Zhao Li Xin sighed with relief at what he saw. He was glad she was still alive but still worried about her. Although Luo Ri Yi had managed to escape, he wasn't sure she was unscathed. It was possible she was injured as she had done a lot running and dodging as she fought the beast. He knew he needed to find her immediately.
"Move!" Zhao Li Xin said before he entered the second cave. The others quickly followed him. The cave was mostly the same as the previous one. The space was wider with dark grey stones and some vines that crept between the stones. The air was damp and also muddy. He was agitated to see what she had gone through alone and possibly wounded in such a place.
?
Zhao Li Xin felt useless for the first time in a very long time. Everyone claimed he was powerful but he kept losing the most important person to him over and over. It seemed he was not strong, smart, or fast enough when it came to her. She seemed to always slip between his fingers like sand and the thought scared him the most.
"Milord, there is a pack of cimmerian wolves at the front," Mong Yi revealed.
Zhao Li Xin frowned and brooded over Mong Yi's report. Coming across the wolves could also mean Luo Ri Yi had also faced them. Zhao Li Xin clenched his fist as his expression turned grim. He gave a firm order, "Kill them all!"
"Yes, milord!" Mong Yi and Mong Ki cupped their fists respectfully before they swiftly lifted their sword at the wolves. The wolves howled and whinnied in pain as their blood spilled and the ground turned crimson red. Zhao Li Xin vented for the pain his little savior must have gone through.
Zhao Li Xin walked with leisure as his subordinates massacred the wolves. The wolves avoided him because of his deathly aura. Zhao Li Xin stopped at the remains of the wolves' carcasses as he recognized the arrows in some of them. He frowned as his displeasure increased when he noticed her footprints were jumbled up with those of the wolves. It seemed like the wolves had chased her. Zhao Li Xin took a deep breath to calm his nerves and followed her footprints with care.
He tightened his knuckles and prayed to any deity or God out there to protect her. His footsteps stopped when he spied the scene ahead. What he saw was enough for his heart to stop. He could see the carcasses of more beasts spread on the ground. The air was pungent and flies swarmed all over the rotten meat. It was a disgusting scene.
"Milord, I think Miss Luo hid inside this shaft," Jin Hao crouched near the entrance with mixed feelings of amazement and worry.
Zhao Li Xin examined the shaft and saw the damaged the wolves had caused. He could imagine her frightened as she hid inside that small shaft. He could not help but blame his incompetent once again. He had failed to protect her even after he kept telling her he would do that. He had done nothing when all this was happening. He didn't think he could live with himself if something happened to her.
"Mi... Milord!" Bei Li Yan's voice quivered as he called. He pointed at something ahead once he got his attention.
There was a heavily injured beast on the ground in front of them. The giant beast was having a hard time breathing. It was also bleeding profusely and its mouth was torn open. They recognized the beast as the giant Saint Level beast they encountered outside the ruins. They were surprised the beast was still alive yet the wound it had didn't seem to have been caused by the fall. In fact, It looked new.
'Could it be?'
Distressed, worried, anxious, and scared. There was no word that could describe how Zhao Li Xin felt. A Saint Level beast, even an injured one, could not be easily destroyed by an ordinary person. Zhao Li Xin knew it would be his fault if she died due to his negligence. He should have handled the Huang siblings earlier to prevent what happened. He blamed himself for not being able to control his flame properly. If only he could use his power without being afraid of hurting her. But it seemed it was too late...
The beast sensed the hostility near it but it could barely stand. It could only stagger and limp as blood flowed down its torn mouth. Zhao Li Xin stared at the beast with empty eyes.
"Where is she?" Zhao Li Xin asked with a quiet voice. The beast didn't answer but its nostrils flared up and it growled instead.
"Where is she?" Zhao Li Xin asked again. He didn't care that the beast couldn't answer him and if it could, its mouth was too distorted to give a proper answer. He ignited his fire and his body was soon covered by a blazing flame. Jin Hao and the others tried to find a safe place to hide from their lord's wrath.
The beast could feel the man's bloodlust. It began to fret and whimper like it was asking for mercy but the man did not seem to understand the beast's plea. Zhao Li Xin walked slowly towards the scared beast with anger.
"You took her away from me…" Zhao Li Xin raised his hand and the fire spread from his hand to the beast and devoured it. The giant beast was soon engulfed in fire. The giant beast's body twitched and it growled loudly before it turned into dust in seconds.
Zhao Li Xin was not satisfied by the kill as darkness spread through his heart like a night without the stars instead. He walked aimlessly to the edge of the cliff and saw the familiar footprints at the cliff. He could imagine Luo Ri Yi as she fell off the cliff. It was a long way down that even a Knight Level cultivator could not survive from such a fall. The chances of Luo Ri Yi, a normal person, surviving it was close to zero percent.
The flames around him gradually dissipated as he watched the cliff with a hollowed expression. His legs turned soft as hope crushed before him. He fell on his knees and looked down weakly as his world crumbled down. He had never felt so hopeless even when he was close to death.
What should he do after this? How could he stay alive in a world she did not exist? Fury raised within him and the flames within him ignited once again. It was bigger than before this time around. The flames swirled around him like a tornado and the temperature gradually increased.
Bei Li Yan, Jin Hao, and the Mong brothers looked at each other anxiously. They worried what Zhao Li Xin would do if he knew there was no hope for Luo Ri Yi's survival.
"MILORD!" Mong Ki shouted at Zhao Li Xin but the buzzing fire and heat stopped him from getting closer to his lord.
"Milord, what are you doing?" Jin Hao tried to reason with him but Zhao Li Xin had turned deaf.
"What should we do?" Mong Yi whined at Bei Li Yan but he was also clueless on how to calm him down.
The flames kept increasing and the heat was almost unbearable to high cultivators like them. They could only take out their talismans and created an invisible barrier to protect themselves. Their actions relieved them for a while but their lord was still in a frenzy. They worried they could not stop him before he did something drastic.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing squawk came out of nowhere and echoed up to the ceiling. It was enough to wake Zhao Li Xin from his trance. He could see a white bird with a long golden tail fly towards him from the bottom of the cliff in slow motion. He slowly subdued the flames around him as his eyes fixated on the small bird.
"Gir…Girsha…? Is…is she alive?" Zhao Li Xin's words came out in a stutter.
Girsha flapped his wings in front of Zhao Li Xin and nodded his small head. Zhao Li Xin's face lit up and the darkness inside his heart disappeared as a million stars of hope filled him once again.
"Where is she?" Zhao Li Xin asked desperately.
Girsha flew down the cliff and Zhao Li Xin jumped off the cliff and followed him without any hesitation. He followed Girsha without trouble using his Gin Qong. His Gin Qong was so powerful that he could bounce on the water surface easily. His movement was graceful and beautiful. He found his little survivor at the shore. She sat on the ground with her head between her knees. She did not move even when he heavily landed on the ground close to her. His heart thumped loudly as he was overjoyed to find her again.
"Ri Yi…" Zhao Li Xin called with a quiet voice as he slowly reached for her shoulder.
The robes hanging on her shoulders carelessly fell on the ground and Zhao Li Xin was shocked to see the red blisters on her back. Lory woke from her sleep when a chill hit her back. She slowly lifted her head and the first thing she saw was Zhao Li Xin beside her with a horrified look.
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