With a palm, Huo Zhanbai opened the rusty door and rushed into the library.
"Xue Ziye!" he exclaimed and saw the woman in purple crawling on the table.
Half of the bookshelf was empty, and the desk was in a mess, with more than a dozen precious elixirs, including dragon blood beads and blue phoenix flowers. In addition, it was piled with books: "Wai Tai Mi Yao", "Jin Lan Xun Jing", "Su Wen", "Zou Hou Fang"... piled up layer by layer beside her. Because it was too high, half of it even collapsed on the unconscious woman, almost burying her.
He called out, but there was no response from her. He became even more panicked and hurried over to help her up.
Under the ever-burning lamp, she raised her downward-facing face and lay in his arms, looking terribly pale and haggard.
"Xue Ziye!" He called into her ear, and pressed his hand on her back to rapidly inject his inner strength into her, protecting her already weakened heart. "Wake up, wake up!"
Her head shook without any reaction as he pushed her, and in her hand, she was still tightly holding a volume of "Lingshu".
"Valley Master!" Shuanghong and Xiaojing arrived shortly afterwards and exclaimed at the door.
—Is the scene from twenty years ago going to happen again
"Quick, come and help me hold her!" Huo Zhanbai raised his head and shouted, closing his eyes and concentrating for a moment, then he slowly pushed his palm flat on her back. Xue Ziye's body shook as if a gentle tide surged into her limbs.
Huo Zhanbai immediately changed his palm into a finger, and instantly pressed twelve acupuncture points on her, all the way down along her spine, penetrating her inner strength everywhere, opening up the blood vessels that had been stagnant for a long time. At first, he pressed very quickly, but later on, his fingers moved slower and slower, and white steam gradually rose from the top of her head, and her forehead turned dark red, as if all the internal energy in her body was condensed at her fingertips.
With each pointing, Xue Ziye's complexion improved a little. When he had finished pointing twelve times, he let out a light breath.
"Okay!" Shuanghong had been paying attention to the Valley Master's pulse and was overjoyed at this moment.
This lazy young man, turns out to have such ability
"Valley Master, please wake up." Although Shuang Hong is always capable and calm, she was so anxious that she was about to cry.
"Heh... Ah Hong?" Xue Ziye suddenly let out a low sigh, moved his fingers, and slowly opened his eyes, "What's wrong with me? Don't cry, don't cry... It's okay... I read for too long, did I fall asleep?"
She tried to sit up, and saw Huo Zhanbai at a glance, and was shocked: "Why are you here too? Go back to Winter Pavilion and rest, who told you to run around? Where's Lu'er, that damn girl, why didn't you keep an eye on him!"
Huo Zhanbai looked at the woman who started yelling as soon as she woke up, frowned and shook his head.
"Your medical skills are not good enough," he pushed away the finger she had poked at his forehead, "Are you running here to get help at the last minute?"
Xue Ziye was stabbed in the sore spot by him, and was furious. He threw the medical book in his hand at him, but quickly put it back: "Yes... In this "Lingshu"! I just saw-"
She took the book and glanced at it again hastily, her face showing joy, but suddenly she felt a chill in her chest and lungs, and she coughed quickly and slowly, feeling like she couldn't breathe.
"Valley Master, Valley Master! Stop thinking about it." A purple gold hand warmer was stuffed over in time. Xue Ziye held the hand warmer in his arms as if he had obtained a treasure, not daring to let go for a moment.
She was speechless. It felt as if a large block of ice was stuffed between her chest and lungs, making her unable to breathe.
It was Granny Ning who arrived next. She handed over the hand warmer and said with a worried look on her face, "Your body can't take it anymore. You need to rest first. I'll ask the pharmacy to boil some medicine for you right away."
"Well," Xue Ziye held back a cough and said sullenly, "Just use the one I usually take."
When she was fourteen, she fell into an ice river and drifted for a night, and she has been suffering from cold syndrome ever since. Cold enters the Shaoyin meridian, and the pulse is often deep or tight, the lungs are often cold, and she is sometimes afraid of the cold. Her master Liao Qingran once gave her a prescription and asked her to take care of it every day. However, after more than ten years of hard work, the disease has gradually worsened and has penetrated into her bones. The prescription is no longer as effective as it was at the beginning.
"I'm afraid it's not enough," Granny Ning frowned as she looked at her complexion, "This time it's very serious."
"Then... add five cents of white tiger heart." She pondered and kept coughing.
"Tiger heart is a very hot substance. How can the master of the valley, who has been weak for a long time, bear it?" Granny Ning retorted directly. After thinking for a while, she said, "Why not remove the cinnamon twig from the prescription and add one liang of Chuanxiong and six fen of Manjingzi instead? How about that?"
