Heart Protection

HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 99

 Yan Hui turned her head towards Tian Yao: "She's dead."

"Yes, she's dead." Tian Yao's expression wasn't any different than usual. The jian in his hand disappeared into the air. He only said, "Let's go. The formation is broken. We should return to Qing Qiu."

"You don't........have any other thoughts?"

Other thoughts? Tian Yao turned to look at the enormous tree. Perhaps a little bit. After all, he lived between hatred and despair for 20 years because of Su Ying. However, the Tian Yao he was now.........

"She's already no longer significant." Saying that, Tian Yao looked back at Yan Hui. He lightly touched Yan Hui's chest above her heart and involuntarily murmured: "Every time I think of what she did to me and unexpectedly saved you in turn, I actually feel a little grateful......."

Yan Hui was stunned. A bright laugh was suddenly heard at this moment.

The two of them turned towards the voice. Yan Hui was immediately astonished.

A long-haired cultivator wearing loose and wide-sleeves robes was walking down the hillside. He wore a hat, and his hair reached his knees. His smiling face was clear and handsome. There was an elegant aura about him.

The person approaching unexpectedly was........someone Yan Hui only met a few times, Zhenren Qing Guang.

"Speaking of, Dragon Demon, shouldn't I be the one to thank?"

Zhenren Qing Guang spoke with a perpetual smile. He smiled at Tian Yao and then immediately turned and sized Yan Hui up and down. His gaze finally stopped at her chest.

Tian Yao immediately stepped in front of Yan Hui to block the gaze. His face was grave and his bearing guarded.

Zhenren Qing Guang actually didn't pay any attention to Tian Yao's actions. He just continued to lightly smile like he discovered some very funny situation: "To tell the truth, I've been looking in a million places. I never once thought it was staying here within my reach for 10 years."

Yan Hui stared blankly at those words.

The thing Zhenren Qing Guang was looking for..........

"For the sake of my once Chen Xing Mountain disciple, I won't personally take the neidan." Zhenren Qing Guang reached out a hand with a smile. "Come, give it to me. I've waited 20 years."

He wanted the neidan in Yan Hui's heart!

Turns out, It wasn't Su Ying who wanted to the neidan. It was actually Zhenren Qing Guang!

Su Ying schemed to hurt Tian Yao 20 years ago. Zhenren Qing Guang wasn't there only to assist her. Rather, he also had a part in the conspiracy too.........

Yan Hui couldn't help clutching her chest and backing up a step. Tian Yao narrowed his eyes, and a murderous aura burst out.

Qing Guang smiled and shook his head. "You two killed Su Ying because she was too sentimental and wanted too much. I'm not like her." His gaze hardened. "I only want the neidan."

With those words, he suddenly disappeared. Yan Hui completely couldn't see his movements. She just saw the jian reappear in Tian Yao's hand and sweep towards the left. Zhenren Qing Guan still wasn't visible, but an enormous power smashed onto Tian Yao's jian.

Tian Yao gritted his teeth, veins slightly popping out on his forehead. Flames burst around his body, but his magic wasn't enough to resist. Tian Yao only resisted for a moment before the power suddenly reversed. It pressed down on Tian Yao's head until he was forced to kneel on one knee and unable to get up.

Before Yan Hui could react, she was suddenly hit from the side by a burst of magic. Yan Hui was instantly sent flying into the enormous tree, smashing a crater into the tree.

Dust and splinters burst out with a bang. Then Yan Hui and the debris slowly fell to the ground.

Yan Hui choked on the dust and coughed. Hot blood sprayed out.

Zhenren Qing Guang lightly walked towards Yan Hui. He arrogantly looked down at her: "If you came up yourself, then wouldn't you have spared yourself all this suffering?"

Tian Yao used all his strength to struggled at Qing Guang's words. His flames fought against the pressure against his head. However the results were still the same as before: a moment of resistance before once again being firmly pressed down.

Qing Guang switched his attention and glanced at Tian Yao: "As a demon, what use is being a millennium dragon demon if you don't have a neidan?" At the end of those words, the pressure on top of Tian Yao's head suddenly increased. There was a muffled sound. Some unknown bone in Tian Yao's body broke. He was ruthlessly pressed into the ground. Zhenren Qing Guang smiled: "You're just a snake under my hand."

It look Yan Hui an enormous amount of effort to lift her heavy eyes. She felt a swell of emotions upon seeing the sorry state Tian Yao was in.

She should have returned the neidan to Tian Yao. Tian Yao recovered his body, clearly regained his original appearance. If he had his neidan, then how would he be in his current sorry state, how would he be injured by Zhenren Qing Guang to this degree, completely without power to resist.........

