Heart Protection

HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 17

Yan Hui exited Zhenren Qi Yun's room just in time to see a topless Tian Yao sit up. Bandages were wrapped around his body.

As if he could sense someone entering, Tian Yao lifted his eyes. His gaze met Yan Hui's eyes without any surprise.

For a split second, Yan Hui felt her heart "thump" and skip a beat. She saw a strange sight, gold light emitting and flowing around Tian Yao's body. She could see the outline of his skeleton. It was the same golden light she saw emitting from the dragon bones in the icy lake back when she was in the cave.

However the strange thing was, it seemed like only she could see this brilliance. The snake demon who was off to the side packing up the medicine box didn't even look up.

Yan Hui also didn't say a word. She just sat by the table: "Since you're awake, you should hurry up and treat Zhenren Qi Yun. Don't delay." She poured herself a cup of cold tea. "After all, none of us can stand the sight of each other."

Tian Yao's gaze was dull. Although his voice was hoarse, he actually spoke with a placid tone: "The words you just spoke are incorrect."

Was he implying he was going to screw her over, or was it......he had other plans for her?

Yan Hui heavily set down the teacup and looked at Tian Yao.

The snake demon finished packing the medicine box back up. He stood up and said: "His inner breath is still chaotic. I'm afraid he'll have to continue resting tonight." Of course, the snake demon wasn't really worried for Tian Yao. He was just afraid that with Tian Yao's chaotic inner breath, he wouldn't completely heal Zhenren Qi Yun. That would be problematic.

Yan Hui simply stopped talking, turned her head, and left the room. She leapt and twisted her body in midair, landing on the roof which she laid down upon. She might as well do: out of sight, out of mind.

Looking at the moon from the rooftop, Yan Hui idly recalled the past few days' events. However the last two days had exhausted her. With the addition of her wounds, it wasn't long before she started to become drowsy. However, the matter troubling her mind prevented her from completely falling asleep.

Therefore, her eyes continued to struggle, constantly blinking.

She didn't know how long she was in a daze when she suddenly heard the sounds of water splashing.

She sat up. She saw that the snake demon was in the courtyard. He was drawing water to wash clothes.

A snake demon washing clothes......

Yan Hui looked curiously for a while. She discovered that the clothes he was washing were Zhenren Qi Yun's clothes. Yan Hui was baffled. She rolled over onto her stomach. She softly asked in the quiet night: "A Purification Technique would make it clean. Why are you hand-washing?"

The snake demon didn't even look up. He only said: "Even though using magic is easy, only hand-washing and letting it dry in the sun will make it comfortable to wear."

"I didn't expect you to be so considerate." Yan Hui pursed her lips. Because she couldn't fall asleep and she was bored to death - not to mention she had a slightly gossipy personality - she flipped off the roof. She took two steps over to the snake demon's side and stood there: "Speaking of, I've been wanting to ask you something. You're a snake demon with so-so skills. How were you guys fated to meet? And how did you fall in love with her?"

The snake demon's hands stilled: "It wasn't anything special." He started to speak while scrubbing the clothes: "You know the Central Plain's spirituality is far greater than the southwest corner's. A few years ago, I and a few others from the same clan secretly crossed the Qing Qiu border into the Central Plains to cultivate. We weren't being careful, so we were discovered by some xian cultivators. They started pursuing us. We got lost in Huang Mountain......It was Qi Yun who saved me." It seemed like he was reliving that scene. His expression softened a lot.

"At that time, I was wounded. I was forced from the road and into the underbrush. I had lost hope. Qi Yun passed by. Seeing her attire and sensing her breath, I had given up. I knew I was going to die. However, I had never once thought that she would send the hunting daoist priests to the wrong direction."

Yan Hui heard this and was slightly astonished.

These few years, the cultivation world had been filled with a "Not my clan, so it must be alienated" mentality. Demons are evil; Evil must be killed. As one of the heads of the top three xian sects, Zhenren Qi Yun was unexpectedly part of the "Have a compassionate heart, give a second chance" group......

Yan Hui hadn't actually heard of this before. However thinking more closely, it seemed like every time there was a movement to kill demons invading the Central Plains, although Zhenren Qi Yun didn't object, she basically never joined in.

