[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 114
“Fool, for not listening.”
Shiliu clung to Li Xuanci desperately, like the man clinging to the pillar. Hearing this, she looked up at him, feeling somewhat wronged. When had she not listened?
But before the two could engage in another round of their “affectionate swordplay,” He Chong’s shouts came from the distance. “Shiliu! Shiliu, are you alright?” But nothing could be seen; clearly, He Chong and the others were also lost in the heavy fog.
Shiliu had just called out “I’m fine!” when another roar echoed in the darkness. A’Nian, who had been forced back moments before, charged forward again, this time directly towards the sword’s gleam, utterly fearless of death.
A trace of impatience flashed between Li Xuanci’s brows, genuine killing intent surfacing. He was never a tolerant man. Following his usual temper, whether A’Nian was controlled by a gu or not, such annoyance would have long been cut down into a human swine.
This icy murderous intent rising in his eyes, contrasted with the flames Shiliu had summoned mid-air, made him appear even colder and more ruthless. Shiliu, clinging tightly to him, was the first to sense the change.
If it were the Shiliu from their first meeting, she would have put a dozen yards between them immediately for self-preservation. But now, she had grown a lot of useless courage. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried out urgently, “Don’t!”
Before Li Xuanci could respond, A’Nian in front of them let out a roar of immense agony. His hands clawed wildly, scratching indiscriminately at his own body, his face contorted hideously. His whole body trembled violently, and he even fell to his knees.
One moment he was ferocious, the next he was like this. Shiliu, confused by the sudden turn, loosened her death grip on him, slid down with a shhh, and moved to see what was happening.
But the moment her feet touched the ground, Li Xuanci grabbed her wrist. His expression was as cold as the moon on a bowstring. “Stop fidgeting.”
Before Shiliu could answer, A’Nian, kneeling on the ground, suddenly straightened up and howled at the sky, as if something was trying to burst out of his skin. Then he just as suddenly clutched his head, collapsed to the ground, and thrashed in agony.
At the same time, Shiliu felt a tremor from within her robes. She pulled out the small vial. She opened the stopper to see what was happening, but the moment its contents met the night fog in the air, the child gu insect inside writhed madly. With a swish, it extremely rapidly burrowed into Shiliu’s skin.
It happened too fast, leaving no time to react. The two of them could only watch as the black insect egg vanished into her body like that, without leaving a trace.
Shiliu was stunned, her face still somewhat blank, but her voice betrayed her panic when she spoke. “What do we do?”
Li Xuanci’s face was cold enough to freeze ice, terrifying to behold. Shiliu only glanced once, and the tip of her nose reddened slightly, but she stubbornly refused to cry.
Seeing her looking both stubborn and pitiful, Li Xuanci softened his expression a little. He used his sword to cut a strip from his lower robe, and after tearing the cloth, he tied it tightly around her upper arm.
Such a method likely couldn’t stop a gu insect. Shiliu knew this in her heart. Although Li Xuanci didn’t understand the specifics, with his intelligence, he could probably guess it too.
Yet one insisted on tying it, and the other let him do it. For once, the two of them were foolish together, seeking only a sliver of illusory self-comfort.
Shiliu held her arm up for him to bind, saying in a very small voice, “It’s so disgusting.”
She had held strong just moments before, but now she couldn’t help the slight nasal tone in her voice.
Li Xuanci looked up at her. Infested with a gu insect, and her biggest concern was that it was disgusting. Yet this time, he rarely didn’t get angry with her, nor did he mock her. He just asked, “The Li Ren Talisman?”
Remembering this, Shiliu hurriedly, clumsily tried to pull out another talisman. Thinking of the gu insect, she had prepared the Li Ren Talisman in advance on the road. She directly bit her own fingertip and dripped blood onto it.
Strangely, the Li Ren Talisman, which had worked before, showed no reaction this time.
Shiliu grew frantic, nearly biting her finger off, but no matter how much blood she dripped, there was still no response.
This time, she really couldn’t hold back anymore. The corners of her eyes rapidly reddened. Her round eyes looked at Li Xuanci, crimson with unshed tears, her voice fracturing as she spoke. “It’s not working.”
She gazed at him helplessly, her eyes unconsciously revealing dependence and helplessness. “I… I’m going to become a madwoman.”
In Li Xuanci’s life until now, he had been wilful, unrestrained, running rampant. No one had truly hurt him. No one dared, no one could.
But this young girl before him had done nothing—hadn’t cried, hadn’t made a scene. She was unarmed, her heart in panic.
Yet she accomplished what tens of thousands had failed to do: she pried open a crack in his bronze skin and iron bones, and stabbed right in.
Shiliu’s eyes grew redder, but suddenly she couldn’t see anything. A warm body temperature reached her. She reached out instinctively and touched the back of Li Xuanci’s hand.
Li Xuanci had reached out and covered her eyes. His voice came from the darkness.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
It was a pity Shiliu couldn’t see anything at that moment. Otherwise, she would have known that her palm was holding the most precious bit of tenderness in this world.