Zhenren Qing Guang didn't pay any more attention to Tian Yao. He turned his head and glanced at Tian Yao: "Little girl, your expression seems completely unconvinced?"

Yan Hui looked down and said nothing. Qing Guang smiled: "You don't have to accept it. Your life was originally a stolen thing. If it wasn't for my disobedient disciple, Ling Xiao, not following orders, you would already be dead by now."

It was like Yan Hui's mind was illuminated in an instant.

What did that mean?

20 years ago, Ling Xiao......

Was Ling Xiao involved with the Tian Yao matter 20 years ago? What did Ling Xiao do 20 years ago to let her give her the unlikely chance to be here today?

There was no time give to let Yan Hui guess.

Magic gathered at Qing Guang's fingertips. His eyes looked like they were trying to see into Yan Hui's heart. Yan Hui just gritted her teeth, grabbed a handful of dirt, and flung it into Zhenren Qing Guang's eyes. Even though Zhenren Qing Guang used magic to block in the incoming dirt, he hesitated for a moment. 

Yan Hui took that chance to sneak off to the side and leapt to Tian Yao's side. She unhesitatingly started to prepare to dig out her heart's neidan, wanting to return it to Tian Yao.

Tian Yao stared. Then he said in surprise and anger: "Stop!"

Zhenren Qing Guang was also shocked. He narrowed his eyes, and in a flash, he landed in front of Yan Hui. Yan Hui started circulating her magic to resist him. When Zhenren Qing Guang sensed Yan Hui's aura start to move, his face hardened. He raised his hand and broke her actions, not giving her the slightest bit of chance to resist. With a snap, he broke her arm. Yan Hui's arm dangled down with no strength. Qing Guang raised his hand and wrapped his fingers around her neck. Then he raised his arm until Yan Hui's feet no longer touched the ground. She powerlessly dangled there like a rag doll.

"You cultivated demon magic?" There was a subtleness in Qing Guang's tone. "Who taught you?"

Yan Hui didn't answer. Qing Guang's hand tightened.

Tian Yao hatefully clenched his teeth when he saw Zhenren Qing Guang's actions. Dragon scales started to appear on his face. He actually wanted to change to his original form. 

With a simple wave of Qing Guang's free hand, an invisible force firmly pressed Tian Yao down onto the ground. Although Tian Yao changed back into his dragon form, all it did was stir up a wind that tugged at Qing Guang's sleeves and long hair.

Qing Guang let the azure dragon howl and struggle, but he didn't even glance at Tian Yao. He only said to Yan Hui: "I don't like people who have too many thoughts about me. If you were honest, I would've left you an intact corpse." He tightened his grip, and Yan Hui's face immediately turned purple. He still had a smile, gentle but without any warmth. "But you were not obedient."

His hand tightened even more, and his other hand touched Yan Hui's chest.

Tian Yao's roar shook the skies. Suddenly, his dragon tail broke free from Qing Guang's binds. It swung over from above and forcefully thrust Qing Guang aside. At the same moment, the sachet Zhenren Qing Guang always wore emitted a bright and dazzling light. 

Tian Yao's tail wrapped around Yan Hui who had just started to fall. He looked towards Qing Guang's direction and shockingly saw a person's figure appearing in the bright light. That figure came with a wind and snow aura. The figure added another blow on top of Tian Yao's blow, causing Qing Guang to retreat even further back.

From the backlight, Yan Hui felt a little despondent at seeing the person's back.

Ling Xiao........

How was he here......

"Ah....." Qing Guang straightened up. "My disiciple's skill is very high. Even the sachet can't contain you anymore."

Ling Xiao didn't respond to Qing Guang's words. He only turned his head and looked at Tian Yao who was protecting Yan Hui: "Take her away."

Tian Yao was actually thinking the same thing; his aura started to circulate. Zhenren Qing Guang smiled and slightly bent over: "Leave? Ling Xiao, oh, Ling Xiao. Out of all my disciples, you were the most serious." Qing Guang paused. "And you were the most naive." His gaze became severe, "Who out of all of you can go?"

With those words, a gale started to blow and became a wind wall around the enormous tree. Tian Yao had no choice but to wrap around Yan Hui and protect her with his body. He couldn't move a bit.

Ling Xiao looked back at Qing Guang withy icy eyes: "Shifu."

Zhenren Qing Guang shook his head: "When you attacked me for your disciple, I don't dare recognize you as my disciple anymore. After flattening two of Chen Xing Mountain's peaks, it's rather a pity."

Flattening two of Chen Xing Mountain's peaks? The news in the demon clans was that demons attacked Chen Xing Mountain.......could it really be because Zhenren Qing Guang and Ling Xiao fought........

