The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 58

Wen Xiwu’s grief was so profound it acted like a beacon, drawing in every mindless bird from the surrounding area. The enlightened members of the Feather Clan followed shortly after, having hesitated only out of a lingering fear of intruding upon her sorrow.

The common birds fluttered anxiously around Wen Xiwu, hopping to and fro, trying in their own simple way to offer comfort.

Drip.

A drop of warm liquid fell, landing squarely on a small white bird. The little creature tilted its head, and a streak of crimson slid down its snowy feathers.

The bird used a wing to wipe its head and then peered at the smudge an action that revealed it was an enlightened spirit hiding among the flock.

“Chirp!”

Blood!

The bird looked up and caught sight of Yun Heng’s deathly pale face and the stray smear of blood at the corner of her lips.

That sharp, nervous cry snapped the tension in Wen Xiwu’s mind. She opened her tear-blurred eyes and suddenly realized that her Senior Sister’s body had gone limp.

Lifting her head from Yun Heng’s embrace, she felt her Senior Sister’s hand gently brushing away her tears. “Don’t cry,” Yun Heng whispered, her voice a mere thread. “The Phoenix Lord is so powerful… she may have already escaped danger by now.”

Wen Xiwu’s tears fell faster—not just for her mother, but for the woman holding her.

Yun Heng’s voice was soft, not by choice, but because she was utterly spent. Her old wounds had never healed, and the Heavenly Punishment had shattered her foundation. She hadn’t even had a moment to breathe before rushing here. To make matters worse, she had used a forbidden secret art to gamble a path of survival for the Phoenix Lord.

The Phoenix Lord’s remnant soul had been like a candle flickering in a gale; the slightest draft would have snuffed it out. Yun Heng had spent her own soul power to mend that fading spark, shielding it from disaster and lighting a path home. But with her own soul already unstable, carrying the burden of another’s remnant spirit was an act of slow suicide.

Now, her body was paying the price. Wen Xiwu reached out, trembling, to wipe the blood from Yun Heng’s chin. “Senior Sister,” she choked out, “have you been doing something behind my back again?”

Something that undoubtedly involved her mother.

Yun Heng offered a smile as gentle as a pale winter sunrise. She pulled Wen Xiwu back into her arms and murmured, “Just wait a little longer. The Phoenix Lord cannot bear to leave you; she will surely come back to find you.”

Fresh tears welled in Wen Xiwu’s eyes. She clung to Yun Heng’s waist, which felt even thinner than before and nodded. She knew the hope was slim, but in this moment, she chose to believe her Senior Sister over her own despair.

As the younger girl’s sobs began to quiet, Yun Heng felt a moment of relief. But the second her mental defenses relaxed, a metallic sweetness surged up her throat.

The blood she coughed up stained Wen Xiwu’s shoulder. The secret art she had used to shield the Phoenix Lord from the spatial rifts had finally triggered its backlash.

She couldn’t hide it anymore. Yun Heng’s vision flickered to black, her consciousness slipping away from her physical form.

When the warm liquid hit her skin, Wen Xiwu’s pupils shrank. Terror and helplessness clawed at her heart.

“Senior Sister…” Wen Xiwu’s hands shook as she held the collapsed body of Yu Hengwei, but Yun Heng did not answer.

A phoenix’s mourning cry caught in her throat, turning into a hoarse, ragged sob. She had just lost her mother; she pleaded with the heavens to show mercy. She could not lose her Senior Sister, too.

The Physician Immortal was still at the Sect of Asking God, but the distance between the Wan-sen Domain and the East-zhao Domain was vast. It had taken Wen Xiwu days to travel here. Days… it would be too late.

Fortunately, the Kings of the Feather Clan quickly constructed a complex teleportation array. Several Golden Immortals combined their power to force the gate open, sending her directly back to the East-zhao Domain. Once there, the journey to the sect was a short flight.

Wen Xiwu reached the Sect of Asking God just as twilight was deepening into night. At that moment, the Physician Immortal was sipping tea and browsing an ancient medical text. Driven by desperation, Wen Xiwu bypassed all etiquette and kicked the door open.

The Physician Immortal nearly choked on her tea. Before she could scold the intruder, the sight of the person in Wen Xiwu’s arms stopped her heart.

Yun Heng?

The girl who had just broken her door was the same one she thought was resting in her room. How could she be in this state? The Physician Immortal had personally watched Yun Heng take her medicine that evening, and she had seemed fine then. How had she turned into a half-dead ghost in the blink of an eye?

There was no time for questions. Saving her was the priority. She motioned for Wen Xiwu to lay Yun Heng on the bed. Sure enough, on top of the old wounds, the Heavenly Punishment, and the curse, there were fresh injuries just as severe. It was a miracle she was still breathing; anyone less than a True Immortal would have perished long ago.

