Chapter 338: Brother, I Can't Turn Back

Yu Nian's hand was groping in midair, but for a long while she still couldn't touch me.

But before, even though she had no eyes, her perception was extraordinarily strong.

Often her agile, effortless movements would make me subconsciously forget that she had no eyes.

In my heart, she has always been a complete existence.

However now, her super-strong perception, as her body is being consumed, has gradually faded.

She began to have difficulty moving, began to become sluggish… This let me clearly realize that her life was slipping away.

I took hold of her hand, pressed it to my cheek, suppressing the sorrow welling up in my heart, and said, "Senior sister, I'm fine; I have successfully merged the other half of my soul."

Yu Nian's stance froze.

She is so smart; by now she already understood what was happening.

She turned to look at Tang Tang.

I quickly said, "Senior sister, don't blame Tang Tang; I'm the one who had her do this. We're not at ease with you."

"I'm fine," Yu Nian said. "It's not as serious as Tang Tang said."

"You don't even know what she told us." I firmly took her hand and said, "Senior sister, stay at the pawnshop for a few days; I'll ask the White Immortal Doctor to install the Buddha Eye for you…"

"No, I don't want the Buddha Eye." Yu Nian shook her head. "Xiao Jiu, I told you before—I can't guard the Buddha Eye, and I don't want to aid the tyrant. Leave them for those who need them… I… I'm fine…"

She said this and was about to leave.

But how could she possibly leave given her current condition?

Yu Nian was directly placed under house arrest by us at the pawnshop.

Tang Tang accompanied her for another half day; after confirming we had settled Yu Nian properly, she then returned to school.

I kept trying to persuade Yu Nian, but no matter what I said, she simply refused to accept that pair of Buddha Eyes.

She firmly believed she could get through it; installing that pair of Buddha Eyes would instead give spiritual qi to the enemy, and she didn't want to benefit the foe.

But that night, she fainted from pain in the room.

That was only the first half of the night; I watched as she poked both hands into her eye sockets, her whole body curled up on the bed twitching. She had no tears, but blood streamed down her face like bloody tears.

In the end we really had no choice; I and Li Qingying could only bind her two hands with cloth strips.

When she fainted from pain, suddenly there was a knocking at the front door.

The little gate of Nan Shu Fang was open; if someone came to pawn, there'd be no need to knock.

Li Qingying looked at Yu Nian, and I went to check the front.

Before I even reached the door, I faintly heard a weak voice crying from outside: "Brother, save me, I know I was wrong, please save me…"

It was Hui Shuchen!

Hui Moqiong wasn't in the pawnshop; he had gone again to guard the underground tower.

I reached out to open the door, and a pair of big hands extended from behind, saying, "I'll handle it."

Liu Junyan came over.

The instant he opened the pawnshop's big door, a person as thin as a stick insect clung to the threshold, desperately trying to crawl inside.

But he had no strength; the hand gripping the threshold kept trembling, his bones jutting high as if they'd shatter any moment.

Though the threshold wasn't very high, he simply couldn't manage to climb over it.

He was emaciated to the point of being unrecognizable; if I hadn't seen that he had no ears, I would hardly dare believe it was really Hui Shuchen.

Across the street, several large rats were huddled shrinking; they must have been the ones who brought Hui Shuchen over.

Hui Shuchen summoned all his strength to lift his face, weakly shouting, "Seventh Lord… Seventh Lord, please save me, I was wrong, I'm in so much pain, I really am…"

He hadn't finished speaking when he clapped his hands over his ears and began to convulse on the ground.

His convulsions were even larger than Yu Nian's, with foam continually spilling from the corners of his mouth.

Yu Nian woke up.

Li Qingying carried her on her back over and stood beside me.

She couldn't see, but she could hear.

She also knew about Hui Shuchen's situation.

When Hui Shuchen convulsed, her body, which had just eased, also twitched in sympathy.

Afterwards, Hui Shuchen suddenly screamed a few times, and two streams of blood shot from his exposed ear canals.

His body convulsed and rolled on the ground, he fell from the steps, leaving a long bloodstain on the floor.

The air already carried a faint smell of blood.

This process went on for a long time, with no one stepping forward to help.

Even if we wanted to help, there was nothing we could do.

He was already at the end of his tether.

When Hui Moqiong rushed back, Hui Shuchen was already at death's door.

He had exhausted his pain; now he lay on the street, a pool of blood beneath him.

He lay motionless, merely staring up at the dark night sky with his eyes open, blood still flowing from his ear canals.

Hui Moqiong crouched down and softly called, "Shuchen…"

After many calls, Hui Shuchen finally made out the voice; he slowly turned his blood‑smeared face toward Hui Moqiong, his ashen eyes meeting his, and hoarsely said, "Brother, I was wrong…"

Hui Moqiong gripped his hand and nodded firmly: "Brother knows, Shichen knows his mistake; to know fault and be able to amend is the greatest good…"

"Brother, I can't turn back."

Perhaps it was the onset of terminal lucidity; Hui Shuchen's eyes seemed to regain a bit of luster, and his strength returned a little.

"One misstep leads to another; I was pushed forward and couldn't stop."

"I know I was chosen by them as a replacement; I once saw a white sable just like me, with a pair of spiritual ears, and in the third year after you were sealed, I personally witnessed its death."

"I'm scared, brother, I'm really scared."

"They don't know where they got another pair of spirit ears, replacing the one the white ferret lost its spirituality, and then they told me, as long as I obey and do things well for them, they won't move against me."

"They lied to me! Once I lose my usefulness, they will unhesitatingly sacrifice me, brother, not resisting also means no way to live..."

"A mouthful of blood spurted from Hui Shuchen's throat, and he convulsed violently again."

"He tightly grabbed Hui Moqiong's hand with one hand, his eyes wide open, full of bloodshot, yet filled with unwillingness."

"He wants to live!"

"He wants Hui Moqiong to save him!"

"But it's too late."

"At the moment he betrayed the Grey Immortal Hall and rushed toward Huicheng, his fate was already sealed."

"Nobody could save him."

"Hui Shuchen died just like that on the street."

"He died amidst the deep night..."

"Yu Nian! Yu Nian!"

"Li Qingying suddenly cried out."

"Yu Nian fainted again."

"In the pawnshop, there was another flurry of frantic activity."

"Hui Moqiong collected Hui Shuchen's corpse, cremated it, and temporarily buried it on the mountain of the Dou family ancestral tomb."

"He said that when he returns to Qinling next time, he will bring his brother's ashes back, rebury him, and let him return to his roots."

"Hui Shuchen's death made everyone sigh involuntarily."

"What we never expected was that after experiencing this night, Yu Nian suddenly understood."

"She agreed to take that pair of Buddha Eyes."

"She grabbed my hand and said to me: 'Before, I thought even if I died, I shouldn't let those demons have it easy, but witnessing Hui Shuchen's death and his last words, I now realize that besides me, many other spirited beings are suffering inhuman torment.'"

"She said: 'Xiao Jiu, only by completely uprooting that group of demons will the tragedy end; I'm willing to give it a try...'"