The First Summoner - Chapter 11

Save him?

Shen Yan followed Ninefold’s gaze.

The bewitchingly handsome man had gone deathly pale and seemed to be unconscious.

“Master, hurry! Save him!” Ninefold urged.

Shen Yan fell silent, visibly conflicted.

Then she turned, walked to a nearby shelf, and took down a vial of medicine.

She hurried to Feng Xingyao’s side, uncapped it, and reached to grasp his jaw.

An icy hand clamped around her slender wrist.

Cold beyond description seeped into her skin. His grip was so powerful it nearly crushed the bone.

Pain tightened Shen Yan’s brows.

She looked down. The weakened man’s eyes remained closed. He still appeared unconscious.

This must be instinctive vigilance.

Who exactly was he?

“Let go,” she said in a low voice. “I’m trying to save you.”

Ninefold rushed over, but stopped three paces away as if held back by instinctive fear.

Anxiety covered his delicate little face.

“She’s right! Master is trying to save you. Let go of her!”

Perhaps Feng Xingyao heard Shen Yan, or perhaps he heard Ninefold.

His grip loosened.

His pale hand fell to his side, long and powerful despite his condition.

Ninefold’s eyes lit up.

He had actually listened.

Shen Yan resumed her interrupted movement at once. She seized Feng Xingyao by the cheeks, forced his mouth open, and poured in the entire vial.

Then she touched his forehead to check his temperature.

Ninefold’s pupils contracted violently.

“Don’t!”

At his cry, Shen Yan reflexively retreated several steps.

Then…

Several seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

She looked at Ninefold. “What did you mean?”

Shock covered his face. Inside, his thoughts were in turmoil.

When he recovered, he shook his head frantically.

“N-nothing. I didn’t mean anything.”

Shen Yan stared at him.

“Then be quiet,” she said coldly.

“Mm-hmm.” Ninefold nodded guiltily, then smiled in a desperate attempt to please her and mimed zipping his mouth shut.

Shen Yan gave Feng Xingyao an unreadable look.

His aura was terribly weak.

The medicine had helped a little, but not much.

Remembering something, she left the spatial domain and collected the wound powder and flesh-regenerating salve Aunt Huang had left in her room.

Then she returned.

Shen Yan approached Feng Xingyao. When she saw the bloody wounds where the chains pierced his limbs, her brows drew tight.

Keeping her guard up, she turned to Ninefold.

“Can I touch those chains?”

He froze, then hurriedly waved both hands. “No! You’ll die!”

“Understood.”

Shen Yan nodded.

She placed the medicine on the chaise. When her gaze brushed Feng Xingyao’s bloodless, handsome face, she nearly lost focus for an instant.

She looked away.

“I’m not a physician, and I don’t know how to treat someone else’s wounds. If he survives, tell him to apply the medicine himself.”

“Of course, Master!”

Ninefold thumped his chest and promised with a solemn expression.

Shen Yan walked over to him and slowly crouched until they were eye to eye.

“What secret do you share with him?”

Her tone was calm.

Ninefold panicked and shook his head frantically.

“N-no, no secret.”

“You can’t even lie properly.”

Ninefold stared at her in shock.

She had seen through him?

Amazing.

He gazed at her in open wonder.

Shen Yan gently smoothed the hair at his temple, but her voice held no emotion.

“I don’t care what secrets you share with him. I am your master now, so my orders come first. If you betray me, I will never let you go.”

Goose bumps raced across Ninefold’s body. A chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He nearly burst into tears.

“I-I’m very obedient!”

“Good.” Shen Yan smiled.

…

She left the spatial domain.

Weakness and pain dragged at her body, leaving her exhausted. She lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

She slept straight through until noon the next day.

When she woke, much of the weakness had faded.

Unsure how long she had been asleep, she entered the spatial domain and asked Ninefold. Feng Xingyao was still unconscious.

Her expression remained indifferent. She said nothing and left again.

Then she remembered the “compensation” the Shen family had promised yesterday.

She immediately rose from bed and went to open the door—only to sense something strange.

Creak.

The instant the door swung inward, Shen Yan took two guarded steps back.

Shen Tianhao had been sitting outside with his back against it. Without the door to support him, he toppled backward into the room.

“Ow!”

“…Father?” Shen Yan froze.

Something seemed to squeeze her heart.

Shen Tianhao woke at once and scrambled to his feet. He stared closely at her.

“How do you feel?” he asked gently.

“Much better.” She nodded, then could not help asking, “Father, have you been guarding my door this entire time?”

“Yes.”

He did not deny it.

To him, it was only natural. He would never allow his daughter to be harmed again.

Shen Yan fell silent, unsure what to say. She could only change the subject.

“Father, where is the Shen family’s ‘compensation’?”

“With me.”

Shen Tianhao took a storage ring and a silver token granting access to the Shen family library from his storage space.

He handed both to her.

“Yan’er, you don’t have… spiritual power yet, so you cannot open the storage ring. If you need any of the gold, ask Father to take it out for you.”

“All right.” Shen Yan accepted the ring and token.

His Yan’er had become so much colder.

Shen Tianhao was not used to it, but perhaps this had always been her true nature. Or perhaps she had been hurt so badly that she could no longer trust anyone completely.

Guilt filled him.

“Father will find a way to obtain the Blood-Devouring Pearl.”

Shen Yan frowned. “Is it difficult to find?”

He did not want to disappoint her, so he quickly smiled and shook his head.

“Not difficult at all.”

Shen Yan heard the kindness behind the lie.

She lowered her eyes.

The original owner had already given her another chance at life. She should not—and had no right to—ask the girl’s father for help.

Her voice became polite.

“You don’t need to search for the Blood-Devouring Pearl. I can find it myself.”

The words devastated Shen Tianhao.

His eyes reddened instantly. He pulled her into a tight embrace, unable to hide the grief in his choked voice.

“Yan’er, do you hate Father? Please, don’t be angry with me.”

“Father can’t lose you!”

Held tightly in his arms, Shen Yan did not know how to respond.

Then she considered it carefully.

She had taken the original owner’s place. If she was going to live under that identity, she had to fulfill its responsibilities—and treat Shen Tianhao as the original Shen Yan would have.