Ni Ji held onto the wall and stood up little by little in the narrow and dim alley.
His face looked very calm, without any unnecessary expression, but cold sweat was running down his forehead like rain.
Before he could even stand up straight, he fell down.
He fell to the ground, barely propped himself up with his arms, held onto the wall, and climbed up again.
This time, his hands and legs were shaking uncontrollably, and he lost his strength and fell down before he could even get halfway up.
Lin Yuan reached out to help him, his hands were covered in hot blood.
Ni Ji closed his eyes and lay there for a while without opening them. "Wait for me for a while, just a little while longer."
His voice sounded a little sad.
He knew better than Lin Yuan that he might not be able to stand up. His body was in so much pain, with broken bones all over his body, that the pain could not be removed by his will.
But what can he say
Blame Lin Yuan for being so foolish and falling back into the trap, trapping both of them here. Blame Lin Yuan for not listening to him and leaving on her own
He couldn't say that. Nor did he want to say that.
"I actually have a solution." Ni Ji heard the hesitant voice of the guide on the other side.
He opened his eyes suddenly.
Lin Yuan had a solution, which she had thought of on the way here.
But when she wanted to say it, she was a little hesitant.
Lin Yuan is not a person who hesitates. She is decisive in making any decision, no matter it means taking risks, getting hurt, or risking her life. As long as she has made up her mind, she will no longer hesitate.
But this time, what she put on the gambling table was an innocent life that did not belong to her. So she hesitated again and again before finally speaking.
"I have an idea. Maybe you can try it."
The sentry opened his eyes, his gaze clear and serious, and looked at her intently.
"When I was very young, my father taught me a method." Lin Yuan said, rubbing his fingers back and forth repeatedly, "My father is also a guide. He taught me how to go deep into the mental picture of a sentinel, block her pain, and increase her adrenaline secretion..."
"This way, she won't feel pain or fatigue. She can keep running until she dies."
Lin Yuan saw the sentry's eyes light up.
"That's a good idea," he said affirmatively.
Lin Yuan paused for a moment. She did not tell Ni Ji. The one who taught her this step by step was her father, who was her guide. And that time, the sentinel who sealed the pain together with her father was her mother.
My mother was a strong sentinel. But she died on that snowy night.
"That time, I survived. The sentinel I controlled died in the snow."
When Lin Yuan said this, her tone was very calm, and she was sure that there was nothing particularly different about her tone.
But why did the sentry sitting opposite her show sadness in his eyes
Lin Yuan found that he was making great progress.
From such a distance, without the contact of skin or tentacles, she could read someone's mood just by looking into their eyes.
This was a good thing, she thought calmly.
"That was when you were a kid. We can try again." The sentry sitting in front of her said gently, "This time, maybe both of us can get out alive."
It is clearly a weak and powerless little fish, injured, sitting among a pile of debris. Why does it still give people a gentle and powerful feeling
Like a beautiful and gentle princess sitting on the throne in a fairy tale world.
Lin Yuan subconsciously smelled Ni Ji's blood on his palm. It was just an ordinary smell of blood. Where did he smell the sweet smell he liked just now
She took out a small towel from her backpack and wiped her palms carefully.
Only when the hand became white and warm again, without any trace of filth, did she stretch out her hand towards the sentry sitting in front of her.
She watched as her palm slowly covered Ni Ji's handsome features.
"Are you sure?" she asked one last time before pressing her hand firmly. "I'm going to go really deep. I've only done this once, very early on. I don't know what kind of damage this will cause you."
The sentry's beautiful eyebrows and eyes were covered at this time, and Lin Yuan could only see a part of his pale jaw and thin lips stained with blood.
They couldn't see each other's eyes because of the palm of their hands, which seemed to make many words easier to say.
The thin lips opened slightly, "I want to tell you that before, when I was caught by those monsters, I was actually very scared."
"For people like us, the most feared outcome is falling into the hands of monsters. Unable to live or die, being tortured alive until we kneel down and beg for surrender, allowing ourselves to become a monster like them."
"So, I'm... glad you came back to save me."
"If I die on the road behind, it's my own choice. It might be the best fate for a Sentinel. You don't have to feel sorry for me. Really."
Lin Yuan replied: "Okay."
"Wait a minute, there's one more thing." Ni Ji paused, and the corners of her beautiful mouth smiled, "I haven't formally introduced myself to you yet."
Lin Yuan felt the sentry's eyelashes trembling, brushing gently against her palm, like the wings of a butterfly, which made her feel a little itchy.
"Hello, my name is Ni Ji." She heard the sentry under her palm say this.
Before, I didn't introduce myself to you properly. I didn't leave you a polite first impression. This time, I will introduce my name again.
I would like to get to know you and would like to add your contact information.
Even if it's just to be a friend who's unlikely to stay with you for long.
"Hello, my name is Lin Yuan." Lin Yuan pressed down his hand, covering his eyebrows.
She once again entered the sea and entered Ni Ji's spiritual picture.
