Ye Huohuo felt waves of陰風 (yīnfēng - yin wind) drilling into her body. Outside, dusk had just settled. It seemed she had slept through the entire day, and the feeling was awful. Her fingers twitched slightly, wanting to divine her current situation, but they felt as if they were filled with lead; they wouldn't budge at all.
"Who made the rule that I can only divine for others and not myself!" she cursed inwardly through gritted teeth.
The bone-chilling cold continued to erode her body. She felt her heart constricting abnormally, growing colder and colder, so cold that her teeth chattered.
"Could this be the Heart Devouring Technique?" Ye Huohuo thought, and immediately pulled open the bedside cabinet, wanting to rummage through it for something. But the pain in her chest intensified, forcing her to press her chest tightly with one hand. Her other hand, trembling, rummaged in the cabinet for a long time, finally finding a talisman paper with a heart-shaped pattern drawn on it.
But her hand trembled, and the talisman paper fell from her grasp to the floor.
Ye Huohuo gritted her teeth and crawled to the edge of the bed, wanting to reach out and pick up the talisman paper. However, the immense pain in her chest made her hand stop halfway, unable to extend. She could only retract both hands, pressing them against her chest simultaneously, gasping for breath. Cold sweat covered her forehead from the pain.
She wanted to call for help, but her mouth opened for a long time, yet not a single sound could escape.
Her heart felt as if it were pierced by ten thousand arrows, or as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at it. The extreme agony twisted Ye Huohuo into a ball, her mind gradually losing consciousness.
Just as she thought she was about to breathe her last, the door was suddenly burst open from the outside. Immediately after, she felt someone lift her up, and she seemed to hear someone calling her name.
But the voice grew fainter and fainter, eventually disappearing without a trace as her consciousness blurred. Her vision went black, and she knew nothing more.
When she awoke again, it was already the next morning.
Ye Huohuo felt a throbbing pain in her head. As she tried to raise her hand to rub her temples and relieve the headache, she discovered that her hand was being held tightly by someone, so much so that her fingertips felt numb. She had no idea how long her hand had been held.
It was then that she noticed someone slumped beside her bed.
The person's soft, ink-black short hair covered the back of their head, exuding an aura of gentleness. The morning sunlight fell perfectly onto the dark hair, illuminating each strand with a golden glow, making it look beautiful and warm.
Ye Huohuo raised her other hand, the one not being held, and her fingertips reverently caressed the soft, warm strands of hair. Her heart also began to warm.
Although her touch was light, the person slept even lighter. The moment her fingertips brushed his hair, he stirred and suddenly lifted his head. Seeing that she was awake, the previously tense expression finally eased slightly.
"You're finally awake! I thought you were done for!" Li Mohan's tone was not friendly, but the concern in his eyes was undeniable.
Ye Huohuo wanted to speak. As soon as she opened her mouth, she realized her throat was painfully dry. Before she could even indicate anything, a straw was brought to her lips.
"Have some water. You've sweated a lot. Mohen said you need to drink plenty of water, otherwise severe dehydration can also be life-threatening."
Ye Huohuo took two large sips of water from his hand. The cool water flowed down her throat, like refreshing mountain springs flowing through parched land, bringing a comforting coolness that instantly soothed Ye Huohuo's throat and the heat in her chest.
After drinking the water, her complexion and demeanor clearly improved. She finally had the strength to speak, "How did you save me?"
Li Mohan raised an eyebrow, seemingly puzzled by her question, "How do you know it was me who saved you? It was Mohen who rescued you."
Ye Huohuo tugged at the corner of her lips. She intended to smile, but the smile was so weak and pale it was heartbreaking. "I didn't have a normal illness; he couldn't have saved me. In this household, besides you, who else has the ability to save me? But was it you who saved me, or him?"
Li Mohan's gaze flickered. He raised his hand and gently wiped away a bit of water residue from the corner of her lips with his thumb. "Him? Who?"
