He looked at Ning Zhuo, glaring at him, "You used the incense powder I gave you, why didn't they die?"
Ning Zhuo didn't dare to look directly at Sun Lingtong, weakly saying, "I was afraid it would kill them, so I added some medicinal mud to wrap the incense before lighting it."
Sun Lingtong's eyes immediately flashed with anger, "Let's not talk about this now, I'll deal with you when we get home!"
After a thrilling chase, Sun Lingtong accumulated several more wounds, his body covered in blood. Paying a huge price, he finally managed to bring Ning Zhuo to a safe place.
"How are you? Are you injured? Check your whole body quickly!" Sun Lingtong's Divine Sense was too weak to extend.
Ning Zhuo checked himself over and found only some scrapes.
"That's good." Sun Lingtong breathed a sigh of relief, then glared and gave Ning Zhuo a flick on the forehead.
"You fool!" he scolded.
"Brother Sun, I saved you, why did you hit me?!" Ning Zhuo clutched his head, wincing in pain and feeling very wronged.
"Why didn't you kill those two people?"
"If you had killed them, we would have had more time to retreat calmly."
"Instead of being chased and nearly killed by them!"
Ning Zhuo was so criticized that he couldn't say a word.
"Yes, it was my fault!" Ning Zhuo took out Elixir Pills and bandages from his storage bag, "Brother Sun, calm down, your wounds are still bleeding."
A moment later.
Sun Lingtong sat while Ning Zhuo bent over, wrapping him up almost like a white bandage cocoon.
"Brother Sun, you should hide and take good care of your wounds during this time."
"It was my fault."
"Actually, if we had followed our original plan and waited for the City Guard Army to cause a disturbance, you would have definitely found a chance to escape on your own with your skills, Brother Sun."
"By coming to save you, I actually brought you more trouble."
Sun Lingtong exhaled a turbid breath, his anger slightly subsiding, "Your biggest mistake was showing mercy when you should have killed!"
"If you had to do it all over again, would you still make the same mistake?"
Ning Zhuo showed a hesitant expression, "This..."
Sun Lingtong snorted coldly in anger, no longer speaking.
In the tunnel, the torchlight cast their shadows on the ground.
Sun Lingtong looked at the shadow on the ground, his eyes flashing with cold light.
He suddenly realized, "I've protected Little Zhuo too well."
"Thinking back, when I was six or seven years old, my master already took me to kill people."
"Actually, I was wrong..."
"What does Little Zhuo understand?"
"He's already nine years old now. If it weren't for today's incident waking me up, I would have continued making the same mistake."
Sun Lingtong asked himself why he had made such a mistake.
He thought of his master.
When he was six or seven years old, his master touched his head, rarely showing a hesitant expression, "Ah, Lingtong, Master doesn't want you to go through this."
"But Master knows, you must go through this."
"You might feel pain and discomfort for a while, but when you grow up, you'll understand."
Sun Lingtong collected his thoughts, his gaze fixed on Ning Zhuo's shadow, murmuring to himself in his heart, "Master, I understand now."
Sun Lingtong devised a plan.
He lied that he wanted to avenge a deep grudge, and teamed up with Ning Zhuo to ambush members of an enemy faction.
During this process, he pretended to be overwhelmed and captured, creating a false impression that he was about to be killed.
Ning Zhuo fell into the trap.
In a moment of desperation, he slew the formidable enemy.
After a moment of bewilderment, Ning Zhuo looked at the fallen, dead enemy on the ground, his face turning pale, then suddenly bent over and vomited.
Sun Lingtong stayed by his side.
Watching as Ning Zhuo vomited and vomited until only the acid from his stomach remained.
Sun Lingtong teased from the side, "Little Zhuo, you're far worse than I was back then. Hahaha."
Ning Zhuo, exhausted from vomiting, sat on the ground, staring blankly at his blood-stained hands.
Sun Lingtong cleaned up the battlefield and led him to a small river.
"Come, let me wash your hands."
Ning Zhuo, now like a puppet, obediently let himself be washed without resistance.
Halfway through the washing, he reacted, "Brother Sun, you were pretending, weren't you? Actually, at the last moment, there was a huge flaw in my attack. The enemy could have easily avoided it."
"But at that time, his movements were stiff, as if controlled by a stick."
Sun Lingtong paused in his actions, then nodded, candidly admitting, "Yes, I controlled it."
"Thanks to the mechanism manual your mother left you."
"You!" Ning Zhuo was furious.
Sun Lingtong giggled, "Are you going to scold me or hit me?"
Ning Zhuo couldn't speak, he gritted his teeth and pulled his hands back, sulking, "I'll wash them myself!"
But Sun Lingtong rarely seemed forceful, pulling his hands back to continue washing, "Don't move!"
"For the first time, I'll wash them for you."
"My master did the same for me."
Hearing Sun Lingtong mention his master, Ning Zhuo paused slightly, no longer resisting.
Under the moonlight, the two youths washed their hands by the small river in the Immortal City.
Strangely, the younger one was taking care of the older one.
The blood-stained water quickly flowed down the small river and was soon diluted. By the time it reached the stone bridge forty steps away, it was almost unnoticeable.
Sun Lingtong suddenly spoke, "We are Cultivators. Cultivators fight for their lives."
"People fight among themselves, and people fight against the heavens... In this gamble, our basic stake is our lives!"
"He was killed by you, he just lost the gamble. His soul will reappear in this world in another form."
"And we have to keep gambling... until the moment we lose our stake."
Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo's clean hands, his expression extremely serious and earnest.
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, "Brother Sun, I know you're doing this for my own good, I remember it all."
Sun Lingtong shook his head, "Remembering it?"
"Not enough!"
"Each time I went out to steal, I would tell myself before the action, this time I might not come back, I might die."
"If that's the result of my life's gamble, I accept it."
"I'm always prepared to accept my death, even in the next second."
"That's my awareness!"
"What's your awareness?"
Ning Zhuo was deeply shaken, standing there speechless.
Never before had he felt Sun Lingtong's small body exude such grandeur!
Sun Lingtong continued, "If one day, I die, don't mourn for me, Little Zhuo."
"If one day, I fall into a more desperate situation with no way out, don't save me, Little Zhuo!"
"It's not worth risking a second life, do you understand?"
Ning Zhuo opened his mouth, wanting to speak.
But the next moment, Sun Lingtong interrupted him, "If you fall into a desperate situation, I won't save you either."
"Because I need to stay alive to keep gambling."
"Of course, if there's a chance, I will avenge you."
"For now, regarding this matter, let's make a promise!"
Sun Lingtong raised his palm.
Under his intense gaze, Ning Zhuo had no choice but to raise his palm as well.
The silver-white moonlight shone on the river, causing ripples like countless tiny diamonds dancing on the surface.
The leaves on both banks gently swayed in the night breeze.
Pa.
Standing by the small river, the two children's palms met in a light clap.
Ning Zhuo lowered his head, tightly pressing his lips together.
Sun Lingtong's upturned face reflected the clear brilliance of the moonlit night.
Only then did he grin, showing white teeth and a smile.
His voice was light yet firm, "Thus, the promise is made."