Heart Protection

HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 93

 Su Ying brought Yan Hui and Lu Mu Sheng into Chen Xing Mountain. Yan Hui thought she would have mixed feelings when they passed through the main gate. However when they actually walked through, there wasn't much for her to reminisce one. 

She didn't have any extra thoughts to spare for this place.

Some of the disciples were discussing matters with Su Ying. As those people were talking, Lu Mu Sheng suddenly asked Yan Hui: "Did Su Ying commit many atrocious acts against Tian Yao before for my sake?" 

Yan Hui paused for a brief moment before responding: "Beyond atrocious." Her reply was half sighed. "But it actually isn't very related to you. She dismembered him and placed a seal on the scattered pieces for your previous incarnation as a general. She wanted to make a dragon-scale armor to grant him immortality."

Lu Mu Sheng's lips tightened, and his expression abruptly became cold. There was no time for him to respond when Su Ying finished ordering people to take Yan Hui into the dungeon. Lu Mu Sheng was taken to another place.

Yan Hui glanced back and saw Su Ying was following her. Su Ying's expression was as chilly and indifferent as ever.

Inside Xin Xiu Peak's prison, Yan Hui was placed in a cage and hung in midair by her hands.

Su Ying walked into the cage, and with a wave of her hand, she dismissed the disciples present. The prison was dark. Only the wall behind Yan Hui had a barred window where light could shine in. The light lengthen Yan Hui's shadow, and Su Ying stepped right on her shadow.

Yan Hui smiled: "Is Zhenren Su Ying going to lynch me?"

Su Ying stayed expressionless: "You revived the dragon demon, killed Su E, and betrayed the xian cultivators. These crimes are enough for you to die many, many times over. Whatever is done to you won't be considered lynching."

"Tian Yao originally should've been like how he is now. The xian cultivators ought to be betrayed, and your sister, Zhenren Ling Fei, deserved to die. What I have done is reasonable and fair. Why would you say that I ought to die, I should die?"

"Even if the earlier reasons didn't exist, the fact you harbor a dragon demon's heart protection scale and neidan is enough for you to die. 20 years ago, you were about to die. This life of yours was stolen and will eventually be returned."

Su Ying didn't wait allow for Yan Hui to even open her mouth when light revolved around her hand. A dagger formed out of ice appeared in Su Ying's hand. She approached Yan Hui and rested the blade's edge against Yan Hui's chest.

Yan Hui's expression didn't even flinch. Her voice remained steady: "Even if you cut out the heart protection scale, you won't be able to complete the dragon scale armor."

Yan Hui didn't finish speaking when Su Ying smiled: "You don't need to stall for time with me." She continued, "Do you think the dragon demon will rush over to save you? The Tracking Technique he planted on you was removed by me long ago. No one knows that I brought you to Chen Xing Mountain."

Yan Hui's heart sank at those words.

"Furthermore, even if it wasn't for the heart protection scale, I wouldn't leave the neidan in your heart for you........."

Boom! There was a muffled sound. Fresh air suddenly entered the prison. Su Ying knitted her eyebrows but didn't look back. The dagger aimed down at Yan Hui's heart.

Right before the dagger entered the heart, it was stopped by a force.

It was the same type of ice magic, but unlike Su Ying's magic, it formed a block in front of Yan Hui.

The dagger was pushed away, and the chains around Yan Hui were broken. Yan Hui was scooped into an embrace.

Yan Hui hadn't felt this light and frosty hug in a long time. It tightly hugged her close and pressed against her chest, not letting anyone come close.

Yan Hui heard Su Yihng question from behind: "Ling Xiao, are you going to throw away the plans for this girl?"

Ling Xiao didn't respond. He just brandished a gesture and launched a move against Su Ying. The attack in this narrow prison struck a loud sound. Yan Hui wasn't able to see anything that happened. She just sensed a moment later there was ice magic cast under her feet.

Yan Hui sensed herself being pulled further and further away. An unknown amount of time passed before the surroundings finally started to settle down.

The one holding her suddenly let go. Yan Hui retreated a couple steps and finally got a good look at her surroundings. 

It was unfamiliar vegetation and streams. She didn't know where adn what hidden forest they were in. In front of her was Ling Xiao, whose lips had slightly paled. He looked at Yan Hui and spoke: "You actually dared to cleanse your essence and cultivate demon magic!" His voice was a little hoarse. To Yan Hui's ears, it sounded sharp and coarse, extremely sarcastic.

"Why not?" Yan Hui coldly laughed. "Should I be delighted to be whipped by you and then become a cripple?"

Ling Xiao's gaze slightly narrowed: "You cultivated demon magic quite fast......."

"So is Cultivator Ling Xiao going to whip this disgraceful person 81 times?" countered Yan Hui. "Or are you going to go straight to killing this unworthy disciple?"

Ling Xiao looked away from the mocking Yan Hui: "Leave Central Plains. Don't go to the southwest Qing Qiu either. The two sides are about to go to war. Overseas is a xian island that is apart from these worldly affairs. You should go there and take refuge for now."

