RNP 844. A Difficult Decision
844. A Difficult Decision
Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out and gently placed his hand on Huo Zhi's head. Her hair was disheveled, just like her current state of mind. Xiao Yan's palm was warm, and he carefully and gently stroked her hair, as if soothing an overly frightened little animal.
"Fire Child, listen to me."
"You can't think like that. Ultimately, the blame should fall on the Soul Palace and the Soul Clan. Even if you didn't do anything wrong, given their ambition, they would have set their sights on the Flame Clan sooner or later."
"I'm not familiar with the others, but I've personally met Senior Yan Di."
"In that spatial passage, he faced a powerful enemy without hesitation to protect you. That was absolutely out of his love for you, and even more so out of his responsibility to the Yan Clan. He made that choice out of a sense of duty as an elder. He would never want you to turn his sacrifice into a tormenting burden for yourself. How heartbroken and distressed he would be to see you like this now?"
Xiao Yan's words of comfort came from the bottom of his heart. However, in the face of such a bloody reality, words ultimately seemed pale and powerless. He could see the empty look in Huo Zhi's eyes, a kind of numbness.
After all, Huo Zhi's situation was far too dire. Xiao Yan had already realized this when he first met Huo Zhi. Huo Zhi was definitely a prodigy who had been well-trained in the Yan Clan. The Yan Clan must have deliberately kept her away from the outside world, allowing her to cultivate in seclusion and inherit the strange fire.
The former Fire Child was truly just an innocent and carefully protected young girl.
Since Huo Zhi left the Yan Clan, he was ambushed by the Soul Palace. During his escape, he was swept away by a spatial storm and entered the belly of a fire dragon formed from the Three Thousand Burning Flames, where he cultivated for several years. Although he returned to the Yan Clan with his people, the clan soon suffered a devastating calamity. Afterwards, Huo Zhi took on the responsibility of the Yan Clan. Upon arriving at the Heavenly Tomb, he discovered that his elder brother was not only dead, but his body had also been possessed by his enemy. These blows and sufferings are currently only experienced by Huo Zhi alone.
All of this is too difficult to face. Take Xiao Yan himself, for example. When faced with problems in the Xiao family and the death of his brother, he almost completely lost his mind. Now, asking Huo Zhi to calm down is simply too cruel for her.
She cried so hard her whole body trembled, gasping for breath. Besides crying, Huo Zhi had no other way to vent her emotions.
Xiao Yan didn't have a better solution. He could only silently stay by Huo Zhi's side, carefully reaching out to gently pat her trembling back. All he could do was stay with her, letting her know that she wasn't completely alone.
Huo Zhi cried until she was almost suffocating, and unconsciously collapsed into Xiao Yan's arms. Even after losing consciousness, there were still fresh tears in the corners of her eyes.
Xiao Yan carefully watched over her, constantly channeling his Dou Qi into her body to prevent Huo Zhi from collapsing. Fortunately, Huo Zhi had already awakened, and for a half-saint, there was no longer any danger to her life. However, Huo Zhi's current problems were more psychological, and it would take time, a very long time, for her to let go of these pressures.
The next day, Huo Zhi regained consciousness, but this time she didn't cry. Instead, she didn't even speak, lying blankly on the blanket Xiao Yan had laid out for her, quietly staring at the dim sky. Xiao Yan didn't urge her, but simply stayed quietly by her side, believing that Huo Zhi would eventually overcome this ordeal on her own.
After a long while, Huo Zhi slowly turned her gaze to Xiao Yan.
"Xiao Yan..."
"Yes, I'm here," Xiao Yan replied softly.
"You...you're willing to help me?" Huo Zhi looked at Xiao Yan, seemingly regarding him as her last resort.
"Of course!" Xiao Yan replied almost without hesitation.
Although they haven't known each other for long, they've already entrusted their lives to each other several times, and Xiao Yan also has to deal with Tang Qiying! No matter the reason, Tianmu absolutely cannot allow such a person to continue living.
"Are you trying to help your brother get his body back?" Xiao Yan asked, which was his natural thought, since Huo Zhi must have realized something during the battle with Tang Qiying.
To Xiao Yan's surprise, Huo Zhi shook her head without hesitation when asked the question: "No need."
Huo Zhi's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear and firm. She struggled to sit up, and Xiao Yan quickly and carefully supported her. Leaning on Xiao Yan's arm, she took a deep breath, and tears welled up in her swollen eyes again, but this time they didn't fall. She stubbornly raised her head, gazing into the void, and as she pondered, Huo Zhi seemed to hear Huo Xuan's last words to her again.
This time, however, she won't do exactly what Huo Xuan says.
"I trust Brother Xuan's judgment. Since he said there's no way to deal with him, it seems things really are beyond repair." Huo Zhi's voice trembled again as she said this.
"I remember every single word he said to me before. He said... that most of his soul had dissipated and he was no longer able to deal with the bastard who had taken over his body... He said that was his last strength..." As she spoke, she couldn't help but close her eyes, as if recalling Huo Xuan's last tenderness.
A moment later, she suddenly opened her eyes, all weakness vanished, replaced only by hatred!
"I need you to kill him for me!"
"Hmm?" Xiao Yan was quite surprised. Killing the current Tang Qiying might very well mean that Huo Xuan would never come back.
Huo Zhi nodded vigorously, as if trying to convince Xiao Yan, or perhaps more like convincing herself: "That's right, it's about killing Brother Xuan. Now that his body has been invaded, I believe he must be in great pain."
"I can't let that bastard continue to do evil with Xuan-gege's body. Xuan-gege has already fallen victim to the Soul Clan's evil deeds, and I must give him his final peace."
Huo Zhi's words were resolute, but making such a decision was extremely difficult for her. From Huo Zhi's broken state, Xiao Yan could feel the deep sibling bond between Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi. Taking him to kill him at this moment was almost tantamount to attacking her closest brother.
For a moment, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel admiration for Huo Zhi.
Xiao Yan nodded seriously to Huo Zhi: "I understand!"
"Huo Zhi, don't worry, I will do everything in my power to help you kill Tang Qiying in the Heavenly Tomb!"
"Give Huo Xuan peace in the afterlife..."
(Thanks to Emperor Xiwen)