HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 23
They raced forward in a random direction. It wasn't until Yan Hui felt her inner breath was running out and the Propelling Sword was wobbling did she stop out of necessity.
She no longer had the power to bring them down in a steady descent. She cried out: "Cover your head!" They plunged into the forest at top speed.
They crashed through countless branches before they were stopped by a large tree. Then they started falling down, one layer of branch at a time.
Tian Yao was slightly heavier. He was the first to crash onto the ground. Before he could crawl away, Yan Hui crashed down onto his stomach. Tian Yao once again fell flat.
The stolen jian from the demon came whistling through the air. It stabbed itself into the ground right next to Tian Yao and Yan Hui.
The birds within the forest were startled by the two people's appearance, flying off into the distance. The animals in the forest cried out in never-ending calls.
Yan Hui laid on top of Tian Yao and laughed along with the animals' cries. Her laugh seemed extremely happy. Yan Hui rolled off of Tian Yao. Now she was laughing while laying down on the ground.
Dawn was just upon them. On the horizon were small rays of light breaking up the darkness.
Seeing the sky starting to brighten, the animals' cries also started to die down.
She looked up at the sky. Not a word was said for a long time.
In the end, it was Tian Yao who broke the silence: "Didn't you say you were going to knock me out and offer me up in exchange for your life?"
"I should've offered you up." Yan Hui's tone was gloomy and cold. It didn't seem like she was joking.
Tian Yao turned his head and looked at her profile, but Yan Hui didn't let him look. She sat up and drew her knees up. She grasped the hook that was still jutting out of her leg. She clenched her teeth, preparing to yank it out.
However Tian Yao frowned when he saw her movements. He immediately turned over and sat up: "Don't." He removed Yan Hui's grip on the iron hook. "The hook has barbs. Do you want to rip out a chunk of your flesh?"
Yan Hui looked up at him: "So the helpful man still cares about these details. Didn't you want me to amputate my own leg earlier?"
"I knew you wouldn't cut it off." Tian Yao shot her a glance and got up. He picked up the jian: "Lay down. I'll help you get it out."
In these situations, Yan Hui didn't fuss. She laid down without a single glance at Tian Yao. She let him use the jian to trace a few movements over her calf.
When Tian Yao ripped her pants, he saw that the area where the hook had pierced her was already mangled. He looked over at Yan Hui's face. She wasn't looking at him, but her expression seemed resigned toward the pain he would cause. Tian Yao looked back down. His movements were extremely gentle.
In fact, he was feeling guilty.
This girl didn't owe him a single thing. She had nothing to do with what happened twenty years ago. However simply because she appeared, he had to bind her to him. He had already dragged her into danger several times. He was feeling guilt over his actions.
It was just that his guilt was far from being able to shake his conviction. It was far from making him push away his "selfishness". His desire to shake off this barely surviving situation was too strong.
So even if Yan Hui was in pain, he would coolly watch off to the side. Even if Yan Hui was hurt, he couldn't let her go.
Because he was also tossed about in the fruitless struggles of the world........
Lowest of the low.
Under the light pricks of the jian and the skillful probing movements, Yan Hui endured the pain and muffled a groan. Tian Yao had picked out the hook.
Yan Hui looked back. She saw Tian Yao throw aside the blood-covered hook. He started to speak: "The wound isn't deep, so there isn't major damage to the muscle. There won't be any lasting damage." He stepped away, intending to pick a leaf to wipe off his hands.
However, Yan Hui called out: "Stop."
Tian Yao looked back at her. She staggered two steps over to him and sat down by his side. Then she suddenly ripped off a piece of Tian Yao's clothes. She ripped that into strips then used them to bind her leg.
Tian Yao's eyebrows twitched: "Without a single word, you just rip people's clothes?"
"You've thrown me into the middle of your plans without a single world multiple times." Yan Hui turned her head away in avoidance, but she snuck a glance at Tian Yao. "You don't see me lecturing you."
Indeed, that's true.
Tian Yao didn't utter another word. He turned around and pulled off several leaves and also plucked a few fruits. He handed the fruits over to Yan Hui: "We need to get going. When we get closer to towns and cities, the demons won't be as vicious."
Yan Hui took the fruits and speedily began to gnaw at one of them: "Ok, let's go."
She pushed herself up and limped forward a few steps, but she didn't see anyone following alongside her. Yan Hui turned her head back. Tian Yao was watching her from behind: "Propelling Sword Technique?"
Yan Hui rolled her eyes: "If we could still ride the sword, then why did we fall from it? Did you think I wouldn't go straight toward any towns or cities?" While she continued forward, she also said, "My inner breath is all gone. Let's first go to a nearby town to recuperate and recover my magic."
From behind, Tian Yao started to stride up with large steps. Yan Hui didn't pay him any attention until he stepped in front of her and blocked her path. With his back facing her, he crouched down: "Get on."
