Inherited 100 Million - Chapter 23

When Xue Yizhuo saw the small figure huddled behind the lee side of a dune, she let out an involuntary sigh of relief. She watched as Zhuang Yi’s eyes filled with wild joy. Her exhausted body suddenly burst with renewed strength as she sprinted toward the figure.

Xue Yizhuo was relieved that Zhuang Yi had finally found her sister. Throughout their journey, she had feared that Zhuang Yi would search in vain and die of despair in this desert.

Xue Yizhuo curved her lips into a smile, but it quickly faded. She had no sense of direction and didn’t know where they were now, but she knew they had walked too long in the desert. They must be very, very far from the tribe.

The journey back for Zhuang Yi and her sister would probably be even more perilous than the search had been.

Xiao Li had passed out. Zhuang Yi frantically held her in her arms and trembled as she reached out to check her breathing. Feeling a breath, the strength in her whole body seemed to drain away in an instant. Zhuang Yi collapsed onto the ground, a look of relief after escaping death on her face.

Zhuang Yi gently shook Xiao Li awake. Xiao Li struggled to open her eyes. Dazedly, she saw a familiar outline and rasped out the word “sister.”

Her voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.

Zhuang Yi’s voice was just as hoarse as she softly comforted her sister, “Don’t speak, Xiao Li, don’t speak yet. Don’t be afraid. Sister is here.”

Zhuang Yi hurriedly untied the water pouch from her waist. She twisted open the stopper and brought the opening to Xiao Li’s lips. Clear water slowly poured out, moisturizing her cracked lips. Xiao Li instinctively drank the water near her mouth.

She drank too fast and choked on the water, arching her back and coughing incessantly. Zhuang Yi quickly patted Xiao Li’s back to help her breathe. “Drink slowly. Sister has more.”

Zhuang Yi fed most of the clear water in the pouch to Xiao Li. Only a sip or two remained, but she didn’t drink it. Instead, she tied the pouch shut and hung it back on her waist.

Xue Yizhuo’s heart was heavy.

Zhuang Yi had been searching for Xiao Li for most of the night. After leaving the tribe, she had fought the lone wolf and fallen down countless times, yet she hadn’t taken a single sip of water.

The clear water poured into Xiao Li’s mouth, reflecting a faint moonlight. Xue Yizhuo could see the intense thirst in Zhuang Yi’s eyes, but she only swallowed and urged Xiao Li to drink another sip.

“Can you stand up?” Zhuang Yi asked Xiao Li softly after feeding her the water.

She didn’t want to carry her sister back, but Zhuang Yi could feel her body was on the verge of exhaustion. She couldn’t carry Xiao Li that far.

Xiao Li nodded, struggling to stand up from the ground.

“Sister will take you home,” Zhuang Yi said, taking Xiao Li’s hand.

The two, one large and one small, leaned on each other and walked back the way they came.

Zhuang Yi clearly seemed to know the way, which gave Xue Yizhuo some peace of mind. They had found the person, and the child could walk. They should be able to return smoothly… right?

The moment Xue Yizhuo had this thought, she saw the familiar wind and sand in the distance.

Under the night sky, a “wall of sand” was rushing toward them!

Xue Yizhuo: “…”

Xue Yizhuo nearly swore out loud!

Could this sandstorm be any more ridiculous? It comes every night! Is someone taking attendance?!

Zhuang Yi also saw the sandstorm in the distance. Her lips trembled, and her body shook involuntarily.

Why… I finally found her. I should be able to take Xiao Li back…

Zhuang Yi gritted her teeth. She suddenly picked up Xiao Li and sprinted toward the direction of the sandstorm.

Xue Yizhuo was stunned, then immediately understood. The sandstorm moved much faster than a person. Running away from the sandstorm might not get them to shelter before it arrived, but in the direction of the sandstorm was Zhuang Yi’s tribe!

Xiao Li tightly hugged Zhuang Yi’s neck, burying her face in Zhuang Yi’s shoulder. Zhuang Yi ran wildly, her breathing ragged like a broken bellows. She tasted blood in her throat, but she couldn’t stop for a second!

