Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 34

Yuan Yao had never imagined the unidentified object could be so shameless. Her temper flared at once.

She drove her sword upward in a vicious sweep, cleaving the water in two.

But when she tried to leap through the opening, the divided water rushed back together and crushed her down again.

“First Form of Xiaoyao—”

“Sword Arcs to the Heavens!”

Boom!

“Second Form of Xiaoyao—”

“Flowers Whisper, Rain Shatters!”

Boom! Boom!

“Third Form of Xiaoyao—”

“Heaven and Earth in Motion!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yuan Yao unleashed all three techniques in rapid succession. The currents split beneath their force, and she was just about to burst through the surface when a white figure came racing across the lake.

It was Xie Yan.

He had clearly seen her, but he did not slow down.

His foot was about to land squarely on her head. Yuan Yao ducked back underwater just in time.

Xie Yan’s toes missed her scalp by a hair. After skimming across the surface for several more steps, he suddenly stopped. Just as he turned to look back, a snow-white hand shot from the water and seized his ankle.

Splash!

Caught completely off guard, the white-robed youth was yanked into the lake.

The moment he went under, he tried to get out. But the unidentified object below began trembling violently, twisting the currents through the lake once more. The water caught him in an instant and dragged him down.

Yuan Yao glanced at Xie Yan as the current swallowed him, then swung her sword overhead.

The blade tore open a path through the water. She shot upward at full speed and scrambled onto the bank.

She paused to catch her breath.

Looking back at the lake as its surface gradually settled, Yuan Yao remembered how she had dragged Xie Yan in, and her heart lurched.

She had to run. If he caught her, she was finished.

She had barely turned to leave when System 250 blared inside her mind.

【Warning! Warning! Target Xie Yan is irreplaceable. He cannot die at the host’s hands!】

Yuan Yao froze.

“He’s going to die?”

Before System 250 could answer, realization struck. Her face changed, and she spun around and dove back into the lake without hesitation.

She swam down as fast as she could, panic knotting inside her as she muttered, “Don’t die. Don’t die…”

She hated him, but she had never wanted him dead.

Soon, she found him.

Xie Yan floated motionless in the water, apparently unconscious.

Yuan Yao swam over and cradled his ghost-masked face in both hands. His eyes were closed.

“Xie Yan! Xie Yan!” she called urgently.

He did not respond.

She raised a hand to remove his mask and check whether he was breathing, but withdrew her fingers the instant they touched its hard surface.

If he wore a mask, then he must have secrets he wanted hidden.

Instead, she caught his still-warm wrist and began hauling him upward.

The unidentified object had thought she was coming back for it. When it realized she had returned for someone else, it flew into a rage. Its violent shaking sent the lake currents churning.

Yuan Yao gritted her teeth. “If he dies, I’ll kill you!”

Then, after a moment, she added, “Once I save him, I’ll come back!”

Only then did the unidentified object fall still.

Yuan Yao struggled upward with Xie Yan in tow. He looked so slender, yet somehow weighed a ton.

She had no choice but to change her grip.

First, she tried wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

No. She could not hold him securely like this.

She shifted again and circled an arm around his waist. Even through his clothes, she could feel the firm ridges of his abdomen. His waist was lean and hard.

With every ounce of strength she had, Yuan Yao dragged him toward the surface.

All the while, System 250’s alarm continued screeching in her mind.

【Warning! Irreplaceable target Xie Yan cannot die at the host’s hands!】

Yuan Yao clenched her jaw.

Splash!

The two of them finally broke through the surface.

She dragged him onto the bank.

As a child, Yuan Yao had once read about how to save a drowning person in a medical text. The first thing she did was begin pressing on his chest.

Again and again.

“Wake up!”

“Xie Yan!”

Water trickled from beneath Xie Yan’s mask.

Still, he showed no sign of waking. After a brief struggle with herself, Yuan Yao gritted her teeth and reached for his mask.

The instant her fingers touched its edge, a deathly pale hand clamped around her wrist.

The grip was so fierce it nearly ground her bones to dust.

“Hiss…” Yuan Yao sucked in a sharp breath. When she looked down, she met a pair of eyes as cold and dark as an abyss.

In the next instant, her free hand shot out and seized his throat.

“Let go,” she threatened.

Xie Yan felt the warmth of her palm and the pressure of her fingers.

Not enough.

Not nearly suffocating enough.

It was nothing like the breathless sensation of sinking through the water.

He stared at her with icy eyes, unable to understand why she had saved him.

Three seconds passed before the answer came to him.

She was simply one of those hopeless fools who could not help saving everyone.

Xie Yan suddenly let out a derisive laugh and slowly released her wrist. Yuan Yao let go of his throat as well, then threw herself back into the lake as fast as she could.

Only her head remained above the water. Her hair was soaked, and droplets traced the snow-white curve of her skin, lending her a startling beauty.

“Xie Yan, you swore an oath. You can’t kill me.”

Xie Yan slowly sat up. In a single instant, his soaked robes and hair returned to normal. The ghost-face mask concealed both his features and most of his emotions.

He cast the girl in the water an indifferent glance, rose, and walked away.

As Yuan Yao watched his retreating figure, she thought he looked strangely lonely.

She could tell he was in a poor mood.

It probably had nothing to do with her. Perhaps it was because he had nearly drowned.

Did he have some kind of trauma from nearly drowning before?

She watched until he vanished, then came back to herself and patted both cheeks.

Stop thinking about it.

Yuan Yao dove beneath the surface again.

An hour later, she reached the bottom and asked the unidentified object, “Do you know any way I can free you?”

It remained silent.

Yuan Yao sighed helplessly. “If you don’t, then breaking your seal will be very difficult. Look at me. I’m only in the early Foundation Establishment Realm. I’m so weak.”

When it gave no response, she continued smoothly, “Why don’t I come back and save you after I’ve grown stronger?”

The unidentified object immediately began to shake.

It clearly refused.

“Then think of a way for me.”

Something occurred to Yuan Yao, and she asked in confusion, “Why did you choose me? Why not the person outside? He’s far stronger than I am.”

She hated to admit it, but Xie Yan was every bit as strong as her Youngest Senior Brother.

The oval object trembled faintly.

—Because you’re the only one who can hear my call.