Chapter 156: Sacrificial Love

"How could I abandon my woman and run away alone?" Zuan said in a low voice.

Looking at the pale cheeks of the beautiful woman in his arms and the specks of blood on her dress, he felt a surge of pity. He quickly took out some healing medicine from his pocket and brought it to her lips. "Quick, take this medicine. Although it's not as miraculous as that previous bottle, these are elixirs from the Divine Physician Ji, and they'll greatly aid your recovery."

Many of these medicines were given to him by Ji Xiaoxi. He figured that the healing medicines prepared by Ji Dengtu for his own daughter wouldn't be anything less than top quality.

"No need. My meridians are completely destroyed. These medicines won't save me," Chu Chuyan said, shaking her head. Her voice was extremely flat and indifferent, devoid of any vitality.

"Who says you can't be saved? There's always a way! We'll go find the Divine Physician Ji; he'll definitely be able to save you!" Zuan said without hesitation, shoving the best elixir into her mouth. Although Ji Dengtu was a bit lecherous, his medical skills were undeniably superb. And even if he couldn't cure her, this cultivation world was vast, and there would always be someone who could.

Even if all else failed, he still had the Keyboard Warrior System as a cheat; perhaps he could draw something in the future that would cure her.

"Cough, cough~" Chu Chuyan had never been treated so roughly. She felt both embarrassed and anxious, but unfortunately, she was completely powerless at the moment, unable to move, let alone resist.

"It seems you and Ji Xiaoxi are really close," Chu Chuyan observed. She noticed the pouch holding the medicine bottles was embroidered with flowers and had a faint fragrance, clearly the work of a woman.

"I've told you before, your husband has excellent luck with women," Zuan joked subconsciously. But realizing her current condition might not tolerate teasing, he quickly added, "Earlier in the valley, we ran into an army of zombies. When I went to distract the pursuers, she worried about me and gave me these medicines."

Chu Chuyan said indifferently, "Why are you explaining so much to me?"

Zuan chuckled awkwardly, "Aren't you afraid I'll get jealous?"

Chu Chuyan fell silent, clearly losing interest in further conversation.

At this moment, Shi Kun and his group walked over. His face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. "Miss Chu, I must commend you. To think you possessed such a killing move, capable of eliminating even a Devouring Kun. But in doing so, you've completely crippled yourself. Was it worth it?"

He had gone to great lengths to win her affection, viewing Chu Chuyan as the perfect wife candidate. Now she was crippled, and his family would absolutely never agree to him marrying such a disabled person.

Originally, with her stunning beauty, even if crippled, she could still be kept as a concubine or plaything. But with her current injuries, the chances of her survival were slim to none.

He had painstakingly plotted for years, and now, after suffering such heavy losses in the secret realm, he had gained nothing. How could he not be disappointed? How could he not be furious?

Qiao Xueying's expression was even more complex. Although she had entered the Chu family with a mission, after spending so many years with Chu Chuyan, they were mistress and servant in name, but sisters in reality. Deep down, she wished Chu Chuyan could marry her young master.

In her opinion, only the Sixth Young Master Shi was the perfect match for her mistress; that fellow named Zuan was unworthy in every respect.

Yet, it had come to this. Chu Chuyan was so unyielding that she preferred to be shattered jade rather than intact tile. For a moment, Qiao Xueying felt lost and remorseful, blaming herself for pushing her mistress to such a point.

Hearing Shi Kun's questioning, Chu Chuyan's eyes faintly gazed at the sky, showing no interest in replying.

Only Zuan noticed that her pupils were unfocused; she wasn't truly looking at the sky. Her heart must have truly turned to ashes.

At this moment, Chu Chuyan's body temperature was frighteningly low. Zuan held her as if embracing a thousand-year-old piece of ice; the chilling aura emanating from her seeped into his bones. If he felt this cold just holding her, she must be experiencing unimaginable frigidity herself.

In the short time just now, Zuan had taken the opportunity to examine her internal condition. If a normal person's meridians were vibrant with life, then her internal state was like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion: shattered, filled with destruction and deathly aura.

In her current state, let alone cultivating again, she couldn't even compare to an ordinary person. All her meridians were destroyed, leaving her like someone completely paralyzed.

Zuan even suspected that if he hadn't given her "Believe in Brother Chun" earlier, she might have died on the spot after performing that forbidden technique.

Seeing Chu Chuyan offer no reply, Shi Kun wasn't overly angered. He mumbled to himself, "You are the foremost genius of Brightmoon City, and even looking across the world, you're a top-tier existence among your peers. You once stood high above, admired by thousands. Now, you can only become a cripple. No, you're worse than a cripple; judging by your appearance, you can't even take care of yourself..."

"Shut up! No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!" Zuan snapped, annoyed. At this moment, his greatest fear was Chu Chuyan losing the will to live. Based on his past life's medical experience, recovery was highly dependent on the patient's own will.

If the patient themselves gave up, then there was no hope at all.

"Hmph, a low-level waste like you naturally wouldn't understand the troubles of us geniuses," Shi Kun said, looking at him coldly. "For people like us, who have been excellent since childhood, becoming crippled means lying in bed for the rest of our lives, receiving the world's pity and sympathy. It's truly worse than death. Even if you exert all your effort to save her life, you'd only be tormenting her."

