HLnovel Chapter 3: Sleepless Night
Chapter 3: Sleepless Night
Two deacon disciples escorted Gao Xingchen through the silent sect and all the way to the Discipline Hall. Gao Xingchen said nothing and let them do what they wanted, but his clear eyes were now covered with a shadow, as if a clear spring had been thrown into a stone and could no longer be calm.
"Let him go." A cold voice came from behind them. The two deacon disciples turned around and saw that it was Nanli, the senior sister of the Discipline Hall.
“Senior Sister, this…” One of the disciples looked embarrassed.
"I will take responsibility if anything goes wrong." Ling'er's tone was firm and left no room for doubt.
The two disciples looked at each other and finally let Gao Xingchen go. Gao Xingchen looked at Nan Li gratefully, but she just shook her head slightly, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more.
"Xingchen, I believe you. There must be something else going on." Nanli said softly, "I will find out and clear your name."
Gao Xingchen felt warm in his heart, but he could only smile bitterly: "Thank you, Senior Sister. I believe that those who are innocent will be innocent, but..." He clenched his fists, and a trace of anger flashed in his eyes, "If I knew who was behind this, I would never let him go!"
After leaving the Discipline Hall, Gao Xingchen went to the back mountain alone. There were few people here, and only the sound of the night wind blowing through the treetops could be heard. He sat cross-legged on a huge rock, trying to calm the surging emotions in his heart.
"Hu——" Gao Xingchen let out a long breath, forced himself to suppress the distracting thoughts in his mind, and began to practice.
However, tonight's training was particularly difficult. What happened during the day kept appearing in his mind. Anger, grievance, unwillingness...all kinds of emotions intertwined together, making him upset and unable to calm down at all.
"Damn it!" Gao Xingchen suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes full of bloodshot.
He stood up and walked aimlessly in the forest. Before he knew it, he came to a quiet valley.
"It's quiet here." Gao Xingchen said to himself.
He was about to turn around and leave when suddenly, a strong sense of crisis came over him.
"Who?!" Gao Xingchen shouted loudly and retreated violently.
"Haha, your reaction is quite quick, but unfortunately, it's too late!" Along with a sinister laugh, a black shadow flashed out from the woods, with a flash of cold light in his hand, and he went straight to Gao Xingchen's chest.
Gao Xingchen was caught off guard and could only barely turn sideways to avoid the vital parts, but a deep wound was still left on his left shoulder, and the blood instantly dyed his clothes red.
"Lin Feng?! Why is it you!" Gao Xingchen covered his wound and said gritting his teeth.
"That's right, it's me!" Lin Feng sneered, "Gao Xingchen, you stole my limelight and my opportunity. Today, I will make you pay the price!"
After saying that, Lin Feng approached again, the long sword in his hand turned into cold light, and each move was fierce, aiming directly at Gao Xingchen's vital points.
Although Gao Xingchen was seriously injured, his instinct for survival made him burst out with amazing strength. He endured the severe pain, dodged Lin Feng's attacks, and looked for opportunities to counterattack.
However, Lin Feng is, after all, a leader among the outer disciples, and his strength is far superior to Gao Xingchen, unlike Zhao Gang, a small fry. In addition, Gao Xingchen was seriously injured, so he soon fell into a disadvantage and suffered several more wounds on his body.
"Go to hell!" A trace of murderous intent flashed in Lin Feng's eyes, and he stabbed Gao Xingchen's heart with a sword.
"clang!"
At the critical moment, a cold light flashed and knocked Lin Feng's sword away.
"Who is it?!" Lin Feng's face changed and he asked sternly.
"Your ancestors!"
A cold voice sounded, and then a graceful figure appeared in front of Gao Xingchen like a ghost, with the long sword in her hand flashing with cold light, and went straight for Lin Feng's throat.
Lin Feng was horrified and quickly swung his sword to block.
"boom!"
With a loud bang, Lin Feng was knocked back several steps and a mouthful of blood spurted out.
"Senior Sister Nanli!" Gao Xingchen looked at the familiar figure in front of him, his heart filled with gratitude and confusion.
Nan Li ignored him and just looked at Lin Feng coldly with murderous intent in her eyes.
"You...you dare to hurt me? I am..."
Before Lin Feng could finish his words, Nan Li stabbed him in the throat with a sword and he fell in a pool of blood.
"How are you?" Nan Li turned to look at Gao Xingchen, with a rare hint of concern in her tone.
"I'm fine..." Gao Xingchen said with all his strength, but before he could finish his words, his vision went dark and he passed out.
Nan Li quickly caught Gao Xingchen's fallen body and gently placed him on the ground. Looking at Gao Xingchen's pale face and the shocking wounds on his body, Nan Li's eyes flashed with a complicated look.
"What an idiot..."
The night wind blew, blowing up the fallen leaves on the ground, making a rustling sound, as if sighing for the tragic fate of the young man.
Gao Xingchen fell into a coma, and in a daze, he seemed to have returned to the world before the time travel, to the familiar and warm home. He saw his kind parents and his friends laughing and playing. Everything was so beautiful and so real.
"Dad, Mom, where are you? I miss you so much..."
Gao Xingchen murmured to himself, tears rolling down the corners of his eyes.
Gao Xingchen's consciousness was floating in the darkness, and broken images flashed by like a revolving lantern. In his memory, his kind parents were preparing a sumptuous dinner for him, and the laughter of his childhood playmates echoed in his ears. The warm scenes that he was used to now pierced his heart like needles.
"Dad, Mom, I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so willful and run away from home..." Gao Xingchen murmured unconsciously, his clothes soaked with tears. He wanted to tell his parents that he was not living well, and he wanted to go back to them, even if it was just to see them from a distance.
