Chapter 240: Little Sui, Be Good
This thought crossed Xiao Sui's mind, and he couldn't help but want to slap himself.
Was he going crazy?! He actually found Qiao Wan quite appealing?
He shook his head forcefully, trying to clear his mind, and focused his attention on the ten-plus heads in front of him.
There were so many rolling heads swirling around, but unfortunately, they didn't have bodies. They were light and agile, able to squeeze into any gap. Qiao Wan and Xiao Sui had to protect the two patients behind them while dealing with these strange heads. They were being attacked from all sides.
Especially since Qiao Wan's arm was currently "useless".
There were just too many rolling heads, and their abilities were not much different from those of normal cultivators.
Although Qiao Wan put away her sword and attacked cleanly, her expression gradually became serious.
If things continued like this, they would eventually be trapped here!
Perhaps realizing that this slow approach wasn't effective, the rolling heads suddenly stopped attacking and merged together, forming a twisted muscular mass.
One head stacked on top of another, countless different male and female faces intertwined, as if piecing together living people into a gigantic lump of flesh. "They" opened their eyes and simultaneously let out a chaotic chorus of piercing screams, each with a different voice.
These heads may still be alive, perhaps they are cultivators from some other sect who have entered this secret realm.
Xiao Sui finally vomited with a loud "eww," his stomach acid almost coming out.
After "combining their transformations," these lumps of flesh finally resumed their attack. The various screams were so intense that they tore at Xiao Sui's head like a splitting headache.
At this critical moment, Qiao Wan decisively bumped him and gave him a kick!
"You're addicted to kicking, aren't you?!!"
Xiao Sui was sent rolling on the ground, his face down. Just as he was about to raise his head and roar in anger, he saw with his own eyes as these mouths suddenly erupted with a tremendous swirling force, sucking Qiao Wan in completely!
"Qiao Wan?!" exclaimed Xiao Sui as he rushed forward, reaching out his hand. But as he noticed the changes in the growth, he instinctively stopped in his tracks.
These growths were absorbing Qiao Wan, or rather, assimilating her.
Qiao Wan first sensed a strong, overwhelming smell of blood, followed by a subtle sensation on her left arm. Then, there was a piercing scream in her ears that almost instantly shattered her eardrums.
Warm blood started to trickle down from her ear.
From afar, Xiao Sui could only be seen anxiously shouting something, his eyes filled with pain and desperation, as if blood was about to burst from his eye sockets.
Her hearing was now gone.
Her left hand had also been "swallowed" by the growth.
Feeling a tightness in her heart, Qiao Wan barely had time to think before she felt a powerful suction from behind.
These things wanted to assimilate her into one of them!! If she didn't save herself, she would also become a part of these eerie and terrifying growths.
This thought suddenly crossed Qiao Wan's mind, and she immediately struggled intensely. Her bones rapidly grew, piercing through her skin and tightly wrapping around her limbs.
Xiao Sui saw that Qiao Wan's left hand had already fused with these heads, making it look like she was "hanging" in front of the tumor, swaying in the wind.
Should he take this opportunity to leave?
Regardless of whether he had been bewitched by ghosts before and was somewhat confused about Qiao Wan, in this moment, Xiao Sui's mind subconsciously suggested a cold and heartless thought.
Survival is the instinct of every living creature. He could easily push Qiao Wan out to buy some time and then leave.
Xiao Sui did consider doing this, but he had already experienced danger earlier on, and now his throat felt incredibly dry. He wanted to leave, but his legs felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
This wasn't the time to be softhearted.
The young man touched his chest where Qiao Wan had just kicked him. It was really painful.
She must have kicked him with some ulterior motive, seeking revenge for when he pushed her. If he hadn't pushed her, she wouldn't have been absorbed by this thing.
Forget it!!
A surge of fierce determination suddenly emerged in his mind!
Xiao Sui. gritted his teeth and raised the two knives in his hand. He leaped forward and charged!!!
The first knife blocked the attack from the lump.
The second knife directly chopped at the connection between Qiao Wan's left arm and the lump.
Crack!!
A teeth-gritting noise rang out.
