CH 84

Luo Yu cast an intense look at Gu Feidi. He then turned around and left without answering.

Having received no affirmation, Gu Feidi released a soft sigh. He tightened his arms and hugged Su Yang even closer.

Warm internal strength slowly transferred into Su Yang. Gu Feidi sensed the piercingly cold air radiating from the body in his arms and couldn’t help biting his lip.

He muttered under his breath: “……What did you risk……in order to save me?”

Naturally, he couldn’t get an answer.

Gu Feidi lowered his head and nestled his cheek at Su Yang’s neck. He closed his eyes and strained to quell the sobs choking in his throat.

The night was dark.

There was no moon in the sky and a thin layer of clouds had shrouded the lights from the stars, turning them into indistinct, glowing patches.

An unknown amount of time passed. The candle fire in the lantern next to the hot spring pool flickered wildly and abruptly went out.

The entire courtyard sank into darkness.

Gu Feidi still held Su Yang as they sat together in the hot spring water, motionless and silent, without any feeling or romance.

The eastern sky gradually brightened into a grayish blue. Su Yang’s body temperature and pulse stabilised at last and his life was no longer in peril. However, he had yet to awaken and remained in a deep sleep.

Gu Feidi shifted his stiff limbs and carried Su Yang to the edge of the pool. He bundled him up in a quilt he had earlier prepared, carried him back to the room and placed him onto the bed.

Though it had been lit the previous night, the warmer in the room had not yet extinguished. Gu Feidi took advantage of this warmth to help Su Yang put on a pair of dry pants before laying down beside him and pulling the quilt to cover them both.

As he held Su Yang in his arms, Gu Feidi cast a look at his calm sleeping profile, slowly released a breath, closed his eyes to accompany him to sleep.

……

Su Yang stood on the mountain summit surrounded by cliffs and a bottomless chasm beneath his feet.

He was dressed in red and held a thin sword in his hand. His long hair and robes were being tossed around by the wind, flapping and fluttering.

He heard the clamour of clashing swords in the distance, heard the angry shouts and tragic screams in the commotion at the foot of the mountain. His face was calm, as if he hadn’t the slightest ounce of emotion.

A footstep fell on the mountain road. It was so light that it was almost inaudible, yet it was a distance away from Su Yang.

Su Yang turned his head to look back.

Gu Feidi was dressed in white and standing like a green pine against the wind. His eyes seemed to be filled with all the stars in the sky and he was looking straight at him.

Su Yang smiled and said: “You’ve come.”

Gu Feidi replied in a low voice: “Come to kill you.”

The corners of Su Yang’s mouth curled. He raised the sword in his hand and gestured to show his acceptance of the challenge.

“Please,” he said.

Gu Feidi moved lightly on his toes. In the next moment, it was as if a sharp arrow had been released and he launched himself towards Su Yang in the blink of an eye. He unsheathed the long sword in his hand and Su Yang’s face was struck directly by a ‘Red Falcon Dashing the Clouds’ move.

Su Yang raised his hand and used the ‘Retain Stamen’ of the Blooming Lotus Sword technique to deflect the sword edge, then turned around to strike back with a combination of ‘Unfurl Colour’ and ‘Full Fragrance’, forcing Gu Feidi to pull back.

Gu Feidi retreated two steps and drew back the long sword in his hand as he stared at Su Yang, “For the purposes of killing you, I’ve diligently trained day and night to create a new sword technique called ‘Phoenix Hunt’. Please…enlighten me.”

When he heard this, Su Yang couldn’t help being taken aback.

This is wrong.

What kind of sword technique is Phoenix Hunt? How come I’ve never heard of it before? Aren’t Gu Feidi’s only sword techniques the True Hawk Sword technique and the Returning Geese Sword Art?

This ‘Phoenix Hunt’ technique had never appeared before even in the script aaa!

While he stared blankly, Gu Feidi had already darted forward.

“Flame Tip Blast!” He dished out a move. The sword was violent and it bore an air of self-sacrifice.

Su Yang had no choice but to change to the Flying Flower Art to defend, yet he was still compelled to take a step back by the fiery internal force contained in the sword move.

Gu Feidi’s eyes narrowed slightly and then issued another move: “Red Wing Thousand Quills!”

