Безымянный убийца - Глава 41
Suddenly, another tremor came.
"Che Shui!!" Mei Hua was horrified. Her face turned pale. She wanted to step forward to stop the crazed man who seemed to have lost his mind, but she dared not move forward.
Before his eyes, half of Che Shui's face was stained with blood. He staggered to his feet again, steadied himself, took a deep breath, and then...
"Drink!!" He took a step back, then leaped high into the air with a powerful push of his toes. He began to tumble and accelerate in mid-air, and then... bang—!! He crashed into the wall!
"Clear water!!"
The master of Chongchonglou was bounced back and rolled several times on the ground before he managed to get up. He half-knelt and half-sat, looking at the unmoving stone wall with a sense of despair.
“Che Shui…” Mei Hua was behind him and couldn’t help but rush up and grab his shoulder with one hand, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words to stop him.
"..."
She heard him muttering something and leaned down to look at him. She saw that Che Shui was staring blankly ahead, his long hair disheveled and stained with blood, covering half of his stunningly handsome face. The deep red blood flowing on his snow-white skin suddenly created a sharp and cruel beauty.
"I'm fine...I'm fine...I'm fine...I'm fine...I'm fine..." She only heard him muttering these words between rapid breaths. His eyes were glazed over, and his face was filled with grief.
—Ah Che…are you…alright?—
Those were the last words Shen Tiansha spoke.
The woman fell heavily injured from the top floor of the multi-story building. When he rushed to her side and helped her up, he only had time to extend his trembling fingers and ask with a smile, "Are you alright?"
Her hand fell limply before it could even touch his skin.
From then on, life and death were separated by a vast distance, and when I woke up in the middle of the night, I had nowhere to express my sorrow.
"I'm fine...I'm fine...I'm fine..." Che Shui murmured to himself, slowly and gritting his teeth as he stood up again.
How could something happen to me?
He has been telling himself this all these years.
How could something happen to me?
This position was earned by Tian Sha at the cost of his life.
It was the result of Shuang Jing losing her health and martial arts skills.
It was in exchange for Xuan Sheng losing his memory.
He cannot be hurt, cannot fall down, cannot be weak, cannot fail.
He looked towards the attic, thinking about the two people inside, and the woman he would never see again.
They were all merely pawns of fate, destined to walk a difficult and arduous path. But these people, with all their might, paved a way for him, leaving him bloodied and broken, allowing him to be the first to escape the clutches of destiny.
In the blink of an eye, I could almost see Tian Sha smiling as he leaned against the window pouring tea, Shuang Jing darting lightly through the trees like an elf, and Xuan Sheng smiling calmly and gracefully.
A series of pains shot through my chest, and my head throbbed with excruciating pain.
But he can't be hurt.
He struggled to his feet again, his eyes aching even when he blinked. He vaguely recalled the scene he had just witnessed.
Sasa, wait for me...
"Che Shui...!!" Mei Hua reached out her hand from behind him, but couldn't touch his robes. Her vision had blurred at some point, and tears streamed down her face. She wanted to say something, but her throat was choked with pain, and she couldn't make a sound.
“Plum Blossom…” the Lord of Chongchonglou suddenly said softly, turning around and smiling gently at her with his blood-red face: “Later… when the walls shatter, please be sure to rescue Xuansheng and Shuangjing.”
The plum blossom remained silent; she could only stare blankly at the man before her, tears streaming down her cheeks, chilled by the gentle breeze.
Che Shui's hair was blown about by the wind, his long, jet-black hair flowing like a cascade of silk, with a shimmering sheen. A few drops of moonlight fell on him like raindrops, giving his handsome and dashing features a silvery glow, making him seem like an immortal who might ride the wind and depart at any moment.
“And plum blossoms…” Du Cheshui smiled, a smile that could topple cities and kingdoms, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze. His smile seemed to brighten the entire night: “I am really… very happy, very honored… to have met you. The head of the Plum Blossom Hall.”
“Clear water…” Plum blossoms were so mesmerized that they couldn’t utter a word.
But Che Shui had already turned away.
He stood quietly amidst the mountains and forests in the night, like a giant standing tall and firm.
Then, all the pain and discomfort gradually disappeared.
He opened his eyes and saw Jin Guan, who was indulging in his decadent lifestyle, pouting in the tower; he saw Bai Yun standing to the side, shaking her head in distress. Having traversed countless mountains and rivers, he saw Shuang Jing, still thirteen years old, carrying a wooden sword and pouting as she washed it by the shimmering river and lake. He blinked, and it seemed Xuan Sheng was frowning impatiently at him again, always secretly helping him despite his cold sarcasm.
Finally, he saw a woman dressed in pink, singing and laughing, rowing her boat among the lotus leaves. When she saw him standing smiling on the shore, she dropped her oars and leaped into the water.
"—Ah Che…!" she exclaimed happily.
Du Cheshui opened her eyes.
At that moment, an incomparably bright and dazzling light reflected from his eyes.
A gust of wind swept in, and before Mei Hua could even shout out, the man in front of her had already soared up like an eagle.
Tiansha... I'm back.
Shuangjing struggled to break free from Xuansheng's embrace, ignoring his astonished reaction, and groped haphazardly towards the wall.
