Chapter 57 Breaking Free (3)
The sound of rain, like tearing silk, pounded on the dilapidated eaves of the wooden house.
Yun Zhan knelt by the bed, his fingertips trembling but extremely steady, fastening Shi Mingyue's clothes one button at a time. The buttons were icy cold, but her palms were frighteningly hot.
With each touch, Shi Mingyue trembled slightly in his arms, tears silently rolling down and landing on Yun Zhan's hand, leaving small dents.
Shi Mingyue was too frightened to speak. She grabbed Yun Zhan's sleeve with all her might, which was her last lifeline. The girl opened her bloodshot eyes and stuffed all her plea for help and trust into that gaze.
"Shi Mingyue, don't be afraid, I'm here." Yun Zhan unlocked the chains binding her hands and feet. She could see Shi Mingyue's unease, so she softened her voice and gently comforted her.
"Bang!"
The bullet pierced through his back, and a burst of blood mist exploded in Yun Zhan's left chest, splattering crimson blood onto Shi Mingyue's pale neck.
She swayed, but held on tightly to the person in her arms and did not fall.
The fox's vital energy was drained in an instant, forcibly maintaining the illusion that it had not been hit in a vital spot, but blood still dripped down its clothes like broken red beads.
21: "You're doomed, you...you've been shot in the heart!"
21 screamed wildly in Yun Zhan's mind. Even a demon would die if its heart was pierced, let alone Yun Zhan, a half-baked demon...
That last blow had exhausted all of Yun Zhan's energy; she was only managing to stay upright thanks to sheer willpower.
Shi Shaoxuan emerged from the shadows, his gun still smoking.
He grabbed Yun Zhan by the back of her collar, dragged her off the bed, and gripped her neck with his five fingers like iron pincers: "I didn't want to kill you, but I spared your life for Pei Yanxi's sake. You still dare to ruin my plans? Then you might as well die."
With a tightening of his knuckles, Yun Zhan was lifted off the ground, his neck creaking under the strain.
Her face was flushed, and a few tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Her survival instinct kicked in, and Yun Zhan gave Shi Mingyue on the bed a very soft, pleading look—this was the first time she had ever been so vulnerable in front of Shi Mingyue.
Shi Mingyue could see it clearly: fresh blood was gushing from Yun Zhan's chest, staining half the floor red.
The limbs, still under the effects of the medication, were ignited by excruciating pain and fear at that moment.
She heard her heart screaming: if she didn't save her, she would die!
If Yun Zhan isn't saved... he will die.
If she doesn't save Yun Zhan... then the rest of her life will be meaningless.
No! She couldn't let Yun Zhan die.
She wanted Yun Zhan to live.
For the first time, Shi Mingyue heard her own heart pounding so loudly. It wasn't out of fear, but the sound of wings breaking free from their cocoons.
For eighteen years, Shi Ke taught her from a young age to be gentle, dignified, and polite, following the precept that "a woman should be quiet and elegant."
She didn't like it at all, but being born into a wealthy family, she was used to being arranged for, protected, and used as a bargaining chip in marriage alliances.
She had imagined resisting, but those thoughts remained just that—thoughts—until Yun Zhan arrived. She never dared to put them into practice, let alone wield a knife, draw blood, or kill her brother.
Just a second ago, she was holding Yun Zhan, the blood on her chest mixed with her tears, every breath carrying the taste of rust, yet it felt like the first time she was truly breathing air.
Two clear tears streamed down Mingyue's face as she suddenly understood:
I never knew that "wanting" could be so intense.
If it becomes so intense that I can't do it, I don't want to live anymore.
So intense was the thought that even if it meant getting blood on her hands and no longer living as Miss Shi, she would still bring the person in her arms out of this rain.
In that instant, Shi Mingyue understood.
For the rest of her life, she could choose not to be the young lady of the Shi family, but to be part of Yun Zhan's family. She could break free from the constraints she had placed on herself for eighteen years for Yun Zhan.
The sound of rain roared in his ears, and Shi Mingyue heard the crisp sound of butterfly wings tearing through silk.
Shi Mingyue bit her tongue, the taste of blood filling her throat, but miraculously, she raised her arm and reached for the dagger that Yun Zhan had dropped.
With all her might, she lunged at Shi Shaoxuan from behind, the tip of the knife aimed at his back, and plunged it in.
"puff--"
The dull thud of metal piercing flesh drowned out the sound of rain.
Shi Shaoxuan froze, and his five fingers suddenly loosened.
