Yan Hui was rushed back to Qing Qiu still wrapped in Huan Xiao Yan's magic. When they passed San Chong Mountain, Huan Xiao Yan got in touch to Zhu Li's people, and Zhu Li sent over some demons to receive them. Within a few days, the two of them returned to Qing Qiu.
They had just touched down when Yan Hui looked straight at the still approaching Zhu Li and asked: "Where's Tian Yao?"
Zhu Li's expression was solemn: "We didn't know where Su Ying took you. Tian Yao was anxious, so he went to look at Guang Han Sect....."
Yan Hui felt her heart freeze when she heard those words. Ling Xiao had taken her away. Thus, Su Ying had no more business at Chen Xing Mountain. Before, Tian Yao had gone to Guang Han Sect and raised a ruckus. There probably were many things for Su Ying to address as the sect leader. She definitely would bring Lu Mu Sheng back to Guang Han Sect. If Tian Yao and Su Ying ran into each other.....
Yan Hui's heart tightened: "I have to go after Tian Yao."
Zhu Li stopped her: "Your cultivation is nothing to Su Ying. My father and Third Uncle already after him."
Qing Qiu mobilized two princes. Even though the Third Prince's eyes weren't good, his cultivation level was quite high. With those two, even if they couldn't beat Su Ying, bringing back Tian Yao was a likely matter.
The fear was...before they reached Guang Han Sect...Tian Yao and Su Ying would have already met...
In fact, Yan Hui's fear came true. Tian Yao indeed arrived at Guang Han Sect before the two princes and crossed paths with Su Ying. Or in other words, the moment when Su Ying returned to Guang Han Sect, he went looking for her.
When Tian Yao thought about Yan Hui in Su Ying's hands, not knowing if she was dead or alive, he couldn't patiently endure it.
Yan Hui saved him so many times, did so many things for him. But every time Yan Hui suffered, he seemed to always arrive too late, couldn't save her, couldn't help her....
Tian Yao stood on the snowy mountain top and saw Su Ying's white xian light croming from the horizon. With a wave of his sleeve, magic crashed against that light. Su Ying returned the attack with a blast of her own.
She came down from the sky and landed on another side.
Lu Mu Sheng was protected behind her. Su Ying colding looked at Tian Yao was a steady gaze. She smiled in mockery: "Dragon Demon Tian Yao, did you overestimate your capabilities and come to my sect to die?"
Not seeing Yan Hui behind Su Ying, Tian Yao narrowed his eyes: "Where's Yan Hui?"
Su Ying's expression was very indifferent. She moved her gaze as if not caring the slightest: "Dead."
When Tian Yao heard that word, for an moment he didn't understand what he just heard. It wasn't until that work resonated in his mind for a while that he slowly started to understand. Then close behind that he felt in his recently reacquired heart an indescribable pain. It was like a dull knife grinding down on the softest part of his heart, separating muscle and dripping with blood.
In those moments of pain, Tian Yao wished he had never found his heart.
The pain surpased anything he felt on full moon nights.
He despondently looked at Su Ying.
From behind, Lu Mu Sheng also stared in disbelief at Su Ying.
Su Ying just indifferently said: "I gouged out her heart and took your Heart Protection Scale and neidan. Then I abandoned her corpse in the wilderness." She continued, "Don't even think about finding her again."
For a moment, the scenes of the short times he had with Yan Hui flashed in Tian Yao's mind. He remembered when Yan Hui stood in front of him in the moonlight and blocked all of the murderous auras. He remembered Yan Hui crying in his arms in the illusion demons' palace. He remembered Yan Hui feeding him blood during the mid-autumn festival, letting him use her legs as a pillow, watching over him through the night....
Tian Yao remembered just a few days ago Yan Hui sat by his side, and they soaked in the cold spring. They played in the waters. She would laugh, call his name. She even said from now on she would be his Heart Protection Scale and protect his heart.
Now...
Tian Yao momentarily felt like his body had no strength. However after feeling powerless, he felt a hard to describe deep grief burning in his chest, raging into anger. He lifted his head and looked straight at Su Ying. Tian Yao's eyes had turned red. He appeared terrifying.
"Want to kill me?" Su Ying was disdainful. "20 years ago you couldn't. Now, you still can't."
Tian Yao recklessly charged at her before she could finish. Demon magic surged forward with earth-shaking power. There was no defense in place. He was single-mindedly focused on attacking Su Ying.
Tian Yao's attack was so fierce that although all his weak points were exposed, Su Ying was unable to find a chance to hurt him. Because she was also protecting Lu Mu Sheng, it was difficult for her to make a move.
