The moment that warm body fell into his arms, Feng Xiao truly felt 'this really is Cui Buqu'.
Then, he thought about the palm he had thrown out to hit the other.
This person could fall ill even on usual days. Before this, he had already suffered a stab to the chest. Although it hadn't harmed any fatal spots, his body would still be greatly weakened from massive blood loss. If this went on, he would ascend before even dying from old age.
Even if Feng Xiao wasn't willing to, he couldn't avoid admitting that for a few times Cui Buqu was injured, he was somehow involved.
"Are you alright?" Once these words were spoken, Feng Xiao felt stupid.
However, he couldn't stop himself from asking another stupid question. "Why did you come?"
Even if he knew the answer was a stolen joy, he still couldn't help having to hear the truth from the other's mouth.
Feng Xiao felt a kind of stupidity that he had never felt before prior to this, as if his spirit was divided into two; one half was "staring from the side with a cold glare" at his stupidity, and the other half was babbling everything out unrestrained.
After having his wrist taken and infused with inner strength, Cui Buqu moved a little and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Don't say stupid things."
His person was already here. If one were to ask him whether he was alright or not, what would it be if not stupid words?
Had it been in the past, Second Commander Feng who never wanted to lose an argument would start mocking him. Cui Buqu had even braced himself for the question: 'Why are you so ignorant of your own worth, going into the array to rescue others?'. But who could have guessed that Feng Xiao said nothing, only answering him with a low 'En'.
That wasn't all; the hand clinging to his wrist even tightened its grip a little, transferring inner strength to him as if it was free of charge to do so, continuously flowing into his body. Cui Buqu felt a little surprised and asked, within his heart, if Feng Xiao had been spinning around in the array for too long to the point his brain had been muddled. Even if his inner strength was impressive, he couldn't afford such depletion of his energy.
However, as inner strength flowed in his body, his ice-cold body slowly warmed up. The pain on his shoulder that he had endured just now from that hit had also faded away. Cui Buqu even felt a little too comfortable. However, he still fought against it and caught Feng Xiao's wrist.
"Enough. Let's walk out of the array first."
Feng Xiao did not pay him any attention until he decided that he had channelled enough energy, only then did he let go.
"So, your teacher designed an array such as this; it seems to be more complicated than the one you spoke of before."
"Rubbish. The array was invented by him to begin with, so it should have evolved over the years." Cui Buqu coughed twice, felt his throat more comfortable than it was before. It seemed that that palm Feng Xiao hit him with just now had forced all the bad blood out of his chest. "Where is Yu Xiu?"
"In the array. However, I'm guessing that he's tumbled almost as dizzy as I. If you can still hold on, I wish to take care of him first before going out." Feng Xiao said.
With Cui Buqu's situation, another second more in this freezing array would harm his body more. Perhaps others would have thought of leaving first, but when Cui Buqu heard Feng Xiao's words, he nodded his head and said nothing.
He wasn't used to it, neither did he like being hugged into someone's arms like this, a position that made him look weak. Once Feng Xiao's hand stabled, he pushed him away.
However, his wrist was still caught.
"You came in here looking for me, didn't you?" Feng Xiao's tone was a bit strange; it didn't sound like a joke or a mockery.
Cui Buqu raised an eyebrow, for a moment he couldn't guess the meaning behind the other's words.
"No." He said coldly and shook the other's hand away, hearing Feng-er's laugh as if he was laughing at him for talking insincerely.
Cui Buqu was baffled, staring at him as if he was looking at a dumb fool, before turning around and walking forward.
Two arrays, one big and one small fitting in together; this was why it was called "Twin Spinning Array". At this moment, they were walking towards the heart of the array and the chill, dense wind that blew between the boulders was also extraordinarily strong. The coldness it brought penetrated the skin and bones, but what the eyes saw were only flickering shadows in the distance like in a dream. Sounds of shining spears and metal armours1 were ringing endlessly through their ears, blending into the victim's senses inside the array. Even someone like Feng Xiao, with his level of martial arts, was subjected to a blurry vision and an increased heart rate, let alone others.
However, he followed behind Cui Buqu. Other than avoiding the intersection of chilled winds, they no longer stepped into traps. However, Cui Buqu wasn't completely familiar with the array. He walked and stopped as if thinking deeply with every step he took.
After passing through this forest of boulders, a light appeared in front of him as if the exit was looking in their direction. The drizzle outside the cave was like a curtain, one could even see the dark clouds gathering outside. However, this scenery looked like freedom for those inside the cave.
Cui Buqu knew in his heart that this exit could have been a trap. However, he reconsidered and decided to take a step out anyways.
At the same time, a murderous wind picked up from both his sides. His collar was pulled from the back and he fell backwards, centimetres away from the metal arrows that shot out, ringing as they brushed against each other.