"Don't you know of his existence? Wasn't it him controlling the Guixu formation on the hillside before? Don't you know he took over your body?" Ye Huohuo had wanted to ask Li Mohan this question for a long time, but had never found a suitable opportunity. Now, when both of them were at their calmest, she voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind.
Li Mohan shook his head, sighing with a rare weariness, "I don't know when or how he replaced me. I only know that on the hillside, I wanted to help you but was powerless. After that, I knew nothing. This 'him' you speak of... is it the 'past life' that Fang Fang mentioned? Is he very powerful?"
Ye Huohuo pondered for a moment and nodded, "Yes, at least the most powerful I've ever seen. My master can be considered a titan in the Xuanmen today, but in front of him... he is likely not an opponent. At least my master cannot control a Guixu formation created by others without using his own blood essence. From this alone, he is truly formidable."
"He's very powerful...?!" Li Mohan's expression turned somewhat displeased. He paused, his tone seeming to carry a hint of sourness, and said, "But I saved you this time!"
He then added, "Your senior disciple brother taught me!"
"Senior disciple brother? How did he tell you to save me?" Ye Huohuo became curious. She had intended to use the power of talismans to forcefully suppress the pain of the Heart Devouring Technique and then find a way to deal with it.
But that soul-piercing pain had robbed her of all ability to save herself. Fortunately, Li Mohan appeared in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Your senior disciple brother told me to burn the talisman you dropped, then mix the ashes with strong liquor and have you drink it. Finally, he told me to cut a bit of my blood for you to drink." As Li Mohan spoke, he casually glanced at the white bandage wrapped around his wrist.
Ye Huohuo followed his gaze and saw a snow-white bandage around his wrist, with a smear of crimson seeping through it.
"You..." Ye Huohuo raised her hand, her slender, fair fingers slowly reaching out. Her fingertip gently stroked that trace of crimson, and a hint of moisture flickered in her eyes. "Does it hurt?"
"Let's reconnect the thread of fate!" Li Mohan, however, shifted to another topic.
Ye Huohuo looked up at him, a trace of bewilderment in her eyes, "Ah?!"
"The red thread was only broken for a single day, and you were on the brink of death several times. Every time I saw you in danger..." Li Mohan trailed off, stopping himself, and finally said, "After all, we've known each other. I don't want to see anything happen to you."
A clear hesitation flickered in Ye Huohuo's eyes. She blinked, hiding a tear from her gaze. When she looked up again, she put on her signature smile, pure and sweet. The smile didn't reach her eyes, but it concealed a touch of sadness within them.
"Alright! Then I'll borrow your luck for a while longer. As soon as I find another way, I'll sever the red thread between us, and I... will return your freedom."
Li Mohan's lips moved, and finally, a single word was squeezed out between his teeth, "Okay!"
The two looked at each other and smiled. The hands that had been tightly clasped were simultaneously released. Ye Huohuo burned the talisman and, as before, reconnected the red thread of fate between them. However, the atmosphere between them turned strange, as if an invisible wall had erected itself between them.
Li Mohan received a phone call and left, leaving Ye Huohuo alone in the room. She raised her hand and looked at the faintly visible red thread on her wrist, giving a bitter smile. It seemed their relationship wasn't really sustained by this.
In his heart, he loved only her from beginning to end!
Just as Ye Huohuo was lost in melancholy, her phone suddenly started playing music.
Seeing it was an unfamiliar number, she couldn't help but frown. She answered the call, and Liu Keqiang's voice came from the other end, "Hello, is this Ye Huohuo, Miss Ye?"
As soon as Ye Huohuo heard his voice, her head began to ache. Without asking, she knew it must be about the case from before. "It's me. Captain Liu, please speak." Her tone was somewhat absentminded.
But the sentence from the other party made her heart leap in alarm!
"Miss Ye, please come to the police station. Someone saw you commit murder!"