Chapter 49 FORTY-NINE

Chapter 49: Chapter FORTY-NINE

Xin Linhua walks down the hill, a sly smile on his face.

He approaches the Sentinel who’s covered in blood– both his and the Nikura’s. He stops in front of him.

"Gao bastard." He laughs "I always knew you were crazy, I just needed to see for myself to confirm it."

Gao Shi holds his shoulder with his other hand, blood smearing his face and glasses. The wicked grin on his face just adds a bit more to his dangerous persona.

"I should thank you for your guidance." His words are sarcastic.

"Don’t mention it." Xin Linhua acts like he can’t detect anything in the man’s words "But are you alright? You’re bleeding."

"I’m fine." He turns to Naka "You might want to check on your other teammate though. He suffered more than I did."

The rest of the team quickly snap back to attention. The female Aeromancer moves first, helping Naka sit upright as the youth clutches the side of his stomach.

"The wound...is deep." He rasp "I’m clear headed, but I’m still bleeding. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay awake..."

"I got that covered." Xin Linhua diverts his attention to the man.

He crouches in front of him. He gently grabs the hem of the youth’s clothing, rolling it up slowly so he won’t irritate the wound.

Naka inhales sharply, biting down on his lower lip to muffle the sound that threatens to escape him.

"Yeah, that’s a deep wound." Xin Linhua’s brows creases "We haven’t even started clearing the rift yet and we already have a gravely injured member."

"Sorry..."

Xin Linhua’s hand swipes across the back of the youth’s head.

"Ow!" Naka rubs the back of his head "What was that for?"

"Why are you sorry?" Xin Linhua sighs "I’m the one who made you go up against a creature that can counter your ability. You almost died because of me."

"Oh..." Naka mutters "But I did join the team even though I could have refused. It’s not like I wasn’t prepared for the worst."

"Just shut up already." Xin Linhua glares "You’re lucky you haven’t lost too much blood. You’ll live."

Xin Linhua opens his coat. He digs his hand into the inner pocket and pulls out a few things.

A gauze. A bottle of iodine. Bandages. A set of small knives and a silver flask...filled with alcohol.

The team watches with wide eyes, too stunned to speak or react.

They don’t even wanna ask about the alcohol, Xin Linhua seems like a typical alcohol addict. The knives? Yeah, also not gonna ask. But who packs an entire first aid kit into their coat!? Xin Linhua, apparently.

"Did you swipe the entire Infirmary?" Rong Yufei murmurs.

"I tend to attract danger like a freaking magnet, I’m not taking chances with death again." Xin Linhua replies without looking up.

He arranges the important things he needs beside the youth. He shoves the rest back in his coat.

"Help me hold him down."

"Wait– what?" Naka’s eyes go wide.

Rong Yizhan steps forward, grabbing the youth’s shoulder and pinning him in place.

If it were anyone else, Naka may disagree and demand to know why he needs to be held down. But Phantom is the one holding him. He swallows the rest of his words.

"Is this necessary?" He asks in a small voice.

"Nah, but it’s fun."

"What–"

The glint in Xin Linhua’s eyes is the last thing he sees before his vision goes black from pain.

With zero mercy, Xin Linhua dumps half the bottle of alcohol on the wound.

Naka lets out a muffled groan. His vision goes dark and he passes out.

"Uhn." Xin Linhua stares at the bottle "I must have grabbed the one with a high alcohol percentage. My bad."

The rest of the team shudders. They all grab their injuries, their spines go rigid from fear. Even Gao Shi covers his shoulder and toughs out the pain.

Xin Linhua carefully wipes the blood away. He rubs the iodine around it and wraps up the wound. Crude, but neat. Enough to ensure he stays alive till they leave the rift.

"All done." He suddenly turns to the rest of the team "Who’s next?"

"I’m good!" They all chorus at once.

"Uhn?" Xin Linhua blinks "You’re all bleeding and you say you’re fine."

"We’ll take care of the wounds ourselves." Hirano grabs a bandage.

"Superficial wounds." A Hydromancer laughs nervously and he follows suit.

"I’m all good." Gao Shi grabs one too.

One after another, they turn down his offer to assist them. They all quietly move to a corner, bandaging themselves with each other’s help. Anyone’s help but Xin Linhua’s.

"Well, okay then." Xin Linhua shrugs.

"Let’s take a break." Rong Yizhan says "They’re all wounded and bleeding. One passed out as well."

"True." Xin Linhua nods "Then, let’s find somewhere we can hide. Away from predators before we become prey."

"Mm." Rong Yizhan walks back to the hilltop.

"Let us know when you find one!" Xin Linhua yells after him.

"I will."

The team finished bandaging themselves up. Rong Yufei has a large burn on her neck. It might become permanent.

"That looks bad." Xin Linhua winces.

"It’s fine." Rong Yufei rubs her neck "It may heal, it may not."

"Don’t worry, it will." Xin Linhua reassures.

"Lemme guess, you have a technique?" A Hydromancer raises an eyebrow.

"No, you do." Xin Linhua returns the smile.

"Me?"

"Yeap." He nods "You can heal wounds like this, but not now. Too weak. And you’re injured as well."

The whole team exchanges confused glances.

"What are you talking about?" The Hydromancer frowns.

Xin Linhua slowly circles the small group. His strides are relaxed and a bit teasing.

"You have no idea what a Hydromancer is capable of." He speaks slowly "The kind of power you have at the tip of your fingers. All of you. You have no idea how powerful you are. Centuries of evolving and you only took technology into consideration."

"Xin Linhua." Hirano sighs "We have no idea what you’re talking about. Speak properly so we can understand."

"Okay."

Xin Linhua stops circling them like a predator watching its prey.

He stops in front of Hirano, his expression morphes from lazy to serious in a split second. His eyes turn sharp.

"A Geomancer can weld earth and make it do their bidding, but they can also fold a car into origami, bring down a building and split a mountain into two."

"A Pyromancer can make a volcano erupt and bury an entire city underneath the ash."

"An Aeromancer can literally fly in the air and kill off their opponent by wielding the oxygen they inhale."

"A Hydromancer...can control anything liquid including the blood of their enemies."