Feng Xiao used one hand to pull Cui Buqu behind, and the other to launch a zither string.
The zither string that contained qi expanded in mid-air, blocking those metal arrows.
This was already enough. Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu turned around to avoid it. The metal arrows flew for a short distance before finally falling onto the ground.
Feng Xiao was out of breath, "Fan Yun that old hag wasn't harbouring a good heart since the beginning!"
"He wants to use us to tear the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai apart. If we died in the process, then he would have killed two birds with one stone." Cui Buqu's expression was bland, not feeling surprised at all. "Even if this isn't the exit, it shouldn't be far from here. We should go stand guard at the exit. If Yu Xiu wants to go out, he would have to pass through there."
As he finished speaking, he reached out to shove Feng Xiao away. When the latter was shoved away by him, he conveniently borrowed that momentum to lean against the rocky walls and sat down slowly.
Cui Buqu turned around in confusion.
Feng Xiao sighed, "I can no longer move. Let's rest. Why are we trying so hard? Maybe Yu Xiu himself is sitting around somewhere taking a snack."
Cui Buqu's first thought was that this person was behaving weirdly again. However, he still knelt and touched the other's forehead.
The other held his hand.
Feng Xiao replied languidly, "Master Daoist Cui, stop feeling me up."
Cui Buqu twitched his lips, wanting to take his hand back. He used a little strength but did not succeed.
"Now it seems like you are the one feeling me up."
"If I didn't hold your hand, who knows how much longer you're going to touch. Do you know how many people have set their eyes on me? How could I not know what you are thinking? If you truly feel something for me, speak, I might consider accepting it."
What rubbish hooliganism is this person talking about?
Cui Buqu had gotten used to Feng-er's hooliganism a long time ago, but the latter would never play around during a situation like this.
A thought hit him, "Are you hurt?"
Feng Xiao retained his languish demeanour, "Nonsense. My martial arts are unsurpassed, how would I ever get hurt? Don't think that in this dark place, you can do whatever you want to me. I would never give in to you."
He spoke and at the same time, pulled Cui Buqu closer to him, putting a hand at the back of his head so he couldn't stand up.
A wind picked up at his side, and Cui Buqu could narrowly avoid it because of Feng Xiao's gesture.
Once Yu Xiu's attack landed, he was forced to show himself from the dark, facing Feng Xiao head-on.
Cui Buqu was pushed aside, watching as those two shadows blended into a battle.
He suddenly realized that Yu Xiu had caught up to them earlier and had been studying them in the dark for a long time, just looking for a chance to attack. Just now, when he heard Cui Buqu saying that the exit wasn't far away, his murderous intent had risen. Cui Buqu felt nothing, but Feng Xiao could feel it so he was waiting for Yu Xiu to attack.
As real qi between both of them roared, conflicting with the cold air within the array, creating sounds like horns, they gathered all the cold air around them. Yu Xiu and Feng Xiao were protected by their respective martial arts, but Cui Buqu felt the cold winds whipping in his direction, filling his nostrils and making him want to vomit. It was so uncomfortable that he started coughing.
As if the coughing had reminded Yu Xiu, the latter laughed, "Commander Feng, haven't you realized that there is a needle in your body?"
He was wandering in the fog, his movements so quick that he looked like a mere shadow, blending into the grey fog, yet from time to time he would launch an attack at Feng Xiao following the currents of the wind. It could be seen that Yu Xiu being trapped in here wasn't completely for nothing. At least he had managed to unravel some of the mechanisms in the Twin Spinning Array.
Yu Xiu's words confirmed Cui Buqu's speculation. His heart sank, trying his best to tell Feng Xiao's shadow from the fog.
His assaults were curt and precise, completely unaffected by Yu Xiu. However, the more he behaved like this, the more Cui Buqu knew things weren't looking favourable.
Because with Feng Xiao's character, he would have wanted to mock Yu Xiu after he said those words and would not let go until he drove the other into fury. But now, he did not even utter a single word.
Yu Xiu didn't notice the difference. However, Cui Buqu noticed immediately that something was wrong about Feng Xiao's body, that he couldn't even pay much thought about talking right now.
How could he help? Cui Buqu thought, studying his surroundings as his eyebrows raised.
Yu Xiu was on the defensive, patiently frolicking around with Feng Xiao, but he wasn't in a hurry to attack.
However, Feng Xiao was the complete opposite. His attacks were fiercer than the winds toiling inside, every movement he made aimed to kill, his shadow so quick that it was impossible to tell the difference. Yu Xiu watched the other charge in his direction and immediately avoided it, yet Feng Xiao vanished in mid-air, appearing next to Yu Xiu in the next second, aimed a palm right at his chest and shattered the defensive barrier around him created from qi.
A mouthful of blood spilt from Yu Xiu's mouth, his expression falling; however, very quickly he realized that Feng Xiao didn't use that opportunity to attack again, he had instead stopped for a while.
