Chapter 35
He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning. "Split into two groups. One group, dig three feet into the ground, find her for me!" He paused, each word dripping with chilling killing intent. "The other group, immediately head south, strike at the vassal king's lair, and before I... find her, annihilate all those who covet her!"
Upon hearing this, He Ying's expression changed drastically, and she cried out urgently, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! The Xuan Yu Guards are your last personal shield. Protecting your safety is the top priority. If you send them all out, what if..."
"Do as I say!" Pei Yun shouted sternly. However, this angry rebuke seemed to have exhausted the last bit of strength he had been holding on to. Before he finished speaking, his body suddenly swayed, and a thick stream of black blood, as black as ink, gushed out of his mouth without warning.
"Your Majesty!" Pei Yun's tall body fell straight backward, crashing heavily onto the cold, blood-stained cliff, stirring up a fine cloud of blood dust.
*
The icy, bone-chilling spring water felt like countless fine needles piercing his flesh, instantly waking Ling Zhouling. He coughed violently as he sat up, realizing that the stinging pain from being bitten by the Gu worms had disappeared, but a strange numbness and itching lingered on his skin, as if there were still invisible insects wriggling under his skin.
He lay on the shore, retching violently until his stomach was empty, leaving only acrid bile burning his throat, before collapsing onto the cold, rocky beach, utterly exhausted.
He raised his wet eyelashes and coldly shot his gaze towards Xi Xiao, who was submerged in the icy pool not far away. The murky waves churned, occasionally washing over her pale mouth and nose, but she remained unresponsive, like a lifeless piece of driftwood. Ling Zhouling watched indifferently, motionless, clearly having no intention of rescuing her.
He struggled to his feet, dragging his soaked and heavy body, and managed to gather some half-damp, withered branches and leaves from the rocky shore. After much effort, he managed to light a small campfire with a tinderbox; the flames flickered, bringing a meager warmth.
Without hesitation, he stripped off his soaked, heavy brocade robe and outer garment, spreading them out on a rock beside the fire to dry. The biting cold made him shiver slightly. He rubbed his hands together, his gaze unconsciously sweeping across the desolate cliff bottom, searching for anything that might provide food.
Just then, the figure in the pool finally moved.
Dark red streaks of blood, like eerie algae, slowly seeped from her body, spreading and dissipating in the murky water as the waves crashed against her.
She clutched her aching chest, moving with extreme difficulty and slowness, as if every inch of movement required all her strength. Her blood-soaked clothes clung to her body, outlining her gaunt and emaciated figure. Her face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color.
Looking at her extremely miserable appearance, Ling Zhouling's eyes were filled with extremely complex emotions. He pursed his thin lips and remained silent for a long time.
Xi Xiao seemed oblivious to the cold gaze, staggering to the fire and almost collapsing. She stretched out her muddy and blood-stained hands, trembling, towards the faint flames, drawing in the meager warmth.
Ling Zhouling looked at her huddled by the fire, shivering, and felt a strange tightness in his chest. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was dry and strained: "Why didn't you just jump off the cliff after attracting the Gu worms? You knew there was a pool of water below, right? Hakone grass needs a lot of water to survive. You had already calculated it all. Why did you have to go through all that trouble and drag me along?"
"Take me to Qilin Mountain..." Xi Xiao's voice was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, each word uttered slowly and laboriously, "My senior brother is there, I need to find him..."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly coughed and vomited a mouthful of dark red blood. She instinctively raised her blood-soaked sleeve to wipe it, but only spread the glaring scarlet blood across her pale face, making it even more shocking.
Looking at the glaring bloodstain on her face, Ling Zhouling felt an even stronger sense of unease. He almost roughly grabbed the half-dried outer robe from beside the fire, still warm from its heat, and slammed it over Xi Xiao's head, covering her face that was driving him crazy. His tone was harsh: "Put it on!"
Hearing a barely audible "thank you" from beneath his robe, the nameless anger in his heart burned even brighter. He said irritably, "Why should I take you with me? I still have to return to the capital to report!"
Xi Xiao struggled to wrap the outer robe tighter, and upon hearing this, she even gave a weak laugh, "You can't go back..." Her gaze inadvertently swept over the tiger tally hanging at his waist, and she gently shook his robe, faintly smelling the stench of death. "The Regent is dead, and his former subordinates have scattered like monkeys when the tree falls. To save their own lives, they can only bind you and force you to raise the banner of rebellion and fight against His Majesty..."
She paused to catch her breath, gathering her strength, and spoke in a weak but clear voice, "His Majesty will not let the traitors go. The capital is a dead end; going back would be like walking into a trap. Only in Beijiang is there still a glimmer of hope..."
"No! Impossible!" Ling Zhouling shook his head frantically, "His Majesty and I grew up together since childhood, our bond..."
"The past friendship was genuine, but now our stances are even more so!" Xi Xiao coldly interrupted him, her voice carrying a cynical sneer that spoke of worldly wisdom. "Before, you shared a common enemy and could stand shoulder to shoulder; now you are each other's greatest enemy. You have no choice but to get involved! And..."
She paused, then laboriously raised a bloodstained finger, pointing it faintly at herself, or perhaps at the unseen pursuers, and said in a weak voice, "Before, you could still proceed slowly, but now, with me in your grasp, we'll have to travel day and night, fleeing for our lives..."
"You—! You've been plotting against me from beginning to end!" Ling Zhouling finally realized what was happening, and a surge of overwhelming anger, as if he had been manipulated, rushed to her and ripped off the outer robe he was wearing.
A gust of cold wind rushed in instantly, and Xi Xiao shivered violently from the cold. Her already swaying body curled up even tighter. When Ling Zhouling saw her suddenly turn pale as a ghost and tremble, the violent anger in his heart seemed to find an outlet, and his expression softened slightly.
