Book 4: Chapter 211: Swear

Book 4: Chapter 211: Swear

The room was very dim. Illuminated only by the swaying flame of a lone candle on the wooden table in the middle, every corner of the room was draped in shadow.

Yet the dimness was not a hindrance to Lilith. She could still clearly see in the darkness.

There was a normal-looking bed. Lilith could vaguely make out a hunched figure lying on his side with the limited light the candle offered. It took her only a look to know how thin and frail the person on the bed was. Not to mention, he was also the source of the strong decaying stench.

“This is...”

Although there was already an answer in her heart, Lilith still could not stop the question from escaping her mouth.

Diana remained silent. She had not said a word since she entered the room, even when Lilith was rude enough to follow her into the wooden house uninvited.

She merely silently emptied the remains in the pot, then added new herbs into it and slowly boiled it on low heat, occasionally fanning the flame with an old hand fan.

Her face glowed in the light of the flame. Under her focused gaze, the pot started making gurgling sounds.

Lilith took a deep whiff. For someone with a keen sense of smell like her, the strong smell of herbs and decay were overwhelming. By doing so, she could clear the haze in her brain for a good while.

She approached the bed and gently lifted the last obstacle that obstructed her view. With the mosquito net out of her way, the clear view on the bed entered Lilith’s field of vision.

A familiar-looking old man laid quietly on the bed. His eyes were tightly closed, as if he was sound asleep. His pale and emaciated face showed how weak he was feeling.

Elder White, Lilith’s martial brother who taught her the White Jade Style, was now lying in front of her eyes like a dying man. It all felt so surreal to Lilith.

The man was clearly alive and kicking not long ago. It had only been a few days since she last saw him. What could possibly weaken such a powerful person who specialises in physical martial arts?

A trace of rare anger appeared on Lilith’s face.

“Who did this?”

Every word that came out of her mouth was dripping with killing intent.

Although the time they spent together was short, Elder White was still her martial brother. How dare someone reduce him into such a state?! Did they really think that she, the Dragon Princess, was only a cute mascot?

Whoever the culprit was, she would make him pay for it!

Lilith hissed with determination in her heart.

However...

“You.”

Diana, who was concentrating on boiling the herbs at the side, replied coldly to Lilith’s question.

“What...?”

Lilith could not wrap her head around Diana’s answer.

“What does ‘you’... mean?”

“Literally.” Diana raised her head. For the first time in Lilith’s memory, a hostile expression appeared on her usually happy-go-lucky face.

“The one who turned the old man into this is you, Lilith... Or rather, Golden Demon Htilil.”

“Htilil...? How could it be... I didn’t...”

I didn’t do anything bad...

That was what Lilith was going to say, but some otherwise irrelevant memories suddenly resurfaced in her mind.

When she was mistaken for the most wanted criminal of mankind, it seemed like Elder White actually battled against her back then.

She also understood that with Cornelia’s current control over her own power, she could only infuse life force at most, just like what she did to those old people before.

On top of that, those old people’s bodies were still in perfectly fine condition, so it did not require too much of her power.

It was different for Elder White’s case. He was no different than a sieve now. No matter how much water was poured in, it would leak out in an instant.

Everything they did would be futile until they found a way to plug those holes.

“Have you tried healing magic?”

“Of course, I’ve tried it long ago.” Diana lowered her eyes and concealed her emotions. “But the battle qi is still inside the old man’s body. The old man has lost consciousness and his body has gone completely berserk right now. Even if the healing magic can restore the damaged internal organs, they will immediately be torn apart by the battle qi in his body. This can further worsen his condition.”

Diana turned her gaze to the pungent herbs that were boiling at the side.

“We can only rely on these herbs to keep him alive for now. Other than that, we’re all out of options.”

“......”

Although Diana’s voice was extremely calm, one could hear the exhaustion and despair in her words.

She must have tried countless ways to save Elder White during this period of time. Anyone would feel despair to see the person who raised them from childhood lying in the bed like a dead person despite their efforts. Truth be told, the fact that Diana did not hit Lilith as soon as she saw her just now was proof that Diana was mentally stronger than an average person.

Too bad, being mentally strong was not of any use in a situation like this.

After a moment of silence, Lilith spoke up again. “I will save Elder White.”

“Are you stupid or did you not hear what I said just now? We’re already out of options. He’s done for. It’s over. The old man is breathing his last. So please, can your highness, the esteemed Dragon Princess, allow the old man to spend the final moments of his life in peace? He has already suffered enough because of you!”

Diana’s eyes reddened as she roared at Lilith. Her grip tightened around the handle of the hand fan so hard that it cracked. It was evident that she was now finally on the verge of an outburst.

It was as expected, her heart was not as calm as she tried to appear.

Lilith turned her gaze back to the Elder White. A memory flashed through her mind and overlapped with the figure in front of her.

The old man was the one who handed over his things to her, yet he was as happy as a child. Now, his breathing was so shallow at this time that it was difficult to even detect the rise and fall of his chest. Every breath he took was accompanied by a weak but unpleasant noise that sounded like a broken bellow.

One could only imagine how many holes were in Elder White’s body and how much pain he was in.

“What’s the matter? Why are you still here, dear Martial Aunt? Are you waiting for your Martial Niece to do something disrespectful to you?”

Lilith looked at Diana. When Diana met her ancient dragon eyes, a sudden chill grew in her heart.

All of a sudden, stars exploded in Diana’s eyes and then everything around her started spiraling out of control.

“Ouch!”

A sharp pain shot up from the back of her head. It was so intense that Diana’s vision went black.

By the time she came back to her senses, she found herself lying on the cold ground.

Lilith was straddling her and had planted her hands above her shoulders. Her molten gold pupils stared right into hers, exuding an absolute dominance.

“I said I will save Elder White. Just because you don’t have the means, doesn’t mean I don’t.”

“You...”

“You don’t have to do anything....”

Lilith lifted Diana’s chin. The corners of her mouth curled into a contemptuous smile that could make anyone’s heart race with excitement.

“I, Artemis Niger Lilith, swear in the name of Dragon Princess, I will definitely return Elder White who is alive and kicking to you soon. So just stay here and look forward to it, my dear martial niece.”