Chapter 173 Treatment

When Qin Yu and the others reached Zhao Meng’s side, what met their eyes was Zhao Meng holding Xia Cheng tightly in her arms. Her right hand was firmly clasped with Xia Cheng’s left hand. Xia Cheng was covered in blood and unconscious.

Sensing Qin Yu’s approach, Zhao Meng wore a contradictory smile in which despair and hope intertwined. Her face was covered in tearstrains, and her eyes were bloodshot, presenting a rather haunting sight.

Qin Yu took the crystal core handed to her by Ouyang Jue. Following his instructions, she mixed her water-type ability with a drop of her heart's blood to encase the crystal core, and then fed it to Xia Cheng.

The moment the crystal core touched Xia Cheng’s lips, he swallowed it entirely. With great effort, Qin Yu and Murong Yi managed to separate the two.

Ouyang Jue brought Xia Cheng away to set up a barrier, though it was unclear what he was doing. Meanwhile, Qin Yu laid Zhao Meng flat on the ground, gave her a little water to drink, and continuously reassured her nearby that Xia Cheng would be fine.

Perhaps hearing Qin Yu’s words through her haze, Zhao Meng slowly regained consciousness half an hour later. The moment she woke up, she sat straight up, grabbed Qin Yu’s hand tightly, and asked, "Where is Xia Cheng? Where is he?"

Qin Yu soothed Zhao Meng, patting her shoulder to calm her down.

Seeing that Qin Yu remained silent, Zhao Meng assumed something had happened to Xia Cheng. In an instant, she seemed to lose all her vitality, turning utterly desolate.

Thinking to herself that this was bad, Qin Yu quickly said, "Xiao Meng, it’s alright. Xia Cheng is still alive, but he’s rather heavily injured. Ouyang is healing him right now, and you should be able to see him in a little while."

"Really? Xiao Yu, look at me and tell me you aren't lying to me!" Zhao Meng stared fixedly at Qin Yu, her gaze making Qin Yu feel a little uneasy.

Knowing that she had to make Zhao Meng believe Xia Cheng was safe, or else this foolish girl might do something reckless, Qin Yu met Zhao Meng’s gaze directly. Her eyes filled with absolute determination, she said, "Xia Cheng is safe and sound!"

Zhao Meng stared at Qin Yu for a long moment before letting out a breath of relief. A smile bloomed on her face as she said, "Xiao Yu, thank you. Can you tell me where they are?"

Qin Yu nodded, then turned her head to look in a certain direction. Zhao Meng followed her gaze, but could only see a blur. Taking a deep breath, she knew that all she could do right now was wait.

Turning back to look at Zhao Meng, who appeared to have calmed down, Qin Yu breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Fortunately, everyone was safe.

Thinking back on everything that had just happened, it truly was immensely thrilling!

As soon as they broke through the barrier, they had been attacked, which scattered everyone. At that time, she was completely helpless against those ferocious vines, but unexpectedly, the Mouse King requested to come out.

She released the Mouse King, and the little fellow was exceptionally overjoyed. The moment it came out, it grabbed the vines and began gnawing on them. With a ravenous momentum, it immediately devoured the vast majority of the vines, while she chopped off the remaining small portion.

Emerging from the cage of vines that had trapped her, she picked a direction at random and walked on, only to encounter Ouyang and Murong Yi. The strength of those two was more than enough to deal with the vines, but they mentioned needing to find the core of these vines.

Thus, relying on the Mouse King, they accurately located the center. It was then that they saw Xue Qi looking at them in a panic.

Xue Qi told them that Xia Cheng was injured and seemed to be on the verge of death, while Zhao Meng was there taking care of him. Qin Yu had wanted to rush over immediately, but Ouyang stated that to save Xia Cheng, they had to obtain the crystal core of this mutated plant.

They spent some time acquiring the crystal core and then hurried over to Zhao Meng’s location.

Along the way, Xue Qi recounted how Xia Cheng had been injured. Hearing this, Ouyang devised a method: he would use his water-type ability mixed with his own vital essence to wrap around the crystal core for Xia Cheng to ingest, supplemented by his own healing abilities, which should keep danger to a minimum.

Therefore, Qin Yu had prepared everything in advance, waiting only to see Xia Cheng.

Fortunately, they had arrived in time; a moment later, and he might have been beyond saving. The mere thought that if Xia Cheng had passed away, Xiao Meng probably wouldn't have survived alone filled her with profound anguish.

When she had been reborn, she had sworn an oath that she would make sure Xiao Meng lived a good life! Fortunately, thank goodness, those were all hypotheses—Xia Cheng was still alive, and Xiao Meng would live on too.

This time, she truly had to thank the Mouse King. If not for it, they surely wouldn't have found the crystal core so quickly. Afterward, even if Xue Qi had stumbled upon them by chance, he probably wouldn't have been able to save Xia Cheng.

Thinking of the Mouse King’s delightfully round belly when it returned to the spatial dimension, a smile involuntarily surfaced on Qin Yu’s face.

Noticing the smile on Qin Yu’s face, Zhao Meng was momentarily stunned, and then she smiled too. Perhaps she should believe that Xiao Yu wouldn't lie to her. Xia Cheng was definitely still living safely in this world; how could that fellow bear to leave her alone in this apocalypse?

Zhao Meng’s eyes were now filled with warmth, and this warmth infected the others as well. Their anxious hearts gradually calmed down. They sat right where they were, gazing at the distant white mist, waiting for the people inside to emerge with dashing grace.

At sunset, the white mist finally dissipated, and Zhao Meng immediately leaped to her feet and ran over. Seeing Xia Cheng—weak yet intact—her tears instantly gushed out, leaving Xia Cheng flustered as he tried to coax her.

The others, especially Qin Yu, seeing the two of them safe and sound, walked over to Murong Yi’s side and softly said to Ouyang Jue, "Thank you!" Her tone was full of sincerity.

Ouyang Jue was slightly startled, then simply smiled and said, "Master, this is what I ought to do."

Qin Yu seemed to have forgotten the time he acknowledged her as his master. Hearing Ouyang Jue say this so abruptly, she was taken aback for a moment before looking at him and saying, "Anyway, thank you!"

Ouyang Jue raised an eyebrow and nodded in acceptance.

On the other side, Zhao Meng felt all over Xia Cheng’s body, finally confirming that he had no injuries whatsoever, before throwing herself into his arms and weeping bitterly.

At a loss for what to do, Xia Cheng cast a plea for help toward Qin Yu. Qin Yu turned a blind eye and walked off to the side.

Xia Cheng looked to the others, but they behaved just like Qin Yu, collectively pretending not to see and resolutely walking away from the pair. Of course, to prevent any unexpected situations, they didn't walk too far away.

Realizing that Zhao Meng was in no condition to cook dinner, Qin Yu started a fire and distributed cooked food to everyone. After a hard day's work, it was time to eat something to replenish their physical strength.

Reflecting on how they were not far from the city now, Qin Yu reminded everyone to eat well and rest properly, as life once they reached the city probably wouldn't be peaceful.

Of course, Qin Yu could not have imagined at this moment that Hu Ke and Feng Fei were eagerly yearning for their arrival, silently praying all the while that nothing would happen to them.