Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Beneath the Heavens (XV)

Struck dumb by the voice of another person, Bao Bao looked up and saw a grandeur figure standing on top of the roof of the wall. The moon's coruscation beamed down upon their elegant figure, the effulgent light cast a soft shadow on their face but it could not diminish their refine features. Hair as black ink and smooth as silk, it contrasted their pallid complexion. His skin was fair as if it was polished jade. The deep dark colour of their eyes was like the pitch black night sky encompassing the trillion of stars within its grasp. Their blue jianxu robe¹ embroidered with elegant deep coloured azure clouds fluttered in the chilly breeze, making him seem distant and untouchable like an immortal. His expression was amiable like a spring breeze but held the thorns of a rose underneath it. The lambent eyes held a tinge of impatience as they locked onto Bao Bao.

His hair at the back of his neck was raised from this all-too-familiar of a feeling. The man lowered his lashes and repeated his command once more, "Jump."

Bao Bao looked over his shoulders and saw the rotting faces drooling with putrid blood, his hesitation immediately flew out the window. Taking a few steps back, he gripped onto the sword tightly as he burst forth with whatever stamina he had left. As soon as he was close enough, he pushed off the ground with both of his feet and reached for the roof.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the edge of the roof, they slipped right by it. Bao Bao cursed at his terrible luck and closed his eyes as he prepared himself to become that succulent meal for the corpses. But just as he was going to fall, Bao Bao's collar was pulled from behind. His eyes glistened at his savior and he started to weep.

[Wuuu~! Son-in-law, why are you so late~? (˃̩̩̥ɷ˂̩̩̥) ]

The young man swept his eyes over him but did not reply. He took Hanchan from Bao Bao's hands and threw him over his shoulder. "Where's Ah Li²?"

Wiping his runny nose with the sleeve, Bao Bao pointed the way.

[Your wife is over there, and his name is An Zhangyi in this world.]

His lips hooked upwards hearing how his mother-in-law said 'his wife'. He whispered softly as he departed from the roof, "Wait for me, my love."

---

Inside of the courtyard, deafening crashing sounds reverberated and the ground shook. An Zhangyi sidestepped the arc of the oncoming sword, it gently scraped against his delicate skin and broke through the epidermis. The shallow cut allowed blood to flow out and it trailed down his cheek and neck.

Fu Yemu darkly laughed as he swung once more, "Just give up already."

Swinging his sword from below, he parried their blow but a powerful cracking noise was heard and two silver objects fell onto the ground. An Zhangyi narrowed his eyes at his and Fu Yemu's broken swords. Sure enough, ordinary swords couldn't measure up to ones that were specially crafted. After being imbuned by his spiritual essence, it began to slowly become overwhelmed by it. Meeting the sect leader's destructive blows only hastened the blade to meet its threshold.

An Zhangyi tossed the cracked sword toward Fu Yemu and retreated to the side. He sucked in a breath of stagnant air. Feeling his muscles tightened, he gritted his teeth; this vessel of his was already at its limits. He was only able to move as he had previously purely due to the adrenaline still pumping throughout his body. This would only last him for a short while before he would be a sitting duck the moment it regressed.

A flash of black and white appeared before him and he quickly moved his head to the left. A few strands of his hair was cut off and flew in the wind as the corpse arm slid past the side of his head. An Zhangyi ducked down as the arm moved across, his hand shot out and pressed the pressure point for their right arm before he landing a fist on their face. Fu Yemu's face turned stormy as the feeling in his right arm went away. He moved his feet forward in an attempt to make the other person trip. An Zhangyi quickly reacted and used light steps to get away as he avoided being touched by the arm.

His mind pondered on how Fu Yemu could still be alive after so much time and how he was able to maintain his conscious state even after being possessed by the arm. Something vile like this corpse arm was like a parasite and the moment it latched onto a host, they would die. It would then proceed to feed off of the host until nothing was left. Then, it would jump onto the next available host and consume whatever body part it was, in this case, it would be the left arm and continue to feed. Like a fast-spreading plague, it would render many to become its carrier as it searched for its counterparts. The reason for doing so was because the unfortunate person who had been torn apart must have died with some resentment, for the limbs to become infected with that resentment. In turn, the pieces would want to be whole to either seek the perpetrator or be at peace. And so, it would start on this scourge, leaving only drained bodies of the victim behind.

At this stage where Fu Yemu should be 'dead' and only be controlled by the arm, it seemed like it was the other way around and Fu Yemu was controlling it instead. Even if the arm could control a person after it attached itself onto them, it would be unable to make the host exhibit emotions and have the ability to speak and respond. The Fu Yemu before him was not like a zombie but that of a living person, and the only reason why they could be alive was; because they had found out a method of controlling it.

An Zhangyi's movements were beginning to lag behind due to his epinephrine receding, so instead on counter-attacking, he could only use what he had left to elude their incursions. As he was forcefully cornered, he finally saw what it was that allowed Fu Yemu to be in control and his eyes darkened.

---

¹Jianxu robe: A style that has the sleeves wider at the shoulder and slimmer as it goes down to the wrist.

²Ah Li: Here he is referring to the previous world's identity, 'He LiGe'. Bao Bao corrected him afterward.