302: Others Are Watching

Others Are Watching

My fingers twitched, and my grip on Twin Stars snapped open. The blade fell to the ground with a clatter.1

"Bai Ye!" I jerked away from him. "Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry … Did I—"

The rest of my words were replaced by a gasp when he pulled me back into him, holding me so tight that I could barely breathe. "You made it, Qing-er." His voice trembled, and I couldn't tell if it was from excitement or belated fear. "You did it. She's gone now … You did it."

He cupped the back of my head, burying my face against his shoulder. The crisp scent of his hair wafted into my nostrils, making the moment feel a bit surreal. It was so peaceful … So peaceful that it forced all the savage scenes I had just seen in my mind's eye out of my head. So peaceful that I finally realized everything had already ended.

"… It's over now?" I asked, coming back down to reality. "We won?"

"Yes. Once and for all." He patted my back. "How are you feeling?"

… Exhausted. I didn't realize till then that my body was sore and worn as if I had been punched all over. It was only natural after trying to resist the sword spirit's control for so long, I suppose. The excruciating headache had lessened a little, though a throbbing pain still lingered in my skull, and I rubbed my temple with a small grunt.

"I could use some good sleep when we get back," I replied honestly. "But let me take a look at you first. Did I … cut you with the sword?"

I would never be able to forgive myself if that blade actually went through. Pulling out of his embrace, I loosened his collar to search for signs of any injuries, and I let out a deep sigh of relief at the sight of his intact skin. But then I heard him chuckle. "Others are still watching, Qing-er," he straightened his collar and whispered.

Others? I stared at him dumbfoundedly as he raised a hand. With a flash of spell light, something that looked like a shield glowed in the cave corner across from us. Wen Shiyin and Lin Zhe stepped out from behind it.

"I used an illusion to hide them when I noticed the sword spirit was inside you," Bai Ye explained. "Didn't want to give her more ideas to distract you with."

I stared at him with even wider eyes. He meant that those two were here all along?

"Erm … Senior Yun …" Lin Zhe spoke first. "Th-Thank you for coming to my rescue … I'm really glad you're safe." He paused for a second. "… You looked quite powerful with that sword," he added.

Wen Shiyin gave him a sideways glance. "That's not the full statement you claimed you wanted to say to her," she said. Then she turned to me. "He was surprised that the two of you looked like such a perfect match. He felt jealous," she winked.

That comment and Lin Zhe's embarrassed blush made me laugh. The truth was, I had no intention of hiding the real relationship between Bai Ye and me any longer, and I didn't particularly care if anyone else was present to witness that intimate kiss. But it seemed a little unfair that they might have also gotten a glimpse of Bai Ye's bare chest because of my heedlessness …

Well, fortunately, he had his back to them earlier.

"Is it safe for us to get moving now?" Wen Shiyin's question pulled me out of that begrudging thought. "Lin Zhe has mostly recovered now after a week's rest, and I can feel the spiritual power inside this cave dwindling. Have the portals been disabled enough for us to walk through?"

"A week's rest?" Those words caught me by surprise. "You mean it's been a week since we came into this cave?"

"You spent over three days in a trance before your consciousness returned here with the sword spirit," Bai Ye explained. "And looks like it's been another few days since then. Her spell makes it hard to keep track of time when memories interfere with the perception of reality."

I supposed I should expect no less, knowing how much those interferences were capable of. "She certainly learned her share of dark spells over the centuries," I concluded. "We should get moving then. A week is a long time for the rest of the group to be waiting for us at East Village."

I got back to my feet, stumbling a little. With Bai Ye's help, I shook out my utterly numb legs, and the four of us were on our way.

~ ~

Without the sword spirit's power to support them, the transporting portals were no longer active, and we made it out of the cave easily. On our flying swords, we returned to East Village at once.

As we approached the woods where we first stepped through the portal, I could see from above that the group was still gathered around the sword spirit's symbol, and the size of the group seemed to have grown. I could vaguely make out Teng Yuan among them. Even the Gatekeeper seemed to be there as well, along with the master from Vermilion Shrine that was with Bai Ye and me at the Misty Mountains.

For such a big crowd to be alerted … Had there been more related incidents from other places while we were away?

Our flying swords drew closer to a landing. Noticing our arrival, the masters strode to the front of the crowd, likely to share their side of the news with Bai Ye. But as soon as the four of us touched the ground, a different figure dashed forward, cutting in front of everyone else before they got a chance to speak.

"Shiyin?" he gasped. "Are you alright?"

I blinked, finding it hard to believe who it was in front of us. Xie Lun?

Wen Shiyin didn't seem to be prepared for his presence here either. She nodded with no less shock. "All of us are fine," she said. "You are out of your retreat so soon? Congratulations … and I hope everything went smoothly."

Xie Lun only looked at her without a word. Then he smiled. What he did the next moment surprised everyone from Mount Hua—he stepped toward Wen Shiyin and pulled her into his arms.

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