Chapter 211: Pei Yue’s Medical Aid: The Power of Compassion

Shen Yan gently laid Ye Zhao on a stone slab, cushioning her head with his coat. Her breathing was faint, but she was still alive. He stared at her for two seconds, then turned and walked toward the eastern side of the camp. Intermittent groans came from that direction, as if someone was enduring pain.

He walked slowly, each step feeling as if he were treading on cotton. His Mental Power was nearly depleted, and his Source Code Spiritual Root only occasionally flickered with green light, like a bulb about to go out. But he couldn’t stop. Just as he rounded a pile of rubble, he saw Pei Yue kneeling on the ground. In front of her was a broken iron cage, inside of which lay three members of the Demon Clan.

A young fox demon had a deep gash on its chest, bleeding profusely. Pei Yue held a Silver Needle in her hand, inserting it into the fox demon’s shoulder socket while pressing the edges of the wound with her other hand. She hummed a strange, unfamiliar tune. Her hairpin was askew, her temples were drenched in sweat, and her sleeves were stained with mud and blood.

Shen Yan stood still. He remembered saying something once: “Saving others is not as important as preserving your own life.” But what Pei Yue was doing now completely disregarded the idea of self-preservation.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Pei Yue glanced up at him, her hands never stopping. “Saving them.”

“The Devil Clan could counterattack at any moment. You’re alone…”

“That’s why I need to hurry,” she interrupted him. “If they can still live, they can’t wait.”

Shen Yan frowned. He wanted to say something harsh, like “The dead won’t thank you,” but looking into her clear eyes, the words stuck in his throat.

Finally, he sighed, walked behind her, and crouched down with his back to her. “Fine, I’ll keep watch for you.”

Pei Yue didn’t respond, continuing to apply the needles. Her technique was steady, each Silver Needle placed precisely to seal the ruptured Meridians. Then, she took a small packet of powder from her Medicine Pouch and sprinkled it on the wound. The powder emitted white smoke upon contact with the blood, causing the fox demon’s body to twitch before gradually calming down.

Shen Yan scanned the surroundings. This area was indeed unpatrolled, as the Devil Clan soldiers had been drawn to the west by the earlier explosion. It was a temporary lull, but he knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Next,” Pei Yue said softly.

The wolf demon beside her was more severely injured, with two broken ribs piercing its lung. Pei Yue reached out to check its pulse, but as soon as her fingers touched its wrist, the wolf demon suddenly opened its eyes and let out a low growl from its throat.

“Don’t move,” she said without flinching, leaning closer instead. “I’m here to save you.”

The wolf demon stared at her for a few seconds, the ferocity in its eyes gradually fading. Its head tilted to the side as it fell unconscious again.

Shen Yan was momentarily stunned. “Aren’t you afraid?”

“I am,” Pei Yue replied while retrieving the needles. “But if I don’t act, they’ll really die.”

She said it matter-of-factly, as if stating that it was time to eat. Shen Yan suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

By the time the third injured demon was treated, the sky had begun to turn gray. The wind had died down, the dust had settled, and the camp was eerily quiet.

Pei Yue finally let out a sigh of relief, put away the Silver Needles, and wiped her face with her hand. Only then did her exhaustion show—her shoulders trembled slightly.

Shen Yan stood up and walked over to her. “You should rest.”

“You should get treated too,” she said, looking at him. “You carried Ye Zhao for so long. Your Meridians are already torn—you just can’t feel it.”

“I’m fine.”

“Who are you trying to fool?” she met his gaze directly. “The tips of your fingers have been trembling, and your face is paler than a corpse’s. You’re a Programmer, not a god. Code can run, but people can break down too.”

Shen Yan froze. Those words sounded familiar—Ye Zhao had scolded him the same way.

He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but his body moved before his consciousness could catch up, and he plopped down onto the ground.

Pei Yue immediately leaned in, reaching out to take his wrist. Her fingers were icy cold, and he instinctively flinched when they touched his skin.

“Don’t pull away,” she said. “Let me take a look.”

Shen Yan didn’t move again. His pulse was as chaotic as a tangled mess of threads, his qi and blood were flowing backward, and his internal organs were protesting. Pei Yue frowned, taking out the finest needle from her Medicine Pouch.

“This might hurt.”

“Go ahead.”

The moment the needle pierced his skin, a sharp, stinging pain shot up from his wrist. Shen Yan gritted his teeth, enduring it as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Pei Yue adjusted the needle while murmuring softly, “You’re always like this, carrying everything on your own, thinking that staying silent is protecting others. But do you know? When we want to protect you, we’re just as anxious as you are when you want to protect us.”

