Heart Protection

HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 21

After Yan Hui recovered her magic, she used the Propelling Sword Technique and rapidly left the small village in Tong Luo Mountain.

However, her body hadn't completely recovered. She grew tired and picked a spot by the brook in Tong Luo Mountain to rest.

Although she said all those words to Tian Yao, after thinking about it, her heart was still uneasy. What if that dragon demon didn't think it through and really did go to confront Zhenren Su Ying......

If Zhenren Su Ying was really like what Tian Yao said, then wasn't that the same as gouging out her heart and offering the heart protection scale on a silver platter?!

Yan Hui swallowed and rubbed her cold chest.

Perhaps she should go back and talk it over with that dragon demon......

Yan Hui thought about it for awhile, but she couldn't make up her mind. The sky slowly grew dark as she thought. Yan Hui easily snagged two fish from the stream. She gathered firewood and started a small fire by the stream. As she cooked the fish, she continued to mull it over.

However, right when she finished cooking them, a person suddenly sat down right next to her.

Without a single word or slightest bit of hesitation, the person took one of Yan Hui's cooked fish and started to eat.

Yan Hui froze, then turned her head: "How did you follow me here?!"

The person couldn't be anyone else besides Tian Yao.

It was clear Tian Yao was hungry. He didn't acknowledge Yan Hui's words and continued to eat for awhile. It wasn't until Yan Hui reached out to take back the fish did Tian Yao react and dodge to the side. He shot her a glance and said: "I walked."

It was only then did Yan Hui remember that she still hadn't undone the Tracking Curse he placed on her.

However once she thought about it a second time, Yan Hui froze again.

Although she didn't use the Propelling Sword Technique for long nor fast, she was still flying......This guy could actually walk and catch up to her......What persistence.......Yan Hui massaged the space between her eyebrows: "I won't help you. Didn't I make that clear?"

"You did." Tian Yao continued to slowly eat as he spoke, "However......" He finally looked at Yan Hui. The firelight bathed part of his face in light, but the other part remained in the darkness. His cold tone slipped up and revealed a trace of self-mockery: "Aside from following you, where else would I go?"

His words were roguish and wicked, but when Yan Hui saw Tian Yao's expression, she became speechless.

Yan Hui silently looked at Tian Yao for some moments. She looked at his pretty face and couldn't help sighing in her mind. Just from looking at his face, she would've helped him if it were within her abilities. Why did it have to be such a tricky situation......

Yan Hui sullenly grabbed the remaining fish and started to eat. She ate for quite some time until she was full. She smacked her lips twice before lightly saying: "Keep up, if you have the skills. In any case, I won't risk my life to help you."

Tian Yao didn't say anything. It was like he didn't hear a single word.

At late evening, Yan Hui did a simple routine to wash her face and rinse out her mouth by the riverbank. Then she picked out a flatter piece of ground and laid down; she pretended like Tian Yao didn't exist. However, before she slept, she stealthily opened her eyes and peeked out to look at Tian Yao.

Tian Yao, who was looking up at the moon, suddenly looked over. His eyes locked onto Yan Hui's furtive gaze.

Yan Hui was somewhat embarrassed. She coughed two times and then flipped over. She shifted around a bit and then pretended to sleep.

However, after learning so much today and with Tian Yao's eyes boring into her back, how could Yan Hui fall asleep so easily? She kept her rigid posture and just quietly laid there. She didn't expect to hear Tian Yao's breaths slowly even out.

He actually was more in the mood to sleep than her.......

Yan Hui felt slightly unsettled.

She turned around. She originally planned to blatantly stare at the sleeping Tian Yao. However, she didn't expect that when she turned around, Tian Yao would suddenly open his eyes.

His eyes captured Yan Hui. Although it was his usual cool and detached look, it wouldn't release at the slightest. Her every minute movement was tracked.

Yan Hui looked at him for a while. She laid there and asked him: "Are you scared I'm going to run?"

Tian Yao didn't even try to avoid the question: "That's right."

"But even if you watch me the entire night, I'm still leaving tomorrow morning via the Propelling Sword."

"Then I'll just have to find you again."

"......"

Yan Hui saw herself as quite lamentable. In stories, those kinds of words were spoken by the tyrant to the woman he loved. However when the words from Tian Yao's mouth were directed to her, Yan Hui only felt that it was like a devil plaguing her to the point her head started to hurt.

She gritted her teeth. She sat up and planned to have a discussion with him: "I feel like you sticking to me doesn't make any sense."

Tian Yao clasped his hands and listened.

"Look, I've regained my magic, yet you've only found your dragon bones. You haven't gotten your magic back. No matter how you look at it, you can't win against me. If I don't want to help you, you can't force me to."

"Again, let's even backtrack and look at it. Even if you force me to help like you did with the dragon bones, then it still doesn't matter. If you carefully recall, remember our sorry figures after you got back your bones. Wasn't it because you didn't explain things to me, so I threw a wrench into your plans and made a fuss? You should realize now that if I don't wholeheartedly agree to help you, then I'll become a burden and stir shit up. You'll be better off if you do it yourself. It'll be much easier."

Tian Yao listened to her words then said: "Are you done?"

Yan Hui nodded and looked at him with great expectation: "Did you realize how reasonable my words are? You realized......."

Tian Yao nodded and succinctly replied: "It's all nonsense."

"......"