Xue Ziye pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay. Just add the Guiling Collection and it will be fine."
"Yes." Granny Ning nodded in obedience and turned away.
Shuanghong was shocked when she heard this. She had followed the Valley Master for many years and received his instruction. She thought she had received the true teachings, but she never thought that the medical skills of a housemaid sweeping the floor in the valley were better than hers!
"Ahem, ahem..." Watching Granny Ning leave, Xue Ziye looked back at Huo Zhanbai and pulled the corners of his mouth to make a smile, "Ahem, don't worry, Mo'er's disease will not be incurable..."
"It's okay. I'm used to being scolded by you." Huo Zhanbai just said, "But you should take care of yourself."
"Hehe..." Xue Ziye covered his mouth and laughed, "You still owe me six hundred thousand. I... cough cough, how can I close my eyes."
However, before she could finish her words, she coughed violently and blood oozed out from between her fingers!
“Valley Master! Valley Master! Stop talking!” Shuang Hong was horrified and rushed over to support her shaky body. “Master Huo Qi, Master Huo Qi, come and help me send the Valley Master back to Xia Zhi Garden! The hot springs there will be most useful to her!”
-
The warm spring water soaked my cold skin inch by inch.
Xue Ziye lay in the hot spring in the Snow Valley. His pale face gradually began to turn red, and the suffocating coldness in his chest began to melt. The grass and trees beside the hot spring were lush and dense. Alsophila trees covered the grass by the lake, and their slender branches hung down to the water. Countless butterflies were flying and chasing each other, resting on the branches, and hanging in clusters on the water.
That is a scene that can only be seen in the dense forests of southern Xinjiang, but it appears deep in this snowy valley.
When Xue Ziye woke up, a silver-white luminous butterfly was flying past his eyes, like a piece of snow drifting away.
"Ah..." She let out a long breath from her chest, and opened her eyes tiredly, finding herself soaking in warm water, surrounded by the aroma of Rui Nao. She moved her hands and feet, and began to recall how she suddenly came to the hot springs of the Summer Garden again.
"Hey, you're awake?" A big smiling face suddenly appeared in front of him and came closer, "Take your medicine quickly!"
"Ah!" She screamed and hid in the water subconsciously, slapping him with her backhand, "Get out of here!"
Huo Zhanbai was caught off guard and was hit. The medicine cup in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and he screamed in pain.
"Ah Hong! Lu'er!" Xue Ziye immersed himself in the hot spring, "Where did they all die? Let the sick run around?"
"Valley Master, you are finally awake?" Only Xiao Jing walked out of the pavilion beside the spring, almost crying with joy, "You, you fainted in the library this time, and everyone was scared to death. Now they have all run to the herb garden and the pharmacy, so how can they take care of any patient?"
Gradually recalling what happened in the library, Xue Ziye's expression softened: "What a fuss."
"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked, looking up, motioning Xiaojing to bring the long coat that was placed on the white stone beside the spring.
"It's been more than a day." Huo Zhanbai frowned. The Snow Harrier grunted and flew over, holding the purple brocade cloud pattern robe and throwing it to the water's edge. "Everyone is scared by you."
"Heh..." She lowered her head and smiled, "It's not that easy to die."
"Do you think you are indestructible?" Huo Zhanbai was furious. This woman really didn't know what was good for her. "Grandma Ning said that if I hadn't used the Shocking Spirit Finger to force the blood out of your palace in time, you might have died before I could rescue you! And you're still bragging here!"
“…” Xue Ziye lowered his head, knowing that Granny Ning’s medical skills were not much inferior to his own.
"Okay, I know what you mean is that you saved me once, so you can pay less of the debt of 600,000 yuan - right?" She smiled teasingly, trying to change the subject.
"I don't mean to collect the debt, but you, the dead woman, have to give it to me in the future--" Huo Zhanbai was slightly angry.
"Okay, get out of here!" Before he could say anything else, Xue Ziye pointed at the garden gate and shouted, "I want to get dressed!"
He had no choice but to walk out angrily. When he reached the door, he stopped and said, "I said, in the future, you should—"
“Still looking!” An incense burner whizzed over and burst under his feet, frightening him so much that he jumped three feet. “Go back to the Winter Pavilion and recuperate! I’ll come to check on you tonight!”
Huo Zhanbai smiled bitterly and turned away - looking at her like this, she doesn't look like the kind of beauty who will suffer a tragic fate.
After his figure disappeared outside the door, she pondered for a moment in the water before slowly standing up. With a splash of water, Xiao Jing quickly stood behind her and shook out the purple robe to wrap her body. She took a cloth and began to wring out her wet long hair.
