CHAPTER 43

Gu Yan’s head of orange-red hair appears to be an ignited flame against the sky-gray veil of the surrounding snowy landscape, yet his turquoise eyes are ablaze like a blazing frozen lake.

“Gu Yan… Gu Yan…” I can’t help myself calling his name uncontrollably.

Gu Yan stretches his leg and kicks hard behind me, the strength to support my body immediately disappears, and I tumble down softly as Gu Yan catches my feeble body.

As soon as I’m embraced by Gu Yan’s arms, I immediately hug him like a drowning man to a driftwood. My body’s still trembling intensely, but the turbulent sense of fear in my heart sinks into calmness at once.

Gu Yan pats my back and murmurs soothingly in my ear, “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here with you now.”

My hands tightly tug on Gu Yan’s clothes and my face rests directly on his shoulder. His body’s unique scent of lavender flower mixes with the smell of blood on my face, making me instantly have a kind of urge to cry. I try to hold back, but a choked cry still escapes.

“I’m here, don’t worry.”

The strength of Gu Yan’s embrace surrounding me is so strong that I can barely breathe, however, a sense of peace finally soothes my heart.

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“Whnj usw, Qw Zyd! Gzoyup rknjkdt vbkp jkde sq vkxl yde kdvlaawrvkdt xl!” Lws Ny lhldvwyzzu pvydep wr qasx vbl pdso, pvayktbvldkdt bkp byzq-sqq vaswplap kd lxcyaayppxldv clqsal bl prkvp, przypbkdt czsse xkmle okvb bkp pyzkhy sd vbl pdso.

“Lws Ny, bso eyal usw vswnb xu xyd.” Ohld vbl qyzzkdt pdsoqzyjlp yde vbl qallgkdt vlxrlayvwal xkmle vstlvbla kp pvkzz kdnsxryayczl vs Qw Zyd’p knl-elye vsdl.

“Gb! Jlnywpl uswa zkvvzl eyazkdt zssjp ps qhnjle wr! Fs ol fwpv csaasole bkx yde rzyule y qlo vkxlp. Rpd’v vbyv sjyu?”

“Zlp, cwv yv vbl pyxl vkxl usw pbswze yzps cl ldzktbvldle vbyv vbspl obs vswnb xu rasrlavu yzz elplahl vs ekl. Qw Zyd xshlp xl yoyu yde akplp wr qasx vbl pdsou taswde, yde y qzypb sq nsze talld qzyxl cwapvp swv okvbkd bkp lulp. “Lws Ny— R okzz elqkdkvlzu jkzz usw.”

Qw Zyd oyzjp vsoyaep Lws Ny, pvlr cu pvlr, yjkd vs y raleyvsa vsoyaep kvp ralu. Tkp obkvl qllv pvlr sd vbl pdso yde yzxspv ekppszhl kdvs vbl pyxl nszsa. Ohld vbl vlxrlayvwal yaswde bkx pllxp vs easr vs y qallgkdt rskdv vbyv nyd qaspvckvl vbspl yaswde bkx.

Qw Zyd okzz wdeswcvlezu jkzz Lws Ny— Mbkp qsalcsekdt qllzkdt nallrp wr kd xu blyav yp xu pktbv dlhla zlyhlp Qw Zyd’p cynj.

Vlabyrp, pbsnjle cu Qw Zyd’p byka-aykpkdt yway, Lws Ny pzktbvzu alvalyvp y qlo pvlrp cynj, cwv vbld bl czwqqp qsaoyae ytykd, “Whnj! Zsw vbkdj R’x alyzzu yqayke sq usw?”

“Tx, kp vbyv ps…” Qw Zyd nbwnjzlp nsdvlxrvwswpzu okvbswv ydu lxsvksd.

“Fvck you!”

Nuo La hisses and then rushes towards Gu Yan, and the two of them fight in the snow that is gradually falling more heavily.

I curl up my body as the cold temperature numbs my face. I can no longer taste the metallic flavor that I could previously, and my body can only feel piercing cold and anguish right now and nothing else.

The sight of Gu Yan and Nuo La entangled in a fight in front of me causes my temples to throb suddenly. I follow Gu Yan’s enraged figure as I hear a voice in my heart, echoing and hoping for him to come back to me soon.

Not long after Gu Yan and Nuo La start exchanging blows, Nuo La gradually becomes disadvantaged. His face is hit with several heavy punches, with blood flowing all over his face, he looks no better than me now.

Seeing himself slowly at a disadvantage, Nuo La seems to have backed off a bit, but Gu Yan’s fierce offensive forces him to continue struggling. He tries shielding himself with his hands, almost putting him in a state of being beaten thoroughly and is given no chance to fight back.

After receiving a spinning kick¹Spinning kick – (360 Crescent/Kick or Spinning Heel/Hook Kick) – it’s a martial arts kick that received its name from the motion of the kick itself. from Gu Yan, Nuo La finally collapses to the ground in exhaustion.

Yi OuMu, who is cowering to the side, let out a hiss of horror, and it is only then that I notice this almost forgotten man.

