While I was waiting for my men from Dongying, I knew the odds. Yinuo was still in danger, I can't let her be. I need her for my plans, I won't succeed without her being my pawn.
Xiao Li was still limping , while Shen Dao unconscious. I'll stall the the guards with Yinuo while help arrive later. I left my friends in a citizen's house I threatened, and went back to Yinuo.
"Yinuo!" The shout ripped through the air, a desperate plea against the cacophony of bloodshed. Her back was against the wall, blood staining the stone, the guards lying dead. I rushed to her side as she stumbled back, her face pale and slick with blood.
She glared at me, the pain etched deep in her eyes. "You'll only drag me down," she hissed.
A smirk twisted his lips. "God, I couldn't possibly be any worse than you.
She didn't answer, only tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. I could see the exhaustion in her stance, a stark contrast to the fierce warrior I knew she could be. Her strength was fading, and I knew time was running out.
"You're bleeding," I said, my voice a little softer. "I'll get you out of here."
Her eyes flickered to the crimson staining her clothes, a grim smile twisting her lips. "I've bled more than this, and survived."
He knew the truth of that statement, a truth that haunted him. He made her bleed in the name of her survival.
He had tried to save her countless times, a secret he kept close to his chest. He had watched as her own body, a vessel stolen from an immortal, slowly consumed her, slowly turning her into a killing machine. The origin of the body and her core were clashingshe was a demon, the body was an immortal. He had seen the darkness bloom in her eyes since the day he saw her in the cave; she had an ominous aura after waking up from blacking out, she killed....killed her own juniors.... the look in her eyes, it was burning with red, the way she smiled from satisfaction, he hated and pitied her more then.
He had tried, desperately, to stop it. He had plunged needles into her veins, seeking to drain the darkness. He had bathed her in the rarest, most potent waters, hoping to cleanse her soul.
But what was he fighting against?
The very essence of her being, a core of demon inside of a stolen body. And now, in her eyes, he saw a terrifying truth - she was embracing the darkness, reveling in the power it gave her.
"Let's go." my voice low, holding her arms.
She shook her head, her long, dark hair swaying. "No. I'm not done killing." her voice now contorted with darkness.
"Don't be foolish," I said, my patience wearing thin. "You won't survive this. And I need you."
I ignored her protests, picking her up and hoisting her over my shoulder. She was lighter than I expected, almost frail, and my heart clenched. I'd seen her fight like a demon today and in the arena, but now, she was just a girl, bleeding and broken.
"I know..." she mumbled against my shoulder. "You're not helping me. You're just..."
"Just what?" I demanded, my grip tightening. "Just what, Yinuo?"
She didn't answer, her silence more damning than any words. I knew what she was thinking. I knew she saw me for what I was: a manipulator, a puppet master, who saw her only as a means to an end.
But I couldn't let her die. Not now. Not when I needed her most. My plans, my dreams, all depended on her. I had let her go once, for the sake of our "friendship" I had gotten her into safety in her sect's massacre, hoping that she'd flee and never look back:
"This is the last thing I can do for you. What happens next won't be my problem anymore." I remember saying to her as I held her in my arms.
but fate had other plans, Zhang Li survived that night and I need her to lure him. And even though I hated the fact that her brother's escape had brought her back into my life I knew I couldn't let her fall.
"We're going to make it," I told her, my voice barely a whisper. " "I promise."
But even as I spoke, I couldn't help but wonder how much of a promise that really was.
Yinou's eyes fluttered open, the world a blurry mess of unfamiliar shadows. A wave of pain, sharp and searing, ripped through her, leaving her gasping for breath. She tried to sit up, but her body betrayed her, heavy and aching. Then, she saw her hands. Her fingers were a stark white, as if they'd been plunged into ice. Panic clawed at her throat. It wasn't snowing, it wasn't cold, why were her hands frozen? Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and a wave of nausea overwhelmed her. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, only the burning cold consumed her, wrapping her in its icy grip.
Su Ning's eyes widened as he watched Yinou's struggle. He knew that agonizing scream, the one that had haunted his dreams for years. It was the scream his sister had uttered as she succumbed to the same devastating curse by Zhang Li. His mind was a maelstrom of conflicting emotions: anger, betrayal, and a deep, gnawing pity for this woman, his nemesis's sister, who was now suffering the same fate as his sister.
He watched as she writhed in pain, her face contorted in agony. His heart clenched, and without thinking, he reached out, pulling her close to his chest. He held her tight, his arms a vice around her, as if he could absorb the pain into his own body. He didn't know if he wanted to crush her in his arms or to ease the cold that was consuming her. But he want her to feel warm, at least for a moment, to know that she wasn't alone in this.
He couldn't believe it. Zhang Li had used his witchcraft on his own sister, his pawn in his game to capture their nemesis. A wave of emotions washed over him.
"Yinou," he murmured, his voice rough with emotion, "Get yourself together...you look like a mess." He held her tightly, his own body trembling with the force of his emotions, his own fear mirroring the terror he saw in her eyes.
She had been his....pawn in a dangerous game, but in this moment, he felt nothing but a fierce protectiveness towards the woman in his arms, a woman who was a stranger yet strangely familiar.