The afterglow of the setting sun split the land into two halves, one in shadow and the other in light.
Su Yuan rushed forward desperately. However, a sudden sharp pain welled up in his chest. The pain made him half - kneel on the ground, covering his chest. Cold sweat kept breaking out.
"Zhaozhao..." Unease enveloped his entire being. This sudden pain didn't belong to him. It must be from Zhaozhao, whose heart - veins were connected to his.
What on earth had happened? Why was Zhaozhao in such agony?
Su Yuan could no longer bear it. In an instant, he detached his divine sense and spread it out continuously, carefully searching every corner of the world.
"You're crazy! Detaching your divine sense like this, you won't be able to hold on. Do you want to die?" Nan Jia followed closely behind. When she realized what Su Yuan was doing, she rushed forward desperately to stop his action.
But at this critical moment, Su Yuan didn't listen to a single word she said. He just stubbornly persisted on his own.
The continuously extending divine sense penetrated through the jungle and drifted along with the gentle breeze. Finally, it caught a faint trace of that familiar aura.
He followed the indication and flew forward.
When Su Yuan finally saw Zhaozhao, the scene in front of him left him at a loss for a moment.
The surroundings were in a complete mess. It was not hard to tell what a fierce battle had taken place here. Zhaozhao was kneeling there blankly, with a wooden expression. She seemed to have lost her soul, completely lifeless.
Blood was continuously oozing from her chest. Her hands and face were also covered in bright red blood. Her eyes were bloodshot. She was just staring at her hands, lost in thought.
Looking at her arms that were still in an embracing posture, Su Yuan didn't dare to think any further.
He watched silently, his throat tightening with pain. He walked towards Zhaozhao step by step, moving very gently and slowly, for fear of scaring his now vulnerable lover.
"Zhaozhao, what happened?" Su Yuan walked up to Zhaozhao, slowly crouched down, and gently lifted her cheek. His eyes were filled with pity.
Zhaozhao slowly raised her lifeless eyes. Looking at the person who suddenly appeared in front of her, she was in a daze for a few seconds. When she finally realized who it was, tears welled up in her eyes instantly. She hugged Su Yuan and burst into tears.
"I'm so sad, Su Yuan... I'm in so much pain. Why is it so painful? What on earth did I do wrong? Why wasn't it me who died? Why did they have to hurt the innocent people around me! Why..."
The pent - up anger made her bite her lips tightly. Blood kept seeping out. Her fingernails dug into her flesh. She was trembling all over, on the verge of a desperate breakdown.
Even without asking, Su Yuan could guess what had happened from Zhaozhao's current state. Someone must have sacrificed their life for Zhaozhao...
"It's not your fault. It's not our Zhaozhao's fault. It's those bad guys' fault. Don't cry, baby."
These futile and pale words of comfort didn't have any effect. All Zhaozhao could think about was the huge energy wave when her senior sister's demon core exploded, Lu Chukong's shocked expression, and the field of vision completely covered in red.
Her senior sister had used her last bit of strength to protect her, saving a life that, in Zhaozhao's opinion, wasn't even worth it.
"I'm going to kill them! Kill them!"
Zhaozhao tightly held the cloth bag that her senior sister had sewn for her. Her fingertips turned slightly pale from excessive force, as if she wanted to pour all her grief and unwillingness into it.
A gentle breeze blew by, dispersing the tears at the corners of her eyes, but it couldn't disperse the sorrow in her heart.
Zhaozhao's continuous roars stabbed at Su Yuan's heart.
All he wanted to do now was to hold his lover, who had endured so much pain, tightly in his arms and protect her from any harm for the rest of her life. He hugged Zhaozhao and kept telling her, "Okay, whoever you want to kill, I'll help you. Don't be sad, baby..."
After the intense emotional upheaval and the serious injury she had suffered earlier, Zhaozhao finally couldn't hold on and fainted in Su Yuan's arms.
Su Yuan picked her up. Coldness and killing intent flashed in his eyes. At this moment, his desire to kill Lu Chukong and the mastermind behind it all reached its peak.
Nan Jia and the others arrived late. Seeing Zhaozhao in his arms, they were stunned at first. "What happened?"
Su Yuan pursed his lips and remained silent.