Shen Yan didn’t respond.

She looked up at him. “Say something.”

“What should I say?”

“Anything. Complain, get angry. Just don’t keep it all bottled up.”

Shen Yan fell silent for a few seconds before suddenly letting out a faint laugh. “The Code I write has never had this many Bugs.”

Pei Yue also smiled, but her needle slipped and fell to the ground.

Both of them bent down to pick it up at the same time.

Their fingertips touched.

In that instant, time seemed to freeze. Shen Yan could feel the warmth of her fingers and the change in her breathing rhythm. Pei Yue abruptly pulled her hand back, the tips of her ears turning a transparent shade of red.

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine.” Shen Yan picked up the needle and handed it to her. “This Bug… doesn’t seem too hard to fix.”

Pei Yue took the needle and lowered her head to continue her work, but her hands were visibly trembling. Shen Yan didn’t speak again, simply sitting quietly and letting her apply the needles.

The wind picked up once more, swirling ashes in its wake.

Just then, Shen Yan’s ears twitched.

Footsteps.

Light, but coming from behind the ruins to the side, accompanied by the sound of metal scraping against the ground.

His eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Pei Yue’s wrist, pulling her behind him. In the next moment, a Dark Shadow lunged out from behind a broken wall, a short blade aimed straight at where Pei Yue had just been standing!

The blade missed.

Shen Yan had already stepped forward, a gash opening on his shoulder as blood immediately seeped out.

The figure was a Devil Clan soldier, missing half an arm, his face covered in burns, yet his eyes were filled with madness. “Medical Cultivators! You weaklings shouldn’t be on the battlefield!”

Shen Yan ignored him, only turning back to make sure Pei Yue was unharmed. “Stay within ten steps of me and don’t move.”

Pei Yue nodded, quickly stepping back.

The Devil Clan soldier roared and charged forward. Instead of meeting the attack, Shen Yan raised his hand and pressed it against a crack in the ground—the exact spot where he had previously buried the “reverse Trigger.”

He channeled the last of his Mental Power into it.

Hum!

The ground shook violently, sending rubble flying half a foot into the air. The Devil Clan soldier lost his footing, stumbling forward. Just as he lost his balance, a streak of Purple Fire descended from the sky, striking him squarely in the back.

The body instantly turned to ashes.

Luo Li leaped down from above, her cat ears twitching alertly. “Are you two alright?”

“We’re fine,” Shen Yan shook his head. “Thanks.”

Pei Yue hurried over to examine his wound. “We need to stop the bleeding.”

“It’s just a minor injury,” he said.

“There’s no such thing as a minor injury,” she glared at him. “If you keep pushing yourself, I’ll use a needle to put you to sleep.”

Shen Yan grinned. “You’ll have to catch me first.”

Pei Yue couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation, lowering her head to rummage through her Medicine Pouch for medicinal powder. Shen Yan watched her busy herself and suddenly felt the tightness in his chest ease a little.

He thought he couldn’t hold on any longer. But seeing Pei Yue kneeling in the blood-soaked ground to save lives, seeing her hands trembling from exhaustion yet still refusing to stop, seeing her nearly struck by a blade for his reassurance of “it’s fine”… he realized that strength wasn’t only found in battle.

Some people, though they wield no swords nor cast spells, can reignite a flame about to die out.

“Done.” Pei Yue finished wrapping his wound and looked up at him. “Don’t block blades next time.”

“Then don’t rush forward too recklessly next time.”

“I must go forward,” she said earnestly. “They are my patients.”

Shen Yan looked at her and suddenly understood something—Pei Yue wasn’t fearless of death, but she valued “what must be done” more than her own life.

Just like Ye Zhao willing to risk her life for him, Yu Xiaotang daring to blast the sky with Talisman Spells, Luo Li able to carve Codes for help in desperate situations… none of them were weak.

He had always thought himself the only one capable of bearing burdens.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Pei Yue paused. “For what?”

“For not abandoning them, and not abandoning me.”

Pei Yue froze, her eyes suddenly warming. She lowered her head, pretending to tidy her Medicine Pouch, but her fingers gripped the cloth strips, unmoving for a long while.

New commotion arose from afar, like someone shouting.

Shen Yan stood up, stretching his shoulders. “Let’s go, it’s not over yet.”

Pei Yue nodded, carrying her Medicine Pouch and following.

He walked ahead, his back not particularly tall, even somewhat shaky. But she knew this person would keep moving forward.

Because there were people waiting for him to protect, and others silently protecting him.

Morning light fell upon the ruins, casting two parallel Shadows.

(End of Chapter)