Chapter Ninety: Deep Sleep

Chapter Ninety

“Ah Ye!”

No one knew how much time had passed before Mei finally regained control of her body. The first thing she did was make sure Ye Jingxuan was safe.

Though her body had been beyond her command, her mind had remained frighteningly clear. When she saw Ye Jingxuan press her beneath him, taking the ant queen’s assault and the falling boulders upon his own body, the shock in her heart was beyond words.

He had said he would protect her, but she had never taken his words seriously.

She had never imagined that he would shield her with his life.

Why had he done that?

Wasn’t his own life the most important thing?

“Meier, are you hurt?”

Hearing her voice, Ye Jingxuan hurriedly asked, his tone tight with worry.

Listening to the anxiety in his voice, Mei only felt her thoughts twisting into a knot. Yet she had no time to sort them out; afraid of making him worry, she quickly replied, “I’m fine. What about you? Are your injuries serious?”

Hearing that her voice sounded normal, not at all like someone injured, Ye Jingxuan finally let out a breath and only then felt the pain in his own body.

Not wanting her to worry, he answered her the same way: he was fine.

But how could Mei possibly believe he was unhurt? She struggled, only to find the surrounding space far too cramped. So she took a scroll from her spatial storage, forcibly expanded the space with the power of a barrier, and then produced a glowing crystal orb for light.

Seeing the scorched flesh on his back, Mei’s heart tightened with pain. She hurriedly took out medicine and began cleaning his wounds.

“Could you give me some of the medicine you used on me and Mo Chen last time?” Ye Jingxuan asked when he saw her take out disinfectant, anti-inflammatory medicine, and bandages.

“Can you bear it?” Mei did not mind the medicine at all. What she worried about was whether Ye Jingxuan could endure it; after all, that medicine was not merely painful to use.

Ye Jingxuan curved his lips into a smile. “It’s all right. I can bear it.”

Even if he could not bear it, he would endure it. After all, it was the fastest way for him to recover his fighting strength. Underground, there was no telling what dangers awaited them. Injured as he was, he could not be certain he would be able to protect her from even the slightest harm.

Seeing his determination, Mei took out the medicine, tore away the damaged cloth from his body, and was just about to apply it to his wounds when she paused again. She rolled a piece of gauze into a bundle and placed it at his mouth, signaling for him to bite down on it so he would not bite himself in the course of enduring the pain.

The moment the medicine touched his wounds, Ye Jingxuan’s muscles tightened instantly to their limit. The veins on his forehead stood out from the force he used, and all ten fingers dug deeply into the ground. Even through the gauze, a low growl could still be heard escaping his throat.

Mei’s hands were brisk and precise. Soon she had spread the medicine evenly over every wound on his body. After that, he could only rely on himself to endure the side effects of the treatment.

Watching him tremble all over from the pain, Mei wiped the sweat from his body with a clean cotton cloth, all the while whispering into his ear, “Ah Ye, hold on a little longer. The medicine is starting to work. The pain will pass soon!”

Fifteen minutes later, when the pain began to ease, Ye Jingxuan’s body slowly relaxed. He removed the gauze from his mouth and panted heavily.

“Ah Ye, are you all right?” Mei looked at him, eyes closed and motionless, and could not help asking in concern.

“I’m fine.” Ye Jingxuan opened his eyes, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

Though only a little over ten minutes had passed, it felt to him as if an eternity had gone by. The pain in his body had been far worse than when he was first injured, but the medicine truly worked; the wounds on the surface of his body had already healed completely.

“Ah Ye, drink this!” Mei took out another crystal bottle, opened it, and held it to his lips while supporting the back of his head so he would not choke on it.

Without asking what it was, Ye Jingxuan opened his mouth and drank it all in one swallow, not leaving a single drop behind.

Once the medicine entered his body, he soon felt a coolness spread through his organs and viscera, swiftly extinguishing the pain within him. Only then did he realize that what Mei had given him was medicine for internal injuries.

She had noticed his internal wounds.

After reaching that conclusion, Ye Jingxuan only felt his mood soar. Even the fatigue left behind by the pain vanished.

He rose from the ground, only then noticing that Mei’s complexion was terribly poor.

“Meier, what’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?” Seeing her pale little face, devoid of any trace of color, Ye Jingxuan asked anxiously. He tried to check whether she was injured, but his hand had barely reached out before he felt it inappropriate and could only grow anxious in silence.

“I’m not hurt, Ah Ye. Truly, I’m not hurt. Don’t worry!” Mei caught his outstretched hand and comforted him.

“But your face is very bad.” Ye Jingxuan did not believe her explanation and could not help but resent himself for failing to protect her properly.

Seeing the look of self-reproach on his face, Mei guessed what he was thinking and quickly stopped him from blaming himself further.

“Ah Ye, I really am not injured. It’s just that my body has actually developed a problem. I’m afraid I’ll have to fall asleep for a while. So listen to me, Ah Ye: I know the protection on your badge has already been used up. Take these scrolls. This barrier should be able to hold for another three hours; during that time, we are absolutely safe. After three hours, if there is still an earthquake, tear open a scroll and a new barrier will appear. And keep this food with you. Take these medicines too, just in case.”

