122: Chapter 122 On the Power of Darkness

Downstairs, the sounds of battle gradually subsided.

"He ran away?"

Qi Yin sheathed her blade, frowning at the spot where the Arrogant King had just vanished, her heart feeling even heavier.

That bastard had bizarre methods and fled decisively; he was definitely going to be a major problem.

Furthermore, what did his final words mean?

A gift? What was he referring to?

She shook her head and glanced at Xiao Sinian, who seemed somewhat dazed.

"Are you alright? That black smoke earlier..."

"I'm fine."

Xiao Sinian snapped out of it and gave a light chuckle, his tone devoid of any fluctuation.

Suddenly, a numbing, stinging pain shot through his lower abdomen, and he quickly changed the subject.

"I'll go down and dig out the crystal cores for you."

With that, he turned and jumped down from the building.

Qi Yin watched his retreating figure, her suspicions deepening as a seed of doubt was quietly planted.

Her intuition told her that something was wrong with Xiao Sinian; usually, if she asked him that, he would respond with some glib remark.

But not today...

With the help of "iron egg no. 1," they had harvested a total of 3,400 crystal cores that were nearly Level 3 today.

However, Lu Yanxiu and Qian Dong had been injured as a result. To be honest, this trade wasn't worth it.

The wounds on both men were deep enough to see bone. Since Qi Yin didn't have a healing Supernatural Ability, she could only use spiritual spring water and crystal cores to replenish their energy and slow the spread of the virus.

The best way would be to return to the base and have Wang Tianyu treat them to properly handle their injuries.

As she opened the car door, Qi Yin saw Xiao Sinian suddenly stagger. She quickly circled around to support him.

"Are you really okay? I keep feeling like you're hiding something from me." Qi Yin's eyes were full of worry as she quietly used her Spiritual power to probe through his arm.

How strange, there was nothing there.

His body was very healthy.

In response, Xiao Sinian merely rubbed his forehead and said with a smile, "Don't worry. I just didn't rest well last night, and with today's heavy exertion, I might have a bit of a cold."

Qi Yin remained skeptical and shoved him into the passenger seat. "If you're uncomfortable, don't hide it. Rest for a bit. I'll drive; let's head back to the base first."

Xiao Sinian didn't refuse, letting her help him fasten his seatbelt.

The back seat was lowered, and Mu Feng watched over the two pale-faced casualties. Following her instructions, he fed them spiritual spring water and crystal core powder every two hours.

Qi Yin gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the desolate road ahead. Her foot on the accelerator was steady, though her speed inevitably increased.

Damn it, it was all her fault for being too conceited and underestimating the enemy; otherwise, Lu Yanxiu and Qian Dong wouldn't be suffering like this.

From the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but glance at Xiao Sinian in the passenger seat. He had his eyes closed as if resting, but his handsome brow was slightly furrowed, seemingly showing a hint of endurance.

His face was a weary pale color. Throughout the journey, he didn't look for excuses to talk to her, keeping his back against the seat for most of the time.

She was almost certain that he had definitely blocked that fleeting surge of energy.

Qi Yin quietly took a small porcelain bottle of spiritual spring water concentrated by Xiao Yu from her space, pulled out the stopper, and held it to his lips.

"Drink some water."

Xiao Sinian opened his eyes, gave her a look, said nothing, and took it to drink.

The cool spiritual spring slid down his throat, and his tense body felt a bit better.

This was already the third bottle Qi Yin had given him.

As time passed, Qi Yin noticed that Xiao Sinian's fingertips seemed to tremble slightly during the last few times he took the bottle.

Her heart sank, but she asked nothing, pressing the accelerator even harder.

Given Xiao Sinian's personality, he wouldn't say anything even if asked; instead, he would work harder to hide it.

She wasn't idle along the way, constantly communicating with Xiao Yu and Xiao Bai inside her space through her sea of consciousness.

The main goal was to analyze the attributes of the Arrogant King's black smoke ability.

Xiao Yu spread her hands. "Master, there is no record of this bizarre energy in the space's database."

Unable to rely on Xiao Yu, Qi Yin could only pin her hopes on Xiao Bai.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Bai didn't say a word and ran straight into the ancient castle.

Qi Yin: "Hey, you cat, why are you so unreliable at the critical moment?"

While she was feeling frustrated, after a while, Xiao Bai kept calling out to her with various sounds, as if there was an emergency.

