I Have to Save Him
Xiaoshuai emerged from Feng Haochen’s sword and hopped onto the latter’s shoulder. Enjoying an apple, Xiaoshuai asked, “Where next?”
“There,” answered Feng Haochen, peering at a star.
“Is it dangerous?”
“It might cost me my life,” Feng Haochen brightly replied.
“I’ll go with you.”
“If I can make it back, I want to stay at Third Heaven, the world I like, to protect it.”
***
Mu Yu returned to reality after viewing Xiaoshuai’s fragmented memories, breathing heavily.
“I did everything in my power to bring him back to Third Heaven after he suffered grievous wounds. He mentioned he wanted to protect this world…” Xiaoshuai scratched his head, addled. “I don’t want him to die! I don’t want him to die! I want to save him! I want to save him! Ah…” Xiaoshuai uncharacteristically trembled as though an earthquake hit, silver trails coursing down his cheeks. “I have to save him!”
Xiaoshuai transferred two energy rays from his eyes into the ether, connecting with the swirl up there. He snatched Lie Shang’s Sky Scorcher Sword and, dual wielding, unleashed hell on the firmament. As two currents of qi streamed down from the heavens, thunder cracked. The scattered energy from the swords effortlessly mowed down Xuelian’s trees.
Xuelian reverted to her true form in hopes of halting the qi attack, only for the energy to swerve onto an angle, vanquishing a third of her body. She turned tail as the qi started to cleave through the earth and demolish everything in sight.
“I have to save him…” Xiaoshuai murmured, voice fading each time he repeated himself and whipped his sword. The rampaging qi suddenly reversed, returning to the two celestial swords. “He made it. He made it. So sleepy now. So sleepy…”
Xiaoshuai raised the corner of his lips up, glad, as opposed to his usual mischievous grins.
“Xiaoshuai!”
Mu Yu caught Xiaoshuai’s backwards fall. Xiaoshuai’s lights were out, but he went into his slumber with a smile. Gradually, Xiaoshuai returned to his beast form just as in the scene Mu Yu saw, where Xiaoshuai lied on Feng Haochen, clinging tightly to the latter’s shirt.
***
“You promised to let me taste every world’s best dishes; you can’t die on me.”
“I can’t bring you along on such a dangerous quest. Sorry…” expressed Feng Haochen, despondent after suffering a grave wound.
“I’m not scared. Why do you insist on erecting Celestial Prison when you’re this hurt already, though?”
“There aren’t enough immortal people in this world. Celestial Prison will also keep the foreign races out of Third Heaven Palace…”
“But then you w-”
“I want to protect this world because I… like… it…”
Xiaoshuai’s memories ended as Feng Haochen’s voice tapered off.
***
Xiaoshuai slept clinging to Mu Yu’s shirt just as he did with Feng Haochen back then. Xiaoshuai’s memories had Mu Yu sentimental about his choices up to this point. In addition, he reframed what he really knew about Celestial Swords Nine Summons after Xiaoshuai demonstrated that the former did not actually know everything there was to know about the discipline. He replayed what he saw again so that he could try to learn the unearthed skills.
Mu Yu placed Xiaoshuai in his shirt and picked up his sword upon seeing Lie Shang land.
Lie Shang retrieved his sword. “What happened?”
“Xiaoshuai recalled a number of memories that have to do with Shifu.”
Lie Shang pursed his lips. “You’re awfully worn out.”
“I loaned my spiritual energy to Xiaoshuai.”
“You sensed it?”
“The swordplay? Yeah.”
“How much did you learn?”
“Forty percent.”
“How much can you execute?”
“Ten percent.” Mu Yu felt Shadow Splitter Sword vibrate gently in his hand.
“I’ll be main vanguard this time, then,” Lie Shang asserted, enhancing Sky Scorcher Sword in red energy.
Xuelian, unable to walk any longer, decided to mount another attack, spurring the bloom of branches and leaves again as she could tell the tremendous power before only lasted a fleeting moment. That said, perhaps Xiaoshuai managed to deal damage to her systems, causing her output to be reduced to a fraction of what it was before.
Lie Shang held his sword up, heating up the spiritual qi in the atmosphere. Once the branches came into range, he violently smote them!
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