Corpse Demon Fifteen
Fine.
As Zhou Huai’s sword struck down, even amidst the excruciating pain, Yang Wujian found himself thinking: Since he wouldn’t survive the day anyway, why not pull someone back from the brink one last time? Consider it an apology for the matter concerning the Old Palace Master.
He smiled, blood filling his mouth, then abruptly stood up, mustering a shred of inner energy to forcibly pull White Rainbow toward himself.
Another muffled sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.
Staring into Zhou Huai’s widened pupils, Yang Wujian whispered, “Young Master, in this martial world, once you’ve set your mind on something, you must see it through to the end.”
As he spoke, the invisible force restraining White Rainbow pressed the blade deeper. Tu Yuanliang, realizing Yang Wujian intended to take his own life, frowned and said, “We can’t let him die.”
No sooner had he spoken than the Blood Thorn Saber shot toward Zhou Huai’s face. But with a sharp clang, Yang Wujian blocked it using the Golden Rings. The force on the White Rainbow Sword loosened, and Zhou Huai immediately withdrew the blade, stumbling back two steps. His lips trembled as if trying to speak, but no words came out.
“Young Master, when navigating the martial world, the most important thing is to recognize what a person does. Their origin, reputation, martial skills, appearance, even their gender—none of that matters to you. What truly matters is what choices that person has made for you... Once you understand this, you will never let yourself regret.”
“He has never harmed you. You should know that well.”
Recalling words he had once heard, his mind reeled in shock. Just as Cao Zhao drew his Tiger Head Saber, Yang Wujian staggered upright, his back to Zhou Huai, and snapped, “Young Master, since you can’t kill me, why aren’t you leaving?”
“I—”
“Go!”
With Yang Wujian’s furious roar, Zhou Huai stared at the blood dripping from the sword’s edge, his face turning deathly pale. He finally turned and fled the courtyard. Tu Yuanliang moved to pursue him but was blocked by the Golden Rings hurled his way.
Yang Wujian let out a weak laugh, his hand twisting one of the Golden Rings into a sharp spike, which he pressed against his own throat. “Don’t chase him. He’s lost even the White Rainbow Tower—what else is left for you to covet?”
“Dying in front of us isn’t that easy.”
Tu Yuanliang, as if accustomed to such scenes, moved his hand, causing the long chain-blade to emit a chilling sound. But Cao Zhao shook his head. “There’s no need for that, Lord Tu.”
He then beckoned to Shen Qingshi, who had been standing silently to the side. “Come, Green Stone, come here.”
Hesitating for a moment, Shen Qingshi still stepped forward. Unexpectedly, Cao Zhao swept his Tiger Head Saber horizontally, resting the blade against her neck.
“Heh…”
Yang Wujian nearly laughed. “She’s a Zhaoming Guard, raised by you. Why would you think her life could be used to threaten me?”
“It can’t?”
Cao Zhao applied a little pressure, and blood trickled down Shen Qingshi’s neck. He smiled. “Without me, she would have died long ago. Green Stone, tell me, who does your life belong to?”
“It belongs to Brother Cao.”
Shen Qingshi replied expressionlessly, even taking two steps along the blade’s edge, ignoring how it cut into her flesh, and stood firmly by Cao Zhao’s side. “My life was given by Brother Cao. If he wishes to take it back, he may.”
“You…”
Yang Wujian stared blankly at Shen Qingshi, who had willingly stepped into captivity. After a long pause, he burst into laughter, his voice filled with despair. “When I saved you back then, it wasn’t so you could give your life to him.”Shen Qingshi remained silent, while Yang Wujian laughed for a moment, yet the sharp spike in his hand did not drop. His consciousness was fading from blood loss, and before it completely vanished, Yang Wujian knew clearly that he must bring this to an end.
If he truly fell into the hands of the Zhaoming Division, they would inevitably extract the whereabouts of the Longevity Palace from him.
"Fine, since it's come to this..."
The smile on Yang Wujian's face turned cold.
This day, in truth, he had been waiting for a long time.
He tightened his grip on the golden spike and abruptly thrust it downward, declaring fiercely, "Then accompany me in death!"