The butterflies hanging from the branches over the water were startled by her and flew up with a flutter, and it seemed as if colorful fireworks suddenly exploded on the water surface.
Xue Ziye looked at the bustling life in the Summer Garden, and suddenly sighed silently—
what to do
After such exhaustive research, he could only find a prescription that could temporarily delay Mo'er's illness for another three months - but how could he explain to Huo Zhanbai after three months
Besides... there is still no way to deal with Mingjie's golden needle brain seal...
She looked up exhausted, looking at the countless butterflies fluttering on the water, and suddenly she envied these beautiful creatures who only lived for one year but were carefree - how great would it be if she could ride on a butterfly and fly away
The northern sky is faintly tinged with a pale blue.
Mohe is known as the extreme north, but what is north of Mohe
When she was in Moga Village, she had heard Xue Huai mention an ancient legend of the tribe. According to the legend, if you cross the frozen river and then the snowy wasteland that stretches for thousands of miles, you will reach a vast and boundless ocean of ice.
That is the true Far North. The sky above the icy sea is filled with colorful lights.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple float and change on the icy sea, like a dream.
Xue Huai… When we were fourteen years old, we looked at the North Star on the glacier and made a wish to cross the snowfield together and go to the far north to see the dreamy light.
Are you waiting for me under the northern lights now
Unfortunately, these butterflies cannot fly across the icy ocean.
―――――――――――――
After drinking the medicine made by Granny Ning, Xue Ziye felt his Qi and blood flow stronger in the evening, his breathing became smoother, and his hands and feet were no longer cold. So he resumed his habit of being unable to sit still and began to walk around the valley with Lu'er.
He first went to the Winter Pavilion to see Huo Zhanbai and his bird, and found that the bird was indeed very obedient and stayed there to recuperate. Unable to find a reason to punish him, he just took his pulse, prescribed a prescription to calm the mind and nourish the qi, and asked Lu'er to stay and take care of it.
After teasing Xue Yao for a while, she stood up and prepared to leave, but suddenly stopped at the door: "Mo'er's medicine has been prepared and will be ready in seven days - you still have time to rush back before the deadline."
She stood by the door and spoke without turning her head. Huo Zhanbai couldn't see her expression.
By the time he came back to his senses from his joy, the purple dress had disappeared into the snowy night.
Why do I feel lonely? She was alone, holding a glass lamp, walking through the fragrant herb garden, thinking dazedly. This time she had done her best. If this medical record still couldn't cure Mo'er's illness, then she really had no other choice.
It has been eight years, and in such a boring and lonely life, this person seems to be the only bright spot, right
Over the past eight years, his annual visit had gradually become the only day of the year that she looked forward to - even though after they met, they mostly bickered and drank with each other.
Every time he left, she would instruct her maids to bury new wine jars in the snow, waiting for their reunion next year.
But this time, she couldn't deceive anymore.
She couldn't even imagine whether Huo Zhanbai would rush back and kill her if she couldn't save Mo'er this time.
Alas... She raised her head and glanced at the snowy night sky. She suddenly felt that life was so heavy and helpless, as if the sky was full of inescapable webs that enveloped everyone's fate.
When passing by Qiu Zhiyuan, she suddenly remembered the patient whose Ren and Du meridians she had sealed, and she was slightly shocked. Because of her health problems, she hadn't visited Mingjie for two days.
She couldn't help but leave the main path and turn towards Autumn Garden.
However, as soon as she turned around, she suddenly froze.
Is this a dream? In the heavy snow, a person stood silently on the frozen lake. He was wearing a long coat, leaning sideways and looking down at the lake. From afar, the familiar silhouette was as if the person who had been sleeping under the ice for many years had suddenly woken up and quietly returned to the world in the snowy night.
"Xue Huai?" She called out softly, afraid of disturbing the dream, and tiptoed towards the lake.
On the moonless night, the snow fell endlessly, blurring the face I missed so much.
“Xue Huai!” She could no longer hold back and ran towards the snowy lake in ecstasy, “Wait for me!”
"Xiaoye..." The man standing on the ice turned around and saw the woman with the lantern running towards him. He suddenly sighed, slowly stretched out his hand to her, and called out in a low voice, "Are you here?"
She ran wildly and threw herself into his arms, which were so solid and warm, and unreal like a dream.
When did he grow so tall? He could actually hug her with one hand.
"It's really you..." the man murmured to himself, hugging her tightly, as if she would melt like snow if he let go. "Is this a dream? How, how come in the blink of an eye... it's been more than ten years?"
However, that vaguely familiar voice made her stunned for a moment.
No, no! This sound is...
