Why does this chapter's name have a faintly sinister vibe? What's with that?
Going live the day after tomorrow morning. Offering my usual plea for support.
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The sword pierced clean through his chest. A fatal wound.
Yuan Lang could feel his heart contract violently, his blood bursting within his veins, his life force draining rapidly. With a laborious turn of his head, he finally saw Yang Kai blocking the narrow crevice behind him.
"Beast!" A strange expression surfaced on Yuan Lang's face as he glared at Yang Kai with indignant fury.
Yang Kai remained silent, withdrawing the longsword from his chest, drawing a spray of warm blood before thrusting it back in with a savage twist.
After taking two strikes, Yuan Lang could endure no more. His legs gave out and he collapsed.
His consciousness grew hazy. Just before death, a bitter smile slowly appeared at the corner of Yuan Lang's lips.
Truly bad luck, how fate toys with a person! He had thought he had the young woman cornered in the mountain crevice, holding complete initiative, only to find himself trapped inside by someone else.
If not for this special terrain, how could he have been killed without even putting up a fight?
Even if he couldn't defeat the two of them, he should have had a chance to escape, right? But now, it was all in vain.
A hunter, it turns out, can become the prey one day...
"Are you okay?" Yang Kai looked up at Xia Ningshang.
Actually, Yang Kai had arrived nearby long before Yuan Lang discovered his junior sister. However, he hadn't attacked immediately. He had waited until Yuan Lang entered the crevice and engaged Xia Ningshang in battle before launching his ambush.
The method was a little despicable, after all, Xia Ningshang, unaware of the situation, had been frightened for a while. But it was also the most time- and energy-efficient way to eliminate the enemy.
"I'm fine, you..." Xia Ningshang froze mid-sentence. She saw the half-foot-long wound on Yang Kai's abdomen and the bloody hole on his shoulder.
In that moment, drenched in blood, Yang Kai's calm face held a hint of concern. His expression was resolute, giving off an air of steadiness and reliability unique to a man, completely unlike his usual frail appearance.
He stood bare-chested at the mouth of the crevice. Though his frame was slender, it was as immovable as a mountain, blocking all wind, rain, and hardships, transforming the cramped crevice into a shelter as warm and serene as a tranquil harbor.
She took two slow steps forward, her small hand trembling as she reached toward his wound, yet dared not touch it, fearing it would cause him pain. Xia Ningshang's eyes reddened in an instant.
In just two hours... what kind of brutal battle must he have endured outside to end up like this? How much blood must he have lost to make this place reek so strongly of it?
In this nearly isolated valley, facing the covetous gazes of over a dozen hostile enemies, Xia Ningshang felt a sense of reliance on Yang Kai, as if they were each other's only support. Seeing his wretched state now, how could her heart not ache?
Every maiden dreams of being saved by a hero.
Although the one who saved her this time was no great hero, nor any valiant champion—just an ordinary junior brother at the Kaiyuan Realm, whose strength was leagues behind her own—ripples of emotion inevitably stirred within the maiden's heart.
"Just a scratch!" Yang Kai said dismissively. "Oh, right. I found the Nine Yin Essence Condensation Dew."
"Oh." Xia Ningshang wiped her eyes, lacking the expected joy.
"So how do we collect that stuff? You should tell me now, right?" Yang Kai asked. "Otherwise, if we spot it again, it might run away before we can get to it."
"We don't need that anymore." Xia Ningshang took Yang Kai's hand, gesturing for him to sit down.