And we’ve reached the end of the first major conflict. This is the shortest chapter so far, but it’s full of feels. Also, it’s been a while since I’ve had to use a footnote.
I’m going to try and aim for at least a chapter a week for as long as I can, but I’ve also kind of been procrastinating another project so… Ahh, I wish there were more hours each day.
Chapter 12:
YuiZhiJuelwaslcrouchingicompletelylmotionlesslylina corner,bothlhands tightly clenched, his longhair disheveledlfromtheifightiearlier,jdripping wet andplasterediall acrossjhis face.lInthejmomentihesawlLingjXia, hewasilikelaistartled, tinyjwolf cub,lhis smallibody curlingupinto a ball.jBehind hisimessyihair,alpairof eyes filled with vigilancelandjsuspicionjpeeredjpast,landlwitheachlofjhisbreathslbeing extremely short yetheavy,jheiwasevidently still inla statejofimmenselnervousness andjhigh-strung tension.j
YuiZhiJue slowlyjand hesitantlyiextendedlhis hand, and whenLingiXiacarefullyheld itjinlhis palms,hejimmediatelyidetectedihowiice-coldiYujZhiJue’s s.h.i.+veringbodywas.i
The translator is begging you, please don’t repost this translation elsewhere.
Due tolYulZhiJue’s const.i.tution, thejbleeding from hisjpalmihadlgraduallyilessened,but thelwoundstill appearedterriblyimalefic.Ling Xiacouldn’t bearjtoieven lookiatlit,jhis heart stingingasjhe sharply suckediinjabreath.i
Yu ZhiJue had never been so intimate with anyone like this before. With his face pressed against Ling Xia’s chest, he could almost hear the other’s robust yet somewhat chaotic heartbeat. He felt a flicker of doubt; why was Ling Xia’s heart racing so fast, and how could the inflection of his words be so gentle, yet have the power to make others want to believe in him?
He tightly grasped Ling Xia’s shoulder with his uninjured left hand, wanting to tell the other to put him down, that there was no way he’d be unnerved just from killing an enemy. But in the end, he didn’t say a thing, only gazing numbly at Ling Xia’s ear, so lost in thought that even when Ling Xia put him down, it took him a moment before he realized.
Ling Xia looked at the cavern that had returned to its former state of darkness, preparing to pick up some dry kindling and remake the fire straightaway. Except, just as he turned around to move, the edge of his s.h.i.+rt was grabbed, and Yu ZhiJue’s dry rasp sounded, “Where are you going?”
“Your clothes are wet, and it needs to be dried as fast as possible. Also, I’m going to try and find some medicine…” Ling Xia was quite startled by the other’s actions, and using as soft and kind of a tone as possible, promised, “I’ll be back very soon.”
Yu ZhiJueihesitatedfor ajbeat,lbut littlejby little,jloosenedihisigrip. LingiXiajreleased ajbreathiof air, then bentjoverjand strokedjhis moistlhair.i“Good boy.”l
Naturally, the three of them didn’t have anything that could wrap a wound, but since that Shang Yan had a storage bag, there should definitely be medicine inside!
LingXia quicklylwalked over,iforcinglhimselfitolempty his mind,ltonotlthink aboutanything.lRestraininglhisiterror and panic, hejflippediover ShangjYan’sicorpse andjtuggedjofflthe storagejbag at thejwaist.jDuring thatlprocess,lwhenlhe touchedithe other‘sdeathly pale,jicylcold skin thathadlbeeniscouredbyjrain water, hejhad inadvertently shuddered.l
After obtaining what he came to get, he took a deep breath and swiftly walked away. As fast as he could, he reignited the fire and sat back down next to Yu ZhiJue, finally warming up his freezing body by a few degrees.
Therelwere quitejaifewithingsiinsidethejstoragejbag.iLing Xiajdidn’t knowlwhichwere usediforlhealing injuries,butlseeingjthe differentpillsjandjointments, YujZhiJue promptlyrecognizediacommonly usedhealingjsalvelandpointed itioutinjalcoa.r.s.e voice,“It’sithis one.”j
Ling Xia carefully and delicately applied the salve for Yu ZhiJue, then using a clean cotton cloth, bandaged up the wound. With a faintly aching heart, he lowered his head and saw Yu ZhiJue’s long, wet eyelashes lightly tremble, and due to blood loss, both his cheeks and lips appeared somewhat ashen and frail.