"I don't object to my wife being a genius, but what makes you a genius? You brought so many people, yet you couldn't even defeat my injured wife and still needed reinforcements. What if he's a ninth-rank cultivator? My wife still took him down in one move. Can you do that? If not, what right do you have to compare yourself to her?" Seeing Chu Chuyan's condition already made Zuan feel terrible, and this guy was buzzing around like a fly, prompting him to burst into a volley of insults.

Shi Kun: "..."

Being accused of not being a genius by a petty ruffian he looked down upon, a surge of dark anger flared within him. However, compared to Chu Chuyan, he was indeed inferior by a significant margin, and he couldn't refute what Zuan said.

Rage value from Shi Kun +314!

Look at you, so arrogant. That was Chu Chuyan's power, not yours. What's there to gloat about!

Shi Kun could only comfort himself this way, constantly telling himself not to stoop to the level of such a petty person. After calming his emotions, he finally said, "Although I, Shi, may not be talented, I have a powerful family behind me. The starting point of my life is a destination you could never reach in your entire life."

"I'm not saying this to boast, but to state a fact: the resources I can mobilize are far, far greater than yours. Perhaps you won't be able to cure her even if you try your hardest, but for me, it would be much easier."

"I can not only save her life but also potentially heal her meridians. So, if you truly love her, hand her over to me instead of selfishly holding onto her and jeopardizing her future."

Qiao Xueying echoed, "Exactly. The Shi family has extensive connections in the capital, are well-acquainted with imperial physicians, and have countless rare treasures at their disposal. The resources they can command are far beyond what the Chu family of Brightmoon City can compare to. If you entrust Miss to the Shi family, the Young Master will surely find a way to cure her."

Seeing Zuan fall into thought, a faint smile appeared on Shi Kun's lips. As a person in a position of power, it wasn't always necessary to rely on brute force. Sometimes, leveraging the banner of morality and one's own advantages could save a lot of trouble.

Once Chu Chuyan was in his hands, he would certainly try to treat her. Although the chances of her full recovery were slim, saving her life shouldn't be difficult. At that point, she could be kept in his chambers as a concubine.

The only pity was that she wouldn't be able to move, which would diminish much of the pleasure.

Believing Zuan was truly persuaded, a flicker of panic finally appeared in Chu Chuyan's ash-like eyes. She weakly said, "No... don't, don't hand me over to anyone."

For some reason, although she usually disliked Zuan's unreliability, at this moment, she felt safest only when by his side. She was terrified that he might be swayed by Shi Kun's words and hand her over.

A smile appeared on Zuan's face. "Wifey, don't worry. How could I possibly hand you over to anyone else? I was just thinking about something else."

Shi Kun's expression changed. "Zuan, are you truly going to ruin Miss Chu's future because of your own selfishness?"

Zuan rolled his eyes. "That's a ridiculous trope from some melodramatic romance drama from ages ago. Do you really think that line will fool me? You're standing on the moral high ground, vehemently accusing me, while concealing your own despicable intentions. Do you think I don't know? My own wife, I'll take responsibility for healing her myself. No outsiders need to worry."

Shi Kun's expression finally turned cold. "What big talk. You can't even protect her now, so how can you talk about healing her? Miss Chu, perhaps you'll resent me now, but in the future, you'll surely understand that I was doing this for your own good."

With a wave of his hand, he signaled his subordinates to kill Zuan. Although he suspected Zuan couldn't freely use that "stare-at-someone-and-make-them-pregnant" ability, the pain from earlier was still fresh in his memory, and he genuinely didn't want to risk it. So, he sent two subordinates to test him first, while he himself waited for the right moment to launch a surprise attack and end Zuan's life.

"Wait... wait," Chu Chuyan weakly uttered.

Shi Kun's face brightened, and he quickly waved his hand to stop his subordinates. "What? Has Miss Chu come to her senses?"

Chu Chuyan ignored him. Instead, she looked at Zuan. "Kill me."

Zuan looked utterly bewildered.

He truly couldn't understand why she would make such a request.

Chu Chuyan grew anxious, quickly lowering her voice. "I'm crippled now, and you alone are no match for them. Do you want to see me fall into another man's hands and be humiliated? Kill me, then escape yourself quickly. Tell my parents everything that happened here, and ask them to avenge me."

Zuan remained silent, slowly raising his sword.

Chu Chuyan closed her eyes, a serene and tranquil smile appearing on her face, awaiting the impending sword strike.

"Zuan, how dare you!" Although Chu Chuyan's voice was low, it didn't escape Shi Kun's ears. Concerned that Zuan might actually go through with it, Shi Kun hesitated to rush forward.

Zuan ignored him, turned his longsword, and directly thrust it into his own chest.

Shi Kun, Qiao Xueying, and the others opposite them were all dumbfounded. They hadn't expected such a turn of events. What was he doing?

Qiao Xueying even wondered if he, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, intended to die for her mistress. Although he was somewhat annoying, she never thought his affections ran so deep.