Lying there now was a body that was little more than a skeleton.
His cheeks were deeply sunken, his cheekbones protruded sharply, and his eye sockets were hollow.
The outline of his eyeballs under his tightly closed eyelids was terrifyingly clear.
His wrists, exposed outside the quilt, were so emaciated that only a layer of skin covered the bone.
His breathing was so faint it was hard to detect; only the extremely slight rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive.
“Husband Lord?”
Chi Lian’s lips trembled, her exclamation carrying a sob.
She suddenly covered her mouth, and tears instantly welled up and spilled over.
How could this be? How could he have become like this?
She took two steps forward and fell to her knees beside the bed.
The next second, she began to wail loudly, her beautiful face covered in tears, consumed by heartbreaking grief.
‘Husband, husband…’
How could this withered, dying person be the same man in her memories—the Husband Lord who was always gentle and smiling, the one who doted on her?
Floating in the air, little Jianjia was stunned.
Having already begun to develop spiritual intelligence, she quickly realized that the person before her was her Father.
Her small Dragon Body darted impatiently in front of her mother.
Her Dragon Eyes widened as she let out a series of urgent, chirping cries and babbles, gesturing frantically with her Dragon Claws.
‘Mother, my father went to find you, how did he become like this?’
‘How could he have become like this?’
She did not understand Outworld Heavenly Demons, nor did she understand life-and-death struggles.
She only knew that her Father had gone out once and returned in this terrifying state.
Her Dragon Essence-infused cries were filled with confusion and distress.
Looking at her daughter’s anxious appearance, White Dew felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart.
She opened her mouth but did not know what to say.
She could only force a bitter smile to comfort her.
“Just leave it to Mother. Mother will make him better.”
Jianjia tilted her head skeptically, then turned to look at her emaciated Father on the bed.
Finally, she let out a low whimper and swam back to the bedside.
She landed carefully on the pillow and gently rubbed her head against Jiang Huai’s cheek, as if trying to offer her tiny bit of comfort and strength.
Zhu Siyao clenched her fists. Tears swirled in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
She suddenly turned around, a flash of red Spiritual Light appearing as her usual Sword manifested in her hand.
Although she did not raise the tip, her sharp gaze pierced toward White Dew, her chest heaving with intense emotion.
Su Yingman’s face was as cold as still water.
She firmly grabbed Zhu Siyao’s wrist, applying pressure with her fingertips to signal her not to be impulsive.
Then, she slowly turned her head and spoke coldly to White Dew.
“White Clan Leader, don’t you think you owe us an explanation?”
“Why is it that before I left, my Husband Lord was full of spirit and vitality, a perfectly fine man, yet after I left, he became like this?”
“Before I left, didn’t you promise me that you would protect him well?”
This was the promise White Dew had personally made to Su Yingman after the Dragon Race’s younger generation competition, before Su Yingman had departed with Tang Zhaoxue.
She had said that even if it cost her life, she would protect Jiang Huai and guard his Dao path until he reached the Great Ascension.
She had claimed that this was her mission, allowing Su Yingman to leave with peace of mind.
But returning today, she found that everything had changed.
White Dew knew she was furious. Taking a deep breath, she explained the entire sequence of events.
“It is my fault.” Chi Hong dragged her still-unhealed body toward Su Yingman’s side and bowed deeply, her face pale.
“If it weren’t for the sake of saving me, Young Lord Jiang would never have taken such risks, let alone been so gravely injured.”
In her memory, when Jiang Huai had first split the dark clouds, Chi Hong saw that his condition was not yet that severe.
It was only after rescuing her that he had become like this; he had clearly gone through a brutal battle.
Su Yingman glanced sideways at Chi Hong but did not respond immediately.
She released Zhu Siyao’s hand and slowly walked to the bed to sit down.
Her gaze fell upon Jiang Huai’s withered face.
Seeing her man reduced to such a state, her heart was filled with resentment, and she reached out to gently caress his dry cheek.
At that light touch, Su Yingman’s eyes instantly turned red, and a sharp sting hit the bridge of her nose.
She forced herself to hold back, her voice low and raspy.
“Tell me, if Qin Qingyue and Wu Zhaohua saw this, how heartbroken would they be?”
Speaking of this, White Dew felt even worse.
Yes, if those two saw Jiang Huai like this, given their temperaments, they would likely never trust any of White Dew’s promises ever again.
“In the beginning, you told us that the Yin-Yang Body was the hope of this world, the key to saving it,” Su Yingman said softly.
“You said you would do whatever it takes to protect him until the Great Ascension. We believed you, and we treated you as someone we could entrust with our husband’s safety.”
Although her words were veiled, White Dew immediately understood the underlying meaning. A surge of frustration boiled in White Dew’s chest. She suddenly looked up, her voice rising sharply.