"I seemed to have had a dream. When I woke up, everyone was dead... Xue Huai, the clan leader, Hu... all dead..." The voice sighed lowly above her head, like the whistling wind, "Only you are still here... Only you are still here. Sister Xiaoye, it seems like I was in a dream."
"Mingjie!" She finally raised her head, saw the man's face, and exclaimed in surprise.
The light of the ice and snow reflected his face, pale and handsome, with fine eyebrows and features, and his features were very similar to Xue Huai - that was the typical appearance of the Moga clan. However, his eyes were a melancholy light blue, like a bottomless lake at a glance.
"Mingjie?" She looked at him incredulously, "Have you, have you already..."
"Yes, I remember everything..." He raised his head, took a deep breath, and looked at the night covered with snow. "Sister Xiaoye, I remember everything... I have forced the golden needle out."
"That's great." She looked at the golden needle between his fingers and couldn't help but say, "That's great... Mingjie!"
She reached out her hand to probe the Baihui acupoint on his head and found that there was indeed no more golden needle there: "Great!"
"Xue Huai, did he die when I was taking you to escape?" He leaned over and looked at the boy frozen under the ice - the boy still looked like he was fifteen or sixteen years old, with features vaguely similar to his. Tong murmured, "That night, those people came to kill us. I only saw the two of you holding hands and running away, running on the glacier... I called you, but you suddenly fell down..."
He stared at his childhood best friend through the thick ice, his eyes turning a sad blue.
"Sister Xiaoye... I couldn't remember you anymore at that time..." He murmured in a daze, his eyes faintly showing a dangerous purple color, "I seemed to have had a long dream... I killed countless people."
"Ming Jie." The past suddenly came back to him. Xue Ziye was unable to express the excitement in his heart at the moment. He just held the other person's hand tightly. Suddenly he found that his arms were covered with scars. He didn't know how much suffering he had endured.
"Who is it?" She gritted her teeth and asked word by word. Her usually calm eyes were suddenly filled with anger. "Who killed them? Who destroyed the village? Who turned you into this!"
Tong turned her head in the wind and looked at the face under the ice for a moment, with countless colors flashing in her eyes.
"It's the bandits from the Black Water..." he said coldly, "these bandits deserve to be killed."
-
The wind comes from outside the valley and the snow falls at night.
Half of the lake was covered in ice and snow, while the other half was steaming, like thousands of white gauze curtains rising slowly.
They just stood on the ice, facing each other in silence, and they didn't know how much time had passed.
"Those bandits sent people to massacre the village in order to seize a dragon blood bead that was kept in the village." Tong kept looking at the face under the ice, "They burned down the house and killed the adults... I and the other children were kidnapped by them and sold to the Great Light Palace. Then our memories were sealed... and we were sent to the Shura Field to be assassins."
She looked at Xue Huai's face that was frozen in time twelve years ago and recalled that bloody night. The heart-piercing pain made her cough violently - just for a dragon blood bead, just for a dragon blood bead.
Those people destroyed a village, took countless lives, and ruined the lives of the three of them!
"Mingjie... Mingjie..." She held her childhood friend's hand and trembled, "Were all the kidnapped children in the village sent to the Great Guangming Palace? ... Are you the only one who survived?"
He said nothing and nodded slightly.
She had also heard about the assassins trained in the Great Guangming Palace in Kunlun Mountain, who had been terrorizing the Western Regions and the Central Plains for a hundred years - but she had never been able to imagine how harsh the training of those children in the Three Realms of Shura Field was.
"I was even ordered to duel with my own people. I killed all my companions and survived." He looked up at the snow falling in the sky with a blank expression. "For more than ten years, I have no past, no relatives or friends, and no connection with this world. I just survived as a dog raised by the king."
His calm narration was as peaceful as a river flowing under the ice.
However, the undercurrent contained in it made Xue Ziye's heart palpitate, and her hands gradually trembled: "So this time, this time you dueled with Huo Zhanbai, is it also because... you received the order from the King of the Church?"
"Hmm." A faint purple color appeared in Tong's eyes. After a pause, he said, "Qilian found another dragon blood bead, and the King ordered me to come and take it back."
Xue Ziye shuddered: "What if I can't get it back? Will I be killed?"
"Heh." He smiled, "Being killed? That's the lightest punishment."
"The wind is strong, let's go back." He looked at the snow that was getting heavier and heavier, took off his long coat, and covered her thin shoulders, "I heard that you fainted today... Don't stand in the wind and snow in the middle of the night."
Such warmth surrounded her instantly.
Xue Ziye was holding onto the hem of his long coat, but his body was shaking slowly.
"Let's go back to Summer Garden." Tong turned around and held up the glass lamp for her to lead the way.
