Chapter 42: Refusing to Save the Dying
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
Huff—
Huff—
Wu Shao Zhen collapsed weakly to the ground.
His entire body ached as if all his bones had been crushed into fragments, leaving him in unbearable pain.
If not for the faint sound of his own breathing, he would have believed himself already on the road to the afterlife.
He curled the corners of his lips in bitter self-mockery.
One reaps what one sows.
Not long ago, he had accidentally stumbled into a secret realm and discovered several Scarlet Flame Lion cubs.
Though only cubs, the essence in their flesh and blood far surpassed that of most Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
In a moment of greed, he used his Gu Insects to devour three of the lion cubs, inadvertently incurring a disastrous calamity.
It turned out that within the secret realm, there was a Fourth-Stage Scarlet Flame Lion Demon. It immediately sensed the death of its cubs and launched a relentless pursuit.
Wu Shao Zhen fled desperately from the secret realm to the Dragon Roar Valley, yet he couldn’t shake off the Scarlet Flame Lion. The beast toyed with him as though he were a mere plaything. In the end, Wu barely managed to deceive it by transforming the majority of his Gu Insects into duplicates of himself.
He had narrowly escaped with his life but at a great cost: his body bore severe injuries, and the painstakingly cultivated Gu Insects had been nearly annihilated.
Most critically, he had lost the ability to move. If he encountered danger now, he’d be utterly defenseless and left at the mercy of fate.
Wu Shao Zhen shut his eyes in despair as fragments of his life flashed through his mind.
One by one, his family members had fallen in a sea of corpses and blood, refusing to reveal his whereabouts.
He was Wu Shao Zhen, the last descendant of the Wu family. The bloodline of the Wu family could not be extinguished!
“Help… help me…”
“Someone, please save me…”
“I don’t want to die…”
Wu Shao Zhen’s lips trembled as he murmured faintly.
His rational mind told him that no one could hear his cries for help, but he couldn’t stop himself from uttering them.
“Second Senior Brother, I think there’s someone over there?”
Amid his hazy thoughts, the clear voice of a young woman cut through the darkness like sunlight piercing through storm clouds, lighting up Wu Shao Zhen’s bleak world.
A sudden surge of energy from deep within his body drove him to open his eyes.
A figure dressed in pale yellow unexpectedly entered his vision.
He froze momentarily, and elation surged in his heart.
He was saved.
But in the next instant, his consciousness plunged into darkness.
…
Meanwhile.
Yu Zhao narrowed her eyes slightly as she heard the commotion not far away.
Could it be you?
Wu Shao Zhen.
“Second Senior Brother, Senior Sister Zhou, he looks so pitiful. Let’s help him,” Ye Cong Xin pleaded, gazing at the battered and bruised man on the ground with a look of pure sympathy.
Lan Zi Yu and Zhou Jin Yue exchanged glances but said nothing.
They had tracked the Scarlet Flame Lion’s footprints to this spot, their Divine Sense constantly monitoring their surroundings. Yet they hadn’t noticed this man’s presence until Ye Cong Xin pointed out the faint cries for help.
This man was gravely injured and lying in the path of the Scarlet Flame Lion. There was likely a strong connection between the beast’s appearance and him.
So, to save or not to save?
Zhou Jin Yue and the others couldn’t immediately decide.
Seeing their hesitation and noticing the man’s increasingly faint breath, Ye Cong Xin grew more anxious.
This person was marked by the system as a significant figure of destiny, someone whose fortune rivaled that of her senior brothers. Saving him would earn her more valuable rewards.
“Second Senior Brother, he’s still a human life. We are disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect, a renowned righteous sect. Are we really going to let him die?”
Ye Cong Xin’s tone turned imploring again.
“This…”
Lan Zi Yu hesitated.
If this person were an innocent victim, leaving him to die would indeed contradict their sect’s teachings.
He turned to Zhou Jin Yue, seeking her opinion with his eyes.
After a moment’s thought, Zhou Jin Yue decided it was worth preserving the man’s life. They could question him once he regained consciousness.
Just as she was about to speak, Yu Zhao stepped forward from the rear of the group.
“Senior Sister Zhou, this man must not be saved.”
Everyone looked at Yu Zhao in surprise.
Ye Cong Xin’s resentment flared uncontrollably in her heart.
Her again! She always had to oppose her, didn’t she?
“Junior Sister Yu, why do you say so?” Zhou Jin Yue asked curiously.
Zhou Jin Yue wasn’t doubting Yu Zhao. Ever since Yu Zhao had risked her life to save her, Zhou Jin Yue regarded her as an ally. She simply wanted to understand if Yu Zhao had noticed something suspicious.
Yu Zhao pointed at a few inconspicuous stains on the ground. “Senior Sister Zhou, look at those marks. They’re the remains of Gu Insects. This man is likely a Gu Master. I’ve heard that the corpses of Gu Insects reveal their diet. Black insect corpses signify they were fed with spiritual herbs, while red ones indicate they were fed with blood and flesh.”
Everyone followed her gaze to the reddish stains, faintly resembling Gu Insects.
Yu Zhao continued, “These Gu Insect corpses suggest a blood-fed cultivation method. Such Gu Masters are typically wicked individuals. Saving him could lead to even more bloodshed in the future. Therefore, we mustn’t save him.”
Yu Zhao’s logical reasoning swayed the group. The sympathy in their eyes gave way to disdain.
As disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect, they upheld orthodox practices and naturally despised those who cultivated by sinister means.
Such an evil cultivator deserved no pity in death.
“No, it’s not like that…” Ye Cong Xin murmured tearfully, trying to defend the man.
However, neither Lan Zi Yu nor the other disciples paid her much attention.
Lan Zi Yu even patted her head gently, advising, “Little Junior Sister, he’s a bad person. You don’t need to feel guilty or indebted. He brought this upon himself.”
Ye Cong Xin felt a bitter frustration she couldn’t voice.
She had always been obedient and understanding, so defying her senior brothers and sisters wasn’t an option.
Yet abandoning such a chance to earn favor and fortune left her deeply unwilling.
Her gaze lingered on the unconscious man, and an idea formed in her mind.
She failed to notice Yu Zhao’s steady gaze fixed on her.
As Ye Cong Xin finalized her plan, Yu Zhao smiled faintly from a distance.
She had recognized the near-lifeless figure as Wu Shao Zhen the moment she saw him.
If this was where Ye Cong Xin and Wu Shao Zhen first met, things were about to get interesting.
Though Ye Cong Xin outwardly presented herself as kind-hearted and altruistic, Yu Zhao knew her true nature: opportunistic and calculated. The “friends” she acknowledged were all exceptional individuals.
At this point, Wu Shao Zhen was still an unknown in the cultivation world with no connection to Ye Cong Xin. Yet, she seemed certain he would achieve greatness, going to great lengths to save him, even plotting behind the scenes when openly opposed.
Thinking back on the fallen prodigies from the previous life, Yu Zhao had a good guess about how Ye Cong Xin chose her targets and stole their fortunes.
It was unlikely any of her admirers, who once placed her on a pedestal, would have guessed that their beloved “heavenly moon” was, in fact, a scythe of death.