Chapter 16: Life If Only As First Sight (10)
The demon vultures were even more terrifying and powerful than the serpent-dragons, swift as lightning, their attacks unfathomably cunning. To survive a siege of hundreds of demon vultures, the best method was not to dodge, but to kill them as quickly as possible. Thus, her methods had to be faster and more sudden than the generation of lightning, more violent than a storm.
Gazing at the sky filled with vulture shadows, she remained silent and indifferent, her pure white wings slowly swaying behind her.
Besides the serpent-dragons and demon vultures, there were certainly even more powerful demon beasts within this Never-Sunset Grassland, but she couldn't afford to hold back her strongest techniques until then.
Without any hesitation, a bright flame flickered in the depths of her eyes, temporarily suppressing even those venomous green glints.
With a sharp hiss, countless white feathers detached from the wings themselves, transforming into countless sharp arrows that shot toward the sky.
Phoenix Ten Thousand Feathers!
Hundreds of demon vultures sensed the sacred aura within those white feathers and shrieked in terror, scattering as the sky regained its azure hue.
But those demon vultures would never see this sky again, for those phoenix feathers came too fast—faster than lightning.
Countless sacred specks of light lit up in the azure sky.
Those white feathers pierced into the bodies of the demon vultures like sharp arrows, slicing through their plumage like keen blades.
For a moment, the sky was filled with broken beaks and shattered wings, countless blossoms of blood blooming like fireworks.
Xu Yourong, however, paid no further attention, not even glancing back at the sky.
At some unknown time, the crystals on the green grass began to emit pure and warm rays of light, which continuously poured into her body.
She looked around at the grassland, calmly drawing her paulownia bow once more.
The sun in the Never-Sunset Grassland never set, so there was no sunset, but there was dusk. At that time, the sun would turn into a ball of light, and the light between heaven and earth would dim considerably.
At dusk, this sea of grass was dyed entirely red. No matter how harsh and forceful the distant zither music became, the demon beasts finally retreated. They came like a tide and left like a tide, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
At least several thousand demon beasts had died in the surrounding sea of grass. Most of the corpses were dragged away by beasts of other tribes or even their own companions as food, but because the numbers were so great, many broken remains remained in the grass sea. The filthy blood gradually sank and mixed into the mud, but the blood froth lapping at the edges of the grass piles could not disappear.
Dim light slanted across the horizon of the distant grassland, making the scene appear even more bloody.
Xu Yourong's face was very pale. It was unclear whether it was due to the disgust of what had just happened or because of her injuries.
The crystals beside her had all turned into gray-white powder, no longer carrying any trace of energy.
She slowly lowered her paulownia bow, reached out a finger to pick up some crystal powder, and gently rubbed it to ease the soreness in her fingers and treat the wounds left by the bowstring on her fingertips.
Without these crystals, she certainly wouldn't have been able to repel this beast tide.
In fact, aside from the four places—the Detached Palace, the Imperial Palace, Holy Maiden Peak, and the Longevity Sect—she had never seen such a quantity of crystals before.
The number of these crystals was truly exaggerated.
She looked at Chen Changsheng, still deep in slumber, and thought silently: As expected, the Snow Mountain Sect truly has ten thousand years of accumulated heritage. And just like their inherited Frost Dragon, they really do love collecting crystals and treasures. This hidden disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect could actually carry so many crystals with him.
The pure white phoenix feathers had already retracted into her body. For a short time—indeed, for a long stretch of the foreseeable future that her deductions could see—she wouldn't be able to unfold them again. She was now exhausted to the extreme. Her true essence was depleted, her bloodline was dried up. She had truly reached the point of "oil gone, lamp dry." If another enemy appeared, she would surely die.
She couldn't even move to the center of the grass pile. Without bothering to remove the long bow from her shoulder, she hugged her knees and sat by the water's edge, letting the foul-smelling blood froth soak the hem of her skirt.
As if by some unseen connection, just when she was most isolated and helpless, most in need of help and rest, Chen Changsheng woke up.
Without turning around, she knew his eyes were open. She said, "You're awake?"
Even though he was in the grassland of the Zhou Garden, not in the old temple of Xining Town or the National Academy, Chen Changsheng still habitually—or stubbornly—used five breaths of time to calm his heart before looking over.
Just one glance at her through the grass filled him with intense regret and apology. He realized he shouldn't have wasted those five breaths.
Xu Yourong hugged her knees, sitting at the edge of the grass pile, letting the blood froth lap at her. Her figure looked especially lonely and pitiful.
"Yes, I'm awake." Chen Changsheng stood up and walked toward her. He wanted to move as quickly as possible, but due to the lingering chill of the Frost, his body felt as if it were frozen stiff.
Xu Yourong still didn't turn around, too exhausted even for that. She said softly, "Then it's your shift."
After saying this, she shifted slightly, rested her face on her knees, and fell asleep without moving.
Chen Changsheng walked to her side, looked at her tightly closed eyes and pale face, and was silent for a moment.
