Chapter 53 FIFTY-THREE

Chapter 53: Chapter FIFTY-THREE

Xin murmurs something.

He tosses and turns in his sleep, beads of sweat lines on his forehead. His breathing becomes ragged.

He clutches the front of his coat, breathing heavily like he’s running out of oxygen.

"What’s that...?" Gao Shi stirs.

The man cracks an eyelid open, his expression changes slightly. He sits up, moving close to Xin Linhua.

"What are you doing?" Hirano is up and wary.

"He’s having a nightmare." Gao Shi gives him a look "I’m trying to wake him up, not kill him."

Only then does Hirano notice Xin Linhua’s condition.

"Xin Linhua." Hirano tries to shake him awake.

"He’s in deep." Aki sits up "Do Guides fall into corruption too? Why is he having a nightmare in the afternoon?"

"I’m not sure."

"Hey!" Aki suddenly moves "Wake him up before he strangles himself."

With all effort proving to be futile, someone grabs one of their water bottles and dumps half the water on his face.

"Fucking hell!" Xin Linhua jolts upright.

"Oh, you’re awake." Hirano pats his back.

"What the fuck!"

"You should be thankful." Aki clicks her tongue "You almost strangled yourself in your dream."

"That being said– what were you dreaming about?" Gao Shi frowns.

Xin Linhua freezes for a moment. He quickly piece himself together and wipe away the water on his face.

"Is he back?"

Such a versatile persona, he changed the topic real quick.

They all exchange glances. Tactically agreeing not to ask further.

"Phantom hasn’t returned."

"It’s been a while." Rong Yufei calculates "If I’m counting normal time standards, it’s been more than twelve hours."

"I guess there’s no such thing as nightfall here. It’s been hours."

"I’ll go look for him." Xin Linhua stands.

"I’ll come–"

"No need." Xin Linhua stops him "You’re still injured. He shouldn’t have gone far, I’ll find him."

They sit back. No use arguing with him, he’s more stubborn than a mule.

"Alright." Hirano exhales "Be careful then."

"I will."

Xin Linhua walks out of the cave.

A soft exhale escapes him without knowing. He really froze up back there.

To think he’d be so tired to the point of falling asleep in such a rough cave and having a nightmare in front of his whole team...

"Ah..." He walks away from the cave "We should clear this rift and get the hell out."

"Xin Linhua?"

Xin Linhua raises his head.

Walking towards him is Rong Yizhan, his precious Sentinel. Covered in blood.

"What the–"

Xin Linhua jogs towards him. He skids to a stop in front of him, a frown on his face.

"What happened?" His heart aches.

"I went to clear the rift."

"...What?" He blinks "You went out on your own and came back covered in blood and dust, how many did you kill?"

"All."

Xin Linhua pauses. His right hand freezes in the air, shock flashes across his eyes.

"What do you mean ’all’?"

"I cleared the rift." His gaze moves to Xin Linhua’s raised hand "Why is your hand raised?"

Xin Linhua snaps back to reality. He gently lowers his hand, his sleeve dabs at the blood.

"I wasn’t going to hit you. You’re covered in blood. You’ll be in the bath for a long time."

"I’m fine."

"Yeah, and I believe you." Xin Linhua shakes his head "let’s go back. We’ll clear the rift and–"

"Xin Linhua! Phantom!"

Xin Linhua nearly stumbles. He turns aroused to find the two people he never thought he’d encounter in a rift.

"Eldest brother. Second brother. What are you two doing here?"

Xin Linhai and Xin Linge run towards him, a mixture of relief and worry.

"You’re alive!" Xin Linge grabs his shoulders.

"Why wouldn’t I be alive?" Xin Linhua rolls his eyes "Better question, how did you guys get in here?"

"Didn’t you guys clear up the rift?" Xin Linhai stop beside them "The entrance opened up so we came in."

Xin Linhua feels dizzy. He turns to Rong Yizhan.

"You actually..."

"Xin Linhua’s Sentinel." Xin Linhai turns to Rong Yizhan "You’re...covered in blood."

"Yes. Nice to meet you again."

"Where’s the back up team?" Xin Linhua diverts the topic.

"They’ll be here soon."

"You two shouldn’t be here." Xin Linhua rubs his temple "This is Zhongjing Institute business."

"Zhongjing Institute is about to have some serious issues. What were they thinking, sending you into a high level rift?"

"It wasn’t the institute. I knew the risk before entering and as you can tell, I’m alive." Xin Linhua argues.

"You think you know best, don’t you?"

"Just leave." Xin Linhua glares "When I’m done with everything, I’ll come visit."

"You said that last time." Xin Linge deadpans.

"Then you went AWOL on the entire family." Xin Linhai backs him up.

"Good. Now you’re ganging up against me." Xin Linhua bares his teeth.

"Alright, we’ll leave first. We just needed to make sure you’re alright."

Xin Linhai grabs the scruff of his younger brother’s suit, dragging him back the way they came.

An unwilling Xin Linge flaps and flutters his hands in the air repeatedly, crying about how he does not trust Xin Linhua with his promise to keep in touch.

"They’re gone." Xin Linhua exhales "That was close. They can’t find out about the team."

"Let’s wait a bit before leaving." Rong Yizhan advises.

"Yeah, good idea." Xin Linhua starts wiping his face again "Seeing you covered in blood just breaks my heart."

"Are they gone?"

Hirano and the rest of the team walk out of the cave.

Just now, they had decided that letting Xin Linhua go alone was not a good idea so they decided to go after him. But just as they reach the entrance, they heard the Xin brothers’ voice so they stopped.

"They’re gone." Xin Linhua nods "The back up team will be here soon. We’ll leave when they arrive."

"Okay." Gao Shi nods "Quick question, how the hell did the entrance open up? We never cleared the rift. And I know the beasts didn’t just drop dead on their own."

"You don’t have to know." Xin Linhua retorts.

"Oh, but I do." Gao Shi turns to Rong Yizhan "You cleared the rift, didn’t you?"