Climbing to immortality step by step

Chapter 41 The eldest lady's determination

Wang Zihan glanced outside the Tian Nü Temple. Although the sun had just set, the sky was already growing dark. In the distance, the relentless barking of hunting dogs echoed through the hills—the pursuers were closing in.

Had it not been for the difficulty of traveling at night, the Pang family's soldiers would have already stormed Shahu Ridge. What Wang Zihan didn't know was that after Ma Qianjun let go of his hold, the members of the Tianyi Gang scattered like birds in a storm. Although they sustained fewer casualties than the Pang family, they had grossly underestimated Du Yunlong's strength.

So far, more than a hundred of the Pang family's men had fallen, while the Tianyi Gang lost around thirty. As soon as the word spread that Ma Qianjun had charged into the Tian Nü Temple alone, the remaining soldiers quickly found excuses to retreat. By the time Pang Tianshan realized what had happened, his forces were in disarray, left to rely on a few desperate mercenaries with nothing to lose.

But even these mercenaries only knew the general location of the Tian Nü Temple. They'd been wandering aimlessly for half a day, arriving too late to witness Ma Qianjun's clash with Du Yunlong. Now, they continued circling Shahu Ridge, searching in vain.

The barking grew louder, fiercer. Du Yunlong tried to sit up, but his body was too weak. He collapsed back into Wang Zihan's lap, his voice strained with urgency. "Wang... You need to go. There's still time!"

He hadn't expected things to become this dire. Worse, he could hardly muster any strength to move. "Don't worry about me. You still have a chance if you leave now."

"Call me Zihan!" Wang Zihan gave him an unprecedented gift: "I'll allow you to call me that, but only when the moment is right. I promised you, didn't I? I'll stand by your side until we reach Yuan Province..."

"That's impossible," Du Yunlong protested, shaking his head. "It's too dangerous out there, and I'll only slow you down. You have to go without me. Please, Zihan, you must take care of yourself and leave now."

"I never break a promise to my followers!" Wang Zihan declared with pride. "I said I would take you to Yuan Province, and I will. After that, we can part ways..."

There was a slight sadness in her voice as she continued, "Once we've gone our separate paths, we'll become strangers, each pursuing our own fate."

Then her resolve hardened. "But until that moment comes, I won't abandon you."

"You... you can't carry me in this state..." Du Yunlong realized what she was planning and pleaded, "I'm sorry. Please, just go."

"I'm not leaving!" Wang Zihan snapped, lifting him to his feet. He hadn't expected such strength from her delicate frame. Ignoring the blood that stained his clothes, she supported him to the altar beneath the statue of the Tian Nü Goddess. "Stay here and don't come out," she commanded.

"Zihan, I'm sorry," Du Yunlong whispered, struggling to find his voice. "Please, don't be so kind to me."

"A mistress must show her servants some small mercies," she replied with a sweet smile, as if the advancing enemies didn't exist. "This temple is truly a sacred place. Lend me your Heavenly Tears Starfall Sword."

Her smile was so enchanting that Du Yunlong was momentarily stunned. He had never seen her look so beautiful, so breathtakingly radiant, it almost made him forget to breathe.

That smile, he realized, would be forever etched in his memory, a piece of her he would carry with him for the rest of his life. "Wang Zihan... don't..."

But his sword, along with his long blade, had already been thrown aside during his battle with Ma Qianjun. In the pale moonlight, Wang Zihan swiftly retrieved the Heavenly Tears Starfall Sword from where Du Yunlong had dropped it. "A servant's sword is hardly worthy of my hand," she teased, "but I suppose it will have to do."