Broken Linglong (30)
Ye Yingying blinked and found herself lying on the bed. She slowly moved her gaze and saw Yun Yanqiu beside her.
At this moment, Yun Yanqiu lowered his head, his face gloomy. His white robe, stained with blood, was still on, the bloodstains already congealed. He stood motionless like an ice sculpture, holding Ye Yingying's injured left hand.
His expression was solemn, lost in his own thoughts, completely unaware of the changes in the person on the bed.
Ye Yingying opened her mouth slightly, wanting to call his name, but her throat was unusually dry, and the words that came out were two hoarse coughs.
Yun Yanqiu instantly looked up, staring at Ye Yingying in astonishment. Their eyes met for a split second, and Yun Yanqiu leaned close, reaching out to touch her forehead, his lips trembling as he said, "It's alright, it's alright..."
He looked nervous, his cold hands caressing Ye Yingying's face, his eyes sparkling with the joy of having regained what he had lost.
Ye Yingying swallowed hard before weakly saying, "Yunyanqiu."
"Yes, I'm here." Yun Yanqiu couldn't hide her excitement; her voice trembled.
"I want to drink water."
"Water?" Yun Yanqiu was slightly taken aback, then immediately straightened up and looked around. "Water..."
He rushed to the table, poured a full glass of water from the teapot, and hurried back to the bedside. Ye Yingying couldn't drink water while lying in bed, so Yun Yanqiu carefully put his arm around her shoulder and helped her sit up, then brought the glass of water to her lips.
Ye Yingying took a sip from the rim of the cup, the cool water sliding into her mouth, quenching her thirst and carrying a subtle sweetness. Yun Yanqiu pulled her into his arms, gently raising the cup in rhythm with her drinking until Ye Yingying gulped down the entire glass of water.
Seeing her lick her lips as if she wanted more, Yun Yanqiu asked again, "Do you want more?"
Ye Yingying shook her head slightly, then leaned against his shoulder affectionately, like a little animal that hadn't woken up yet.
Yun Yanqiu watched, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily, a sudden thirst rising within him. He put down his teacup, reached out and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her head as he softly asked, "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"
Yun Yanqiu's embrace was warm and comfortable, making Ye Yingying, whose consciousness was still hazy, feel sleepy again. With her eyes lowered, she mumbled, "No."
After saying that, she unconsciously snuggled closer to Yun Yanqiu's chest, but suddenly the pressure on her shoulder wound made her gasp in pain and instantly sober up.
She was still alive. Ye Yingying looked down at her arm, which was wrapped in strips of cloth and throbbing slightly, and a surge of joy at surviving a disaster welled up in her heart.
"Don't move around, you're badly injured." Yun Yanqiu looked worried. He leaned back slightly, afraid of pressing on Ye Yingying's left arm again.
Ye Yingying stared blankly at Yun Yanqiu, whose black hair was disheveled and who looked slightly haggard.
"How are you?" Ye Yingying couldn't help but ask.
"Don't worry about me." Yun Yanqiu lowered his head and touched her forehead. "You and I will be fine."
"you……"
Feeling the warmth from Yun Yanqiu's forehead, Ye Yingying couldn't help but raise her hand to touch his face. But before she could touch him, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a loud shout rang out: "Yun Yanqiu, the doctor said you refuse to change your dressing! What are you thinking?!"
Wu Yue stormed into the room, but suddenly stopped when she saw the two people embracing by the bed: "Oh dear."
Ye Yingying suddenly pushed Yun Yanqiu away, leaned back, and felt a rush of heat to her cheeks.
"You woke up pretty quickly." Wu Yue ignored Yun Yanqiu's dark face and said to herself, "Now that you're awake, you should go change your dressing. I'll stay here with you."
Yun Yanqiu remained motionless, his eyes flashing with cold light as he looked at Wu Yue. Suddenly, he felt someone gently pat his back and turned to look at Ye Yingying.
"Go ahead." Ye Yingying smiled at him. "I'll wait for you."
