The Vicious Beauty Faked His Death Three Times [Transmigration] - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Breaking the Array

The exit of the previous secret passage had already been blocked by falling rocks, and even the stone steps had collapsed from the tremors. Under these circumstances, the stone chamber had returned to a state of calm, with only the occasional falling pebble.

But this was merely the calm before the storm; the increasing frequency of falling debris was the best proof. They had to get out as quickly as possible.

Lin Qinghan followed behind Ling Yanhe, looking up at the path ahead.

Ling Yanhe had discovered this path. Although he didn’t know where it led, with the protagonist’s halo, this path should be the correct one.

Compared to the end of this road, Lin Qinghan felt he should care about himself first.

Within his vast white sea of consciousness, a small mound of earth had bulged up, revealing only a microscopic tip of a vine. No matter what Lin Qinghan did, he could not wake Baichun.

He could feel that this deeply buried vine was helping him suppress the Gu insect in his heart.

But it wasn’t enough.

Lin Qinghan frowned slightly, and the fingers hanging at his side subconsciously curled.

The rhythmic stings in his heart weren’t violent, but they were incredibly wearing, not to mention his current state.

The effect of the Everspring Ivy was naturally good; at least it gave him a chance to fight against the Symbiotic Gu. But he hadn’t expected this Gu to be so fierce—even with Baichun’s suppression, it still managed to forcibly overshadow his consciousness.

Thinking of this, Lin Qinghan’s expression turned somewhat dark, and even the gaze he directed at Ling Yanhe carried a hint of resentment.

Regarding the Symbiotic Gu, he needed to know more information.

Before Baichun woke up, Lin Qinghan could only grope for answers through his own experiences.

His memories before his consciousness grew heavy were a bit blurred. He only remembered that after seeing Su Nianhuan’s corpse, the heart-gnawing pain had torn his consciousness into a hazy mess. Only the taste of blood spreading in his mouth remained vividly in his memory.

The control capability of the Symbiotic Gu was more powerful than he had anticipated, perhaps due to the Gu’s flare-up.

But what kind of antidote had Ling Yanhe fed him?

Could it be… his own blood?

At this thought, Lin Qinghan almost subconsciously raised his hand to brush his lips, as if trying to wipe away the strange sensation in his mind.

The moment he raised his hand, his gaze fell upon the fine thread on his wrist.

Why hadn’t Ling Yanhe taken this thing back?

Lin Qinghan felt somewhat surprised and annoyed; he didn’t like the feeling of being monitored.

Suddenly, the person in front of him stopped and turned back to look at him. Lin Qinghan quickly dropped his hand and put on a flawless smile for Ling Yanhe.

Ling Yanhe’s gaze traveled from Lin Qinghan’s face to those thin lips that had been rubbed a bit crimson, finally landing on the wrist hidden in his sleeve.

There it was again—that uncomfortable gaze.

“What are your instructions, Young Master?” Lin Qinghan spoke first.

Ling Yanhe swept a glance over him, took a step back, and pointed a finger at the stone wall before them.

“Is this a dead end?” Lin Qinghan asked with a frown.

“No.” Ling Yanhe’s gaze landed on his right wrist. “Come here.”

The fine thread on his wrist actually began to squirm at the words, attempting to drag Lin Qinghan over.

Slap—

A crisp sound rang out as Lin Qinghan slapped the fine thread against his hand, showing no mercy with the strike.

“Don’t trouble yourself, Young Master. I can walk on my own,” Lin Qinghan said, almost through gritted teeth.

Ling Yanhe looked down at Lin Qinghan’s wrist. The red mark left by the slap was exceptionally vivid on the fair skin, but it was quickly covered by the sleeve. His gaze also retracted as Lin Qinghan approached.

Lin Qinghan froze for a second when he reached the stone wall. He raised his hand and gave a sharp snap of his fingers; a small flame suddenly sprouted from his fingertip, currently flickering slightly.

“There’s a breeze,” Lin Qinghan said, watching the flame.

Wind meant there was an exit; the path Ling Yanhe chose was indeed correct.

“Mm.” Ling Yanhe raised a hand to touch the stone wall. Then, he injected some spiritual power into it. Instantly, the wall was covered in vines. If Ling Yanhe hadn’t retracted his hand quickly, his arm likely would have been strangled by the aggressive plants.

“An array has been placed on the stone wall. To get out, we must break the array.” Ling Yanhe withdrew his hand and shook it casually a couple of times.

Lin Qinghan half-closed his eyes, his gaze shifting back and forth between the stone wall and Ling Yanhe.

“You want me to break the array, Young Master?” Lin Qinghan asked with an arched eyebrow.

Ling Yanhe admitted it directly: “Mm. Fire counters Wood; it is indeed your turn to act.”

As expected. He knew Ling Yanhe wasn’t kind enough to lead the way for nothing. Lin Qinghan wasn’t surprised by this at all.

But the demonic power in his body had been almost entirely drained by Baichun; he had no strength left to break the array.

Hearing this, Lin Qinghan nodded. He leaned against the wall thoughtfully and raised both hands, looking at Ling Yanhe as if he were giving up: “You’re right, Young Master. But the demonic power in my body is nearly gone. If I force myself to break the array, I’ll die.”

Ling Yanhe seemed prepared for his words. He took two steps toward him.

Lin Qinghan almost subconsciously went on alert.

A warm palm landed on his shoulder. In a flash, Lin Qinghan felt a surge of true qi flow into his body like a warm current, and his previously depleted dantian gradually began to fill.

Ling Yanhe was transferring true qi to him.

The other was testing his current condition.

Just as Lin Qinghan was about to turn his head to look at him, he felt the hand on his shoulder apply some pressure.

