"Shi Lan" reached out and clenched her hand. A thousand-zhang giant palm slowly emerged behind the girl, then closed around her.
The girl had already fled nearly ten thousand zhang, but with a flicker, she appeared once more above the demonic beast horde.
The girl glanced at the beasts beneath her feet and the enormous hand hovering around her. A flash of horror crossed her eyes as she looked at "Shi Lan" and rasped, "A world in the palm... A celestial..."
Boom—
The thousand-zhang palm abruptly clenched. Space collapsed, forming a massive black hole, and the girl within the palm was instantly crushed into a cloud of blood mist by the immense spatial force!
"Shi Lan" shifted her expression and opened her hand. A clump of blood and flesh scattered down from the sky. Catching the scent, some of the less intelligent low-level beasts in the horde immediately lost their reason and frantically fought over the falling remains.
The blood and essence of a demon king were an irresistible temptation to these low-level beasts.
The other beasts, the ones with sharper wits, had seen "Shi Lan" kill a demon king as easily as reaching into a bag to retrieve an object. Their courage shattered, and they scattered in desperate flight.
"Shi Lan" paid no heed to the fleeing beasts. She raised a hand, and the long case containing the Violet Star Seven-Pointed Halberd, buried in the giant crater, along with a bundle, flew into her grasp.
With a casual flick of two fingers, "Shi Lan" turned several low-level beasts approaching Shi Feng into clouds of blood mist. Then she grabbed Shi Feng and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing over the horizon.
The streak of light tore across the sky and descended into a mountain range.
Feeling her body return to her control, Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief. During that brief spell, she had felt like a mere spectator, conscious but unable to control her own body.
"Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me. We're in the same boat now. Saving you is the same as saving myself."
Shi Lan opened the bundle and tore off a piece of clothing to roughly bandage the wound on her left arm. Then she lifted Shi Feng onto her back.
After checking their direction, Shi Lan picked up the long case and continued toward their original destination.
"Reincarnation, can you explain what you are now?" Shi Lan asked as she walked, voicing the question that had been troubling her.
"You can think of me as the system's overseer. I'm bound to the system, but I'm above it. Still, I can't change some of the system's mechanisms, such as how it selects its host."
"Why can't I use any of the Heavens Reincarnation System's functions?"
"Because of an accident."
"What accident?"
Reincarnation fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject. "I'm not entirely sure either. Right now, your most pressing concern is finding a place for that kid on your back to recover."
"How is he?" Shi Lan knew nothing about medicine and couldn't tell how badly Shi Feng was injured.
"More than half his body has crossed the gates of hell. I'm keeping him alive with a stream of energy."
"It's that serious?!" Shi Lan's heart lurched.
"His internal organs are damaged, his meridians are severed, and his blood and qi are flowing backward. It's a miracle he's still alive."
Shi Lan felt a pang of guilt. Shi Feng had been sent to protect her, and now he was gravely wounded and near death. She couldn't escape responsibility for that.
"Is there any way you can save him?"
"...No. I can only keep him alive for now." Reincarnation paused before answering. Naturally, this was a lie. He did have a way to save Shi Feng, but he had no reason to, nor did he want to spend energy on it.
Shi Feng wasn't Shi Lan. Whether he lived or died made no difference to Reincarnation. If Shi Lan died, the Heavens Reincarnation System would simply select a new host.
He wasn't arrogant enough to believe that a system with nearly all its functions disabled could raise someone powerful enough to break through the world's barriers.
Shi Lan, at least, still had another fully functional system within her. She had a good chance of growing stronger.
Shi Lan took two deep breaths. "Reincarnation, when you were up in the sky just now, I thought I saw a city. Do you remember which direction it was in?"
"Southeast, two hundred and forty-six li." Reincarnation gave her an extremely precise answer.
Without hesitation, Shi Lan changed direction and headed for the city. Shi Feng was too badly injured and needed to rest; she couldn't keep hauling him across the wilderness.
The mountain path was rough, and Shi Lan was afraid that jostling him would worsen his injuries, so she didn't dare move too quickly.
By nightfall, she had covered less than sixty li.
Walking mountain paths at night was too dangerous. Shi Lan had no choice but to find a cave and stop there.
The cave was damp, so Shi Lan took all the clothes from the bundle and spread them out as padding. After settling Shi Feng down, she gathered some dry branches and lit a fire.
When she was done, Shi Lan sat by the fire, utterly exhausted, her head nodding as she dozed.
"Cough... cough..."
Hearing a faint cough, Shi Lan looked up and rose to go over to Shi Feng.
Shi Feng managed to open his eyes, feeling a terrible, burning pain throughout his body.
Remembering what had happened before he lost consciousness, Shi Feng struggled to sit up. But as soon as he raised an arm, it fell limply back down.
"Don't move!" Shi Lan said sharply, crouching beside him. "How do you feel? Just tell me what you need."
Seeing Shi Lan beside him, Shi Feng felt some of the tension leave him. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Where... are we?"
"In a cave." Shi Lan saw that he seemed about to say more and stopped him. "Don't talk. Just listen to me."
Shi Lan made up a story, saying that after Shi Feng passed out, a powerful human cultivator had happened to pass by, killed the demon king, and rescued them before leaving.
After hearing her out, Shi Feng glanced at the bandage on Shi Lan's left arm and rasped, "I'm... sorry."
Shi Lan adjusted her sleeve and shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you. It's just a minor injury."
Shi Lan helped Shi Feng sit up and gave him a few sips of water. Seeing the clothes beneath him, Shi Feng froze for a moment. Then, with some effort, he reached out and pinched the corner of a skirt.
Shi Lan froze when she saw what he was doing, then felt awkward. It had been dark, so she'd spread the clothes out without thinking. On top of everything that had happened, she had completely forgotten about the White Crane Skirt.
"This... this is..." Shi Lan tried to think of an excuse, but for a moment, the words wouldn't come.
There was no explanation for a man carrying women's clothes that didn't sound strange...
To Shi Lan's surprise, Shi Feng didn't ask anything. He simply let go. Shi Lan helped him lie down again, then returned to her seat by the fire.
Watching Shi Lan's silhouette beside the fire, Shi Feng felt a dull ache in his heart. Compared to before, Shi Lan had changed so much. She was far more resolute, and the hint of innocence she'd once had had vanished without a trace.
Shi Feng didn't know what to say in the face of this change.
He glanced at the clothes beneath him, his thoughts tangled. He had never seen this skirt before, but Shi Lan had even brought it with her when she left. It must have been precious to her...
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