Yun Yanqiu glanced at her longingly before getting up and walking out. As he passed Wu Yue, he couldn't help but glance at her and remind her, "Take care of her injury."
"Alright, alright." Wu Yue impatiently urged him to leave. Once Yun Yanqiu had finally left the room, she closed the door, sat down on the stool next to Ye Yingying's bed, and crossed her legs. "You're lucky to have survived this."
Ye Yingying didn't waste any words with her and asked directly, "What happened to you afterwards?"
"What can you do? Yun Yanqiu was completely out of his mind after you lost blood and went into a coma. You didn't see the state he was in, tsk tsk tsk." Wu Yue shook her head, unable to help but recall the scene at that time.
The clear sky of just a moment ago was suddenly filled with dark clouds, and rumbling thunder echoed. Wu Yue immediately knew that it was due to the violent surge of spiritual energy within Yun Yanqiu's body. Even the Wu Ling Lock was barely able to suppress that power, attracting the lightning punishment. Wu Yue's heart panicked instantly. A single strike of lightning from a Nascent Soul stage cultivator could flatten a mountain; if it were to strike, no one could escape. Wu Yue shouted Yun Yanqiu's name, urging him to calm down, but it was to no avail.
Yun Yanqiu silently held Ye Yingying's body, completely ignoring his own bleeding wounds and oblivious to everything around him. Only the rolling thunder above revealed the turmoil in his heart.
Wu Yue was getting anxious and wondered if she should just run away; she couldn't die here.
At the critical moment, Qi Shuojun suddenly arrived with his men and stopped the situation from spiraling out of control.
"What did Qi Shuojun do?" Ye Yingying asked curiously.
“He assured Yun Yanqiu that you could still be saved, gave you a life-saving pill, and then used his secret realm to bring us back. He also invited the family doctor to come and bandage your wounds,” Wu Yue explained, then looked at Ye Yingying with a teasing expression, “The doctor said you were lucky; if you had been any later, you would have been beyond saving.”
Ye Yingying lowered her eyes, recalling the flickering blue flames in her dream, and murmured, "She really is lucky..."
Unexpectedly, Qi Shuojun ended up helping her out.
Mentioning Qi Shuojun, Ye Yingying immediately thought of another person: "How is Qin Zhiqing?"
"Her?" Wu Yue shifted her posture and said lazily, "She's gone."
"Gone?"
“Yes, just as you were bitten and passed out, she disappeared the moment I turned around.” Wu Yue spread her hands, looking helpless. “She’s strange, she was so badly injured but still managed to escape.”
"What was Qi Shuojun's reaction?"
"Young Master Qi... he's quite calm."
Wu Yue thought about it. Qi Shuojun had only asked her once, and after learning that Qin Zhiqing had disappeared, he remained calm and never mentioned his fiancée again.
"In short, the wedding is probably off. I heard from Zhao Yuxiao that the wedding banquet that night was canceled, and the fireworks that had been prepared for a long time were not set off that night."
Ye Yingying was surprised and opened her mouth but couldn't speak. Qin Zhiqing disappeared with her secret. Why she did those things was perhaps only known to Qi Shuojun, who had spoken with her alone. His bride had run away, yet he wasn't flustered. Ye Yingying couldn't help but wonder if his previous intimate address of her as "wife" was just an act.
"And then there's Gu Wusi, who shamelessly claimed he was coming back to quell the fire, but we haven't seen a trace of him since. He probably knew he couldn't win and ran away." Wu Yue couldn't help but laugh as she said this. "He acted all mysterious and in control, but it turns out he's just a coward."
Gu Wusi… Ye Yingying’s gaze turned serious. The mysteries surrounding her were no less than Qin Zhiqing’s, and given her ulterior motives regarding the Azure Nether True Fire, a battle would likely be unavoidable if they met again. Back at the ancestral altar, Ye Yingying estimated Gu Wusi’s cultivation level to be around the early Golden Core stage. Although she had now subdued all the flames, her cultivation was still far inferior to Gu Wusi’s.
