Heart Protection

HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 22

For a few moments, Yan Hui was quite grateful that she had left the mountain village in Tong Luo Mountain.

Otherwise, who knows how many villagers would've been scared to death when that unstoppable horde of demons rushed over.

Yan Hui subconsciously withdrew into Tian Yao's embrace so that he could hug her tighter. Tian Yao looked at Yan Hui who had retreated within herself. His lips twitched, but he made no other movement.

The demons on the riverbank searched for a while but didn't see anyone. One by one, they headed downstream. It wasn't long before most of the demon army had left.

The black shadows by the river's edge were becoming sparse. There was only one left, close to where Tian Yao and Yan Hui were. It was still looking around for the scent. The two people in the river watched it closely.

When the demon finally left to join the leaving army, the rock Tian Yao was holding onto suddenly dislodged. A stream of bubbles burbled up toward the water surface.

Tian Yao hurriedly grabbed onto another rock to anchor themselves. However, it was too late to stop the bubbles heading toward the surface.

The bubbles disappeared with a faint "popping" sound when they reached the surface.

It was extremely quiet. Under the night sky, almost no one would hear it. However, the demon's ear twitched. He looked at the bubbles popping on the water's surface and narrowed his eyes. He started to walk over, getting closer with every step.

Tian Yao grabbed Yan Hui's hand and lightly wrote five words on her palm, "Kill it in one shot".

He said it so simply. Yan Hui sweatdropped. In this situation, she had to be subtle and not alert the other demons to this demon's death. Furthermore, she had to do this while holding her breath underwater.......

Yan Hui thought about it. She drew a Telepathy Technique sigil on Tian Yao's hand : "This seems difficult. If this doesn't go well, I'm going to knock you out and hand you over to plead for my life. I'm telling you right now, so you won't call me out later for not being righteous "

"......" Tian Yao lightly said: "Telling me counts as you being righteous?"

"At least I told you."

Without waiting for Tian Yao's response, Yan Hui stealthily condensed magic into her palm. Her body started to slowly heat up.

Tian Yao felt the person in his arms becoming hotter, burning hot, but he didn't let go. Contrarily, he held Yan Hui even tighter. He liked this boiling heat.

He was originally a dragon who favored Fire out of the Five Phases. His body was suppose to be the same scalding temperature as this girl. However, now he constantly felt like he was in ice. Living was suffering.

It was only when holding her, drinking her blood, that he could relax. Only then would he feel like living wasn't so painful.

Tian Yao clearly understood that for the current him, Yan Hui was his only cure and also his poisonous addiction.

But it didn't matter if it was good or bad, he couldn't leave her.

While he was thinking about this, the heat in Yan Hui's hand turned into a sharp jian. She plunged it between the eyes of the demon who had stuck his head into the water. Magic didn't enter him; she had controlled her strength very well. The jian pierced his head but didn't go through the back of his head.

The demon opened his eyes wide, and his body became rigid. It fell into the water with a splash.

Silence.

The demon's corpse slowly floated down the brook.

Yan Hui withdrew her hand and wiped it on her clothes. If the circumstances didn't call for it, she actually wasn't willing to kill.

"Using magic consumes too much inner breath," Yan Hui transmitted to Tian Yao. "I can't hold my breath for much longer."

"Endure."

Yan Hui's face slowly turned red: "I can endure pain, but this isn't something I can endure just because you say to. Let go of me, so I can take a breath. I'll be careful not to be seen by the demons downstream."

"You just killed one. You can't go."

Yan Hui really couldn't hold it in any longer. Her head started to pound, and her face was bright red. Her limbs were gradually losing their strength. If this continued, although she evaded the demons, she would still suffocate to death.

Yan Hui swatted at Tian Yao's hands to make him let go. Tian Yao didn't budge. Yan Hui immediately started to pry at his fingers.

Yan Hui hadn't finished prying away two fingers when Tian Yao suddenly let go of her waist. He pressed against the back of her head, forcing it upwards. Then her lips touched Tian Yao's soft lips.

She was caught off-guard.

Yan Hui was shocked, blinking two times in the water.

Tian Yao wasn't the least bit courteous toward Yan Hui. Sealing off her mouth, his tongue pried into her mouth, and he transferred a breath of air.

It seemed like he feared that wasn't enough because he passed another long breath of air.

This......

This was the second time!

Yan Hui pushed aside Tian Yao's head. He looked at her and used Yan Hui's Telepathy Technique, which hadn't disappeared yet, to tell her: "Stay here for another quarter."

He said it so cold and heartlessly like he hadn't just harassed a girl.......

Alright, even though from his perspective, he didn't really harass her......

But!

Yan Hui wrung her hands. If the previous time when their lips touched counted as "biting" when it was a full moon and Tian Yao wasn't in full control of himself,  then this time really was.......lip contact.

This dragon demon didn't like being touched, didn't like being close to people, but according to his actions, it wasn't like that at all!

This soft kiss also had tongue......

Fuck, she was taken advantage of again!

Yan Hui's mind was in turmoil. The demons on the riverbank suddenly shifted.

