It was Shen Zhou.
The Saint Master had stabbed without holding back. Shen Zhou was seriously injured and had been holding on by a thread.
Now that the Saint Master was completely dead, he let go of his worry, and his last breath began to fade.
Yi Yuan tightly grabbed Shen Zhou's arm and commanded in a deep voice:
"Don't die! You're not allowed to die! Even if you have to die, you're not allowed to die now, and you're definitely not allowed to die for Xiao Xi!"
A flicker of small pride flashed in his eyes, and Shen Zhou smiled contentedly:
"Aha... You're finished. Yingying will never forget me for the rest of her life. Ha, haha..."
But soon, the smile in his eyes faded, replaced by boundless bitterness:
"No, forget it. Don't... Don't remember me. Xie Huaiyue was right. I'm actually very dirty."
"It was you. Your appearance saved me. Yingying..."
[It was you, with your tiny body, standing in front of me, puffing out your chubby little face like a bun, scaring away those beasts. It was you who pulled me back when I was in so much pain that I wanted to jump into a well and end my life. I still remember the taste of that candy.]
[It was also you who told me to learn martial arts, to protect myself, and to live well.]
[You were so young, much younger than me. But you were so smart and brave. Not only were you calm in the face of danger, but you also knew how to use the power of others to help.]
[But Yingying... I was born to live in the gutter. I could never turn my life around. The Shen family didn't recognize me, and my mother couldn't protect me. This face of mine has only brought me endless sorrow and torture.]
Perhaps he was really about to die. When he recalled the past, Shen Zhou no longer felt the nausea and pain he used to feel. Instead, he felt a sense of relief.
Yun Xi heard his innermost thoughts and couldn't say a word. All her heartache turned into tears that streamed down her face.
With great effort, Shen Zhou raised his hand and gently wiped away Yun Xi's tears:
"Don't cry, Yingying. Don't cry..."
"This is... a relief. From now on... don't remember me. Although I'm not willing, but... Yi Yuan... is really worthy of your trust. I'm actually... happy."
The delicate face gradually turned ashen. Shen Zhou's peach blossom eyes slowly lost their luster, leaving only a trace of regret in his eyebrows:
"If only... when we were getting married... I could have completed the last bow with you..."
Shen Zhou's hand fell limply.
It landed on the ground with Yun Xi's still-damp tears, neither too lightly nor too heavily, signaling the end of a life.
"Shen Zhou! Shen Zhou!"
A sense of panic flashed through his heart. Yi Yuan couldn't help but push Shen Zhou's arm:
"Who said you could die!? I told you not to die!"
"Get up! You're doing this on purpose. You just... just want Xiao Xi to remember you for the rest of her life, don't you!?"
There was a faint sob in his voice, and Yi Yuan's eyes were slightly red:
"Quickly... wake up!"
He and Shen Zhou had gone from being enemies to allies. They had been jealous of each other, hated each other, and even tried to kill each other. But now that things had come to this, he actually felt a little sad.
He felt sad for Shen Zhou.
Yun Xi was crying so hard that she couldn't speak.
She always felt that she owed Shen Zhou a lot emotionally. She couldn't return his love, but she had often benefited from it.
Shen Zhou always said in private that he was willing to do it, but she still wanted to repay him.
But now, Shen Zhou was dead.
Really and truly dead.
So how could she repay his kindness in the future?
The familiar buzzing sound rang in her head again, and there was another sharp pain in her chest. Yun Xi let out a muffled groan and instinctively covered her wildly beating heart.
"Xiao Xi!"
Yi Yuan was shocked. He quickly rushed over to catch the staggering Yun Xi and shouted to Lan Chu:
"Aunt Lan Chu, quickly save Xiao Xi. The mind-reading gu is about to come out!"
Lan Chu was dismembering the Saint Master's body. Hearing this, she glanced at Zongzheng Fengyi, who had completely given up hope, thought for a moment, then took out a porcelain bottle from her bosom and threw it over, saying coldly:
"Take it."
