Yun Yao’s mind went blank.
She stared blankly at the man before her, his face twisted into a malicious grin like a demon crawling out of hell.
She wanted to resist, but her body felt frozen, not even the strength to move a finger.
“No!”
A hoarse, low cry came from the wall.
It was Yun Ying.
He struggled, trying to wrench himself free from the long blade, but every movement tugged at the wound piercing his chest, bringing excruciating pain.
“Senior Sister… don’t… don’t listen to him…”
Yun Ying’s gaze locked onto Yun Yao, his clear eyes bloodshot.
“He’s tricking you… Even if you agree… he won’t let us go…”
At those words, Liu Yishou’s smile widened.
He enjoyed watching this.
Yun Yao turned her head slowly, looking at the young man pinned to the wall.
Blood still gushed from his chest, and his face, which usually bore a maturity beyond his years, was now pale as paper.
But his eyes burned with an astonishing brightness.
Yun Yao’s lips moved. A question she had never thought of asking slipped out as if possessed.
“You… Do you like me?”
Yun Ying’s body stiffened.
He looked into his senior sister’s eyes, made unusually clear by her tears, and saw his own wretched reflection in them.
He suddenly felt like laughing.
Yes.
When a man is about to die, what is there left hide?
“…” The lump in Yun Ying’s throat bobbed, but in the end, it only came out as a very faint, bitter smile.
Like her?
Of course he did.
Sixteen years ago, the life-saving pastry Yun Xi gave him had originally been meant for Yun Yao.
Later, when Yun Yao found out, she wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she begged Yun Xi to bring him up the mountain.
And that led to everything that followed.
He loved the way she tugged on his sleeve and whispered coaxingly for his help whenever she got into trouble. He loved how, even though she was still a child herself, she liked to imitate their master’s tone and lecture him with, “Junior Brother, you must be more steady.”
His life had been as short as a dream he never got to finish.
Born into a family that was wiped out, he became an orphan.
He had barely been taken in by their master at Kongxuan Mountain, thinking he finally had a home, only to watch that home shatter before his eyes.
The person he loved—didn’t love him back.
The people he wanted to protect—he couldn’t protect.
He never even got the chance to go down the mountain, to see the vast world described in books, or to witness what they called the cruelty of human hearts. Instead, he was about to die so pathetically on the mountain where he was born and raised.
Was this his fate?
How tragic. How laughable.
As he thought these things, Yun Ying actually let out a quiet chuckle.
That laughter held nothing but a sense of resignation, as if he had seen through everything.
Perhaps dying with her was the best he could hope for.
At least on the road to the Yellow Springs, he wouldn’t have to travel alone.
“Senior Sister.”
Yun Ying’s voice suddenly became tender in a way he had never shown before.
He raised his one intact hand, wanting to brush the snowflakes from her hair like he used to.
But he was pinned to the wall, too far to reach.
He could only watch the flakes melt slowly into her black hair.
"Don't be afraid." Yun Ying's gaze was as doting as if he were looking at a naive child.
"Death is actually not scary at all."
"Close your eyes, open them again, and maybe... you'll be in your next life."
"Next life, I will definitely find you sooner."
"When the time comes..."
He paused, and on his pale face suddenly appeared a somewhat shy smile.
"When the time comes, I definitely won't say I'm your junior disciple anymore."
"I'll be your senior brother."
"That way, I can legitimately... bully you."
His words were jumbled and chaotic, yet heartfelt and sincere.
Yun Yao listened dumbfounded, and once again her tears welled up uncontrollably, blurring her vision.
So...
So this is what he had always been thinking.
And she...
She had been such a fool, knowing nothing at all.
She had always thought he was nagging, too controlling, as dull as an old man.
"Kid, are you done with your dying words?"
Liu Yishou impatiently interrupted this tender moment.
He had run out of patience to keep playing along.
He smacked his lips and yanked open his own belt.
"Blabbering on and on."
"I thought you were going to say something important."
"Boring."
"How about this: since you can't bear to touch her, I'll take over standing up... It would be too cruel, I suppose."
As he spoke, Liu Yishou walked toward Yun Ying, who was pinned to the wall.
"Let me cut it off for you."
He sneered, his voice filled with a nauseating excitement.
"Two birds with one stone—this way you'll have a sense of participation too."
"Blade Sect..."
The young man's voice was hoarse.
"How could it have a degenerate beast like you?"
Liu Yishou raised an eyebrow. A man about to die still had the nerve to talk back!
He sped up his hand, determined to make this reckless brat experience the ultimate humiliation before he died.
But just as his fingertip was about to touch Yun Ying...
His wrist suddenly stopped.
It was as if an invisible iron vise had clamped down on it, locking it in place without allowing an inch of movement.
What was happening?!
Shock surged through Liu Yishou. He subconsciously tried to pull his hand back, but found that his wrist felt as though a massive invisible mountain weighed it down—heavy, utterly immobile.
A gust of wind swept across the wilderness.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
No spiritual energy detected.
No footsteps heard.
No breath sensed.
Still the same waning moon, still the same blizzard.
What was going on?
How could the Yin-Yang Sect have a master like this hidden in the shadows?
It didn't make sense...
He had already scanned everyone with his spiritual sense...
Before he could dwell on the confusion, a disdainful voice drifted into his ear.
"Killing a man is one thing, but you sure have a lot of theatrics."
Su Ji's voice was calm and plain.
He casually brushed the snowflakes off his shoulder.
"I think you must be a total loser in the Blade Sect."
"That's why you love showing off your power in front of the weak."
"After all, opportunities like this are far too rare for you."
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