The army of demons started to slowly move back upstream for an unknown reason. Tian Yao was in no mood to decipher Yan Hui's mind. He casted a cold eye toward the water surface then frowned. His gaze swept over the surface.

Then his expression darkened.

This bloody smell.......

The dead demon's blood couldn't evade Tian Yao's unreasonably keen sense of smell.

Tian Yao shook Yan Hui, shaking her back to the present: "You can go up to breathe now."

Those words echoed in her mind. Yan Hui looked up, and her face blanched.

This wasn't good......

Yan Hui focused within herself to examine her inner breath. She guessed she had enough to gather  her strength together. Sticking a hand out, she grabbed Tian Yao. His eyebrow twitched. He remembered what Yan Hui had said earlier: she would knock him out and then offer him up to save her life.

He didn't get the chance to speak when Yan Hui cut in: "If you're scared, close your eyes."

Tian Yao thought that was funny: "Are you talking to me?"

Yan Hui quirked her mouth and laughed, revealing a canine: "Usually I'm fine. However, when I've been backed into a corner, I'm terrifying."

Yan Hui had planned it out. Those demons hadn't taken a human form yet, so their magic wasn't strong. However, they had the advantage in numbers. Right now, she hadn't completely recovered her inner breath. She couldn't fight long nor cast anymore Techniques. However she had the advantage of surprise. As long she found an opening and caught them off guard, she could piece it all together and escape without a hitch.

"Get ready. I'm about to leave the water."

Yan Hui held Tian Yao tight.

Tian Yao's hands, which had been free-floating in water, automatically wrapped around Yan Hui's back.

When was the last time he had held someone like this?

In Tian Yao's memory, Su Ying hardly ever allowed him to touch her. Back then, he just thought Su Ying didn't like being touched. She was the distant moon. Naturally, she shouldn't be touched.

The one time they hugged was before Su Ying returned to Guang Han Sect. She had repeatedly warned him: "In ten days, you have to come to Guang Han Sect to pick me up." At that time, his heart was filled with love, and he couldn't resist hugging Su Ying. Back then, she didn't refuse.

That was the first time he had hugged someone like that.

It was like hugging a heart filled with ice, bone-chillingly cold. He had thought he had an entire lifetime to slowly warm her up. His hot blood had all sprayed out onto the moonlit snow. His boiling passion from the beginning had only burned himself, nothing more.

"We're going up."

Yan Hui's voice recalled him from his thoughts.

Tian Yao unknowingly tightened his hold on Yan Hui's hands------ so warm.

This body was so warm. It heated him up.

Yan Hui focused her power into her legs and shot out like an arrow released from a bow. They suddenly hurtled off the riverbed and broke the water surface. Power stored in her hand streamed out. They spun in a circle, and the magic unleashed, knocking down the approaching demons.

The demons wailed in pain. With a turn of her hand, Yan Hui summoned the jians from the fallen demons. Yan Hui leapt in mid-air and used the Propelling Sword to go. Right when she was about to leave, a metal hook was suddenly flung into the sky. It snagged onto Yan Hui's leg.

It pulled Yan Hui down. The Propelling Sword Technique couldn't get her away.

In this momentary lapse of action, the demons at the bottom were already starting to climb up the chain.

Tian Yao immediately said: "Cut off your leg."

Yan Hui's eyes bugged out in astonishment: "Some help you are! What kind of rotten idea is that?!" While she was speaking, she gestured with her hand and cut the iron chain binding her leg. However the iron hook had already embedded itself into her lower leg and couldn't be removed.

At that moment, Yan Hui didn't even have the ability to cry out in pain. All her focus was on using the Propelling Sword to get away. However, the demons below wouldn't let them off so easily.

From the masses below, another iron hook was flung out. This time it was aimed directly toward her head. Tian Yao's eyes narrowed, but he had nothing at hand. He saw from the corner of his eyes, a piece of broken jade swaying from a string around Yan Hui's neck. He didn't hesitate and reached out, pulling off the jade. Before Yan Hui could react, Tian Yao treated it as a hidden weapon and threw it at the eye of the demon who held the chain of the iron hook.

The demon shrieked and collapsed, rolling on the ground in pain. The constantly harassing iron hooks finally disappeared.

Tian Yao urged her: "Go."

Yan Hui was stunned. She couldn't believe what had happened: "What did you do?!" The Propelling Sword tilted. She actually planned to go back to retrieve the broken jade.

Tian Yao deeply frowned. He berated: "You're seeking your own death!"

The demons below continued to yell. The bird demons Yan Hui had struck earlier slowly started to spread their wings.

Yan Hui glanced at the jade. In the end, she had to grit her teeth and rapidly flew away into the distance.

The whistling night air blew Yan Hui's thoughts into disarray. She was extremely angry at Tian Yao. However behind the anger was a constant wave of helplessness.

She thought she could sneakily steal away a small memento, but what a person planned did not overrule what the heavens planned.

As it turns out, what wasn't hers would never become hers. That which she had stolen, had picked up, would slowly disappear from her life into some mysterious place.......

This is probably called........

Heaven's will.