Chapter 85

His eyelids grew heavier, his heartbeat slower, his breathing harder. Fresh blood dripped steadily.

He didn't even have the strength to take another step.

Chen Yi He knew he was at the end of his rope.

That move, 'Boundless Sea,' he could not dodge; he could only bear it head-on.

The disparity in strength was overwhelming, an absolute crushing of power, and Chen Yi He had no chance of winning.

If not for that Heartless Pill, Chen Yi He could not have come this far. Yet the Heartless Pill could no longer save him; many of his meridians were severed, which was hardly different from having his heart pierced to pieces.

Without the legendary divine doctor who could bring back the dead, he could only wait to die.

Chen Yi He walked across the fields, step by step, persisting.

He had persisted for a long time, yet had only covered that short distance.

"Ah—puff…" Chen Yi He could no longer hold back, spitting another mouthful of fresh blood; he was like a scarecrow that had lost its support, collapsing straight onto the field.

Chen Yi He lost consciousness, and everything before his eyes went pitch black.

……

"Have you found him?"

"Reporting to the deputy commander, we searched the entire thatched hut and found no one else."

"Strange, the blood clearly reached the field ahead, yet it just stopped…… Let's go, to the next house…"

……

"Are you awake?" a clear voice entered Chen Yi He's ears.

Chen Yi He struggled to open his eyes; the surroundings were pitch black, only a thin ray of light pierced the darkness, and following that ray, his gaze gradually adjusted.

He lay on a hard, small bed, like a vegetative person, unable to move. His body was wrapped in layer after layer of white gauze.

His body still felt terrible; he was in pain all over, and even a slight movement gave him a sensation of falling apart.

His breathing was also still difficult, and precisely because of that he concluded he was not dead, that he was still alive, that he still breathed.

Chen Yi He smelled a faint herbal fragrance, followed the light, and saw a figure approach his bedside.

It was a woman; her body blocked the light, so Chen Yi He could not see her appearance clearly, only knowing she held a bowl of freshly brewed, steaming herbal medicine.

"You… you are…" Chen Yi He realized even speaking was difficult.

"You're injured, don't speak—drink the medicine first." She gently scooped a spoonful of herbal medicine, blew on it, and then prepared to feed Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He said nothing, opened his mouth, and drank the medicine. The herbal brew was not as bitter or astringent as he had imagined; on the contrary, it had a faint fragrance of grass.

Spoon by spoon, she fed him a bowl of medicine. 'Sleep.'

After finishing the medicine, Chen Yi He felt much better, at least his breathing was much smoother. 'Thank you.'

She said nothing, cleared the bowl, covered Chen Yi He with the blanket, and turned to leave.

……

Since regaining consciousness, Chen Yi He had stayed in this dark corner for ten days. In the summer, the thick white gauze almost gave him a heat rash, but later the layers were gradually reduced.

Finally Chen Yi He discovered he wasn't wearing anything underneath……

She wiped Chen Yi He's body, then took two clean garments and placed them on his bed.

Over these ten days, Chen Yi He's body and condition recovered rapidly; from near death to revival, it was as if he had walked a circuit out of the King of Hell's mansion and returned.

"May I ask your name?"

"Long Yue."

Long Yue spoke very little; over the ten days together she uttered fewer than twenty sentences. The past few days Chen Yi He had asked her name, but she did not answer. Today she spoke up, a rare occurrence.

Long Yue's face was not as delicate as Dongfang Xing's or Xiao Xiao Yu's; her pale complexion always bore an inexplicable sorrow. Moreover, her mouth was especially lovely—her natural vermilion lips, unadorned by rouge, gave a natural beauty.

A strand of long hair was tied up, falling behind her.

Her slender, tall figure complemented her aloof demeanor.

Whatever she did was so natural, so aesthetically pleasing.

Her words were remarkably few; she was the person Chen Yi He had ever spoken to the least.

"Thank you…" Chen Yi He thought of his naked body being seen by someone of the opposite sex; even if his skin were thick, he could not help but blush.

Long Yue said nothing more, fed Chen Yi He the medicine until he finished, then left.

Since the other party remained silent, Chen Yi He also felt embarrassed to keep talking by himself.

Only three days later did Long Yue open her lovely mouth and say, 'Your injury has improved greatly.'

From being unable to move at all to gradually being able to sit up, Chen Yi He felt as if he had been reborn anew; he gazed in disbelief at his hands that could slowly rise and his feet that could lightly sway, looking at Long Yue, his gratitude went without saying.

Long Yue had never told Chen Yi He why she saved him.

……

Inside the prince's mansion.

"Still no sign of Chen Yi He's corpse?" Zhou Ke asked Situ Qing.

"I've searched the entire capital, yet there's no news of Chen Yi He." Situ Qing shook his head.

"And the Western Depot?"

"The Western Depot is even more anxious than we are; they found Chen Yi He's footprints ending in the fields outside the city, but they still couldn't locate him, having searched house to house—half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and still no word of Chen Yi He."

Zhou Ke turned his head and asked Ye Wuming, 'What do you think?'

"That day our people personally witnessed Chen Yi He struck by Eunuch Zhang's 'Boundless Sea'; hit with such a vicious move, even the Heartless Pill couldn't save him. But since we haven't found his corpse, we can't be certain he's dead."

"Send people quickly, find Chen Yi He."

"All right." Situ Qing accepted the order.

"Remember, if he's alive and intact, bring him back secretly; if he's dead or half-dead, kill him, so that I may do a favor for my elder brother and Zhang Huayu."

"Yes."

……

Inside the Western Depot.

Zhang Gonggong paced in his residence. He deeply regretted not using his full strength half a month ago, which let Chen Yi He go from a certain-dead situation to his current uncertain life-and-death state.

How could a Third Heaven junior possibly survive under my Boundless Sea?

Could he have left the Imperial Capital? Zhang Gonggong gently shook his head, rejecting his own idea: "Impossible, that's several times the force he could withstand. Who saved him? The Prince's Mansion?"

Impossible, Zhou Ke wouldn't be that kind-hearted just for a petty thief, going against the Western Depot and the Emperor……

Zhang Gonggong shouted to the Embroidered Uniform Guard outside the door: "Someone, prepare the horses……"

……

Chen Yi He only then realized he was in a rice warehouse filled with dry firewood; there was a hidden door at the warehouse's bottom, and that's where he lived.

It was precisely because of this that he managed several times to evade the pursuit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the court troops.

How long will this wound of mine take to heal?

Two months. Long Yue replied.

Two months……