He slowly turned his head, his pupils reflecting Shi Mingyue's bloodshot eyes. When Shi Mingyue killed her, she showed no hesitation, only determination and resolve.
The dagger was pulled out, and blood gushed out, splattering onto Shi Mingyue's pale face like a belated avalanche.
She killed her own brother, her blood relative, and also tore open the death cage that had bound her and Yun Zhan.
The rain finally intensified, like a belated baptism, washing away the blood in the wooden house and also washing away the sins and tears that covered Shi Mingyue's hands.
Shi Mingyue threw down her dagger and rushed towards the fallen Yun Zhan, embracing his still-bleeding body with all her might. Her voice was hoarse but firm: "Yun Zhan! Can you still walk? I'll carry you home!"
Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten, but the rain had not stopped.
"Shi Boshan has brought his men." Yun Zhan leaned weakly against the wall, her lips pale, and it took her last bit of strength to say those words.
"Don't be afraid, my father will send people too. We have to hold on... Yun Zhan?!" Shi Mingyue's trembling fingers touched Yun Zhan's chest, where blood oozed out, but not too much.
"Where did that shot hit? Yun Zhan... tell me."
Large tears fell to the floor as Shi Mingyue sobbed uncontrollably. She was terrified... her thin body trembled all over.
No... if it really hit the heart, there shouldn't be so little blood left... Yes, it definitely didn't hit a vital organ.
Yes, she wasn't deceiving herself!
Yun Zhan can still live.
Yun Zhan can still be by her side.
As long as I take her to the hospital, she can always be saved.
"Yun Zhan, let's go home..." Shi Mingyue put her arm around Yun Zhan and walked out of the wooden house step by step. Her face was full of tears, but she had an unprecedented determination and resolve.
As Shi Mingyue led Yun Zhan out of the shadows of the wooden house, a cold drop of water suddenly landed on her eyelashes.
It's not rain, it's snow.
She froze, looked up, and saw the gray-blue sky being torn apart by some invisible force, with goose-feather-like snowflakes pouring down, silently covering the dark green of the forest.
In an instant, the branches turned white, the fallen leaves were buried into a soft blanket, even the wind held its breath, leaving only the soft rustling of snowflakes touching each other.
"How could it snow? It's springtime..." Shi Mingyue murmured, her palm facing upwards. The snow melted into water at her fingertips, but it was as cold as a warning that pierced to the bone.
She turned her head to look at Yun Zhan, but Yun Zhan didn't react and continued walking forward on his own.
Yun Zhan never neglected her, but now he was unusually silent. His face was whiter than snow, and his lips were almost transparent. Only the wound on the side of his neck shone with a last trace of red against the overwhelming whiteness.
Yun Zhan didn't answer, but silently tightened his grip on Shi Mingyue's hand.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, like countless cranes flapping their wings at the same time, turning the world into a dazzling silver-white expanse.
The forest was transformed in an instant, and even the outline of the distant mountain ridge was erased by the snow, leaving only a narrow black path under their feet, which was being swallowed up by the white snow bit by bit.
Shi Mingyue was still shocked.
"Spring thunder should not dance with snow," she murmured to herself, her unease growing.
Yun Zhan looked down at her heart.
The fox died, and spring snow fell for a hundred days.
She has essentially given her life here today.
Shi Mingyue suddenly turned her head to look at Yun Zhan, who was leading her through the snow. The snow fell on her eyelashes and stopped melting, instead piling up into tiny ice crystals.
“Yun Zhan…” Shi Mingyue’s voice trembled, and she staggered.
Yun Zhan simply turned around and smiled at her, a smile lighter than snow, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
“Let’s go,” Yun Zhan’s voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. “I’m fine, I just don’t want to talk. Let’s find a cave to hide in first.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature at Yun Zhan's fingertips began to dissipate at a visible rate, quietly extinguishing the last light within his body.
The two found a mountain path, but they were almost exhausted and had no choice but to rest there.
After entering the cave, Shi Mingyue felt increasingly sleepy, and her eyes closed uncontrollably.
"Yun Zhan..."
Just as Shi Mingyue was about to close her eyes, she grabbed Yun Zhan's sleeve and knelt on the ground, a strong sense of unease rising in her heart.
"Is it you... this heavy snow...? Don't go, come back with me, okay?"
Yun Zhan didn't say anything, he just squatted down.
Yun Zhan knelt in the snow, gently cupped Shi Mingyue's face in his hands, and leaned down to press his lips to hers.
