Chapter 74 - 73: Separated.

Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Separated.

The thump came again.

Chen Yichen’s smile faded. He looked toward the darkness, trying to make out what had caused the sound.

Then something growled.

It was low and rough, almost like the rumble of a beast deep in its throat, but there was something wrong with it.

The sound dragged through the passage, rising and falling unevenly, as though whatever made it was struggling to breathe.

Chen Yuexin’s hand went straight to her sword.

"Did you hear that?"

"Of course we heard it, yeah... There’s something very bad with us down here... " Yichen whispered, though his voice lacked its usual ease.

Chen Minghao stepped forward, putting himself between the others and the dark passages. "Stay close. Don’t move unless I tell you to."

Their light techniques flickered against the stone, illuminating the claw marks and the knife scratches they had made earlier.

The spiritual energy sustaining those lights was difficult to control. It gathered sluggishly, and whenever they tried to draw more, the amount entering their bodies was pitifully small.

Worse still, the energy already within them circulated just as poorly. They could use what remained, but every technique consumed energy they could barely replenish.

The growl stopped.

A faint scraping sound came from above.

Yichen looked up.

Something was moving across the ceiling.

A pale shape passed over the edge of their light, its body pressed against the stone.

Its limbs folded and extended in a strange, fluid rhythm, carrying it across the ceiling without any apparent shift in weight. It did not seem to climb so much as glide, its claws finding purchase wherever they touched.

"Above us!" Yichen shouted.

The creature dropped.

Minghao shoved Yuexin aside just as a long, clawed limb struck the ground where she had been standing.

The impact cracked the stone. Fragments scattered across the passage, striking their robes and faces.

Yuexin stumbled against the wall, staring at the deep gouge left in the floor.

"Get away from it!" Minghao ordered.

The creature moved again.

It crossed the passage in a blur, its body bending sharply around the wall. Yichen barely managed to raise his arm before another limb swept toward him.

He ducked, feeling the claws pass so close that they tore the fabric at his shoulder.

He stumbled backward.

Minghao’s sword flashed. He struck at the creature’s exposed side, but his blade passed through its pale body without meeting any resistance.

The creature turned its head—or what appeared to be its head—toward him.

They couldn’t make out its appearance, it was too dark, and their eyes simply couldn’t keep up in the absence of spiritual energy.

Then it growled.

Minghao’s expression tightened.

"Watch out!" Yuexin cried.

She rushed in from the side, striking at the creature. Her sword passed through it as well. Before she could withdraw, one of its limbs swung toward her. She barely raised her weapon in time.

The impact drove her backward, her shoulder striking the wall.

The creature did not pursue her. It clung to the wall a short distance away, its limbs spread across the stone, and watched them.

"They didn’t hit it," Minghao said anxiously.

He kept his sword raised. His blade had passed through the creature, yet its own limbs could strike them with enough force to crack stone.

"Together!" he called. "Don’t let it get between us!"

They moved as one, Minghao taking the front while Yuexin, Yichen and Xiaoyu tried to flank it.

But the creature suddenly shot sideways along the wall, its limbs folding and extending in a single, unnatural motion. Before Yichen could adjust, it was already above him.

He swung.

His sword passed through one of its limbs.

A moment later, another limb struck the flat of his blade and knocked it aside. A claw swept toward his chest. Yichen threw himself backward, the tip passing close enough to tear a strip from his robe.

Minghao intercepted the next strike. His sword met the claw with a violent crash, driving him several steps backward.

He tried to reinforce his legs with spiritual energy, but the sluggish circulation barely helped. His boots scraped across the stone before he struck the wall.

"Yuexin!"

She thrust her sword toward the creature’s side. Once again, her blade passed through its body. One of its limbs struck the stone beside her, breaking off a chunk. She cried out and stumbled away from the falling fragments.

The creature turned toward her.

Then it slowly raised one limb.

Yuexin froze as the claw approached her face. She jerked backward, raising her sword with both hands. The tip stopped just short of her cheek.

For a moment, she could not move.

A faint pink glow appeared beside the creature’s head.

Xiaoyu stood several steps behind Yuexin, her hands held close to her chest. A few delicate petals had gathered around her fingers, trembling as she struggled to maintain them with the little spiritual energy she could control.

She hesitated for a brief moment before flicking her hand.

The petals drifted toward the creature’s face. Most passed through its pale body, but one caught against the dark shape where its eye might have been.

The creature’s head jerked sideways.

Its raised limb withdrew, scraping against the stone as it shifted away from Yuexin.

Xiaoyu lowered her hand at once, her breathing uneven. The faint petals scattered and vanished.

"Be careful!" Chen Minghao shouted.

He rushed forward, but the creature slipped out of reach. It crawled across the ceiling and dropped behind them with a heavy impact.

A low growl rolled through the passage. Yichen could not shake the feeling that it was laughing at them.

The four spun around.

It had positioned itself where they could not retreat without turning their backs.

Yichen tightened his grip on his sword. His palm was damp.

Their attacks could not touch it, yet its limbs were solid enough to shatter the stone wall around them which they couldn’t. It had already had several chances to strike them directly, but each time it had stopped just short or withdrawn at the last moment.

It was toying with them.

The realisation sent a chill down the four’s back.

Their spiritual energy was being suppressed, and the energy within their bodies struggled to circulate.

