Fallen At A Glance Chapter 5

Mind Your Own Business

Night fell, the mountains were silent, and the cold wind swirled and howled through the deep valleys, like the low cries of lonely souls. Inside the cave, it was damp and chilly. Fine water droplets condensed on the stone walls, slowly dripping down with a soft “tap, tap,” a sound that was exceptionally clear in the silence, like the slow footsteps of time.

Lian Mu occasionally added dry firewood to the fire to keep the flames going.

Late at night, the entire valley was frighteningly quiet. Lian Mu sat in Seated Meditation nearby with his eyes closed. “Cold…” Yun Suiyi murmured unconsciously in his daze, his voice thin as a thread. “Cold… so cold…”

Lian Mu opened his eyes, rose, and walked over to Yun Suiyi.

Lying on the stone platform, Yun Suiyi’s face was as pale as snow, but his lips were tinged blue. His eyes were tightly shut, his breathing weak and rapid, and his forehead was burning hot. His damp black hair clung to his temples, and he was twitching slightly from the high fever.

Lian Mu reached out and touched the other’s forehead; it was scorching hot. He called out softly, “Yun Suiyi…”

Yun Suiyi did not react, only trembling slightly in the high fever.

Lian Mu took out a medicinal pill, intending to feed it to Yun Suiyi, but Yun Suiyi’s tightly sealed lips left Lian Mu feeling helpless.

After several unsuccessful attempts, a plan came to Lian Mu. He slowly leaned close to Yun Suiyi’s ear and whispered softly, “Be a good boy, Suiyi, open your mouth.”

Yun Suiyi actually opened it.

Having successfully fed him the pill, Lian Mu was quite satisfied.

He reached out and flicked Yun Suiyi’s forehead. “Sleep well. When you wake up, you’ll be fine.”

Three days later

Yun Suiyi slowly awoke, his consciousness like scattered leaves sinking in a deep pool, gradually floating to the surface. He first fluttered his eyelashes, as if struggling to push aside the curtain of darkness. Then, a pair of eyes that should have been bright as stars slowly opened, but they were covered by a layer of hazy fog.

He did not move immediately, just lay quietly. His chest rose and fell like a candle flame in the wind. Beneath him was the hard stone platform, yet the cold did not penetrate his clothes and chill his bones. His body felt dry and comfortable, a warmth he had never experienced when waking up from unconsciousness.

Yun Suiyi wiggled his fingers. His fingertips twitched, as if testing whether he was still alive. After a moment, he turned his head, his gaze slowly sweeping across the dark cave—the stone walls were slick, marked with moss, and stalactites hung from the ceiling. Water droplets fell one by one, tapping on the stone, the sound cold and clear, as if knocking on his heart.

“I… I’m actually not dead yet?” he muttered, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible, squeezed from a broken throat. A bitter smile touched his lips, but it pulled at his injuries, causing him to instantly frown and gasp. A sharp pain shot through his chest, as if countless fine needles were pricking him. He instinctively raised a hand to press his heart, his fingertips touching the bandage, which was already soaked through with dark red blood.

Yun Suiyi closed his eyes, and memories flooded back like a tide—consecutively destroying two major sects, even with his high Spiritual Power, he had reached the end of his tether. Especially after the Lingqiu Sect Sect Master died, the sudden sneak attack by his disciples caught Yun Suiyi off guard. He was unwilling to cause more slaughter, despite the blood already on his hands.

Knowing he was still alive, Yun Suiyi did not delay, thinking of rushing back. He struggled to prop himself up, but his arm went weak, and he fell heavily back onto the stone platform. His throat sweetened, and a mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of his lips, dripping down his chin onto the stone surface, blooming into a dark red flower.

But Yun Suiyi was never one to easily admit defeat. Even though his bones felt crushed and his internal organs seemed displaced, he gritted his teeth and used all his strength to inch his way up and off the stone platform.

He raised a hand to wipe the blood from his lips, tilted his head, and smiled. Though disheveled, he still carried a hint of wildness and nonchalance: “Heh… my life, Yun Suiyi’s life, is tough. Even if I walk before the King of Hell, he has to let me come back and continue killing…”

Outside the cave, the wind began to pick up, and the faint sound of a flute drifted in, clear and cold as the moon. Yun Suiyi paused slightly, his mind instinctively recalling the person outside Pingyang City.

