"I... I... I am sorry," Liu Xi sobbed, his chest heaving irregularly. "I wouldn't... I swear to the heavens, I wouldn't do this again. I was blind. I was a fool. Please... very sorry. I want to... live. Please let me live!"
He was weeping loudly now, crying with the sheer, unfiltered desperation of a helpless child lost in the dark.
Yoriichi knelt silently in the grass, watching the alchemist's absolute despair.
His crimson eyes were deep and unreadable. He did not know whether he should feel profound empathy for a human soul breaking under the weight of its own karma, or if he should feel a grim satisfaction that a predator was finally facing justice. In his past life, he had pitied the demons as he severed their heads, recognizing the tragic human flaws that had led them into darkness.
He felt that same quiet pity now.
But pity alone could not save the Xiao Clan from the political fallout of this man's demise. Yoriichi's tactical mind was already racing, searching through a vast database of martial knowledge, pressure points, and Dou Qi circulation methods, trying to find a way to extinguish the golden spark in Liu Xi's heart before it was too late.
Trying Suppressing the golden fire with his Dou Qi is not possible, and he also lacked the medicinal knowledge to repair the scorched organs. If the heart ruptured, no amount of Dou Qi could bring the man back.
'I need medicine,' Yoriichi calculated. 'Something capable of massive, instantaneous cellular regeneration.'
Within seconds, a brilliant realization dawned upon him.
He reached a hand deep into the hidden pocket of his dark trousers. His fingers brushed against a small, smooth object. He pulled it out into the moonlight.
It was a pristine, translucent jade vial.
Inside the vial rested a single, perfectly round pill that emanated a soft, pulsing emerald glow and a rich, revitalizing herbal fragrance. It was the Peak Tier 2 healing pill—specifically, the Green Lily Recovery Pill—that cousin Xun'er had secretly given him days ago as a gift from night injury previously.
The sheer irony of the situation was not lost on Yoriichi.
'A healing pill gifted by Xun'er, used to save the very man she is actively trying to assassinate,' Yoriichi thought, a ghost of a smile touching his stoic features. The whims of fate in this universe were truly bizarre.
This healing pill was an absolute luxury. To a Da Dou Shi, it was a reliable combat aid. But to a heavily injured mid-level Dou Zhe like Liu Xi, it was a literal panacea, containing more than enough pure, nourishing life-force to violently forcefully knit his ruptured organs back together.
Yoriichi looked down at the weeping, dying man.
"I can save your life, Liu Xi," Yoriichi stated quietly, his voice cutting through the alchemist's sobs like a clear bell.
Liu Xi's bloodshot eyes snapped wide open, locking onto the glowing emerald pill in the youth's hand as if it were the sun itself.
"But," Yoriichi continued, his tone shifting into a realm of absolute, unbreakable authority, "if I pull you back from the gates of hell tonight, you need to promise me something in return."
Liu Xi didn't even hesitate. He didn't care what the terms were. He didn't care if this youth demanded his soul, his wealth, or his servitude.
"I... I will do anything!" Liu Xi choked out, desperately reaching for Yoriichi's hand. "I swear it! On my master's life! Please... save me!"
Yoriichi nodded once. He uncorked the jade vial with his thumb.
He gently supported the back of Liu Xi's head, bringing the vial to the alchemist's bloodied lips. He tipped the glowing emerald pill into Liu Xi's mouth.
"Swallow it," Yoriichi commanded softly.
Liu Xi gulped heavily, forcing the pill down his scorched throat.
The miraculous effects of this alchemical product were immediate and visually spectacular. The moment the pill hit Liu Xi's stomach, it dissolved into a massive, surging tidal wave of pure, cool, emerald-green medicinal energy.
Yoriichi placed his palm flat against Liu Xi's chest, injecting a localized burst of his Dou Qi to act as a protective barrier, preventing the remnant golden spark from incinerating the medicine before it could work.
The green energy flooded Liu Xi's meridians. It rushed toward his heart, violently clashing with the tiny golden spark. A hiss of steam escaped Liu Xi's pores as the superior volume of the Peak Tier 2 medicine smothered the residual flame, finally extinguishing Xun'er's lethal trap.
With the destructive element gone, the medicine went to work on the flesh.
Liu Xi felt an intense, agonizing itch spread across his chest and limbs—the sensation of cells rapidly multiplying and torn muscles forcibly stitching themselves back together. He groaned loudly, his back arching off the grass as the revitalizing vitality flooded his system. The dark, terrifying cold of death was rapidly chased away by a profound, life-giving warmth.
The bruised, purple swelling on his face visibly receded. The rattling in his lungs smoothed out into deep, even breaths.
After two full minutes of miraculous cellular regeneration, the emerald glow beneath his skin finally faded.
Liu Xi lay perfectly still on the grass for a moment, simply staring up at the stars, listening to the strong, steady beating of his own heart. He was alive. He had actually survived.
With a heavy groan, relying on his newly restored strength, Liu Xi rolled onto his side and pushed himself up. He managed to sit on the ground, his body still aching with the phantom pains of his near-death experience, but his condition was vastly, incredibly better than it had been five minutes prior.
He looked down at his trembling, bloodstained hands, then slowly raised his head.
Sitting cross-legged on the grass directly across from him, perfectly calm and stoic under the moonlight, was the youth who had just played god with his life.
The arrogance that had defined Liu Xi's entire existence was gone, burned away by the golden flame and washed clean by the emerald pill. He looked at Yoriichi not with the disdain of a noble alchemist looking at a frontier clan brat, but with the profound, trembling reverence of a mortal looking at a savior.
Liu Xi wiped a mixture of tears and dried blood from his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath, bowing his head deeply until his forehead nearly touched the grass between Yoriichi's knees.
"Uh... brother," Liu Xi whispered, his voice thick with raw, unfiltered gratitude and a newfound humility. "Thank you. I... I owe you my life."