Xuanji was completely unaware of everything that was happening.
She was having a bizarre dream in which everything seemed obscured by a thick layer of gauze that prevented her from seeing clearly. Vaguely, she was on a riverbank, along which grew layers upon layers of bright red, blood-like flowers.
She reached out to pick and crush them, watching the juice reminiscent of fresh blood flowing down her palm onto the ground, feeling an indescribable delight and familiarity in her heart.
Suddenly, someone sat beside her and called, "Xuanji, do you understand now?"
Understand what? She was puzzled.
"Do you want to take a look?" he continued to ask.
Look at what? She still didn't understand.
"Just this once, no more after that. Let's give it a good look!" After he spoke, he threw a small stone into the water. The surface of the water gradually rippled, circle after circle, eventually turning into countless moving images.
She was indeed curious and couldn't help leaning over to take a closer look—her heart suddenly began to beat violently, her blood surging towards her head.
Um... what was that... what was that?! That was it!
She was suddenly taken aback, a familiar yet distant feeling sweeping over her, and she couldn't wait to reach out—to grasp something!
****
Zhong Minyan stared blankly at Xuanji's raised hand, those ten sharp fingertips, her skin so pale it seemed almost transparent, emitting a strange silver light in the darkness, silver light?!
He didn't have time to think more, as behind him the Gu Diao let out a thunderous roar, as if it had seen something terrifying; it was both scared and excited, hesitating only a moment before decisively swooping down with its sharp talons.
Zhong Minyan tightly closed his eyes, only hearing a strange whistling sound by his ears, like a breeze through bamboo, or like a continuous wind overturning leaves, soft yet brisk.
He cautiously opened a slit in his eyes, only to see a silver shadow suddenly dart out, incredibly fast. With each movement, that wind sound would whistle. It circled the Gu Diao, from above to below, from left to right, its movements so fast that at first glance, it looked as though a silver cage had been erected around the Gu Diao.
What was that? His eyes widened in shock, immobilized by a strange pressure.
The Gu Diao, surrounded by the silver shadow, seemed to be struggling to break free, but to no avail. The silver shadow tightened more and more, and the Gu Diao gradually couldn't move, its body quivering uncontrollably at the slightest touch from it.
Zhong Minyan wasn't sure if he saw fear in the eyes of the Gu Diao. Just as he was marveling, he saw Xuanji's silver-glowing hand gently wave, and suddenly, the cave was flooded with light. The pain in his eyes was intense, and he hastily shut them tightly.
He only heard a "sizzle" sound twice, then suddenly something scaldingly hot splashed onto his back, causing him to shiver in fright.
Then there was silence, complete silence.
Zhong Minyan waited a long time with his eyes closed, hearing no sound at all, then hesitantly opened them. The first thing he saw was Xuanji's sleeping face, no longer pale, no longer red, but back to its normal color—no, even better, her cheeks flushed pink, making her black eyebrows and red lips even more strikingly beautiful.
Yet, his heart was filled with fear.
What had just happened? What was that?! Where was the Gu Diao?! He suddenly turned back, but saw nothing in the passageway— the massive Gu Diao that had been there just a moment ago had vanished without a trace! Only leaving behind a pool of black blood, endlessly spreading out, now seeming like a black dream.
He stared fiercely at that large patch of blood, dazed, his heart not knowing what to feel.
What was that? What was Xuanji?
He felt a gradual suffocation in his chest, stars slowly floating before his eyes. After one last look at Xuanji lying on the ground, her complexion rosy, having a pleasant dream, her lips sweetly turned upward, he felt that the innocent smile hid endless lethality.
Suddenly, everything went black before his eyes, and he could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground. He faintly heard Chu Lei's shout as he moved his lips, but no sound came out, and then he lost all consciousness.
****
When he woke up again, he was already in the inn. Zhong Minyan felt as though his whole body was soaked in warm water, cozy and comfortable, and he couldn't help but let out a soft moan. Immediately, someone whispered behind him, "Don't move."
He hurriedly opened his eyes to discover he was only wearing an undergarment, sitting cross-legged on the bed with seemingly a pair of hands against his back, and the cozy warmth was emanating from those palms.
He weakly blinked his eyes and called out in a low voice, "Master... I..."
