Villain Saving System (BL)
Chapter 176 - 4.41 Jingxue-Jun’s Death

Chapter 176: 4.41 Jingxue-Jun’s Death

Lu Yizhou’s blood created a crimson trail on the pure white snow. It was a garrish, horrifying sight. Almost in an instant, Lu Yizhou straightened up after lowering him gently on the snowy ground outside the mist, covering his sight so that all he could see was the man’s face. Heimo almost forgot that he still had the egg on his lap if Lu Yizhou didn’t grab it for him when it almost rolled off his lap.

"Yours, Lan’er." Lu Yizhou sounded amused. "Hold it properly."

Heimo’s fingers twitched at the sound. Twitch. His heart skipped a beat. He could feel strength returning to him, bit by bit, starting from the tip of his fingers up to his arms. The feeling was almost gratifying and Heimo didn’t spare a second longer to grab Lu Yizhou by his collar, roughly (carefully) yanking him down so that he was sitting against the tree trunk and not crouching to strain the muscle on his back. Heimo sprung up into his full height, feeling numbness shot up the heel of his feet which he graciously ignored in lieu of checking the wound on Lu Yizhou’s back. He put one hand on the man’s chest, stilling him.

Now that he had gotten a closer look at it, Heimo couldn’t resist gritting his teeth. The rims of his eyes reddened. "You idiot!" The wound was more horrendous up close. It was like something had just mauled a chunk of flesh out of Lu Yizhou’s back. The most tender part of it was charcoal black and blood awashed it crimson. Heimo bit his lips. "I— We have to scrap the burnt part." Merely talking about it was enough to make his heart tremble. "Otherwise it’s going to get infected."

Lu Yizhou grasped his wrist in a tight grip. Surprised, Heimo’s eyes snapped up to him only to find that the man’s eyes were deadly serious. "Lan’er, I am okay. You have to bring the egg and get out of here soon before the dragon—"

"Stop." Heimo put a palm on his mouth, his shoulders shaking. Was it anger? Sadness? Fear? "Stop talking. I won’t leave you." He glared when he felt Lu Yizhou’s lips moving against his palm. "Stop persuading me. I won’t leave you no matter what you say."

The man’s eyes were helpless as he tugged Heimo’s hand down. "Okay, I won’t. Really." He said when Heimo gave him a dubious look. "I won’t talk you into it but at least, let me put a concealing spell on the egg. It’s too conspicuous like this and the dragon will be able to sense its fledgling from miles away."

Heimo nodded and snatched the egg before Lu Yizhou could even touch it. "I will do it." He bit on his thumb and wrote a spell on midair, injected his spiritual energy and pushed it forward toward the egg. In an instant, a red glow enveloped it and sucked all its brightness away, turning it dull and dim. Heimo nodded in satisfaction and slipped it into his sleeves where his qiankun pouch was. Turning to Lu Yizhou, he swung the man’s arm around his shoulder and pulled him up. "Let’s go. I am sure there will be an empty room in an inn somewhere."

Heimo sent him a glare before Lu Yizhou could give a protest that he could walk by himself, which was precisely what he was going to say. "Alright." He conceded with a helpless sigh. "I have a room booked for the rest of the week, let’s go there."

This time, Heimo didn’t need to conceal his strength any longer. He easily hauled Lu Yizhou away from the mountain straight to the inn. It was daylight and the sun was high in the sky, signifying that it was almost noon. It was strange how Lu Yizhou didn’t feel the passage of time at all and he was certain that the time he spent in the cave didn’t exceed more than three hours. There might be an array back there that caused the time to flow differently in the mountain. His suspicion was proven true when the innkeeper’s eyes rounded when he caught sight of him. "Oh, respected cultivator?!" He gasped when he saw Lu Yizhou’s bloody state. "Where have you been for the past week? The pair that came with you had left a few days ago!"

"Stop being a busybody and bring up warm water for a bath and lots of towels!" Heimo barked out.

Intimidated by the man’s deep scowl, the innkeeper yelped out a yes and hurried to the back, repeating the command to the servants. Now that they had left the mountain, the exhaustion rapidly caught up to Lu Yizhou. Adding to the blood loss, he was feeling quite lightheaded and swayed on his feet a few times as they climbed up the stairs.

