speaking, Zhou Suyao felt a powerful yet gentle spiritual energy. Enveloped by this spiritual energy, the intense pain gradually subsided, and the cold numbness was instantly replaced by a warm current, as if slowly pulling her consciousness back from the abyss of excruciating pain. However, the weakness of this body became increasingly obvious, and she could only lean helplessly in this paradoxical embrace.
The bamboo forest is quiet. The afterglow of the setting sun shines through the gaps between the bamboo leaves, casting circular, mottled spots of light onto the two people hugging each other.
Zhou Suyao closed her eyes and buried her face deeper. Her chaotic mood was temporarily calmed by the comfort of spiritual power, but the next moment, a new question quietly took root in her heart.
—This intimate embrace, and the cold figure in the illusion. Which one is the real him? Or rather, which one is the one she longs for deep in her heart...
She didn't dare to think too much about it. The weakness of her body and the warmth of her spiritual power made her consciousness gradually blurred. At least at this moment, she just wanted to fall asleep briefly in this embrace.
Zhou Shanyuan held her in his arms, feeling the person's breathing gradually steady but still weak. He slowly raised his hand, as if wanting to wipe away the blood on her face, but at the moment when he was about to touch her skin, he suddenly stopped in mid-air.
The fingertips curled up slightly and finally slowly retracted.
He held her, as if holding the most precious thing in the world, as if holding a flame that burned his sanity. Then, he looked up at the setting sun that was gradually disappearing into the deep sea of clouds in the bamboo forest.
The evening breeze blew, and the bamboo leaves rustled.
It seemed to be whispering a fate that no one could unravel.
He didn't use the key for instant teleportation, but just held her like this, and slowly walked towards the depths of the bamboo forest in the deepening twilight.
It seemed that only this stolen time could make him feel a little at peace.
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