HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 16
The wind howled. When Yan Hui opened her eyes, she had already left that dark cave.
The sky overhead was bright, illuminating her surroundings. However, there was a continuous rumbling. Yan Hui turned her head to look. The mountain in the middle of the lake was slowly collapsing.
Enormous rocks from the mountain tumbled down into the lake. The cacophony of thundering sounds seemed to agitate the lake's undercurrents. They stirred up the lake from its originally clear waters into a muddy pool.
At the moment, she had merely left the cave. She was still standing on the mountain, but she only stayed there for a few moments before the stones threatened to fall onto her. Yan Hui didn't dare stay any longer. She drew qi toward her feet and flew up. However she was still lacking qi. She could only skim across the lake surface for a short distance before falling in with a splash.
Yan Hui struggled in the water for a while before dragging her soaked body out of the muddy water and onto shore.
She laid on the shore and coughed for a long time before sitting up, hugging herself. She gulped in rasping breaths and watched the enormous rocks tumble down the mountain. Then she grinned.
Yan Hui couldn't help feeling happy when she recalled that millennium dragon demon's flabbergasted expression.
She certainly wasn't someone who would just obediently listen to another person's orders.
Yan Hui was secretly delighted. She suddenly heard a low rumble from over there. The earth shook. Even Yan Hui, who was sitting on the shore, felt the tremors. Following the sound, the lake waters that were lapping around her ankles started to retreat.
Yan Hui stared. Her heart was uneasy. She hurriedly clutched her chest and ran up the slope. She stood on high ground and looked back. She saw an enormous whirlpool forming in that direction. It was sucking up all the lake water.
Not long afterwards, there was another rumble. The entire mountain had collapsed, and it sank into the depths of the lake. In the middle of the kicked-up dirt, the lake water that was being sucked in was pushed out by the collapsing mountain. Its destructive power rushed toward the shore.
Fortunately, Yan Hui had already run to higher ground. Otherwise, if she had been enveloped by this kind of wave in her current condition, it would have spelled disaster.
There was no need to think about it. The dragon demon that was still in the mountain was probably already......
Yan Hui frowned. Although the words she spoke in front of the dragon demon were ruthless, if he was really dead, then Zhenren Qi Yun's situation would be hard to fix......
Furthermore, when she thought about it more closely, what Tian Yao said to her in the cave: an enormous moon, a snow-covered mountain, and a person lifting a jian. They all matched her dream......
Also what the dragon demon said about placing a curse on her was a lie.
Before, when she didn't have any magic, the dragon demon said he placed a curse in the mantou, so she had to eat mantou every day so she wouldn't die. She believed him then. But now that her magic was back, she could easily inspect her inner body. Yan Hui realized that disgraceful dragon demon had told a bare-faced lie to her.
Body exploding if she didn't eat mantou? Nonsense He clearly didn't have the power to cast that kind of curse.
Although the dragon demon did cast a curse on her, it was only a small curse to track her whereabouts. The curse had been on her body for too long. In a short while, it wouldn't be removable. However, that didn't matter. It wasn't harming her.
That being said, this shameless dragon demon's words were always half truths, half lies.
Part of Yan Hui's thoughts were criticizing Tian Yao and her tricked self. The other part was reflecting on why she would dream about Tian Yao's experiences.
Could it be that she and Tian Yao had some unknown connection?
That was impossible. Yan Hui didn't forget a single part of her childhood. Her mom had died early on. It was her alcoholic dad who raised her. There was never enough to eat. She could still remember that she had run amok in the small village like a boy.
Later on, Ling Xiao accepted her as a disciple. The years she spent at Chen Xing Mountain as a disciple and her interactions with Ling Xiao were treasured memories. She hoarded every moment, not daring to forget a single detail.
How could she have a connection with the dragon demon......
Yet they had a connection. If the dragon demon died, would she......
"Yan Hui!" From far away came a man's shout.
Yan Hui looked over. The snake demon was propelling the raft. He followed along surging waters to quickly reach where Yan Hui was. The snake demon was able to keep the raft extremely stable in the midst of the torrent. With a closer glance, she realized it was because he was using magic to protect it.
Behind the snake demon sat Zhenren Qi Yun and......
Seeing a person lying there like a corpse, Yan Hui's expression couldn't help instantly darkening.
Although she had just been thinking about the bad things that could happen upon the dragon demon's death, after seeing him safe and alive, Yan Hui's heart still felt indifferent.
When the wooden raft was about to hit the shore, the snake demon suddenly reverted to his original form. He wrapped Zhenren Qi Yun and Tian Yao into his coils and steadily set them onshore. Then he turned back into a human.
"How did you find him?" Looking at the unconscious person lying there, Yan Hui's tone wasn't happy. "Or rather, how did he crawl out of there?"
"Didn't you leave with him?" The snake demon asked in return. However, seeing Yan Hui clutching her chest and her sorry figure, he stared blankly. "I was waiting by the entrance. Later on, I realized the barrier had weakened by a lot. Right after that, a few boulders fell in front of the cave entrance, completely sealing it off. I originally planned to raft to the surrounding areas to look for another entrance, but there were too many falling rocks. With Qi Yun, I didn't dare stay close to the mountain. I rafted further out. Before the mountain collapsed, I saw you two exiting. I thought to first bring Qi Yun away. I didn't expect to see Tian Yao drifting on the water, so I also brought him over here."
The snake demon frowned: "Since you can unexpectedly cast magic now, why didn't you take Tian Yao with you?"
Yan Hui heard this and bursted out in laughter: "Not personally killing him is already considered a testament to human nature."
The snake demon was slightly startled. He knew something bad had happened between the two in the cave but didn't dare to ask further. He only said: "It isn't suitable to stay here long. Let's return to the village first. Tian Yao's injury also needs to be treated."
