Chapter 18#
第18章#
“Who goes there!”
With a humming of swords, the guards outside rushed in, preemptively raising their swords and stabbing at Yulin.
Yulin closed his eyes, listening to the sound, and dodged the sword with a slight turn. Then, without a word, he charged forward with his Floating Water Sword.
The people of Lingyao Valley were not highly cultivated and were easier to deal with.
Unexpectedly, there was another sound of footsteps, and four more people entered behind them.
He seemed to see none of this.
Yulin’s eyes were constantly searching for the key. He knocked aside the opponent’s sharp sword, dodged quickly to the side, feigned a thrust, and knocked out the leader.
The keys clinked together with a faint rustling sound, which was exceptionally clear in the silent darkness. Yulin followed the sound and, seizing the opportunity, precisely plucked the key from the man’s waist.
“Be careful!”
A faint sound came from behind. Before Yulin could react, he heard Wen Jin shout.
Wen Jin leaned forward, instinctively wanting to block, but was pulled back by chains, causing the chains to sway with his movement.
Yulin turned back at the sound and saw that someone had, at some unknown time, escaped his sight and, like a ghost, had appeared behind him and was about to attack him.
Yulin’s body tensed. He had witnessed the speed of the Lingyao Valley disciples. He had thought Wen Jin was already exceptional, but he hadn’t expected all the Lingyao Valley disciples to be so agile.
In just this instant, that person was upon him. Then, with a sudden “bang,” Wen Jin, from the side, kicked out at the person with all his might!
The person staggered from the full-force kick. Yulin seized the opportunity and knocked him to the ground.
He no longer dared to be careless and focused his attention on dealing with them.
He shielded Wen Jin behind him, holding his sword in one hand in front of him and with the other, he fumbled for the lock.
“Click.”
The key was inserted into the lock and turned to the side. The chains and lock sprang open, and a large set of heavy chains fell with a clang.
“Go!” Yulin turned and growled, grabbing Wen Jin’s wrist and rushing out.
Wen Jin had lost a lot of weight in the past few days. When Yulin held his wrist, it felt like holding a bunch of bones.
His heart ached, but he couldn’t ask him what he had been through.
Wen Jin’s clothes hung loosely on him, as if he were wearing someone else’s clothes – utterly ill-fitting.
Yulin had never seen him so gaunt. The exposed skin was bruised and bloody. He was bone-thin.
The ghostly figure pursued them relentlessly from behind. The leader shouted from the rear, “Catch them!”
The shout echoed throughout Lingyao Valley, alerting the guards outside the valley. Immediately, a dense sound of footsteps followed.
“Who is it!”
“How did someone break in?”
The hurried footsteps rustled, and the approaching firelight flickered. The guards, holding torches, gradually surrounded the two of them.
The orange-yellow light shone on Yulin’s face, revealing his sweat-drenched countenance. His expression was stern, and he dared not slacken for a moment.
“Whoosh!”
A sharp sword flew through the air at a tricky angle. Amidst the dazzling array of swords, it appeared unassuming. Yulin’s eyes darted around, and he was somewhat outmatched. Caught off guard, he was stabbed.
“Xiao Lin!”
Yulin grunted, sweat pouring down. He paused, shook his head, and said it was nothing.
The sharp sword pierced his arm. It was deeply embedded. When the sword was pulled out, Yulin’s blood gushed out like water.
“Drip, drip.”
The bloodstains, like winding snakes, burrowed into the endless darkness. Yulin, with blood on his hands, tightly gripped the Floating Water Sword. Its water-blue glow, stained with blood, appeared eerie.
The guards sent by the major sects were not to be trifled with; several of them had reached the Heavenly rank. Yulin was unable to resist and retreated step by step.
One sword after another, in the dark chaos, Yulin sustained several shallow and deep wounds.
During the rapid, bumpy escape, pain surged, followed by numbness, and the swollen wounds throbbed with intermittent pain.
Afraid Wen Jin would worry, he gritted his teeth tightly and didn’t cry out in pain. However, during their escape, his condition was discovered.
“Follow me.” Wen Jin’s voice was muffled.
In a momentary gap, Wen Jin took two steps back, grabbed Yulin’s wrist, and ran towards the back mountain.
Yulin followed his pace. Seeing the pursuers still hot on their heels, he raised the Floating Water Sword, poured all his spiritual power into it, and then swung it fiercely!
The stone path they had come from shattered along the trajectory of the water element, carving out a deep沟壑. He felt it wasn’t enough, so he hurled several more spiritual energy balls towards the path the pursuers would take.
The Floating Water Sword was too conspicuous and very heavy. Yulin waved his hand, retracted the Floating Water Sword into its sheath, took out a hidden weapon from his storage ring, and dodged while looking for an opportunity to delay them.
How could those Heavenly rank cultivators allow Wen Jin to escape right under their noses? They nimbly raised their feet and used their qinggong to chase them.
Wen Jin’s peripheral vision scanned the surroundings. He understood just by the sound of air flowing, so he exerted all his strength and accelerated significantly, nimbly leading Yulin to shake them off in a few bounds.
“Tap, tap.”
