Li Xiaolian glanced at Lu Zhaoye, who was resting against the pillar, and then back at Li Yuezhou. A sudden thought sprouted in his mind.
If, after a hundred years when he passed away, Lu Zhaoye were to take over the Martial Arts Alliance, he would undoubtedly rest easy. But he could never be completely at ease regarding Li Yuezhou.
Currently, he trusted Lu Zhaoye to take good care of Li Yuezhou. But what about the future? Once his eyes closed for good, who knew what could happen? Even if he entrusted others to watch over the two of them, they would ultimately be outsiders...
But what if he tied the two of them together?
A mutual balance, a mutual reliance...
A myriad of thoughts flickered in Li Xiaolian's eyes. Ultimately, he just used his clean hand to pat Li Yuezhou's head and smiled. "Stop worrying about these matters. Hurry and follow the others back to the inn to rest. We've booked rooms for you."
"Okay." Li Yuezhou agreed obediently, jogging back to Lu Zhaoye's side, evidently planning to return with him.
Since they were still at Fenglei Tower with much cleanup left to do, Li Xiaolian offered a few more instructions, assigning disciples to escort the two boys back to rest.
Once they had left, his gaze fell on Jin Duanhong, who was preparing to follow them.
"Son of the Jin family, come here for a moment."
Jin Duanhong's heart gave a jolt. In the past, the Alliance Leader had always addressed him by his full name. Calling him by his family lineage clearly indicated a sense of newfound closeness.
Thus, he waved goodbye to Li Yuezhou and quickly stepped over to Li Xiaolian, greeting him respectfully, "Alliance Leader Li, it has been a long time."
"Indeed. Zhaoye detailed the events of the past few days in his urgent letter. Thank you for your hard work in protecting Zhou'er on this journey."
Li Xiaolian's gaze was incredibly warm. Jin Duanhong scratched his head, waving it off modestly, "You are too polite, Alliance Leader. The three of us were traveling together anyway, and since the Young Master doesn't know martial arts, looking out for him was only natural."
"Many years ago, I interacted with the elders of your Jin family. They were all pure-hearted, straightforward people. It seems they have taught you very well."
Li Xiaolian said softly, "I heard you are preparing to travel to Mount Kunwu to search for the jade marrow?"
"Yes, but later Zhaoye mentioned that a senior was trapped, so we were trying to whip our horses to hurry over, only to get delayed here."
"I see. Well, that senior has already been safely rescued. You all can take a good rest for a while."
Li Xiaolian recalled the missive he received on the road. Yun Chuan had already been rescued. Aside from some weakness from lack of food, he was otherwise unharmed. He would need to inform Zhaoye and the others later.
"Is that so? That's wonderful!"
Jin Duanhong beamed. He was a few years older than Lu Zhaoye, but lacked his exceptional talent and martial prowess. If anything, only his blacksmithing skills were worth a second glance, barely enough to warrant Lu Zhaoye respectfully calling him "Brother Jin."
Li Xiaolian smiled and said, "In that case, once Zhaoye recovers, you three can head to Kunwu first. After I wrap up the aftermath here, I will come find you. More hands make light work."
"Yes, yes!" Jin Duanhong was thrilled. The Kunlun Jade Marrow was a legendary artifact; whether it even existed was highly debatable. Having extra help, especially the Alliance Leader himself, would massively increase their efficiency!
While Li Xiaolian and Jin Duanhong wrapped up their discussion, Lu Zhaoye and Li Yuezhou had already been escorted to the town's largest inn by the disciples.
After settling them in, the disciples instructed the inn's waiter to prepare some warm, light food, left behind medicinal salves, and finally retired to their own quarters to rest.
Once everyone had left, Li Yuezhou did not return to his own room, opting to stay by Lu Zhaoye's side.
Lu Zhaoye had been helped onto the bed and was currently fast asleep.
Pulling a stool up to the bedside, Li Yuezhou reached out to touch him but pulled his hand back just before making contact.
The youth in the bed had several fine cuts on his face. Though the blood had dried and been wiped clean, the faint red scars continued to sting Li Yuezhou's eyes.
Beneath the blankets, his body bore numerous wounds as well. Fortunately, none were fatal; the internal injuries were the most severe.
However, an Alliance disciple well-versed in medicine had checked his pulse, confirming that he would slowly recover with the prescribed medicine.
The consecutive days of travel and fierce battles made Lu Zhaoye's sleep restless. His brow was slightly furrowed, his lips pale, and his breathing still somewhat erratic.
