The Desperate Leap

“Are you afraid? Do you dare not gamble?” These words echoed endlessly in Su Xiaoxiao’s mind, refusing to dissipate.

Shayue had struggled with all her might to reach her. She watched Su Xiaoxiao, who had been slumped on the ground.

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly swayed to her feet. The wind howled fiercely around them.

Her long hair, whipped by the gale, tangled inextricably with her robes.

Her swollen abdomen was starkly visible.

Shayue saw that her expression was profoundly wrong; tears streamed incessantly down her face.

Shayue’s heart tightened. She noticed Su Xiaoxiao’s precarious position.

Su Xiaoxiao, already clumsy due to her pregnancy, now seemed even more fragile, swaying precariously as the throes of collapse wracked her body.

“Stay there! Don’t move!” Shayue yelled, her heart lurching.

Her own heartbeat seemed to pause, and her face became terribly grim.

Yet, Su Xiaoxiao grew even more agitated by her voice. ‘No, don’t come closer…’ she pleaded internally.

She retreated, kicking loose pebbles that tumbled down the cliff face.

Shayue’s heart trembled in unison.

Shayue dared not advance, instead squatting rigidly in place.

A short distance separated them, their gazes locking. Su Xiaoxiao’s normally serene pale blue eyes were now devoid of light.

They were swollen and bloodshot.

“I won’t come over. I’ll stay right here.” Shayue spoke, striving to make her voice sound gentle and harmless, all to soothe Su Xiaoxiao’s agitated state.

However, she had overlooked the profound psychological damage her past actions had inflicted upon Su Xiaoxiao, a wound that a few calming words could not possibly mend now.

Shayue took a deep breath, her voice soft and even. “Come over here yourself, Little Xiaoxiao.”

“The wind is too strong over there; it’s very dangerous.”

This was likely the kindest, most gentle tone Shayue had ever used with Su Xiaoxiao since they first met.

Su Xiaoxiao gasped, swallowing gulps of wind. A burning sensation in her chest made her cough uncontrollably.

Her legs felt insubstantial, and she struggled desperately to catch her breath.

The wind today was ferocious, and amidst its howl, the distant cries of her clan members seemed to echo: ‘Little Xiaoxiao, do you dare not return with us?’

‘Su Xiaoxiao, it’s all your fault! Everything is your fault for causing trouble!’

The scene of her first encounter with Shayue resurfaced in her mind. She had been lost, on the verge of tears from desperation.

It was then that she stumbled upon Shayue. Unable to discern Shayue’s identity, Su Xiaoxiao had bravely asked, “Esteemed Immortal, do you know where the birthday banquet is held? This junior is new here and quite lost. Could you kindly show me the way?”

Shayue had seemed to smile then, telling Su Xiaoxiao, “My invitation card is lost. Little Xiaoxiao, if I bring you in with me, I will accompany you to the main hall.”

It was she who had led Shayue to the birthday banquet, she who had allowed Shayue to sit by her side.

Becoming a hostage, a prisoner, a mere plaything—it had all begun because of her.

‘If only she hadn’t gotten lost, if only everything could have been different…’

‘Su Xiaoxiao, it’s all your fault, you brought ruin upon the Mermaid Clan!’

The accusations in her ears grew louder and louder.

“I didn’t know back then…” Su Xiaoxiao’s tears fell anew.

“Really… I didn’t know…”

Amidst the howling wind, Xiyue could barely make out Su Xiaoxiao’s murmurs. She saw Su Xiaoxiao’s lips move, as if speaking to someone unseen, and a sudden realization dawned on her.

“Su Xiaoxiao!” Xiyue cried out, but her voice failed to pull Su Xiaoxiao from her delusion.

‘If you have the courage, why not take a gamble…’

‘Are you afraid? Do you dare not gamble?’

‘Afraid?’

‘Don’t dare?’

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly screamed, a broken, hoarse shriek. “No—”

Without even glancing at Xiyue, she spun around and leaped into the abyss below.

Silence. Finally, silence.

Her body felt incredibly light, and even the wind whistling past her ears seemed to cease.

From such a height, plunging into the water would be no different from crashing onto solid ground. Su Xiaoxiao would not survive.

“I’m so tired…” Su Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, her hand resting on her abdomen.

It was as if she were soothing the restless little fish-cub within her.

