Not having expected such words, Jian Shen looked at Qingyu with a suspicious look.
He had personally bared witness to how great the Heavenly Dragon Sword was, and therefore there was no way he would believe that anyone would handover a sword of the same grade so easily.
That too from a stranger like her, to him, who had no relation whatsoever to her.
"What are you playing at?! I don't believe that someone as strong as you would just randomly give away anything."
"Enough with the accusations, Jian Shen. I really am giving you the Ethereal Phoenix Sword, and the World Crest, but there is a condition involved."
Showing a look as if he expected it, Jian Shen warily asked, "What condition?"
"The poison has eroded too much of my cultivation, and I only have less than a month to live. So I want you to spend a whole month, starting from today, right here, with me."
"What?"
"You heard me right. Don't ask too many questions, and just live with me for a month, and in exchange, I'll give you what I promised."
Even though Qingyu's words sounded genuine, Jian Shen had many questions he wanted to ask her. About the poison, about how she couldn't live past a month, what was a World Crest, and many more.
But he knew that asking her, and knowing them wouldn't do him any good, if all of it was for nothing.
Sure Qingyu was a woman so beautiful, that only those who are destined to can be with her. However, Jian Shen hadn't forgotten how powerless he was when Liao He took him by surprise and tried to kills him.
Therefore, he decided to put up with whatever Qingyu wanted if it managed to let him obtain the Ethereal Phoenix Sword. The rest could be seen, when the time comes.
After all, if Qingyu really wanted to take the Heavenly Dragon Sword away from him, or force him to stay and do as she wanted, there was no way he could stop her, given how strong she was.
So the best option here, was to do as she asked.
"All I need to do is stay here?"
"Yes."
"Just for a month?"
"You can stay longer if you want, but I won't be here."
Frowning from how it felt like Qingyu was making a joke out of her death, as if she got used to it and no longer cared, Jian Shen started feeling a little bad that maybe he was taking advantage of a dying woman.
"Don't think too much, Jian Shen. This sword and crest, are things you deserve. I'm just being a little selfish before I die, and try to keep you by my side as long as possible."
He didn't know why, but Jian Shen couldn't help himself from asking, "Why do you keep saying that you're going to die?!"
"Because I am. But don't worry, I'm ready. In fact, you can even say that I've been waiting to die. This is the only way I can make up for everything I did to you."
"What?"
Shaking her head, Qingyu showed a bright smile and said, "Never mind about the other things. For now, lie on the bed before you bleed out."
Before he could even try to say anything, Jian Shen started feeling lightheaded from all the blood which escaped his wound causing him to powerlessly fall on the bed.
But before he turned unconscious Jian Shen managed to glimpse at the Qingyu's face where the smile was still on. However, now he could see that her eyes which were shut like two crescent moons had tears at the corners, and a small stream of blood was escaping from the side of her lips.
Looking at this Jian Shen himself felt both sad and anxious, as his conscious completely faded.
...
Picking up the fainted Jian Shen, Qingyu placed him gently on the bed on the wiped the blood away.
Sighing from how she probably had less than a week to live, since she used too much of her strength to seal the space not long back, Qingyu began diligently changing the blood stained bandages.
Slowly running her hand through Jian Shen's soft white hair, Qingyu said, "Now I know how you must've felt. I'm really sorry for how I treated you."
"I don't have any way of changing what happened in the past. But... This sword should be enough to convey my apologies, right?"
Speaking to no one in particular, Qingyu who was exhausted from continuously using her strength to fly, when her cultivation was already reaching its end, ended up lying beside Jian Shen and didn't even notice that he was in fact completely awake.
Opening his eyes to look at Qingyu's face which looked even paler and was filled with pain and exhaustion, Jian Shen could feel strings tugging at his heart.
He still didn't know why Qingyu felt familiar to him, and why she kept on asking him, if he remembered her, but for some reason, he felt that he was involved in whatever was hurting her, and this didn't make him feel good at all.
All in all his emotions very in a turmoil, as Jian Shen once again fell asleep.
This time, however, it was a very deep one. And not like the one he had a while ago, which he instantly woke up from.