In the blink of an eye, Tu Yuanliang's blood-red chain whip wrapped around Yang Wujian's wrist, and as the golden spike fell from his hand, a short blade slid from Shen Qingshi's sleeve. Without hesitation, she swung it toward Cao Zhao's wrist.
"Qingshi, you..."
As if caught off guard by her sudden outburst, Cao Zhao took the blow squarely on his arm, instantly causing blood to gush forth. The Tiger Head Saber in his hand wavered slightly, and Shen Qingshi had been waiting for this moment. Seizing the opportunity while Cao Zhao's aim was off, she flung an entire pouch of Metal-Corroding Powder.
Unlike ordinary lime powder, Metal-Corroding Powder was a substance exclusive to the palace, extremely vicious. It could not only dissolve gold and silver but would also corrode flesh down to the bone upon contact. Knowing its dangers, Cao Zhao and Tu Yuanliang immediately retreated to a sheltered corner away from the wind. Meanwhile, Shen Qingshi took the chance to hoist the limp Yang Wujian onto her back and fled desperately outward.
"Lord Cao, this is truly a stumble at the threshold."
Tu Yuanliang glanced at Cao Zhao's bleeding right arm, let out a cold laugh, and gave chase.
In past battles, Tu Yuanliang could take heads from several meters away. Now, with Shen Qingshi burdened by Yang Wujian and moving clumsily, she was only steps ahead. Tu Yuanliang's chain blades shot forward, and Shen Qingshi barely managed to evade the two leading wolf-tooth blades, but the spikes on the chain still grazed her leg, tearing away a strip of flesh and skin.
"..."
The pain darkened Shen Qingshi's vision, but she only staggered slightly without falling. Instead, she tightened her grip on Yang Wujian and continued running headlong into the distance without looking back.
"Cao Zhao has truly taught an exceptional disciple."
Even Tu Yuanliang had never seen anyone use qinggong after taking such a blow to the leg. His impatience flared, and killing intent surged within him. Disregarding the need to take them alive, he swung his chain blades like a lasso, aiming directly for the backs of Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi.
"Lord Tu, stop!"
With a clang, the chain blades collided with Cao Zhao's Tiger Head Saber. Now, even the Zhaoming Division's most famous "smiling tiger" could no longer muster a smile. He blocked Shen Qingshi's path, the wound on his arm still bleeding profusely.
"Qingshi, do you know what you're doing?"
Cao Zhao said coldly, "If you insist on taking him away, you will only meet death."
Cao Zhao's Tiger Head Saber was poisoned, and coupled with Yang Wujian having completely lost consciousness, his dead weight and the remaining Golden Rings nearly crushed Shen Qingshi, making it hard for her to stand.
Yet even so, she struggled to meet the gaze of the Tiger Head Saber she had grown up seeing.
"Brother Cao, I cannot let you kill him."
Shen Qingshi felt Yang Wujian's blood slowly seeping into the clothes on her back.From the second time Shen Qingshi deliberately threw herself onto Zhou Huai's sword, she knew Yang Wujian wanted to die. If this continued, he wouldn't last much longer.
Shen Qingshi bit the tip of her tongue, struggling to maintain the last shred of clarity in her mind. Yet all she could clearly see was the completely chilled smile on Cao Zhao's face.
"You've truly disappointed me, Green Stone."
In the next instant, Cao Zhao's saber transformed into a cold gleam aimed straight at her. Knowing she couldn't dodge it, Shen Qingshi closed her eyes waiting for death. Unexpectedly, something once again blocked the path in front of her.
It was people from the Ghost Market.
Shen Qingshi opened her eyes and discovered a group of martial artists had arrived and were entangled in combat with Cao Zhao and Tu Yuanliang. Simultaneously, many Yongyi constables who had heard the commotion also arrived, creating a chaotic scene. Naturally, she wouldn't miss this opportunity. While she could still move, she immediately carried the blood-soaked Yang Wujian on her back and fled toward the city outskirts.
Fortunately, this time went relatively smoothly.
Only when she could no longer hear pursuing footsteps behind her did Shen Qingshi—feeling half her body going numb—collapse to the ground with her burden. She knew she couldn't afford to succumb to poison at this moment, so she could only bite the wound on her tongue again. Crawling to Yang Wujian's side, she laboriously retrieved from his chest the bottle of Blood Cleansing Pills that had become all too familiar to her.
