The Legend Of Jewelry

Chapter 9

      The fingers on her pulse point felt as hot as a branding iron, pulling her back from the icy grip of death.

      She stopped sobbing and said, "Among the living in this inn, only you and I remain. Are you still holding my life hostage, planning to go down together?" Yan Zi Jing tightened his grip on her.

      Duan Wu suddenly gasped, only then realizing that the string of pearls entrusted to her by Wei Chi was also gone!

      She took a sharp breath, her heart sinking into the abyss. Though the bandits spared her, they took the pearls.

      She had thought that the Kunlun Mountain bandits were a group of murderous demons. But now she understood—they not only plotted for wealth and bloodshed but also aimed to extinguish humanity. Under the angelic facade of those blue eyes lurked a snake's heart, sending shivers down one's spine.

      It must have been Xiao Song Shu's people, no doubt. That night, the blue-eyed bandit leader only brought a few people, so he took Xiao Song Shu first to settle the merchant group. Later, he sent someone to secretly follow them until everyone gathered at the relay station. Then, in the dead of night, he led the entire bandit gang to massacre the inn. While they appeared to have spared her and Yan Zi Jing, taking away Yan Zi Jing's men, wealth, and belongings, as well as robbing her of the pearls, was equivalent to snuffing them both out. How would Yan Zi Jing face Prince Nuo Min empty-handed? How could she face Wei Chi again?

      Wei Chi, the man who cared most for her on this journey. But she had let him down.

      And that blue-eyed man, the most courteous gentleman she had ever met, had deceived her.

      She felt suffocated, her hatred overwhelming, making her almost lose consciousness.

      At this moment, Yan Zi Jing released her pulse. His eyelashes trembled uncontrollably as he said, "Water, give me water!"

      Duan Wu got up, found a water pouch, and brought it to Yan Zi Jing's side, but he pushed her away forcefully.

      His face revealed a mixture of impatience and despair, his cheeks flushed with a bright crimson.

      Was he dying? He had shown no signs of weariness all the way from the sea until now. If he died, what would she do? Stay in this desolate inn surrounded by corpses, or trek into the endless Gobi on foot? She didn't want either. She longed for a human presence, even if it was from a dying heart of stone. She didn't want him to die.

      She lifted the water pouch again, approached Yan Zi Jing's lips, and said, "Master, drink, it's water! Drinking it will make you feel cooler."

      Yan Zi Jing's body twitched slightly, teeth clenched. In her desperation, Duan Wu used her fingers to pry open his lips, attempting to open his teeth.

      With a groan, Yan Zi Jing suddenly bit her finger. Duan Wu recoiled in pain, withdrawing her hand.

      Blindly, Yan Zi Jing groped for the water pouch at the pillow and lifted his head slightly. He almost didn't stop drinking water until the pouch was empty, then tossed it to the wall, collapsing weakly on the ground.

      With wide-open eyes, he breathed heavily, saying, "I... am dying. You... won't survive either!"

      Duan Wu, overwhelmed by frustration, couldn't help but retort loudly, "If you have the ability, don't die!"

      Frustration poured out as she continued, "I don't know who to complain to. I failed to kill the Mongolian dog. Originally, I was ready to die with determination. If you hadn't saved me, I would have turned into sand a long time ago, saving myself from a lifetime of trouble. But now, I've become your slave, brought to this godforsaken place. The pearls have been taken by those damn bandits. I won't have the face to join Wei Chi's group. You're suffering from a severe illness, yet you stubbornly fight against me. Whether dead or alive, I don't care anymore. There are so many masters in this world; how did I end up meeting someone like you? What do my ancestors owe you?"