My mind was still hazy when I heard muffled voices talking next to .
"Please help us, Elder. We've tried every doctor in the area … they said she's beyond saving. But she's only six! Our only child!"
The voice startled . It was my mother, but she had passed away five years ago. How was she here? I couldn't see anything around except darkness. Where was I?
"Her illness is past the point of healing," a man replied. He sounded farther away, and I couldn't hear him too clearly. "I could try the way I explained to you earlier. Though as I've said, it is a forbidden art, and your child will have to bear the consequences."
My mother seed to be hesitating. Then I heard my father's voice: "If her fever doesn't break, she'll be gone before nightfall. What consequences could be worse than Qing-er dying?"
I finally realized what was happening. I must be in a dream. When I was six, I caught a terrible disease spreading through our village and almost died from it. My parents said a traveling doctor had saved , but I was too sick to rember anything about it.
Was I on the brink of death again? Was that why this hidden mory at the edge of my consciousness suddenly ca back to ?
"With that thod …" my mother asked shakily, "will she still be the sa when she recovers?"
The man said sothing to her. His voice was so low this ti that I couldn't make out the words. Finally, I heard my father say: "We accept, Elder. This is only a small price to pay. Please do what you need to save our child!"
Then the sounds quieted.
I lay in the darkness, wondering if this was my life flashing back at its end. I wished I could open my eyes and see my parents one last ti. Would I be able to find them in the afterlife? Would we be family again in the next cycle of rebirth?
"Qing-er," another voice broke the silence of the darkness. Cool and clear, soft and gentle.
A voice that I could never forget, even in death. It was my mory of Bai Ye on the day we first t.
"Qing-er," he said again, and I savored the sound of it. Death didn't treat poorly—at least it let hold on tight to my most precious mories. I wondered how Bai Ye would feel once he found my body. Would he shed a tear for my passing? Would he miss ?
"Qing-er, wake up."
The worry in Bai Ye's tone was unfamiliar. When was this mory from? I tried again to open my eyes. The tiredness in my heavy eyelids finally gave way, and the darkness faded. The first thing I saw was Bai Ye's concerned face.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
I blinked. He was in the sa gray robe I saw him change into yesterday, but his brow was knitted, and the look in his eyes was different. A dim candle burned low behind him. I blinked again, and recognized that I was in my room.
It wasn't a dream anymore. He had found , and I was still alive.
Bai Ye's brow knitted further at my lack of response. "Try to force the venom out," he said. "Can you feel it with spiritual power?"
I didn't notice until then that we were sitting in my bed. Bai Ye was cradling with one arm as I leaned against him, and his other hand was pressed against my chest to transfer spiritual power to . The intimate position would normally have sent blushing, but I was feeling too dizzy and weak at the mont to react.
His spiritual power flowed into from his hand, warm and invigorating. I brushed all other thoughts aside and called upon it, using its strength to push the venom in my body to my fingers. This was how we typically fought poison, by moving it away from the heart and then forcing it out through our fingertips.
The venom was still strong in my body, and I moved it carefully along my ridians. But instead of feeling it traveling towards my fingertips, I felt a sudden surge of nausea. Sothing rose up through my throat, and before I could gather enough strength to push Bai Ye out of the way, I gagged. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and trickles of scarlet dripped through my lips onto his sleeve.
I felt Bai Ye's body tense. "This can't be …" he muttered to himself. I gagged again. As more blood ca up my throat, my strength disappeared with it. I was too weak to keep my eyes open, and I fell back fully into Bai Ye's arms.
The venom, I realized. I wasn't able to move it, even with his help, and it had reached my heart.
"Did you use your swords today?" Bai Ye suddenly asked.
I was feeling weaker and weaker, almost out of breath to be able to answer him. But I knew those swords an a lot to him, so I gathered all my strength and said: "I … cut … Chopper …"
Bai Ye's hands trembled at my words. "No …" he said, and his voice trembled as well. "No …" he repeated. I had never seen him like this, and I wondered if it was for or the swords.
Another surge of blood rose into my mouth. At this point, I knew my end was coming. "Master …" I tried to speak again with the last strength I had. "I …"
What did I want to say? To tell him I was sorry for the swords? Or to confess to him how much he had always ant to ?
But it was too late, and pointless. I was too weak to utter another word, and my consciousness started to drift. At least I get to die in his arms, I thought. It was already more than I could ever ask for.
My breaths slowed, and my body started growing cold. I readied myself for the final mont, but instead, I felt a gentle brush of lips on my forehead.
"There's only one way to give you enough spiritual power to fight this off …" Bai Ye said softly.. "Qing-er, dual cultivate with ."
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