With trembling hands, Wen Xiwu produced the Pure Flame Pearl her mother had left her. “Senior Physician, I have the Pure Flame Pearl.”

“Good, good! With this, there is a chance… I will break the curse first.” The Physician Immortal’s eyes lit up as she immediately began to channel the pearl’s power.

During the process, Wen Xiwu explained what had happened. It was only then the Physician Immortal realized the “Yun Heng” left at the sect was a decoy; the real one had slipped away the very first day.

Hah. The Physician Immortal’s lip curled. No wonder the “Yun Heng” at the sect had been so unusually obedient lately. It had felt surreal. Now, it made perfect sense.

Of course, she wouldn’t stay put! I was careless.

“Go and rest for a while. Don’t worry, Sect Leader Yun won’t die,” the Physician Immortal said, glancing at the exhausted, fragile girl. She suppressed her urge to complain about the deception; Wen Xiwu had suffered enough. There would be plenty of time to lecture them both later.

Wen Xiwu shook her head silently. She gripped Yun Heng’s hand and refused to budge. She was like a startled bird, unable to find peace unless she watched over the patient herself.

The Physician Immortal sighed but didn’t push her.

The patient was a mess of accumulated trauma. Even for a divine physician, it was a delicate task to untangle the knot of injuries. She didn’t know what dangerous feat Yun Heng had performed out there, but her internal meridians were a wreck. If not for the Pure Flame Pearl lifting the Heavenly Curse, the Physician Immortal wasn’t sure she could have stabilized her.

It took an entire day of constant treatment before Yun Heng was out of immediate danger. Even after the physician left, Wen Xiwu stayed by the bedside, afraid to leave for even a second.

Yun Heng’s face was as white as paper. She lay so still, her chest barely moving, that she looked almost…

Wen Xiwu pressed Yun Heng’s palm against her own cheek. The palm still held a trace of warmth, the only thing keeping her from spiraling into panic.

Tears escaped her eyes. The heat of Wen Xiwu’s tears was far higher than the temperature of Yun Heng’s skin. Perhaps it was that warmth that did it, for Yun Heng’s fingertips gave a faint, rhythmic twitch.

“Senior Sister, please wake up,” Wen Xiwu whispered to the unconscious woman. “The King of the Qing-luan and the others said they want to take me to the Origin Spirit Domain. If you don’t wake up, I might just go with them.”

Wen Xiwu talked to her for hours, but Yun Heng remained deep in her slumber. Meanwhile, the various Kings of the Feather Clan had been sending messages, each expressing a thinly veiled desire to “kidnap” her back to their own territories.

She had rejected them all. How could she leave the sect now? She had only mentioned it in a moment of weary rambling, but as she turned her head, she found herself staring directly into Yun Heng’s eyes.

Yun Heng was incredibly weak, yet she used every ounce of her strength to squeeze Wen Xiwu’s hand. “Don’t go…” she pleaded.

She looked like a small, sickly animal terrified of being abandoned. Wen Xiwu’s eyes turned red instantly. She collapsed into her Senior Sister’s arms and began to cry uncontrollably.

Yun Heng, who had literally been frightened awake by the thought of her Junior Sister leaving, instinctively held her. She stroked the girl’s back, repeating “don’t be afraid” over and over.

How could she not be afraid? Wen Xiwu knew that if she closed her eyes, her dreams would be filled with images of her Senior Sister dying.

She clung tighter. Feeling her terror, Yun Heng continued to pat her back soothingly.

After a long while, Wen Xiwu finally stopped crying. She wiped her eyes, tucked Yun Heng back in, and went to the infirmary to fetch the medicine.

Her earlier crying had attracted a flock of birds again. They surrounded the building in thick layers, fluttering toward her the moment she stepped outside.

“Cough, cough.” Yun Heng gave a weak cough. The birds outside were… a bit much.

Hearing the cough, Wen Xiwu worried her condition was worsening and hurried toward the medicine room, intending to call the Physician Immortal back for another check-up.

Rustle!

Though Yun Heng was bedridden, her divine sense was still tracking her Junior Sister. When it came to the fear of loss… Yun Heng’s psychological scars ran much deeper.

But as her senses drifted outward, she suddenly heard a movement right next to her—the sound of wings flapping.

Did a bird get inside?

Yun Heng slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the sound. She saw a small white fluffball casually strolling past the side of her bed.

Upon seeing the little thing, Yun Heng nearly bolted upright.

The fluffball looked exactly like Wen Xiwu’s original form. Yun Heng’s lips trembled as the name almost escaped her: “Phoenix Lord?”

The little fluffball glanced at her, then continued its arrogant strut. It radiated an aura of pure, unadulterated defiance. Yun Heng realized then that this wasn’t the Phoenix Lord.

It was Qing Tuan.

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