However, the cold reality mercilessly pulled him back. Gao Xingchen suddenly woke up, the dark night sky was still in front of him, and the only sound in his ears was the whistling night wind.
"Where am I?" Gao Xingchen struggled to get up, but found that his whole body was sore and weak. Every movement would pull the wound on his shoulder, and the piercing pain made him groan.
"Are you awake?" A cold voice sounded in his ears. Gao Xingchen turned around and saw Nan Li sitting cross-legged not far away, holding a long sword in his hand, and the sword body emitting a faint cold light.
"Senior Sister Nanli, you saved me?" Gao Xingchen said gratefully. He remembered that before he fell into a coma, it was Nanli who fought off Lin Feng.
Nan Li nodded slightly and didn't say much.
"Where is that guy Lin Feng?" Gao Xingchen looked around but could not find any trace of Lin Feng.
"Dead." Nan Li's tone was calm, as if he was talking about something insignificant.
Gao Xingchen was shocked. Although he had heard that Lin Feng was cruel and ruthless, he never thought that he would actually kill someone just because of a little jealousy.
"Someone must have instructed him to do this! Who instructed him to do this?" Gao Xingchen said gritting his teeth. He absolutely did not believe that Lin Feng would do such a cruel thing to him for no reason just because of jealousy.
Nan Li was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "You'd better not interfere in this matter."
Gao Xingchen frowned. He knew that Nan Li must know something, but he didn’t understand why she refused to tell him?
"Why?" Gao Xingchen asked in confusion.
"Some things will not do you any good if you know them." Nan Li said calmly, "You just need to know that I will help you get justice."
Gao Xingchen wanted to ask more, but saw Nan Li had already stood up and prepared to leave.
"Wait, Senior Sister Nanli, my injury..." Gao Xingchen wanted to call Nanli, but found that he didn't even have the strength to speak.
Nan Li stopped, looked back at him and said, "Don't worry, I have already treated your wound. Just rest for a night and you will be fine tomorrow." After that, she left without looking back.
Gao Xingchen looked at Nan Li's departing back, his heart filled with doubts and uneasiness. He always felt that this matter was not that simple.
At the same time, Ling'er and Xuanfeng were extremely anxious after learning that Gao Xingchen had been attacked. They asked around for Gao Xingchen's whereabouts and finally found him unconscious in the back mountain.
"Senior Brother Xingchen, how are you? Who hurt you like this?" Ling'er looked at the injuries on Gao Xingchen's body and felt heartbroken.
"I'm fine, just some minor injuries." Gao Xingchen said while enduring the pain. He didn't want to make Ling'er worry.
"You said you were fine, but you're already injured like this!" Xuan Feng said anxiously, "No, I'm going to report this to the elders, and the murderer must be severely punished!"
"No need, I already know." A majestic voice came from outside the door. Everyone turned around and saw Elder Zhang standing at the door with a terribly gloomy face.
Elder Zhang looked solemn, and walked to Gao Xingchen with big strides to check his injuries. Ling'er and Xuanfeng quickly told Elder Zhang the whole story.
"How can this be! How dare this evil creature, Lin Feng, commit treason and harm his fellow disciples! I will tear him into pieces!" Elder Zhang was so angry that his hair and beard stood on end. He immediately sent an order to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring Lin Feng to justice.
However, Gao Xingchen's condition was not optimistic. Lin Feng's palm power remained in his body, and his meridians were severely damaged. Even if he took the healing pills treasured by the sect, he could not recover in a short time. After examining him, Elder Zhang frowned and was worried.
"Xingchen, just focus on recovering from your injuries. Leave the rest to me," Elder Zhang consoled.
Gao Xingchen nodded weakly. He knew that the only thing he could do now was to heal his wounds as quickly as possible and bring Lin Feng to justice personally.
After Elder Zhang left, Ling'er and Xuanfeng took turns to take care of Gao Xingchen. Ling'er carefully wiped his wounds and fed him medicine, while Xuanfeng accompanied him silently and comforted him from time to time. Although Gao Xingchen was physically weak, he felt extremely warm in his heart.
At night, Nan Li quietly came to Gao Xingchen's room. She had been busy investigating the forces behind Lin Feng during the day, and only now had time to come and see him. Under the dim candlelight, Gao Xingchen's face was pale and his breath was weak. Nan Li couldn't help but feel a little distressed.
She sat by the bed, quietly looking at Gao Xingchen, and tucked the corner of the quilt for him. Gao Xingchen's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if he felt her presence. Nan Li's fingers gently brushed his cheek, feeling his weak breathing.
Gao Xingchen was in a coma and dreamed that he was in an endless darkness, surrounded by icy cold sea water. He struggled desperately, but couldn't breathe, as if he was about to be swallowed by the endless darkness. Endless pain surrounded him and made him unable to extricate himself.
After an unknown amount of time, Gao Xingchen suddenly woke up and found himself covered in cold sweat. Nan Li was sitting beside the bed, looking at him with concern.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Nan Li asked softly.
Gao Xingchen nodded. He wanted to speak, but found that his throat was dry and he couldn't make a sound. Nanli poured a glass of water and handed it to him. Gao Xingchen drank a few sips greedily and felt better.
"I'm fine." Gao Xingchen said weakly. He didn't want to make Nan Li worry.
Nan Li didn't say anything, but just looked at him quietly, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.
In the next few days, Nan Li stayed by Gao Xingchen's side and took good care of him. Gao Xingchen's injuries gradually improved, but he felt something strange in his body, as if something was hindering his practice and preventing him from gathering star power. Gao Xingchen felt more and more uneasy, and he didn't know what was waiting for him...