Chapter 556: A Hair’s Breadth
Chu Yue wanted nothing more than to run her through with a sword right then and there. She ignored Ye Qianning and waved to the man in black.
The black-clad man stepped forward and grabbed Sang Zhi by the scruff of his neck to pull them apart.
Crying, Sang Zhi hugged Ye Qianning even tighter.
The pressure on the wound on her chest was excruciating. "COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
At the sound, Sang Zhi instinctively loosened his grip, and he was yanked into the air.
Chu Yue drew a dagger.
"COUGH, COUGH... Sang Zhi, if you give her your eyes, I will never forgive you, not even in death! Do you hear me?" Ye Qianning’s voice was laced with desperation.
Sang Zhi stared at her.
"Do you hear me? If you consider me a friend, you’ll listen to me!" Ye Qianning then turned her gaze to Chu Yue. "Ugly monster, why don’t you kill me if you have the guts?"
Chu Yue turned back, her one eye fixed on her, dark and menacing.
"Heh heh. I really regret not stabbing out both of your eyes. COUGH, COUGH... But this is fine, too. You’ve become a one-eyed monster. I think from now on, you should just be called Princess One-Eye."
Enraged, Chu Yue spun on her heel and shot toward Ye Qianning.
"Bad woman! Ugly monster! Stop! Stop it!" Sang Zhi struggled.
Ye Qianning stared at Chu Yue’s pale face, her expression still proud, a smirk playing on her lips. "Doesn’t having only one eye affect your depth perception? Can you even aim your blade accurately?"
Chu Yue loomed over her, raising the dagger and thrusting it viciously toward her eye. "You’re about to find out."
Ye Qianning stared right back at her, unflinching.
’As long as Chu Yue kills me, Sang Zhi will surely refuse to give her his eyes. This way, he can live.’
TING!
In the nick of time...
With a sharp ring, a throwing dart knocked the dagger from Chu Yue’s hand.
Immediately after, a figure in white launched an attack on Chu Yue.
Chu Yue was stunned for only an instant. A fierce gust of wind swept toward her as she scrambled to her feet, retreating continuously while the figure in white closed in.
Ye Qianning was surprised to see the newcomer. ’Qian Fanji? What is he doing here?’
Before she could even react, however, several more figures appeared.
Luo Wen, Ying Ge, and Ying Yuan attacked the black-clad men, their longswords flashing as they struck with potent killing intent.
The black-clad man holding Sang Zhi was suddenly met with a sharp gust of palm wind, forcing him to retreat several steps. With a longsword coming right at him, he could no longer bother with his captive. He forcefully threw Sang Zhi aside and raised his sword to block the attack.
Sang Zhi was flung to the ground, the back of his head striking a rock. Bright red blood immediately began to flow.
"Pangtuan!"
The urgent cry came just as a figure in purple landed beside Ye Qianning.
"Little girl..."
Zhan Chi rushed over. The sight of her covered in wounds made his heart clench, and he was struck by a pang of anguish so sharp it was almost suffocating.
Gu Shuo’s pupils constricted, and a murderous aura erupted from him in an instant. "Zhan Chi, take care of her."
With that, he drew the Soft Sword from his waist and joined the fray.
"You..." Zhan Chi knelt, at a loss for where to even begin.
She was a mess of mangled flesh and blood, and tears immediately streamed down his face.
"COUGH, COUGH... I’m fine. Sang Zhi... Go check on Sang Zhi." Ye Qianning stared at the unmoving figure on the ground. She tried to get up, but the pain made her falter and she sat back down.
Zhan Chi didn’t even turn his head. "How can you be fine when you’re this badly hurt? Don’t move! Just don’t move."
"It didn’t hit anything vital. I’m fine. Go check on Sang Zhi." Ye Qianning pushed away the hands that were trying to lift her.
This time, Zhan Chi gave a perfunctory glance over his shoulder before his gaze fell back on Ye Qianning. "He doesn’t have any blood on him. We need to stop the bleeding from this leg immediately."
"I can handle it myself. I think he hit his head. Bring him over here."