However, she suddenly grabbed his hand: "Mingjie!"
"Hmm?" He responded to the strange name, feeling the hand was so cold and trembling, so hard that it hurt him. He lowered his eyes to hide the cold light that flashed through them.
A blood-colored bead was placed in his palm, carrying with it some kind of compelling spiritual energy that almost froze the flying snow.
Ten thousand year old dragon blood red cold bead!
He took a breath and blurted out: "This—"
"You take it!" After placing the bead in his palm, Xue Ziye raised his head, his eyes showing the impulse of having made a major decision, "But don't tell Huo Zhanbai. Don't blame him... He fought with you for someone he had to save."
Tong looked at her hesitantly, not immediately understanding the meaning of her words. He just clenched the bead tightly, with an expression of ecstasy in his eyes—
While Xue Ziye was muttering with her head down, he raised his hand and silently pinched the fatal point on the back of her neck.
However, the stagnation of his internal breath caused his hand to suddenly slow down.
Blood seal! Not yet. Not yet... We have to wait for the opportunity.
Finally, he just gently pressed his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "You seem very tired, don't you?"
Xue Ziye nodded silently, and finally couldn't hold back her tears after so many days of suppression. These days, facing Huo Zhanbai and Mingjie, she had felt so tired, so much self-blame, and so much bitterness. She was known as a miracle doctor in vain, and she tried her best, but she couldn't pull the lifeline that was cut from her fingertips.
Master Qingran... Master Qingran... Why were you so eager to leave the valley back then, pushing me, who was only 18 years old, to the position of valley master? You only left me this purple jade hairpin, but I still have a lot to learn...
If you were still here, I wouldn't be so alone now.
"Go back and rest early." Tong led her to the Summer Garden and whispered to her.
Along the way, the wind gradually became warmer, and the snow melted quietly when it fell into the air.
In the soft and warm wind, he only felt a pain on the top of his head and a slight movement near the Baihui acupoint.
How could the golden needle sealed by the King himself be undone by others
—Just now, he just used the Great Shift of the Universe to forcibly move the Baihui acupoint and the golden needle one inch away, so that the woman would believe that he had really recovered his memory. However, it couldn't last too long, and the acupoint was restored after a quarter of an hour.
However, it doesn't matter now... After all, he has obtained the Dragon Blood Pearl.
Holding the dragon blood bead that he had worked so hard to obtain, he suddenly felt a little ridiculous - he had finally gotten this thing after risking his life several times. He didn't expect that he could not get it as well as a roundabout trick and get it by making up a story.
It turns out that no matter how smart and strong a woman is, she will be blinded when faced with such a thing.
It's even more bewitching than pupil magic...
He lowered his eyes to hide the sneer in his eyes, and led Xue Ziye to Xia Garden.
"Mingjie," she paused as she walked into the room, "I think... you should not go back to Kunlun."
He was shocked. Could it be that this woman had some crazy idea and was determined to keep him here? The blood seal on his body had not been opened yet. If she had this idea, it would be very bad.
Tong frowned in distress, not knowing how to convince her.
"Let's take a rest first." He had no choice but to say.
We'll think of a solution tomorrow. If it doesn't work, we'll go back to the palace and try to unlock the blood seal. After all, we've got the dragon blood bead today, so we should contact the lost followers outside the valley... Once we're done, we should return to Kunlun as soon as possible. Miaohuo, Miaoshui and the others over there are probably waiting impatiently.
Watching him turn and leave, Xue Ziye suddenly asked anxiously: "Mingjie?"
"Huh?" He was a little slow to react to the unfamiliar name. He was stunned for a moment before he responded, "Why?"
"You won't suddenly leave again, will you?" Xue Ziye always felt uneasy in his heart, as if the companion he had lost and found again would disappear after waking up.
—She suddenly regretted giving him the dragon blood bead just now.
Tong shook her head, but was somewhat surprised at the woman's keen intuition.
"Mingjie," Xue Ziye looked at him and suddenly said softly, "I'm sorry."
Sorry? He paused for a moment: "Why?"
"That night twelve years ago, I forgot to take care of you..." As if those words had been weighing on his heart for years, Xue Ziye let out a long breath and placed his burning forehead in his palm, "I'm sorry... Xue Huai and I just tried our best to escape, but I forgot that you were still locked up there! You were still locked up in that dark room!... I, I'm sorry for you."
She covered her face. "You killed someone for me when you were six years old and were locked up in that dark house. I treated you as my only brother and swore to treat you well for the rest of my life. But, but Xue Huai and I abandoned you at that time! I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"
Tong was a little stunned, and all kinds of illusions appeared in her mind.
