Red Snow

Chapter 27

Ye Hua slipped in and out of consciousness, the line between reality and illusion was getting blurrier and blurrier by the minute. One second he was in a freezing damp cave and then he was back in Zhe Yan's hunt. If Ye Hua can't die from the pain, vertigo should do it.

"Zhe Yan, " Ye Hua could hear Bai Qian's desperate plea, "You have to save him. You can't let him-"

"I'm doing the best I can, girl, " Zhe Yan insisted, "Go fetch me the bandages, "

Suddenly, Ye Hua was back in the cave again. What he saw shook him to the bone, he preferred to have his other arm chewed off than to see this.

He saw the broken necks and shattered bones of young teenage boys. Blood pooled around Ye Hua's feet. He could hear an outcry echoing through the cave walls and insistence banging on the front door. And then, an accusing yell, "How dare you ratted me out!"

"I didn't..." another voice croaked out.

Ye Hua felt a grip against his arm and was pulled back to the peach forest. He heard a young boy crying, his tears dripping on his palm.

"Mother, " he cried, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have asked him, "

Oh, his sweet child. How could he blame himself over this? Ye Hua wished to go in the first place. He promised himself that he would be there for her.

And then another child's cry slowly drowned out AhLi's sobs. There was a tug at the edge of his robe. A little girl's pleading took over, "Uncle...Uncle... please..."

Why was she under his mercy? Why is there a sense of guilt and dread when he looks into her big watery eyes?

The mattress on his back was much softer now. Ye Hua smelt the familiar aroma of a mixture of incense and ink. He was back at his room in Xi Wu Palace. He could smell his mother's lilies scented perfume over his head.

"I hope you're happy now, " she said in a bitter voice that Ye Hua had never heard before, "Look what you had driven my son into, "

"I'm sorry, " Bai Qian's voice was timid, "Everything happened so fast, I..."

"Excuses!" Le Xu yelled, "You promised that you won't go near him again! You know the consequences! "

Ye Hua could hear a thud against the hardwood floor, "No, please. Don't take him away, "

No. Ye Hua couldn't let this happen. He needed to stop this, he needed to get up.

There was another thug on his chest. Ye Hua found himself out in the rain, thunder rumbling all around him. He cradled a golden lotus flower in his hands, protecting it from the chill of the downpour. Tears dropped on top of the petals, he muttered to himself "Heavens, what have I done..."

Ye Hua's eyes snapped open. Daylight shone through his window, blinding him. He blinked the spots out of his eyes as he struggled to get up. He wanted to push himself up. Instead, he found a dead weight on his shoulder.

"Here, " a voice said next to him and gently pushed him upwards.

"How long was I out?" Ye Hua asked.

"It's been a couple of days," Zhe Yan said.

A couple of days? That would mean that the three days with the lamp had passed. Die Yong needs to have the medicine now.

"The herb!" Ye Hua stated.

"Don't worry, " Zhe Yan assured him, "I handed the herb to Die Feng. The Kunlun Disciples decided to use their own cultivation to revive Mo Yuan, "