"You..."
Zhan Chi couldn’t win the argument, so he got up and ran to carry Sang Zhi over.
Ye Qianning’s gaze shifted to the group of fighters. Chu Yue had arrived with three black-clad men, whose Inner Strength and skills were no less than Gu Shuo’s and Qian Fanji’s.
Once Chu Yue got serious, her combat prowess was not to be underestimated. Ying Yuan, her opponent, couldn’t gain the upper hand at all. Chu Yue’s Inner Strength had a sinister quality to it, and she clearly hadn’t revealed its full extent.
The most difficult opponent was the black-clad man who had just run his sword through her calf. His skill was extremely high, and he showed no reverence even toward Chu Yue. He was clearly one of Emperor East Shu’s highest-ranking Hidden Guards.
Luo Wen and Ying Ge were on the defensive even while attacking him together. In this situation, their chances of victory were uncertain.
Zhan Chi carried Sang Zhi over and laid him on the ground.
Ye Qianning leaned over to check the back of his head. Thankfully, he was only unconscious, and the wound didn’t look too severe.
"You’re this injured yourself, and you still have the energy to worry about him." Zhan Chi sniffled, his gaze falling on her chest and calf.
An adult with such injuries would have likely passed out long ago, yet she still had the strength to tend to someone else.
Ye Qianning took a medicinal pill from her spatial storage, fed one to Sang Zhi, and took one herself. Then she retrieved a round porcelain vial. Opening it revealed a medicinal paste.
It was a wound salve she had previously made by mixing several medicines.
"Don’t move, I’ll do it." Zhan Chi took the vial from her and gently rolled up her torn pant leg. The sight of the wound pained him even more.
As a martial artist, he knew sword wounds well, and for the longsword to have...
He was overcome with heartache. He turned and glared at Chu Yue, who was in the middle of the fight, wishing he could tear them all to pieces.
"Use this to disinfect it." Ye Qianning handed him another bottle.
Zhan Chi took it without a second thought. Normally, he would have been full of amazed questions, but right now his mind was completely focused on treating the little girl’s wounds, with no time for anything else.
Ye Qianning’s body felt sluggish. The physical strain was immense, just like in the first few days after she transmigrated, leaving her weak all over, dizzy, and dry-heaving.
’It seems I’ll have to train diligently in the future, accumulate good fortune, and maintain my physical condition,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, having my body pushed beyond its limits during a crisis is the most dangerous thing of all.’
If Zhan Chi and the others had arrived just thirty seconds later, she wouldn’t be alive and sitting here now.
Zhan Chi finished cleaning the wound with the water and applied the paste to her calf. Then, he moved to treat the gashes on her shoulder and chest.
"I’ll do this part myself."
"How can you manage on your own? Let me, let me." Zhan Chi reached for it.
Ye Qianning blocked his hand and took the ointment. "I can do it myself."
Zhan Chi hesitated for a moment, then it dawned on him. She was a young girl, and the wound ran from her left shoulder to her chest. It was somewhat inappropriate for a grown man like him to tend to it.
"Call me if you need anything. I’m your father, after all. And you’re so small."
As he spoke, he turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of fighters.
Ye Qianning didn’t say anything. Her body was small, but her mind was that of an adult. Besides, the ointment he had wouldn’t work on the wound on her chest.
’That ferocious tiger from before was a mutation. It had been fed some kind of potent poison, and it must be contagious.’
’Otherwise, my body wouldn’t feel this weak now.’
’As for what kind of infection it is, I’m not sure yet.’ She took a vial from her spatial storage and let a few drops of blood from her chest fall into it for later research.
Ye Qianning cleaned the wound with water from her Spiritual Spring, then took out a few white pills, ground them into a powder, and sprinkled it over the gash. It had the effect of temporarily freezing the blood around the wound. Once she got back and could research the poison, she could slowly remove it.
Zhan Chi watched the fight with a tense expression. Qian Fanji and Gu Shuo were at a disadvantage. Besieged by three black-clad men, they were already sporting several injuries.