Xi Nv gently laid Guyuan down. Her look at me was so cold that it pierced to the bone. It seemed that in her eyes, I was a sinner who should bear all of Guyuan's pain.
No matter what she thought, I wouldn't blame her. Her motherly love for Guyuan was definitely no less than my affection for him, perhaps even more intense.
"Now I'm going to draw out your innate healing power and transfer it to Guyuan. Then I'll pour half of his spiritual power into your body. This process will be as painful as breaking bones and gouging out hearts. The spiritual power entering your body will be more painful than being skinned alive. Whether you can survive or not depends on fate," Xi Nv said coldly, without a shred of mercy.
I saw her spread out her five fingers, and five white dragon - bone claws as long as finger joints grew out of her fingertips. She was about to place them on my forehead.
"Wait..." I quickly stopped her.
Xi Nv let out a cold snort and said contemptuously, "I knew you were afraid of death. But it's not easy to find a good weapon spirit, so I'll never let you go."
"You've misunderstood me. I'm not afraid of death. I just need to break something," I said, slightly lowering my eyes and opening my palm. The red thread that had originally connected Guyuan and me gradually emerged.
By now, the red thread had broken. My eyes grew warm and I curled the corner of my mouth. It turned out that Guyuan had long anticipated this disaster. He must have secretly broken the red thread when he rushed to save me.
He always thought about me. I was deeply touched, yet also extremely sad. If we hadn't fallen in love with each other, would he not have ended up in such a situation?
"Okay, I'm ready," I said, turning my head to look at Guyuan, who was quietly "sleeping" beside me. With a smile on my lips, I slowly closed my eyes.
As soon as I finished speaking, Xi Nv's fingers were already on my crown.
At this moment, I didn't dare to open my eyes at all. I could clearly feel that the joints of her five fingers were slowly sinking into my scalp. The cracking sound of tearing flesh was like the sound of cutting through my skin and lifting my skull. Although I didn't feel the pain at that moment, just thinking about a craniotomy made me tremble all over.
But this moment was just the beginning. Immediately afterwards, the pain of having all my bone marrow drained made me doubt my life. I wanted to just hit my head and pass out.
Suddenly, I was sweating profusely, as if I had just emerged from the water. The clothes on my front and back were already soaked with sweat and clung tightly to my body.
I wanted to scream out, but I held it back. I gritted my teeth hard and trembled almost to the point of madness.
I didn't know how long this process lasted. Anyway, I was tortured to the brink of death, fainting from the pain and then waking up again.
Until I felt my body rapidly swelling like a balloon being inflated. My weak consciousness told me that Guyuan's spiritual power had been poured into my body, no... it was poured into Chiyu's body.
Was Chiyu suffering the same pain as me at this moment? Just thinking about it made me feel so sorry for her.
The pain intensified rapidly. Just as Xi Nv had said, it was like being skinned alive. The pain of being lingered was probably no worse than this.
It was as if all my muscles were exposed to the air, and then the flesh and blood quickly tightened when exposed to the wind. My whole body was wrinkled and wrapped together. The indescribable feeling was that even a gentle breeze felt like a needle prick, torturing me to the point where I wished I were dead.
"Are you dead?" Someone beside me pushed my shoulder. Just a gentle touch felt like being cut by a knife.
I opened my eyes weakly. My blurry vision gradually focused, and finally I could clearly see Xi Nv's face. At this moment, she was barely alive. She must have consumed too much energy during the transfer of spiritual power. She was lying on the ground, gasping for breath.
"I... I can still hold on..." I licked my dry lips and tried to get up from the ground.
As soon as I sat up straight, a silver light suddenly appeared on my chest, blinding me. When I wanted to look down, I saw nothing.
However, Xi Nv saw it all. She stared fixedly at my face, stunned, with her eyes almost popping out.
"No wonder you came out of that room. No wonder you were able to absorb both Guyuan's extremely powerful spiritual power and mine after bearing it. With the double spiritual power, you were still able to stay alive. So that's it... hahaha..."
After she finished speaking, her gaze immediately turned to Guyuan. At this moment, Guyuan was breathing, and his breathing was even. He looked like he was in a deep sleep. He should be out of danger.
"Yuan'er will be saved. Yuan'er... you'll be saved, hehe..."
I didn't know what she meant. But judging from her surprised expression, I knew that I had saved Guyuan this time. The heavy stone in my heart finally fell.
Xi Nv took out a sachet embroidered with patterns from her bosom and stuffed it into my hand, telling me to hold it tightly.
Several rays of white light squeezed out from between my fingers, and then the pain in my body was greatly reduced.
"Chiyu, remember, from today on, no matter who asks about your true form, including Guyuan, tell them that this sachet is your true form."
I opened my palm and looked at the sachet. A faint sandalwood fragrance wafted out from it.
This was the same sandalwood fragrance that came from Guyuan.
"Now I order you to take Yuan'er away from here. Take this jade pendant to Gu Qingcheng in the Nine Netherworld of Eternal Night. I've done her a favor. She will definitely take you two in. That place is a mixed - up area where humans, immortals, gods, demons, and ghosts coexist. It's the place that troubles the Heavenly Emperor the most and is also a law - less zone. It's a good place to hide."
After Xi Nv finished speaking, she was so weak that she coughed heavily twice.
"Are... are you okay?" I wanted to step forward to support her, but I was afraid that she would dislike me, so I could only ask.
"Don't worry. I won't die. Nanny Liu will come to find me soon."
I bit my lip and said apologetically, "I've absorbed your spiritual power. How can I return it to you?"
Xi Nv let out a couple of laughs, "It's fate. Once it's absorbed, it's yours. It will surely come in handy one day."
"Chiyu, you were born for Yuan'er and can only die for him. I want you to swear that you will never betray him in this life and the next. If you do, I will turn into a fierce ghost and haunt you every day."
There was a hint of venom on Xi Nv's face. I could understand this state of mind of a mother who would do anything for her son.
But even without her saying so, my heart had long been tied to Guyuan.
I didn't say a word. I slowly stood up and walked to Guyuan's side.
I gently flipped my fingers, and the broken red thread appeared again. I rubbed the two strands of the red thread in my palm and tied a diamond knot.
Although I didn't know if it was considered reconnected, it represented my determination to live and die with Guyuan.
"Don't worry. If I betray him, I'm willing to be thrown into the Nine Nether Blood Pool and never be redeemed."
Xi Nv's beautiful face looked at Guyuan again. Her love for him was obvious.
"I have another question. Please answer it for me," I asked Xi Nv, lowering my head.
Xi Nv didn't say a word. Summoning up my courage, I asked, "What on earth is my true form?"