Zongzheng Fengyi was stunned. He looked at Lan Chu and knew that as a prince, he would only die within the territory of the Ying State, not in the Great Yin. So he wasn't afraid that Lan Chu would poison him. He picked up the bottle, poured out the pill inside, and swallowed it.
The medicine took effect quickly. Zongzheng Fengyi fell into a deep sleep in a short while.
Telling Ling Yan to guard the man, Lan Chu walked towards Yun Xi while wiping the blood off her sword with a corner of her clothes.
Stopping in front of Yun Xi, Lan Chu raised her hand and directly stabbed the sword into Yun Xi's chest.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Yi Yuan stared in shock at the sword in Yun Xi's chest. He was completely frozen and couldn't make a sound.
"Miss—"
Ling Yan was the first to react. She let out a sorrowful cry and was about to attack Lan Chu with her sword.
Without turning her head, Lan Chu quickly took out the drunken gu ring from her bosom and said:
"What are you standing there for? Quickly help her lie down. To transfer the mind-reading gu, we have to push her to the brink of death. It's not a joke!"
Ling Yan's sword, which was about to touch Lan Chu, suddenly changed direction. With a "clang—", it stabbed into the wall beside them, creating a shower of sparks.
Yi Yuan finally came to his senses. He quickly laid Yun Xi flat and then wisely stepped aside, letting Lan Chu take over.
Lan Chu didn't waste any words. With one hand, she neatly pulled out the sword, and with the other, she tossed the drunken gu ring. The ring seemed to be held up by something in mid-air and flew steadily towards Yun Xi's chest as if it had eyes.
The ring kept spinning and made a faint sound.
The mind-reading gu in Yun Xi's body seemed to sense something. Amidst a sea of blood red, a blue, glowing seed-like thing suddenly flew out.
Lan Chu made hand seals with both hands and shouted:
"Where's the bone amulet bracelet that Hunyuan gave you? Hurry! Put it above her chest. Then the mind-reading gu won't be able to drill back in."
"Okay!"
Yi Yuan responded and took off the bone amulet bracelet on his wrist. He placed it right around the blood hole.
The mind-reading gu above seemed to have noticed something was wrong. It turned around and flew back towards the direction it had come from.
But it couldn't find the way back. It flew around Yun Xi like a headless fly.
Lan Chu quickly squatted down, tore open Yun Xi's left sleeve, dipped her fingertips in the blood oozing from Yun Xi's chest, and quickly drew a simple snake's head on her wrist. Then she reached out and grabbed the drunken gu ring in mid-air and slammed it onto the center of the snake's head.
The mind-reading gu, which had been flying around randomly, suddenly stopped for a moment. Then it suddenly "whooshed" over and plunged into the middle of the drunken gu ring, disappearing on Yun Xi's wrist.
All that was left was a blue dot like a virginity mark.
Yun Xi, who was in a coma, seemed to have been hit by something extremely powerful. She let out a pained groan, her body trembled slightly, and beads of sweat visibly oozed from her forehead.
Lan Chu hooked her finger and picked up the bone amulet bracelet from Yun Xi's chest. She then quickly pressed several major acupoints on Yun Xi's body and waved to Yi Yuan, saying:
"Apply the medicine."
Yi Yuan didn't dare to be negligent. He replied "Okay" and took out the medicine bottle. He carefully sprinkled the medicine on Yun Xi.
Before long, Yun Xi gradually stopped trembling and seemed to fall into a deep sleep.
Yi Yuan was worried and asked:
"May I ask, Aunt Lan Chu, what's wrong with Xiao Xi?"
Before Lan Chu could answer, they heard shouts coming from both ends of the secret passage.
Lan Chu's expression turned solemn. She didn't have time to answer and just said:
"Strangers are coming. Take her away first!"