Forcing herself to stay awake, Mei produced a large pile of food, medicine, and scrolls and handed them to Ye Jingxuan. Then, remembering that they were deep underground and still had no idea how to get out, she took out an earth-drake beast, pricked Ye Jingxuan’s finger, helped establish a master-and-servant contract, and gave him a beast bag.

“Earth-drake beasts are good at tunneling. Once the earthquake stops, you can order it to dig us a tunnel to the surface. I’ve already formed a master-and-servant contract with it, so it will obey your commands. This is a beast bag. When you don’t need it, you can keep it inside.”

Ye Jingxuan accepted the beast bag, not caring at all why she had so many strange and unusual things; he was only worried about her condition.

“How long will you sleep? Do you need me to do anything?”

Inside her spiritual world, two fragments of the Source of Darkness had already begun to merge. The energy they released roiled through her mind, making her head feel as if it were about to split open and blurring her consciousness more and more. Yet she still heard Ye Jingxuan’s question and mustered the last bit of her strength to answer, “I don’t know how long I’ll sleep. You don’t need to do anything. I’ll be fine.”

Her voice grew softer and softer; Ye Jingxuan had to lean close to her mouth to hear it clearly.

“Also, take care of yourself. Don’t get hurt again just because you’re trying to protect me!”

After uttering her final sentence, Mei’s body softened, collapsing into Ye Jingxuan’s arms as she fell into a deep, motionless sleep.

Ye Jingxuan carefully checked her breathing and pulse, and only after confirming that everything was normal did he finally relax.

Thinking of her last words, he could not help but kiss her forehead.

She was always like this—always thinking of others, always refusing to take herself seriously. Such a beautiful Mei’er; how could he ever bear to let her go?

He truly wished he could hold her like this for a lifetime.

Ye Jingxuan kissed her forehead again and again, then carefully gathered her into his arms and closed his eyes to rest.

No matter what, he would protect her until she woke again, even if he had to stake his life on it.

But before that, he had to use the time before the barrier vanished to restore his strength and prepare for whatever danger might come.

When it was nearly three hours later, the barrier’s light had already begun to dim. Ye Jingxuan released Mei, laid her carefully on a blanket, and began to ready himself.

He found the softest clothes in his spatial storage and put them on, taking care to make sure there was no ornamentation of any kind on them—not even a single button. Only then did he use a rope to wrap Mei in the blanket and tie her against his chest. It would hinder him more in front than behind, but it was far safer than leaving her at his back. He could not guarantee he would notice an attack coming from behind, and even if there were only a one percent chance, he would not gamble.

Once he had secured her, he put on his overcoat, drawing Mei completely into his embrace, and then looked at the earth-drake beast she had given him, trying out a few simple commands.

“Come here.”

At his words, the earth-drake beast obediently came over and affectionately rubbed against his leg.

“Sit.”

At the command, the earth-drake beast immediately bent its hind legs and sat down on the ground.

Seeing this, Ye Jingxuan rewarded it with a pat on the head, and the beast instantly shook its head and tail in delight.

Its simple, earnest manner softened his gaze. Looking at it, he said, “When the barrier disappears later, start digging upward. Do you understand? Upward—to the surface.”

He had never dealt with such a creature before and was not sure whether it understood him. As he spoke, he also pointed upward with his hand.

The earth-drake beast quickly sent him the sensation that it understood. Ye Jingxuan remained half doubtful until the barrier disappeared and it began digging a tunnel diagonally upward, at which point he finally relaxed.

The tunnel was large enough, but still not wide enough for Ye Jingxuan to pass through standing. Bending over would make Mei short of breath, so he had no choice but to get on all fours and crawl after the earth-drake beast.

Because they had been buried very deep underground, and because the beast’s tunnel slanted upward, they could not possibly reach the surface in a short time.

Every three hours, Ye Jingxuan would have the earth-drake beast stop and rest for a while, and he would also check Mei’s condition and give her a sip of water. As for his own knees, they had long since been worn raw and bleeding, but he paid them no mind.

Along the way, while tunneling, the earth-drake beast actually discovered the ant queen. Though she was already at death’s door, she was still alive.

Ye Jingxuan naturally would not let the culprit who had prevented them from escaping go free. He killed the ant queen on the spot and, by the way, dug out the crystal within her body.

After two days and two nights of crawling, Ye Jingxuan finally brought Mei back to the surface.

He put the earth-drake beast into the beast bag, then carefully studied their surroundings and used the stars to determine direction. He discovered that their current position was not only far to the west of where they had originally been, but was already near the outskirts, not far from the mountain’s edge. He had no choice but to adjust his plans.

Originally, he had intended to go straight down the mountain and return to the Changyang Base. But now that seemed impossible. There were too many dangers in the mountains, and he could not guarantee the safety of either himself or Mei.

For the present, his only option was to descend the mountain as quickly as possible, find a survivor base, obtain a vehicle, and then hurry to the Dragon Rise Base to rendezvous with the others. Moreover, only once he reached there would he be able to learn exactly what had happened to Mei’s body.