Four
"Xuan Ye!"
These two words had become Ban Xia's instinct when in danger.
Xuan Ye, being a light sleeper, immediately awoke at the sound and flicked his finger to release Moon Glow.
As Moon Glow hovered mid-air, its faint glow suddenly brightened the small room. Ban Xia pointed at the black smoke in the air but before she could speak, she saw the smoke pause as if alive, then whoosh out through the window.
"What's wrong, Elegant Confinement? Is it the wound on your leg?"
Chi Xue, who had been in deep sleep, was shaken awake with great difficulty. He rubbed his eyes vigorously before he could speak.
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Xuan Ye checked his pulse.
"No..."
"Do you half-gods have that kind of... where your soul turns into black smoke at night and leaves your body..." This time it was Ban Xia speaking.
Chi Xue blinked, clearly not understanding what she was talking about.
"His primordial spirit remains, his body is intact, undamaged, and not possessed by any malevolent spirits."
Xuan Ye spoke after completing his careful examination.
"Ah?" Chi Xue's mouth fell open again.
Ban Xia leaned closer, quite eager to tell him about the amusing incident of smoke coming from his mouth.
"Let's all sleep. After traveling so long, you're exhausted and need rest." But Xuan Ye spoke up from the side, cutting off her words: "I'll keep watch tonight and wake you for your turn at dawn."
At dawn, regardless of flowers blooming or withering, the desert sun rose on schedule.
A'Nai stretched, found the only clay pot in the house, and went out to fetch water.
The city's water sources were gradually drying up, and she was too poor to afford buying water, so she had to take the clay pot to search for the nearby Red Lake.
The rose-colored lake was beautiful, but the water scooped from it was extremely salty and undrinkable.
A'Nai carefully carried her clay pot, slowly making her way back.
After letting the Red Lake water sit at home for a few days, the top layer became barely drinkable. Though it would hurt her throat and chest to drink it, it was better than dying of thirst.
"Brother, I'm back."
She called out as she entered the door.
No one answered inside. Her brother was critically ill and hadn't eaten or drunk anything for nearly three days.
Barring any miracles, none were likely to occur.
A'Nai set down the clay pot, ate the last half piece of naan in the house, then came to her brother's bedside.
Her brother's mouth was half-open, cracked with numerous bloody fissures, his chest rapidly rising and falling.
Not sure if she was seeing things, A'Nai actually saw a faint wisp of black smoke at the corner of her brother's mouth.
"Could it be that brother is too thirsty?" A'Nai muttered to herself, quickly running over to scoop some of the settled water.
That's when the strange phenomenon occurred.
The previously faint wisp of smoke now emerged from her brother's mouth, seeking the dark, unlit areas of the room, gathering ethereally until it formed a column of black smoke as thick as a snake.
This black smoke rose, circling as if alive, finally completely leaving her brother's mouth - its tail was actually red.
A bright, vivid red, from which one drop fell onto the coarse linen bedsheet, making a "plop" sound as it bloomed into a blood flower.
"Brother."
A'Nai cried out in terror.
There was no response from her brother. His chest had stopped rising and falling, lying quietly like a corpse.
"He's already dead."
A voice suddenly sounded in the room, uttered eerily.
A'Nai looked up, searching for the source of the voice, and ultimately discovered it came from that column of black smoke in the room."He's already dead. That silver ingot on the table is my payment for his heart. Take it and leave this place."
In the midst of extreme eeriness and silence, the black smoke actually spoke again. After a brief pause, it pierced through the window and vanished, carrying the bloodstain with it.
Two days later, almost everyone in the city had heard A'Nai's story.
"Later, someone examined the body and found her brother's heart was gone! That black smoke drilled into her brother's belly and ate his heart!"
"But he paid for it—ten taels of silver! Damn it, a living dead man's heart could actually fetch ten taels. Now that girl has money to leave this godforsaken place."
...
Such discussions, spoken in strange tones blending horror and envy, could often be heard by the dilapidated earthen walls along the streets.
"Tell me, that black smoke also entered your belly. Why didn't it eat your heart? Could it be that it found yours unpalatable?"