They could not replenish what they spent. Without spiritual energy reinforcement, they were little better than slightly stronger mortals with swords.

"Yichen!" Minghao shouted.

The creature was suddenly in front of him.

Yichen raised his sword, but it struck the flat of the blade and sent it flying from his hand. His weapon clattered across the stone.

He stumbled back, heart pounding as he hurriedly tried to reach the sword again.

The creature lowered its body toward him. One pale limb reached for his chest, moving slowly enough for him to watch it approach.

Yichen tried to gather spiritual energy into his body.

A weak current stirred, then faltered.

He could not reinforce himself in time.

"Yichen!" Minghao shouted again.

The limb stopped just before touching him.

Then it withdrew.

Yichen stood frozen for a heartbeat, unable to understand why it had spared him. The creature slid away along the wall, its claws scraping against the stone.

"Move!" Minghao barked.

Yichen snatched up his sword and retreated toward the others. The creature drew back, and for one brief moment, the passage fell quiet once again.

Then its limbs struck the ground.

The impact sent a violent shudder through the floor.

"Run!" Minghao shouted.

The stone beneath them cracked.

Yichen felt the ground shift under his feet. He reached for Xiaoyu, who had been standing just behind him, and caught her wrist.

"Xiaoyu!"

The creature struck again.

A deep fracture raced across the passage, splitting the stone beneath their feet. Minghao grabbed Yuexin and pulled her toward the wall, but the ground beneath Yichen and Xiaoyu collapsed before they could reach safety.

Yuexin lunged forward. Her fingers brushed Yichen’s sleeve.

Then the stone gave way completely.

"Yichen!"

He heard Minghao shout his name as he and Xiaoyu plunged into the darkness.

Yichen twisted in midair, trying to shield her with his body. He forced what little spiritual energy he could gather toward his feet, but it barely responded.

The energy he had spent fighting had not returned, and what remained moved sluggishly through his meridians. The weak burst did little more than slow their fall.

They struck the lower passage hard.

Pain shot through Yichen’s shoulder. He rolled across the stone and came to a stop against the wall, breath knocked from his lungs.

"Xiaoyu!"

He pushed himself up.

She lay several steps away, curled on her side, both hands gripping her legs. Her face was pale.

"Don’t move!" Yichen scrambled to her side. "Where does it hurt?"

"My legs..." Her voice shook. "I can’t..."

One leg was bent at an unnatural angle below the knee. The other had twisted beneath her, and when she tried to move it, she cried out sharply.

"Don’t move them!" Yichen said, reaching for her before stopping himself. "Stay still. Let me see."

"It hurts..." Her eyes were wide, and tears had begun to gather. "Yichen, it hurts so much."

"I know. I know." He looked helplessly at her legs, afraid to touch them. "Just breathe. Don’t try to get up."

A crash sounded above.

"Yichen! Xiaoyu!" Yuexin’s voice came through the opening.

"We’re here!" he shouted. "Are you all right?"

"We’re fine!" Minghao called back. "Can you climb up?"

Yichen looked at the broken slope. Loose stones were still falling. He tried to gather spiritual energy into his legs, but barely managed to draw a weak current.

"No! We can’t get up!"

"Find another way around!" Minghao shouted.

A growl echoed from above.

Yichen looked up. Through the gap, he caught a glimpse of movement among the shadows.

"Run!" Yuexin shouted. "Get away from there!"

"Go! We’ll find another way!" Minghao called urgently.

Yichen turned back to Xiaoyu. She was trying to push herself up with her arms, but the moment her body shifted, pain seized her. She fell back with a cry, clutching at his sleeve.

"Don’t move!" He caught her shoulder. "You’ll make it worse."

"But they—"

"I know. We have to go."

He took out a healing pill and pressed it into her trembling hand. "Take this. It may ease the pain, but it won’t mend your legs."

Xiaoyu swallowed it with difficulty. Her fingers remained wrapped around his sleeve.

Another growl rolled through the passage above them, followed by the scrape of claws against stone.

Yichen looked toward the darkness ahead. They could not stay here.

He pulled off his outer robe, folded it, and carefully eased it beneath her injured legs. Even that small movement made Xiaoyu gasp. He stopped, waiting for her to catch her breath before continuing.

"I’m going to carry you," he said. "I’ll try not to move your legs. Hold on to me."

She nodded, her face still twisted with pain.

Yichen slid one arm behind her back and the other beneath her thighs, supporting her injured legs with the folded robe. As he lifted her, she let out a sharp cry and clutched his robe.

He froze, his heart tightening.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry." He adjusted his hold, trying to keep her legs steady. "Can you bear it?"

Xiaoyu could only manage a shaky nod.

Above them, another heavy impact shook loose stones from the ceiling.

"Yichen! Run!" Minghao shouted.

Yichen looked up once, but the opening was already obscured by dust and falling debris. He could hear Yuexin calling for them to hurry, followed by the creature’s growl.

"I’m going!" he shouted back.

He held Xiaoyu closer, careful not to press against her injured legs, and hurried into the passage. Every step made her body tremble in his arms, and he could feel her trying to suppress her cries.

"Hold on," he said, forcing his voice to remain steady. "We’ll find somewhere safe."

Behind them, the growl echoed once more from above.