You must forget me (revised)

Dark clouds filled the sky, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged at the edge of the barrier, spiritual energy flowing through his body. He was on the verge of advancing to Golden Core.

Gu Yi was a little nervous, too. When he had transmigrated into the novel, he had a system, so his cultivation had never involved any lightning tribulations. He had always advanced directly.

The two of them had cultivated in this cave for an entire year. Just now, Lin Yuan had finally shown faint signs of a breakthrough.

As the first bolt of lightning crashed down, its dazzling light illuminated the entire sky. Lin Yuan circulated his spiritual energy, resisting with all his strength.

The lightning battered him relentlessly like a raging dragon, and Gu Yi frowned slightly at his side.

Lin Yuan was originally supposed to take another year to break through to Golden Core and get out.

Now it was happening a year early.

With Lin Yuan seemingly about to advance to Golden Core successfully, he would soon be able to get out by riding his coattails again.

Provided Lin Yuan did not kill him before leaving.

Gu Yi stood behind Lin Yuan and looked up at the tribulation lightning in the sky. Every bolt seemed intent on shattering Lin Yuan to pieces.

Boom-

The first bolt of tribulation lightning crashed down, making the entire barrier shudder.

With a crack, an opening split in the barrier.

Gu Yi's eyes lit up. What a chance!

There was no need to wait for Lin Yuan to advance successfully and break the barrier anymore. The tribulation lightning had split it open!

With Lin Yuan unable to move while attempting his breakthrough to Golden Core, wasn't this the perfect time to escape?

At that thought, Gu Yi edged over to the barrier and waited for the second bolt of tribulation lightning.

Boom-

Another bolt of tribulation lightning struck. Just as before, the barrier shattered, and Gu Yi darted outside it and took to his heels.

There were only seven bolts in the lightning tribulation for advancing to Golden Core. Two had already struck, leaving five more. That should give him enough time to get away from Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan, who had been calmly dealing with the tribulation lightning, suddenly could no longer sense Gu Yi's presence. He frowned and turned his palm over, and a long sword, black and gold all over, appeared in his hand. "Gu Yi!"

Boom-

The third bolt of tribulation lightning struck. Holding his sword across his body, he rose to his feet. Unable to see, he could only divert some of his attention to sensing his surroundings.

He could no longer sense the barrier, nor could he sense Gu Yi.

He ran away!

Boom-

The fourth bolt of tribulation lightning struck, more violent than the previous three. His mind unsettled, Lin Yuan violently coughed up a mouthful of blood and dropped to his knees with a thud. "Gu Yi... why did you..."

Leave him here alone...

Halfway through his escape, Gu Yi looked up at the tribulation lightning crashing down overhead and suddenly felt a little unable to bear it.

He helped me, after all. Without him, I'd be dead.

But he's a villain boss. If I go back now, he might just finish me off with one stroke of his sword.

But he's not the big villain yet, just a young blind man. Isn't it a little wrong to leave him here all alone?

Why worry about him? Have you forgotten how he treated you during this past year?

But even without you, he'd have gotten out in two years at most. You, on the other hand, couldn't have gotten out without him. Now that your life has been extended and you've escaped, you're just leaving him behind all alone. What a scumbag!

If nothing else, go back and look at him from a distance. Once he survives the tribulation, run. Then you can go your separate ways and never see each other again!

Gu Yi's heart pounded. In the end, he gritted his teeth and ran back. "Lin Yuan, I'm not worried about you. I'm just kindhearted. You are disabled, after all."

He had always cared for the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled.

When he ran back, the final bolt of tribulation lightning was just about to strike.

Lin Yuan was on one knee, supporting himself with his sword. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his once neat, clean hair had been struck into disarray.

He could not see to begin with, so he could not see how terrifying the tribulation lightning gathering in the sky was.

Gu Yi had never seen Lin Yuan in such a wretched state, and an indescribable heaviness welled up in his heart. Lin Yuan struggled to his feet, trembling. Yet, surprisingly, his first reaction was not to use his spiritual energy to resist the tribulation lightning, but to softly utter a name: "Gu... Yi..."

Gu Yi clearly saw the movement of his lips, and his heart jolted. He's looking for me... Why is he looking for me at a time like this? Shouldn't he be giving everything he has to withstand the tribulation lightning?

As the final bolt of lightning crashed down, Gu Yi looked up at it and finally could not help cursing under his breath. "I'm such a fucking idiot..."

Then, without hesitation, he gathered all the spiritual energy in his body and flashed in front of Lin Yuan, taking the lethal blow head-on with his flesh and blood.

The lightning dispersed, and the sky cleared.

Light shone from Lin Yuan's body, and the powerful aura of Golden Core spread out around him.

He had successfully advanced to the Golden Core stage.

Gu Yi was only at Foundation Establishment now, after all, so helping Lin Yuan block that final blow had been extremely taxing. Fortunately, Lin Yuan himself had taken more than half of it.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and turned back, only to find that Lin Yuan had collapsed to the ground, unconscious from exhaustion.

"Lin Yuan? Lin Yuan?" Gu Yi hurriedly crouched down, gathered Lin Yuan into his arms, and checked his body.

As his spiritual energy entered Lin Yuan's body, he found a small golden sphere floating quietly inside. Perhaps because the two had cultivated together for an entire year and their spiritual energies had grown familiar with each other, the sphere radiated affection toward Gu Yi, flickering.

But Gu Yi's examination was hurried, and he did not notice the faint thread of black energy coiling around the golden core.

Gu Yi quickly withdrew his spiritual energy. "Young immortal, you've advanced. You're all right now." He let out a long sigh of relief.

He carefully carried Lin Yuan into a cave, cast a cleansing spell, then sat beside him and stared at his face for a long while.

He could hardly be blamed for having been drawn by his looks back then. Lin Yuan's appearance seemed to fit his tastes perfectly.

Lin Yuan had long eyelashes and beautiful eyes. Unfortunately, Gu Yi had only ever seen those eyes looking vacant.

The original novel described how, despite his efforts, he had ultimately failed to heal his eyes, so he had to keep them covered with a silk ribbon year-round for protection.

Moreover, he had ultimately died at the male lead's hands. He had still been young when he fell, seemingly not even thirty.

Gu Yi gently reached out and tenderly stroked Lin Yuan's cheek, saying softly, "You're only twenty this year." His gaze was filled with heartache.

Just think: he was trapped inside the barrier for four whole years, and once he leaves it, he'll only have a few short years left to live.

By that reckoning, his life truly was utterly tragic.

After spending an entire year with Lin Yuan day and night, even raising a dog would have fostered affection, let alone being with another person.

He did not want him to die, nor did he want to owe him.

But if he stayed, once Lin Yuan woke up, he would no longer be able to leave.

He was the Demon Venerable, a fiend acknowledged as such by the righteous path.

Staying meant certain death.

"Ah... young immortal, you extended my life, so I'll help you one last time. From now on, we really won't owe each other anything. Don't come looking for me. I'll keep your secret, too."

Gu Yi looked at Lin Yuan's sleeping face and lightly tugged up the corners of his mouth.

"Young immortal, you must forget me!"

His fingers gently stroked Lin Yuan's face, as though he wanted to engrave that face deep in his memory.