Chapter 86
Chapter 86
Chen Yuhui felt like a tattered leaf, spinning and bobbing in an endless current.
There were a few moments when the bone-chilling cold nearly jolted her awake. The muffled roar of rushing water filled her ears as an invisible force dragged her along.
Then came the sensation of running aground.
She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as heavy as if stones were weighing them down.
Her consciousness flickered like a lamp running out of oil.
She wanted to get up, to escape the freezing water, but her body refused to obey. She had no idea how long it had been when the sound of wind joined the rushing water. The wind moaned through the forest, accompanied by… a faint rustling.
Chen Yuhui’s heart clenched.
She desperately forced her eyes open.
Her vision was a blur at first, then slowly came into focus. She lay facedown in the mud at the edge of a riverbank, her lower body still submerged in the icy water and her upper body draped over a moss-covered rock.
She tried to move.
Only one leg had any feeling left, and barely at that.
Chen Yuhui pushed up her upper body. A dull, tearing pain suddenly ripped through her chest, and the metallic taste of blood surged into her throat. She coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood, splattering it across the rock. Dark clots were mixed in with it.
Internal bleeding…?
But she had no time to think. The rustling was growing louder. Propping herself up on her elbows and using the right leg she could still move, she dragged her lower body inch by inch toward the forest above the riverbank.
She bit through her lip. Blood trickled down her chin and seeped into the mud.
She couldn’t stop. If she stopped, she would die.
Her vision began to blur again. Along with the wind and the approaching rustle, a buzzing filled her ears.
The world spun around her, but she forced herself to keep her eyes fixed on the depths of the forest ahead.
It was darker there. Maybe she could hide.
At last, she crawled off the riverbank and reached the edge of the forest. She kept crawling and crawling until, through her haze, she caught sight of a human silhouette.
Chen Yuhui didn’t stop. Her fingers still dug fiercely into the ground as she strained forward, while the figure staggered along behind her.
Human footsteps.
Slow and heavy, crunching across the fallen leaves one step at a time as they approached her.
Chen Yuhui lowered her gaze and drew a deep, labored breath. With great difficulty, she pulled out the knife strapped to the outside of her thigh.
She pressed the blade to her throat and began to apply force with both hands.
The figure passed the last few trees and appeared before her.
The light was too dim. The first thing she saw was a pair of eyes, neither bloodred nor filled with vile desire.
Then a normal, familiar face.
Ji Feifan.
Chen Yuhui stared blankly for two seconds. Then all the strength seemed to drain from her body, and she collapsed.
Ji Feifan remained where he was instead of approaching her at once. His face was utterly expressionless. There was no joy at having survived, no excitement at seeing a companion, not even a trace of surprise.
There was only a deathly calm and an unreadable darkness in his eyes.
He looked to be in terrible shape as well. Fresh scrapes covered his face, dried blood crusted his temple, and his clothes were torn in several places, exposing skin mottled with bruises.
Yet he stood perfectly straight, his breathing steady.
They stared at each other for several long seconds.
Chen Yuhui spoke first, her voice hoarse. “Did you… run into anyone else?”
Ji Feifan shook his head.
Silence spread between them.
Finally, Ji Feifan crouched until his eyes were level with Chen Yuhui’s. His gaze settled on her mangled leg for several seconds before shifting to her blood-smeared face.
“I’m not taking you with me,” he said.
Chen Yuhui looked at him without anger or pleading. She merely felt the sudden urge to laugh. The corners of her mouth did twitch upward, but before the smile could form, it twisted into a grimace of pain.
“I know,” she said.
Of course she knew. In his place, she wouldn’t take along a burden who was gravely wounded and on the verge of death either.
Ji Feifan fell silent for a moment, as though something had occurred to him. Then he said, “I can find you a hollow tree. You can hide inside. You might be able to stay hidden until Qingshui finds you.”
Chen Yuhui looked down at her hand.
Her open palm was smeared with both dried and fresh blood, along with a few dark clots she had coughed up.
She raised her hand and held it out in front of Ji Feifan.
“There’s no need.” Her voice was so calm that it surprised even her. “With this leg, they’ll find me no matter where I hide. Besides… I don’t have long left.”
She paused and drew a breath.
“Kill me.”
The forest fell deathly silent.
Ji Feifan’s gaze settled on her outstretched palm, then moved over her bloodstained face.
Her complexion was ashen, but her eyes were exceptionally clear. There was even a trace of relief in them.
“Kill me,” Chen Yuhui repeated, her voice even calmer this time.
Ji Feifan stared at her for several seconds. At last, he slowly exhaled and said in a low voice, “Close your eyes.”
Chen Yuhui closed them.
Darkness descended.
But this time, the darkness was no longer frightening.
It meant the end. An end to the pain. It meant she could finally let go of everything.
She could let go of the injured leg that had always made her a burden to others. Let go of her guilt toward Qingshui. Let go of all her struggles and exhaustion, and all her despair.
She heard Ji Feifan rise to his feet. She heard his footsteps approach.
Then came a brief silence.
She counted silently. One, two, three…
The cold tip of a knife pressed against her chest.
There was a soft sound as the blade pierced her.
Even the pain vanished. Every sensation rapidly receded, like the tide withdrawing from a beach.
Darkness swallowed everything.
……..
Ji Feifan stood before Chen Yuhui’s body, looking down at her face. Her eyes remained closed, and her expression was peaceful, with less pain and anxiety than she had worn in life.
He put away his knife, crouched down, and did something even he hadn’t expected. Bending over, he slipped one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back, then lifted her into his arms.
The movement pulled at his own wounds. Agonizing pain throbbed through the shoulder where a bullet had grazed him.
Gritting his teeth, he adjusted his hold and shifted Chen Yuhui onto his back.
Then he headed deeper into the forest.
After searching for roughly twenty minutes, he finally found what he was looking for: an enormous old tree with a naturally formed hollow among its roots.
Ji Feifan lowered Chen Yuhui and carefully placed her inside. He adjusted her position so that she sat leaning against the inner wall, her head bowed slightly. She looked as though she were merely resting.
Then he stepped back and looked at the figure inside the hollow before carefully concealing the entrance.
“I’ve given it back to you.”
He spoke toward the hollow.
With that, he left without lingering. He didn’t even glance back at the tree before turning away.
His retreating figure was soon swallowed by the tangled trunks and dim light.
As for whether passing Madmen would discover the hollow, or what they might do to the remains inside…
That had nothing to do with him anymore.
Anazu
Nooo
Qingshui is alone again :((