Chapter 279: Flying Side by Side
No matter who it was—in that fleeting moment, it was impossible to see the other person's face clearly—but it was definitely a human cultivator who had entered the Zhou Garden. That reason alone was enough. Enough for Xu Yourong, during her flight from Muyu, to once again deplete her true essence, adjust her direction, and at the critical moment when that human cultivator was gravely injured and unconscious, on the verge of falling from the night sky to his death, grab hold of him and carry him as she flew into the distance.
She had no experience with flying, but she had plenty of experience riding white cranes through the blue sky. Flying through the night sky, there was none of the unease or fear she had imagined, but as a beginner, she was inevitably somewhat clumsy and awkward. Especially since she was already severely injured and very weak, and now had to carry someone in her hand, she couldn't help but wobble, looking as if she were drunk.
Not long passed before Nanke caught up to her, just a few li behind. Even across that distance, Xu Yourong could almost feel the killing intent. She didn't look back, focusing intently and seriously on learning how to fly. The frequency of her fire wings' flapping grew slower and slower, yet her posture became more and more stable, her speed faster and faster, gradually turning into a streak of fire across the night sky.
The awakening of the Phoenix Soul had allowed her to understand many principles and gain many innate abilities. In terms of pure speed, she was now unquestionably the fastest on the continent. Neither the Great Zhou military's Red Eagles nor the Western Continent's Albatrosses, not even Nanke or the fastest Silver Dragon, could outpace her.
The problem was that she was injured. The bigger problem was that she was still carrying someone in her hand, someone unconscious, as heavy as a wet sack of flour. If she dropped this person, Nanke would have a hard time catching her. She could return to the gardens where the human cultivators were gathered and launch a counterattack against the demons' scheme, or she could find a place to hide temporarily, recover from her injuries and cure the poison, then fight Nanke again—she believed she would surely win.
But she couldn't, so there was no "if."
Throughout the entire process, she didn't spare a single glance at the person in her hand—whoever it was made no difference. Even if they were heavy, she couldn't abandon them. Just as Nanke had said at the peak of Muyu, she had always lived burdened by the heavy word "responsibility." Many choices had become a kind of instinct for her, requiring no thought of right or wrong, gain or loss—she simply acted.
Two streaks of light raced through the woods and wetlands at the edge of the grasslands, differing only in color. Wherever they passed, grass clippings flew wildly, and leaves were shattered into silken threads.
She still couldn't shake Nanke. Her vision grew increasingly blurry—a sign that the peacock's poisonous blood was gradually eroding her sea of consciousness. She had been suppressing it with her Heavenly Phoenix True Blood, but after this chase, her blood had begun to boil, and she could barely hold it back. Perhaps she could burn her Heavenly Phoenix True Blood to gain even greater speed, but what about the poison?
Nanke's figure drew closer and closer. The outskirts of the grasslands in the night were dyed green once more. There was no time to think—in fact, she made the decision without thinking. At that moment, she finally looked down at the person in her hand and thought helplessly: We're both cultivators, living on clear winds and starlight—what exactly do you eat every day to be this heavy?
Then she ignited what little remained of her Heavenly Phoenix True Blood.
With a muffled boom, the edge of the grasslands began to burn, faintly revealing the glint of water beneath the grass.
Xu Yourong transformed into a streak of fire and vanished into the Tianling.
A moment later, Nanke arrived, stopped, and gazed into the distance at that fiery line, her expression indifferent, lost in thought.
The green peacock feathers swayed gently, and a chill spread outward. The burning grass and reeds gradually extinguished, leaving a patch of scorched earth.
The speed the Heavenly Phoenix achieved by burning its true blood was so fast that even she couldn't catch up.
"Foolish woman's mercy, lacking a sense of the bigger picture, petty-minded..."
Nanke's assessment of Xu Yourong was cold and dismissive: "Even if you manage to survive this time, how can you still be my opponent?"
She knew very well that under these circumstances, even if Xu Yourong's Phoenix Soul had awakened, it would be extremely difficult for her to survive.
The green peacock feathers slowly retracted, the light shifted slightly, and the two women appeared at her sides, kneeling on the ground, trembling as they said, "Your servants greet the mistress. Your servants are incompetent..."
Nanke paid no attention to her two maidservants, not even glancing at their pale, terrified faces. She mused thoughtfully, "That person... is Chen Changsheng?"
The two maidservants quickly recounted what had happened. For the first time, a smile appeared on Nanke's small face, but that smile was still cold: "So it wasn't foolish mercy or a lack of perspective, but rather concern clouding judgment... The two of you dying together—that would be somewhat interesting."
The night wind brushed against her face, which should have been cold, but because her blood was boiling and burning, the wind felt warm instead. Xu Yourong wanted to head toward the forested mountain retreat, but her Heavenly Phoenix True Blood had burned out and could no longer sustain her. She glanced behind her, confirmed that Nanke wasn't following, veered northwest for a few li, and landed on the ground.
She had been flying along the edge of the Never-Setting Sun Grasslands for a simple reason, one Nanke also understood clearly: only by doing so could she have held out for so long in the beginning. The place where she landed now was naturally still at the edge of the grasslands—a vast wetland filled with endless reeds.
The reeds formed a small island, with tall stalks all around that just managed to block the view from outside, as if it were a world unto itself.
There were no stars in the night sky of the Zhou Garden. The light reflected on the water between the reeds came from her fire wings, like countless mirrors, creating a beautiful sight.
Xu Yourong's divine sense stirred slightly, and the golden flames slowly extinguished, revealing that the true form of her wings was as white as snow.
Her brow furrowed slightly, showing discomfort. Deep within her autumn-water-like eyes, a faint, unsettling green hue lurked. Around that green, some golden sparks were burning unceasingly, but they were very dim, as if they might go out at any moment. Then she looked again at the human cultivator she had rescued.
For some reason, she felt this person looked familiar. Though her vision was blurred by the poison, making it impossible to make out his features, she could vaguely see that his face was pale. Yet, for some reason, even in his unconscious state, he gave her a sense of steadiness and warmth.
Because of this feeling, she was momentarily stunned.
Then exhaustion washed over her.
She sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began to regulate her breathing. Her white wings slowly folded in, wrapping around her body like the warm quilts in the Divine General's Mansion.
The wings came together in a pair.
Another white wing slowly descended, gently covering Chen Changsheng.
(End of Volume One: Young Companions in School)