Just like cutting melons and vegetables, this wicked and sinister Xiao Sui never blinked his eyes. With one swift motion, he "sliced" Qiao Wan off the lump!!
The fierce coldness in his eyes almost matched Qiao Wan's expression.
Because Qiao Wan's left hand had grown together with the tumor, it felt like a piece of her own flesh had been cut off. Qiao Wan was in pain all over, biting her pale lips tightly. She fell to the ground and rolled a few times. When she looked up, she saw Xiao Sui holding a knife in his hand, pressing against the tumor on her arm. It was about to burst!
The knife became a twisted piece of scrap metal. Xiao Sui was stunned and quickly grabbed another knife with his right hand.
Suddenly, there was a piercing scream. Xiao Sui stumbled and, in a whirlwind, was "sucked" into the tumor.
He was finished. He never intended to trade himself for Qiao Wan.
In that instant, Xiao Sui regretted deeply.
Suddenly—
A figure in green flashed before his eyes.
Fang Lingqing appeared out of nowhere and swung his sword, slicing Xiao Sui down. He reached out and lifted Xiao Sui, whose back was almost entirely torn off by the tumor, and looked at Qiao Wan.
"Get ready! Catch him!"
This time, Qiao Wan was filled with fear.
Wait a minute!! She couldn't catch him!!
The two of them rolled towards Qiao Wan.
Rolling sounds.
Bang!
The three of them immediately rolled into a pile and bumped into a big rock behind.
When they landed, instead of the expected pain, it felt like something soft was pressed against their faces, cushioning the impact.
Xiao Sui blinked his eyes.
This soft sensation... is it a chest?!!
Although the timing and place were not quite right, Xiao Sui still got distracted.
Is this Qiao Wan's chest?!
Instantly, he embarrassingly started to bleed from his nose.
Wasn't she supposed to be a martial artist? She looks so tough, but why is her chest so soft?
"Damn it!" Qiao Wan kicked Xiao Sui away, and quickly got up, grabbing the disciple from Cloud Mist Fairy Mansion, and angrily shouted, "Run!"
"Run quickly!"
Qiao Wan didn't know how long they had been running, her lungs felt like they were about to explode. With each breath, her dry throat seemed to have a hint of a bloody taste.
Fang Lingqing's condition seemed to have improved quite a bit. This time, it was Xiao Sui who couldn't go on. Despite cutting him away, it was a last resort. Xiao Sui had a much larger wound than Qiao Wan, bleeding profusely. There was no way to stop the bleeding, so they could only run desperately.
"It's my turn!" Qiao Wan threw the disciple from Cloud Mist Fairy Mansion into Fang Lingqing's arms and carried Xiao Sui on her back. They flew silently all the way.
The sight before them gradually blurred. Xiao Sui struggled to wrap his arm around Qiao Wan's neck, twitched his lips, and smiled. "Qiao Wan, am I going to die?"
"I don't want to die." The boy paused, remained silent for half a second, and weakly added, "I still want to see my big brother."
"Save me." This plea sounded like a haughty command from a young master, but also like a begging.
Qiao Wan adjusted the boy on her back, running even faster. Clenching her teeth, her mouth was filled with the taste of blood.
She didn't know how to judge the person she was carrying on her back.
Xiao Sui, a cold and selfish man, didn't treat people as people, but his nickname on the jade pendant said "Brother is the most handsome," showing his strong attachment to his older brother.
But since he hadn't abandoned her just now, she knew that he wouldn't leave this brother-loving burden on her back.
Xiao Sui's voice became weaker and weaker, which was not a good sign. Qiao Wan ran while squeezing in a question, "Do you really like your older brother this much?"
At the mention of his older brother, the brother-loving burden on her back seemed to smile slightly and replied, "I want to see him."
In that moment of impending danger, Qiao Wan felt like she wasn't carrying a teenager on her back, but a child seeking the warm embrace of family.
"Would you...?" Qiao Wan licked her dry lips and asked in a low voice, "Tell me about your older brother?"
"He is very lonely," Xiao Sui said intermittently, "I feel like both my mother and I have let him down. If it wasn't for bringing my mother back, he wouldn't have lost her so early."