Yi OuMu’s pale face is covered with fear. He must be imagining how Gu Yan will teach him a lesson later, how much flesh and blood and pain he will suffer and even death as a result of it… and so I continue to ponder.

Gu Yan continues beating Nuo La who has fallen on the ground, his eyes ruthless and resolute. Nuo La’s blood splashes on his snow-like clean face, as if red flowers have bloomed on his cheeks— like a Shura,²Shura (Ashura) – is a Japanese way to call the Buddhism demigod of war Asura. In Japanese, it’s sometimes used to describe a person who falls into a situation in which they have to fight an endless war against something, in a relentless and inhumane manner. [Source] cruel yet beautiful.

“Nuo La will die… Nuo La will die… I will also be killed by Gu Yan… I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…” Yi OuMu whispers and mumbles to himself, like a panicking lunatic.

At this point of time, Nuo La is lying unmoving on the snow seemingly on the verge of dying, and the snowy ground under him is dyed into patches of red.

──If this goes on, these two will certainly die.

I don’t want to make Gu Yan stain his hands with blood just because of me, because he carries enough already.

“Gu Yan! Stop!” I yell with all the strength I have left in me.

Gu Yan’s halted figure, together with the surrounding snow-white scenery, begins to spin in front of my eyes, and the flashing of blackness that makes me shiver in fatigue swells my head with more unending agony.

“Please no more fighting…” I choke out.

The warm blood flows backwards in my nose, and I feel colder and colder, too cold for me to bear.

“Come back soon… Please… come back here…”

—I just want Gu Yan to come back to me now, I need his warmth.

“Gu Yan—”

I try my hardest to stay awake, however, black shadows keep lurking in from the periphery of my eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Yi OuMu running away, but it’s no longer clear to me.

Fine snow descends on the upright and slender outline of Gu Yan as my vision of him keeps spinning around. The closer his form marches to me, the more distorted his whole being appears in my sight.

“Wolf.” I discern Gu Yan calling my name.

I respond to him a few times in my vague consciousness, but in actuality, I don’t seem to respond at all.

Indistinctly, I seem to make out Huimeng LuoLuo’s voice, and she appears to be arguing with Gu Yan about something.

In the constant alternation of light sleep and deep sleep, I hear several people’s voices, such as Cang Wu, Teal, Yaren and even Xue LuoYi’s. However, among all these different voices, only after hearing Gu Yan’s voice am I able to settle down to a safe, real deep sleep.

Time seems to have passed in big gaps yet it’s as if only a few minutes have passed.

I slowly open my eyes, and the dim yellow light that welcomes me feels relaxing to the eyes, making me want to sleep again. I close my eyes for half a second before groggily opening them again.

The air is warm, the body feels warm, and the familiar fragrance of flowers wafts through my nose as I also hear the familiar sound of flipping pages.

I move my fingers and reach out from the hot comforter, spreading aimlessly into mid-air, and along with the sound of flipping pages stopping, white, cold fingers grab my palm.

“Awake?” The familiar sound of soft laughter rings between my ears. “I told that woman that it would be better to bring you back here! The smell of disinfectant is everywhere in the medical room and the lights are blinding and frightening. Those staying inside without illness will sooner or later become sick from it.”

“Gu Yan…” My voice is as hoarse as it can be.

“Do you want some water? After three days of fever, your throat must be uncomfortable, right?”

Gu Yan rustles up from the bed, helps me up, then steps out of bed to pour a glass of water for me. As I accept the water, I then realize that my body is still a little unwell. The weight of a glass of water alone can make my fingers shake and even spills some drops of water.

I lick off the water spilled on my hand, and a few drops of liquid immediately makes my throat burn in need. In a hurry, I gulp a few mouthfuls of warm water without caution.

“Don’t drink in such a hurry, it’s not like this is the only cup.” Gu Yan chuckles lightly.

Seeing the empty cup of glass, I lick my damp lips, appearing to still be thirsty, but I actually already quench the thirst in my throat, and I become much more refreshed and energetic. However, as soon as my spirit comes to life, the pain in every part of my body follows suit, with aches that pulses through every muscle in my body.

“Do you want something to eat?” Gu Yan asks.

I shake my head, not having any appetite yet.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to eat right away, but you must eat later. I’ll go get you some hot soup and bread later, and you just remain here in bed, okay.” Gu Yan remarks, picking up the book next to him and continue flipping through.

“…How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days, didn’t I just say that you’ve been burning with fever for three days.”

“Oh…”

I answer, my mind stops working for a while, and it takes me a long while to regain my senses, which shows that I am definitely unwell this time.

“What about my job?” I ask again.

“It was handed to Cang Wu, and Tian Hai complained to me in anger, saying that it’s your own problem.” Gu Yan closes the book and throws it aside with a bored face. It seems that he’s not really that interested in the book.

I hmm as Gu Yan and I stare at each other absent-mindedly.

“Wolf, you know…”

Gu Yan’s sudden cold, low voice brings my attention back, “If it weren’t for the fact that you’re already beaten right now, I’d really like to beat you up myself.”

I stare at Gu Yan in silence, who is also staring at me, as his green eyes are glazed with a slight hue of burning anger.

“Is there something going on between you and Li that you’re not letting me know about?”