Li Yuezhou sat quietly, watching him, his mind replaying the ferocious battle from earlier.
If... if his father had arrived just a few minutes later, Lu Zhaoye would have perished under Qin Lie's blade.
He suddenly realized that even if Lu Zhaoye was the protagonist, even if he was a peerless genius, right now, he was still just a nineteen-year-old youth who had only recently stepped into the martial world.
There were countless experts in this martial world with skills far surpassing his. Lu Zhaoye still needed a long, long time to temper himself.
Li Yuezhou couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow. He had never regretted losing access to that novel as intensely as he did in this moment.
Previously, he thought the book's disappearance meant he could control his own destiny. But now, he felt, what was so bad about knowing the future? Even if it was a terrible ending, at least he would know whether Lu Zhaoye survived.
If it were like that time in the dense forest with the Demonic Cult's protector, where he knew Lu Zhaoye would face a calamity in advance and warned him early, even if things went slightly awry, at least he had survived.
Li Yuezhou knew this line of thinking was flawed, but he couldn't stop himself from spiraling.
Pressing his hands against the edge of the bed, Li Yuezhou's brow knit tightly. His eyes reddened, and the tears he had fought so hard to hold back finally spilled over.
He felt nothing but sheer terror. He was terrified of losing Lu Zhaoye, terrified of the people around him getting hurt, yet he was utterly powerless.
He couldn't do anything. He couldn't help at all. Instead, everyone always had to look out for him.
He was nothing but a burden.
Li Yuezhou didn't dare close his eyes. The moment he did, his mind was flooded with the image of Lu Zhaoye drenched in blood. It caused him agonizing, excruciating heartbreak.
"Brother..."
He mumbled, head bowed. He didn't know what else to say, he just desperately wanted to call out for Lu Zhaoye.
As if hearing his call in his sleep, the hand beneath Lu Zhaoye's blankets twitched slightly, though he did not wake.
An unknown amount of time passed before a soft knock sounded at the door. The food and medicine were ready.
Li Yuezhou hastily opened the door, took the bowl of medicinal broth from the waiter, and had him place the food on the table. He then sat back by the bed and called softly, "Brother, wake up quickly. You need to take your medicine."
Lu Zhaoye clearly reacted to his voice, but perhaps due to being tangled in a heavy dream, he struggled several times without waking.
After a few more persistent calls, Lu Zhaoye finally roused from his slumber, a wave of deep exhaustion and fatigue washing over him.
"Brother, get up and take your medicine first. Eat something, and then you can go back to sleep."
Li Yuezhou coaxed him gently, supporting Lu Zhaoye to sit up and lean against the headboard.
After taking a moment to clear his head, Lu Zhaoye looked at Li Yuezhou and paused. "Zhou'er, why were you crying?"
"Huh?" Li Yuezhou hurriedly wiped his face. He was sure he had dried his tears, how did he get found out?
Lu Zhaoye remained silent. He took the bowl of medicine from his hands and downed it in one gulp. After Li Yuezhou set the bowl on the table, Lu Zhaoye beckoned him closer.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
The moment Li Yuezhou stepped up to the bed, Lu Zhaoye pulled him forward. His legs went weak, and he plopped right down on the edge of the mattress.
The scent of blood was completely gone from Lu Zhaoye, replaced by the clean smell of fresh clothes. Only his familiar, comforting scent remained, which somehow made Li Yuezhou's nose prickle with unshed tears again.
"Why are you crying?"
Lu Zhaoye's voice was still weak, yet his tone brooked no argument. He wrapped an arm loosely around Li Yuezhou. It seemed that the sudden pull just now had sapped his strength, as he weakly rested his chin on Li Yuezhou's shoulder.
Li Yuezhou leaned back into Lu Zhaoye's embrace. He could hear the soft breathing against his shoulder, the warm breath brushing his neck, sending a slight tickle down his spine.
"...Brother, I was thinking... if I had just stayed obediently in the Alliance and hadn't followed you out, maybe this wouldn't have..."
Li Yuezhou lowered his eyelashes, his tone steeped in sadness. He should have strengthened his body and learned some martial arts before coming out with Lu Zhaoye. Constantly dragging him down like this was too difficult to bear.
Hearing this, Lu Zhaoye immediately knew he was spiraling into a pit of self-blame again. Taking a slow breath, he whispered, "Have you completely forgotten everything I've told you?"
"What?" Li Yuezhou paused, immediately recalling that he had voiced these thoughts a few times before, and every time, Lu Zhaoye had merely comforted him with a gentle voice.
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