NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Rise from Dead!
Su Xiaobai's whole life flashed before his eyes.
From sneaking into the Institute of Science with Matriarch Su, to being imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. He remembered the chains, the cold stone walls, and the moment of freedom that followed.
His feet had bled as he fled, running through the night toward the Storm Peak Mountains, toward home.
____
Now, in the cold snow of Storm Peak Mountains, Su Xiaobai lay broken after being pierced by a thousand arrows. His blood soaked into the white ground, his body numb, his thoughts scattered. But in the darkness of his mind, the faces of his family flickered one by one.
Eternal Su, with her rare smile, brushing his hair.
Xiao Mei, laughing as she pouted, her voice teasing in his ear.
Su Yiran, turning her back on him, her figure fading into the distance.
Ba-dum.
His heart thudded weakly, the sound echoing in his chest.
Ba-dum!
The pounding grew louder, the memories flashing faster—his family slipping further from his grasp, their faces fading like smoke in the cold wind.
I don't want to forget them...
But the cold was creeping in, numbing his body, and their faces were disappearing, swallowed by the encroaching silence.
Ba-dum…
And then… nothing.
____
"Get me out!"
BAM!
"Out of here!"
BAM!
Six hours later ,Ning Gufan lay on the ground, his body eaten away by flies and insects, his breath shallow as his life on edge of extinguishing.
His vision was hazy, his mind clouded with pain, but suddenly, a strange noise cut through the dying hum of the forest.
Weakly, he turned his head, blood dripping from his cracked lips. His body convulsed as he tried to focus on the sound.
The coffin was moving.
The pounding was faint at first, but it grew louder with each passing second, as if someone inside was striking it, desperate to get out.
BANG!
Ning Gufan's eyes widened in disbelief. Was the dead rising?
BANG!
Another jolt shook the coffin, and with a final, resounding crack, the lid flew open.
"Haaaa.....!"
A chilling breath filled the air as Su Xiaobai sat up, his blue eyes eyes wide and unblinking like a ghost rising from the underworld. His clothes were soaked in dried blood, and a cold mist curled from his skin.
The surroundings felt foreign, unnatural, filled with unease.
He slowly turned his head, staring into the forest. His body, though covered in bloodstains, had no visible wounds.
No injuries.
Su Xiaobai inhaled deeply, his breath clouding in the frigid air.
He looked down at his hands, still smeared with the blood of his past life, and for the first time since his death, a quiet madness settled in his gaze.
The dead had risen.
Hiss!
Above him, the beautiful starry sky stretched infinitely, a vast canvas of glittering diamonds.
Su Xiaobai blinked, disoriented. 'It's not stormpeak mountains...Where am I?'
As he stood, staggering, his gaze caught movement on the scarred ground.
An old man lay there, his body ravaged, barely clinging to life. The man's flesh was burned and hanging in charred strips, his skin a patchwork of raw, blistered wounds. Black flames still flickered at the edges of his seared flesh, blood pooling around him.
The old man's eyes locked onto Su Xiaobai, and for a moment, disbelief. Then, a manic grin split his face.
"You…keheh…you're alive!" he rasped, laughter bubbling up from his ruined throat. "The heavens truly are cuckolds!"
His laughter grew more hysterical, mocking Su Xiaobai's very existence. "Motherfucker, your fate is so unfortunate even the heavens refused to take you in! Kekekekeke!"
SPLURT!
A gush of blood erupted from the old man's chest, spraying across Su Xiaobai's face. Startled, Su Xiaobai wiped the warm blood from his cheek with subtle disgust as the old man continued to laugh, completely unbothered by the agony of his dying body.
Ning Gufan's chest heaved with each laugh, his twisted, near-skeletal form barely holding together.
Su Xiaobai's mind shook. He vaguely recognized this man—the old monster from the Heavenly Prison.
'But why are we both here? Why am I alive? The arrows? The attack? Was it all a dream?'
"What… happened here?" Su Xiaobai croaked, his voice hoarse, barely recognizing the weakness in it.
Ning Gufan's deranged grin faltered slightly as he rasped, "Your bloodline… hah… it saved you." He coughed, spitting more blood. "A mutated power, brat… triggered by death. How fitting…"
Su Xiaobai's heart pounded as the words sank in. 'I had to die to awaken my bloodline?'
His mind raced, struggling to process the absurdity of it. "You tried to kill me?" Su Xiaobai muttered, his voice now filled with anger.
Ning Gufan chuckled, his bloody teeth showing through the broken remains of his lips. "I intended to refine you, brat… to save myself. But… now look at me," he rasped bitterly. "She took everything from me… the Evil Empress… my power… my pride…"
'She? Who? What is he talking about? Wait—I still have to find my family back... I have to warn them about the attacks..' Su Xiaobai's gaze hardened, recognizing the uneasy feeling he always had in the back of his mind.
Ning Gufan's body twitched as he saw Su Xiaobai turning to leave. "Brat, wait! This isn't White Cloud Star! Walk carelessly, and you'll die again before you even know it!"
Su Xiaobai paused but didn't turn, suspicion clouding his thoughts.
Ning Gufan, sensing the hesitation, let out a laugh, spluttering blood as he rasped, "Good… never trust anyone. But listen! I will give you my inheritance—all my knowledge, all my treasures. But you must do one thing."
Su Xiaobai's eyes narrowed. "And what's that?"
Ning Gufan's eyes, though dimming, still burned with fierce desperation. "Avenge my death. Annihilate the Evil Empress. Make her suffer as I have."
Su Xiaobai stood there, weighing the risk. 'He wants me to fight someone who reduced him to this? Why should I?'
Observing Su Xiaobai's furrowed brow and the storm of contemplation in his gaze, Ning Gufan's astonishment morphed into a mix of frustration and grim satisfaction. "Cough—good! Good! You little fool, doubting even a dying man's plea!" His laughter grew, interspersed with bursts of blood. "Take this, you ungrateful wretch, and never approach me again! Also, seize that accursed ring and bind it with your blood!"
With the last of his strength, he ripped a pendant from his neck and flung it toward Su Xiaobai, while his own form began to emit a radiant glow.
Su Xiaobai, his heart drumming with unease, instinctively recoiled.
Whoosh!
A mighty pillar of Infernal Flame, deep crimson and searing, shot skyward, bathing the darkened forest in a sinister, blood-red light.
"Damn... does he intend to take me with him even in death?" Su Xiaobai muttered under his breath, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear as he reached for the 'Spirit Flame Pendant' lying near his feet.
The small, circular pendant, pulsating with a captive drop of the Infernal Flame, was encased in a complex array of ancient runes that shimmered like a starry night.
With a wary hand, he quickly picked up the golden spatial ring, noting its exceptional craftsmanship and the rich aura of power that seemed to pulse from within.
Turning around, he observed the inferno beginning to subside, the flames drawing back as if inhaling, preparing for something yet unseen.
"What new devilry is this?" he whispered, his curiosity piqued despite the danger.
His relief at seeing Ning Gufan's remains vaporize into the ether.
"At least the old ghost's wrath has burnt out with his bones," he sighed, hoping this old man was nearing its end.
But as the last of the fire died down, a small wisp of flame, vibrant and almost sentient, emerged from the ashes.
It moved with intent, darting towards him like a living thing.
"Wha—" Before Su Xiaobai could further articulate his surprise, the fiery essence slipped seamlessly into the gap between his brows, melding into him with a strange, tingling sensation that quickly spread through his entire being.
There were shards of memories within the soul fragment left behind by Ning Gufan, 'four' distinct fragments of memories in total.