Hearing Yang Ning answer in a low voice, "Mm," Xu Yinyin's heart skipped another beat.
"I..." She had just started to say something when she suddenly felt a chill against her forehead. Dark clouds had gathered overhead, and raindrops the size of beans came pouring down.
Xu Yinyin was a Cultivator, so a little rain was nothing to her. But she knew perfectly well that Yang Ning was only a Mortal. Rain this heavy could easily leave him with a chill.
She immediately shook off her tangled thoughts and shouted to Yang Ning, "Boss, it's pouring! Hurry back!"
Yang Ning waved his hand. Just then, he had finally spotted the mark Poison Bee had left on a bamboo stalk two meters to his left. The antidote was buried beneath it.
Seeing Yang Ning determined to walk her back, Xu Yinyin's eyes reddened slightly. She raised her voice. "I'm a Cultivator! I won't catch a chill! Hurry back!"
Yang Ning still waved his hand. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak; the excruciating pain in his abdomen had left him unable to.
Seeing how stubborn Yang Ning was, Xu Yinyin unconsciously bit her lower lip. Rain covered his face, mingling with the cold sweat brought on by the pain, and her heart suddenly gave an inexplicable pang.
"Then stop walking me back! I'll fly back on my sword right now!" she called. She took a pink little sword, an inch long, from her sleeve. As she infused it with True Qi, it rapidly grew longer and larger. Xu Yinyin leaped lightly and landed steadily on the blade.
Standing on her Flying Sword, she raised a hand to her brow, trying to keep the rain from blurring her vision. "Hurry back!"
Yang Ning nodded, but still didn't take a step.
"Are you waiting until you see me leave before you'll go?" Xu Yinyin's voice sounded choked amid the rain.
Yang Ning nodded again, but this time the movement was smaller and slower.
Xu Yinyin's hair was already soaked through, water streaming down the strands and tracing her cheeks. Watching Yang Ning stubbornly stand in the rain, she didn't even realize that tears had mingled with the water running down her face.
Xu Yinyin steeled herself, then urged her sword into motion and flew toward the Law Enforcement Hall, turning back three times along the way.
Only when Xu Yinyin's figure dwindled to a dot in the distance did Yang Ning finally give out. His knees buckled, and he sank to the ground. He gasped for breath; the pain in his abdomen was so fierce he didn't even have the strength to groan.
Bracing himself against the muddy ground, Yang Ning struggled to crawl toward the mark Poison Bee had left.
One step, then another. Gravel cut open his fingers, and blood mingled with mud, leaving a trail behind him.
He gritted his teeth as fragments of the past began to surface in his mind. Scenes flashed before his eyes like a lantern-show, and a pair of red eyes came clearly into view...
[The Demon Realm, Black Wind Ridge, inside a cave. Outside, a violent sandstorm raged.
"What's your name?"
"Yang Ning..."
"And yours?"
"An Han..."
"Seems fate has brought us together..."
An Han furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"My given name paired with your family name makes 'An Ning'... As for 'Han'..." Yang Ning flashed a roguish smile. "Did you know poplars are especially hardy in the cold? Even in bitter winter, they can take root and grow."
Suddenly, a black sword pressed against Yang Ning's throat. "Don't provoke me! Or you'll die!"
Yang Ning gently pinched An Han's sword between his fingers. "Let's talk this out. No need to start waving weapons around. It's not good."
An Han stared at Yang Ning, then inadvertently glanced toward the cave entrance. Faint wails drifted through the sandstorm. "An Ning... An Ning..." she murmured. "In this Demon Realm, you can forget ever finding peace for the rest of your life!"
...]
Those red eyes lingered in Yang Ning's mind. He kept crawling, and at last reached the marked bamboo.
With bloodied fingers, he scraped away the dirt and found a white handkerchief. When he unfolded it, one half was stained red with blood, while the other was caked with mud. At its center lay a pale green pill.
Yang Ning paid no heed to the filth on his hands. He shoved the pill into his mouth and swallowed it with difficulty. He lay sprawled on the ground, too weak even to get up, his mouth full of the foul taste of mud and blood.
After a while.
"Ahhhhhhh—"
After a scream of pain, Yang Ning struggled to his feet and sank down with his back against the bamboo, gasping for breath. The pain in his abdomen was gradually fading, though he could still feel his stomach and intestines spasming violently.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Yang Ning laughed wildly as the rain washed over his face. Blood and mud streamed down his body. He was thankful to have survived another day.
Much later, when he had no strength left to laugh, he lowered his head to look at his mud-caked clothes, then stretched out his bloodstained hands and used the bamboo to pull himself upright.
"Guess I'll have to do laundry tomorrow." Limping, he headed toward his Thatched Cottage.
Meanwhile, Xu Yinyin flew down on her sword and landed in the plaza in front of the Law Enforcement Hall.
"Right, Sima Ye came to inspect the shop today. There's no need to inspect it anymore. But the boss insisted that he do it, and said he'd explain everything to me later. What exactly was he going to explain..." Xu Yinyin murmured to herself, then shook her head. "Never mind. Tomorrow I'll bring two bottles of Rejuvenation Pills to see him. I can ask him then."
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