Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1024 Getting Started

Su Yue whispered to herself, turning to head back to the tree hole. But the thunder grew closer, and the raindrops began to fall more sparsely, hitting her hair. The cool touch intensified her unease. She thought of the wound on Xuan Qing's left arm, the strange, dark blue lines, and his words that it was caused by a bone demon. The bone demon's aura was extremely cold and gloomy, and it hated rainy weather. If it were soaked by the rain, it would probably flare up again. "Never mind," Su Yue gritted her teeth, lifted her skirt, and ran to the stream. The rain intensified, soaking her skirt. The light green fabric clung to her body, outlining her slender figure. Her hair was disheveled by the wind, a few strands clinging to her cheeks, cold and damp. As she ran near the cabin, Su Yue heard a muffled cry of pain. The sound came from inside, muffled by the rain and thunder, but clearly penetrating her ears. Her heart suddenly sank, as if something were gripping her tightly, the pain choking her breath. "Xuanqing!" Su Yue shouted, pushing open the door. A strong smell of blood hit her face. The room was dim, the only light flickering from the oil lamp on the table. Xuanqing curled up on the bed, his face as pale as paper, his lips bloodless. The wound on his left arm had opened, and blood soaked through the white bandage, spreading an eerie red on the sheets. His body was shaking violently, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead, mixing with the rain and running down his cheeks. It was hard to tell whether it was rain or sweat. "Xuanqing, are you okay?" Su Yue rushed to the bedside, trying to help him, but he violently shook her hand away. "Don't touch me..." Xuanqing's voice was hoarse and painful. He clenched his teeth, and veins popped on his forehead. "Bone demon... demonic energy..." Su Yue only then realized that beneath the bandage on his left arm, dark blue lines were spreading at a visible speed, like venomous snakes crawling towards his heart. Her face paled with fear. She hurriedly pulled healing herbs from the medicine basket, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even crush them. "What should I do? What should I do?" Su Yue was on the verge of tears. She knew that ordinary herbs wouldn't be enough to suppress the bone demon's aura; she needed spiritual energy to stimulate it. But she was a rabbit spirit, and her spiritual energy conflicted with Xuanqing's Taoist zhenqi. If she acted rashly, she feared she would injure him. Just then, Xuanqing violently coughed up blood, splattering the white sheets in a shocking display. His body slumped, his eyes half-open and vacant, unconscious. "Xuanqing!" Su Yue screamed, leaping over and hugging his cold body. She could feel his life force rapidly fading, like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment. Outside, the thunder grew louder, and the rain poured down in torrents, pounding on the roof with a thud that threatened to overturn the entire wooden house. Su Yue looked at Xuan Qing's pale face, the blood at the corner of his mouth, the ever-growing dark blue lines. A single thought seized her: save him, no matter what. She turned and rushed out of the cabin, her skirt soaked through. The cold rain trickled down her hair and onto her cheeks, as cold as tears. She had to return to the tree cave to retrieve the snow lotus seeds, the only thing that could suppress the Bone Demon's aura. The raging wind, combined with the torrential downpour, made Su Yue almost unsteady. She trudged through the mud, her skirt ripped in several places by branches, her knees banging against the stones, sending ripples of pain through her. But she dared not stop, her mind preoccupied with Xuan Qing's pained expression. By the time she reached the tree cave, Su Yue was drenched. Trembling, she opened the jade box and took out the last snow lotus seed. Just as she was about to leave, she realized her physical strength was completely exhausted, and her spiritual power had been largely depleted. In her current state, she couldn't possibly reach the cabin in time. "It's the only way." Su Yue gritted her teeth, a flicker of determination in her eyes. She took a deep breath, and the spiritual energy within her body began to flow. Her body quickly shrank in a white light, transforming back into her true form as a rabbit. The moment she transformed into her true form, Su Yue felt much lighter. Holding a snow lotus seed in her mouth, she leaped down from the branches of the old locust tree, transforming into a white shadow in the torrential rain, and rushed towards the wooden house by the stream. The rain soaked her fur, making it difficult for her to breathe, but she didn't dare slow down, and she used all her strength with each leap. As the wooden house drew closer, Xuanqing's cries of pain became clearer and clearer. Su Yue's heart rose to her throat. She could feel the cold and evil aura growing stronger, threatening to engulf the entire wooden house. She leaped in through the window frame, splashing water as she landed on the ground. The oil lamp in the house had been blown out by the wind, and only the occasional lightning flashed through the darkness, illuminating Xuanqing's figure curled up in pain. Su Yue didn't have time to think. She pushed open the half-closed door with her front paws and rushed into the inner room. On the table lay Xuanqing's healing elixir, a special spirit-reinforcing elixir crafted by the Kunlun Immortal Sect, effective in suppressing demonic energy. Su Yue snatched up the bottle and was about to leap onto the bed when she heard Xuanqing's soft call, "Xiaoyue'er?" The voice was soft, but it resonated like thunder in Su Yue's ears. She froze in place, her fur standing on end. Lightning flashed through the darkness again, illuminating Xuanqing's face. His eyes were open, their clarity so clear that it unnerved her. Su Yue forgot to conceal her presence or to transform back into her human form. The Jade Rabbit's spiritual energy flowed through her body, interacting with the rain outside, creating puffs of white mist. The mist, carrying the unique fragrance of Lingyun Valley's plants, clashed with Xuanqing's Taoist energies, creating a sizzling sound. "So..." Xuan Qing's voice trembled with disbelief. His gaze fell on Su Yue, from her ruby ​​eyes to her long ears to the medicine bottle clenched at her lips. Shock, confusion, and a subtle hint of pain filled his eyes. Su Yue's heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, the pain nearly suffocating her. She dropped the bottle and turned to run, but Xuan Qing's gaze pinned her in place. She could feel her spiritual power rapidly draining away, and her body trembled violently with fear. Xuan Qing slowly raised his hand, his fingertips gleaming with a faint golden light, the radiance of Taoist Qi. His movements were slow, filled with a difficult hesitation, as if he were making some agonizing decision. Su Yue watched his hand approach, feeling the undeniable pressure of pure spiritual power, almost choking her breath. Just before his fingertips were about to touch her hair, Xuan Qing suddenly stopped. His gaze fell on Su Yue's terrified eyes, which clearly reflected his figure, the struggle and pain in them. "You..." Xuan Qing opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He thought back to the days they'd spent together, the herbs she'd brought him, the fuzz behind her ears, the panicked look in her eyes. He couldn't connect the panicked Jade Rabbit before him with those evil monsters.