"That's good..." Huo Zhanbai was obviously relieved. He glanced at the person on the couch with a "let's see what tricks you can play now" look in his eyes and muttered, "This time, some people should give up."
"Your medicine is being watched by Granny Ning, and it should be ready by tomorrow," Xue Ziye said, looking up at him. "If we ride south at full speed, we can still make it within a month."
"Mm." Huo Zhanbai nodded. Once his long-cherished wish was fulfilled, he felt a great sense of relief. "Thank you."
However, for some reason, another kind of concern and worry welled up in my heart.
With him gone, who can guarantee that things will be safe here?
“I’ve already asked Greenie to prepare your horse. You can also go back and pack your things.” Xue Ziye put away her medicine box and looked at him. “If you go too late and delay Mo’er’s treatment, Qiu Shuiyin will definitely not forgive you—after all these years, that’s been her only hope.”
Huo Zhanbai was secretly startled, and quickly composed himself, nodding.
Indeed, Mo'er's illness cannot be delayed any longer; we must return before the deadline! Meanwhile, since the Dragon Blood Pearl has been placed in the medicine furnace, the Demonic Sect has naturally lost its target. Tong's Qi Sea is still sealed, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
"Then I'll go get ready." He nodded and turned around.
Before leaving, he gave one last instruction: "Remember, never break his blood seal unless he leaves!"
"I know." She frowned, impatiently adopting a dismissive posture.
As Huo Zhanbai's figure disappeared into the fiery maple forest, Xue Ziye's eyes dimmed, and she swiftly pulled down the curtain. The room suddenly darkened again, with a sliver of light filtering through the bamboo curtain and illuminating the woman's pale face.
“Meijie,” she said suddenly, peering through the curtain at the autumn scenery outside, “can you give me back the Dragon Blood Pearl?”
Tong's eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness, and she instinctively gripped the sword, silently drawing it out half an inch.
What? Did Huo Zhanbai's words just now make this woman suspicious?
"Heh, I was just kidding," Xue Ziye laughed again before he could answer, loosened the curtain, and turned around. "Once something is given away, there's no reason to take it back."
Before he could discern the truth or falsehood in her words, she had already walked to the bedside, picked up the golden needles, lowered her head and smiled at him: "I will break the blood seal for you."
Unlock the blood seal? In an instant, his eyes shone like lightning.
She held the golden needle and slowly pierced his dantian, her pale face expressionless.
"Snap!" He suddenly sat up, grabbing her wrist and staring intently at her, a hint of murderous intent flickering in his eyes. Why would she suddenly undo the blood seal on him at this moment? What... what is this woman up to?
She simply looked at him calmly and asked, "What's wrong, Meisuke? Are you feeling unwell?"
Her eyes were serene, a pure black and a pristine white, like the white mountains and black waters of the north.
He suddenly felt a sense of disorientation, as if those eyes had gazed at him like this countless times in the dark of night. He slumped down, letting her pierce the golden needle into the most important part of a martial artist's Qi Sea.
Xue Ziye lowered her head, adjusting the angle and depth of the golden needles, revealing a section of her slender, snow-white neck. He couldn't see her expression, but felt the atmosphere in the room was so heavy it was hard to breathe.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my dantian!
Without a second thought, he grabbed the back of her neck!
However, before he could twist the other's neck, the flow of energy between his Ren and Du meridians was unimpeded, and the internal energy stored in his dantian surged out continuously, filling his limbs and bones once again.
"It's alright." She looked up at him. "It's all right now, Meisuke."
He froze, his hand stiffening on the back of her neck, while the Bloodstained Sword beside him had already been drawn half a foot out.
“Now, you’ve recovered to your former self.” Xue Ziye seemed oblivious, neither surprised by his tense stance nor uneasy by his intimate embrace around her neck. She simply stood up slowly and said calmly, “Only the golden needle on the top of your head remains to be removed.”
He suddenly leaped up!
In a split second, his sword was at her throat, forcing her to the window.
"You found out?" he said coldly, without the slightest hint of denial.
"I just realized—when you tricked me into lifting the blood seal for you." Xue Ziye looked directly into his eyes without any hesitation, a faint smile appearing on her lips. "How stupid of me, how could I not have thought of that at first—your Qi Sea was still sealed, how could you possibly force out the golden needles with your inner energy? You were just lying to me."
"Heh, how would I know what those Moga and Mingjie you're talking about are? I just made up a lie." Tong sneered, her eyes sharp as needles, carrying a hint of murderous intent. "Why didn't you tell Huo Zhanbai the truth just now? Why did you undo my blood seal instead?"
Xue Ziye laughed instead: "Mingjie, I'm not afraid of anything now."
She looked up at him in the darkness, her eyes calm: "I just don't understand why you would do anything for that Pope, knowing he only sees you as a dog? Everything you've told me is a lie, isn't it? Then, do you even know who the murderer who destroyed Moga Village was? Was it really those bandits by the Blackwater?"
That serene and composed gaze sent a sudden jolt through him—no one had ever maintained such an expression under the Bloodstained Sword! Such eyes…such eyes…in his memory…
"I don't know." In the end, he simply replied indifferently, "I don't know anything about Moga Village."
Xue Ziye stared at him blankly, her eyes filled with sorrow and calm.
"So, I want to know, Meisuke, will you—" she calmly uttered the last few words, "really kill me?"
Tong's eyes flickered slightly, then she fell silent. In the silence, a white light struck like lightning, knocking her to the ground.
Blood trickled down her hair.
"madness."
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Chapter Six: The Fifth Night of Snow
As dusk began to fall, Huo Zhanbai packed his belongings, feeling a sense of relief as he thought about heading south the next day.
—The heavy burden that had weighed on his heart for so many years was finally lifted. Mo'er, that child, could finally run and play like any other child, right? And Qiu Shui wouldn't always be so melancholy. It had been such a long, long time since he'd seen his once lively and radiant junior sister smile…
He let out a long sigh of relief, his hands behind his back as he looked at the snow-covered landscape outside the Winter Palace.
After years of running around, it has finally come to an end.