To maintain this fleeting clarity, she had to undergo Blood Washing once more.
Shen Qingshi swallowed the pill without hesitation.
Moments later, excruciating pain jolted her back to full awareness. She dragged Yang Wujian with great effort to a more concealed location. Along the way, Yang Wujian's face flickered before her eyes, shifting between clarity and blurriness, until finally transforming into his childhood appearance.
"Hurry and go. Follow this path and you can leave this place... Whatever you do, don't look back."
The youth looked at her and pushed her deep into a crevice between rocks.
Perhaps only a moment later, Shen Qingshi jolted awake from her stupor. Propping herself up, her body still ached, while Yang Wujian let out a low moan. It seemed her desperate grip on him during the intense pain had actually roused him awake.
"Am I... dead?"
Yang Wujian already suffered from Blood Deficiency Syndrome. Having repeatedly exerted his internal energy and sustained two sword wounds, his vision was now so dark he could barely see.
Come to think of it, if he were dead, did that mean Shen Qingshi had also been killed by Cao Zhao?
Amid his dizziness, he actually felt a twinge of guilt. Just then, a scorching hand suddenly covered the side of his face, and the person he thought had died moments ago appeared directly before his eyes.
"Yang Wujian?"
Burning with high fever from the Blood Washing, Shen Qingshi could barely breathe, speaking purely through willpower: "We escaped."
"...What?"
"I carried you out. The Tiger Head Saber was poisoned. I was afraid I'd lose consciousness, so I had to take another Blood Cleansing Pill."
After uttering these words, Shen Qingshi collapsed onto him, panting heavily from the fever.
By now, Yang Wujian had regained some awareness. Feeling for the medicine bottle beside him, he discovered Shen Qingshi had taken his last Blood Cleansing Pill.
"You..."
If he hadn't been utterly drained of strength, Yang Wujian would have truly cursed: "Do you know how rare these Blood Cleansing Pills are? How many herbs do I need to gather just to refine one pill..."
Overwhelmed with frustration, he and Shen Qingshi lay collapsed together on the ground. After catching his breath for a while, Yang Wujian—whose vision remained blurred—softly said, "Get my medicine."Although he had intended to let Zhou Huai strike a vital point, the young master ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. Through a twist of fate, he managed to cling to life, but having lost too much blood and overexerted his internal energy, he now needed to alleviate his Blood Deficiency Syndrome first.
"Wait..."
Shen Qingshi fought back the nauseating pulling sensation in her body as she searched through his medicine bottles. For some reason, she couldn't find the plain-colored bottle Yang Wujian had mentioned.
With no other choice, Shen Qingshi had to focus on stopping Yang Wujian's bleeding first. Fortunately, the most painful moment had passed. She tore strips of cloth from her clothing to bandage his wound, and after much effort, Yang Wujian finally regained some vision.
"My Blood Deficiency Syndrome has flared up, and the medicine is missing."
Yang Wujian gritted his teeth, struggling to stay conscious.
His awareness was fading fast, while Shen Qingshi curled up in agony beside him due to the effects of the Blood Cleansing Pill.
Yang Wujian smiled bitterly to himself.
In his current condition, ordinary tonics would be useless. With depleted energy and blood deficiency, his wounds would never heal. There was only one choice if he wanted to survive.
He had to return to Longevity Palace—only Gu Yun's medicine could help him now.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Qingshi's legs covered in bloody wounds. Yang Wujian recalled that in his fading memory, she seemed to have done something extraordinary to rescue him, making him now reluctant to die.
But then again, her last rescue had been an act—could this time be the same?
Shen Qingshi recognized the Blood Replenishing Pill on him, and now his medicine was missing... Was it her doing again?
Yang Wujian's body was nearing its limit, his mind in chaos. He had many questions for Shen Qingshi, but for some reason, what came out was the most baffling one.
"Shen Qingshi, you said your life belongs to Cao Zhao."
Yang Wujian laughed softly, using his blood-stained hand to tilt Shen Qingshi's face toward him. In his darkening vision, all he could see was the little girl who had disappeared before his eyes fifteen years ago.
"But why?"
He asked: "Shouldn't your life belong to me instead?"
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