Green jade, growing deep in the ocean, is as hard as steel and as cold as ice year-round. Unsuitable for weapons, it is best suited for crafting medical instruments or carving Buddha statues. A creature called a silverfish, soft as algae and flat and round, lives on the green jade, often clinging to it until its death. This gives it a jade-like color, hence the name "green jade." The areas covered by silverfish are the stone's most vulnerable points. Throughout history, many renowned craftsmen have carved exquisite Buddha statues, yet they couldn't discern the brittleness of this stone. A single blow with a hammer could destroy the entire piece, leaving them deeply regretful.
As the head of the Seven Stones Sect, who creates unparalleled weapons, she absolutely knew how to discern the weaknesses of this green jade ceramic stone.
Xuan Sheng saw Shuang Jing suddenly pause, then quickly begin punching a spot on the wall. She hurriedly turned back to look at him, pulling his hand to touch a certain spot while she herself kicked and punched it repeatedly. He reached out and touched it, and for some reason felt a slight warmth from the wall. He immediately understood, pulled her away, and then struck with all his might, punching the wall.
Unfortunately, the potion had already paralyzed his limbs, and even using all his strength had little effect.
By this time they were completely submerged in the water, with no air around them.
“!!” Xuan Sheng pounded on that part with all his might, but felt no change whatsoever.
No! He must rescue Shuangjing from this place!
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to forget the burning pain in his arm, and recklessly slammed his fist against the wall.
Suddenly, the water beside me rushed forward!
A very thin crack appeared on the wall!
He turned around in surprise, but suddenly felt no weight on his wrist. He was jolted and froze in the water. He reached out and touched it, but only found a loose belt!
Double clean!! He frantically groped around, but there was only endless darkness!
Shuangjing! Where are you?! Shuangjing!
He frantically splashed water, stretching out his hands to search for her.
Finally, he grasped a hand as cold as ice.
Before I could feel fear or have any thoughts, a deafening tremor shook the earth!
The hand only slipped in his hand for a moment before disappearing immediately.
Double clean!!
He almost shouted it out, but at that moment, the wall behind him suddenly collapsed and shattered, and a torrent of medicinal liquid rushed in, with a deafening roar of destruction all around. The sky collapsed and the earth caved in, and water rushed out of the broken walls and ruins. He tried to swim upstream with all his might, but he couldn't muster any strength. By the faint moonlight shining in from outside, he immediately saw Shuang Jing floating not far away!
He suddenly sprang to his feet, reaching out to approach the figure.
Suddenly, with a deafening crash, a massive boulder crashed down between them, blocking his path. Xuan Sheng was immediately swept out of the room by the swirling torrent of water! In the chaotic turmoil of darkness and light, with all his strength, all his regret, worry, despair, and hope, he cried out the name he had repeated thousands of times over these past few days:
"Double clean—!!"
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him from behind and dragged him out.
Ignoring the path to survival behind him, Xuan Sheng suddenly rushed into the darkness before him. Mei Hua, who had grabbed him, was already exhausted and had used a great deal of strength to rescue him. She lost her balance and fell to the ground.
"Double Cleanse! Double Cleanse!" Xuan Sheng rushed forward, but the effects of the potion had already taken hold. He was paralyzed and couldn't muster any strength. He could only watch helplessly as the boulder crumbled and fell.
She collapsed onto Shuangjing's body.
At that moment, he heard the sound of the world shattering in his ears.
Light and Darkness - Why Not Sing and Stroll?
A cold night wind blew, and the trees swayed. The dark green leaves, as blue as the ocean, rustled softly.
The night seemed endless; no matter where you looked, there was only boundless darkness and silence.
Xuan Sheng knelt on one knee, his eyes blankly staring ahead. He seemed to see many things, but in reality, he saw no scenery at all.
Suddenly, I couldn't understand why I was in this place.
All of this should be very easy.
He came to rescue Shuangjing, defeated some small fry, and perhaps had one or two stronger opponents, but in the end, everyone was happy. He took her back to Qishimen, perhaps traveling back along the way, enjoying the green mountains and clear waters, seeing all the peach blossoms and sailing along the Yangtze River.
He would carry her, dressed warmly, to the top of the snow-capped mountain to watch the sunrise, to see the golden light flooding every corner of the mountains; he would take her on a small boat to drift on the blue lake filled with lotus flowers and green leaves, and perhaps the two of them would fall asleep on the boat in the warm afternoon, and when they woke up, they would be greeted by a colorful purple sunset that dyed the sky and the lake.
And so, hand in hand, we vowed to never be apart for all eternity.
But now...
He tried to say something, but what came out of his mouth was a laugh.
This is ridiculous; none of this can be real.
He was only two fingers away from her, so why are they now separated by death?
No, no, no, no, this can't be true...
“Shuang… Jing…” He heard his own voice ring out in fragments, breaking the silence, but received no response.
A moment of silence.
Why... didn't she answer him?
Why isn't she blinking her clear, bright eyes and grinning like before, saying, "Oh dear, did you miss me?"
"Double clean?"
Answer me...
Say something, Shuangjing...
He stared wide-eyed, searching for her, but all he saw was a trickling stream of water and a chaotic, dusty, vine-covered ruin.
And so everything quickly and chaotically began to spin.
So many scenes.