Chapter Twenty: Narrow Escape from Death

As soon as Chu Suyi returned to the city, he sensed a strange aura, and to his astonishment, its source was none other than the Chu residence.

Taking the shortcut with Gu Xinyu, both of them raced forward, employing their lightness skills. They arrived just in time to witness Yinyao’s desperate struggle for her life. Chu Suyi wanted to intervene, but the adversary was a Phoenix and he, as a Dragon, could not harm a Phoenix—especially one who bore the Silver Bell.

Gu Xinyu, perceiving Chu Suyi’s hesitation, rushed ahead. When Yin Su noticed someone approaching, she withdrew at just the right moment. It was only natural for Gu Xinyu to charge forward.

Chu Suyi cradled the blood-soaked Yinyao in his arms, his eyes flickering with bloodlust and fury. Drawing a breath, he lifted her and soared into the air, moving with all possible speed. In that moment, his eyes held only unwavering resolve. His sole conviction was—he must save Yinyao.

“Yao’er, Yao’er, wake up!”

“Yao’er, please wake up!”

“Yao’er, you can’t leave me!”

“Yao’er…”

The figure in his arms remained utterly still, clinging to life only by the faintest thread of spiritual energy.

She looked so fragile now—weak, limp, completely stripped of her former brilliance. Her already pale face had become as white as paper, devoid of any trace of color or vitality. Chu Suyi’s heart trembled, seized by a wrenching pain that cut as sharply as a knife. He drew in a cold breath, then exhaled slowly, freeing a hand to gently brush aside her fringe, his gaze brimming with deep affection.

Suddenly, Yinyao’s brow furrowed with pain. Chu Suyi immediately pressed his fingers to her pulse, but before he could diagnose her, Yinyao’s body convulsed and she spat out a mouthful of inky black blood.

Seeing her agony was like needles stabbing Chu Suyi’s heart. He struggled to breathe, forcing himself to remain calm as he slowly infused her with spiritual energy. Only then did the tension in her brow begin to ease, granting him a moment’s respite.

Examining her pulse again, Chu Suyi’s newly eased heart tightened once more. Even with his spiritual energy sustaining her, the poison continued to spread, seeping through her entire body.

Gu Xinyu had chased after Yin Su and found her resting against a large tree. In a flash, his sword was at her throat.

“Why did you attack? Didn’t I tell you to leave Ji Xuanmu?” Gu Xinyu’s tone was hard and cold, as always.

Yin Su wiped the blood from her lips, lifted her head to meet his gaze, her eyes unflinching, touched with scorn and inner conflict.

“What’s wrong? Upset? Why should I do as you say? Who do you think you are to me? Let me tell you, I am myself. I won’t follow anyone’s orders—including yours!”

“You…” Gu Xinyu was stung by her words, rendered speechless with anger. He had planned everything for her sake, out of years of camaraderie, and yet she refused to leave the imperial shadow guards or stop helping Ji Xuanmu. How ungrateful!

His grip on the sword unconsciously tightened. One more push and this infuriating woman would vanish forever…but his hand refused to obey. He couldn’t do it! Again and again, that voice cried out in him. He could not. The realization nearly drove him mad—he raged at his own weakness, his reluctance, his unfailing sentimentality…

With his skills, even a fully alert Yin Su would be no match for him; it was only a matter of time. Yet—why, why, after all these times, could he never bring himself to finish it?

Why! Why!

Staring at Yin Su’s cold indifference, then at himself, Gu Xinyu suddenly laughed bitterly at the sky: “Ha!” Wasn’t this just who he was? Too sentimental! Otherwise, why would he have betrayed Ji Xuanmu to follow Ji Xuanyu? Was it really just for brotherhood?

He flung his sword aside—it landed with a clang—and stepped back, his dark robes fluttering in the wind. His words, colorless and cold, drifted over his shoulder:

“This is my last warning. Take care of yourself.”

A gust lifted the strands of hair across Yin Su’s brow, her long hair trailing behind her in a perfect arc. Blood trickled from her lips, staining her shoulder with a crimson bloom—like a red plum blossom vivid against her white robe. She stood there, pale as death, staring blankly at Gu Xinyu’s retreating figure.

She coughed.