Yan Hui held her chest and coldly laughed: "What wound would he have?" Done speaking, her gaze swept over Tian Yao's body. Only then did she see blood seeping into his coarse, cotton clothes.
Yan Hui suddenly recalled the dragon demon's back was injured yesterday while protecting her.
She clenched her jaw. Tian Yao always made her look bad. In her heart, she really did hate him. However in the end, he did risk his life yesterday to save hers. It didn't matter if he had any other scheme behind it. The fact was, he saved her life.
Yan Hui resisted the thought of stomping on his wound. She turned her head and no longer looked at the prostrate Tian Yao: "Let's go back. He previously said he already found the thing he was looking for. There shouldn't be a problem curing Zhenren Qi Yun."
She stopped talking and turned to look at Zhenren Qi Yun, who was still staring at Yan Hui with a burning gaze. However, she didn't criticize Yan Hui as usual.
Yan Hui didn't think too much of it. She simply turned around and took the lead. The snake demon hoisted Tian Yao onto his shoulder. The group started walking toward the village.
With Tian Yao unconscious and being carried over the shoulder, they definitely couldn't strut into Old Lady Xiao's courtyard in front of all the villagers. Thus, the four of them went to the snake demon's home in the village.
It was located in a secluded nook. The body that the snake demon had attached to was originally a hunter who lived away from others. He had very few dealings with the villagers. Almost no one usually came in this direction.
Carefully setting Tian Yao down, the snake demon looked at the wound on his back and frowned: "I think the wound has completely split open. Then it got soaked in water. It doesn't look good."
Yan Hui sat off to the side on a table. She lifted a water container to pour herself a cup of water. She heard what he said and turned to look at Tian Yao who was lying on the daybed.
This kind of bed
This pretty face had long gone pale from blood loss. His wet hair was plastered against his face. It made him seem incomparably frail and pitiful. However, his constantly clenched jaw still hadn't relaxed.
"He's still alive." Yan Hui tipped her head back and drank some tea. Then she wrung out her wet hair. "He won't die that easily."
He looked like such a stubborn and uncooperative person. How could he let himself die an early death?
The snake demon's hand didn't rest against Tian Yao's wrist for long before the snake demon frowned. He stared wide-eyed in shock: "How......how did his inner breath become so strong?"
Yan Hui raised an eyebrow: "In what way?"
"It's completely changed. It's no longer an ordinary person's." The snake demon investigated some more. "Wow, it is very odd. If we said he's a demon, he lacks even a trace of demonic inner breath to be a demon. If we said he's not a demon, with the current amount of inner breath......he can't be considered a person either."
Yan Hui mulled over it: "Let's wait until he wakes up." Yan Hui stood up: "Do you have spare clothes? Mens or womens both work. My clothes are ripped and worn-out. They're also dirty beyond belief."
The snake demon had already started to single-mindedly treat Tian Yao's wound. He didn't even look over to respond: "Qi Yun's room has some."
Yan Hui took up the offer and swiftly went to Zhenren Qi Yun's room. After returning to the small courtyard, Zhenren Qi Yun went straight back to her room by herself. Yan Hui knocked on the door before walking in, but Zhenren Qi Yun didn't even look over. She just stood at the window and stared fixedly at a direction. It wasn't clear what she was looking at.
Yan Hui first asked: "Can I borrow your clothes?"
Zhenren Qi Yun didn't reply. Yan Hui knew Zhenren Qi Yun's mind wasn't clear right now, so she just twitched her mouth. She walked over to the cabinet and said: "Then I'll go ahead and open your cabinet?"
She said this only for manner's sake. She didn't expect Zhenren Qi Yun to respond, but the moment Yan Hui opened the doors, she heard a soft voice say two words: "Go back."
Yan Hui stilled. She turned her head back to look at Zhenren Qi Yun, who was still looking off into the distance as before. She hadn't moved at all. It was like Yan Hui had fantasized hearing those two words.
Yan Hui probed: "What did you say?"
But she didn't get another response.
Yan Hui could only get the clothes to switch out with her own.
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The wound Tian Yao had bitten looked frightening, and it hurt when touched. Yan Hui was in no rush to leave. She just sat cross-legged on the floor and started to meditate.
She stayed there until nighttime. When the moonlight shone through the window onto Yan Hui's clothes, a happy sigh from outside the room was heard: "He's awake."
Yan Hui also opened her eyes at this time.
Yan Hui grasped her hands. She could feel her inner breath flowing through her four limbs and bones. She laughed, feeling extremely happy. Although her heart had a serious wound, with cultivation, it would heal in the span of only two months.
She stood up and dusted off her clothes. Having her power back meant peace of mind.
She bent her legs and happily jumped once. She was about to leave the room when she saw, to her surprise, that Zhenren Qi Yun was still standing at the window, looking out in the same direction like she had never moved.
Yan Hui was momentarily curious. She walked behind Zhenren Qi Yun and followed her gaze out into the distance. However, aside from the gathering night, Yan Hui didn't see anything.
However, seeing the position of the moon, Yan Hui suddenly recalled.
Looking at that direction, it was where Chen Xing Mountain was situated.
Thinking more closely, a few days ago, Yan Hui first saw Zhenren Qi Yun in the mountain village. She was also like this, staring fixedly off into the distance. It was the same direction......what was she looking at?
Or rather, what was she looking for?
"Zhenren." Yan Hui turned her head and focused only on Zhenren Qi Yun: "Are you looking at Chen Xing Mountain?"
Zhenren Qi Yun's gaze slightly brightened, and she opened her mouth. She turned her eyes toward Yan Hui, and fixed her gaze on Yan Hui. Her lips slightly moved, but in the end, no words came out.