frightfiction Chapter 1728
Chapter 1728
"Why... didn't you tell me all this beforehand?" Chen Xuan looked at the girl in his arms, barely breathing. She had once been such a proud and privileged young woman, but now she was as weak as fragile glass. "Do you really not care about your own life?"
Lin Yuyao did not answer, but simply gazed at him quietly, her eyes drifting to the distant past, her voice as soft as a dream: "Now you know... why my elder brother and I fought so hard to resist when Bai Qianhuan forced me to hand over the Holy Qilin Origin in the Ancient Immortal Road Secret Realm, right?"
Chen Xuan recalled their first meeting. Although she was in grave danger, she remained proud and unyielding, refusing to bow her head. He nodded, understanding dawning on him—it wasn't stubbornness, but a protective spirit in dire straits.
“I don’t like him…” Lin Yuyao suddenly smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “He wants to obtain my essence, but he can only do so by killing me and using a secret technique to extract it.”
Lin Yuyao, with bloodstains at the corner of her mouth, looked at Chen Xuan with an extremely sorrowful expression, "Chen Xuan, do you know what it feels like to have your bloodline coveted by various forces and to be schemed against by countless eyes since childhood..."
She coughed lightly twice, more blood trickling down her lips: "I almost never left Qilin City when I was young. My father, elder brother, master, and elders all doted on me, but this pampering was more like an invisible shackle. I couldn't meet strangers casually, and I couldn't go out to train like other cultivators. From childhood to adulthood, my brother was the only one by my side..."
"Chen Xuan, if you were me, growing up in this kind of environment, what would you become?" Her voice grew softer and softer, carrying a hint of weary bewilderment.
“I’m so tired… I’m really tired.” Lin Yuyao slowly closed her eyes, tears clinging to her long eyelashes. “From a young age, they’ve always said that I am the future of Qilin City, that I must cultivate diligently, that I must learn all the Holy Qilin spells, but no one has ever asked me… whether I want to learn, whether I want to be this future.”
"I just want to be like other sect disciples, to have someone I love, to do what I love, and to venture into the outer nebulae alone... I don't want to bear these burdens, I don't want to..."
"Waaah... Chen Xuan, why didn't you take all my essence? That way I would have died, and perhaps you would have continued to protect Qilin City out of guilt, and I wouldn't have to live under everyone's expectations anymore..."
"We're from the same generation, both at the Nascent Soul Reversal Realm, both... in love with you, so why have I ended up like this?" She finally couldn't hold back her silent sobs, her tears soaking Chen Xuan's clothes. "I can't live the life I want, but Sister Yu'er and the others... are so cherished and pampered by you..."
"What am I doing to you like this? What am I to you...?" She clutched Chen Xuan's collar as if grasping at a last straw, "Please tell me... Waaaaah..."
From her initial domineering and arrogant demeanor to her vulnerability now, she has shed all pretense. Chen Xuan knows that even Lin Yuqiong, who grew up with her, has probably never heard these words buried deep in her heart.
He gently shook his head, reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said in a low and gentle voice, "Don't despair of this world. You were born in Qilin City, one of the ten holy cities, and from a young age you have received resources far exceeding those of ordinary cultivators. Correspondingly, you are also destined to bear heavier shackles."
He paused, then continued, "However, placing all our hopes on you alone is ultimately a sign of our parents' incompetence."
From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever spoken to her from her perspective. Hearing this, Lin Yuyao's tears flowed even more fiercely, and she shook her head desperately—
She wanted to hear these words from her father, her deceased mother, her elder brother, her master… not from Chen Xuan, who offered this belated understanding.
"Chen Xuan, kill me..." Her voice was filled with painful struggle, "Or, take me away..."
Chen Xuan frowned slightly. Although this matter was troublesome, it was not insurmountable if he could resolve her inner conflict. Without further hesitation, he took out two bottles of innate spiritual liquid that were shrouded in blue and red hues, uncorked them, and held them to her lips.
Lin Yuyao's state of mind was now utterly exhausted, her essence damaged, her innocence exposed, and she had laid bare all the secrets she had kept hidden for thirty years. She had long been prepared to die. Even though the person she had been longing for was personally feeding her medicine, she still stubbornly kept her neck straight and her mouth tightly shut.
"Drink it." Chen Xuan's voice carried an undeniable power. "You are the pride of Qilin Holy City, the hope of countless elders. If you die like this, wouldn't you become a huge joke?"
He patiently persuaded him: "As for other matters, we can discuss them later."
"Chen Xuan..." Lin Yuyao sensed the gentleness in his tone, finally raised her eyes, her gaze filled with the last glimmer of hope, "Do you like me?"
Seemingly afraid of hearing a negative answer, she quickly added, "Even the smallest bit... counts."
Chen Xuan was so amused by her addition that he almost burst out laughing. If she weren't in mortal danger, he would have loved to give her a flick on the forehead—what kind of thought process does this girl have?
Chen Xuan pondered for a moment, then said helplessly, "Less than liking, more than a tiny bit." He didn't waste any more words, pinched her chin open with his left hand, and brought the jade bottle to her lips with his right hand, forcing her to drink it down.
"Chen Xuan...you bastard! Is this what you call liking...Ugh, glug..." Lin Yuyao's angry curse was interrupted by the spiritual liquid. The two bottles of innate spiritual liquid, which was a mixture of water and fire, slid down her throat into her stomach, causing her to cough repeatedly and tears to come out. However, she also felt a gentle yet powerful force slowly spreading from her dantian to her limbs and bones.