The sword’s aura surrounded Su Yang in an instant, without any room for retreat.

Su Yang warded off the blows with some difficulty. Although he still managed to shake off the trouble in the end, it was evident that he was already way out of his league.

A burst of chilly air leapt from his chest and Su Yang couldn’t help shivering.

Opposite him, Gu Feidi didn’t let up and chanted: “Raging Flames Loyal Heart!” The Long Cherished Heart sword he held plunged straight in, impaling Su Yang’s chest in a spilt second.

Su Yang activated his boundless internal strength and raised his sword to parry, but his chest was repeatedly slammed by the turbulent stabbing chills from within his body. He couldn’t help groaning and choked back a mouthful of blood.

Even so, Gu Feidi’s moves hadn’t yet ceased.

His eyes were full of spirit as he held the sword in his hand and focused virtually all of his internal strength into the strike. He gritted his teeth and roared: “Blazing Feathers Flying Cinders—!”

Su Yang’s thin sword shook a little and at last, he couldn’t muster the strength to lift it again.

It seemed that the endless flames and scorching blaze from the long sword had penetrated Su Yang’s heart without a sound. It thrust in all the way.

Su Yang raised his eyes to look at Gu Feidi’s face.

He was serious and focused. The hatred in his eyes was unwavering and revealed anger.

However, all these emotions instantly froze in a flash…it seemed as if time had stopped and his entire expression slowly dissolved into confusion.

For a while, it looked as though Gu Feidi was completely impassive.

Su Yang was on the verge of being engulfed by the bitter cold.

With much effort, he managed to curl up the corners of his mouth and cast a regretful smile at Gu Feidi.

For some reason, a notion emerged in his mind: the storyline has concluded and it’s a wrap.

But no one yelled ‘CUT!”.

Gu Feidi’s movements didn’t stop.

The young man stared at Su Yang and watched him slowly collapse. His animosity-filled eyes suddenly became a little disconcerted.

He took a step forward and subconsciously pulled Su Yang into an embrace.

His throat faintly quivered and after struggling for some time, he finally spoke in a guttural tone that sounded different: “…Why…didn’t you block?” 

The trepidation in his eyes gradually became more intense, turning into an outpouring of alarm and confusion. He was at a complete loss of what to do.

He stiffly hugged Su Yang and reached out, wanting to touch the sword that had stabbed into his heart. But he hesitated and dared not move it.

Su Yang did his utmost to restrain the chill in his body and regarded Gu Feidi’s eyes through the dark shadows before him.

He smiled weakly: “…It’s ended…” 

The filming has ended and we can go home——this thought inexplicably appeared in his mind. Su Yang roughly felt that things ought to come about like this.

A scalding tear fell onto Su Yang’s cheek.

Gu Feidi sobbed, “……Why didn’t you block? You……I……I don’t want you to die……I didn’t really mean to kill you……”

All of a sudden, Su Yang clutched his chest and coughed several times. He ignored the stench of blood oozing from his mouth and nose and consoled: “Don’t cry…” 

Su Yang distractedly sensed that this place may no longer be the film set.

Everything around was too realistic, the chill in his body was too realistic and the warmth of Gu Feidi’s embrace…… That’s right, this wasn’t the film set. He remembered, he’d transmigrated; crossed through into the script…?

So, how did the storyline straightaway arrive at this final step ne?

Su Yang was thoroughly addled.

But one thing was certain——he was dying.

Su Yang didn’t have the strength to raise his hand and touch Gu Feidi’s face, so he could only settle for the next best thing and grasped his finger.

“I’ve to go.” He said softly, “But I won’t die… Don’t worry, I won’t die…”

Gu Feidi squeezed Su Yang’s hand tightly.

Su Yang tugged at the corners of his mouth, closed his eyes and smiled, “I’ll……go on living……in another world……”

Gu Feidi lowered his head to Su Yang’s ear, his voice trembling: “No, you’re not allowed to go!”

Su Yang gave a light laugh: “You obviously wanted to kill me, why are you making a fuss?”

Gu Feidi gnashed his teeth and fumed with rage: “Why would I kill you? What nonsense are you babbling about?…… How can I bring myself to kill you???”

Su Yang’s head was reeling, his chest was stuffy and he felt that it must certainly be Gu Feidi hugging him too tightly.

