The howling wind in her ears gradually softened, but the footsteps behind grew ever clearer. The bloodstains falling upon Feng Jiu’er grew more and more frequent…

She clutched the front of Jian Yi’s robe, her eyes burning with urgency. “Stop, I’m begging you.”

In truth she had never truly loathed him — even though he kept saying he wanted to chop off her hand. After all, he had not actually laid a hand on her; he had even promised to find a physician before doing anything. She really did not hate him anymore. This man’s foolishness was heartbreaking.

“Stop now, Jian Yi. Stop. Let’s not run anymore, all right?”

Jian Yi’s gaze had grown unfocused. At this point, what kept him moving forward was nothing but sheer instinct. Were it not for a single conviction — to get her back — he would have been unable to go on.

“Jian Yi, it’s too late. We can’t escape. Stop now — maybe there’s still one last chance.”

She dared not struggle. Every time she did, he had to exert even greater effort to hold her tightly. The moment he strained himself, the toxin would race through his body faster, and he would be one step closer to death.

Death… Feng Jiu’er was struck by a sudden chill!

No. No dying. Who was talking about dying? Who was going to die?

“Jian Yi…”

All at once Jian Yi’s tall frame swayed, and Feng Jiu’er felt her body plunge downward — the two of them tumbled headfirst off a high slope.

“Jian— mmph!”

Her head was pushed down by his hand, her whole body drawn into his embrace. They rolled off the high slope and plummeted toward a cliff’s edge. Feng Jiu’er had already resigned herself to death — yet beyond all expectation, jutting out below the cliff’s edge was a slab of stone.

Jian Yi continued to shield her with his body. With a heavy thud they came to rest upon the stone. Jian Yi bit down hard, his fingers splayed into claws as he seized a protruding knob of rock on the cliff face beside him, barely managing to steady both of them.

“Get inside.” He gave a push, and Feng Jiu’er was shoved into a hollow in the cliff wall. He stood before her still, his tall frame blocking her.

Looking up, she could see the men in black had gathered on the cliff top above. The precipice was too sheer for them to descend quickly, but there were many of them and they would find a way in time.

One man walked to the cliff’s edge. Confident in his own lightness skill, he gauged the jutting stone below, and with a light spring dropped down.

He did not expect Jian Yi to be standing right there by the cliff wall. The moment the man landed, Jian Yi struck him with a single palm and sent him into the bottomless chasm below.

“Ahh…” The scream rose from beneath the cliff, dreadful enough to make every scalp crawl.

In a hoarse voice, Jian Yi called out, “If you’re not afraid to die, by all means come on down and try!”

Of the dozens above, not a single one dared attempt it again.

Jiu’er clutched Jian Yi’s robe and tugged gently. “Lie down and let me apply the needles to drive out the poison.”

He was truly reaching his limit. His complexion had gone dark and his gaze had gone vacant, yet he still managed to stand at the edge of the cliff wall. Feng Jiu’er could not fathom what was keeping him upright, but this determination commanded genuine respect.

“Jian Yi…”

“I cannot fall.” Jian Yi’s voice was desperately hoarse, as though it were being squeezed from somewhere deep in his throat, barely able to emerge. But Feng Jiu’er could hear it clearly.

Her heart ached. She urged anxiously, “They don’t dare come down for now. Let me apply the needles first. Jian Yi, listen to me.”

Yet Jian Yi remained utterly unmoved, leaning against the cliff wall, gritting his teeth. “I… cannot fall!” As long as he still stood here, those people would not dare come down. If he fell, they could swarm down at any moment.

Feng Jiu’er grabbed his large hand and pressed her fingertips to the pulse point at his wrist. Taking that pulse nearly broke her composure entirely. The poison had reached his heart — he was nearly finished! Yet he continued standing at the cliff wall, and Feng Jiu’er almost had the illusion that there was nothing wrong with him at all. She had not expected that the poison would have reached his heart already. An ordinary person would long since have died from the toxin.

“No! Jian Yi, you must listen to me. Lie down now — you cannot spend another ounce of strength.” She pulled at him with force; yet Jian Yi’s tall frame merely wavered slightly, then stood firm again at the cliff wall. No matter how hard she pulled, he would not yield.

Yet his complexion was growing ever darker, and the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth had not the faintest sheen of red.

He was deeply poisoned — truly beyond saving.

“Jian Yi…” Feng Jiu’er gripped the hem of his robe, yet dared not keep pulling. He was already struggling with tremendous effort to remain upright. If she applied further outward force, it would be no different from pushing him toward death. Yet if she simply watched and did nothing — how was that any different from watching him die with her own eyes?

“We are nothing more than strangers who happened to cross paths. Those people are here for me. Why do you have to do this?”

She pleaded — yet no matter what she said, he refused to listen!

This man was as obstinate as a wild ox!

“I… am in the wrong toward you.” Jian Yi was truly nearly at the end of his endurance. His frame gradually leaned more heavily against the cliff wall.

“Feng Jiu’er, I won’t chop off your hand anymore. Go deeper in — see if there’s… another way out.”

Saying so much at once cost him dearly. His lips trembled, and at once another flood of dark black blood poured out. Jian Yi tried to raise his arm to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, but his arm had not a trace of strength left in it — he could not lift it at all. Every last bit of strength in his body was concentrated in his two legs. Only by calling upon the most powerful resolve of his life could he keep those two legs bearing his frame upright — and not go down.

“I’m standing guard here — they will be wary of me and will not dare descend easily — but I cannot keep up this pretence… for long.”

Jian Yi closed his eyes, and only after a long struggle did he find enough breath to continue: “Find a way out quickly… They will come down soon…”

“No!” How could she leave him here alone? If she truly did that, even if she survived to see another day, she would never live with a peaceful conscience.

“There is still a way. As long as you hold on — once you recover, I’ll find a way to repay your debt to Feng Qingyin.”

“I cannot… ruin you…”

“You won’t be ruining me. Believe me — I will definitely find a way to repay your debt.”

She understood: for someone like Jian Yi, Feng Qingyin’s act of grace, left unrepaid, would leave him with no peace for the rest of his life. Jian Yi did not know what method she was speaking of. He no longer had the strength to think. With each breath his chest grew ever more oppressive, as though only air could leave — no fresh air could come back in. Even breathing had become this difficult…

“Feng Jiu’er…” That tall frame still stood firm at the cliff wall, yet his voice had become so distant, as if coming from the far end of the sky: “I’m… sorry…”

“Jian Yi!” Jiu’er reached out to support him. She had not expected that rather than steadying him, the outward force she applied would cause him to fall directly forward. Jiu’er held his frame with all her strength — barely keeping him from going all the way down. But the posture Jian Yi had worked so hard to maintain, disrupted by her pulling, lost its balance in an instant.

He closed his eyes. His legs gave way, and he collapsed into her arms.

His blackened face held not the faintest light…