Before Yun Suiyi could think further, a figure quietly appeared at the boundary of light and shadow at the cave entrance, standing still, like a pine or a mountain. Dressed in a white long gown, his sleeves fluttered slightly. His silhouette appeared ethereal and familiar in the dim light. He walked slowly, his footsteps so light they were almost inaudible, yet each step seemed to land on Yun Suiyi’s heart.

Yun Suiyi looked up. Through his blurred vision, he finally saw the face—features as beautiful as a painting, Ethereal and Aloof as snow, yet hiding a trace of barely perceptible worry in his eyes.

Yun Suiyi’s voice was hoarse; he could hardly believe his eyes. “You… why are you here?”

Lian Mu did not answer immediately. He simply walked to his side and reached out to check his forehead. His fingertips were cool. He said softly, “You’ve been burning on and off for three days and three nights. If you hadn’t woken up, this cave would have become your burial ground.”

Yun Suiyi pulled at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but it pulled at his injuries, making him wince in pain. “That won’t do… Even if I, Yun Suiyi, am going to die, I must die near a righteous sect, so I can become a vengeful spirit after death and scare those hypocritical, renowned orthodox sects.”

Lian Mu’s eyes shifted, revealing an extremely faint smile, which vanished instantly. He took a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out a pill, and held it to Yun Suiyi’s lips. “Open your mouth.”

Yun Suiyi looked at him, his eyes somewhat dazed. He remembered that in his final moments, before his consciousness sank into darkness, he vaguely heard someone speaking to him. At the time, he thought it was a hallucination before passing out, but he never expected to be saved by Lian Mu.

“You… saved me?” Yun Suiyi asked softly, a trace of imperceptible emotion in his voice.

“Yes,” Lian Mu replied flatly, with a hint of teasing. “I took the liberty of saving Young Master Yun again.”

As Lian Mu spoke, he gently fed the medicine into Yun Suiyi’s mouth.

Yun Suiyi swallowed the medicine, and his breathing gradually stabilized. He looked at Lian Mu and suddenly said, “I thought… hearing someone speak before I passed out was a delusion.”

Lian Mu looked up and met his gaze, his tone puzzled. “Why is it that every time I see you, you are injured?”

Yun Suiyi was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud. Though weak, his tone remained sharp. “Maybe you jinx me. Nothing good ever happens when I see you.”

Lian Mu was surprised by Yun Suiyi’s counter-accusation. “Why is your personality so different from your brother’s?”

Yun Suiyi’s expression instantly changed. “Did I ask you to save me? Always taking matters into your own hands. Do you believe I’ll kill you?”

Lian Mu looked Yun Suiyi up and down. “Kill me looking like this? You’re still wearing my clothes.”

Yun Suiyi looked down and shouted, “Who told you to take off my clothes? Pervert, scoundrel! How are you an Immortal Master?”

Lian Mu was genuinely amused. “How else was I supposed to apply medicine if I didn’t take off your clothes? Or are you a young woman who needs someone to take responsibility if her clothes are removed and she’s seen?”

Yun Suiyi was choked up and didn’t retort.

Lian Mu reached out to Take the Pulse.

“During these few days I was unconscious, did anyone come looking for me?” Yun Suiyi asked casually.

“Who do you want to find you?” Lian Mu’s tone was flat. “There is only you and me here.”

Yun Suiyi didn’t say anything, but he looked quite downcast.

“Now that you’re awake, there are no major issues. Apply more ointment to your wounds, and they will heal in a few days. The injury to your leg will require a few more days of rest before you can walk normally,” Lian Mu withdrew his hand.

The two were silent for a moment.

A short while later, Yun Suiyi looked at Lian Mu, who was sitting in Seated Meditation nearby. “I’m hungry.”

Lian Mu opened his eyes. “What do you want to eat?”

“I want to eat delicacies from the mountains and seas.”

“Mm, wait.” Lian Mu said, then stood up and walked out of the cave.

Yun Suiyi thought Lian Mu was actually going to prepare him mountain and sea delicacies.