He stretched out his hand and tried to push him away, mumbling: “…move aside.”

But in the next instant, his mouth was obstructed by a pair of fiery, soft lips.

The surrounding cliffs and chasm slowly disappeared. The kisses carried an unspoken fury and were remarkably intense. Su Yang’s lips were ruthlessly nibbled and bitten, effectively yanking him out of his bewildering dream.

For a while, Su Yang was slightly dazed. After several attempts, he succeeded in shoving away Gu Feidi, who had been pressing down on him. He drew in a long breath.

“You want to……eat me up?” He lapped his lips, perceived the taste of blood and helplessly gave Gu Feidi a cold look.

Gu Feidi propped himself up over Su Yang. His eyes were red and he gnashed his molars a few times before asking: “Why is it that to this day, you still dream of me wanting to kill you ? How could I……kill you?”

Su Yang was silent for a moment. Then he curled his lips: “You also know it’s a dream. I can’t control what I dream about……”

He hadn’t dreamt of the script’s storyline for a long while. He didn’t intentionally think about it and had even forgotten that the Devil Sect’s Young Saint would have an ending where he was pierced through the heart by Gu Feidi’s sword.

So, why did he dream of that scene?

No, that’s not right. The one who appeared in his dream was Gu Feidi and not the actor who played Gu Feidi. Moreover, there were many differences between that storyline and the script……so what he had dreamt of was not the filming, rather… could it be the actual ending of the Devil Sect’s Young Saint in this world?

Could it be that he had been stirring up too much trouble lately and the rules of this world finally couldn’t condone it anymore? Were they reminding him to follow the Devil Sect’s Young Saint’s storyline according to how it should be?

Before Su Yang could come up with a justification, Gu Feidi pinched his chin and sucked ferociously on his lips again.

“It’s said that the thoughts you have during the day would become the dreams you have at night.” His expression was complicated and it wasn’t clear whether it was sorrow or resentment. His tone was muffled. “So, you’ve always been fearful of me? Even though we’re already this intimate, you’re still afraid that I’ll kill you?”

Su Yang: ……

Su Yang was having a headache: “I know you won’t kill me. It was just a dream, that’s all. I’ve also dreamed of coming across a crocodile in a swimming pool. Are dreams reasonable?”

Gu Feidi stared at Su Yang for some time, then lay down and drew him into his arms.

After pondering a moment, he asked again: “If you’re not afraid of me, could it be that you’re afraid that you yourself will……die?”

At last, Su Yang became somewhat impatient in dealing with him. He shoved Gu Feidi’s chest, trying to push him farther away.

He mumbled discontentedly on the side: “You’re so sensitive lately! I told you before that I won’t die so easily. That curse may not necessarily come true……”

“The curse won’t come true. Then what about the Cold Pond Ice Spirit?” Gu Feidi asked.

Su Yang was instantly stunned.

He abruptly glanced at Gu Feidi, swallowed and tried muddling through: “What? Cold, Cold Pond… What’s the matter with the Cold Pond Ice Spirit?”

Pretending that he hadn’t realised he was tongue-tied, Su Yang widened his eyes and stared at Gu Feidi. He attempted to prove that he didn’t bear a guilty conscience through eye contact.

Gu Feidi didn’t say anything. He merely regarded Su Yang’s eyes silently and fixedly.

Su Yang’s heart was beating like a drum, but in order to win Gu Feidi’s trust, he could only feign calmness by not blinking.

For a long, long time.

In the end, Su Yang couldn’t withstand the soreness of his eyes coupled with the psychological pressure and lost the battle.

He was so annoyed that he kicked the quilt, shut his eyes and refused to answer Gu Feidi.

“So, is it truly due to the Cold Pond Ice Spirit?” Gu Feidi said hoarsely, “Is it because the Cold Pond Ice Spirit and the Half Withered Red……inhibit each other?”

Su Yang… didn’t want to answer, so he faked being asleep.

Shortly afterwards, he was hugged tightly by Gu Feidi again.

Gu Feidi buried his face in Su Yang’s neck. He felt a hot wetness drop onto his skin and his ears heard the irrepressibly muted sobbing. The warm body of this young man couldn’t help shuddering, as if he was in a frigid winter snowstorm.