32 Chapter 31: Shadow Leopard (2/2)
I suddenly sat up, and then winced when red-hot agony lanced into my whole body.
”Gah!”
Letting out a yelp, I almost blacked out. Gritting my teeth, I thrust my hands out and began clawing away at the pile of wood that buried me. Gentle sunrays streamed through the branches, affording me some sort of view of the outside.
There was nothing outside, not even the Shadow Leopard. After royally pissing that monster off, I half-expected it to be prowling nearby, but there was no sign of it. I guessed it tried to look for me, but couldn't find me under all these trees.
”Ugh…”
This was not good. I was too severely injured to move. I had lost too much blood and my limbs just refused to obey. Crawling out from under the broken tree, I flopped down onto the ground, heaving and panting.
Am I going to die here?
Even if the Shadow Leopard failed to kill me, I was going to die from a massive loss of blood. At the very least, the Shadow Leopard had left fatal wounds on me, each and every one of them enough to cause death. I could feel the blood filling up my lungs as I struggled to breathe. My vision was darkening slightly, the edges clouded.
And that was even when I was wearing my glasses.
On the other hand, my improved constitution was kicking in. If I hadn't gone through what I did in the abyss, I would probably be dead by now. In fact, my toughened constitution was what allowed me to endure the otherwise lethal attacks of the Shadow Leopard. All I needed to do was correct my breathing and follow the Heaven and Earth Formula breathing method that Master taught me in order to circulate qi around my body and speed up my healing.
It might take a few hours, but I would survive this.
”Huff…huff…”
I stared at the sky, which was obscured by dense tree canopies, the leaves refusing to grant me leave or respite.
Fuck you, heavens. You're always trying to get in my way. Do you enjoy my suffering this much?
Fortunately, what didn't kill me made me stronger. I would definitely survive this, strengthen myself, and prepare myself for the eventual battle against the Heavens themselves. Perhaps they knew I was coming for them, so they were throwing everything they could in hopes of killing me before I ever reached that stage.
That idea made me smile. Yeah, I couldn't die here. Not until I tore the heavens apart. For now, I should focus on healing myself.
Closing my eyes, I began the slow process of circulating qi around my body to mend my injuries.
”Are you all right?!”
My eyes flew open when I heard that soft, feminine voice. Instantly, the beautiful image of a girl in pink floated into view. She was staring at me in concern.
Girl, do I look all right to you? Or were you wasting time asking a rhetorical question?
”Oh no! You're badly hurt!”
No kidding. It took you that long to figure that out?
”Uh…yeah. Don't worry about it. I'll…find a way…to survive.”
Gritting my teeth, I winced as I struggled to sit up. No sense scaring the girl and dying right in front of her. That would traumatize her. Then again, I should be worrying about myself more than others at the moment.
Glancing at the girl, I realized that she looked very familiar. Not only was she beautiful, she gave off a sweet scent, almost making me feel heady. She reminded me of my classmate, Qing Xin Xia, what with her gentle and kind personality, and there was a tinge of shyness in her behavior that made her adorable.
I had obviously gone delirious from my injuries. She was my classmate, Qing Xin Xia.
”Qing Xin Xia?”
”Ah, yes…” Xin Xia blinked in surprise when she realized I knew her name. She studied me for a moment, as if trying to remember where she had met me before, and then she brightened up. ”Ah, you're Fei Wu!”
”Took you long enough to remember.” I coughed out some blood and glared at her. Qing Xin Xia looked a little embarrassed.
”Sorry. At that time, we were panicking, so I didn't get a good look at your face. Otherwise I would definitely have recognized you.”
I was sure you would. Hundred percent sure. Don't mind my cynicism. Then again, I was never close to Qing Xin Xia or Li Chun Long, so I honestly couldn't blame them for forgetting me when I went missing for almost two months.
No, I wasn't being bitter about it. And this throbbing sensation in my heart wasn't rage and bitterness. I wasn't arrogant enough to think that my classmates would at least remember who I was, especially when there was only a mere two months…I mean, especially after such a long period of two months.
”Ah, that's right!” Qing Xin Xia clapped her hands. ”I still haven't thanked you for that time!”
”That time?” I stared at her blearily, trying to force those bitter thoughts from my mind. Even then I had no idea what she was talking about.
”Y…you know! The time when you rescued me and my fellow sect disciples from the Diamondback Crocodile!”
She hastily bowed her head, her long, silky hair flowing downward like waves.
”Thank you very much!”
”It was nothing. I was only doing what anyone else would have done.”
I waved her thanks away, and then flinched from the effort. Damn it…the massive blood loss was taking its toll.
