Chapter 179: Gu Rongjin Is Dead

Soft won't work, Mu Yuanzhi had to resort to force: "You stupid bird, if you won't cooperate with me, I'll immediately braise and eat you!"

I don't know if it understood Mu Yuanzhi's threat, but the strange bird actually stopped its ah-ah cries and stopped struggling; it turned its head, tilted its head to look at Mu Yuanzhi, its round, bean-like eyes darting about.

"Good little bird, let me ask you something: do you know where my companions have gone?"

Mu Yuanzhi was also desperate, actually going to ask a bird a question.

But this is the only idea she can think of right now.

The strange bird tilted its head again, opened its beak and said: "Be careful! Be careful!"

Mu Yuanzhi instantly became alert, but as she looked around, her guarded expression instantly relaxed.

Could this "be careful" also have been left by Rongjin?

"Be careful! Little Zhiyan! Be careful! Little Zhiyan!" the strange bird kept repeating.

Although these words are useless, at least it added another "be careful".

Mu Yuanzhi thought maybe if she chatted with it a few more times, she could get it to say something else!

"Good little bird, what else have you learned?" Mu Yuanzhi cooed at it with a goo-goo-goo.

She had never raised a bird before, though she had caught one…

She had no idea how to interact with a bird.

This bird isn't an ordinary mynah or similar; she couldn't name it.

"Wait for me! Wait for me! Ah! Ah! Ah!" the strange bird learned another phrase, then started crying "ah-ah-ah".

Perhaps it was uncomfortable being constantly gripped by humans.

But Mu Yuanzhi didn't dare let go; if she did, the bird would surely fly away.

"I will wait for you."

So, Mu Yuanzhi tried to converse with the strange bird.

"Wait for me! Wait for me!" the strange bird still said only that.

Mu Yuanzhi felt a bit disheartened, gazing blankly at the endless primeval forest, the vast heavens and earth, as if she were the only person alive.

This feeling was strange—boundless loneliness, fear wave after wave washing over her heart.

It seemed as if she had been alone from past to present and into the future.

Mu Yuanzhi shook her head, shaking off that weakness.

No, she had to become strong; she still had to find them!

Rongjin is waiting for her, and the Qilin is waiting for her!

"Good little bird, do you know where everyone went?" Mu Yuanzhi again began patiently coaxing the strange bird to speak.

The strange bird tilted its head, swiveling its head, blinking, as if it couldn't understand Mu Yuanzhi's words.

Mu Yuanzhi then posed another question: "Do you know where Gu Rongjin went? That's the person whose speech you imitated."

The strange bird still had no particular reaction, its round, bean-like eyes turning round and round.

Mu Yuanzhi felt a bit foolish, but she had no choice; she could only ask like that.

"An extraordinarily skilled, handsome young man, whose looks are somewhat calamitous to the nation and people." Mu Yuanzhi tried to describe Gu Rongjin.

"Calamitous to the nation and people! Calamitous to the nation and people!" the strange bird instantly learned that phrase and kept repeating it.

Just as Mu Yuanzhi was about to change her question, the strange bird suddenly let out an "ah-ah-ah" cry toward a certain direction.

Mu Yuanzhi looked over suspiciously, and the strange bird began again repeating "wait for me, wait for me".

Could it be that Rongjin is in that direction?!

She had absolutely no evidence, just based on a talking bird's possibly meaningless head turn—was she really going to head that way?

After pondering for a while, Mu Yuanzhi still decided to go, since just standing there wasn't an option.

Perhaps this is a road the heavens are giving her as guidance.

She had already been waiting here for several hours; what if they encountered danger?

Thinking this, Mu Yuanzhi decided to charge!

She walked in the direction the bird indicated, and after only a few steps, she suddenly spotted a person lying on the ground!

"Rongjin…"

Gu Rongjin lay motionless, covered in blood, eyes tightly shut!

"Rongjin!"

An overwhelming sense of suffocation instantly enveloped Mu Yuanzhi; she could barely catch her breath, and the sight of the gravely injured Rongjin collapsing continually stimulated every nerve of hers!

"Rongjin, what happened to you, Rongjin?!" Mu Yuanzhi's body trembled uncontrollably; she crouched down, trembling, not knowing what to do.

How could he be injured so badly—should she even try to help him?!

At this moment, all her medical knowledge seemed to vanish from her mind, leaving only bewilderment and helplessness.

Isn't he very capable? Why would he be injured so severely?

Mu Yuanzhi patted Gu Rongjin's ashen face: "Rongjin brother, wake up…"

Why won't he open his eyes? Why won't he answer her?

Clearly he was fine before she fell asleep; why did he become like this the moment she woke up?

Mu Yuanzhi suppressed the endless panic welling up inside her and fumbled to take Rongjin's pulse.

Strange, why can't I feel anything at all?!

Why is this happening?!

"Rongjin brother!" Mu Yuanzhi shouted his name at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking with sobs.

Her mind was filled with Rongjin's appearance and smile, one scene after another replaying like a lantern show, weighing down her limbs and making them even weaker.

Mu Yuanzhi suddenly seemed to recall something, trembling as she reached out to check Rongjin's breath; her heart almost stopped beating, and breathing required great effort.

Brother Rongjin, don't get hurt!

No?!

Her fingers could not detect Gu Rongjin's breath.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Mu Yuanzhi's head buzzed; instantly the world spun, her head swelled and her brain ached, she struggled to breathe to avoid nearly fainting from over-breathing.

"Gu Rongjin! Wake up!"

She collapsed onto Gu Rongjin's completely unresponsive body, weeping in utter despair.

"I haven't told you I like you… I love you… Gu Rongjin…"

At this moment, Mu Yuanzhi realized how much she liked Gu Rongjin.

Every moment they spent together was her fondest memory.

It's all her fault for always shutting herself off, refusing to see, hear, or feel.

She feared being hurt again, yet time and again she wounded his heart.

He was so good to her, yet she gave little in return.

"Brother Rongjin… you can't die!" Mu Yuanzhi clenched his bloodstained collar with her weak hands, she cried until her heart broke.

But he still had no response, and never would again.

"What am I to do if you die? Gu Rongjin!" Mu Yuanzhi screamed hysterically, as if using all her remaining strength, her voice echoing through the clouds.

"Little Yuanzhi!"

"Gu Rongjin?!" Mu Yuanzhi fiercely wiped the tears blurring her vision, incredulously looking at Gu Rongjin.

However, his lifeless face remained unchanged, his handsome brows and eyes devoid of any vitality, his tightly shut eyes unmoving.

An illusion?

Mu Yuanzhi forced a despairing smile.

"Little Yuanzhi!"

Mu Yuanzhi's nearly still heart was jolted alive by that call; she dazedly looked at Gu Rongjin, then looked around.

Could she have gone mad?

Has she finally gone mad?

"Mu Yuanzhi!"

Not an auditory hallucination? It's Rongjin! It's Brother Rongjin calling her!