Yan Hui blankly stared.
Tian Yao inclined his head to look at her: "With you dragging your leg, we won't get far even if we walked the entire day. Get on."
Yan Hui thought about it. What Tian Yao said was reasonable. Also he offered to give her a ride, so why not take advantage of it? Yan Hui hopped on his back, right then and there: "If you dare drop me, I'm going to throw a fit."
Tian Yao ignored her warning and started to walk.
Tian Yao's shoulders weren't broad yet. However when Yan Hui laid on them, she felt like they were quite steady. Perhaps it was because of his steady steps. Every step was steady without any faltering. If he were any ordinary youth, if he was a little older, then conventional thinking would believe he was a very reliable man......
Yan Hui rested her head on Tian Yao's shoulders. Her eyes that were watching his footsteps started to blink shut.
When Tian Yao reached the top of the mountain, dawn had fully broken. Half asleep, Yan Hui saw an indistinct scene from many years ago, Ling Xiao bringing her to Chen Xing Mountain.
She had also rushed to their destination the entire night. She was so tired she couldn't walk straight, but she was also scared of delaying her shifu's plans. She didn't dare to say she was tired or sleepy. Yan Hui tried hard to keep her eyes open and follow behind Ling Xiao. As they walked, the world darkened.
When she woke up, she was in the same position as now, lying on Ling Xiao's back. In front of her, the monastery gates on Chen Xing Mountain were wide open. Sunlight streamed behind those gates in a brilliant gleam. Every pavilion and pagoda was illuminated; it was like a paradise.
Yan Hui couldn't hold back her gasp of surprise which Ling Xiao heard. He inclined his head and warmly said:
"Yan Hui, from now on, this is your home."
At that time, Ling Xiao's tone was an unforgettable warmth in her life.
At that time, Yan Hui thought she was the luckiest child in the world......
But now, Yan Huis unconsciously rubbed her neck. There was nothing there. Aside from her memories, there really was nothing that mountain held for her.
Tian Yao walked without stopping until noontime. They finally reached a road. Although there was no one on the road, ruts from wheels could be seen. It seemed like they weren't far from civilization.
Tian Yao originally planned to wake Yan Hui, but after hearing her peaceful breaths, he fell silent. He continued to silently walk along the road. Not long after, he saw an abandoned temple by the side of the road. He walked into it and set Yan Hui down. Then he walked out of the rundown temple into the forest to look for some wild fruits to alleviate their hunger.
When he returned, Yan Hui was still laying there fast asleep. Tian Yao originally thought that Yan Hui was exhausted from last night ,and so she didn't wake. However after sitting by her side for a while, he felt like something wasn't right.
Yan Hui's breaths were rapid, and sweat dotted her forehead. Although her eyes were closed, he could tell they were darting around.
Tian Yao frowned: "Yan Hui?"
She didn't wake, but her eyes were moving even faster now.
Tian Yao thought for a moment. He reached out and shook her: "Wake up."
That shake was like he had stabbed Yan Hui. She suddenly opened her eyes and sat up panting. Sweat freely trickled down her face. She clutched her chest. Still scared, she shakily wiped away the sweat.
Tian Yao's gaze never left her. Seeing her actions, he doubtfully asked: "Bad dream?"
Yan Hui shook her head. She gasped for a short while before slightly calming down: "Sleep paralysis [1]. That's all."
Hearing those two words, Tian Yao felt like he had never heard them before: "Sleep paralysis?"
"I frequently get them. I got used to them." Although Yan Hui said it like that, her heart was still thumping. Ever since Ling Xiao had bestowed a sigil onto her, Yan Hui very seldomly saw ghosts or had sleep paralysis afterwards. It was broad daylight, yet ghosts could torment her in her dreams. It looks like this wild ghost soul wasn't easily driven away.......
Yan Hui gripped her hair. She felt like she was getting a headache.
Had she offended Tai Sui recently? How come troublesome situations and people were popping up one right after another......
"What kind of cultivator are you that you're still affected by this kind of demonic magic?"
While wiping away her sweat, Yan Hui said: "How would I know? Ever since I was small, I would come across these unclean things. I would be especially easily entangled by them. Later on, even xian cultivators couldn't change this bad habit......"
Yan Hui stopped speaking. She suddenly covered her chest and fell silent for a long time. She finally raised her head and looked at Tian Yao: "Before, you said your heart protection scale had entered my heart. That's why I've lived till now."
Tian Yao nodded.
"My heart is naturally defective......Without your heart protection scale, I wouldn't have live past ten days......It's due to you that I have lived. In other words, my life should've originally long faded away. I should be......dead......" Yan Hui absent-mindedly murmured, "No wonder, no wonder why......"
It wasn't that she had an innate gift of finding the strange. It was that she should've originally been the same as them, a ghost!
This heart protection scale turned her half-human, half-ghost.......