However, it was extremely difficult for Tian Yao to injure Su Ying.
Finally, it was actually Lu Mu Sheng who shouted out from behind Su Ying: "Kill me!"
Tian Yao didn't refused at the slightest. Without a word, he raised his hand and changed his attack to aim at Lu Mu Sheng. Su Ying turned back to look at Lu Mu Sheng with varying degrees of anger and pain. She had no choice but to return to Lu Mu Sheng's side to protect him.
For a moment, there was a weak spot.
Tian Yao reacted extremely quickly. It clearly was an attack aimed at Lu Mu Sheng, but halfway there, it changed direction and aimed at Su Ying! However in the end, Su Ying's cultivation was far beyond Tian Yao's level. Without his neidan, Tian Yao's movements were still too slow. Su Ying saw through his trick. Thinking that no one would attack Lu Mu Sheng, Su Ying had overlooked protecting him.
She immediately turned back. With a turn of her hand, the attack was suddenly sent back at Tian Yao's chest, which had no Heart Protection Scale to guard him. It looked like Tian Yao was unable to dodge the attack....
What no one expected what for Lu Mu Sheng to rush out from behind Su Ying's back and throw himself towards Tian Yao. Su Ying didn't have time to withdraw her attack, and it slammed directly on Lu Mu Sheng's back!
There was a meaty thud. That was the sound of his internal organs exploding. Lu Mu Sheng suddenly collapsed onto Tian Yao. Blood immediately started to flow out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It was a terrifying sight.
It all happened too quick. Su Ying didn't react. Even Tian Yao didn't react. He caught Lu Mu Sheng and dazedly looked at the already limp scholar.
Su Ying looked at her own hand. Her xian aura dissipated like mist, actually forget to guard herself against Tian Yao: "No...."
Tian Yao gazed down at Lu Mu Sheng. He stood, stunned in place, and listened to Lu Mu Sheng's words: "The cloak to replenish my life.....is made of your scales...She hurt you for me." Lu Mu Sheng spoke with halts and pauses. His aura was extremely weak, and his voice was so faint that it almost couldn't be heard.
"Now I'll be your scales. I don't need her charity and love..." Lu Mu Sheng took two deep breaths, but he breathed in less air than he breathed out. Blood continued to flow out of his eyes and ears. "What I owe you, I have returned."
"No....no....." Su Ying took a trembling step forward to take Lu Mu Sheng.
Suddenly, it was like Lu Mu Sheng could see Su Ying from behind coming closer. Somehow he found the strength to push on Tian Yao to take three steps forward and avoid Su Ying's grasp.
"Burn me," said Lu Mu Sheng. "Don't leave anything left for her."
He fixedly stared at Tian Yao, who finally reacted. Before Su Ying could use her magic, Tian Yao's hand was wreathed in flame, and the flames encircled Lu Mu Sheng.
"No!" Su Ying raised her hand. She wanted to use her magic to extinguish Tian Yao's flames. However, this time Tian Yao sent a burst of magic from the side and knocked away her away. The force sent her skidding 100 feet away.
By the time she recovered to try and save Lu Mu Sheng again, it was too late.
Lu Mu Sheng, wreathed in orange flames, stood at the cliff edge.
Tian Yao's flames burned so fiercely that not even a 100-year demon could endure it. Lu Mu Sheng was just a weak scholar, but in the midst of flames, he had no trace of suffering and pain. He just looked towards the sky and smiled. Right before he fell from the cliff, Tian Yao heard his last words:
"Yun Xi, I'm finally coming to you."
The fiery body dropped from the cliff. In the whistling wind, Lu Mu Sheng's body was thoroughly burned into ash. They blew away to areas unknown by the strong wind.
Su Ying watched Lu Mu Sheng's ashes by carried away. Her usual icy mien [1] was no more. Instead it trembled and crumbled: "No, don't! Come back! Come back!"
She walked to the cliff edge and extended her hand. However aside from the year-around strong winds around Guang Han Mountain, nothing touched her hand. Not even a speck of ash landed in her palm.
"I looked for you for so many years! I looked for you for so long!" It seemed like Su Ying's heart was shattered by the pain. "Ah!" She sounded like a wounded animal howling in pain. "Ah!"
In this world, aside from her pain, it was like there was nothing else.
But when the pain passed, Su Ying suddenly looked back from the edge. She hatefully fixed her eyes on Tian Yao: "You killed him!" It sounded like she wanted to rip Tian Yao apart. "You killed him!"
