Chapter 98: Not Disposable
[She’s being a bit cruel... but it’s the right way. The boy needs a trial by fire and a strong push from behind if he’s to awaken that skill.]
Ling Yu ignored the noise. She pressed harder on the wound with her other hand, forcing blood to seep out again despite his golden light’s efforts. "Try again."
Xian Yu sobbed, tears dripping freely now as he poured every drop of mana he had into her wound, his body trembling from the strain.
[Minor Heal Success. Progress +1. (7/10,000).]
’As expected, it works.’ Ling Yu thought as she looked at the crybaby man, ’If I continue this cycle, he will improve drastically and become the Healer I want him to be...’
The wound closed more firmly this time, the scar fading further. His lips parted in relief, but his face was pale, his body swaying from exhaustion.
Ling Yu finally released her grip, wiping the drying blood from her arm with clinical detachment. Her eyes lingered on the boy, who knelt before her, his hands still trembling, his body in a state of near collapse.
"Not bad," she said softly, her voice devoid of judgment. "You’ll improve."
Xian Yu stared at her as though she were both his savior and executioner. "W-Why... why would you do that to yourself...?" His voice cracked, raw with confusion and fear.
Ling Yu leaned closer, her blood-streaked smile sharp as a blade. "Because the world doesn’t wait for the weak. If you want to survive... if you want to heal others just like you told me... you’ll need to bleed alongside those you save. I won’t let you rot away just like that before you bloom."
Xian Yu’s breath hitched, his chest tightening, and for the first time in his life, someone wasn’t mocking his sincerity. Instead, they were demanding he rise to meet it.
Fluffy gave an indignant little squeak, glaring at Ling Yu, but she only stroked its fur gently.
Her sponsors’ voices roared in the background of her mind, but Ling Yu ignored them, too.
All that mattered was the trembling boy in front of her, and the spark of potential hidden beneath his tears.
Xian Yu’s golden lashes trembled, still wet with tears, when Ling Yu finally spoke again.
Her voice was cool, steady, and detached as ever, but beneath it there lingered a razor-thin thread of deliberation.
"You’re too weak. You’ll probably collapse in the middle of a fight. You’ll be targeted again and again by those who think beauty is easier prey than strength." Her gaze slid over him, dissecting every fragile inch of his trembling figure. "But your skill..."
Her lips curved faintly, though it was hard to say if it was a smile or simply the shadow of one. "...Your skill is worth nurturing. You’re not useless, Xian Yu. You’re not disposable. If you’re willing to bleed, to push yourself through hell, you can become something that even the strongest will fear to lose."
Xian Yu froze, staring at her. His chest heaved, breath ragged. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a vice.
Ling Yu continued, calm as flowing water. "I’m heading into missions given by that scum Shen Ming. The third wave is coming soon. If you want to follow me, you can. But I won’t protect you for free. You’ll heal, and you’ll also have to endure the harsh training. Only then can you prove that you have the right to live in this nightmare."
The lantern flame flickered, casting half her face in darkness, the other half illuminated with stark clarity. She looked untouchable, inexorable, like a deity who offered salvation with one hand while holding damnation in the other.
Silence stretched, filling the rigid atmosphere in the tent.
Then, with a choked sound, Xian Yu fell to his knees before her. His slender hands pressed against the floor, his beautiful face tilted upward, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. His golden hair framed him like a halo, catching the weak lantern glow until he seemed to shine.
"I’ll do it," he whispered, voice breaking into raw sobs. "I’ll follow you! Please, please let me stay by your side. I’ll heal, I’ll endure, I’ll give everything I have! Just... don’t push me away."
The tears glistened, rolling down his cheeks like fragile jewels. His lips trembled as he cried openly, without shame, like a child begging for a place to belong.
"Because—" His voice cracked, trembling violently. "...Because this is the first time... anyone has ever... treated me like a normal person. Not something to laugh at. Not something to... covet."
His words dissolved into broken sobs, his body shaking with every breath.
"I don’t care if I have to crawl on my knees. I don’t care if I have to bleed! Please... let me follow you."
Ling Yu’s eyes softened imperceptibly, though her face remained unreadable to him. Inside, however, something tugged at her chest, an ache she thought long since buried.
A flash of memory surfaced. Her past life. All the betrayal, the mocking voices, the way no one had treated her as she truly was. To Xian Yu, this world was cruel; his sincerity was punished at every turn. And to her... his desperate sincerity mirrored too closely the girl she had once been.
So that’s it... He’s the kind who’d burn himself out just to save a stranger’s life. No wonder he died so pathetically in the past.
But this time, she wasn’t going to let that happen.
Fluffy squealed from her shoulder, round eyes wide with outrage, batting at her cheek with tiny paws as if to say, Are you serious?! Another stray? This one cries too much! What if he takes my place?
Ling Yu chuckled faintly, reaching up to stroke the little creature, soothing it with absentminded fondness. "Don’t pout. You’re still my first troublemaker."
Fluffy huffed indignantly, puffing up like a ball of fur, before hopping down onto Xian Yu’s lap. The tiny creature tilted its head, staring at the boy’s tear-streaked face.