The tribe is just ahead—

Seeing the sight before her, Zhuang Yi’s eyes widened in shock. The strength suddenly drained from her legs, and she fell to the sand with Xiao Li.

The sandstorm had pushed through the tribe. The trees in the oasis had been destroyed in the previous sandstorms. This sandstorm was far more intense than any she had ever seen, tossing the ruined houses like flimsy dead leaves.

Zhuang Yi watched the familiar buildings vanish before her eyes in an instant.

Zhuang Yi’s lips moved, but she couldn’t say a word, not even a cry of despair.

She could only hold Xiao Li tightly in her arms, watching some of her tribesmen being swept up into the sandstorm, while others fled toward her. The sandstorm relentlessly pushed toward her.

The moment she found Xiao Li, Zhuang Yi’s heart was instantly filled with hope. The anxiety of the past few days was greatly diluted, as if one stroke of luck could erase all the pain.

But it turned out that hope could be shattered in an instant. A person’s strength trying to fight the mighty force of nature was a ridiculous endeavor, like a praying mantis trying to stop a carriage.

Zhuang Yi knelt on the ground, waiting for the moment she would fall.

The sand covered the sky and the sun. Her eyes were dry and aching. It was already difficult to keep them open, let alone see clearly in such light.

Yet, Zhuang Yi thought she saw a figure in the sandstorm.

A figure?

Zhuang Yi forced a smile. She must be mistaken. How could anyone walk in a sandstorm?

But as the sandstorm advanced, the figure became clearer and clearer.

Zhuang Yi couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Soon, a corner of a white robe appeared in the wind and sand.

A girl of fourteen or fifteen walked out of the sandstorm. She was wearing a white robe as white as snow, completely unsullied by the wind and sand, as were her bare feet walking on the sand. The girl instantly saw Zhuang Yi in front of her. Zhuang Yi stared blankly at the girl’s eyes, which were like colored glass. Her pupils were very light, and when she looked at people, she seemed emotionless and distantly aloof.

Zhuang Yi was startled to realize that the sandstorm was already so close to her. The girl who walked out of it was only a step away from her.

The girl looked down at her. Behind the girl, the boundless wind and sand were about to swallow her.

Zhuang Yi instantly reacted. She frantically grabbed the girl’s sleeve. “Run—”

Her voice abruptly cut off.

Just like the wind, which suddenly stopped.

Zhuang Yi stared blankly at the scene behind the girl, almost believing that everything she had just experienced was a mere dream.

The wind and sand vanished without a trace the moment they were about to engulf the girl, as if they were a fragile bubble that was gently popped and then dispersed into the air.

The clear moonlight poured down. The water glittered, stretching as far as the eye could see, as if the water of the Milky Way had flowed into the mortal world.

The people who had been swept up by the wind fell into the water. The water was shallow, only reaching up to a person’s waist when sitting. The tribe members were confused about what had happened. They looked around and found that lotus flowers were blooming everywhere around them.

Where the girl walked, clear water sprang from the sand, and white lotuses blossomed one after another.

Zhuang Yi suddenly noticed that the girl was holding up one hand. Unlike her own hand, which was rough from years of labor, the girl’s hand was soft and boneless, almost translucent in the moonlight. Three fragments of a mirror floated suspended in her hand, and a black lotus grew from the fragments.

Zhuang Yi felt light all over. Under the girl’s gaze, she felt like she was stepping on clouds. “Are you… are you an immortal?”

The girl glanced at the sleeve that Zhuang Yi was holding, a look of indifference on her face. “Annoying.”

Xue Yizhuo, who had been observing the whole time: “…”

That tone. It’s definitely Di Xiang.

Di Xiang’s tone was very impatient, but Xue Yizhuo, like Zhuang Yi, couldn’t help but smile when she heard her voice. Xue Yizhuo was finally completely relieved. Zhuang Yi’s smile soon turned into sobs as she hugged Xiao Li and couldn’t help but cry aloud.

Di Xiang heard her strongly suppressed cries and paused the movement of withdrawing her sleeve.

Intermittent crying sounded from all directions. Di Xiang looked back. The remnants of the houses were submerged in the water. This seemed to be where these people had originally lived.

