Chapter 138: Gathering at the Ancient Castle

“Are you alright?” The first thing Ye Bai saw upon opening his eyes was a knife. Knife sat cross-legged beside him, greeting him with a single question before closing his eyes and falling silent.

Ye Bai struggled to sit up. Seeing that Knife showed no intention of responding further, he chose not to answer. Perhaps Knife had only asked out of habit upon seeing him awake, caring little whether Ye Bai replied.

“What happened to you?” Every creak of his bones brought another pang of pain, as if during his unconsciousness someone had shattered and rearranged his skeleton. Yet it was the wounds on Knife’s body that chilled Ye Bai deeply.

From the abdomen to the chest, several scars marred Knife’s flesh, the most severe still oozing blood. The wounds did not look like cuts from a sharp blade but rather rough gouges inflicted by a blunt object.

Ye Bai now understood why Knife remained silent; every breath must have been unbearable agony for him. Yet here he sat calmly, a testament to immense willpower.

“You have no external wounds, but your internal bones are completely dislocated. Don’t move too much—I don’t want to have to reset your bones again,” Knife said slowly, eyes closed.

Though Knife’s tone was soft, Ye Bai could hear the strain behind every word.

Suddenly, Knife furrowed his brow and opened his eyes. “What is this?”

A cool sensation radiated from the wound, easing the intense pain significantly. The chaotic energy within his body began to revive. Ye Bai had once thought no medicine in this world could heal a demon hunter’s injuries—but today, he had found one.

He recalled his master’s words: demon hunters are both blessed and forsaken by heaven. Though we possess extraordinary constitutions, the heavens deny us the right to healing. Nearly no medicine can cure our wounds.

“Just an ordinary hemostatic powder,” Ye Bai explained, pouring the green powder from a bottle onto Knife’s wound.

This was given to him by the Medicine Spirit before setting out—one bottle for external wounds, another to activate internal energy. Almost no one had been injured along the way until now.

“Is that so?” Knife’s bright eyes regarded Ye Bai with a hint of unease before closing once more, allowing Ye Bai to tend to his wounds.

“Ah—” After a while, Ye Bai finished treating Knife’s injuries, having used up the entire bottle of external medicine. He dragged his immobile leg and leaned against the rock beside Knife.

“What about the others? How did you get so badly hurt?” Ye Bai sighed, sweat forming on his brow after barely fifty centimeters of movement.

“I don’t know,” Knife replied, as if answering one or two questions. His bright eyes gazed at the crimson sky, recalling the moment he first woke.

He had awoken from pain rather than shock. Had he remained unconscious, he would have bled out and died. When he awoke, the ground was soaked with blood, and not far away lay a battered Ye Bai. Using the last of his energy, Knife staunched the bleeding and realigned Ye Bai’s bones before resting here without moving until Ye Bai regained consciousness.

The sky bore no sun, yet a red glow illuminated the area. Within a hollow lay three figures: one woman and two men. The woman’s half face was buried in the dirt, her arm twisted unnaturally. The men fared worse—one’s legs were bent back grotesquely, his arm sliced open and still dripping blood.

“Ugh—” The woman’s brow twitched as she opened her eyes, wincing in pain as she tried to move.

The girl who had just sat up saw the two men beside her. “Tian Xin, Li Feng, what happened to you two? Wake up!”

She crawled painfully toward the unconscious men.

---

In another direction, a large pit was filled with people. The girl on top was the first to awaken, staring in horror at those beneath her.

“Lang Xin, Yu Xin, Zi Xin, Wang Jiao. What on earth happened here?”

Struggling, the woman climbed out of the pit, realizing it had been forcibly created. She descended again, trying to help the unconscious inside.

On the ground bathed in red light, a lone black figure moved with flickering appearances in different spots, seemingly searching for someone.

“Where do we go next?” As his consciousness cleared, his internal energy began to stir, and under the influence of wood-elemental power, his dislocated bones gradually realigned.

“Over there.” Within minutes, the wounds on Knife’s body had crusted over, no longer bleeding.

Ye Bai followed Knife’s pointed direction to the deepest part of the red sky, where a dark silhouette resembling a structure stood.

“The surrounding land is flat with no landmarks. Finding others is nearly impossible, but that place is visible at a glance. I think any survivors would head there.”

Knife leaned against a rock, feeling the blood beneath the scabs eager to break free. The mysterious red light seemed to stimulate the wound, constantly urging the blood to flow again.

Ye Bai struggled to stand, extending his hand toward Knife. “Let’s go.” With the destination set, it was time to move.

Knife did not reach for Ye Bai’s hand. Supporting himself against the rock, he rose and walked forward, leaving faint blood-colored footprints with each step.

“Hey, slow down. Be careful the wound doesn’t reopen,” Ye Bai called, following closely. Neither noticed that where Knife had awakened, not a drop of blood remained.

Knife said nothing. “Do you know what happened before you lost consciousness? Why are only the two of us left together?”

Still no reply came. Ye Bai followed silently behind Knife as they headed toward the ancient castle.

---

On the flat ground lay two men, one with legs bent as if broken, haphazardly attached to his body. The other’s arm was tightly bandaged at the root, blood steadily seeping onto the earth.

Beside them sat a girl with a cloth wrapped around her neck, her arm resting on her chest, her face smeared with gray dust.

Hearing a noise, she turned toward one of the awakening men. “Tian Xin, you’re awake. Don’t move yet;I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.