allonlinenovel Chapter 546
Chapter 546
"Are you afraid?" As Ye Jiuchen turned his head, the morning light fell on the scar at the corner of his eye, a wound inflicted last year in the northern desert while saving children, caused by a bear's claws. Dongfang Wan'er tightened her blood-stained hairband, the jade hairpin gleaming coldly in the sunlight: "I am afraid, but I'm even more afraid of spending the rest of my life trapped outside this fog, never knowing whether there's a medicine that can bring rebirth, or a truth that will never fade, on the other side of the mountain."
In the shadow of the nine-headed cypress, something was breaking through the soil. It was half an arm adorned with a gold-inlaid jade thumb ring, its fingernails still embedded with years of bloodstains. Ye Jiuchen gripped the copper ring of his medicine chest, hearing his own heartbeat gradually merge with the distant sound of flowing water. He knew that the real test had only just begun. And their path, like this winding mountain trail, led knowingly into an abyss, yet they had no choice but to walk step by step towards the unknown light, or perhaps, into even deeper darkness.
When Ye Jiuchen's fingertips touched the warmth of Dongfang Wan'er's palm, his long eyelashes cast dappled shadows beneath his eyelids. He lowered his gaze to the jade bell swaying on her wrist—a gift he had given her for her birthday last year, now trembling slightly with her rapid breathing. "I'll see what mysteries are hidden in this mist," he chuckled softly, a silver needle already slipping silently between his fingers from his sleeve. Before his words were even finished, he led her into the surging fog.
The mountain path, piled high with decaying leaves, groaned softly beneath their feet. Ye Jiuchen suddenly stopped, his fingertips tapping three times lightly on her wrist. From the bushes three zhang away to his right, the sounds of snapping branches mingled with the screeching of some creature. He spun around, shielding her behind him, his blue robe billowing as he released seven bone-piercing nails. The whooshing sound startled several night owls, which fluttered their wings and swept past, clutching half a blood-stained piece of animal fur in their claws.
“It’s the scent of a Netherworld Wolf.” He ran his fingertips over the congealed black blood on the nail head, then suddenly untied a gilded sachet from his waist. “Hold your breath.” The moment the sachet was torn open, a sweet borneol fragrance wafted out, suppressing some of the surrounding stench. Dongfang Wan’er noticed the faint blush rising on the tips of his ears, then remembered that he had been sensitive to exotic scents since childhood, yet he still forced himself to hand the sachet towards her.
After rounding three mountain bends, a pale green mist spread out like a curtain at the valley entrance. Moonlight pierced through the mist, casting a faint glow on their clothes. Just as Dongfang Wan'er's fingertips touched the mist, Ye Jiuchen suddenly grabbed her wrist: "Look." He tossed a copper coin, which traveled three zhang (approximately 10 meters) through the mist before turning black. "It indeed contains corpse poison." He then took out two jade bottles from a hidden pouch; as the stoppers were removed, the fragrance of snow lotus blossoms wafted out. "These are antidote pills made from ice crystal grass from the snow-capped mountains; they will keep you safe for three hours."
As the wooden door of the medicine hut creaked open, Ye Jiuchen's silver needles had already pierced the vines hanging from the beam—the tips of which bore blood-red flower buds, slowly wriggling towards them. Dongfang Wan'er clenched the silk handkerchief in her hand, the twin lotus blossoms embroidered on the corner soaked with cold sweat. Inside, on the medicine shelf, a thousand-year-old ginseng was entwined with a datura vine, and half a dark purple pill remained in the bronze medicine grinder; the medicinal dust floating in the air made her nose itch.
"Look here." Ye Jiuchen's voice came from beside the desk piled high with ancient books. A candle flame from his sleeve leaped onto the candlestick, and in its glow, Dongfang Wan'er saw his fingertips trace the vermilion annotations on the yellowed pages: "The Spirit Heart Grass grows on the banks of the River of Oblivion, its roots immersed in the Yellow Springs, and its flowers must be watered with the blood of the heart." Her fingertips involuntarily pressed against her heart, but he gently took them and kissed them lightly: "Do you remember what I promised you? Back then, in front of the Temple of the Old Man of the Moon, I said I would pluck stars from the sky and scoop the moon from the sea for you."
As he packed her belongings, Ye Jiuchen tucked the black iron dagger into her waistband, while he concealed twelve bone-piercing nails in his boot. As he tightened her cloak, he suddenly spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear: "If the road ahead is truly difficult, hide in my shadow. My shadow is long enough to protect you." Dongfang Wan'er looked up and saw the candlelight reflected in his eyes, brighter than she could ever remember.
As she pushed open the wooden door of the medicine hut, a night wind carrying a misty rush rushed towards her. The distant mountains were outlined with menacing silhouettes in the darkness, and in the direction where the Spirit Heart Grass grew, ghostly blue flames flickered. Ye Jiuchen suddenly reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushing against her burning earlobe: "Are you afraid?" She shook her head, seeing the smile on his lips, just like when they first met. That year, when she shattered a glass goblet at the lantern festival, he smiled just like that, shielding her from the shards: "It's alright, I'm here."
As the fog surged, their figures gradually disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly, the copper bells on the eaves of the medicine hut rang, as if bidding them farewell. And in the deeper fog, a pair of eerie eyes watched their retreating figures, a chilling smile twisting its lips—was this obsession with rebirth a cure, or another calamity?