When Xu Zhijian becomes a full-fledged demon hunter, he is given a talisman to summon his familiar. However, he ends up calling forth the sleeping 'Demoness' and finds himself bound to her without a choice.
Days go by and he begins to discover that...
One second Xiaoyu was being tossed about, the next, she was falling headfirst.
She couldn't scream. The vertical drop stole the voice in her mouth and she plummeted into the pool below. Water rushed into her ears, her nose, cutting off her air and drowning out the noises. The churning waters around her created a wild turbulence and caused tons of bubbles to form, blurring her vision. Her body was shoved and pounded several times, but her instincts were telling her to stay alive and she desperately tried to swim to the surface.
She was running out of air. When she looked up, she couldn't see the light. It seemed so far away from her reach. Her lungs were almost giving out and she realised that she wasn't going to make it out alive.
Her strength weakened. Her body went limp and she stopped fighting. Darkness engulfed her and she welcomed it, knowing that the man she had dragged along with her was experiencing the same thing she was.
They would disappear from the world.
Without their existences, there would be nothing for the people to fear.
She didn't know how long she slept but it certainly didn't feel very long. Cold raindrops hit her face and she jerked awake with a start, shaking and gasping for air. She was a mess; her clothes were soaking wet with strands of hair sticking to her cheeks.
When her vision finally adjusted to her surroundings, she was surprised. It dawned on her that she was swept up onto the bank. Her back was lying on the ground and she was greeted by a murky sky that was raining down on her.
She wasn't dead...? Even after falling from such a height?
Still in disbelief, she laid a hand over her heart, feeling how fast and strong it was beating. She was alive. How was it possible?
Emotions rippled across her face. Shock, confusion and fear. When she attempted to sit up, a jolt of pain instantly seared through her. A loud groan came as she collapsed back onto the ground, realising how feeble her arms were. The pain coming from her ribs continuously hit her and she was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.
Exactly how many of them were broken?
Lying helplessly on the ground, her eyes closed. The rain wasn't making her feel any better. She was weak, cold and tired but most importantly, she wanted to return to her soulmate, her family and their friends. After throwing herself off the bridge in front of them, how much pain did they feel thinking that she was dead?
Just the thought about it sent a massive wave of guilt over her.
Minutes passed. She could feel her power working its healing magic and mending her broken bones. There were times where she hated the Bai clan's blood in her, but today, she was grateful. It was going to take her some time to recover, but the hope of her heading back to find Zhijian filled her with joy–
A movement was heard, followed by a raspy cough. Her eyes flew open and she stilled, hoping that she had heard wrongly. But when she heard her name being yelled hoarsely, a sense of dread settled in her stomach immediately.
"BAI XIAOYU!"
It was impossible not to recognise his voice. He was alive and calling for her, leaving her in a momentary stun. But this time, she wasn't fearful of him like she was before.
Clutching her almost healed ribs, she forced herself to stand and move towards the voice. Staggering along the edge of the waters, she found Leader Jiang swept up on the other side of the bank just like how she was. A sharp edge of a branch had pierced through his chest at a spot that was dangerously close to his heart. Blood pooled around him and she knew that he was dying.
Panicking, he barked an order. "Heal me!" Blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth as he spoke in near hysteria. "You're from the Bai clan! Heal me right this instance!"
But she simply stood there and watched him. The influence that his voice used to have on her was, surprisingly, not there anymore.
Eyes wide with fear and horror, Leader Jiang began shaking his head in denial. "No, no..." He pulled out something from his pocket – a straw doll – and stared at it in sheer desperation. All along, he had kept it on him and as a result, the doll suffered from the impact of the fall; it was now drenched wet and ruined.
Realisation struck her. The doll was soaked with her blood before but it was all washed away, and this could only mean one thing.
The Puppet Curse was broken.
Leader Jiang's desperate attempts at controlling her failed terribly. With a bitter look, he threw the doll aside and his hands flopped to his sides. Left without any hope, his eyes went blank.
The sight of him being like this made her pity him. Unlike her, he was a man who owned many things, but he was blinded by his own greed that he lost everything.
"Is it worth it?" she asked. "What do you get in return after chasing me like that?"
Her harsh question was adding salt on his wounds and he thought she was taunting him. "You will never be happy." He laughed like a maniac. "You think I'm the only one who's going after you? There are others like me, who would do anything for power. I may be the first but I won't be the last."
Instead of being afraid, she simply smiled. "If that really happens, I'll send them away to Hell. Just like where you're heading to next."
The fierce determination in her tone surprised him. He let out a choked laughter and shook his head, clearly doubting her. He didn't trust that she would be able to control her powers well.
"Good luck, child."
Taking his last breath, she watched as the light in his eyes faded and his body went limp. For several minutes, she stared down at the lifeless face of her enemy, feeling neither joy or sadness at his death. The rain kept pouring down on them, as if it was washing away their sins.
Leader Jiang may have believed that he would have the last laugh, but he was wrong. She had fought her battle, surpassed her own limit and defeated him. With him gone, nothing was going to stop her from living her life once again.
At long last, she was free.
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A/N: This is not the end. We still have an epilogue. 😊❤️