To tell the truth, even if Tian Yao didn't give Lu Mu Sheng that blaze, Lu Mu Sheng still wouldn't have lived after received that blow from Su Ying. However Tian Yao didn't even hesitate when admitting: "So what if I killed him?"
Tian Yao looked at Su Ying with a murderous gaze that still hadn't receded. To him, Su Ying's hands were stained with Yan Hui's blood. Even if he would walk away from that hatred from 20 years ago, but Yan Hui...He must have retribution.
Xian aura revolved around Su Ying. Snow flurried around her, and a gale tugged at her hair. She looked like a lunatic who had been robbed of love. That icy calmness was no longer there. That aloofness was no longer there. Her eyes were filled only with loathing and murder.
Tian Yao's body raged with flames.
The snow and flames around the two people pushed out into an enormous circle. Where the two met were violent collisions. It was the collision of the two people pushing all their cultivation.
It was like making up for that missed life and death battle 20 years ago.
However since Tian Yao still didn't get back his neidan, a few moments later it was like his strength wasn't enough. The range his flames burned started to slowly shrink.
Looking at it, Tian Yao's flames were about to be engulfed by the surrounding snow and wind. Suddenly in the distant horizon appeared two lights. They abruptly broke through Su Ying's snow-ladened wind and turned into two people. One used a barrier to block Su Ying's magic. The other supported Tian Yao.
The two newcomers didn't say a word. It seemed like they had an understanding due to their bloodline. One took Tian Yao and shot out of Su Ying's magic range like an arrow. The other suddenly pulled back and rapidly followed. In a Blitzkrieg Strategy [2], Tian Yao was taken away from Guang Han Mountain.
In the middle of the raging snow, only Su Ying remained. She didn't give chase. She just looked up at the falling snow and stood in silence.
Her only family member was dead. Her only love was dead.
Now, aside from her magic, she had nothing else.
The Seventh Prince looked back and saw that Su Ying wasn't chasing after them. He let out a breath: "Guang Han Sect's Su Ying has cultivated a strong magic. If it wasn't for using all our cultivation, we might not have safely made it out."
The Third Prince carried Tian Yao. Although he couldn't see, his senses surpassed others: "It isn't that her cultivation is strong. It's likely she was using all her cultivation." The Third Prince's ear angled toward Tian Yao, "What did you discuss with her?"
Tian Yao was carried on the prince's back. He just dipped his head and blankly looked at the white cloud carrying them under their feet.
"Yan Hui is dead."
He said those four words not like he was talking about Yan Hui, but rather like he was talking about himself.
That despair hide that deep a grief.
The two princes were silent at those words. They also didn't know about Yan Hui's situation, and more so didn't know what to say.
The trio rushed back to Qing Qiu. They had just landed when they were surrounded by people. Tian Yao's head was still down, looking at the ground. It seemed like he had nothing else to live for. Suddenly from far away, he heard a very familiar shout: "Tian Yao!"
His ears twitched. He instantly raised his head and saw Yan Hui pushing aside people to get through.
In that moment, it was like Yan Hui's body was lit with flame. It lit up the darkness in his eyes. Aside from Yan Hui, it was like Tian Yao could see no one else.
"Tian Yao, did you run into Su Ying? Did you fight? Are you hurt?"
Yan Hui impatiently asked as she ran towards him.
Tian Yao continued to silently gaze at her. It wasn't until Yan Hui was three steps away from him that the took one large step forward. He tugged her hand, forcefully pulling her into his arms, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He cupped the back of her head. Without giving her a chance to protest or say no, Tian Yao impatiently kissed Yan Hui.
He licked her lips, and didn't allow any resistance before entering her mouth. His kiss was hungry. Under the many eyes of everyone, Tian Yao tightly hugged and deeply kissed Yan Hui.
He couldn't let go.
Tian Yao thought, he probably could never let Yan Hui go.
It was far beyond what he had thought. He cared about her, loved her, needed her...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THEY KISSED!!!!!!
Also bittersweet ending for Lu Mu Sheng, but at least this was what he wanted.
[1] Mien
- air or bearing especially as expressive of attitude or personality.
synonyms
- demeanor, figure, looks, presence, appearance
[2] Blitzkrieg Strategy
- "Blitzkrieg," a German word meaning "Lightning War," is a Germany's strategy to avoid a long war in the Second World War in Europe. Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in a short battles.
Source: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blitzkrieg-lightning-war#:~:text=%22Blitzkrieg%2C%22%20a%20German%20word,a%20series%20of%20short%20campaigns.