Chapter 67
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The night lay quiet and dark as water, with the city gates already closed. In the fields neighboring the main road, the crops suddenly began to sway, rippling like waves from afar, parting in clusters as if something were racing through them.
Rustle rustle…
The sound of padded paws skimming the ground grew louder. A faint red shadow darted swiftly through the fields, with two more waves in hot pursuit.
Two fox silhouettes, one red and one white, hissed sharply.
“Wretch! Give us back the yang essence!”
The small reddish figure did not respond nor look back, her limbs moving in a blur. Ahead of her loomed the tall, unyielding city walls, illuminated now and then by the sweeping glow of patrol torches.
With her muzzle clenched tight, she pushed off powerfully from the ground and leaped into the air, a gust of dark wind lifting her. Her form grew faint and shadowy as she shot toward the city wall.
Whoosh!
The guards on patrol blinked as the torches in their hands flickered violently. A strong gust swept over them, causing them to turn their faces from the wind, and in the unsteady light, a shadow seemed to streak past.
“What a strong wind…”
As soon as the first gust subsided, another one hit, leaving the guards staggering, struggling to keep their balance.
“Hey, is this wind never going to stop?!”
“I thought I saw something in the wind…”
“…Don’t talk nonsense. You’re just seeing things.”
Beyond the city wall, the gust swept over a rooftop. The red and white shadows transformed into two fox-like humanoid figures, their glowing green eyes scanning the surroundings. To their eyes, the countless rooftops stretched endlessly, with the occasional cough or barking of dogs breaking the night’s silence.
From atop the roof, a faint, sharp “chi-chi” cry—a fox’s call—resonated.
“…Our little sister really knows how to hide.” The white fox figure chuckled softly.
The other fox let out a harsh snort, gripping her claws tightly.
“She’s definitely hiding with her little lover. Let’s follow her scent—she won’t escape us.”
In the deep quiet of the night, rooftops echoed with the clatter of tiles.
Startled residents, suspecting thieves, hurried to rise, but the sounds quickly faded into the distance. Under the cold moonlight, a faint red figure leaped from one house to another, finally descending over the wall of a large estate.
As she neared the eaves, the figure’s shadow, cast on the wall by the moonlight, shifted form as it rounded a corner—now revealing the silhouette of a woman.
With graceful, delicate steps in embroidered shoes beneath her skirt, she approached a door. Knowing only one person was within, she extended a pale finger and tapped softly.
A gentle call floated through the night.
“Liancheng.”
Inside the darkened room, faint rustling sounds stirred, and then a warm light flickered to life. Soon, the door creaked open, revealing a man framed in the glow. Clad in thin nightwear draped with a simple blue robe, he appeared thin and gaunt, his cheeks hollow.
His previously dull eyes brightened as he saw the beautiful woman outside. A dry, cracked smile spread across his lips as he pulled her into an embrace.
“Yan Zhi… I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“How could I not…Liancheng, come inside quickly, I brought something for you.”
The woman named Yan Zhi gently pushed him back into the room, glanced cautiously over her shoulder, and closed the door securely. Under the lamplight, she opened her mouth and exhaled a small, white, smoke-like orb.
“…I stole this from my eldest sister and second sister. Take it quickly.”
Zhang Liancheng, looking at the substance in her hands, raised his weak gaze. “Yan Zhi, what is this?”
“It’s a spirit medicine… don’t worry about it. Just take it.”
Yan Zhi glanced anxiously toward the window, her eyes red and moist, as she held out the misty orb, choking back tears as she urged him: “Liancheng, please, breathe it in. Once you absorb this, you’ll be well again, and then we can be together forever. Please, hurry.”
After looking at her for a moment, Zhang Liancheng nodded weakly. “Alright.” He took the white mist into his hands, brought his face close, and inhaled deeply, letting the smoky essence seep into his nostrils.
Yan Zhi knelt beside him, grasping his hands tightly. “Liancheng, how do you feel? Do you feel a warmth inside?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he nodded slightly.
“Yes, there’s a warmth, moving inside my body…” His smile froze suddenly, his hands wrenching free from Yan Zhi’s as he gripped the bedcovers, veins bulging across his face and neck. His body collapsed to the side, wracked with uncontrollable spasms.
“Liancheng!”
Yan Zhi threw herself over him, holding him close as she desperately gritted her teeth and spat out a small, green pearl. Pressing it to his forehead, she tried to soothe the energy inside him, only to find it rampaging through his body instead of being absorbed.
Tears began to spill down her cheeks as she cried,
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it would turn out like this…”
“It’s alright…”
Zhang Liancheng’s trembling hand reached up to caress her cheek, his gaunt face forcing a smile.
“It’s alright… I know my body… In fact, just you being here makes me happy… truly…”
He took a shaky breath, his voice weak and broken as he struggled to speak.
“…You are trying to save me, I know how much you care… these past days, I’ve been thinking… if only I had met you sooner… it would have been wonderful.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a few weak breaths before forcing a smile. “Yan Zhi… I’ve never regretted this… but these past few days… some things have become clear to me…
If I die, then so be it… but Zhou Rong… I want to see her one last time… to tell her… that I can’t marry her…”
Yan Zhi wiped her tears and loosened his hand. “Don’t speak anymore. I’ll go and bring her here.”
As she started to rise, Zhang Liancheng, weak as he was, suddenly grabbed her arm, shaking his head firmly.
“No… don’t go… There’s a master at the Zhou Manor… even the Daoist my father hired couldn’t stand up to him… don’t go there… just stay here with me… talk to me…”
“Alright, I won’t leave. I’ll stay here with you.”
Yan Zhi sniffed, managing a small, sad smile with reddened eyes. Then, as she softly pursed her lips, she blew a gentle breath over him. His eyelids fluttered and slowly closed.
Yan Zhi adjusted her hair, sniffed again, and turned to open the door. She gazed at him lying on the bed, watching until the door closed and he was out of sight before she left.
A master…
Perhaps he might know a way, she thought.
Crossing the courtyard wall, she landed silently on the street, knowing well where the Zhou Manor lay, having once glimpsed it from afar.
Moments later, Yan Zhi leaped onto a nearby rooftop, her form flying gracefully across the distance, but as she crossed two streets, she sensed two distinct auras approaching.
Her body suddenly swayed, and a big hole opened up in the roof beneath her feet, scattering broken tiles in all directions. The commotion stirred those inside, and a startled voice cried out hugging the quilt.
“What’s going on?! Where’s my roof?!”
Some blood trickled from her arm as Yan Zhi turned to glance behind. The two fox shadows—one red and one white—had landed nearby, both sneering coldly.
“Little sister, how much longer are you planning to run? Where is the yang essence, hand it over.”
Without answering, Yan Zhi took two steps back, turned, and summoned a dark gust of wind to carry herself further away.
The red fox snorted: “Still trying to run!” With her second sister at her side, they darted after her.
“When we catch her this time, I’ll strip her skin myself!”
The three figures raced across rooftops, darting back and forth, until, within half an incense stick’s time, a large estate appeared in Yan Zhi’s line of sight.
This is it.
Without hesitation, she crossed the street in a single bound, vaulted over the courtyard wall, and briefly perched on a tree before leaping further into the courtyard.
Behind her, the red and white foxes swiftly followed, landing in the courtyard not far behind.
