Chapter 370: A Momentary Heartbeat

"Sss." Kong Yueling hissed in pain, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

Ma Chulong knew how deep her wound was; it was only natural that it would hurt.

"Bear with it, it'll be over soon."

He lightened the pressure of his hands slightly; after all, the girl in front of him was roughly the same age as Ma Chulan.

With tears welling in her eyes, Kong Yueling managed a weak nod.

Looking at Ma Chulong's face, which was so close to hers, and seeing his focused expression, she froze for a moment.

This was the first time in her life she had been this close to a man, and a man from the Ma family at that.

Even though Kong Nian and Kong Yueqing had previously targeted the Ma family with such malicious attitudes, he was still able to treat her with kindness. A warm current slowly flowed through her heart, accompanied by a strange sensation she had never experienced before.

"There, all done."

Ma Chulong's voice sounded in her ear, causing her heart to race for a moment, her cheeks feeling as if they were on fire.

Fortunately, her face was covered in blood and grime, so even if she blushed, no one would be able to tell.

"Can you still walk?" Ma Chulong gestured to her. Since men and women should maintain a respectful distance, and neither Ma Chulan nor Su Yan showed any intention of helping, he did not directly support her up.

Kong Yueling tried to move slowly and then stood up under his gaze.

Even she was surprised by this moment; clearly, just a moment ago, she had found even the slightest movement unbearable.

"We are currently looking for the people who broke through the illusion. You can head in the direction we came from; it should only take about a few minutes to reach the gathering point," Ma Chulong guided her earnestly.

However, Kong Yueling shook her head. "Can I move with you?"

Ma Chulong visibly froze, clearly having not expected this.

Su Yan continued to watch them with her usual indifference.

Sensing her own loss of composure, Kong Yueling explained in a somewhat panicked manner, "I also want to find Senior Brother Gan and the others, and besides... I'm really scared being alone."

As she spoke the last few words, her voice became almost negligible, clearly knowing that she was being quite presumptuous.

"But we don't know how far we have to go, and your injury..."

"You've already treated it for me, so I think it's fine now. If I really can't keep up later and have to part ways with you, I promise I won't hold you back. Is that okay?" Kong Yueling looked at Ma Chulong with tearful, pleading eyes.

Ma Chulong could not stand seeing a girl look like this, and since they were out looking for people anyway, seeing how much Kong Yueling worried about her companions, he could only agree.

Ma Chulan's brow furrowed deeply, her disdain for Kong Yueling written plainly on her face.

The four of them set off again, but Ma Chulong, Ma Chulan, and Su Yan walked in the front, while Kong Yueling lagged behind due to her injury.

"Brother, how could you agree to bring her along?" Ma Chulan questioned dissatisfaction.

Ma Chulong understood his sister's meaning perfectly, his voice tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"We can't just leave her here to fend for herself, can we?"

"But you still shouldn't bring her. What if she's a spy from the Kong family?"

It wasn't an impossible scenario; those who appeared the most pitiful were often the ones who could most easily make people lower their guard.

"And haven't you noticed that Su Yan hasn't said a word?"

At the end, Ma Chulan lowered her voice slightly to remind him.

The situation was clearly not right.

Ma Chulong instinctively looked toward Su Yan. He had been so preoccupied with saving people just now that he hadn't dared to pay much attention to her.

"Su Yan, do you also think I shouldn't have brought her?"

If that were the case, he could send Kong Yueling to the gathering point immediately.

Su Yan said calmly, "Since she's already followed us, let her come along."

If there truly was a problem, it was better to keep it right under her nose.

Ma Chulong nodded hurriedly, though he felt a slight pang of regret for letting his heart soften.

After walking for about another twenty minutes, they encountered disciples from the Zhou family.

The Zhou family disciples were all full of vigor, looking as though they hadn't been affected at all, let alone injured.

Su Yan was not surprised by this in the least. The Zhou family must have known long ago that illusions would appear at this checkpoint; there was no way they would be easily deceived.

However, she was somewhat annoyed. The Zhou family's approach was not grand enough. If Zhou Li had informed everyone before they entered the checkpoint, it would not only have ensured everyone's safety but also greatly reduced the time taken to pass through.

After a brief inquiry with the Zhou disciples, Ma Chulong told them the direction of the gathering point so they could head there directly.

"Junior Sister Kong, why don't you go with them as well?"

Kong Yueling still refused. This time her reason was simple: she wanted to find her own people.

Ma Chulan's guard against her reached its peak.

However, Su Yan did not demand her departure, so the siblings did not press the matter further.

On the road ahead, they encountered several other lone exorcists one after another, but they did not encounter a single person from the Kong family.

The unease on Kong Yueling's face grew increasingly heavy.

Ma Chulan glanced back at her from time to time; at a time like this, it was truly difficult not to feel a sense of schadenfreude.

"Su Yan, do you think the others from the Kong family are still trapped in the illusion even now?"

Just how much desire would it take to sink so deep that one couldn't get out?

Hearing this, the pride ingrained in Kong Yueling's bones as a member of the Kong family made it impossible for her to keep quiet any longer.

"That's impossible. Junior Sister Kong Nian's strength is definitely not weaker than yours. She must have gone to save someone else after getting out. And Senior Brother Gan Hua is also very powerful."

Looking at her agitated state, Su Yan's gaze gradually deepened.

"Is Kong Nian really that strong?"

If what those evil spirits said was true, then Kong Nian was the one who had stolen her energy when they were children. It was precisely because of this that she had fallen ill and remained bedridden after being taken back by her mother. It was also because of this that it had taken her a full thirteen years to suppress the violent energy within her pupils.

If the Kong family hadn't done such cruel things to her, her energy would never have spiraled out of control!

Kong Yueling had not expected Su Yan to speak up so suddenly. Even just that one sentence was enough to make her heart tremble.

She felt a fear toward Su Yan that rose from the very depths of her soul, though she herself did not understand why.

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her palms as she nodded stiffly.

"Yes, Junior Sister Kong Nian is the strongest exorcist in our Kong family. She was born with extraordinary talent; even the Clan Leader is training her to be the next successor."

Kong Yueling said this merely to tell everyone that the Kong family wasn't entirely composed of people like Kong Yueqing, and that Kong Nian definitely possessed the strength to stand on equal footing with them.

(End of Chapter)