Chapter 130 – What Have You Done?

  Mei Lian pressed forward, weaving her way through the chaos of the battlefield in search of Jun De. Screams, clashing weapons, and the roar of unleashed techniques tore through the deck of the flying ship. Cultivators bled and burned all around her, yet she refused to slow her steps.

  Her cultivation at the 6th Level of Qi Condensation was enough to brush aside the weaker demonic cultivators and force her way past the Outer Sect Disciples blocking her path as her eyes swept through the carnage, searching everywhere for Jun De.

  Every breath she took was heavy and suffocating as the air was riddled with stagnant Demonic Qi.

  ‘Jun De has to be here.’ Mei Lian thought.

  She could almost feel his presence in the storm of Qi around her, but no matter how far she pushed through the battlefield, no matter how many bodies she stepped over, he was nowhere in sight.

  “Where are you?” She muttered under her breath, and her voice was filled with desperation. The more she searched, the more she feared that she was too late. Still, she pressed on because she had no other choice.

  Jun De was her only hope. She needed him, and his Blood Essence, to stabilize her foundation and return to the Sect. He was the only person who would understand what she did and why she had done it.

  Blood sprayed across her cheek as an Outer Sect Disciple and a Demonic Cultivator clashed, and a black robed body fell at her side. But Mei Lian didn’t even flinch at the sight anymore. Her eyes were wild, darting around the deck as she searched for him.

  Her limited spiritual sense was stretched thin, straining past the collision of battling Qi, but she couldn’t find a trace of him. The panic gnawed at her chest, but she forced it down and replaced it with determination.

  ‘I won’t stop here, not when I’m this close to him.’

  An Outer Sect Disciple in the 4th Level of Qi Condensation leapt into her path, and seeing her black robes, he attacked her. She struck out with the flat side of her sword and struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

  Mei Lian was so focused on finding Jun De that she didn’t look at him as she stepped over his body and kept moving.

  “Jun De!” She shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the chaos of the battle around her. She shoved forward harder, and her strikes grew sharper as her frustration began to build.

  “I don’t care if I have to carve my way through this entire battlefield; I’ll find you, Jun De.” Mei Lian whispered.

  She had only taken a few more steps when another voice called out to her.

  “Mei Lian?” It was hesitant and filled with worry.

  Mei Lian froze, and slowly, she turned her head to look at who had spoken. Through the haze of smoke and clashing Qi, Lin Yue stood staring at her. Her friend’s eyes were wide, her lips pale, and Mei Lian recognized that the woman wasn’t relieved at finding her.

  Instead, Lin Yue's face was filled with confusion and a dawning horror as her eyes fixed on the black robes clinging to Mei Lian’s body, and the faint layer of Demonic Qi hovering around her.

  Step by step, Lin Yue walked closer, and her hand trembled as she reached out.

  “What…what have you done to yourself?”

  Mei Lian’s heart lurched.

  “I don’t have time for this. I need to find Jun De!” Her voice was raw with desperation, but Lin Yue shook her head violently, tears already streaking down her cheeks.

  “No! Not until you tell me. Why are you dressed like them!? Why is your Qi so twisted? Mei Lian, why did you lead us into this trap!? People are dying!”

  The words struck Mei Lian like knives. Her breath hitched in her chest as panic clawed at her throat. This wasn’t what she wanted, and she didn’t know how to explain to Lin Yue what had happened, how she had been tricked and lied to by Ren Sihan, how the Crimson Rebirth Sutra was her only hope of being Jun De’s equal.

  Instead of answering her questions, Mei Lian shook her head furiously while cursing under her breath.

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  “Move! I don’t have time for this!”

  Mei Lian shoved Lin Yue away with a burst of Qi that was meant to give her some distance from the young woman. It was meant to be nothing more than that, a small push so that Lin Yue would leave her alone and she could find Jun De.

  But desperation, panic and her own unstable cultivation made her lose control.

  The strike slammed into Lin Yue like a hammer. Her friend’s eyes went wide as blood erupted from her lips, and her body was flung backward with sickening force. Lin Yue hit the deck hard, crumpling from the impact, and lying horribly still.

  Mei Lian’s arm dropped, and a tremble went through her entire body.

  “No…” Her voice broke as she staggered toward the fallen Lin Yue, her hands shaking violently. She hadn’t meant to hurt her; she hadn’t thought that Lin Yue wouldn’t block some of the force by instinct.

  The battlefields' roar faded for her in that instant. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing, and a silent question pounded in her head.

  ‘Did I just kill her?’

  The clash of weapons and the screams of the injured and dying faded in Mei Lian’s ears, but a single cry cut through it all.

  “LIN YUE!”

  Shen Ruolan burst from the chaos, her face white as bone. The three Azure Kingfisher swords that Jun De had given her orbited the space around her body like birds. They would slash apart every Demonic Cultivator that dared approach her.