Yin Su’s brows knit in pain. With her left hand she braced against the tree, her right clutching her abdomen. A wetness seeped through her fingers. She glanced down, and before she could see clearly, coughed up more blood, which splattered onto her right hand. Staring at her blood-soaked palm, Yin Su laughed—a laugh full of unwillingness, self-mockery, and haunting beauty.

Had she underestimated her own strength again?

Her laughter echoed in the empty air, lingering long after she had finished.

Meanwhile, Gu Xinyu, hurrying to catch up with Ji Xuanyu and Yinyao, heard Yin Su’s laughter and his brows drew together in a deep frown.

“Xin, go find the Ghost Doctor and the Poison Demon. I’ll be waiting at the usual place!”

Ji Xuanyu’s distant voice sounded in Gu Xinyu’s ear. He paused, glanced back as though he could see her in the distance, then shook his head and set off toward the Ghost Doctor and Poison Demon’s abode.

After sending his message, Ji Xuanyu carried Yinyao into a dense, unfathomable forest.

The deeper he went, the more he sensed Yinyao’s breathing grow rapid and uneven. Could it be that this place, rich in spiritual energy, was giving her a chance at life? With this hope, he hastened his pace.

Before a simple wooden cottage, he was struck by an indescribable feeling. He gently placed Yinyao on the great black marble where the Silver Fox Elder once cultivated, then sat behind her, infusing her with spiritual energy to sustain her life. All other plans would wait for the Ghost Doctor and Poison Demon’s arrival.

In Yinyao’s muddled state, she felt as though she had come home. Her mother’s presence seemed to linger nearby, soothing her. Her breathing eased, her heart grew calm.

Ji Xuanyu, believing it was the spiritual energy at work, increased his efforts. Yet in the next instant, he felt as though Yinyao’s body had become a vast vortex, draining him dry, leaving him unable to stop. Sweat beaded densely across his brow.

Yinyao’s body trembled, her complexion worsening, torn between absorbing and fiercely rejecting the foreign energy.

At that moment, a white light appeared, severing the flow of spiritual energy and casting Ji Xuanyu aside into the grass by the pond. Blood trickled from his lips—he had suffered internal injuries.

Seeing the white spiritual barrier that had emerged around Yinyao, Ji Xuanyu, heedless of his wounds, lunged forward to break through and rescue her, only to be mercilessly repelled.

Again and again he tried, growing more desperate and more injured with each attempt. Yet he refused to give up. He could not abandon Yinyao. He had to save her.

Yao’er, forgive me! I think I have fallen for another woman—one who shares your name, yet is utterly different from you. With this thought, Ji Xuanyu charged forward once more, defying death.

“Don’t be so foolish!” A clear, ethereal voice echoed through the ring of mountains—a voice laced with gentle reproach and a hint of anger, audible yet invisible.

Ji Xuanyu listened in astonishment, a gentle power lifting him and setting him softly on the grass. The pain in his body was soothed by this mysterious force.

“Who are you?” Ji Xuanyu scanned the surroundings, alert.

“Silly child, tend to your injuries. I will take care of Yinyao for you,” the female voice sounded again in the valley. Over the pond appeared the ghostly image of a white-haired woman in plain robes, her gaze gentle, her face smiling kindly.

“Elder Silver Fox?” Ji Xuanyu gasped at the apparition. The kind woman nodded slightly, and finally reassured, he sat nearby to heal his wounds.

In her dreams, Yinyao felt her mother’s hand stroking her face and hair—so warm, so tender, a feeling she had missed for so long.

Like a little girl basking in her mother’s praise, Yinyao smiled sweetly, forgetting her pain, lost in her mother’s touch.

The Silver Fox used the wisp of her essence she had left in this spiritual haven to protect Yinyao’s heart, preventing the poison from reaching it—for if it did, not even the highest immortals could save her. Gently, she stirred the surrounding spiritual energy, caressing Yinyao’s long hair, her gaze lingering on the dimples in her daughter’s cheeks. A pang of guilt stabbed her heart—she had failed to protect her child, and now, because of her, Yinyao’s life hung by a thread in pursuit of vengeance. The Silver Fox was consumed by remorse and self-reproach, cursing herself for having fallen prey to a villain’s scheme and leaving her daughter behind…

—End of chapter—