Chapter 33: Finally Rescued (Please Add the New Book to Your Collection)

Xi Yan quickly steadied himself, but just then, the A-grade Forsaken charged at him. He gripped his luminous wooden sword, engaging the A-grade Forsaken in a fierce struggle, while at the same time, A Yuan was fending off the remaining B-grade Forsaken nearby.

Both of them were preoccupied with their respective battles, so Xi Yan failed to notice A Yuan’s unusual state. At that moment, her face was unnaturally pale, blood seeping from her eyes, and her body bore fresh wounds from the B-grade Forsaken. Yet she stubbornly gritted her teeth and continued to fight.

…

“Damn it!” Xi Yan used the wall behind him to add force to a kick against the Forsaken, but all that managed was to make it stagger back half a step. Though the luminous wooden sword was no match for the A-grade Forsaken, every time the blade struck, it slowed the creature down. With this slowing effect, Xi Yan was able to hold his ground, neither side gaining the upper hand for the moment.

Despite this, Xi Yan was gradually driven into a corner, surrounded by walls with nowhere to escape. The A-grade Forsaken realized Xi Yan was trying to draw out the fight and became ruthless. Its claws slashed relentlessly, holding nothing back. Xi Yan parried with the luminous sword, but was forced to shift his stance.

From this new angle, Xi Yan finally noticed A Yuan’s perilous situation. Gritting his teeth, he forcibly transformed her into a card and recalled her, then began unlocking "Farewell to You".

Unlocking a card, however, required a brief moment—about a second. Normally, such a short time was negligible. But by now Xi Yan was nearly spent from battling the A-grade Forsaken, his strength almost entirely gone, unable to defend himself further.

As he unlocked "Farewell to You", the A-grade Forsaken attacked, knocking the card from Xi Yan’s hand.

He swallowed hard, red veins appearing in his eyes—there was simply too great a gap in their power, and the A-grade Forsaken even possessed a measure of intelligence. Xi Yan gripped his sword tightly, resolved to fight to the bitter end.

With a low growl, the Forsaken summoned the B-grade creatures, which had been standing still, to join the attack. Xi Yan knew he had no chance against so many. He felt death looming near.

Desperately he defended with the luminous sword, but his arms and legs were still slashed by the B-grade Forsaken, blood pouring from his wounds. He knew he was dying.

But before the end, a thought flashed through his mind—his little sister was still waiting to be rescued. From some unknown source, strength surged within him. He drove the luminous sword into the left eye of the A-grade Forsaken.

Whether the monster felt pain or not, Xi Yan didn’t know, but he himself was ruthlessly hurled against the wall by the Forsaken’s immense strength. He spat blood on impact and collapsed to the ground.

He lay there motionless.

Now, he had no strength left—not even to move a finger without summoning every ounce of will, and still he could not manage it.

“Is this the end for me…?” Xi Yan lay where he had fallen, gazing quietly at the pale red sky.

It was sunset.

Having brushed so close to death, Xi Yan finally understood how precious life was. Approaching the very edge of mortality, the meaning of survival became crystal clear.

Clenching his teeth, he summoned the last of his strength, picked up the luminous sword, and tried to strike the A-grade Forsaken one final time.

Now, the creature stood just a meter before him, but Xi Yan could barely lift the sword.

A guttural roar.

Half a meter!

Just as the A-grade Forsaken was half a meter away, a massive hammer descended from nowhere, smashing the creature flat in an instant—effortlessly, almost casually.

Xi Yan had no time to be surprised. His vision was already blurring, but through the haze he glimpsed a shadowy figure—it seemed to be… Qing Yan.

Qing Yan…? It couldn’t be. That girl could never wield such a hammer…

This was Xi Yan’s last thought before losing consciousness.

……

“When will he wake up?”

“You’re asking me? Who should I ask? I’m not a doctor! And I have no obligation to answer you!”

“You—!”

So noisy…

Who is it…?

Xi Yan slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Qing Yan, her lips pouted in annoyance as she argued with Qu Ya.

Then he noticed the place where he lay—it was a shabby, dilapidated inn. The roof leaked, the walls were broken and incomplete, but at least there was a fairly intact bed to rest on.

He was lying on the bed; since there were no chairs in the room, everyone else sat on stones along the wall.

Qing Yan was still bickering with Qu Ya, neither of them noticing Xi Yan had awakened. It was Lin Shuang who noticed first.

“Xi Yan, how are you feeling?”

At her words, Qing Yan and Qu Ya immediately fell silent and gathered at his bedside. Their reactions, however, could not have been more different. Qu Ya was visibly excited, while Qing Yan’s face was full of mockery. “Oh, the useless one has woken up? Not bad.”

Qing Yan’s words didn’t faze Xi Yan. He still smiled gently at her, and seeing his gentle demeanor, Qing Yan actually looked a little embarrassed.

Yet if her words didn’t provoke Xi Yan, they did provoke Qu Ya. Rising from Xi Yan’s bedside, Qu Ya deliberately looked down at Qing Yan and retorted, “Useless? Oh, not sure who’s really the useless one here. One’s nearly six feet tall, the other barely three—ha—ah!”

Qing Yan beamed at Qu Ya, but behind her, the muscular man had already seized Qu Ya and tossed him effortlessly over a hundred meters away.

Xi Yan looked at the two helplessly, puzzled by Qu Ya’s confidence in daring to provoke Qing Yan.

“Miss Qing Yan, thank you for saving me.”

Whatever the case, Xi Yan still expressed his gratitude, but Qing Yan looked baffled. “Wait! What did you say? I saved you?”

Seeing her reaction, Xi Yan frowned. “Wasn’t it you?”

She haughtily replied, “Of course not! You weren’t with me, and wouldn’t it be better if you were dead? Why would I go out of my way to save you?”

Xi Yan turned to Lin Shuang beside him, and she nodded helplessly, confirming Qing Yan’s words.

If not Qing Yan, then who?

“Then… where did you find me?” he asked.

“In that dead-end alley, of course…” Qu Ya, panting, hurried back, only to be silenced by a glare from Qing Yan.

This time, Qu Ya refrained from provoking her further, quietly standing aside as if he didn’t see Qing Yan at all.

“Dead-end alley? Was there anything unusual?” Xi Yan’s frown deepened.

“There were Forsaken corpses all around you. I was amazed you could defeat so many! There was even an A-grade Forsaken among them!” Qu Ya exclaimed.

Xi Yan pressed his lips together, recalling in detail the figure he glimpsed before he lost consciousness. Who could it have been…