Xiao Ning'er beat her wings and landed at the foot of the city wall. Rubble and dried blood covered the ground. The wind swept yellow dust toward her, carrying a heavy reek of blood mingled with faint battle cries in the distance, forcing its way into her nose.
Shen Fei leaned against the cold bricks, his head slightly bowed and his eyes closed, his face as white as though coated in frost.
His right arm bent at an unnatural angle, hanging limply at his side. His right trouser leg was soaked in dark red blood, which dripped down the fabric and pooled in a small, dark patch beside his foot.
He lay utterly motionless, save for the faint rise and fall of his chest, almost impossible to notice without looking closely.
Xiao Ning'er's heart tightened. She hurried over, crouched beside him, and reached out to check his breathing.
Before her fingertips touched his skin, she stopped.
Shen Fei's breathing was shallow but remarkably steady. The Spiritual Power around him was not scattered in the slightest. Instead, it circulated very slowly through his meridians, round after round, suppressing his surging blood and protecting the meridians around his heart.
He had not passed out. He was keeping his eyes closed to stabilize those meridians, forcibly containing his injuries so that blood loss would not overwhelm him.
The moment she understood, half the weight lifted from Xiao Ning'er's heart. Then fury surged up from its depths, burning until her chest felt tight and even her breathing grew heavy.
She knew Shen Fei's temperament all too well. He always insisted on shouldering everything himself. Even knowing he could not defeat a Black Gold Rank 4-Star Demon Beast, he had stubbornly stood his ground, determined to buy time for the people behind him.
And now