“Rest assured, this is the last time. I will never let Jiang Huai fall into such a state again!”
“Never, absolutely never!”
If there were a next time, she would rather her own life end and her Dao vanish than let him…
Tang Zhaoxue suddenly spoke from the side, interrupting the thoughts of both White Dew and Su Yingman.
“Don’t treat him like a child.”
White Dew froze and turned to look at Tang Zhaoxue.
“If a similar situation truly arises again, I’m afraid it won’t be up to any of us to make a decision for him.”
She remembered when Jiang Huai had stayed by her side at the border to resist the Xie Tide, and her heart was filled with emotion.
“He will make his own choice just as he did today, rather than having us interfere. Even if time were reversed, it would be impossible for Jiang Huai to abandon White Dew and Chi Hong to save himself alone; that is simply his character. None of us can decide for him, so there’s no need to talk about what will happen ‘next time’.”
“Let everything be up to my Husband Lord,” Tang Zhaoxue said in a low voice, lowering her eyes.
Hearing this, Su Yingman fell silent.
After a long time, she softly exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi that had been stagnant in her chest and stood up.
She wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, and the carefully applied makeup vanished.
‘He’s already unconscious and on the verge of death; who am I dressing up for?’
“Fine, arguing about this now is meaningless.” Su Yingman’s tone regained its composure.
“Saving him is what matters. Even if he possesses the Yin-Yang Body, his injuries this time are far too severe. I hope the White Clan Leader will not be stingy.”
As expected, those from the Huanhuan Sect always had a bit of a petty streak.
White Dew replied in a muffled voice, “That goes without saying.”
With that, the two walked out of the room together, intending to pilot the Xianzhou away first and then find some high-quality Immortal Materials for Jiang Huai.
After they left, Chi Lian’s gaze immediately moved to the Red Dragon coiled around Jiang Huai.
Having served the Miss for so many years, she recognized at a glance that this was Chihuang.
At this moment, Chihuang was silently wrapped around Jiang Huai, her Dragon Eyes tightly shut, single-mindedly delivering Spiritual Power to him as if the outside world had nothing to do with her.
“Miss, what are you doing?” Chi Lian stopped her crying. Her voice still carried a sob, but it had returned to its usual softness.
Chi Hong hugged her chest and sat by the bed in Su Yingman’s place. She shifted her voluptuous hips further inward, looking as though she intended to stay. She explained kindly to Chi Lian, “Lian’er, Jiang Huai has lost his blood vitality. Huang’er is transferring her Dragon Essence to him.”
Zhu Siyao frowned. With a flash, her Sword disappeared. Standing behind Chi Lian, she said, “I am a Fire Cultivator. Let me do it.”
She noticed the neatly folded female clothing nearby, which presumably belonged to Chihuang.
Why were even the undergarments and small scraps of fabric there? Was Chihuang wearing nothing? What kind of logic was this? How could another woman be allowed to hold her husband like this?
Hearing Chi Lian’s voice, Chihuang’s heart trembled.
She continued to close her eyes and play dead, simply pretending she hadn’t heard anything.
Chi Hong explained warmly, “We appreciate Blessed Daughter Zhu’s kindness. However, although a human Fire Cultivator’s Lingli is masculine, its nature is still different from the Supreme Yang Dragon Essence of the Red Dragon Clan, which is born of heaven and earth and originates from the Dragon Bloodline.”
After Su Yingman and White Dew left, the atmosphere among the women seemed to become a bit subtle.
Chi Lian naturally caught sight of the clothing nearby as well and said softly, “It’s better if I do it. I am also of the Red Dragon Clan.”
“Miss is the Saintess of the Red Dragon Clan and of noble status. This is ultimately improper according to Etiquette. The task of taking care of my Husband Lord is best left to me.”
At this moment, she began using a humble tone again, clearly not wanting Chihuang to remain on Jiang Huai’s body.
Now, Chi Hong found it difficult to speak and looked toward Chihuang. Chihuang’s eyes remained tightly shut, her Dragon Body rising and falling evenly with her breath.
The rhythm of her Dragon Essence transfer stayed steady, and she remained oblivious to the conversation as if she were in a deep sleep.
She was thoroughly committed to playing dead.
“Miss? Miss?”
“Has Miss fallen asleep?” Chi Lian gently pushed Chihuang’s body and asked softly.
Chihuang remained motionless.
“Miss should get up. How can we let Miss do such a thing? It’s more appropriate for me.”
Chihuang continued to play dead, still ignoring her.
No one could pull her off Jiang Huai now—no one! Today, she was showing her hand; she had no intention of coming down.
“Miss? Wake up.” Chi Lian shook her again.
Chihuang simply buried her dragon head deeper into the crook of Jiang Huai’s neck, adopting a posture of absolute refusal to communicate.
Chi Lian: “?”
‘You’re not even pretending to act anymore?’