Two people running hand in hand... The village was ablaze... There were screams everywhere, and everyone avoided him. He shouted and ran desperately, but... the fear of being abandoned still caught up with him.
For a moment, he felt as if he was being swallowed by illusions again, but he quickly suppressed them.
"It's okay," he smiled and lowered his head, "I'm not dead, am I? Don't be sad."
Xue Ziye buried his head in his hands and didn't speak for a long time.
"Good night." She put down her hand and said softly.
—Mingjie, I will never let you go back to that dark place again.
When I came out, the wind felt so hot and stuffy that it was almost impossible to breathe.
Tong held the Blood-Lining Sword, feeling an indescribable discomfort in his body, as if something was making him restless from the inside out - what was going on... What was going on? Could it be that what the woman said just now had affected him
Fake... that's all fake.
Those illusions kept appearing, but they could not shake his heart. He himself was a person who used illusions to control others, so how could he believe in the illusions imposed on him by anyone? Now he no longer believed in anything.
Besides, whether those things were true or false was meaningless to him. He was a man without a past. Tong smiled slightly, and his eyes turned into a glassy color:
A killer doesn't need the past.
All he needs is the dragon blood bead in his hand. All he wants is freedom and power!
Walking out of the Summer Garden, the cold wind and snow blew on his face, finally cooling his mind. He held the blood-red bead in his hand, sneered slightly, turned the hilt upside down, and twisted it open with a click.
A thin snake poked its head out from inside, spitting out its red tongue.
"Go ahead, Chi." He flicked the snake's head.
Chi immediately turned into a red light, quickly leaped into the snow, and crawled away like lightning. Then more snakes crawled out of the hilt. Those snakes as thin as thread ends were rolled into a ball and stuffed into the hilt. Once it was opened, they immediately crawled out in all directions. These were the young snakes of the Kunlun Blood Snake. They were not afraid of ice and snow. Once released, they would immediately go looking for the mother snake.
Those companions who were separated from him in the fir forest should still be looking for their whereabouts, right? After all, the entrance to this Pharmacist Valley was too secretive, and the snowy terrain was complex, so it was not easy to find it at once.
Otherwise, those martial artists from the Central Plains should have found this place long ago, right
Hitomi watched Chi leave quickly and then turned her gaze away.
The face under the ice was smiling at him, peacefully and gently, with a strange familiarity that made him feel it deep in his bones. The moment he accidentally faced it head-on, Tong felt his heart suddenly tremble, and uncontrollable emotions surged out.
That distant and intense feeling came over him in an instant, making him breathless.
What kind of feeling is that? Sadness, attachment, trust, but also with... and with...
"Crack!" Before he could come to his senses, the Lixue Sword had already chopped down fiercely!
How could this be possible... How could this be possible?!
When I was knocked down and humiliated time and again in the Shura Field, when I rolled around on the cold ground and screamed, when I knelt before the Jade Throne and let the King stroke my head, when I was captured by those Central Plains martial artists and tortured in every way... Xue Huai... how could you be so peaceful!
How is that possible!
The ice cracked in an instant, and the sharp sword cut straight into the face of the man under the ice.
A trace of blood gradually spread from the pale face, seeping into the cold spring under the ice, and then being frozen again. However, the face of the boy who was slightly bent over and holding his arms in an empty embrace was still calm and peaceful.
The sword pierced into the ice, and Tong's trembling hand holding the hilt suddenly became weak.
He slowly knelt down on the ice, breathing heavily, his eyes gradually turning dark.
No... No... I am about to be controlled by those illusions...
Absolutely not. He must return to Kunlun as soon as possible!
－－－－－－－－－－－
"Six sixes go smoothly... Three good things come to one's door... Hey, you bitch, how's it going? I won again..."
At noon, the sun had already shone into the Winter Hall, and the people inside were still lying in bed, pursing their lips and muttering to themselves, playing finger-guessing games. Their faces were filled with pride, as if they were immersed in a beautiful dream. He had already won twelve games in a row against Xue Ziye.
Huo Zhanbai was awakened by the peck of a snow kite.
He muttered in a half-asleep state, shoved the bird that was stepping on his forehead away, turned over, and continued to sink into a sweet dream. He had been sleeping really well recently, and the lingering past events no longer haunted him like a nightmare.
"Gu!" The snow kite's feathers suddenly stood up. It rushed towards the person lying wrapped in a quilt and pecked hard at his buttocks.
"Aiya!" Huo Zhanbai yelled, jumped up a foot from his bed, and suddenly woke up. He glared at the flat-haired beast fiercely, but the Snow Harrier stood on the pillow and looked at him fearlessly, cooing, and occasionally lowered its head to peck at the things in its claws.
