Heartfelt wishes
The border patrol was suddenly disrupted when a horde of ferocious ancient beasts launched a surprise attack. To protect Qi Yuan beside him, Jiu Che shielded her with his own body, taking the brunt of the attack, which was imbued with a strange and destructive power. His snow-white robes were instantly soaked in blood. He mustered his immortal power and, carrying her, staggered as they fell into a hidden cave.
The cave was dark, with only a faint light filtering through the cracks in the rocks. Jiu Che leaned against the cold stone wall, his face deathly pale, his breath barely a whisper. Qi Yuan examined his injuries, his heart sinking. The severity of these injuries was probably…
Just as she was about to make a move, she heard his weak voice, which carried a stubbornness different from that of someone with physical injuries.
“That day…the Starfire Festival…” Every word he uttered aggravated his wound, blood continuously spilling from the corner of his lips, yet his icy eyes remained fixed on her, as if this was a question more important than life itself, “Why…did you kiss me?”
Qi Yuan's fingertips trembled slightly as he prepared to channel his magic.
"And then...why...distant?" He gasped, his eyes burning with confusion, resentment, and a deep-seated pain he himself didn't fully understand. "Qi Yuan...what exactly...about me..."
The cave was deathly silent, save for his broken breathing. On the brink of life and death, he abandoned all rules and restraint, seeking only an answer.
Looking at the unnatural flush on his pale face, at the burning obsession in his eyes, Qi Yuan felt a long-forgotten emotion called "panic," which, like a cold vine, quietly coiled around her heart. She was used to being in control, used to scheming, but now, faced with the dying questioning in those pure eyes, her prepared lies and pretenses seemed so pale and powerless.
How should she answer? Admit that the kiss was a joke? Admit that the estrangement stemmed from that inappropriate wavering? Or...?
She opened her mouth, but found her throat dry and unable to make a sound. She avoided his burning gaze, lowered her eyelashes, and suppressed all the turbulent emotions in her eyes. In the end... she did not answer his question.
Her silence was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last faint light in Jiu Che's eyes. A faint, bitter smile appeared on his lips, as if he had expected it, yet he still couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Ha..." He coughed up a mouthful of blood, no longer looking at her, and began to give his last instructions with difficulty. His voice was intermittent, but unusually clear, "Take my jade pendant...go to Danxia Pavilion...find the Crimson Cloud Goddess...she will...protect you..."
He began to list out the people and places he could entrust her with, meticulously arranging her life after leaving him, as if this was the only and final thing he could do for her.
Qi Yuan stood rooted to the spot, listening as he used his last strength to pave the way for her, every word spoken for her. The panic she felt didn't subside; instead, it transformed into a deeper, almost consuming emptiness. For a thousand years, she had roamed the demon realm, traversing mountains of corpses and seas of blood, never feeling she had lost anything, never fearing anything. But now, looking at this boy who was dying because of her, yet still thinking of her, she felt an unprecedented…emptiness.
It was as if something important was being forcibly pulled away from her cold, long life.
"Stop talking!" She finally couldn't bear this unfamiliar emptiness any longer and interrupted him, her voice carrying a sharpness and...fear that she herself didn't realize.
Jiu Che gently shook his head, his gaze seemingly wanting to fall on her face again, but it had already lost focus. "Meeting you... was good..." His voice was so weak it was almost inaudible, "My world... was too quiet... Thank you..."
Thank you for your noise, thank you for entering my world.
The last few words almost vanished into thin air. His hand, which had been holding the jade pendant, fell limply to his side, and he succumbed to unconsciousness, his breath so faint it seemed as if he would cease breathing at any moment.
In that instant, Qi Yuan felt as if his heart had been ripped out.
You can't die!
She gripped his cold hand tightly, staring at his pale face, her mind a jumbled mess. She didn't yet understand what this excruciating panic and emptiness meant; all she knew was—
I will never allow you to just disappear like this!
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