Qi Yin sensed the situation. Inside the space, Xiao Bai was holding a tattered parchment scroll in its mouth. Knowing she couldn't enter right now, it had Xiao Yu project the content of one page into her sea of consciousness.

"Master, look at this. Perhaps you can find the answer you're looking for."

Focusing her mind, she saw that the parchment scroll was filled with languages she couldn't quite understand. She only recognized a description regarding "Darkness Power," which seemed very similar to the energy on the Black-Robed Person.

She flipped a page, and a line of annotations was provided at the back.

["Darkness fears the ultimate light and dreads the void; it can be dispersed by the purest light and imprisoned by infinite space."]

Light, space?

Qi Yin was momentarily dazed, then her heart skipped a beat.

Light? The energy on the Black-Robed Person made her feel uncomfortable, but the Light-based Superpower of Li Shi and Li Yun made people feel at peace. Could light be their Light-based Superpower?

As for infinite space, the space of the dragon-patterned jade pendant was infinitely upgrading; didn't that indirectly equal infinite?

Why did it feel like all of this was targeted at her?

Perhaps Li Shi and Li Yun could help with what was wrong with Xiao Sinian.

Once this thought occurred, Qi Yin was even more eager to return home.

Five hundred kilometers, a journey of five full days. Aside from eating, Qi Yin used spiritual spring water to force her spirits up, compressing the trip into four days.

When the towering metal walls of Xiyin Base, equipped with countless high-voltage electric fences, appeared before her eyes, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

By then, Lu Yanxiu and Qian Dong had fallen into a coma.

The soldiers guarding the base gates were wearing thick winter combat uniforms. Seeing Xiao Sinian in the passenger seat, they quickly opened the gate.

The vehicle drove into the base's interior. The neat streets, intact and brand-new buildings, and the occasional passing patrols all showcased the excellent order and management here.

It was evident that Xiao Sinian had put a lot of heart into this base.

But Qi Yin was in no mood to admire it now. Following Xiao Sinian's directions, she drove the car directly to a detached villa in the central area of the base.

This was Xiao Sinian's residence in the base. It was very large, more than enough to accommodate Lu Jinwen and the others.

As soon as the car came to a steady stop, the people inside heard the commotion and rushed out in a swarm.

Lu Jinwen's face was full of joy. "Sister, you're back..."

Before she could finish her sentence, her gaze fell upon the bloody wounds of Lu Yanxiu and Qian Dong as they were being supported in the back. Everyone's smiles vanished.

"Brother, Brother Qian Dong, what happened?" Lu Jinwen screamed and rushed over.

"Don't make a fuss. Let Tianyu take a look first."

Chen Quan strode forward to take over Lu Yanxiu, and together with Mu Feng, they hurried the two toward the operating room.

Amidst the chaos, Wang Tianyu had already prepared the operating room. Wen Yang, having some experience from his previous injury, stayed behind to assist him.

Before the door closed, Qi Yin gave him two purple pills. "One for each of them. Have them take these."

Disinfecting, removing necrotic flesh...

The operating room door closed. In the living room, the group paced back and forth, a deep sense of unease flowing through their hearts.

With the tension of the past few days temporarily relieved, Qi Yin helped Xiao Sinian sit down on the sofa.

He leaned against the back of the sofa, his eyes slightly closed, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Qi Yin squatted in front of him and asked softly, "Are you okay?"

"Jinwen, call Xiao Shi and Xiao Yun over."

Lu Jinwen didn't understand why, but after a momentary daze, she quickly ran upstairs.

At this moment, Xiao Sinian slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was scattered for a moment but quickly regained focus.

A sharp, stinging pain pierced through his lower abdomen. He gave a bitter smile, thinking that the gift the Black-Robed Person mentioned had perhaps arrived.

Glancing at Qi Yin, whose small face was scrunched up, he subconsciously reached out to smooth her brow.

"I'm fine. I'll be okay after a little rest."

He tried to sit up straight to prove he was fine, but the movement seemed to pull on something, causing him to fall back into the seat.

Qi Yin's heart suddenly tightened, and she quickly pulled him into her arms.

Just as she was about to say something, Wang Tianyu walked over with a weary face and took off his mask.

Everyone crowded around. "How are they?"

Wang Tianyu let out a sigh of relief. "Don't worry. Sister Yin handled it very well, which saved a lot of trouble. They'll be able to wake up tomorrow."

A huge weight was lifted off Qi Yin's heart, and she wanted to stand up.

Right then, she felt a weight on her shoulder.

"Xiao Sinian!"