“Concentrate. The Symbiotic Gu won’t hold for long. If you still want to be manipulated by me, feel free to keep moving around aimlessly.” A sneer fell from beside him.

Lin Qinghan rolled his eyes at Ling Yanhe in his heart: “If you wanted to know my current state, you could have just asked me directly. No need for such a roundabout method.”

“Seeing is believing; hearing is unreliable,” Ling Yanhe said.

What a paranoid habit.

Lin Qinghan ignored him further and straightened his body. He placed his hand on the stone wall. Before the vines could touch his fingertips, fire had already sprouted, instantly consuming the vines and turning them to ash.

It didn’t matter if Ling Yanhe discovered Baichun’s existence; the other couldn’t do anything to him anyway. Besides, the priority was to leave this place first.

The vines grew infinitely as if they could never be burned away. Lin Qinghan felt like a pool being drained—draining water while simultaneously storing it.

He finally understood why Baichun didn’t even have the ability to break the array; it had likely long been milked of all its value by Tianhai Pavilion.

“These vines won’t burn away, and I’m running out of strength,” Lin Qinghan said with a frown. His face at this moment could be described as deathly pale.

He had reached his limit.

Ling Yanhe looked down at the thorns gradually climbing up his neck. His dark eyes sank, and he transferred even more true qi.

Lin Qinghan gritted his teeth and held on. Bursts of dizziness had begun to appear before his eyes.

Lin Qinghan subconsciously tossed his head, wanting to be more awake, but the movement didn’t help much. The taste of blood welled up in his throat.

The surroundings began to shake violently, and the stone wall before them produced several cracks under the heavy burden.

It was almost the final step, but only Lin Qinghan knew how far away that step truly was.

He really couldn’t hold on much longer.

The vine in his sea of consciousness chose this exact moment to break through the soil and grow wildly, nearly causing his head to explode.

“Lin Qinghan.”

“Lin Qinghan!”

The shouts called Lin Qinghan’s thoughts back. Suddenly, two fingers pressed against his lips, forcefully prying open his clenched teeth, then pressing onto the tip of his tongue, forcing their way into him along with the taste of blood.

“Ling Yanhe… mmm… you…”

Blurred sounds were spit out from Lin Qinghan’s mouth. He could feel drops of blood flowing down, sliding down his throat.

The vine in his sea of consciousness was slowly shrinking back due to this action.

Ling Yanhe was truly using fresh blood as the antidote for the Gu insect.

Damn!

This is too disgusting!

Lin Qinghan resisted almost instinctively, but the hand pressing on his shoulder added even more strength.

“Move again, and you can be buried with me here.”

The cold voice fell by Lin Qinghan’s ear.

In a flash, a picture appeared in Lin Qinghan’s mind: a hundred years later, someone digs out the soil with a shovel, and in the massive pile of earth, his and Ling Yanhe’s white bones are inextricably entangled.

That’s even more disgusting…

No, even if he died, he couldn’t die together with Ling Yanhe.

Lin Qinghan closed his eyes and steeled his heart. Fire suddenly manifested from the stone wall, growing more intense as if to swallow everything.

Rumble.

The stone wall before them suddenly collapsed. Piercingly bright light slanted down, dazzling Lin Qinghan’s eyes.

The strength in his body was almost completely drained the moment the array broke. Lin Qinghan didn’t even have time to dodge the pebbles falling from overhead.

Unexpectedly, the stones didn’t land on him.

Before Lin Qinghan could react, the fingers in his mouth were suddenly withdrawn, his waist was caught by someone, and he was completely enveloped by another person’s scent.

“Wear it well.”

A cold mask was snapped onto Lin Qinghan’s face. He was pulled out of the tunnel by Ling Yanhe. In an instant, he shifted from being held by the waist to being carried on the other’s back.

Ling Yanhe’s footsteps didn’t stop. The thunderous sound of collapse came from behind. Lin Qinghan subconsciously turned his head and saw the Tianhai Pavilion, which had been like a celestial pavilion, now collapsing in a roar.

Furthermore, several small black dots were moving rapidly toward them. After seeing that each person held a weapon, Lin Qinghan understood—these people were here to hunt them down.

Of course, these things weren’t his concern anymore; they all belonged to Ling Yanhe.

He truly couldn’t squeeze out a single bit of strength now. Besides, he had put in so much effort to break the array; carrying him away was something Ling Yanhe, as a partner, ought to do.

At this thought, Lin Qinghan leaned onto Ling Yanhe’s back with a clear conscience, letting the other person flee for their lives while working themselves to death.

“Young Master, you must protect me thoroughly,” Lin Qinghan said with a light laugh, leaning close to Ling Yanhe’s ear.

Lin Qinghan, who was intentionally looking for trouble, didn’t expect Ling Yanhe to actually turn his head toward him upon hearing this.

At some point, Ling Yanhe had also put on a mask. Lin Qinghan could only see through the gaps in the mask that those eyes, usually black and gloomy, actually revealed a hint of a smile.

The youth slightly hooked his lips and arched an eyebrow at him: “Naturally.”

Lin Qinghan was stunned for a moment.

The other’s tone was too bold and natural. He almost took a moment to realize that Ling Yanhe was also just a seventeen-year-old youth.

Young people are most easily stirred into a strange sense of joy and excitement by grand scenes and thrilling escapes.

Ling Yanhe was no exception; it was just that his previous gloomy appearance had left a stereotypical impression in his mind, suppressing the youthful energy that shouldn’t have been absent.

Zheng—

Fine threads suddenly sprouted from behind Lin Qinghan, blocking the sharp arrows shot at him.

Ling Yanhe retracted his gaze and focused on evading the attacks from behind.

Leaning on the man’s back, Lin Qinghan’s expression shifted from surprise to something strange.

What are you posing for…

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