Chapter 475 - 88 - Using his powers

Chapter 475: Chapter 88 - Using his powers

Chen wasted no time gathering their belongings. He packed only what they needed, leaving the heavier supplies hidden inside the classroom in case they had to return. Skyy stood beside the doorway, anxiously watching the forest while Chen examined the ground outside.

There were footprints in the soft earth near the collapsed fence. Small ones.

"She went this way," Chen said.

Skyy hurried toward him. "Are you sure?"

Chen pointed to a patch of disturbed mud beneath the fence. "Her shoes left these marks. She must have crawled through here."

Skyy stared at the narrow opening. He couldn’t understand how Lili had managed to leave without waking either of them. She was usually such a sensible little girl. Even when she was frightened, she tried so hard not to cause trouble.

Had she overheard their conversation last night?

The thought made his heart sink.

"Chen, do you think she went looking for her parents?"

"Most likely." Chen straightened and took his hand. "Come on. We might still catch up to her."

They followed the trail into the forest, moving as quickly as the dense vegetation allowed. Chen kept his senses alert for movement, occasionally using small currents of wind to disturb the undergrowth ahead. Skyy called Lili’s name whenever they reached a clearing, but the only answers came from the birds startled out of the trees.

Nearly half an hour passed.

Skyy was growing increasingly frightened. He kept imagining Lili wandering alone through the darkness, calling for her parents while infected creatures lurked nearby.

Then Chen stopped so abruptly that Skyy nearly collided with him.

A faint cry came from somewhere ahead.

"Mommy..."

Skyy’s eyes widened.

"Lili?"

Another cry followed, this time sharper.

"Mommy, let go! It hurts!"

Chen was already running.

They burst through a thicket into a small clearing surrounded by overgrown bushes. A woman in filthy, torn clothing was crouched beside a fallen tree. Her hair hung in tangled strands around her face, and her skin had turned a sickly grey.

Lili stood trapped in her arms.

The woman’s teeth were buried in the little girl’s shoulder.

For one terrible second, Skyy couldn’t move.

Lili was crying desperately, her small fingers pressed against the woman’s decaying cheeks as she tried to push her away.

"Mommy, please! You’re hurting me!"

The word struck Skyy harder than the sight of the blood.

She thought the zombie was her mother.

Chen reacted immediately.

A sharp burst of compressed wind struck the woman’s wrist, tearing her hand away from Lili. Before the infected could tighten its grip again, Chen fired a second blade of wind that severed the tendons in its other arm.

The woman released the child with a furious snarl.

Chen lunged forward, caught Lili around the waist and pulled her away. He pushed her into Skyy’s waiting arms before turning back toward the infected.

The zombie staggered toward them, its mouth smeared with fresh blood.

Chen knocked it to the ground with a powerful gust and pinned it there long enough to pull a length of rope from his bag. He bound its arms tightly behind its back, dragged it against a nearby tree and secured it to the trunk. Even then, it continued thrashing and snapping its teeth.

"Chen!"

Skyy’s voice was breaking.

Chen turned.

Lili lay in Skyy’s lap, her face wet with tears. Blood had soaked through the shoulder of her shirt, and the wound beneath was horrifyingly deep.

Skyy pressed his palm against it, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Lili, sweetheart, look at me."

The little girl’s eyelids fluttered.

"Skyy..."

"I’m here. We’re both here." Skyy brushed the hair away from her forehead with trembling fingers. "It’s all right. Don’t close your eyes, okay?"

Lili whimpered.

"It hurts."

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

Chen knelt beside them.

He had seen enough infected bites to recognize what was happening.

The skin around the wound was already darkening. Thin black veins spread beneath Lili’s pale skin, creeping toward her neck.

The virus was moving frighteningly fast.

Lili began shivering.

"I’m cold," she whispered.

Skyy immediately pulled her closer.

"Chen, she’s freezing."

Chen touched her forehead. Her skin was cold and clammy, but her pulse was racing.

Lili’s breathing grew shallow.

She looked at Chen, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

"Brother Chen..."

"I’m here."

"I’m sorry."

Chen’s jaw tightened.

Lili tried to lift her hand, but it barely moved.

"I didn’t listen..."

"Don’t worry about that now."

"I just wanted to find Mommy."

Her voice was so faint that Chen had to lean closer to hear it.

Skyy was openly crying now. He kept rubbing Lili’s back, whispering reassurances even as the little girl’s body grew heavier in his arms.

Lili looked toward the tree.

The infected woman was still struggling against the ropes, her ruined mouth opening and closing as she snarled.

"Mommy..." Lili murmured.

Then her eyes slowly closed.

"Lili?"

Skyy gently shook her.