It’s been destroyed.

Di Xiang looked up at the bright moon in the sky. The joys and sorrows of mortals had nothing to do with the moon, and nothing to do with her.

Di Xiang closed her eyes and repeated in a voice only she could hear, “Annoying.”

Xue Yizhuo was curious about what Di Xiang was going to do. She walked a few steps forward, but just as she was about to reach Di Xiang, the ground suddenly vanished beneath her feet—

Xue Yizhuo: “…?”

Her body fell uncontrollably. Xue Yizhuo quickly grabbed the only thing she could hold onto nearby. A wild goose cried out as it flew past her from behind.

What is going on???

••••

Xue Yizhuo laboriously climbed up the city wall, her face so dark she could be a Door God standing behind Zhuang Yi.

She really wanted to curse the Originating Lotus Mirror. Could it at least give a warning when switching scenes? The feeling of weightlessness she experienced when falling off the city wall still made her heart pound.

After catching her breath for a while, Xue Yizhuo slumped onto the city wall like a boneless creature. Di Xiang and Zhuang Yi, who were next to her, were equally silent, watching the geese flying past the wall and the boundless yellow sand outside. A red sun was setting on the horizon. The brilliant sunset dyed large patches of clouds red, like flames burning in the sky.

It suddenly jumped to a city…

Xue Yizhuo thought aimlessly, Is this Guque? Zhuang Yi looked much older now. She wondered how many years had passed since that night.

Just as she was thinking this, Zhuang Yi suddenly spoke. “Is this the last city?”

Di Xiang said flatly, “Five cities is enough.”

Xue Yizhuo tapped the stone bricks of the city wall. She hadn’t noticed before, but now she saw that the bricks were quite new. It seemed the city wall hadn’t been built long ago.

Zhuang Yi smiled broadly. “From now on, the Desert People no longer have to worry about being homeless, and they no longer have to fear the invasion of the wind and sand.”

Di Xiang at this time was much colder than the Xue Yizhuo had met. Hearing this, she just nodded expressionlessly.

Zhuang Yi couldn’t help but sigh. “In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.”

Di Xiang nodded again and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”

Zhuang Yi pulled her hand with a wry smile. “You just got here. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

“There’s nothing to do here.”

I might as well go back to meditating.

Di Xiang thought this, but she didn’t pull her hand away from Zhuang Yi’s grasp, lazily letting her hold it. Xue Yizhuo looked at her and then at herself. They both looked boneless, but Xue Yizhuo was like a salted fish who had given up struggling and was draped over the city wall, while Di Xiang’s every movement was one of indescribable grace and nobility.

Di Xiang was wearing the same white robe as before, but this time she was wearing shoes, and the golden lotus ornament on her head was much more elaborate and complex than before.

Xue Yizhuo quickly realized who was responsible for these changes.

It was windy on the city wall. The desert wind in the evening was already carrying the coolness of the night. Xue Yizhuo didn’t even notice where Zhuang Yi got the cloak from. She shook it open and wrapped Di Xiang tightly in it.

Zhuang Yi tied the straps while chattering, “My Lady should keep warm, or you’ll catch a cold.”

Di Xiang let her do it, clearly accustomed to it and too lazy to refuse.

Zhuang Yi stepped back a couple of steps to look at the beautifully tied knot, very satisfied. She suddenly remembered something and smiled. “Should I start calling you ‘Your Majesty’ now, My Lady?”

Di Xiang said languidly, “Just the monarch of a small desert kingdom. There’s no need to adopt the airs of those mortal emperors.”

She thought for a moment and added, “Call me what you used to. Continue as before.”

Zhuang Yi smiled and said, “Understood, Lady Xiangjun.”

Di Xiang changed the subject. “Why did you call me here? Was it just to look at the scenery?”

Zhuang Yi smiled helplessly.

She pointed to two dark spots in the distance and said softly, “That’s Moon City… and that’s Zi City. You can see Ruo City from the north wall, and Xu City from the south wall.”

Zhuang Yi took Di Xiang’s hand.

“Now Lotus City is built—My Lady, this is your country.”