Chu Lei did not speak until he had circulated the True Qi throughout his entire body and smoothed out the entangled meridians; only then did he cease his efforts. It was a while before he said, "I arrived late. By the time I found you three, all of you were covered in blood and had fainted. Fortunately, your injuries and those of Si Feng weren't severe; that was indeed a stroke of luck."
Zhong Minyan was still somewhat dazed and asked subconsciously, "And Xuanji?"
The moment these words left his mouth, his heart flashed like flint in his chest, and the experiences in the cave suddenly surged into his mind: the silver light, the blood everywhere, the content smile on Xuanji's face.
How terrible! The situation was so eerie that even thinking about it now was terrifying.
He said with a trembling voice, "Master... is Xuanji... all right?"
Chu Lei rose and walked to the window. After a long silence, he finally said, "She's fine, the fever has subsided. The doctor said she should wake up soon." After speaking, he hesitated for a moment and said in a lower voice, "Minyan... what happened in the cave?"
Zhong Minyan, upon hearing his question, couldn't help but shiver and was unable to speak.
Chu Lei continued, "When I arrived, there was no sign of the Gu Diao. Initially, seeing you all covered in blood, I thought you had suffered severe injuries. Now it seems that the blood wasn't yours... Minyan, what happened? Where is the Gu Diao?"
Zhong Minyan sat there blankly, unsure whether to tell him about Xuanji. After a long contemplation, he gritted his teeth and shook his head, "Master... Si Feng and I fought the Gu Diao but were unable to defeat it. Later, lacking the strength, we both fainted, and I don't know what exactly happened."
Chu Lei did not doubt him and sighed, patting his shoulder and said warmly, "You did very well, truly worthy of being my disciple!"
Zhong Minyan was startled; it was the first time his master had praised him like this. He couldn't help but feel incredibly happy and smiled as he rubbed his nose.
"Si Feng has already woken up, and right now he's downstairs with your martial uncle and Dongfang Island Master. You should also go down and talk about what happened."
Zhong Minyan agreed with a nod.
After descending the stairs, he indeed saw Chu Yinghong and others sitting in a corner. Yu Sifeng had a white bandage wrapped around his forehead and his left hand was in a splint, looking quite seriously injured. Seeing him, he even laughed, "So, you can get up now! I thought you were going to sleep for ten days!"
Zhong Minyan shook his head and sat down opposite him, "Has Xuanji not woken up yet?" he asked.
Yu Sifeng said, "No. You're right. She really is a pig."
Zhong Minyan could only give a wry smile.
"By the way, I had passed out at that time. What exactly happened afterwards?"
Zhong Minyan pondered for a long moment but still shook his head. "…I don't know, I also passed out."
Chu Yinghong laughed from the side, "Alright, don't be so morose! No matter what, all of you kids are safe and sound. The demon hunting mission is also considered complete, we're just waiting to bring back that Heavenly Dog and enjoy the excitement of the Flower Pinning Conference!"
Sitting next to her was Dongfang Qingqi, who had been quite unlucky; dragged by the Gu Diao and smashed against a rock. Not only was his right hand fractured, but he also broke several ribs, now wrapped tightly from top to bottom, grimacing in pain at every movement.
"Oh dear, we really have gotten old!" he exclaimed, "We suffered badly at the claws of that old Gu Diao this time; we can't be overconfident anymore!"
This made everyone laugh.
Noticing that Chu Lei looked gloomy as if he was laden with deep thoughts, Chu Yinghong spoke softly, "Is the Sect Leader still thinking about the Gu Diao?"
Chu Lei sighed, "It's unknown who got to it first and dealt with it. If there truly are such skilled people in the world, compared to that, our talks of the Five Great Sects would undoubtedly be like observing the sky from the bottom of a well…"
Dongfang Qingqi, with his unbroken hand, patted his back vigorously and said loudly, "Brother Chu, after all these years, your suspicious nature hasn't changed. Setting aside whether we are observing the sky from the bottom of a well or not, both of us were there. Where did you see anyone else? Besides, that cave was bottomless, and who knows if it connects to other places. Maybe the Gu Diao escaped through the cave. If you're worried, let me heal for a few days, and then you and I can go through that cave again, and we must kill that monstrous beast no matter what."
Zhong Minyan's lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.
*********
Still speeding through the story~ another chapter tonight~