Chapter 14: Touch It And It Will Get Better

Ji Yunhe woke up in a daze and thought she had ascended to heaven. She was not being crazy, everything around her looked so bizarre. Aside from the big-tailed fish still sleeping beside her, there was nothing around. All one could see from the ground to the sky was a faint golden vastness, like the legendary heavenly palace with its gold-encrusted splendor.

Ji Yunhe looked around and did not see a palace. She stood up and snapped her fingers, trying to summon her longsword. The sound of the snap echoed into the distance, but the sword was nowhere to be seen. Ji Yunhe paused, then felt her pulse. To her great alarm...

Her spiritual power had completely disappeared! The reason why someone could become a demon master was because they were born with a special spiritual power that ordinary humans did not possess. It allowed them to perform magic.

Normally, a person's pulse moved with the beating of the heart. People with spiritual power had a second set of pulsing underneath their skin, known as the hidden pulse.

The hidden pulse was especially strong upon birth and would gradually weaken with age, but never fully disappear. Having a double pulse was the mark of a demon master.

And the stronger the hidden pulse, the stronger the spiritual power. Every year, the court would pick out children with a double pulse, forcefully separate them from their parents, and send them to the four quarters where demon masters were kept. Children with the strongest hidden pulses were sent to become disciples of the Grand Master.

As such, the only notable demon master to come out of the four quarters was Snow March. And the Grand Master's house was full of powerful individuals not focused on demon mastery, but serving the court.

Ji Yunhe patted her head and pulled herself out from the drifting thoughts. She had been able to feel her hidden pulse since she was young, and had never heard of one suddenly disappearing before.

Where exactly was this place...

She looked around again and did not see an exit. Then she heard a deep breath. Ji Yunhe looked down and saw that jiaoren was gradually waking up. He seemed to struggle for a long time before finally opening his eyes, then weakly turned his gaze to her. Ji Yunhe then remembered...

"Ohhh! You helped me block a blow from the Ten Square Formation!" She thought she had fallen to death and ascended to heaven, and completely forgot about that. How heartless of her...

She rushed to his backside, squatted down and studied his wound. His entire back appeared split open with the skin and flesh turned over, revealing some bones of the spine underneath. The blood seemed to have dried up and the scars looked scorched and horrible.

Ji Yunhe frowned gravely. There was no way a human being, demon master or not, could have survived that. This jiaoren saved her life. Why?

Because she had treated his wounds in the dungeon? Or was it because he thought she had come to save him from the abyss, so he did not want his "savior" to die?

Could it be such a simple reason? If not, what else could it be? Ji Yunhe looked at the side of his face and could not help but ask, "Why did you block that blow for me?"

The jiaoren seemed a little surprised by her question and looked back slightly. He smoothed his breathing, swallowed all the pain visible to the naked eye, and spoke calmly, "I would just get hurt. You would've died."

So... that's it? Just a most basic assessment, not even the simple reasons she had thought of. He treated Lin Haoqing as an enemy, so he would rather fight him to the death than submit. On the other hand, he did not see Ji Yunhe as an enemy, so he endured such a critical injury to save her life.

Being a demon master for so many years, Ji Yunhe had never met a demon like him. Stubbornly holding on to his will to resist, while still clinging to his gentle kindness.

"Thank you," Ji Yunhe said.

"You're welcome." Again, an earnest response. He was abiding by his manners even in a situation like this. Ji Yunhe found this fish really interesting.

"Does the wound hurt?" Ji Yunhe asked him.

"It hurts very much." He was very straightforward. Ji Yunhe felt sorry.

"I don't have any spiritual power right now and can't use my magic to create water out of thin air."

"That's okay." A sincere forgiveness. Ji Yunhe chuckled. She looked at the jiaoren, who rolled his eyes as much as possible without turning his body, trying to see her. Ji Yunhe walked to his front and squatted down, staring into his clear blue eyes.

"I have nothing on me that can help you recover, so I will have to go look around. If I find some water, I guess it will make you feel better. Lie still and wait for me to come back."

"Okay."

Surprisingly submissive. Ji Yunhe looked at his face. Perhaps due to his new injury, the godlike glow she saw previously had dimmed. Plus he started to talk. She felt the distance between them grow closer. On an impulse she reached out her hand. He was lying down and could not move, so he just watched as her hand landed on the top of his head. Then, like petting some animal, she stroked the hair on his head again and again.

His hair was soft and smooth, unlike anything she had felt before. She slightly curved the corners of her mouth...

In fact, if she could have some freedom, she would definitely adopt a nice big dog...

"What does this mean?" The jiaoren was curious about her actions. Ji Yunhe thought this clueless question made him a little more adorable.

"This is..." Ji Yunhe pondered for a moment then answered with the same earnest face as his, "a special magical gesture among humans that can make the wounded feel better."

"Humans? Can they get better just from touching?" Ji Yunhe held her face straight while her hand kept stroking his hair.

"Touch it and it will get better."

"But I don't feel better." He was too honest.

"You will."

"Hmm..." He waited a little longer then commented, "This magic is very slow."

Ji Yunhe laughed and finally withdrew her hand. She buried her head to find the hem of her coat, then pulled out a thread and handed it to him.

"This place looks endless, nothing but a golden void all around. Hold this end of the string when I go out to look for water so I can follow it back.

"Okay." He wrapped Ji Yunhe's thread around his fingertips. Coincidentally, her coat was sewn with a bright red hem.

"You know, we humans believe if two people are tied together by a red string, fate will bring them together even from the opposite ends of the world. They will forever be hand in hand to old age." Ji Yunhe stood up and turned to the distance.

"Big-tailed fish, hold it tight. Whether I can return, or can live to old age, it all depends on you now." Ji Yunhe waved her hand and walked off. She did not get to see that behind her, the fingers holding the red string tightened their grasp.