Heimo was grumbling all the way. "Why the hell are there a lot of stairs? Why did they have to give you a room so far away? What were your junior disciples doing, running away just like that by themselves? Useless!"

Despite being in and out of consciousness, Lu Yizhou still gave a brief chuckle. "They must have thought... I am dead already..."

Lu Yizhou was still lucid when Heimo gently placed him down on the bed, stomach down. He heard the sharp intake of breath behind him when he was stripped out of his robe, baring his upper torso and displaying many small injuries and burns that slipped past Hexue’s shield. Lu Yizhou breathed slowly, eyes focusing on the frown between Heimo’s brows. He wanted to reach out and smoothed them away but before he could, his sight abruptly turned dark.

***

When Lu Yizhou came to, it was already dark outside and Heimo was sitting on the floor by his bedside, his back facing him. He spent a few tranquil minutes simply gazing at his lover from behind, taking in the wet strands of his hair — he must have taken a bath when Lu Yizhou passed out — and the rich black robe that contrasted greatly against his fair neck. The candles illuminated his side profile, enabling Lu Yizhou to see the shadow of his eyelashes on his cheek, his high nose bridge and his pursed lips. Lu Yizhou’s breathing must have shifted because Heimo instantly snapped his eyes open and turned sideways. Their eyes locked in midair and Lu Yizhou could see the remnants of crimson in Heimo’s pupils that hadn’t quite dissipated yet.

"You’re awake?" Heimo asked in a hushed tone. It was adorable how cautious he was. Lu Yizhou wasn’t some kind of porcelain doll that hadn’t braced the stormy weather before. He had been through something worse than this. On the other hand, compared to the time in the cave, Heimo looked more... subdued, softer but still not quite the man Lu Yizhou knew. Lu Yizhou intended to sit up only for Heimo to press his shoulders back down. "Don’t move unless you want to die of blood loss."

Only then did Lu Yizhou realize that Heimo had dressed his wound. Thick bandages wrapped around his torso, a few dots of blood seeping through it. His skin also felt clean and his hair smelled faintly of soap. "Thank you," he said. It was kind of Heimo to wash him even though he didn’t need to do that. Lu Yizhou reached out to caress the corner of his eyes. "You haven’t rested, have you? Your pupils are still crimson..."

Heimo grabbed his wrist and placed it back to his side. Then he went to check on his wounds. A frown appeared between his brows. "I just want you to know that..." He trailed off.

"Hmm?"

"The news of your death has spread wide and far."

Lu Yizhou let out a snort. "That’s not surprising."

Heimo’s frown got deeper. "I have kept an eye around here but found none of the cultivators coming from Lingyan. Why didn’t they come to verify the news before spreading it? Doesn’t Lingyan have that kind of tablet or candles to know whether their disciple is still alive or not?"

"They do. Shifu must have known that I am still alive."

Heimo paused. "Then why—"

"Because it’s better if I die."

Heimo sucked in a breath. When he turned to Lu Yizhou, his crimson eyes glowed brighter. Intense rage radiated off him. "It’s better if you... die?" He spat out each word with derision so deep that Lu Yizhou could imagine him taking off to Lingyan right in the next second to perform a massacre.

Lu Yizhou hummed in affirmation. Sect Leader Ling wouldn’t care whether he died or not, Lu Yizhou had confirmed that fact through their last encounter. For him, Jingxue-Jun was the perfect disciple, his pride and glory. But as soon as he showed signs of rebellion, Sect Leader Ling wouldn’t hesitate to discard him if it meant to keep his reputation and honor intact.

It would be better if Jingxue-Jun died in a fight with Heimo — it would be the greatest honor to die for the people — and with Ling Chuwei and Shan Duoyin as the direct witness, everything was perfect. They could blame his death on Heimo’s head. If Heimo was still alive, then all the more reason for them to commence an all-out war. It’s even better if Heimo died alongside him because it meant that they wouldn’t need to do anything and Linyan’s standing in the eyes of people would remain noble and distinguished for many centuries to come. Either way, everything would turn out beneficial for Lingyan.

This was the world’s way to force everything back to its plot.