Chapter 6

Chapter 6

To suppress the Heart-devouring Nail and investigate the backup plan Gui Zhishuang had left behind, Ning Changye took Feng Fulan to Cold Tide Valley.

The Nine-turn Soul-cleansing Lotus grew within the valley; it was currently the only spiritual medicine capable of temporarily stabilizing his heart meridians. The place was frozen year-round, and when the wind blew, the chill seeped deep into one’s bones. Feng Fulan trudged through the snow, and it wasn’t long before her steps grew unsteady. This body was already severely depleted, and having shared Ning Changye’s pain earlier, she hadn’t recovered at all.

Ning Changye stopped and looked back at her. “Can you still walk?”

“I have to, whether I can or not,” Feng Fulan said, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself. “It’ll be a hassle for you if I die.”

Ning Changye watched her for a few seconds before suddenly reaching out and pressing a piece of warm jade into her palm.

The jade was hot.

Feng Fulan was stunned for a moment, but her tongue remained sharp. “Is this how the Sword Venerable coaxes his prisoners?”

“I simply don’t want to carry a corpse back halfway through the trip.”

His voice was cold, but his earlobes were tinged a slight red against the backdrop of the snow. Feng Fulan resisted the urge to laugh, though the weight in her heart lightened an inch.

Deep within Cold Tide Valley dwelt an Ice Serpent guarding the medicine. The two of them pounced almost simultaneously. Ning Changye paved the way with his sword intent, while Feng Fulan stayed by his side, identifying the Ice Serpent’s old wounds so that every one of his strikes landed exactly where it needed to. She spoke quickly and precisely, like a nurse reporting monitor data at an operating table.

After the Ice Serpent was slain, Ning Changye was left with a deep gash on his shoulder from its sharp claws.

Feng Fulan dragged him into a cave, her movements efficient as she cleaned, stopped the bleeding, and sutured the wound. Ning Changye looked down at her as she tied off a knot and suddenly asked, “What exactly did you do before?”

“Saved lives,” Feng Fulan answered simply.

“A mortal doctor?”

“Something like that.” She thought for a moment. “Where I come from, many people don’t believe in immortals, and there’s no spiritual power. But when people are about to die, what they pray for is always the same.”

“What do they pray for?”

Feng Fulan finished the last knot and looked up at him. “They pray for someone not to give up on them.”

The cave fell silent for a moment, save for the crackling of the campfire.

Ning Changye stared at her for a long time before saying in a low voice, “That day, on the Core-extraction Platform, I truly intended to kill you.”

Feng Fulan’s hand paused. “I know.”

“But before the sword fell, I did indeed hesitate.”

She smiled. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll hold a grudge, saying that now?”

“You should hold a grudge.”

Feng Fulan hadn’t expected such a response and found herself momentarily speechless. The firelight danced in the man’s eyes, burning a crack into the perennial ice within them. Her chest suddenly tightened-not with pain, but with a strange, unfamiliar softness.

When they left Cold Tide Valley, Ning Changye leaped across an ice crevice first, then turned and reached out his hand to her.

Feng Fulan looked at his hand and, as if possessed, placed hers in it.

The Life Thread glowed faintly, and his palm was very warm.

She suddenly felt that perhaps these seven days wouldn’t be so hard to endure after all.