”Oh no! You're hurt really bad!”
Yeah, you said that already…
Qing Xin Xia thought for a bit, and then nodded determinedly. She raised her hands and gathered qi into them. I watched, mesmerized, as a ball of pink qi materialized above her palms. I recognized the wood element brimming within the ball.
That's…
”This might sting a little, but it'll help, so please bear with it.”
”Eh?”
Xin Xia didn't wait for my response. She was already reaching out and infusing my battered body with the pink qi. A great warmth enveloped my body in an instant. Like Xin Xia mentioned, the warmth stung at first, with my grievous wounds burning up and blazing hotly across my body. Fortunately, the agony died down, and was replaced with a comforting sensation.
”Whoa…”
I was amazed by how effective Qing Xin Xia's treatment was. Right before my eyes, my wounds were closing up, the cuts mending and the blood disappearing. My vision was recovering, the darkness clearing away from the edges, and the pain was lessening. It was much easier to breathe than before, with the blood in my chest being cleared out.
”You're awesome!”
”Ah…no, not at all.”
Qing Xin Xia shrank back, embarrassed.
”It's just a specialty of the Green Dragon Sect. we have a lot of emphasis on healing techniques along with combat ones.”
Yeah, to be honest, this wasn't the first time I had seen it. Teacher Yi Liao had used a similar, if not identical technique on me before. I had also seen Qing Xin Xia perform the same technique on Zhu Jiao in what seemed like a lifetime ago, before my fall into the abyss.
Nonetheless, I plastered a smile on my face.
”Wow…you guys are amazing.”
”No…well…that…I think you're more amazing.”
With the treatment done, Xin Xia was fiddling with her fingers nervously, unable to meet my gaze. Her face was flushed, probably from embarrassment.
”Earlier…when you saved us from the Diamondback Crocodile…I thought you were incredible. This is nothing compared to your courage…”
”Hey, don't forget,” I interrupted, realizing that she had forgotten something. ”I wasn't the only one there. Ban Zhang was there too.”
”Ah, you're right.” Qing Xin Xia's eyes went round and she nodded. ”I'll make sure to thank Ban Zhang when I see him!”
I nodded. ”Be sure that you do. He risked just as much as I did in order to help you, if not more.”
Qing Xin Xia ran a hand through her long, silky hair as she glanced about. She then frowned in puzzlement.
”Wasn't Ban Zhang with you? Where is he?”
”We got separated when escaping the Diamondback Crocodile.” I sighed. ”Fortunately, he escaped. I ran into Zhu Jiao, but…”
”Ah…Zhu Jiao…”
Qing Xin Xia's face turned red and she shyly glanced away.
”Is…is Zhu Jiao all right?”
”Yeah, he is.” It was clear that Qing Xin Xia still had a crush on Zhu Jiao, that lucky bastard. Of course. By virtue of being the typical protagonist of a wuxia story, Zhu Jiao would have every girl falling for him.
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I hauled myself up, still unsteady on my feet. Then I bowed.
”Anyway, I really appreciate you healing my wounds. Thank you very much!”
”No, don't think anything of it. I just did what anyone else would have done. And I'm returning the favor…”
”Xin Xia!”
Li Chun Long's voice sharply cut through the woods as he emerged from the bushes and glared at us.
”What are you doing? Hurry up and help our other fellow sect disciples find magical beasts!”
”Ah, yes!”
Xin Xia hurriedly rose to her feet. She turned to me and bowed slightly.
”I'll excuse myself then!”
After she ran toward Li Chun Long and rejoined him, he reprimanded her.
”Don't bother with other people.”
”…”
Xin Xia merely nodded and hurried ahead of him. Li Chun Long lingered for a moment longer to glare at me spitefully, evidently forgetting that I saved his life from the Diamondback Crocodile earlier. Jealousy could be a very scary thing.
Then he blinked in disbelief.
”Aren't you…?”
”Yo.” I waved at him. ”It's been a while, Li Chun Long.”
”FEI WU?!”
I sighed and shook my head, annoyed. ”Why is everyone screaming my name whenever they see me?”
”You…you're supposed to be dead!”
Feeling a little mischievous, I staggered toward him.
”That's right,” I moaned in a low voice and nodded. ”I'm dead. I've come back as a ghost to haunt the class for not coming to save me even though I sacrificed my life to delay the Behemoth just so you all can escape.”
”Im…im…impossible!”
Wailing, Li Chun Long spun and sprinted away into the shadowy depths of the forest. I could still hear him screaming from a distance a few minutes later.
Chuckling, I shook my head and proceeded in the direction he ran toward, hoping that I could catch up and follow them back to where the teachers were waiting.