This spilt of a moment made him realize something. Yu Xiu laughed, he did not escape despite his injuries, moving forward instead. He took a dagger out from his sleeve, holding its hilt, gathering all his strength into the blade as he hammered it down Feng Xiao's head!
When grandmasters fought, the battle did not last for long. When one of them found the other's weakness, the time to decide between life and death would come.
From the moment Yu Xiu suffered an attack until this moment, he hadn't retreated but instead advanced. He believed in his own judgement, even grateful for the Pavilion Lord in his head. Without that hidden weapon he had given him, he might not have been able to put Feng Xiao at a disadvantage at this moment.
As real qi filled the dagger, for a moment even the chilled winds dared not surround the dagger. It was sliced in half by Yu Xiu before it sliced its way towards Feng Xiao!
Although Feng Xiao's reflexes were quick, the moment that knife was raised, he took a step back slower than his prior speed. This knife, even if failed to chop down his head, should at least slash his chest, enough to make one half-dead.
As the sharp knife hailed down, in the midst of the fog, Feng Xiao's figure vanished all of a sudden in midair. Yu Xiu's knife hit the ground, its clang resounding in the air. Boulders shattered and fell, yet Feng Xiao is already out of sight!
Furious, Yu Xiu quickly turned sideways to look.
As expected, Cui Buqu has also disappeared!
Cui Buqu was dragging Feng Xiao along the way as they made it through collapsing boulders, moving so quickly that he didn't look like someone who was often ill at all. Instead, Feng Xiao's footsteps were hesitant, stopping once in a while, half his body dependent on Cui Buqu and practically making him fall.
"…I need to force that needle out of me right now, half my body has gone numb." Feng Xiao gritted his teeth as he said.
He never expected the needle to be so powerful, thinking that he could suppress it for a while, but as he fought with Yu Xiu, that needle followed the currents of qi inside his body as he channelled them, scurrying through his veins, almost making him fall for it.
Cui Buqu didn't say much, he dragged Feng Xiao and leaned against a stone wall, before setting him down.
"Just now, I've used some stones to mimic the Twin Spinning Array and made a smaller one, so this array has turned into a 'Triple Spinning Array". However, these little tricks won't last long. Yu Xiu will very quickly make his way here. You need to act quicker!" Cui Buqu said hurriedly.
"You need to help me," Feng Xiao used a hand to press onto his shoulder, moving down inch by inch, and as for his other hand, it slowly balled into a fist. "Press on my guanyuan meridian, use moderate strength."
The guanyuan meridian is three inches before the bellybutton. Cui Buqu was familiar with the medical arts, he had heard of such a thing before. However, he didn't feel so used to it once it became practical. He reached out to touch Feng Xiao's stomach, bringing his fingers three strokes below the belly button. Feng Xiao could no longer stand him rubbing him lightly like that, so he immediately caught his hand and moved it down.
"It's here. Use one hand to touch, don't let go. Use the other hand to press your way up the vein, don't stop unless I say so!"
Cui Buqu didn't think too much, quietly obeying his orders.
With Cui Buqu there to stop the needle from moving around, Feng Xiao finally had enough to spare to draw the needle out.
However, that needle knew that it was not in a favourable position. It wriggled inside his body, following the flow of his blood everywhere. Feng Xiao's face turned paler. His lips pursed as he closed both his eyes. The usual smile was no longer on his face, right now he looked stern and serious.
On certain aspects, Cui Buqu and he were birds of the same feather. They had determinations of steel and would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. It was only because Feng Xiao's seriousness was often hidden under a layer of playfulness and patheticness, that it was not often noticed.
Originally, Cui Buqu paid attention to the change in his gaze and acted accordingly. Now, however, he felt that this look on Feng Xiao suited him more than his usual playful self.
At this moment, Feng Xiao's body shuddered, fresh blood trickling down the corner of his lips. His body slumped forward and Cui Buqu caught him.
"How are you feeling?" Cui Buqu held his shoulders, allowing the other's forehead to land itself at the crook of his neck.
"I fear…not very good." Feng Xiao said weakly.
"Hold on for a moment more. The exit is just upfront."
Cui Buqu didn't waste more time, he wanted to take Feng Xiao's arms onto his shoulders to pull him up, but he was stopped.
"Even if we could leave, I'm not certain if the members of the Jiejian Bureau would find us before the people from the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai could. If we ran into the Thirteen Pavilions now, I fear both of us would not be able to leave."
"What use is there for you in saying these things? Keep your breath and speak again once we are out!"
Cui Buqu barked in a hoarse voice, yet heard the other sigh lightly in the dark, before feeling damp and warm lips covering his own.
[1] Sounds of shining spears and metal armours: Symbols of war in ancient China.