Xia Lan: From Meeting a Martial Arts Girl

Chapter 8 Fading Memories

Xiaoman is not in the dormitory.

Lu Siye stood in the empty room, his mind racing.

Where could she be?

The back mountain is only so big, and there are only a few places to hide.

If she senses something is wrong, she will definitely find a place to hide.

Most likely...

Memories fade in the forest.

That was the deepest part of the forest in the back mountain, and few people usually went there.

Inside is a pavilion called the Recalling Pavilion, which is said to be a place where the Xia Lan (a type of martial arts master) used to cultivate in peace a thousand years ago.

It's secluded and hidden, a good place to hide.

Lu Siye turned and ran.

The moonlight was half-obscured by the clouds, making the mountain path dark and difficult to traverse.

He ran forward, stumbling along, ignoring the pain as tree branches scraped his cheeks.

A roar came from afar.

It was the voice of that giant zero.

Lu Siye's heart tightened, and he ran even faster.

After passing through a bamboo grove and around a huge rock, the entrance to the Forest of Fading Memories is just ahead.

Deep in the woods, a faint light could be seen, pointing towards the direction of the Remembrance Pavilion.

But the light was flickering.

wrong.

That's not a light.

That's... a dark shadow moving.

Lu Siye slowed his pace and crept closer to the edge of the woods.

The closer you get, the clearer the shadow becomes.

It's that giant zero.

It stood in front of the Remembrance Pavilion, its enormous body almost completely obscuring the pavilion.

A thick arm was reaching into the pavilion, as if it were reaching for something.

A scream came from inside the pavilion.

Xiaoman (Grain Buds)

Lu Siye's blood rushed to his head.

He looked around, picked up a stone from the ground, and hurled it at the giant zero with all his might.

The stone hit its back with a dull thud.

Giant Zero stopped moving.

It slowly turned around, its two scarlet orbs staring straight at Lu Siye.

In an instant, Lu Siye felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

That's the feeling of being targeted by a predator; it's instinct screaming at him to run.

But he didn't run.

He stood there, facing the two balls of red light, and shouted, "Come on!"

The giant zero has moved.

It started walking towards him.

Each step shook the ground, each step carried a suffocating sense of oppression.

Lu Siye turned and ran.

Behind me came the loud crash of trees breaking, and the heavy breathing of Ju Ling.

He dared not look back, he just ran desperately, into the depths of the forest, into those narrow paths.

There are many paths in the Forest of Fading Memories, with dense bushes on both sides, only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Giant Zero's body is too bulky, and he gets stuck every time he chases someone to a narrow intersection like this.

But it doesn't care.

It ruthlessly smashed down trees, trampled through bushes, and carved out a path.

Lu Siye ran and ran until his lungs felt like they were going to explode.

He didn't know how long he had been running, he only knew that he had to keep running, to keep running, to lure it further away, so that Xiaoman would have time to escape.

Every time he ran a certain distance, he would look back to make sure it was still chasing him.

Sometimes he would deliberately stop and wait for it to catch up a little before continuing to run.

And so they ran through forest after forest, around boulder after boulder.

Finally, he ran to an open space.

He stopped and looked back.

There was nothing behind me, just emptiness.

Giving up?

He was panting heavily, looking around.

The moonlight dimmed at some point, and the surroundings were dark, making it impossible to see very far.

His heart sank.

The moonlight was blocked.

What is obscuring it?

He slowly raised his head.

Above their heads, the enormous black shadow hung suspended in mid-air.

It stared down at him.

It's on top.

Lu Siye had no time to dodge.

The enormous hand slammed down.

"Bang!"

He was sent flying and crashed heavily into the stone wall behind him.

The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible, and excruciating pain spread from my back throughout my body.

He slid down and collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring.

I can't move.

I can't move at all.

He barely managed to lift his head and saw the giant zero slowly walking towards him.

One step, two steps, three steps...

It stopped in front of him.

Then it stretched out its huge hand, with a thick finger, and pointed it at his forehead.

Lu Siye's pupils suddenly contracted.

He remembered what Baozi had said.

How does zero turn others into zero as well?

Inject zero force.

Injected into the forehead, it gradually erodes a person's consciousness, eventually turning them into a walking corpse, akin to zero.

He wanted to hide, to resist, but his body wouldn't obey him at all.

My ribs are broken, and my spine is probably injured too. I can't move any part of my body.

The finger was pressed against his forehead.

Something icy cold and sharp entered his forehead.

pain.

It wasn't ordinary pain; it was the kind of pain that seemed to drill into the very bones.

It felt as if something was rampaging through his body, devouring his flesh and blood, and corroding his consciousness.

His skin began to darken.

The veins on the back of his hands bulged out like black snakes.

His pupils were changing color, from black to gray, and from gray to a deathly white.

He heard his breathing become heavy, like a human breath.

He is losing himself.

Just as consciousness was about to completely sink into darkness.

A sharp pain shot through my right palm.

More intense than ever.

The pain became even worse.

But amidst the pain, he heard a voice.

"remember"

Who?

"We are here"

Who is speaking?

"Always here"

The voice was indistinct, as if it came from a very, very far place, or as if it rang out from the deepest part of his heart.

I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, or if it was an old person or a young person, but there was a strange sense of familiarity, like...like the voice of a family member.

"As long as darkness remains"

The last sentence suddenly became clear.

"The Heroes Live On"

Then, everything returned to darkness.

I don't know how much time has passed.

Lu Siye opened his eyes.

What greeted my eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling.

It's white, and it's not wood.

He blinked and slowly turned his neck.

White walls, white curtains, white sheets.

There was a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.

Hospital?

He looked down at himself.

His entire body was wrapped in bandages, and he had an IV needle inserted in his right hand.

Even the slightest movement makes my whole body ache.

"woke up?!"

A surprised voice came from the side.

Lu Siye turned his head and saw Baozi's round face coming closer, her eyes red, as if she had just been crying.

"You're finally awake!" Baozi shouted. "Uncle Yi! Sister Su Nian! He's awake!"

A series of footsteps sounded.

Yi Songjin, Su Nian, Xiao Man, and Zhou Che all appeared at his bedside.

Xiaoman's eyes were swollen like two peaches. As soon as she saw that he was awake, her mouth trembled and she was about to cry again: "Lu Siye..."

Su Nian stood to the side, her left shoulder wrapped in bandages, but her expression remained indifferent.

There was something different in his eyes than usual.

Zhou Che was also standing there, with a bandage on his forehead and a new pair of glasses. He was looking at him through the lenses.

Yi Songjin walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He looked at Lu Siye with an indescribable complexity in his eyes.

"It's good that you're awake," he said. "Don't move. Your injuries are severe. Rest well."

Lu Siye opened his mouth, his throat so dry it felt like it was about to burst into flames.

Baozi quickly brought over a glass of water and carefully fed him a few sips.

After the water moistened his throat, Lu Siye was finally able to make a sound.

He asked, "That... zero?"

Yi Songjin paused for a second and then said, "It's all resolved."

"Xiaoman..."

Xiaoman leaned closer, her voice trembling with tears, and said, "I'm alright... You saved me... Thank you..."

Lu Siye looked at her, and only after confirming that she was really alright did he slowly breathe a sigh of relief.

He then looked at Yi Songjin.

Yi Songjin understood his gaze and nodded slightly: "We can talk about other things when you're better."

Lu Siye remained silent.

He remembered that dark space, that blurry figure, and those words.

As long as darkness remains, the Xia Lan will live on forever.

He looked down at his right hand.

The bandages were so thick that nothing could be seen.

But he could sense something deep within his palm, waiting quietly.