“Why is there only fish?” Yun Suiyi was displeased. “I don’t like fish.”

“Aren’t you hungry? Fish is the fastest.” As he spoke, Lian Mu suddenly remembered something, and a box of pastries appeared out of thin air in his hand. “Eat this.”

Yun Suiyi looked at the familiar pastry box. “How do you have the Yun family’s pastry box?”

“Your brother gave it to me.” Lian Mu handed the pastry box to Yun Suiyi. “Tide yourself over with this first.”

Yun Suiyi took the pastries without speaking.

In the center of the cave, a bonfire burned quietly, the firewood crackling. Sparks leaped like stars. Lian Mu sat by the fire, his expression calm. In his hand, he held a string of fresh fish skewered on a branch. The fish had been roasted until slightly yellow, the skin fragrant and crisp. Oil dripped into the fire, stirring up tiny flames. The aroma gradually permeated the damp air.

His movements were unhurried. He dipped his fingers in some salt and lightly sprinkled it on the fish. He then took a small pinch of wild ginger and herbs from his cloth pouch, finely crushed them, and scattered them over the golden-brown fish skin. Reflected in the firelight, the contours of his profile were distinct, his eyes lowered, showing a rare hint of tenderness.

The aroma enticed Yun Suiyi to open his eyes, and he twitched his nose.

Lian Mu roasted the fish for a little longer and then handed it to Yun Suiyi. “Eat.”

Yun Suiyi did not take it.

“Not eating?” Lian Mu’s tone was flat.

“…It has bones,” Yun Suiyi said quietly, then added stiffly, “Lian Mu, pick the fish bones out for me.”

Lian Mu raised an eyebrow. “Do you need me to chew it and feed it to you, Young Master Yun?”

The corners of Yun Suiyi’s eyes welled up with a thin layer of moisture, as if he were about to cry.

Lian Mu sighed. “This is a perch. It only has one main bone, no small ones. Eat without worry.”

“Oh,” Yun Suiyi took the fish and sniffed it. “Lian Mu, if you ever get expelled from your sect in the future, selling roasted fish by the roadside would definitely be very popular.”

Lian Mu couldn’t be bothered to respond to Yun Suiyi. He picked up another fish and continued roasting it. Reflected in the firelight, his figure was quiet and gentle. Outside the cave, the mountain wind whispered, and forest birds chirped softly, as if heaven and earth paused for this brief tranquility.

“Lian Mu, why are you here on this isolated mountain instead of at the Cold Shadow Sect?”

“Out admiring the moon.”

A black line appeared on Yun Suiyi’s forehead. “You’re telling me you’re admiring the moon on this isolated mountain?”

“Why not?” Lian Mu countered.

“You can, you can.”

“And why is Young Master Yun here on this mountain with such severe injuries?”

“Mind your own business.”

Lian Mu was always extremely composed, his features like a painting, Ethereal and Aloof as snow. It seemed as if nothing in the world could stir his heart. But whenever he encountered Yun Suiyi, that perpetually cold and stern expression would always show a barely perceptible crack.

He looked quietly at Yun Suiyi, his eyes holding no anger or disgust, only a silence that bordered on “the collapse of the natural order.”

Lian Mu’s mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to speak, but he swallowed the words back, finally just closing his mouth, unwilling to argue with an injured person.

“Lian Mu, is that fish in your hand ready? I’m still hungry.”

Lian Mu’s gaze fell on Yun Suiyi’s shiny, oily lips. He spoke, his voice low and level: “You just woke up. It’s not good to eat too much greasy food.”

Yun Suiyi blinked, looking innocent. “I won’t eat the fish skin, only the meat inside, so it won’t be greasy. Besides, I’m so severely injured, I need to eat more fish to recover.”

Lian Mu looked at Yun Suiyi and smiled faintly. “In this regard, you are quite similar to your brother.”

What did that mean? Was he saying he was inferior to Yun Zhao? Yun Suiyi’s fury was about to erupt, but it was blocked by the roasted fish Lian Mu shoved toward him. “Eat.”

“Oh,” Yun Suiyi quietly ate the fish.

Like a small, clawing kitten that loved to scratch, Lian Mu smiled inwardly.