"Lili, sweetheart?"

There was no answer.

Her little body suddenly jerked, and a terrible choking sound escaped her throat.

Skyy gasped.

"Chen!"

Chen caught her wrist.

Her pulse was weakening.

The black veins had reached her jaw.

Skyy stared at him, terrified.

"Please... please do something."

Chen looked at Lili’s face.

There was no time to hesitate.

"She can still be saved."

Skyy froze.

"What?"

"Your power." Chen caught his hand. "Skyy, listen carefully. You can reverse the infection. You’ve done it before."

Skyy stared at him.

He had used his restoration ability to heal injuries, but he had never understood how far it could go.

"Can I really?"

"Yes." Chen’s voice was firm. "I know you can."

Skyy looked down at Lili.

Her lips were beginning to turn blue.

"How?"

"Your blood carries your ability. If you give her some, it might be enough to purge the virus."

Skyy didn’t hesitate.

He took the small knife Chen handed him and made a shallow cut across his palm. Blood welled from the wound, and he immediately brought his hand toward Lili’s mouth.

Chen supported her head, carefully parting her lips.

"Just a little. Don’t give her too much."

Skyy let several drops fall onto her tongue.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then Lili’s body convulsed violently.

Skyy cried out as her back arched in his arms. Chen quickly steadied her, preventing her from striking her head against the ground.

The dark veins beneath her skin began spreading even faster.

Skyy’s heart nearly stopped.

"Chen, it’s getting worse!"

"Wait."

Lili trembled uncontrollably.

Then, just as suddenly, she went completely still.

Her breathing stopped.

Skyy stared at her.

"Lili?"

He touched her cheek.

Nothing.

"No..."

His voice cracked.

"Chen, she’s not breathing."

Chen pressed two fingers against her neck.

For one agonizing moment, he couldn’t feel anything.

Skyy began shaking his head.

"No, no, please..."

Then Lili’s entire body jerked.

She gasped sharply, rolled onto her side and vomited a mouthful of thick black blood onto the grass.

Another convulsion followed.

Chen supported her shoulders while Skyy held her hair away from her face.

Lili coughed violently, expelling more black fluid before finally drawing a shaky breath.

The dark veins beneath her skin began fading.

Color slowly returned to her cheeks.

Skyy watched in disbelief.

"Lili?"

The little girl opened her eyes.

For a moment, she looked confused.

Then her face crumpled.

"I just wanted to find Mommy..."

Skyy broke down.

He gathered her into his arms, holding her so tightly that Chen had to gently remind him about her injured shoulder.

"Oh, sweetheart..." Skyy sobbed into her hair. "You frightened me so much."

Lili clung to his shirt.

"I’m sorry."

Skyy kissed her forehead repeatedly.

"Don’t ever leave us like that again. Please."

Lili nodded against his chest, crying harder.

Chen sat beside them, his hand resting on Lili’s back.

Only now did he allow himself to breathe properly.

He had almost lost her.

After several minutes, Lili’s sobs quieted. Exhausted by the ordeal, she eventually fell asleep against Skyy’s chest.

Chen checked her wound. The bleeding had stopped, and the black discoloration had disappeared, although the torn flesh would still need treatment.

Skyy gently stroked her hair.

Then his gaze moved toward the tree.

The infected woman was still there.

She snarled and struggled against the ropes, completely unaware of the little girl sleeping only a short distance away.

Skyy watched her for a long moment.

"Chen..."

He looked up.

"Can I save her too?"

Chen’s expression immediately hardened.

"No."

Skyy turned toward him.

"But if my blood saved Lili—"

"Lili was only just infected." Chen glanced at the woman. "That thing has been a zombie for who knows how long. We don’t know how much of your power it would take to reverse something like that."

Skyy looked down at his injured palm.

The cut was still bleeding slightly.

Chen took his hand and wrapped it with a clean bandage.

"You’ve already lost blood, Skyy. I’m not letting you hurt yourself trying to save someone we don’t even know can be saved."

Skyy listened quietly.

He understood Chen’s concern, especially after what had just happened to Lili.

But when he looked at the infected woman again, he couldn’t forget the way Lili had called her Mommy.

Perhaps she really was her mother.

Perhaps somewhere beneath that terrible infection, the woman Lili loved was still there.

Skyy tightened his hold around the sleeping child.

"Chen," he whispered, "I want to try."

Chen looked at him sharply.

Skyy’s eyes were still red from crying, but his expression was unusually determined.

"If there’s even a chance she’s Lili’s mother... I can’t just leave her like this."

Chen stared at him, then at the snarling woman tied to the tree.

He knew that expression.

Skyy wasn’t going to give up easily.