Jiang Ci sniffled, forcing back the tears welling up in her eyes. Holding the unconscious Lu Yan, she looked up at everyone. Her voice was choked with emotion; her usual coldness and detachment seemed to have turned to ash in this instant. All that remained was someone utterly helpless.
“What about him?”
Chen San leaned against a shattered wall, carrying the half-dead Yao Wu on his shoulder. The bleeding from Yao Wu's severed arm had already stopped. Su Li sat beside him with her eyes closed, resting and recovering. Her breathing was very shallow, almost inaudible. Her tail was still exposed, its scorched fur trembling slightly in the wind. Du Qi held a strip of cloth, wrapping it round and round his wound, which was still bleeding continuously. Blood seeped through the gaps in the bandage, staining the cloth a dark red. He wrapped it very slowly—not because he didn't want to go faster, but because he simply lacked the strength. If this blood kept flowing like this, he really would die of blood loss.
The city was a wasteland of ruins. Charred, carbonized marks, broken walls, shattered tiles, and a ground covered in crushed ice and ashes all bore witness to how powerful Lu Yan had been just moments ago.
But now, he seemed to be at his end. Fine cracks covered his entire body, like a piece of porcelain that had been shattered and barely pieced back together. Blood seeped from the cracks, staining him entirely in crimson. His breathing grew weaker and weaker; every inhalation seemed to take all his strength, and every exhalation made Jiang Ci's heart tremble. She was terrified that she would never see his next breath.
“What about him?” Jiang Ci's voice grew a little louder. With red-rimmed eyes, she looked at everyone present, all of whom were completely exhausted, their lamps running out of oil. Her tears could no longer be held back, slipping down her cheeks and splashing onto Lu Yan's dirty robe. A dark, damp spot spread, followed by a second, and a third.
“Can you... please save him...” Like a helpless child, she begged the members of the Abandoned Guest Hall for help. Her voice echoed on the city wall, only to be scattered by the wind.
Those present looked at Yao Wu. The only one here who knew how to save lives was Yao Wu. But right now, he was barely hanging on to his own life, so how could he save Lu Yan? Chen San's vital energy was depleted, and Du Qi could barely even stand. The only one left was Su Li.
Su Li struggled to her feet. “Let me see.” Limping, she made her way over to Lu Yan's side. Looking at the unconscious Lu Yan, she swept her divine sense over him. A starved camel was still bigger than a horse; Su Li's cultivation level was still there. Even if she didn't understand medicine, she was the only one who could check on him right now.
“His spiritual sea has been forcibly stretched to twice its size.” She withdrew her divine sense, her tone cold. “There's no saving him. Better bury him early.” To be honest, she didn't even know how this guy was still alive when his spiritual sea was already shattered into pieces. Now, it was even worse; what was already in pieces had been stretched and torn apart. It would be a miracle if he ever woke up.
Still, was his aura really at the Foundation Establishment stage just now? Why did she remember him having a Nascent Soul cultivation level when they first met? How had it dropped so much now? A side effect of some secret technique? Whatever, whether this guy lived or died was none of her business. If he and that stupid weed hadn't insisted on fighting her, she could have walked away completely unscathed instead of being in this pathetic state.
She could feel that the seal inside her body was now very unstable. If she wanted to break free, she should be able to do it. Being able to speak to this bunch of people so civilly right now was already the best attitude she could offer.
Jiang Ci's body trembled slightly, as if she didn't understand what Su Li was saying.
“Bury him early?” She raised her tear-stained face to look at Su Li, as if begging her to admit that she had only said those words out of spite, that it wasn't true, that it was a joke, just a joke...
Su Li waved her hand impatiently and sat back down. “Otherwise? Even if he stays alive, he'll just be a vegetable, and he'll have to suffer the pain of a shattered soul day in and day out. It's better to just bury him.”
Jiang Ci's heart skipped a beat. Tears streamed down her face. Is being alive... worse than being dead? Looking at Lu Yan lying in her arms, she suddenly felt a sense of unreality. Hadn't he just bought her breakfast and applied medicine to her wounds yesterday? How... how did it come to this?
As if she couldn't catch her breath, she gasped heavily for air. Her heavy, ragged breathing on the silent city wall weighed heavily on everyone, making it hard for them to breathe as well.
“Fellow Daoist Su.” Du Qi finished wrapping his bandages. Although they were quickly dyed red again, they had at least stopped the spurting blood. He didn't try to bargain this time; he only wanted a way to save his brother. “Is there any way to save Shiyi? Whatever you want, we can give it to you...”
Jiang Ci felt as if she had grasped the last straw of hope. She looked at Su Li. “Elder Su, I beg of you. My life is worth ten thousand spirit crystals, I will go with you. Please save him... please save him...” The last few words merged with her sobbing, making it impossible to tell whether it was a mournful wail or a desperate plea.
Su Li still shook her head, her brow furrowed. “I said there's no saving him, so there's no saving him. His soul is almost completely gone, so what is there to save? Just give him a quick end.”
Silence weighed heavily on everyone on the city wall—everyone who was still awake. Du Qi looked at Lu Yan in Jiang Ci's arms, speaking in a raspy voice.
“Is there really no saving him?”
“Really no saving him.”
“To live is to suffer?”
“To live is to suffer.”
Du Qi's fingernails dug into his palms, blood seeping through his fingers. His lips trembled as he took a deep, long look at Lu Yan, as if trying to engrave his face into his memory.
“Give Shiyi... a quick end...”
Yao Wu was still unconscious. Chen San snapped his head up to look at Du Qi. His eyes held shock, sorrow, surprise, and disbelief. A simple-minded man could not hide his emotions, and these feelings transformed into a nearly physical gaze that stabbed at Du Qi. Du Qi could only close his eyes.
Jiang Ci's tears had run dry. She stared blankly at Lu Yan. Why? Why was everyone else still here—Chen San, Yao Wu, Du Qi, Su Li, they were all still alive. But, but why, why couldn't he wake up? She suddenly stood up, pulled Lu Yan onto her back, and walked down the city wall. Lu Yan lay slumped over her back, his head resting on her shoulder, his hands hanging down and swaying gently with her steps. His face pressed against her neck; it was cold, so cold that it made her want to cry. But her tears had already run dry.
“Sister-in-law,” Du Qi's voice came from behind her, sounding as if it were drifting from far, far away. “Give Shiyi a quick end. He will suffer greatly if he lives...”
Jiang Ci seemed not to hear, continuing her way down. She walked in the direction of the mountain in the distance—the mountain where they used to live, the mountain where he had carried her back from the ruined temple. In a voice that only Lu Yan could hear, she whispered softly, if only he could hear her:
“I'm taking you home. I'm taking you home.”
The Ice Spirit tide had receded, and the temperature had returned to normal. At some point, the snow in the sky had turned to rain, drenching them both.
Just like the day they first met.
...
Rate on N.U.