  She dropped to her knees and cradled Lin Yue’s limp body in her arms.

  “Lin Yue, wake up!” Her voice cracked from anguish, fear, and worry.

  “You’re going to be alright. Everything is going to be fine.” Shen Ruolan repeated, as though it were a healing mantra that would heal Lin Yue with her words alone.

  Shen Ruolan’s hands trembled as she supported Lin Yue’s head and forced a golden pill past her friend’s pale lips. Her Qi poured out frantically, guiding the medicine through Lin Yue’s damaged meridians.

  For a terrifying moment, nothing happened. Lin Yue’s pulse was faint, barely there at all, and Shen Ruolan thought that she was too late.

  But mercifully, Lin Yue’s eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes cracked open, unfocused at first, before finding Shen Ruolan’s tear-streaked face.

  “Ruolan?” Lin Yue’s voice was barely a whisper, her breath soft against Shen Ruolan’s cheek.

  Shen Ruolan froze, scarcely believing what had happened. Then, after a moment, her composure broke.

  “You’re alive!” Shen Ruolan choked out, half laughing and half sobbing as she clutched her friend tightly in her arms. Relief hit her so hard that she almost collapsed, but she stopped when she saw that Lin Yue’s skin was still bloodless, her breathing shallow.

  The pill’s golden glow flickered weakly inside Lin Yue’s Dantian, struggling to stabilize her Qi and heal her injuries. Something was preventing it from working, and Shen Ruolan instantly realized that it was the Demonic Qi contained within the Demonic Cultivator’s attack.

  Just then, Mei Lian stumbled forward, her lips trembling as she tried to speak.

  “I…I didn’t mean…It wasn’t…I didn’t mean to hurt her!” Mei Lian tried to explain, stammering and halting.

  Shen Ruolan’s head snapped up, her tear-streaked face twisting with fury.

  “You attacked her! You think your words can undo that?!” She shouted, and her voice was raw and hoarse with emotion.

  “I didn’t mean-” Mei Lian tried again, her tone desperate and pleading for understanding.

  “Enough! You’ll pay for what you have done.” Shen Ruolan’s voice cut like a blade, stopping Mei Lian from saying anything further.

  Lin Yue stirred weakly in her arms, and when her eyes met Mei Lian’s, there was confusion and pain in them.

  “Sister Mei, why did you attack me?”

  The world seemed to stop around them as that question hit Mei Lian like a hammer. Shen Ruolan blinked in surprise, her eyes flicking between Lin Yue in her arms and the demonic cultivator standing in front of her as realization dawned.

  “You’re Mei Lian?” Shen Ruolan’s expression hardened into something colder and sharper than Mei Lian had seen before.

  “Traitor! You led us into this trap! You attacked Lin Yue! You’re one of them, and you’ll pay for your crimes!” Shen Ruolan hissed, her voice dripping with venom.

  Panic filled Mei Lian’s eyes. She stepped back, her hands raised as though to calm an enraged beast.

  “Wait, I can explain everything!”

  But Shen Ruolan’s killing intent flared, sharp enough to cut through the air itself. Spiritual energy roared around her, and the three Azure kingfisher flying swords began to swirl through the air. Shen Ruolan gripped Lin Yue protectively, while her eyes were locked onto Mei Lian.

  “There is nothing to explain, Traitor.” Shen Ruolan stated coldly.

  Mei Lian’s breathing quickened as the weight of Shen Ruolan’s killing intent pressed against her chest like a mountain.

  With no choice, Mei Lian turned and fled, her Qi propelling her toward the railing of the flying ship as the Azure Kingfishers streaked toward her.

  “You won’t escape!” Shen Ruolan shouted. The flying swords screamed through the air, leaving trails of azure light in their wake as they closed in on Mei Lian.

  Mei Lian leapt over the railing, spinning in mid-air to block the flying swords with her own blade. Sparks exploded, and Mei Lian was sent careening backwards over the side of the ship.

  The wind tore at her black robes as she landed on her flying beast that had been waiting below.

  “Come back here, Traitor!” Shen Ruolan shouted, raising her hand to send out the flying swords once again. But before she could do so, a weak hand reached out to grab her sleeve.

  “Ruolan, don’t.” Lin Yue whispered, her voice faint but firm. Her eyes were fixed on the rapidly shrinking figure of Mei Lian.

  For a long, tense moment, Shen Ruolan didn’t reply while the flying swords hummed and vibrated, ready to strike again. Then, she let out a breath and lowered her hand.

  “She is fortunate you spoke, Yue. If it were up to me...” Shen Ruolan’s voice trailed off.

  Lin Yue managed a faint smile, her hand slipping away from Shen Ruolan’s sleeve.

  “I know, but she is scared and alone. She needs help.” Lin Yue said, and Shen Ruolan shook her head.

  “You’re too soft, Yue. The next time I see her, I’ll give her the help she needs.” Shen Ruolan promised, the threat clear in her voice.