Thinking this, Ye Yingying couldn't help but feel anxious. Time was of the essence; she couldn't just lie in bed waiting for someone to come knocking! Ye Yingying threw back the covers and was about to get out of bed when Wu Yue, seeing this, asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"Go find Qi Shuojun."
What do you want with him?
"I want him to pay the reward he promised me."
“That’s not now.” Before Wu Yue could speak, Yun Yanqiu walked into the room with a serious expression. “You need to take good care of your injury. We’ll talk about it when your arm has recovered.”
Ye Yingying stared blankly as Yun Yanqiu walked towards her. He had changed into a brand new set of clothes, which fit his body curves better than the previous ones. The black and white color scheme made his body look even more slender and well-proportioned.
The collar and cuffs of this outfit were fitted into a narrow style, making the person look incredibly capable. Compared to the image of a hermit who was indifferent to the world, Yun Yanqiu now looked more like a swordsman wandering the world.
Yun Yanqiu stopped in front of Ye Yingying, a faint medicinal fragrance emanating from him. His brows were furrowed as he looked down at Ye Yingying, his eyes filled with displeasure at her wanting to get out of bed, but he still said gently, "Be good, rest first."
"Hiss—" Yun Yanqiu's sound sent shivers down Wu Yue's spine. She stood up abruptly, hugged her arms, and took a big step back with a look of disgust. "I'm really impressed!"
Yun Yanqiu remained unmoved, giving her a cold glance before dismissing her: "If there's nothing else, please leave."
"Who said I'm alright?!" Wu Yue exclaimed excitedly. "Yun Yanqiu, don't forget what you promised me!"
"Hmm?" Ye Yingying looked up instantly, casting an inquiring glance at Yun Yanqiu.
Yun Yanqiu sighed helplessly, gently lifting Ye Yingying's dangling leg and tucking it back into the blanket, while replying, "I haven't forgotten, but we have to wait until the injury heals before we can move."
"What is it?" Ye Yingying tugged at his sleeve, her gaze full of curiosity. "Can't I know?"
"Of course I can." Yun Yanqiu bent down to straighten the cushion behind her. "It's just that I promised to do her a favor after I got the information from her."
"What kind of help?"
"You'll have to ask her about that."
The two looked at Wu Yue at the same time. Wu Yue, who had been briefly ignored by them, snorted and put her hands on her hips, saying arrogantly, "Come with me to Jincheng."
"Which city of Tianjin?" Yun Yanqiu asked.
“Jin City in Xuanzhou.”
Jin City in Xuanzhou… Yun Yanqiu raised an eyebrow in confusion after hearing this: “What are you going there for?”
"Didn't they say there's a magical artifact left behind by Zhan Yan inside?" Wu Yue raised her chin. "I want to get it."
Ye Yingying was startled. She knew what kind of place Xuanzhou Jin City was. Legend has it that it was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Yue Li, and the most famous place in this country was their national teacher, Zhan Yan.
Zhan Yan was once inspired by the Heavenly Dao and was one of the few people in the world who successfully ascended to the upper realm. In his youth, he had been indebted to the king of Yue Li, and to repay this kindness, Zhan Yan fulfilled one of the king's wishes before his ascension.
What this wish was remains a subject of much debate throughout history. However, one thing is certain: despite the passage of time, the city still retains the intricate defenses laid down by Zhan Yan to this day, designed to deter invaders. People believe that the city's fortifications are so robust because Zhan Yan left behind an extraordinary treasure within to fulfill the king's wish.
"Wait, there might not actually be anything in there. Are you sure you want to risk your life there for it?"
Jincheng was already a deserted city, and the complex formations inside had not yet been fully deciphered. In her opinion, it was not worth it to venture into it for a vague and ethereal magical artifact.
“I’ve already calculated it, there’s definitely something in there,” Wu Yue said confidently.
What do you need the things inside for?
"Never mind that," Wu Yue pouted. "Just help me break the formation inside."
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