As she neared the water’s surface, the red jade bracelet on her right wrist suddenly shattered.

A crimson light shot skyward, and an aura of black and red flames instantly enveloped Su Xiaoxiao.

A resounding “Thud—”

Even as she hit the water, the immense impact still forced fresh blood from Su Xiaoxiao’s lips.

The dark water weeds at the riverbed, sensing the blood, excitedly surged towards Su Xiaoxiao.

However, before they could touch her, they were severed by a burst of black light.

When Su Xiaoxiao leaped, Xiyue followed without a moment’s hesitation.

She was immensely grateful that the bracelet, which she had forcibly placed on Su Xiaoxiao and infused with her own blood curse, had saved Su Xiaoxiao’s life in this critical moment.

Xiyue cradled Su Xiaoxiao, lifting her from the water. Before the man-eating flowers and dark weeds at the bottom could foolishly entwine them, Xiyue transformed her hand into a claw. With a single strike, she utterly annihilated the evil creatures in the water.

Clutching Su Xiaoxiao, Xiyue urgently sped towards the Demonic Palace.

Su Xiaoxiao lay curled in her arms, blood already soaking her lower garments and staining her robes. She had fallen into a coma, her breath barely a whisper.

Gu Yan had been watching over Su Xiaoxiao’s courtyard ever since Xiyue departed. Her heart was seized with a profound unease.

She sensed that something terrible was about to happen.

Her intuition proved correct. When Xiyue appeared, carrying a bleeding Su Xiaoxiao, Gu Yan’s tears immediately gushed forth.

When Xiyue returned, even Gu Yan, an old ghost who had lived for decades, felt her heart seize with terror.

“Wh-what exactly happened?! Why is she…”

Gu Yan’s words faltered.

Xiyue’s face was grim beyond measure. With a single kick, she shattered the doors of the main hall.

“Quick, examine her!”

Gu Yan took Su Xiaoxiao’s pulse, her brows furrowed deeply. “The child in her womb,” she stated gravely.

“It may not be possible to save it.”

In that single, brief sentence, Xiyue experienced an anguish more profound than any heart demon, cultivation tribulation, or cosmic ordeal.

“Find a way!” Xiyue gripped Gu Yan’s arm fiercely.

She couldn’t comprehend why she was losing her composure like this.

It shouldn’t be this way. Her only concern should be preserving Su Xiaoxiao’s life.

Hadn’t she always wanted to eliminate the little bastard in Su Xiaoxiao’s belly? Why, at this very moment, had she changed her mind?

A voice deep within her whispered, ‘Just let it disappear.’

Yet another voice countered, ‘If the child is truly gone, what will become of Su Xiaoxiao?’

The scent of blood was overpowering. Demons were inherently bloodthirsty, and Xiyue had carved her path to power through rivers of blood and piles of corpses.

This most familiar scent, however, now felt acrid and filled her with unease.

She turned to Gu Yan. “Find a way to save this child.”

“I can only do my best,” Gu Yan replied, unwilling to offer false hope.

“She’s lost too much blood. Her pulse is already very weak.” As Gu Yan finished speaking, Xiyue’s face became incredibly distorted.

The Mermaid lay on the bed, teetering on the brink of death, her breath so faint it seemed she could vanish at any moment.

Who else but Xiyue could have driven Su Xiaoxiao to such a desperate state?

“Find a way, damn it!” Xiyue roared at Gu Yan.

This outburst finally provoked Gu Yan’s anger. “Where were you earlier?!” she retorted.

“If she were in her true, resilient form, I might still have a solution. But she is as fragile as a mortal.”

“With such severe injuries, I can’t even guarantee her life!”

Disregarding all notions of status, Gu Yan yelled back at Xiyue, “Make your own decision! Do you want her to live, or do you want her and the child in her womb to die together?”

‘Su Xiaoxiao cannot die,’ Xiyue silently repeated in her heart.

Nor could the child in her womb die. Without this child, Su Xiaoxiao would surely rage against her upon waking, and undoubtedly seek death once more.

“Neither of them can die,” Xiyue finally stated.

Gu Yan thought that Xiyue’s heart demon had truly addled her mind.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw a wisp of black energy coalesce in Xiyue’s hand.

Gu Yan didn’t react immediately. But as Xiyue’s movements continued, her eyes gradually widened.

“You truly… you’ve gone mad…”