"At that time, I was still young. I had lived within the clan my entire life. I had no knowledge in the ways of the world. I didn't know who she was. I only knew I was about to die, and this person saved me. I just grabbed onto her clothes and let her take me out of there, back to Qing Qiu." The snake demon said this and started laughing. "At that time, Qi Yun also laughed at me, 'Little snake demon, you're surprisingly brave.'"

Yan Hui also laughed: "If you had been discovered by my shifu or any of the other shifu, they wouldn't have even waited for you to grab onto their hems. They would've turned you into mince meat the moment they saw you."

"But she took me away and brought me close to the Qing Qiu border, so I could return to the southwest." The snake demon's expression was gentle. "That year's spring was really good. I still remember the petals fluttering in the warm breeze......"

Yan Hui nodded: "Then you fell in love with Zhenren. That's why you protect her so fiercely now."

The snake demon sighed a little and slightly inclined his head. It seemed like he was still a little shy: "It's......it's not exactly like that. It's just that she saved my life, so now my life is hers."

Yan Hui quietly looked at the snake demon for a long time. Actually, she quite understood what he was feeling. Having deep respect toward someone, having devotion, having adoration, and owing one's life to another. These kinds of feelings couldn't be any simpler. Day after day, they were getting deeper with each passing moment. They would continue to be harder to control, harder to forget.

Yan Hui was silent for a while before speaking: "Have you considered that living like this isn't that bad......"

Everyone knew that if Zhenren Qi Yun really got better, even if she harbored compassionate feelings toward the snake demon, she still wouldn't stay with him.

The snake demon spoke while wringing the clothes dry: "She is among the top in the misty world of xian. She wouldn't want to live like this, and I just want to give her what she wants. This is the best way."

Hearing those words, Yan Hui didn't open her mouth anymore. She simply watched the snake demon hang the clothes to dry, walk into Zhenren Qi Yun's room, and quietly coax her to sleep.

Yan Hui stood alone in the courtyard, looking up at the moon. Demons also had complex emotions, but if this was told to anyone from Chen Xing Mountain, they wouldn't believe it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, early morning.

Tian Yao was sitting on the daybed. Although he was still wan, his energy seemed one hundred times better than yesterday's. Yan Hui glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

After retrieving his item, it looked like his healing speed had changed by a lot.

The snake demon led Qi Yun out of her room and sat her down in front of Tian Yao. Tian Yao didn't waste any words. He bit his finger until it bled, and then he grasped Zhenren Qi Yun's hand. The snake demon worriedly asked: "You can really heal her?"

"Expelling the Hoarfroast Technique with fire is the most common way to treat it. You ought to have known that."

The snake demon frowned deeply: "Then will she feel pain?"

Tian Yao raised his gaze and looked at the snake demon: "I don't know."

The snake demon clenched his teeth. In the end, he took a step back: "Heal her."

Tian Yao drew a blood sigil on her wrist. Then he tapped her on the forehead with his finger. A flaming light instantly rose from her baihui point near the top of her head. It instantly vanished, but not long afterwards, that brilliance started to flow from her stomach.

Chen Xing Mountain would often have Technique drills. Occasionally, they would also analyze how to break a Technique. Among those was a class on exactly how to break the Hoarfrost Technique. The disciples would cast the Hoarfrost Technique on a respected elder. Then while the respected elder explained how, he would also break it. By using his body as a demonstration, the disciples could carefully watch and learn.  

Yan Hui remembered that the respected elder dispelled the technique like this. It started in the baihui. By adding more fire qi, the Fire Phase would encompass the body.

From head to toe, it would slowly expel the cold and frost.

Although the Hoarfrost Technique cast on Zhenren Qi Yun's body was powerful, the technique to break it ought to be the same. Using an equal amount of fire qi of the Five Phases would be enough.

However the strange thing was, when the Fire Phase reached Zhenren Qi Yun's stomach, it became stuck. At the same time, Zhenren Qi Yun's face revealed she was in pain.

The snake demon suddenly became nervous: "What's wrong?"