Ling Xiao was silent. He always had the habit of being quiet and not saying much in front of Yan Hui. Now, he still didn't say much. He waved his hand, and immediately an ice and snow formation formed under his feet.

Qing Guang smiled at the sight: "I taught you your magic. You lost to be earlier and stayed in the sachet for many days. Do you still think you can win?"

Ling Xiao remained unmoved. He didn't even glance backwards. He just summoned his magic and leapt forward to engage in battle with Qing Guang.

The two of them moved fast. Their figures blurred and collided with each other inside the wind wall. The area was filled with the strength of magic.

Tian Yao raptly observed the flow of auras within the wind barrier. Finally, he discovered every time Ling Xiao was thrust aside by Qing Guang, Ling Xiao slammed into the same place of the wind wall every time. That area also had a much weaker wind power than the rest of the wall.

Ling Xiao........was using his own body to open up a path in the wall.

Tian Yao's tail was still tightly curled around Yan Hui. However, she should still watch Ling Xiao by raising her head. He and Qing Guang were in the midst of an all-out battle.

It was like back when she was small and saw Ling Xiao for the first time. He had heroicly saved her from the clutches of a monster.

He was like a god, banished from the xian. 

"You're too involved with people." Zhenren Qing Guang's tone was somewhat impatient. "You're wasting too much of my time."

With those words, the wind wall immediately started to spin even faster. The wall also spun up tiny wind blades from the ground, attacking Tian Yao. Tian Yao retreated and blocked the blades when from the side came a huge gale that thrashed his tail. Yan Hui was sent flying into the sky.

Qing Guang glanced to the side while fighting Ling Xiao. With a wave of his hand, a wind blade was flung at Yan Hui, heading towards her heart.

Tian Yao wanted to go save her, but it was too late. At that moment, Ling Xiao made a move! There wasn't even a hint of hesitation when he wrapped Yan Hui in his arms. The wind blade struck Ling Xiao's back. Yan Hui suddenly smelled the scent of blood. 

Yan Hui's eyes abruptly widened. She couldn't help letting out a short gasp.

The hands that wrapped around her quickly tightened: "Don't be scared."

Compared to comforting, Ling Xiao's tone was more like an order. It was like the voice Yan Hui had heard in her ear for the last 10 years: "Train hard." "Don't be lazy." "Can't take shortcuts."

For a moment, Yan Hui felt a sourness in her nose.

The force of the wind blade was very strong. With the thud of the blade, Ling Xiao started to fall fast. He plummeted to the ground, and the impact dug out a gouge in the earth. In that gouge, Ling Xiao still cushioned Yan Hui with his body.

He sat up and looked at Yan Hui who was in his arms. Then he stood up in front of Yan Hui as a shield. Ling Xiao's back was straight even though it was dripping with blood. His ice jian formed in his hand. Ling Xiao looked through the dust and chillingly watched Zhenren Qing Guang who was still in the sky.

Even though Ling Xiao couldn't win, he never once thought about giving up.

"Why are you protecting me?" Yan Hui's aura was a little weak. She quietly asked, "You were always protecting me. Am I right?"

It was unknown whether Ling Xiao didn't hear her or if he didn't plan on replying. Either way, he just turned back and looked at her.

For a moment, Yan Hui unexpectedly filled with countless questions to ask him. She urgently wanted to hear his replies: "Was Zhenren Qi Yun killed by you? Did you scheme the xian-demon war? Was forcing me out of the xian sect done to protect me? Was breaking my bones to prevent me from cultivation demon magic also done to protect me?"

She had so many questions to ask Ling Xiao , so many answers she wanted to hear from him.........

Ling Xiao didn't say a word. He turned his head back, and his xian aura surged.

"Yan Hui." He said:

"I never regretted accepting you as a disciple."

Yan Hui's pupils shrank. 

She saw Ling Xiao's icy snow aura wrap around himself and turn into a jian. He leapt up to face Zhenren Qing Guang, decisively not even looking back.

There was a bright light in midair. At the same moment, Tian Yao's tail wrapped around Yan Hui. Then Tian Yao charged and hit that part of the wind wall that Ling Xiao had weakened.

"Don't........."

"Wait!" Yan Hui yelled: "Wait a moment, Tian Yao!"

Tian Yao naturally didn't wait. His horns broke the wind wall, and he took Yan Hui beyond the broken wall. Yan Hui took a final glance back and saw a burning white light in the sky. Ling Xiao's figure completely disappeared in the light.

He sacrificed his life just to give her a sliver of a chance to live.

Shifu........

She didn't get a chance to say shifu for the last time........

Actually even though she experienced so much, Yan Hui wanted to tell Ling Xiao something. 10 years ago, from that 10 years to now, she never once regretted calling him shifu.