Heaven’s Shadow

Immediately, the rapids surged over the duo and an intense chill permeated right through to their bones, just as though a knife that had pierced right into their flesh and blood. Yi Xin struggled with all her might, but she was swept uncontrollably by the currents. As though a leaf on water, she felt powerless. She collided into concrete rocks that laid at the bottom of the river continuously, and at the same time, she found difficulty in breathing.

Fluster set in and all that she could perceive before her eyes were complete darkness, and the endless, fearsome currents lay ahead of her. It felt as though she might just sink into an abyss of darkness the next moment. Unable to help herself, she tried to yell in fear, but before any voice could escape her mouth, ice-cold water gushed into her mouth, immediately suppressing all sounds.

Choking on a huge mouthful of water, she coughed violently, and at the same time, appeared to be distress. She seemed like an immobile log that crashed about recklessly in the water.

But at this moment, an arm stretched over and hugged her body from the back.

Instantaneously, as a drowning person clutching onto her final straw of hope, Yi Xin's entire body leaned over. With an intense cough, she grabbed the arm with both her hands tightly.

"Stop moving." A deep voice spoke beside her ear. Underneath the water surface, a body approached her and she fell into the person's embrace. This propped her head above the water and allowed her to breathe, simultaneously helping her to now drift smoothly with the water.

Yi Xin gulped in large breaths of air greedily and gradually, she regained her calmness. She no longer thrashed about and instead, simply leaned in the embrace of that unfamiliar man. In the middle of the desolate and melancholic night, inside the remote and uninhabited mountain wilderness, the both of them floated along with the current.

Suddenly, she seemed to have recalled something and turned to take a look behind. In the distant darkness, at the foot of the hill, shadows of the savage creatures could be vaguely discerned jostling at the shore, releasing furious and frenzied howls.

※※※

The current was rapid, but Lu Chen seemed to possess superb water proficiency. Despite carrying an additional burden, he remained in full control with great ease.

The rapid tides swiftly brought the two of them out of the mountains. Heading forward continuously, they gradually traveled into the distance, beneath the gloomy night sky. But judging from the direction, they were proceeding further and further away from the initial route they took when entering the mountains. They drifted straight into the midst of another cluster of even darker mountains.

Unknowingly, the current gradually relaxed and the width of the river grew significantly larger. The howls of the Black Jackals could no longer be heard, but they remained within the unchanging darkness that filled that void between heaven and earth.

Yi Xin felt Lu Chen, who was behind her, beginning to paddle with his arms, as he swam toward the shore carrying her. At this point, after continuous frights and near-death situations, she felt completely fatigued. But still, she was unable to relax the final taut nerve in her mind. As long as the darkness had yet to retreat, as long as she remained in the fearsome mountains of the Confounding Lands, the fear in her mind kept her from falling asleep.

After a short period of time, Lu Chen successfully swam to the shore with Yi Xin.

Hualala! The crisp sound of water pouring from them echoed in the silent surroundings. The both of them were already completely soaked. Lu Chen seemed to be fine with it, but Yi Xin could not withstand the bone-permeating chill when the night wind blew across, and her entire body shivered uncontrollably.

Glancing at Yi Xin, Lu Chen asked, "Are you still able to hold on?"

Yi Xin forced a smile, "I'm still alright."

After those words, she suddenly realized that her soaking-wet clothes were stuck to her skin, causing her slim and curvaceous figure to be fully exposed. At this moment, she looked exceptionally alluring.

Abruptly, Yi Xin felt a surge of heat come onto her face and subconsciously screamed 'Ahh!'. She stretched out her hands in an attempt to conceal her body, but the moment she raised it, a shockwave of indescribably intense pain was sent through her left arm. Yi Xin's vision went black and she staggered, nearly falling to the ground. A moan of pain escaped from her mouth.

Lu Chen quickly stepped forward to support her. Shocked, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Yi Xin was in such intense pain that even her voice quivered. "Arm, left arm..."

Lu Chen looked over, supported her arm, and examined it clearly. Then, he frowned, "It's broken."

Yi Xin bit her lips as she panted lightly. Various scenes of her escape replayed in her mind, but she was unable to recall when her arm was broken. Perhaps it was because of her excessive agitation, or perhaps it was due to the innumerable injuries that she had sustained along the way, she had not realized that her arm was fractured until now.

Lu Chen surveyed the surroundings and contemplated for a moment. "Take a seat. Let's rest for awhile first."

With her right hand supporting her left arm, Yi Xin looked for a rock along the shore to sit on. On the other hand, Lu Chen proceeded slightly further, where a few trees stood. After a short period of some randomly fiddling, he returned with a branch, that was two fingers wide, which he had just chopped.

At this moment, Lu Chen held a black dagger in his hands, and it looked exceptionally sharp. Yi Xin watched as he sheared the leaves with exceptional dexterity. Soon, only a wooden cylindrical stick was left. Lu Chen compared the stick to his own arm.

"Do you have any medicine?" Lu Chen asked.

Yi Xin shook her head and muttered, "I only have some medicine for external wounds. I don't have any that can heal bones."

Lu Chen nodded his head, not saying anything more. He tore a few pieces of cloth from his clothes. Then, after straightening Yi Xin's arms and positioning the fractured bones precisely, he tied her arm to the stick using the cloth with just a few, brief motions.

"This should suffice for now. When the sun rises, we will look around for suitable herbs to treat your fracture." Lu Chen said calmly.

During the process of tying her arm, it was naturally impossible to avoid contact the fractured spot. Yi Xin felt excruciating pain, but she knew that Lu Chen was doing this for her own good, so she tried her best to endure. However, tears were already welling up in her eyes and her face had turned completely pale.

When Lu Chen was finally done, Yi Xin heaved a long sigh of relief. Then, very timidly, she uttered, "Thank you, Big Brother Lu."

Lu Chen looked at her and said, "The Confounding Lands is extremely dangerous at night, so we should not start a fire casually. Otherwise, it might attract troublesome demonic beasts to us. Thus, we can only wait this way until daybreak. Are you able to still hold on?"

Yi Xin gritted her teeth. Even though she felt excruciating pain at her arm, and with waves after waves of chill invading her skin, she still nodded her head, "Yes."

"Un", Lu Chen answered. Then, he walked aside to a spot several chi away from Yi Xin and lied down. "Then, let's rest. We'll talk tomorrow."

(1 chi ->33.3cm)

Yi Xin sat in a daze for some time. She felt extremely tired, but for some reason, she did not feel like sleeping at all. Looking at the night sky from the mountains and the river that continued to flow within the darkness, she felt a sudden urge to cry.

Right at this moment, Lu Chen's voice sounded by her side, all of a sudden. "Right, what happened to your two companions?"

...