Chapter 32: A Miraculous Awakening and a Bitter Farewell

Blood welled from Lu Hongzhuang’s fingertips.

Though the sharp edges of bricks and stones had torn her palms, she registered no pain.

Instead, she clawed at the heavy rubble with a frantic desperation.

A singular thought consumed her mind.

She had to dig her out.

That woman…

That woman, perpetually frail, whom she often had to carry so they could continue their journey.

That woman who, armed with naught but a few talismans, had resolved a haunting that had stumped even their formidable Demon Exorcism Division.

Could she truly be buried beneath this wreckage?

With a surge of strength, she heaved aside a massive broken beam, revealing the scene beneath.

There was no mangled flesh, no gruesome sight.

Within a small, miraculously preserved space, shored up by a few stone slabs, a white-clad figure lay utterly still.

Her garments were somewhat disheveled, her face smudged with dust, yet she appeared merely to be sleeping.

Lu Hongzhuang’s frantic movements ceased.

With utmost tenderness, as if cradling an irreplaceable treasure, she gently lifted Su Qinghan from the confined space.

The woman in her arms felt impossibly light, almost ethereally frail.

The familiar, cool fragrance of medicinal herbs, now mingling with the acrid scent of dust, filled her nostrils.

Overwhelmed, Lu Hongzhuang could no longer restrain herself; she clutched Su Qinghan tightly, burying her face in the hollow of her neck.

Why?

A suffocating weight pressed against her chest, as if an enormous boulder had settled there, stealing her breath.

Was it because she hadn’t yet mastered Su Qinghan’s unparalleled techniques for vanquishing malevolent spirits?

Or was it something far deeper?

She simply did not know.

All she knew was that the instant she witnessed that white-clad figure being flung away, her entire world had been plunged into a desolate gray.

“Cough… air…”

A faint, raspy voice emanated from the woman in her embrace.

“Just a little… I can’t breathe…”

Lu Hongzhuang froze instantly.

She released her hold as if struck by lightning, her gaze dropping to the woman in her arms.

Su Qinghan lay there, her eyes weakly fluttering open, her brows faintly furrowed, a wince of discomfort etched upon her face from the crushing embrace.

“You…” Lu Hongzhuang’s lips trembled, “You’re not… dead?”

A torrent of joy, akin to a raging mountain flood and a colossal tsunami, instantly swept away all her reason.

Su Qinghan, with a monumental effort, rolled her eyes, her voice barely a whisper.

“You’re the one who died.”

“This Daoist Master… is blessed with immense fortune and a long life; I’m perfectly fine.”

The very next second, she found herself enveloped once more in a warm embrace.

This time, however, the pressure was considerably gentler, imbued with the preciousness of something lost and then miraculously recovered.

“Why!”

Lu Hongzhuang’s voice was thick with unshed tears, but beneath them lay a potent mixture of dread and indignation.

“Why did you knock me unconscious?”

“Why would you face such a perilous entity all by yourself!”

“If I hadn’t regained consciousness, you, Liu Ruyan, and every soul in this town, would all have been…”

Her words choked in her throat.

Su Qinghan leaned against Lu Hongzhuang’s shoulder, sensing the tremor in her body, and sighed inwardly.

‘What could she possibly say?’

‘Should she confess that her spiritual power had been utterly depleted, rendering even her immobilization talismans useless?’

‘Or that she herself had nearly miscalculated disastrously?’

‘Such an admission would be an unbearable loss of face.’

“Cough, cough…” She cleared her throat, striving to keep her voice steady, “All of this… unfolded precisely according to my plan.”

“That creature possessed two distinct phases. Had I allowed you to engage from the outset, I fear we would have been utterly decimated before its second phase even manifested.”

Her eyelids felt increasingly heavy, and she could feel the last vestiges of strength draining from her body.

The entire night, oscillating between fierce combat and desperate flight, had pushed both her mind and body to their absolute limits.

“Alright, alright… let’s discuss this tomorrow…”

“I am truly exhausted; I haven’t closed my eyes for a single moment all night…”

Not far off, Liu Ruyan directed the few Demon Exorcism Division members still capable of movement, instructing them to tend to the wounded and clear the debris.

Two female demon exorcists from the Demon Exorcism Division approached, prepared to relieve Lu Hongzhuang of Su Qinghan.