The clear blue water welcomed her gently. Compared to the last time's forceful invasion, this time the sound of the waves rang softly in her ears.
Every bubble in the sea water, every swaying light, seemed to be welcoming her arrival, swaying around her.
Lin Yuan was diving all the way.
Floating freely in the water.
She turned over in the water, and her beautiful skirt appeared, floating in the deep blue sea.
The charming and vast underwater garden appears before your eyes.
Lin Yuan saw the injured killer whale while swimming.
The half-human, half-whale killer whale was lying on the rocks on the seabed. His tail was badly injured and drooped pitifully on the edge of the reef. He had the same face as Ni Ji.
Hearing the sound of Lin Yuan swimming, he raised his head from the rock and looked upward.
Lin Yuan swam over his head, and its tentacles fell down and gently stroked his injured tail.
This time, no one was waiting to fight her. The killer whale guarding the spiritual image lowered its head meekly.
Lin Yuan swam deeper, passed those beautiful corals and algae, and went down along the overlapping reefs. In the deeper place, there was a castle-like underwater palace with a faint beautiful luster.
It was like the beautiful castle where the mermaid princess lived, with agate and coral forming the beams and pillars, the roof emitting the light of clouds and rainbows, and sparkling pearls and gorgeous shells rolling all over the ground at will.
Starfish crawl slowly on the soft sand, colorful little fish shuttle among them, the flawed stones are shone with strange light, and the silk is illuminated by the light, confusing the eyes of the invaders.
Lin Yuan carefully pushed open the door of the palace and swam in gently, trying not to touch anything soft and beautiful here.
Some tiny bubbles rose from the open shell. Many faces belonging to Ni Ji could be seen.
This is the depth of Ni Ji's spiritual landscape, touching the most secret spiritual world of the sentinel himself.
It can be said that if Lin Yuan wreaked havoc here at this moment, Ni Ji's life would be taken immediately.
He was defenseless against himself.
This is it. Lin Yuan stopped at a certain point.
The soft tentacles crawled along the palace walls and stone pillars. They stretched out and spread towards the secret place where the light was shining brightly.
In the real world, in that messy and narrow alley, Ni Ji stood up.
His legs had just been reattached, and the broken bones weren't even splinted. His body was in a very bad condition, and the unhealed wounds were still bleeding.
But the amazing thing was that he didn't feel any pain at all.
Tiredness and weakness were swept away, and even from the bottom of my heart, a feeling of excitement surged.
Ni Ji knew that this was because the guide had invaded the seabed of his spirit and was controlling his physical condition.
This state of being completely unaffected by pain comes at the cost of overdrawing the body and can only be maintained for a short time.
But it doesn't matter. As long as he can leave here, as long as he can get out alive, he is willing to bear any consequences.
"Let's go." He said to Lin Yuan beside him.
A huge killer whale appeared out of nowhere. Half of the killer whale's tail showed signs of turning into bones.
But it seemed to be unaware of it, its eyes burning with purple flames, and as soon as it appeared, it knocked away several metal-headed mutant guards and rushed towards the gate.
At the palace gate, the chaotic scene was not over yet.
The little boy's body became tiny, and he repeatedly crawled out of the blood and flesh on the ground like a firefly.
The guards found a net bag and started to capture him in a hurry.
The huge whale smashed the door open and rushed out first, followed by a bunch of little boys who fled in all directions.
Ni Ji pulled Lin Yuan up, carried the nimble guide on his back, and with a few leaps, he walked out of the gate and disappeared into the distance at the end of the street.
Lin Yuan was lying on Ni Ji's back. The sentinel was very fast, even faster than a bird flying in the air.
When he jumped high in the air, Lin Yuan saw the little boys swarming out from the ground, and also saw the black cat that slipped out in the chaos.
A boy the size of a fist lay tightly on the black cat's back, his head buried in the hair on the cat's neck.
He became so small. Lin Yuan thought, this is the price he paid. But he must be very happy.
Ni Ji was running on the undulating rooftops, with big fish swimming in front of them and a fantastic starry sky above their heads.
The night wind feels cold blowing across my cheeks.
This feeling is very similar to that snowy night.
Lin Yuan lay on the sentry's broad back. Running brought him a feeling of weightlessness, and the scenery around him became blurry.
The memories of my childhood are becoming clearer little by little.
That night, it snowed heavily. Amid the white snow, blazing flames were lit.
When she regained consciousness, her father was gone and her mother was lying in the snow, holding her.
Little Lin Yuan stood up from his mother's body, barefoot, standing in the vast white world.
Snow was falling in the gray sky, the earth was desolate, and my mother's body was lying at my feet.
Her father closed off her emotions before he died. She stood alone in the snow, wanting to cry, but feeling no pain in her heart. She wanted to leave, but didn't know where to go.
In the vast jade-like world of Qiankun, there was only one lonely little monster left.
From then on, I didn’t know what sadness or joy was.
Ni Ji was running in the night sky.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and focused himself on the spiritual world.
Faster, she thought, faster.
He won't last long.
(End of this chapter)