Tian Yao also slightly frowned: "Silence." He made the wound on his finger bigger, and blood flowed out. He drew another sigil in the space between Zhenren Qi Yun's eyebrows. This time, the flame was even more intense. Even Yan Hui, who was standing far away, could feel the heat.

The flame from the second spell intersected with the flame from the first spell. The flame grew even brighter. It slowly circulated around Zhenren Qi Yun's abdomen. Then it smoothly dispelled the cold down to her feet.

Yan Hui released her breath. She knew at this point, the Hoarfrost Technique was nearly completely dispelled.

However, no one thought that at this point, Zhenren Qi Yun's expression would be full of pain. Her face was covered in a cold sweat, and she started to tremble. Her lips looked like they had been frozen to an even worse degree and became a bluish-black.

What was even worse was that her feet started to become cold. Waves of cold covered the daybed in frost. The flame was instantly withdrawn into Zhenren Qi Yun's abdomen.

Tian Yao wanted to add more power when Yan Hui cried out in alarm: "Stop! Stop!" She sternly said: "The Hoarfrost Technique is going to backlash! You can't keep breaking it! Quickly stop!"

Tian Yao's frown grew in intensity, but he still withdrew his finger. The fire immediately vanished from Zhenren Qi Yun's body.

In a split second, frost solidified on Zhenren Qi Yun's skin. It was like her entire body had been completely covered in snow.

The snake demon was frantic. He knelt down in front of Zhenren Qi Yun. He used his hands to rub her arms: "Qi Yun, Qi Yun?"

It seemed like she could hear his voice. All of a sudden, Zhenren Qi Yun's eyes snapped open. The current Qi Yun looked different from the confused and dazed Qi Yun from before. Her gaze was very clear and bright. It was completely different.

She opened her mouth and spit out a breath of cold air.

Ice crystals started to form on her feet. It didn't take long before her feet were encased in ice blocks. The snake demon hurriedly covered the ice over her feet with his hands. He was trying to melt the ice with his body heat.

Yan Hui's eyes were mixed with alarm and sorrow: "Breaking the technique causes death......breaking the technique causes death......." Yan Hui clenched her teeth: "Someone actually cast such a curse."

The ice began to spread rapidly. It wasn't long before it reached Zhenren Qi Yun's waist. Zhenren Qi Yun tightened her jaw. It seemed like she was drawing her last breath to say: "Stop......him......"

In this kind of heightened situation, Yan Hui could be forgiven for being unable to explain the person Zhenren Qi Yun was talking about wasn't Ling Xiao.

"Qi Yun, Qi Yun......"

The snake demon called out her name. His words were filled with despair.

The ice and frost covered Qi Yun's neck. It seemed like she was struggling to slightly lift her head. She continued to look at the snake demon.

The corners of her mouth were being covered in ice. Zhenren Qi Yun no longer said anything about the affairs of the xian sects. She no longer paid any attention to the people off to the side. She only hoarsely spat out two words to the snake demon: "Thank you." The ice flowed and covered over her face. It also froze over the tear clinging to the corner of her eyes.

Her hair also froze into ice.

Her life ended in this last posture. No more breath. No more movement.

The snake demon spiritlessly gazed at her. It was like he had already lost his soul.

But a light "crack" was heard. A small crack had formed at the top of Zhenren Qi Yun's head.

"No......." The snake demon suddenly snapped back. "No!" The crack split open and tore across Zhenren Qi Yun's features. The cracking sounds seemed to never stop. In a split second, Zhenren Qi Yun was completely splintered.

"No, I'm begging you. No.......no, no, no!"

There was a crunching sound, like when a wagon crashes into the ground and breaks into pieces. The sound was of Zhenren Qi Yun completely shattering. The room filled with the brilliant light of ice crystals. It seemed like it had started snowing.

The rustling sound of falling flakes, such a lonely sound.

The snake demon reached a hand out, but he could only grasp the cold loneliness.

"Ah......." The snake demon's voice was hoarse. It sounded like a trapped animal who had reached the end of its road.

Yan Hui looked down at the snake demon who was kneeling on the ground. She was pale and had no words to say. She could only look away.

Tian Yao looked at his hand. He curled it into a fist but was also silent.