Huo Zhanbai's eyes suddenly froze—what was this
He reached out and grabbed the thing that was twisting between Snow Harrier's claws, his eyes bright: Kunlun Blood Snake! This is something from the Demon Cult, how could it run to the Medicine Master Valley? The child snake is here, the mother snake must not be far away. Could it be... Could it be that those people from the Demon Cult have already arrived here? Are they looking for the lost pupil, or for the Dragon Blood Pearl
Holding the half-dead little snake, he thought blankly for a while, suddenly he felt frightened and stood up suddenly.
He has to go and see if Xue Ziye is okay!
—Originally, I just wanted to take the Dragon Blood Pearl to cure Moer, but I didn’t expect to attract the Demon Cult to hunt me down like a leech. Isn’t that harming others
However, there was no one in the Summer Garden.
"The Valley Master got up early in the morning and went to Qiu Zhiyuan to see Master Mingjie." Xiao Jing frowned, a little timid, "Master Huo Qi... Can you, can you persuade the Valley Master to stop worrying so much? She coughed all night again yesterday."
Coughing all night? Huo Zhanbai saw the blood-stained towel in Xiaojing's hand, and his heart skipped a beat. He ran away. Half of her illness was caused by him... Such a brave woman was becoming more and more haggard day by day.
He walked quickly along the maple forest path, but before he went in, he saw Shuanghong standing under the corridor and waved to him.
"The Valley Master is treating Master Mingjie's injuries." She said softly, "He got sick again this morning..."
Huo Zhanbai stood outside the curtain, feeling a little uneasy, thinking about what kind of dangerous person Tong was. He was really worried about letting Xue Ziye be alone with him, so he couldn't help but listen carefully.
"Mingjie, are you feeling better?" Xue Ziye's voice was tired and worried.
"Internal breath, internal breath... Once it reaches the Qi Sea, it can't come back..." Tong's breathing was very rapid, and it was obvious that the internal breath was disordered, "It feels like a needle prick... I can't move my Qi..."
"Ah, I forgot, you haven't unlocked the blood seal yet!" Xue Ziye suddenly realized and said anxiously, "Bear with it for a moment, I will do it for you-"
Huo Zhanbai was shocked and could no longer hold back. He lifted the curtain and shouted, "Stop!"
The two people inside were startled. Xue Ziye, who had inserted the golden needle into the Qihai acupoint, was also suddenly stunned.
As if she remembered something, her hands began to tremble violently and she could not stab any further.
“Don’t let him remove the blood seal!” Huo Zhanbai snatched the golden needle away and looked coldly at the sickly nobleman-like killer on the couch. “Once he recovers his martial arts, he can do anything.”
Tong glanced at him with lightning speed, sharp as a needle.
"Ahem, how could I kill people without receiving orders from the Lord of the Church?" The needle in his eyes disappeared instantly. He just coughed and smiled bitterly, looking at Xue Ziye, "Besides... Xiaoye is my only relative in this world... I finally found her, how could I..."
Huo Zhanbai just found it funny: "Damn it, Tong, it's really funny to hear you say something like that."
However, when he saw Xue Ziye's distraught expression, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Anyway," he concluded, throwing the golden needle back onto the plate, "unless you leave here, you won't be able to unlock the blood seal!"
Tong's eyes darkened, and a fierce murderous intent flashed across them.
"Zi Ye," Huo Zhanbai suddenly turned around and stretched out his hand to the female doctor who was still in a daze, "Where is the dragon blood bead? Leave it with me first - it's always unsafe for you to keep something like that with you."
Dragon Blood Pearl? Tong's hand subconsciously tightened and gripped the hilt of the sword.
He looked at Xue Ziye, his eyes turning purple, but he heard her say woodenly: "It's gone... I took it to the alchemy room yesterday with the other four herbs to make medicine for Mo'er."
Tong slowly loosened her hands and breathed a sigh of relief silently.
"That's good..." Huo Zhanbai was obviously relieved. He glanced at the person on the couch with a look of "see what tricks you are up to" in his eyes, and murmured, "Some people should give up this time."
"Your medicine is being watched by Granny Ning. It should be ready tomorrow," Xue Ziye raised his head and said to him, "Ride south as fast as you can. You can still make it in one month."
"Yeah." Huo Zhanbai nodded. Once a long-cherished wish is fulfilled, he always feels relieved. "Thank you."
However, for some reason, another kind of concern and worry arose in my heart.
Once he leaves, who can guarantee that everything will be safe here
"I've asked Lu'er to prepare your horse, and you can go back and prepare your luggage." Xue Ziye put away the medicine box and looked at him, "If you go too late and delay Mo'er's treatment, Qiu Shuiyin will definitely not forgive you - after all these years, she only has you as her hope."