"Don't try to change my mind. I won't allow you to leave me, " said Tian Yao. "You should sleep."

While Yan Hui was wringing her hands, she was also circulating her inner breath. She planned to forcefully break Tian Yao's Tracking Curse. As she was circulating, Yan Hui cursed herself for being such a glutton and eating so many mantous. Even though it was a minor curse, it had latched onto her too deeply. After a short time, there would really be no way for her to remove the curse......

Before her thoughts finished, a flock of birds burst out of the distant forest. The sounds of their beating wings filled the night.

Yan Hui's ears twitched, and she looked in the birds' direction. She turned her head back to look at Tian Yao. Their gazes met.

Yan Hui said: "Now I really can't sleep." Her eyes darkened. "A demonic aura is getting stronger. How troublesome."

Tian Yao stood up and brushed off his clothes: "It's heading towards me."

Yan Hui raised an eyebrow: "Coming to pick you up?"

Tian Yao sneered: "Who would come to pick me up? It's a group of demons that are attracted over. That's all."

"Attracted?"

"Right now I have a mortal's body but the bones of a dragon. To the demons that snuck into the Central Plains, I'm a feast that will promote their cultivation." He said those words without the slightest bit of panic.

"You're so pitiful.......Xian cultivators want to kill you. Now even demons want to eat you." Yan Hui started to cover the fire with dirt and said: "Before you find another body, first find something that will cover up your scent. That'll save you from becoming a meal when you just got your dragon bones." Yan Hui stepped on the dirt-covered fire until all the smoke was gone. She slung a bow over her back and started to cross the brook. "All the birds shot away; there must be many demons. I'm still injured, so I'll take my leave now. Take care."

Yan Hui entered the brook. The person by her also followed her. In the middle of the splashing sounds, Yan Hui turned and glared at Tian Yao: "Don't follow me."

Tian Yao acted like he didn't hear her. He copied her and walked a couple steps upstream. Then he nodded: "Water can cover up scents. Although walking upstream is slow, it will confuse the pursuers following the trail into going downstream." He praised her: "You have a talent for fleeing."

While Yan Hui walked against the current, she angrily berated: "I told you to stop following me. They were able to track you from so far away. Can the water really cover up your scent? Didn't anyone tell you not to be a burden to others?! Stay away from me."

Tian Yao looked off into the distance. Then he turned around and asked Yan Hui: "How long can you hold your breath?"

Yan Hui automatically responded: "Regulating my inner breath, about two hours......"

"Then go ahead and regulate it."

Yan Hui frowned and looked in the distance: "Are they coming that fast? When I saw the birds, they were far away."

"Done regulating?"

".......Can you not selectively ignore what I'm saying?!"

"Nope."

When Tian Yao finished speaking, he didn't care if Yan Hui had prepared or not before immediately pressing her head down into the water. The spot they were in just happened to be deep. Large rocks on the riverbed near the shore had been pulled away by the current. There was a pit where the rocks were, and in the pit were some stable rocks. Tian Yao grabbed onto one of them and steadied himself. It guaranteed that they wouldn't be flushed away by the current.

When looking into the water late at night from the shore, the water appeared pitch-black. However looking up from the water, everything was clear and bright. The moon and stars, aside from the ripples distorting the image, were clear to see.

Tian Yao grabbed Yan Hui and imprisoned her in his arms. It was a protective stance, but he actually didn't have protection in mind. He was only worried that Yan Hui would be restless and move about, disturbing the still water.

Yan Hui also realized what Tian Yao was doing because.......he was imprisoning her limbs far too tight.

Yan Hui wanted to move her arm a bit to make Tian Yao loosen up a little. However, in that moment, an enormous shadow approached the riverbank. From within the river, Yan Hui could clearly see it was a demon with a water buffalo's horn.

It looked down into the water. Yan Hui thought it could see them and prepared her magic. It was like Tian Yao knew what she was about to do. He hugged her even tighter and slightly spun them two around, so he was blocking her line of sight.

Yan Hui immediately understood what Tian Yao meant. He was telling her to stay steady and still.

Tian Yao was still in a young body. His shoulders couldn't help but seem frail. While the ox-headed demon was still looking in the water, Yan Hui considered her options. In the end, she decided to trust the dragon demon.

She withdrew the magic in her palm and did as Tian Yao was doing, hiding along the riverbed.

The ox-headed demon got closer to the water. If he put his head in the water, then he would very easily discover them. However after he put his long snout close to the water, he just noisily slurped two gulps of water before walking away.

Close behind the ox-headed demon were four or five other demons. They also passed by the riverbank.

Then a long time passed with no other shadow appearing.

Yan Hui internally sighed in relief.

Seeing the size of the ox-headed demon, she thought it was just an enormous demon. However after seeing four or five other smaller demons trailing it, the ox-headed demon had to be a demon leader that snuck into the Central Plains. Right now she was injured. Forget about a metal sword, she didn't even have a metal weapon. If she really fought against them, then it would be difficult.

Yan Hui used her head to nudge against Tian Yao's chin. She was hinting for him to look at the time and let them up.

However, Tian Yao didn't move.

After a moment, the water suddenly darkened again! This time it wasn't a demon bending down to drink water. Rather, the entire river shore turned black!

The dense darkness shocked Yan Hui.

This was......

Did Tian Yao attract every single demon that slipped into the Central Plains?!

This pretty boy had a really fragrant scent!