Seeing Su Yuan like this, Nan Jia's heart suddenly sank. It seemed that things were not that simple.
She remembered the notice she had just received and thought that something really big was going to happen this time. It was really over.
"Boss, the news that Lou Qingzhuo just brought is that the Eastern Demon Clan has suffered a heavy blow. He said... Taowu has come out, and it's also bringing the Resurrection Tree."
While relaying the news she had just received to Su Yuan, Nan Jia cursed Taowu in her heart. This old monster that couldn't die for thousands of years was really causing trouble!
Humans and demons had lived in peace for so many years. Now it was the new era, but this damned thing still had to come out and stir up trouble.
Hearing the name of the old acquaintance, Su Yuan's expression didn't show the slightest bit of fluctuation. He carried Zhaozhao and walked past the demons, just saying casually, "Got it."
Nan Jia was stunned. She didn't expect such a response.
In the past, whenever there was the slightest sign of trouble in the demon clan, the boss would pay extra attention and handle everything personally. But now, for such a big thing happening to the Eastern Demon Clan, he just said "got it"?
Nan Jia wanted to ask something else, but Su Yuan seemed to have seen through her thoughts. He sneered, "Since the Heavenly Dao is so powerful and omnipotent, then if it wants the balance between humans and demons, let it defend it by itself."
Fufeng, who was coming from behind, happened to hear this sentence.
His heart suddenly started beating faster. Even though he didn't know what had happened in the past, he had clearly heard Su Yuan's previous words about the "real savior". Looking at the weak Zhaozhao in Su Yuan's arms, he silently followed.
Anyway, as the Ghost Emperor who had dealt with countless souls and having done research on the Resurrection Tree for Su Yuan in the past, he might be of some use.
---
When Zhaozhao woke up again, she was on the ice - bed that she had once lain on.
The coldness of the ice - bed spread throughout her body. Every part of her body felt the bone - chilling cold, but her meridians seemed to have been unblocked a lot.
The only bit of warmth came from Su Yuan's hand that was holding hers.
Sensing that she had woken up, Su Yuan quickly got up and looked at her body. He asked nervously, "Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Zhaozhao shook her head. She raised her hand and touched Su Yuan's cheek. She sighed and said, "You seem to have become much haggard."
"Yes." Su Yuan rubbed his face gently against her palm, as if craving her care. "So you have to be good. Don't get into trouble again, don't get hurt, and don't make me worry."
If it had been in the past, Zhaozhao would probably have agreed to his request without hesitation. Maybe she would have also hugged him lovingly.
But now, for Zhaozhao, all she could do was probably just hug Su Yuan.
In the room, the two of them fell into silence.
Su Yuan rolled his Adam's apple. He wanted to say something, but Zhaozhao raised her hand to stop him.
Her index finger touched Su Yuan's lips. With a pale face, she smiled and said, "I heard what you said to Nan Jia. I'm going out for a while."
Su Yuan's face changed. The pressure around him was terribly low. "Where do you want to go? You're not allowed to go anywhere! Just stay by my side, stay here! Okay..."
By the end, his voice suddenly dropped. The proud Dragon Lord bowed his head for love, begging for a bit of pity from his lover to stay here for him.
Zhaozhao just stared at him for a few seconds. Just when Su Yuan thought she was going to refuse, she smiled and whispered in his ear, "Okay."
Su Yuan knew that everything wouldn't end so simply. Zhaozhao couldn't just let go of her dead senior sister. All of this was just self - deception.
But it didn't matter. The person he failed to protect a thousand years ago, this time he would never let go again.
Everything seemed to return to a brief calm. Su Yuan no longer went out, and he no longer cared about anything from the Demon Management Bureau.
Zhaozhao also seemed to no longer be obsessed with avenging her senior sister. The two of them lived in Su Yuan's villa. They cooked together, enjoyed the moon together, and hugged each other quietly every day.
Taowu, Chongming, and that tree that claimed to be the incarnation of hatred and pain didn't appear again. It was as if all of it had just been an unpleasant nightmare in the middle of the night.
The peaceful days were so unreal, more like the calm before the storm.
The two of them each had their own thoughts, thinking they had hidden it well from each other. In fact, they were just two silly lovers trapped in the game.