Huo Zhanbai was secretly shocked, and quickly gathered his thoughts and nodded.
That's right, Mo'er's illness can't be delayed, no matter what, we have to rush back within the deadline! On this side, since the dragon blood bead has been put into the medicine furnace, the Demon Cult naturally has no target anymore. Tong's Qi Sea is still sealed at this moment, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
"Then I'll go get ready first." He nodded and turned around.
Before leaving, he reminded him again: "Remember, never remove his blood seal unless he leaves!"
"I understand." She frowned and impatiently made a gesture of expulsion.
Seeing Huo Zhanbai's back disappear into the flaming maple forest, Xue Ziye's eyes dimmed, and he pulled down the curtain with a swish. The room suddenly became dark again, and a ray of light shone through the bamboo curtain, reflecting on the woman's pale face.
"Mingjie," she climbed the curtain, looked at the autumn scenery outside through the gap, and suddenly said, "Give me back the dragon blood bead, okay?"
Tong's eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness, and her hand subconsciously clenched the sword and pulled it out half an inch silently.
What? Was this woman suspicious after what Huo Zhanbai said just now
"Oh, I was just kidding." Without waiting for his answer, Xue Ziye laughed again, loosened the curtain, and turned back. "There's no reason to take back something that has been given away."
Before he could figure out the truth in her words, she had already walked to the bed, picked up the golden needle, lowered her head and smiled at him: "I'll help you untie the blood seal."
Unlock the blood seal? In an instant, his eyes lit up like lightning.
She picked up the golden needle and slowly stabbed it into his qi sea, with no expression on her pale face.
"Snap!" He suddenly sat up, grabbed her wrist, and stared at her, with murderous intent in his eyes. She suddenly released him from the blood seal at this time? What on earth was this woman up to
She just looked at him calmly: "What's wrong, Mingjie? Are you feeling unwell?"
Her eyes were tranquil, pure black and pure white, like the white mountains and black waters of the north.
He suddenly felt dazed, as if these eyes had stared at him like this in countless dark nights. He let go of her hand dejectedly, letting her pierce the golden needle into the most important qi sea of a martial artist.
Xue Ziye lowered his head, adjusting the angle and depth of the needle, revealing a section of her snow-white, slender neck. He couldn't see her expression, but he felt that the atmosphere in the room was so heavy that he couldn't breathe.
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the Qi Hai!
Without thinking, he grabbed her by the back of the neck!
However, before he could exert his strength to break the opponent's neck, the breath between his Ren and Du meridians began to flow smoothly, and the internal energy stored in his Qi sea continued to flow out and refill his limbs and bones.
"Okay." She raised her head and looked at him, "It's okay now, Mingjie."
He was stunned, his hand frozen on the back of her neck, and the Lixue sword beside him had already been pulled out half a foot.
"Now, you have recovered as before." Xue Ziye seemed to be unaware of it. He was neither surprised by his aggressiveness nor worried about his ambiguity around her neck. He just stood up slowly and said lightly, "The only thing left is the golden needle on the top of your head."
He suddenly jumped up!
In just a moment, his sword was at her throat, forcing her to the window.
"Did you find out?" he said coldly, without any denial.
"I just realized it - when you tempted me to remove the blood seal for you." Xue Ziye looked him straight in the eyes without any scruples, with a faint smile on his lips, "I'm so stupid, why didn't I think of it at the beginning? - Your Qi Sea is still sealed, how could you force out the golden needle with your internal energy? You are simply lying to me."
"Heh. How should I know what the Moga and Mingjie you mentioned are? I just made up a lie." Tong sneered, his eyes were sharp and murderous, "Why didn't you tell Huo Zhanbai the truth? Why did you unseal my blood seal instead?"
Xue Ziye smiled instead: "Mingjie, I am not afraid of anything now."
She raised her head and stared at him in the darkness, her eyes calm. "I just don't understand why you are so desperate for the king even though you know he treats you like a dog? Everything you told me is false, right? So, do you know who destroyed the Moga village? Was it really those horse thieves by the Black Water?"
Such a calm and calm gaze made his heart suddenly tremble - no one has ever maintained such a look under the blood-thirsty sword! Such eyes... Such eyes... In his memory...
"I don't know." In the end, he just answered indifferently, "I don't know what Moga Village is."
Xue Ziye stared at him blankly, his eyes sad and calm.
"So, I want to know, Mingjie, will you -" she said the last few words calmly, "really kill me?"
Tong's eyes moved slightly, and she remained silent. In the silence, a white light struck like lightning and knocked her to the ground.
Blood flowed heavily from her hair.
"madness."