The first thing to cross was a drop of blood, the fox's last drop of essence, which she held on the tip of her tongue, carrying a slightly cool, sweet, and fishy taste.
She carefully pried open Shi Mingyue's teeth, which were numbed by the drug, allowing the red color to slowly melt between their lips.
The stench of blood filled the air instantly, like a wild rose suddenly blooming in the snow, both cold and alluring.
Yun Zhan dared not go too far, only turning gently. Shi Mingyue's lips parted slightly, unconsciously moving closer to Yun Zhan. A warm breath entwined with hers, like vines clinging to her last refuge.
Yun Zhan's eyelashes trembled, and he finally deepened the kiss.
The moment their tongues touched, she trembled slightly—this was the first and last time she had ever kissed Shi Mingyue.
She has never been in a relationship with a girl, but she gave her first kiss to someone from the past. However, it seems that she will never have the chance to date a girl again.
Yun Zhan gave a wry smile as she carefully swept her hand across the other person's palate.
After the blood transfusion was complete, their lips gently caressed each other, like snowflakes melting on the skin, leaving a subtle numbness and pain.
She gently sucked on Shi Mingyue's lower lip, giving her last bit of life force to Shi Mingyue.
She finally stepped back half an inch, a trace of crimson still lingering at the corner of her lips, like rouge that had been accidentally stolen.
Yun Zhan murmured softly, his voice so soft that only Xue could hear it: "Shi Mingyue, goodbye."
Shi Mingyue had fainted, but her lips were still slightly parted, as if waiting for the next kiss that would never come.
As Yun Zhan emerged from the cave, his hair gradually turned white, transforming from jet black into three thousand silver strands that fell above the black wind, standing out starkly against the vast snowfield.
21: Waaaaah, is this really the end for us? If you don't give her your last bit of life essence, you have a chance to live.
21 cried uncontrollably. If only she hadn't gone into yuri novels, wouldn't it have been better to just write a farming novel and live a peaceful life?
It was all its fault! Her curiosity indirectly led to Yun Zhan's death...
"I want to smoke."
Yun Zhan took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. There was only one cigarette left, but luckily there was a lighter inside.
The temperature was very low, and Yun Zhan pressed the button several times before a flame appeared. After lighting the cigarette, Yun Zhan couldn't wait to take a puff.
"Don't cry, I think it was worth it. Actually, every world is real, it's not like you're transmigrating into a book, so... I'm very happy to have been able to save Shi Mingyue."
Yun Zhan leaned against a large tree, gazing into the distance, as if he had returned to the state he was in when he looked at Su Jue in the previous world.
"Actually, there's something else I haven't told you. Shi Shaoxuan likes Shi Mingyue. Deep down, he likes the kind of dignified and elegant young lady, but he knows he's not good enough for her, so he's used all sorts of dirty tricks to drag Shi Mingyue into prostitution."
"Huh?? This is...this is way too twisted..."
"That's right, so I can't just ignore Shi Mingyue. If she really falls into Shi Shaoxuan's hands... she'll definitely die young in the end."
"Wait a moment, I will find a way to use spiritual energy to clear a path in the snow mountain, so that Shi Ke and the others can only find Shi Mingyue."
21: "Then you are such a good person. You have lost your spiritual energy and can't be reincarnated in the underworld."
Yun Zhan: "Yeah, I know."
Yun Zhan nodded, speaking as casually as eating and drinking.
"Besides, I'm also very tired... It might be a good thing if it ends like this." The moment Yun Zhan stood up, the last bit of his vital energy was drained from his body.
First, the roots of her hair, as if drifted by moonlight, spread silvery-white from the top of her head all the way to her temples and the back of her neck. In the blink of an eye, her jet-black hair turned into a snow waterfall, scattering and flying in the wind.
Not everyone experiences the fear of death.
Yun Zhan, is this really the end for us?
Hmm, maybe so.
Author's Note:
Dear readers:
Let me explain my plans for the future.
After Xiaoyun successfully overcomes this tribulation, she will start thinking about dating girls; she just wants to be in a relationship!
Around chapter 65, Xiaoyun will have one main storyline and two subplots involving the three female leads. These three storylines will be written separately.
Xiaoyun will choose different heroines depending on her psychological state (somewhat similar to the branching points in the game Orange G).
Here's a tentative list: Wen's route (the Lover's route - "The bright moon hangs high and shines upon me"), Pei's route and Shi's route will not be revealed for now, leaving them as suspense.
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