"I used to be really mean and always bully him, but he never seemed to mind and always helped me out. He would do my homework, take me out to have fun, and even touch my head when he felt like it, which annoyed me so much."
"Maybe you're right, my older brother might have intentionally spoiled me, but over the years, I can't deny that he has been genuinely good to me. Everyone has their own selfish motives, and I've come to understand that."
"That works out perfectly, I don't really want to be the head of the family anyway. That position was meant for him, and being a carefree young master under my big brother's protection seems quite nice."
"Don't underestimate the power of a brother complex."
As soon as Xiao Huan's name was mentioned, Xiao Sui seemed to perk up a bit and became more articulate in his speech.
But as they were talking, Qiao Wan seemed to suddenly pause, and Xiao Sui followed her gaze, falling silent.
Who knows how many demonic creatures were lurking ahead.
But beyond these demonic creatures, there stood a teleportation array.
Qiao Wan released Xiao Sui and tightly held the sword in her hand: "I and Taoist Friend Fang will handle things here, you go first."
"Go seek help from the Xiao family, come back to rescue us, can you do that?"
Knowing that every second wasted at this moment could cost lives, Xiao Sui steadied himself, nodded, and handed the intact dagger in his right hand to Fang Lingqing.
"Take this, it's a magical tool my father made for me. Make do with it."
Fang Lingqing nodded solemnly.
Xiao Sui gathered his spirits, pushing the sounds of battle behind him, and stumbled towards the direction of the teleportation array.
Faster--
Faster--
Even faster--
As he stumbled, a ferocious monster suddenly appeared from behind, exuding a strong stench, and lunged at him! With a single kick, Xiao Sui was knocked to the ground.
Clang!!
The sword blade produced a shower of golden sparks as Qiao Wan blocked the monster's attack: "Hurry and run!!"
Xiao Sui quickly crawled to his feet and ran a short distance. Suddenly, he remembered something and chuckled softly.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, Qiao Wan, I just realized that you have a soft chest."
Before he could see Qiao Wan's reaction, he jumped into the teleportation array.
Just as he climbed out of the teleportation array, Xiao Sui saw the Xia family crest not far away. Tears filled his eyes. He wanted to continue running forward, but after escaping, his strength was depleted, and he couldn't stand anymore.
No, Qiao Wan and Fang Lingqing are still waiting for him. He couldn't act like such a jerk.
However, Xiao Sui didn't expect this short distance to be so long.
He... He wanted to see his elder brother, at least before he died, he had to see his elder brother one last time and convey the message.
Swallowing a mouthful of blood, Xiao Sui barely managed to stand up, his fingers sinking deep into the mud, leaving a trail of blood as he struggled inch by inch to crawl to the Xia family camp. The young master of the Xia family had never been so disheveled before. His ten fingers were mangled on the ground, covered in blood and flesh.
As consciousness faded, it seemed like Xiao Sui could hear the sound of hurried footsteps and then saw a figure rushing towards himself, with Xiao Huan wearing a fox fur coat.
It felt like a warm hand helped her up.
"Big... big brother?" Xiao Sui struggled to grip onto the youth's drooping fox fur coat. In his eyes, he saw a young man with black hair and a noble demeanor, and his cloudy mind instantly became partly clear.
"It hurts, big brother, it hurts." Xiao Sui frowned, took a sharp breath, and said, "Hurry... hurry and save them, save Qiao Wan and the rest..."
The handsome and gloomy young man had blood soaking through his back, and he barely opened his eyelids. His expression suddenly relaxed, as if he found a savior when he grabbed onto Xiao Huan's clothes.
"Little Sui, be good."
Xiao Sui slightly widened his eyes and felt a warm hand on his head. Slowly, affectionately, as if finding it hard to let go, the hand patted his hair just like when he was a child.
"You did really well," said Xiao Huan with a soft and affectionate voice, which seemed to have a hint of coldness.
"There, there, it will stop hurting soon."
In the next moment, that hand suddenly moved to his neck, and without hesitation, it exerted a force and "snap," broke his neck.