Xi Xiao's teeth chattered as she desperately mustered the last vestiges of her remaining consciousness and strength. Her blood-stained hands gripped his wrist as he pulled at her robe, her fingertips icy cold. "I didn't know you would take that path. I originally thought I would go alone, but that would make it too easy for Pei Yun to find out. It's different if you're with me. You'll arrange for people to hide the traces, right?"
Seeing Ling Zhouling's complexion growing worse, she raised her unfocused eyes and, with the last of her strength, uttered a broken plea: "Please...please, find my senior brother, he's in danger...you grew up together, didn't you..." Before she could finish speaking, her taut will snapped like a bowstring, her body went limp, and she sank into boundless darkness.
At the cold, damp bottom of the cliff, only Ling Zhouling remained, standing frozen in place, clutching the blood-stained, half-dry outer robe in his hand. The campfire had long since died out, and the occasional sparks from the unburnt charcoal illuminated his ever-changing, complex face, making him appear like a stone sculpture in the deep twilight.
A deathly silence reigned, save for the mournful sound of the cold pool.
*
Xi Xiao woke up with a bone-chilling cold and a dull pain in her chest. As her consciousness returned, the first thing she felt was the brocade robe of Ling Zhouling that she was wearing, the very one that he had roughly torn off yesterday.
She blinked with difficulty and found herself in a cold, damp cave. The stone walls were icy and hard, and a few narrow cracks let in a faint, firefly-like light, barely outlining the rugged shape of the cave. But that pitiful light was quickly extinguished, and the deep darkness, like a cold tide, completely engulfed this small space.
She gritted her teeth, enduring the churning pain in her chest, and struggled to sit up, inching closer to the cold stone wall. Each movement aggravated her injuries, causing a fine layer of cold sweat to bead on her forehead.
In the darkness, she felt a cold gaze fixed on her. It was too dark in the cave to see his expression, but the silent gaze carried a heavy weight.
"Leave at daybreak tomorrow." The icy voice abruptly shattered the deathly silence.
Xi Xiao nodded slightly in the darkness, her voice low and hoarse from weakness, yet unusually calm: "That's how it should be."
Ling Zhouling seemed taken aback by her resigned attitude, and a cold snort of annoyance came from the darkness: "...What a nuisance!"
Xi Xiao remained silent for a moment, then said sincerely, "Thank you for your help, Your Highness. If Your Highness ever needs anything in the future, I will do my utmost to repay you."
Ling Zhouling seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and his voice suddenly rose, "What trouble could this young master possibly have that I need to ask you for help? I should be grateful if you don't cause me any trouble!" He turned his back abruptly, as if even looking at her would annoy him, and added stiffly, "What I did this time was for Xi Yu, and has nothing to do with you, so don't flatter yourself."
Xi Xiao curved her lips into a slight but genuine smile: "Alright, then... on behalf of my senior brother, thank you."
Ling Zhouling's exquisite profile seemed to stiffen for a moment. His Adam's apple bobbed violently a few times, as if he wanted to refute something, but in the end, it only turned into a barely audible groan before he fell completely silent.
The next morning, Xi Xiao was awakened by the faint morning light seeping into the cave. Ling Zhouling was no longer in the cave. She forced her weak body to walk out of the cave and looked up. She saw Ling Zhouling standing with his back to her under a withered tree not far away. A masked man in black stood in front of him with his head bowed, listening to something in a low voice.
Ling Zhouling spoke very quickly, his expression cold and stern, and the masked man nodded frequently.
A moment later, the masked man retreated silently into the forest like a ghost and disappeared.
As if sensing something, Ling Zhouling suddenly turned around. The morning light shone through the sparse branches, illuminating Xi Xiao, who was leaning against the cave entrance. The soft light outlined a fuzzy golden edge on her pale, almost transparent cheeks, making her eyes appear serene and carrying a fragile beauty that had endured hardship.
Ling Zhouling's steps abruptly halted, as if something had lightly bumped his chest, and a strange, unfamiliar tremor quietly began to stir within him. He quickly averted his gaze, his brow furrowing to conceal his discomfort, his tone as impatient as ever: "You can move now? Then stop dawdling and get going." With that, he turned and walked away.
Xi Xiao remained silent, simply following behind. The mountain path was rugged and overgrown with thorns. Her steps were unsteady and unsteady, each step feeling like walking on cotton. Although Ling Zhouling walked quickly, he always inadvertently lagged behind by half a step, seemingly watching for any movement behind him.
The sun grew increasingly scorching before slowly setting in the west. For an entire day, they hadn't eaten or drunk a drop of water. Ling Zhouling's cracked, chapped lips were tightly pressed together, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Xi Xiao's condition was even worse; her face was as white as paper, her lips bloodless, her body trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes began to glaze over, as if she would collapse completely at any moment.
"Hold on a little longer!" Ling Zhouling caught a glimpse of her swaying figure, and his heart tightened inexplicably. His voice unconsciously carried a hint of anxiety. "Ahead... we'll be at a farmhouse soon, we should be..."
Before he could finish speaking, the person beside him suddenly went limp, his eyelashes drooped limply, and he fell straight forward like a puppet with its strings cut!
"Hello--!"
Almost instinctively, Ling Zhouling lunged forward, stretched out his long arm, and barely managed to catch her limp body! The light weight made his heart skip a beat.
He looked down at the lifeless, pale face in his arms, his brows furrowed into a knot, his eyes shifting with complex emotions.
He stood frozen for a moment, then resignedly turned around, carefully lifting her limp body onto his back and carrying her steadily. The girl was as light as a feather, her cold forehead resting against his neck, her faint breath brushing against his skin, bringing a strange tingling sensation.
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