Chapter 63
When Shi Mingyue woke up, she found that Yun Zhan was gone, and she felt like the sky was falling.
Pei Yanxi arrived the next morning to visit; she had gone to help Shi Ke deal with Shi Boshan. She rushed to the ward, only to find it empty; Yun Zhan was nowhere to be seen.
On the top floor of the hospital, the corridor lights were blindingly white, but the air felt as if it had been sucked out.
Shi Mingyue braced herself against the nurses' station with one hand, her knuckles turning blue from the force, her whole body swaying precariously, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the doctor.
"I booked the best ward in your hospital!" Shi Mingyue's voice was hoarse, yet she couldn't suppress her trembling. "You couldn't even keep an eye on people? Now, right now! Go check the surveillance footage!"
The last word was almost shouted, the echo reverberating down the corridor, filled with anger and resentment...
The nurse was so frightened that she kept saying yes and staggered off to check the surveillance footage.
Shi Mingyue's knuckles turned white as she braced herself on the edge of the table, her shoulders heaving violently, her body going limp as if her spine had been ripped away, and she only managed to stay upright by sheer willpower.
On the other side, Pei Yanxi stood at the end of the corridor, her back straight, but she couldn't hide the trembling of her fingertips.
She dialed the private investigator's number, her voice icy and hard: "As quickly as possible, check all the surveillance footage in the vicinity. If you can't find him, don't come back."
Pei Yanxi hung up the phone, her eyes surging with an unprecedented panic.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down, but all she could see in her mind was Yun Zhan's pale face and those bloodshot eyes.
Pei Yanxi felt as if someone had forcibly ripped out her heart, leaving only a bloody, empty hole.
At the end of the corridor, Shi Mingyue finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed against the wall, her forehead pressed against the cold surface. Tears rolled down silently, splashing onto the floor and creating tiny spots of light.
"I'm sorry...it's my fault, I couldn't keep an eye on her." Shi Mingyue's voice trembled with sobs as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"So what exactly happened? Weren't you in the room the whole time? Even if you left, you should have felt something. You were sleeping so soundly?"
Pei Yanxi couldn't help but lose her temper with Shi Mingyue, no longer caring about class or hierarchy.
Previously, due to Shi Mingyue's status, she did not want to argue with her. In matters concerning Yun Zhan, she retreated time and time again. But Shi Mingyue actually took care of Yun Zhan in this way!
Pei Yanxi was furious. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked coldly at Shi Mingyue kneeling on the ground.
"I'm sorry... I fainted on the bed, and then I saw Yun Zhan. She said my dream was a fabricated illusion. After we finished talking, she left."
"Illusion? What are you talking about?" Pei Yanxi frowned. Shi Mingyue must have been dreaming about these things.
"Do you know about Yun Zhan?" Shi Mingyue suddenly looked up, her gaze towards Pei Yanxi unfathomable.
"Go ahead," Pei Yanxi said seriously.
They found a very private place.
Shi Mingyue considered it for a moment. Since Wen Sixue knew Yun Zhan's identity, Pei Yanxi should know it too. Perhaps Yun Zhan hadn't found a suitable opportunity to tell her.
From Shi Mingyue's perspective, Pei Yanxi's relationship with Yun Zhan is closer than Yun Zhan's relationship with Wen Sixue.
“Yun Zhan is a fox demon who feeds on people’s life essence. She was seriously injured when she saved me yesterday... and then she fell into a coma, so I believe that was an illusion she created.” Shi Mingyue said while observing Pei Yanxi’s reaction.
She was actually a little unsure; what if Pei Yanxi didn't believe her...?
Upon hearing the words "fox demon," a brief look of surprise flashed in Pei Yanxi's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and regained her composure, seemingly without much reaction.
“I heard some rumors yesterday. I heard that on the day you were kidnapped, it snowed in spring, and your father even encountered a nine-tailed fox... This sounds quite fitting for Yun Zhan’s identity as a fox demon.”
The world is full of wonders.
Pei Yanxi had sensed Yun Zhan's abnormality a long time ago; her agility was indeed unlike that of an ordinary person.
Pei Yanxi walked over, squatted down, and put her hand on Shi Mingyue's shoulder. Her voice was low and hoarse: "Since you've told me all this, let's unite now and find her first."
As she said this, Pei Yanxi's fingertips trembled.
She knew very well in her heart that Yun Zhan was gone, vanished without a trace overnight, like snow blown away by the wind.
If a monster really wants to escape, even if they use all their manpower, it will probably be to no avail.
However, they all knew in their hearts that they could not bear to lose it a second time.
Just then, above the hospital, a wisp of silvery-white data light quietly condensed, like a thread drawn from the void, gradually weaving into a floating sphere of light.
21 struggled to climb onto Shi Mingyue's shoulder, which was the transmigration system that Yun Zhan had once been bound to.
After Yun Zhan died, it was forced to separate from him and drifted with the wind. It finally found the hospital where Yun Zhan was, but Yun Zhan had already left.
Therefore, it had to find a new host.
It is simultaneously bound to Shi Mingyue and Pei Yanxi.
The sphere of light stretched, transforming into a semi-transparent phantom of a boy, his voice gentle yet mechanical: "Number 21, Yun Zhan's system. She is currently at Wen Sixue's house."