Ban Xia, halfway down the road, heard such remarks for what felt like the umpteenth time and couldn't resist teasing Chi Xue again.
Chi Xue furrowed his brow and glanced down at his own chest, as if genuinely pondering the question.
"Perhaps it still has a conscience, preferring to consume the stale heart of a dying man."
Xuan Ye spoke up, hitting the mark as usual.
"So, can we confirm that it was Zhan Xiao? He can actually transform into smoke?"
"Perhaps." Xuan Ye sighed, his limp more pronounced than before. "That's why we need to find him quickly."
Ban Xia nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more. Suddenly feeling cold again, she stopped to wrap her clothes tighter around herself.
"What's wrong?" Xuan Ye, walking ahead as if he had eyes on his back, immediately halted as well.
"I think I might be sick."
Ban Xia paused briefly, hugging her arms. After struggling to hold on for most of the day, she finally gave in. Her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably after just a few words.
"I haven't been sick for at least three years." About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Ban Xia leaned against a wall in a dilapidated temple, still trembling incessantly. "When I was little and fell ill, all I needed was to drink some water and sweat it out under covers."
Xuan Ye frowned, taking off his outer coat to drape over her. "It looks like you've caught a fever and been invaded by evil energy. I need to go find medicine for you."
"Where will you find any?" Ban Xia looked up. "The wealthy here have long fled, and the pharmacies have long since closed."
"There's always a way." Xuan Ye gritted his teeth, struggling to stand as he pressed on his knees. He turned to Chi Xue. "I'm going out now. Remember to guard her well. If you encounter corpse walkers, remember to just cut off their heads." With that, he handed Chi Xue a short sword.
Chi Xue remained dazed, holding the sword and momentarily stunned.
He had never wielded a blade before—he had nearly been pecked to death by a chicken the one time he tried to slaughter one. This embarrassing fact felt too shameful to admit aloud.
"If it really comes to it, you can cut your own palm. You're of the demi-god race—your blood can ward off evil spirits."
Xuan Ye added this, giving Chi Xue's hand holding the sword a firm squeeze before turning and hurrying away.
"Jiu Xi... Jiu Xi..."
Ban Xia, in her high fever, began to mutter deliriously, endlessly curious about who this woman named Jiu Xi in her dream could be.
Chi Xue was taken aback, pricking up his ears to listen again.
"Jiu Xi..."
No mistake—Ban Xia was repeating that name, the name of their clan's former Elegant Confinement.
Chi Xue was somewhat astonished. Seeing how pale Ban Xia had become from her feverish dreams, he tried shaking her.
After shaking her for a while with no response, he didn't turn around but suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.A chill, eerie aura—this sensation couldn't be mistaken.
Chi Xue turned around, raising his short sword high, and indeed saw a corpse-like figure—a youth with a deathly pale face and crimson eyes—gazing thoughtfully at Ban Xia.
"I, I, I... am of the half-divine tribe. You'd better leave quickly..."
Chi Xue stood up, mimicking Xuan Ye's imposing stance, while swiftly drawing the sword across his palm to open a bleeding gash.
The youthful corpse remained silent, tilting its head as it continued to gaze tenderly at Ban Xia, seemingly deep in thought.
Gritting his teeth, Chi Xue abandoned the idea of a decapitating strike and instead threw aside his short sword. He spread his palm flat and began chanting an incantation.
The Water Control Charm—a spell often used by Seers for manifestations—was now employed to manipulate the blood from his palm, coalescing droplets into a thread that slowly formed a crimson chain.
Catching the scent of his blood, the corpse seemed to recoil in fear, taking a step backward.
"You really should... leave now," Chi Xue repeated, advancing step by step until he had driven the corpse to the doorway.
It was then that Chi Xue sensed something amiss. Instinctively, he turned to look at Ban Xia.
Just three meters away, where Ban Xia lay, a figure suddenly dropped from the roof beam—stiff-jointed yet moving with startling speed. It seized Ban Xia and vanished through the window with a "whoosh."
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