Chapter 896: Tragic

When the heart-python left Mo Lian's body, the latter's memory had been almost completely stolen, leaving only a pair of eyes that looked like they had been drained dry... As Bai Ye's palm moved away from the back of his head, he lost consciousness and collapsed into the snow.

Only then did Chen Ling, in the distance, breathe a slight sigh of relief.

This was the first time Chen Ling had intuitively felt the terror of a Tier 7 Saint of Thieves... Previously, Bai Ye had always been a teammate, so he hadn't felt much pressure, but not until Mo Lian stole the [heart-python] did he realize just how strong Bai Ye really was.

Chen Ling didn't want to experience this kind of silent memory theft a second time. He was incredibly grateful now that Bai Ye was a friend, not a foe.

"You'd better take that hat off," Bai Ye reminded him. "It still carries a demigod mark after all. No one knows if the Silver King might use that mark to strike at you."

Chen Ling immediately took off the bowler hat and threw it far into the snow, where it rolled twice and fell silent.

"Are you okay?"

Bai Ye looked at Chen Ling, who was bleeding from his seven orifices and pale, and couldn't help but ask.

"...I'm okay," Chen Ling pointed to the other three in the distance, his expression somewhat strange. "But they don't seem to be doing so well..."

Jian Changsheng was still pinned to the tree by a sword, covered in blood; Sun Bumian had one of his livers gouged out, his complexion indistinguishable from a corpse; Jiang Xiaohua had been nearly cleaved in two, lying motionless in the snow like a cadaver.

A single Mo Lian had nearly wiped them all out; the scene before them could truly be described as "tragic."

"I'll go check on Sun Bumian."

Bai Ye immediately picked up the liver from the snow and ran toward the fallen Sun Bumian.

Seeing this, Chen Ling ran directly toward Jian Changsheng.

Jian Changsheng was pinned to the tree, his blood already pooling beneath him. Seeing Chen Ling running toward him, his eyes lit up, and he was just about to say something... but the next moment, he saw Chen Ling shift his stride and head straight for Jiang Xiaohua instead.

Jian Changsheng: ???

"Chen Ling!! Where are you going??!"

"You're the hardest one to kill here anyway, and you won't die, so find a way to save yourself for now."

“……”

Jian Changsheng watched helplessly as Chen Ling ran off to save Jiang Xiaohua. He cursed under his breath, took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of the sword embedded in his shoulder with both hands, and gradually applied force...

……

Bai Ye held the liver in one hand, looking with a grave expression at Sun Bumian, who was clutching his stomach in agony.

"Senior Bai Ye..." Sun Bumian saw the gravity in his eyes, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart. "You can put it back in... right?"

Bai Ye gave an awkward smile. "I'm very good at stealing things, but putting them back exactly as they were... that's difficult."

“……”

Sun Bumian’s face turned ashen.

"It's alright, try a few more times, it’ll definitely work."

Bai Ye muttered, a flash of light passed, and the liver in his hand vanished...

At the same time, a muffled groan escaped Sun Bumian’s throat. His eyes rolled back uncontrollably, leaving only the whites of his eyes trembling.

"Not right... the angle is off." Seeing this, Bai Ye immediately stole the liver back into his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Change the angle, let's try again..."

Sun Bumian: ...

"The blood vessels aren't aligned... try again."

"Still not right. Bear with it, I'll try one more time..."

"Just a little bit more, one last time, this really is the last time!"

"Huh... let me see if I can do better..."

……

Chen Ling stopped in front of Jiang Xiaohua.

Chen Ling’s choice was correct. That level of injury couldn't be fatal for Jian Changsheng, but Jiang Xiaohua was truly on the verge of death... Although he didn't have a pulse to begin with, Chen Ling could feel his life force gradually fading as his blood flowed away.

At this rate, Jiang Xiaohua would inevitably die from blood loss before long.

"What should I do..."

Chen Ling’s brows were tightly locked. Just as he was about to stop the bleeding, a faint sound came from beneath him.

"Don't touch me..."

"What?"

"Touching me will bring a curse..." Jiang Xiaohua’s head was buried in the snow as he spoke muffledly. "Use fire... cauterize my wound into a scab. As time passes, it will heal on its own..."

"Cauterize it?" Chen Ling looked at the gruesome wound running through Jiang Xiaohua’s body, his brows furrowing even deeper. "You’ll die of pain."

"It’s fine... I’m used to it."

Chen Ling’s heart trembled slightly. Watching Jiang Xiaohua’s blood gushing out uncontrollably, he knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. He picked up several oil lamps from the nearby ruins of a shop, poured them over Jiang Xiaohua’s wound, and then lit a flame, bringing it close to the wound...

Whoosh—!

The next moment, raging flames engulfed Jiang Xiaohua’s body.

The surrounding snow melted under the heat of the flames. Jiang Xiaohua kept his head buried in the snow, not making a sound. Even Chen Ling, who was closest to him, didn't hear a single moan or wail... Amidst the agony of being consumed by fire, he was as quiet as a corpse.

Chen Ling watched this scene nervously. In his perception, Jiang Xiaohua’s life force was constantly weakening in the flames. He didn't know if he would be burned to death or die of pain; eventually, it became as faint as a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment...

Chen Ling’s heart was in his throat.

He, Jian Changsheng, Sun Bumian, and Bai Ye had all survived because of him. If he were to be burned to death now because of him, the ending would be too absurd...

Jiang Xiaohua had experienced everything in their memories and likely knew they were from the Twilight Society, but Chen Ling had no intention of killing him to silence him. The only thing he thought about now was that once everything calmed down, whether by kidnapping or brainwashing, he had to recruit Jiang Xiaohua into the Twilight Society.

After all, they owed Jiang Xiaohua too much this time.

"Jiang Xiaohua, Jiang Xiaohua??" Chen Ling called his name repeatedly, trying to get a response.

Jiang Xiaohua couldn't give him a response... but in the wind and snow, several grand and immense auras, like unstoppable mountains, crashed down upon them!

Boom—!!!

The familiar imperial pressure struck again. Chen Ling’s heart jolted, and he looked up abruptly.

At some point, several massive figures radiating imperial might had emerged from the void... Unlike the emperors they encountered in "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss," the imperial divine path pressure of each of these figures was dozens of times stronger!

In this ancient treasury, their auras were scorching and domineering, like suns hanging in the sky, like gods descending to the mortal world!

"Damn it..."

Chen Ling looked down at Jiang Xiaohua in the flames, his heart sinking to the bottom.