Wen Jin’s footsteps were light, but as time passed, they became increasingly heavy.
He was already seriously injured, and now he felt utterly weak. He couldn’t sustain such strenuous and exhausting movements for long.
Wen Jin’s Adam’s apple bobbed, cold sweat dripped down his face, and his steps faltered slightly. He forced himself to lead Yulin into a cave in the back mountain.
The cold air from the cave hit them. The string of tension in Wen Jin’s mind suddenly snapped. He lost all his strength, couldn’t even hold Yulin’s hand, and lowered his head, gasping heavily as he leaned against the rough cave wall.
His face was pale and bloodless. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and he used all his strength just to stand.
Yulin was not much better. Due to excessive blood loss, he felt lightheaded and dizzy, and he knelt on the ground, breathing weakly.
Wen Jin recovered for a moment, stumbled over, and slowly squatted down, taking out an antidote he had somehow obtained.
He struggled to open the lid and sprinkled the powder onto Yulin’s wounds, saying weakly, “Their swords are poisoned. It needs to be treated promptly.”
Before he mentioned it, Yulin hadn’t noticed. Moonlight shone into the cave, illuminating Yulin’s dark red, purplish blood. The wound he had been stabbed in was already bruised, indicating that the poison had seeped in considerably.
“Buzz—”
Wen Jin suddenly reached out, grasped the hilt of the Floating Water Sword, and pulled it out of its sheath with a jolt.
He didn’t have the strength to tear his clothes, so he used the Floating Water Sword to cut long, narrow strips of clean fabric from his own clothes to simply bandage Yulin.
Yulin frowned, exhaling at the wound, and looked up to meet Wen Jin’s pale face. He asked anxiously, “Are you alright?”
Wen Jin shook his head gently. After bandaging, he placed his hands on the hilt of the Floating Water Sword, leaning his body weight on it, and paused for a long time.
Then, he handed the Floating Water Sword to Yulin and smiled at him, “Xiao Lin, let’s go back.”
“…What do you mean?”
In the cave, besides their breathing, the only sound was the dripping of water, “drip, drip,” slowly echoing.
Yulin looked at Wen Jin’s gentle face, and boundless panic welled up in his heart.
Seeing Yulin’s nervous and frightened expression, Wen Jin chuckled softly. He slowly raised his hand, caressed Yulin’s cheek twice, and said, “Don’t be afraid, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“…Why aren’t you coming with me?”
Wen Jin turned his head away, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke softly, “If I escape, then Fushang Sect and Lingyao Valley will have a deep feud.”
Yulin stubbornly said, “Even if we don’t escape, this feud has already begun! What does it matter!”
Wen Jin smiled, wiped his hands on his clothes, and then gently stroked Yulin’s soft hair. “It’s different. You’re always childish and don’t think too much. But in this world, someone always has to think more.”
After speaking, he turned his head and covered his mouth with his other hand, coughing. He coughed violently, his whole body shaking.
“Even if we manage to escape now, where can we go? The collateral branches have deep roots and dealings with many sects. Can you guarantee that Fushang Sect is clean?”
After saying this, he felt he had said too much and spoken too harshly. He softened his voice, “…When the collateral branches return and find me gone, it will be an irreversible situation.”
Seeing him cough so hard, Yulin quickly rubbed his back. Listening to Wen Jin’s words, he slowly lowered his head, lost in thought.
He pressed against Wen Jin’s back, listening to his faint heartbeat, the smell of blood filling the air.
In his previous life, he hadn’t had time to say a proper goodbye. He had been in Fushang Sect, unaware of outside news, and had no information about Wen Jin.
When Wen Jin heard of his death… how had he reacted?
He closed his eyes, and the image of the person he cared about gradually losing his life before him reappeared. His voice hoarse, he said, “I don’t care, I just want you to be well.”
His eyes gradually misted over, making the person before him seem truly present in the fog, blurry.
Wen Jin was like a wisp of cloud, and Yulin felt he couldn’t hold onto him for much longer.
Wen Jin coughed for a long time before he felt a little better. He turned his head and smiled gently, but his question struck Yulin to the heart: “What about your senior brothers and sisters? Don’t you care about them either?”
“If Fushang Sect is clean, and I escape, all the major sects will demand them, and Fushang Sect will inevitably be implicated.”
The thought of his senior sisters and brothers still being in Fushang Sect made Yulin hesitate.
Wen Jin saw this in his eyes and softened his tone, coaxing, “I’m fine, they won’t really want me dead. We have plenty of time in the future, there will be opportunities.”
As Yulin hesitated, Wen Jin’s hand rested on his hair. He gently stroked Yulin’s hair, then slowly moved down the back of his head.
Without Yulin realizing it, Wen Jin had already reached his nape.
There was a cool touch on the back of his neck. Yulin finally reacted, subconsciously looked up at him, and met Wen Jin’s gentle eyes.
His gaze was indistinct and unfathomable, with a hint of reluctance.
Then, a slight gust of air pushed him away. Wen Jin struck him with a hand chop.
“If you’re awake, go home now, be good.”
As Yulin’s consciousness blurred, he only heard a faint sigh.