Yan Hui didn't understand what she was hearing: "Cultivator Ling Xiao, you and I have no relation now. Is my negligible life worth caring about?"

Ling Xiao pressed his thin lips together: "There is no relationship. It's merely based on our former shifu-disciple relation........"

"No need," said Yan Hui. "Those four words, former shifu-disciple relation, is too much. I can't assume that. You're better off forgetting those 10 years. You want me to be someone who runs away at the critical moment. I also can't do that. I'll pretend that you never said it. As for Qing Qiu, there's someone there who I want to protect. I want to face whatever hardships and sufferings together with him."

When Ling Xiao heard those words, his downcast eyes suddenly raised up: "You must go to the overseas xian island."

"Ah......." For a moment, Yan Hui actually couldn't hold back a sneer. "Absurd. Why must I go? Because you order it?"

Ling Xiao silently looked on with heavy eyes, yet in his hands xian magic already started to condense. Yan Hui saw he was illogically going to take action! She stared blankly for a moment. At first she thought her own magic was resisting her, but then she realized the seal Su Ying had placed on her was still there. For now, she completely couldn't use any magic.

"The overseas xian island is where I was taking you. Therefore, you must go." Ling Xiao reached out to grab her. Yan Hui retreated backwards, and he actually let her dodge. However as Yan Hui continued to retreat back, Ling Xiao would advance forwards, pressing in closer and closer.

Yan Hui frowned: "I don't want to go to whatever overseas xian island. I promised someone that I would protect him. Since I already said that, then I don't plan to go back on my words." Yan Hui stared straight at Ling Xiao. "I don't want to be like how you were."

He clearly once said that Chen Xing Mountain would become her home, but then in the end he chased her out. He clearly once said he wouldn't let her face the hardship of wandering and drifting around, but now looking at it, he was the who made her wander and drift around.

Ling Xiao's complexion paled at those words. His lips slightly trembled. A long time passed before he said: "That dragon demon, Tian Yao, isn't as good as you think. He's doing it all for that neidan in your chest!"

"So what if it's for the neidan!" Yan Hui bluntly retorted. "At least Tian Yao cares about me for than anyone else. At least he hasn't thought about taking back the neidan so far. Maybe once he hid things and schemed against me and was going to discard me like a used chess piece in the end. But now, he doesn't do any of that towards me."

Yan Hui wasn't someone who couldn't clearly see the circumstances. Back when Qing Qiu's king asked Tian Yao if he had finished retrieving all his body parts, perhaps it was because the king could tell that Tian Yao hadn't retrieved his neidan. However, Tian Yao's reply was that he retrieved it all. That meant he didn't plan no touching what was in Yan Hui's heart.

"I'm well aware of how Tian Yao treats me. Zhenren Ling Xiao doesn't need to concern himself about it." Yan Hui paused. "But as for you, do you still care about your own disciples?"

Ling Xiao was silent for a moment: "Today, I must take you away."

He advanced. Under his footsteps was a spell. Ice and snow clung to the ground and bound Yan Hui's feet and legs, so that she couldn't move an inch. Ling Xiao reached out to grab her. Yan Hui was unable to dodge. Without a second thought, she immediately struck his shoulder.

Ling Xiao stifled a grunt.

He paused. It was only then that Yan Hui saw bloodstains on his white Chen Xing Mountain's robes. Blood was seeping up from his inner robes.

Was it........an injury inflicted by Su Ying when he was taking her away..........

Yan Hui stopped her movements. Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out from her own hand: "Master, don't worry! I'll take you away!"

Following Huan Xiao Yan's shout, Yan Hui felt her legs lighten. Ling Xiao's magic that bound her feet down had broken. She also felt like her body had become much lighter. Yan Hui felt an almost powerless-like magic wrapping around her and lifting her into midair. Gradually, the forest where they were disappeared. Ling Xiao was still there, clutching his shoulder and not completely recovered.

They flew away for an unknown distance before Huan Xiao Yan stuck her head out besides Yan Hui. Huan Xiao Yan's body materialized, and she flew alongside Yan Hui: "Good heavens, that scared me to death! We really barely came back from the dead after all the twists and turns!"

Yan Hui wasn't in the mood to correct Huan Xiao Yan's wrong wording. Her mind was filled with Ling Xiao's wound. She turned to look at Huan Xiao Yan: "When did you follow me?"

"Master, you're alive this time because of me," boasted Huan Xiao Yan. "Last time, you and dragon demon Tian Yao secretly went to Guang Han Sect, and you nearly came back as a corpse, right? After that, I paid close attention to you. This time when you went to the battlefield, I slept in your ring and quietly accompanied you. When you were captured by Su Ying and then by Ling Xiao, I was with you all the way. I just couldn't find the right opportunity to save you. But now was a great chance. You saw how smart I was. I just needed the slight chance, and I could save you. You're not going to praise me?"

Yan Hui nodded: "I'll praise you." She said, "It's all thanks to you." 

Otherwise, if she was brought to some overseas xian island by Ling Xiao, then how much would she have to praise Tian Yao........