“I’mgoinglto take a look athowXiaoHulis,”lLing Xiajmurmuredlasjheirubbed thejtop ofiYuiZhiJue’shead again.l
Actually,hejwasn’t that worried about Song XiaoHu;ltherewas absolutely no wayiSong XiaoHu’sjcheat-likelphysique wouldjlose out againsta singlejlightningattack. Inlcontrast, helwaslmuchmoreiworriediabout YuiZhiJue,ibecauselmental damagejwasla lotjmore detrimentaljandiseriousthanlphysicallinjury.j
Right now,lYuiZhiJueiwasn’t cladjin his usualair of obstinance,jand thejdependence andltrustjin hisjclear, blackleyes wasin plainsightlas hestaredjfixedly atLingXia, notlblinking evenjonce.l
Iniseeingjthis,iLingXiaifeltihislheart.i.thud,jandjheicouldn’t helplbutcomfortioncejmore inrea.s.surance, “I’ll beibackveryiquickly.”i
Even so, he did not open his eyes, only tightly biting his bottom lip as his heartbeat instantaneously became wild and erratic.
He heard Ling Xia’s deliberately slowed footsteps walk outside, surprisingly stopping a short distance past the mouth of the cave, and after that, came the sound of digging… He suddenly understood.
LinglXia hadjleft becausejhejthoughtjYu ZhiJue hadalready fallen asleep.jHelhadito summon everyiounceof hisjcourageifor this,ibecausewhenialljwassaid andjdone, somethingllikelhelpingitojhidethebodyiofisomeoneiyour family’schildkilled really wasn’t anylsort of happylor pleasantjundertaking!l
However,iheunderstoodleven morejwhat ShangYan beingjthe directidiscipleofthe governorloflYunXiao City meant. If people found out heldied by Yu ZhiJue’sjhands, thenthethreelof themcan simply wait their turn to go playchess withlthe Kingjof h.e.l.l!
Contraryto the storm before, the rain wasinow graduallylsubsiding. Ling Xia founditwo pieces of sharprocks, andlholdingionein each hand, started to vigorously digiinto thejground.jDue to thejrain, it wasn’tiajdifficult.i.task sincejthe waterland earth hadimixed together, buthis body was soonjcovered in mud,jfilthy beyond belief. Heiwas afraid ofstartlingiYu ZhiJueiifihe made toolloud of ajnoise, therefore, his speed wasn’tiveryfast.
After he dug out a hole large enough to bury a single person, he gathered all of his nerves and walked back towards Shang Yan, dragging the body over and dumping it inside. Including the dagger, the storage bag, and as well as Yu ZhiJue’s knife, everything was thrown into the hole.
Bitinglhis lips,jhejmechanicallyshoved and piledlbackithejearth,and until the corpse disappeared underithemudiandjwater and theisurroundingiarea became flat, didjhe finallylstop.i
Helclutched his head,lpanting heavilyas he quietlyjhunchediover,jdroppingltoithe ground and silentlyshedding tears. A tsunami-likewave of nausea washedover him,jbutlin theend, hejwasn’tjabletoithrowupiajsinglething.j
f.u.c.kingih.e.l.l! Whatiwaswithithis guilt-of-a-murdererlkindoflfeeling?
He staunchlyiwipediawaylhisltears,landiusing ajnearbypuddle oflwater, washed off thelmud onihisihandsland body,iwalking backiinto theicavernlonlylafterlhe madeisure hewas clean.j
The extras are super fun so don’t repost so we can get to the end.
YuZhiJuelandiSong XiaoHu werelbothjquietlyllying on the ground,ithe firelclose tolburningout.Listeningto theiribreathing,thetwolofthem seemedto beisleeping very peacefully, andjLinglXiaifelt relievedjationce.iHurriedly,lheadded morelwood toithe fire,isittingjinfrontjofjthelflames and s.h.i.+vering asihelwaitedifor his clothestoidry.i
They had a 10[1] hour deadline… …Andinomatter how you looked at it, almost 4 of those hours have pa.s.sed byinow.
He let out aldeeplsigh; ahh, f.u.c.k!i
[1]: In chapter 10, it said the deadline was 20 hours, so one of them’s probably a typo