Layer Six: Borrowing a Spirit!
Tang Xiaoli's arms hung limp at her sides. She lay in Wu Qianqian's arms, too weak to utter a single word.
Her dazed eyes stared up at the blue sky. The dark-red glow around her rapidly faded, no longer under her control, and vanished in the blink of an eye. At that moment, she slipped into unconsciousness.
Wu Qianqian began to panic. She immediately pressed a hand to Tang Xiaoli's pulse, and only after confirming that it still beat faintly did she let out a breath of relief.
Just as she was lost in thought, the enemy opposite her somehow drew a long sword. Its blade flashed with a fierce, icy glint as he thrust it toward her.
Wu Luochuan cried out in alarm, "Sis, look out!"
Wu Qianqian looked up. The sword was barely a foot away. With the unconscious Tang Xiaoli in her arms, she had no strength to dodge. All she could do was instinctively pull Tang Xiaoli against her chest and curl into a ball, her mind going blank.
There was a soft thwack. She felt a few drops of liquid splatter against her, but, unexpectedly, no pain came.
Wu Qianqian paused, then blinked in a daze. A figure in black was kneeling in front of her. The long sword had already pierced through his body.
Bright-red blood dripped from the sharp blade, some falling to the ground and some landing in her hand, still warm.
The man turned his head. She recognized him as a disciple of Shenyi Gate.
His face was pale, yet strikingly young. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but even in the final moments of his life, he forced a strained smile. "Th-thank you... for protecting the young... young miss... I... I can't go