Go Together, Perish Together

"Sorry." Yang Ning quickly withdrew his hand as if burned, his tone rushed.

"N-no... it's fine..." Xu Yinyin subconsciously clutched her wrist where she had just been touched, lowering her head to stare at her shoes, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's hum.

Yang Ning uncomfortably raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. After adjusting his breathing slightly, he spoke, "This wind chime... it's quite nice. The sound is very clear. Keep it hanging, no need to take it down."

Xu Yinyin continued to hold her wrist, her gaze fixed on the ground. Upon hearing his words, she silently nodded.

Yang Ning subconsciously raised a hand to touch his chest—this was an unconscious gesture he often made since the Demonic Cult planted that fatal Heart Meridian talisman on him.

He gave a wry, self-mocking smile in his heart: 'Yang Ning, Yang Ning, your own life is hanging by a thread, precarious. What right do you have... to hope for, to get involved with, anything else?'

"I'm... a bit tired today." He awkwardly reached out and scratched his temple, trying to break the subtle atmosphere. "Uh... so..."

Xu Yinyin immediately looked up, nodding repeatedly with great understanding. "Boss, you've been running around all day, you must be tired! Go rest assured! I can meditate and cultivate in the main hall, and also... keep watch for you."

As she spoke, she even waved her little fist, forcing a fierce expression onto her face. However, paired with her still-youthful features, it looked exceptionally cute, and inexplicably evoked a sense of sadness. "Tomorrow morning, we'll head back to the Law Enforcement Hall and find Senior Disciple Brother and the others to solve the case! I want to see who the blind idiot is who dared to assassinate an advisor of our Law Enforcement Hall! I'll drag him out and skin him alive!"

Seeing her like this, Yang Ning felt a slight warmth in his heart and nodded. "Alright, then... I'll trouble you."

Afterward, he said no more. He handed the thread he found in the grass nest to Xu Yinyin, then turned towards the door leading to the inner room. Under Xu Yinyin's silent gaze, the door slowly closed.

The moment the door shut with a soft click, the energetic smile Xu Yinyin had struggled to maintain vanished like the receding tide. She slowly, somewhat weakly, sat back down on the chair behind the counter, hugged her knees, and buried her face deep within them. Her small body curled up slightly, like an abandoned cub, exuding an indescribable loneliness.

Meanwhile, Yang Ning lay on his back on the soft Simmons bed in the inner room, his hands clasped behind his head, staring at the ceiling with open eyes, like a statue. Moonlight from outside filtered through the window lattice, casting shifting shadows on his face.

[[The tide of memories surged uncontrollably in his mind once more:

"Hey! Do we... really have to walk across this? Black Wind Ridge has ancient forbidden formations, it's impossible to fly with a sword! If we fall..."

An Han stood before the sky-spanning plank road, barely wide enough for one person, embedded in the cliff face ten thousand feet high. She looked down at the bottomless sea of clouds below, her voice trembling, her feet feeling weak.

Yang Ning shrugged indifferently. "No choice, this is the only path to the summit of Black Wind Cliff. The Star Sea Flower you're looking for grows by the Starlight River at the bottom of the cliff, which is said to corrode bone."

An Han cautiously glanced down, then immediately retreated several steps, pressing her back tightly against the cold mountain wall.

"Afraid of heights?" Yang Ning turned his head, looking at her red eyes, which were still stunningly beautiful even in her terror. He asked with a hint of teasing.

An Han reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She immediately puffed out her chest, revealing two small, sharp canine teeth, and stubbornly retorted, "Who... who's afraid! I'm not afraid!"

Yang Ning's gaze fell on her hand, which was gripping his clothes tightly due to nervousness. He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Not afraid of heights? Then why are you... holding onto my clothes right now?"

An Han swallowed, her voice lacking conviction as she argued, "I... I was just..."

"Don't worry," Yang Ning dropped the joking tone, his voice becoming steady and reliable. "Don't look back, and don't look down. Keep your eyes on the cliff face ahead, follow my footprints, and walk step by step. I'll get you across."

"Then... then what if... what if we fall?" An Han's voice carried a dependence she herself didn't notice.

Yang Ning actually laughed at this. His laughter seemed carefree against the perilous backdrop. "Then... we go together, and die together!"

Seeing An Han's immediate downward gaze after his words, he teased but also comforted her, "Don't worry, I don't want to die with a troublesome person like you."

An Han immediately looked up, pouting, and snorted indignantly, "Hmph! As if anyone would want to die with you! Don't forget, all the 'trouble' with red armbands you've stirred up along the way, it's so annoying!"