When Lin Yu's consciousness awoke from the darkness, a bone-chilling cold and tearing pain instantly assaulted his brain.
Each weak breath strained his ruptured meridians, causing him so much pain that he almost fainted again.
After an unknown amount of time, a faint warmth slowly rose from his dantian. It was because the Primordial Unity Ki Technique was still operating instinctively. The self-circulating qi and blood, like a candle flickering in the wind, nourished his dying body.
This warmth, like a lifeline, slowly pulled his consciousness back from the darkness.
Lin Yu struggled to open his heavy eyelids; his vision was terribly blurred, and everything in front of him seemed to be veiled in a blood-red gauze.
He found himself face up, being dragged along a rough, uneven path covered with gravel and dead leaves.
The excruciating pain in his chest made it almost impossible for him to breathe, and every jolt made his vision go black.
He slightly turned his eyes and looked upwards.
In the dim woods, the moonlight was blocked by the trees, leaving only a few dappled rays of light.
A tall but unusually hunched figure, covered in blood, stood with his back to him.
The man gripped the back of his collar tightly with an arm that was almost entirely made of bone and tattered cloth, while his other arm was twisted at an odd angle and hung limply at his side.
With each step the man dragged him along, his body swayed violently, as if he were about to collapse at any moment. His heavy breathing was like that of a broken bellows, mixed with suppressed groans of pain.
Blood kept oozing from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the ground and leaving a trail of dark red marks.
The once sinister and ruthless crimson eyes are now filled with only weariness.
It was Zhao Yan.
Moonlight filtered through the sparse shadows of the trees, falling upon him.
He was clearly unable to walk normally, relying entirely on his right leg, which he could still barely use.
And with that almost obsessive will to survive and ferocity, he dragged the equally seriously injured and dying Lin Yu along, limping and staggering forward in this desolate wilderness.
"You..." Lin Yu tried to speak, but only a hoarse sound escaped his throat, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth again.
Hearing the noise, Zhao Yan paused, looked down at him, and said in a hoarse voice, filled with exhaustion but still retaining his usual harshness. "Awake? You're pretty tough, you didn't die after all that."
"Why..." Lin Yu managed to utter a few words. He simply couldn't understand why Zhao Yan, with his personality, would risk his life to drag him out of that hell when he could have escaped on his own.
Zhao Yan seemed to have heard something ridiculous, and scoffed, but the aggravation of his wound caused him to cough violently, coughing so hard it was heart-wrenching, and blood spurted from the corner of his mouth even more fiercely.
He paused for a moment before saying viciously, "Stop talking nonsense! I just don't want you to die at the hands of those bastards, otherwise who's going to come with me to the Golden Bull Martial Arts School's storeroom to search for treasure?"
These words still sounded harsh, but Lin Yu could detect a hint of insincerity in the hoarse tone.
Lin Yu felt a strange mix of emotions. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Zhao Yan rudely interrupted him, "Shut up! Save your energy. Those bastards from the Upper Realm are definitely chasing after us. If you don't want to die, don't make a sound."
I don't know how long I walked.
"Heh... heh..." Zhao Yan made indistinct sounds from his throat, whether it was panting or an unconscious growl.
His crimson eyes dimmed considerably, yet he remained fixed on the dark depths of the jungle ahead, as if something there was supporting him, preventing him from collapsing or giving up.
Lin Yu opened his mouth, but no sound came out; he could only taste the metallic taste of blood in his throat.
He watched Zhao Yan's battered but still stubbornly moving forward, and felt a mix of emotions.
How did this madman manage to escape with him despite being completely overwhelmed by strength?
Fragments of memory begin to piece together.
The white-robed man's indifferent gaze, Tie Kuang's raised giant axe, Jin Potian's twisted glee...
Then came a chaotic burst of energy, blinding light, and Zhao Yan's almost inhuman, resolute roar...
Lin Yu thought to himself, "It must have been the system that gave me this temporary burst of power, allowing me to escape."
The price he paid was his body, which was now almost completely shattered.
Aside from that, Lin Yu couldn't think of any other way to save their lives.
The two men's strength was overwhelming; he was defeated in less than a single exchange.
Lin Yu felt his consciousness becoming increasingly hazy, and quickly tried to activate the "Primordial Unity Ki Technique".
A faint trace of qi and blood began to form, and was drawn to flow towards his damaged meridians and internal organs.
The dormant, latent power within him seemed to be stimulated by this faint life force, slowly beginning to awaken, bringing a touch of coolness and protecting his fragile heart.
He is still alive.
Zhao Yan is still alive.
But both of them were close to death.
"Cough... cough cough..." Zhao Yan suddenly coughed violently, coughing up large clumps of black blood. His body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground.
He stopped, leaned against a dead tree, and gasped for breath. His eyes were somewhat unfocused, but they quickly refocused as he stared intently in the direction he had come from, as if to confirm whether the pursuers were still there.
"Damn it... Upper Realm... scum!" he cursed hoarsely, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible.
He glanced down at Lin Yu, who was being dragged on the ground, and saw that Lin Yu's eyes were still open. A strange light flashed in his scarlet eyes.
Lin Yu strained with all his might to squeeze out two indistinct words. "Where... is..."
Zhao Yan gasped for breath, his gaze fixed on the depths of the jungle, where a dense, almost impenetrable darkness and an extremely unsettling, chilling stillness could be faintly seen.
"Deep within the mass grave," Zhao Yan's voice trailed off.
"Those two bastards probably wouldn't have thought of this."
He paused, a glint of ruthlessness and resolve flashing in his eyes. "Go in. Perhaps there's still a glimmer of hope, or perhaps we'll all... die inside..."
After saying that, he stopped resting, grabbed Lin Yu again with his broken arm, and dragged his almost broken body, continuing to move step by step, laboriously, into the dark depths that represented death.
The moonlight was obscured by the increasingly thick fog, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply, and the air was filled with a decaying and chilling atmosphere.
The jagged rocks resembled ghostly shadows, and the withered trees bared their fangs and claws.
In the distance, the faint wailing of an unknown creature could be heard, adding to the sense of terror.
Lin Yu was dragged along, feeling the cold earth and rubble beneath him, watching Zhao Yan's back, which was faintly visible in the deathly aura and mist, as if it might collapse at any moment.
He closed his eyes, no longer trying to speak, but instead focusing all his energy on activating the Primordial Unity Ki Technique, working in conjunction with the strange power gradually becoming active within his body to repair his body, which was on the verge of collapse.
He didn't know what awaited them ahead. Was it a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation? Or an even more terrifying predicament? But at least they were still alive, still struggling.
That's enough.