“Allow us, Senior Sister Lu.”

“I will manage her myself.”

Lu Hongzhuang coldly refused, casting a sharp glance their way before carefully adjusting her posture and lifting Su Qinghan by the waist.

It was a princess carry.

She took a resolute stride, heading towards the makeshift camp for the wounded.

Barely two steps into her walk…

Su Qinghan, having just closed her eyes in anticipation of much-needed rest, suddenly felt her body plummet, and the world spun violently around her.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”

She barely managed a startled cry before witnessing Lu Hongzhuang’s beautiful face, now alarmingly close and pale with utter exhaustion, topple directly towards her.

Thud!

The world, once again, plunged into darkness.

The following day.

Su Qinghan slowly stirred awake.

Her head throbbed mercilessly.

Instinctively, she reached for the back of her head, her fingers brushing against a thick bandage.

‘Last night… it seemed she had taken quite a tumble.’

She shifted, attempting to find a more comfortable position, only to realize the ‘pillow’ beneath her head felt strangely peculiar.

It was soft, yielding, and carried a faint, delicate fragrance.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Her gaze met a landscape of soft undulations, swathed in white undergarments.

She found herself nestled against Lu Hongzhuang, clinging to her like a small, dependent bird.

Just then, Lu Hongzhuang, stirred by the movement on her chest, her long eyelashes fluttering, slowly awoke.

Their eyes met.

For three agonizing seconds, the air crackled with frozen silence.

“Ah—!”

Lu Hongzhuang let out a piercing shriek, abruptly shoving Su Qinghan from the bed before frantically pulling the quilt to cover her chest, her face flushing a furious crimson.

“You! What have you done to me!”

Su Qinghan landed on the floor with a thud, her rear aching as if it might burst, a surge of indignation rising within her.

“Oh, you! So you’re playing the victim, are you!”

She attempted to stand, bracing her hands on her hips, but her legs refused to cooperate, leaving her to sit indignantly on the floor.

“Last night, who was it that ‘thumped’ me into unconsciousness?”

“I believe you were simply lusting after my beauty, intending to commit some impropriety, and deliberately knocked me out!”

Lu Hongzhuang’s face was so scarlet it looked as if blood might drip from it.

“I did not! I was… I was utterly spent!”

A soft creak announced the opening of the door.

Liu Ruyan entered, carrying a bowl of medicine, and paused, momentarily stunned by the scene before her.

“Awake, are we?”

She placed the bowl of medicine on the table, her expression etched with weariness.

“Last night, with so many injured, there simply weren’t enough beds. Seeing as you two shared a good rapport, I had you placed together to manage for the night.”

Her explanation only served to heighten the already palpable awkwardness in the room.

Unperturbed by the tension, Liu Ruyan walked to the window and pushed it open.

Outside, the sun shone brightly, yet the entire Qingshi Town was enveloped in a pall of sorrow.

Heart-rending wails echoed from every corner of the town, coalescing into a mournful ocean of grief.

“Though you affixed talismans to doors and windows, you ultimately could not cover the entire town,” Liu Ruyan’s voice was low and heavy. “Still, many families… were utterly shattered, losing everything.”

She fell silent for a moment, then added, “There remain many matters to attend to. Now that you are awake, you are free to do as you please.”

Having spoken, she turned to depart.

Upon reaching the doorway, she paused, turned back, and fixed her gaze upon Su Qinghan.

Her gaze was complex, difficult to decipher.

“Once your injuries have healed, you should leave this town on your own.”

“The next time we meet, we shall be adversaries.”

The door clicked shut, leaving behind a profound silence that filled the room.

Lu Hongzhuang wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

“What could be wrong with her?”

She turned to Su Qinghan, her face etched with confusion. “You clearly saved this entire town; you are everyone’s hero. How could she possibly say…”

Su Qinghan’s mind, however, was as clear as a polished mirror.

‘Enemies?’

‘Hah.’

‘She must have seen the fox ears and tail on my head and mistaken me for a fox demon, surely.’

‘This whole predicament was Jiu Li’s fault, that utterly unreliable little fox, for insisting on those ostentatious, impractical special effects.’

‘Now, look what’s happened: the town’s savior has become its enemy.’

She rubbed the still-throbbing back of her head, feeling as though her skull might split in two.

‘It seemed Qingshi Town was no longer a place she could remain.’

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