He gently removed her long bow, slid his right hand under her knees, supported her shoulder with his left hand, and lifted her horizontally, carrying her away from the edge of the blood-frothed grass pile.
Throughout this process, she didn't wake up, her eyelashes didn't flutter. Even when set down, she maintained the same sleeping posture of hugging her knees.
White as new, yet like old friends at first meeting. Strangers who had exchanged few words, who didn't even know each other's names, could entrust their lives to one another.
It only depended on what kind of person the other was, on how much trust they could give you, and how much trust you were willing to return.
Until now, he and she had spoken very few words. But when he woke up, she could sleep in peace. When she woke up, he could snore like thunder. At the very beginning, she saved him first, and then he worked hard to protect her. In this process, trust was naturally established and was growing increasingly solid.
Chen Changsheng cherished this feeling of being trusted.
He drew his short sword from its sheath, gripped it tightly, sat in front of her, and looked out at the increasingly dim grassland.
It was then that he saw the sea of grass dyed ink-black with blood, saw the broken remains of the demon beasts, and roughly understood what had happened while he was asleep.
He was silent for a long time.
The archery of the Xiuling Tribe was indeed mysterious and indescribable, but... when he removed her long bow earlier, he felt the bowstring was still warm.
In this battle he hadn't witnessed, how many times had she drawn the bow? How many arrows had she shot? How had she endured?
Night finally truly arrived. The sun hanging at the edge of the grassland grew even dimmer. Though it didn't sink, the light spilling across the grassland was greatly reduced.
He sat in front of her, quietly watching the grassland in the night, waiting for a battle that could happen at any moment.
Time passed slowly. The ball of light at the edge of the grassland slowly circled. Suddenly, it disappeared from view—obscured by dark clouds.
Perhaps because the demon beasts had suffered too heavily during the day, they didn't launch another attack. Instead, rain began to fall from the sky.
The climate of this grassland was relatively warm, but the rain falling from the sky was still somewhat cold. Given his and Xu Yourong's current physical conditions, if they got soaked, they might truly fall seriously ill.
Without a second thought, he opened the yellow paper umbrella and held it over Xu Yourong.
But this posture was uncomfortable. No matter how large the yellow paper umbrella, it couldn't block all the rain.
Seeing her skirt hem gradually getting wet, again without a second thought, he stood up.
The cold rain fell into the sea of grass, creating countless ripples. It fell on the grass piles, spreading countless chills.
He held the yellow paper umbrella in his left hand, standing behind her, his right hand gripping the short sword, gazing at the world through the countless layers of night rain.
A whole night passed, and he maintained this posture the entire time.
The demon beasts never appeared. Morning finally arrived. The dark clouds dispersed, revealing the azure sky once more. The halo at the edge of the grassland gradually sharpened, its edges becoming distinct. The morning sun took shape, its warm red light slowly drying the grass piles soaked by the cold rain, as well as the dampness in Chen Changsheng's clothes.
Xu Yourong woke up. She looked at his pale face and wondered with confusion: There was no battle last night, so why did his injuries seem even worse?
Chen Changsheng didn't explain that he had held the umbrella all night, that the cold rain had soaked his back.
Since the night before last, they had been fleeing or fighting nonstop, one unconscious while the other was awake. This was their first conversation while both were conscious. The dialogue in the cliff cave had been far too brief. Although they now trusted each other immensely and even had a certain unspoken tacit understanding, being awake made them realize they were still strangers, and inevitably, there was some distance.
Chen Changsheng recalled the scene at the Plum Inn in the capital when he met Tang Thirty-Six—that was the first time in his life he had dealt with a stranger, the first time he tried small talk. Though in hindsight it seemed clumsy, he had at least learned some basic principles, such as the need to break the silence by speaking.
In this perilous grassland, small talk was an unacceptable waste of time. He asked directly, "What do you know about this grassland?"
The Xiuling Tribe was closest to nature; legend said they could communicate with plants. So he wanted to hear her thoughts.
Xu Yourong shook her head. "No one understands this grassland."
Chen Changsheng said, "If you don't mind, let me decide the direction. Is that okay?"
Xu Yourong was puzzled, looking at him. "Do you know where to go?"
Chen Changsheng didn't explain too much. "I have a general direction."
Just as Xu Yourong was about to say something, she suddenly sensed an aura several hundred zhang away.
It was Nanke's aura.
The space and time in the Never-Sunset Grassland were somewhat bizarre. What appeared to be several hundred zhang away might actually be much farther.
But she had sensed it nonetheless.
She said nothing more, indicating agreement with Chen Changsheng's decision, but she didn't get up. Chen Changsheng understood—she was too weak at this moment, too severely injured to move freely anytime soon. So he didn't understand how, in this condition, she had managed to kill so many demon beasts yesterday.
He turned around and said, "If you don't mind."
(Well, well, I won't say anything more. Please, everyone, throw in a few more recommendation votes. Thank you all.)