"Who's speaking?" Pei Yanxi tensed up, her wary gaze sweeping around.
"I heard it too." Shi Mingyue looked around; there was no one there, so where did the electronic voice come from?
"Hello everyone... um, I'm Yun Zhan's good friend, you can think of me as her elf. Yun Zhan has run away now, so I can only rely on you." 21 awkwardly clasped its hands; it truly had no other choice...
"Why should I believe you?"
Pei Yanxi spoke first: "Since fox demons exist in this world, then... there must also be evil creatures."
Pei Yanxi's eyes darkened, and she dialed Wen Sixue's number, coldly questioning, "Is Yun Zhan with you?"
On the other end of the phone, Wen Sixue remained silent for a long time before finally admitting in a low voice, "...Yes."
How did Senior Sister Pei find out that Wen Sixue and Yun Zhan had just arrived home?
Wen Sixue lowered her head, glancing reluctantly at Yun Zhan on the sofa. Were they about to part?
Pei Yanxi pinched the bridge of her nose, her tone somewhat cold: "She's still injured, and you're not taking her to the hospital... Never mind, I'll come pick her up right away."
With a "snap," Pei Yanxi hung up the phone.
“It’s with Wen Sixue, the robot is right.” Pei Yanxi casually picked up her trench coat, glanced back at Shi Mingyue, and asked, “Are you coming with me? Or should I bring her back?”
"I'll go with you!" Shi Mingyue forced herself to stand up and followed behind Pei Yanxi.
21 floated in front of Shi Mingyue again, the ball of light reflecting her bloodshot eyes, and said in a soft voice: "She is still alive, but her vital energy is severely depleted. She may need your help."
...
The doorbell rang briefly, and in less than ten minutes, Shi Mingyue and Pei Yanxi arrived at Wen Sixue's doorstep.
Shi Mingyue stood in the cold light of the peephole, his knuckles still hanging on the door panel, his cuffs damp with the night rain.
Pei Yanxi lagged half a step behind, her shoulders and back ramrod straight. She hadn't brought an umbrella, and her trench coat was half-soaked.
The latch clicked.
Wen Sixue opened the door just wide enough for one person to pass through. The corridor light swept across her profile, illuminating the pale, bloodless look on her cheekbone.
Without greeting anyone, her voice was dry: "Come in quickly... Yun Zhan suddenly fainted, I don't know what happened, she's not responding when I call her..."
After saying that, he turned around, his steps unsteady as if he were walking on ice, his slippers making a soft, uncontrolled scraping sound on the floor.
Shi Mingyue and Pei Yanxi exchanged a glance and then stepped into the room.
Only one wall lamp was on in the entryway, casting a dim light. Wen Sixue's figure swayed slightly under the lamp, her bathrobe belt tied hastily, revealing her prominent collarbone and pale skin.
The main light in the living room wasn't on; the only light source was the bulb from the floor lamp next to the sofa, and the edge of the lampshade was burnt yellow.
Yun Zhan sank into the dark blue fabric sofa, his body silhouette bathed in a dark gold glow from the light, yet it looked like melting wax, as if it might collapse at any moment.
She was wearing a silk shirt as warm as snow, the second button at the collar had popped off, and a thin layer of sweat clung to the lower edge of her collarbone. Her skin appeared almost transparent and cold under the light.
The fox ears weren't properly concealed; the tips drooped weakly towards the back of its neck, and the fur was matted together with sweat, occasionally trembling slightly with each breath.
Shi Mingyue squatted down, put two fingers together and pressed them on the side of Yun Zhan's neck. The pulse under her fingertips was as thin as a spider's thread, with long intervals, as if someone had quietly slowed down time.
"Your pulse and everything else are fine. Could it be that you're just too tired?" Shi Mingyue looked at her face with concern.
Pei Yanxi didn't approach, but stood at the end of the sofa with her arms crossed, her gaze shifting from Yun Zhan's loose collar to the tip of her clothes hanging on the carpet.
The once snow-white down there is gradually losing its luster, turning a dull, grayish color.
A faint, sweet smell of blood floated in the air, mixed with the unique, cool fragrance of the fox clan, like honey spilled on the snow.
Wen Sixue stood where the light and shadow met, her voice so low it was almost inaudible: "When I was talking to her, she was still smiling, saying she was just a little tired..."
The last syllable lingered in his throat, turning into a short, abruptly choked sob.
Shi Mingyue withdrew her hand, her fingers damp with cold sweat.
She looked up, her gaze piercing through the lamplight and striking Wen Sixue directly: "How long has it been?"
A few minutes ago
Wen Sixue answered mechanically, her body almost unsteady.
21 peeked out from the edge of the lampshade, its wings vibrating and emitting a faint crackling sound of electricity, but its voice was unusually clear: "She is lacking in vital energy, and if this continues, she will degenerate."
“Yun Zhan is lacking in energy. She barely managed to maintain her human form to come to you, but she can’t hold on any longer.”
Wen Sixue was startled when she heard the number 21. Shi Mingyue gave her a brief explanation.
21 paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them: "You can cultivate with her, um... given that she is currently very lacking in essence, you may have to take turns."
The moment those words were spoken, the living room fell into a deathly silence.
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