Chapter 18: Separation Between Life and Death, the Deepest Brotherhood

A broken heart is merely sadness and numbness—it can be revived. But between life and death, there is no choice, no second chance. (Gu Long)
……
“No!”
It was Liu Yi who shouted. He reacted quickly, raising his arms to block Ten Great Heroes’ fist. With a bang, purple electricity wrapped around Liu Yi’s body.
Ten Great Heroes used the “Thunder Fist,” intending to ambush the Fox Spirit and teach her a lesson. But he never expected Liu Yi to block the punch, which struck him full force.
Liu Yi was just an ordinary scholar with no martial skills. How could he withstand Ten Great Heroes’ fierce Thunder Fist? He flew backward like a kite with its string cut.
Another bang—Liu Yi’s body crashed into the cave wall.
At that moment, the Fox Spirit seemed hesitant. Why would this man help her?
Ten Great Heroes, unaware of what was happening, rushed to Liu Yi’s side, knelt down, and hugged him, saying anxiously, “Boss, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me! I didn’t mean to do this. I really didn’t know. Please wake up.”
At that moment, the Great Sword King rushed into the cave. He saw the Fox Spirit standing there in shock, Liu Yi unconscious in a corner, and Ten Great Heroes shouting nearby.
Confused, the Great Sword King asked, “What’s going on here?” He rushed to Liu Yi’s side.
Ten Great Heroes kept shouting, “Boss, don’t scare me! Wake up quickly! What’s wrong with you?”
Liu Yi’s face was pale, his eyes tightly closed. The Great Sword King quickly said, “Quick, Eleven! Send some vital energy to him. Protect his heart first.”
In his panic, Ten Great Heroes had forgotten this. He quickly extended his right hand, forming a palm, and channeled his vital energy into Liu Yi’s body. The warm flow slightly unblocked Liu Yi’s blocked blood vessels.
Liu Yi slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ten Great Heroes’ eyes, on the verge of tears. “Good brother… What’s wrong with you? Don’t cry. A real man shouldn’t cry easily.”
Ten Great Heroes was already extremely distressed. Now, seeing Liu Yi open his eyes and say such words, he couldn’t hold back anymore. A tear rolled down his cheek. “Boss, it’s my fault. I was too careless. I caused this to you. Please don’t suffer.” By the end, he could hardly speak.
Liu Yi gently shook his head and smiled slightly. “No, Eleven. Life and death are determined by fate. Since this is what heaven has ordained, I must accept it. How can I blame you?”
Hearing this, Ten Great Heroes couldn’t hold back his tears again. Over the past decade, he had always been happy by Liu Yi’s side, never feeling as helpless as now. Although he called Liu Yi “boss,” their bond was that of brothers. Now, seeing Liu Yi like this and being unable to help, his heart felt empty.

Shi Jieyi wiped away his tears with a pair of rough hands and said, “Boss, you’ll be fine. Really, with Shi Yi by your side, nothing will happen to you.”
Cough, cough… Due to internal injuries, Liu Yi spat out a large amount of blood. Enduring excruciating pain, Liu Yi shook his head and said, “Silly brother, do you want to defy fate? I may not know martial arts, but I know how skilled you are. Even if it were someone who doesn’t know martial arts…”
Liu Yi couldn’t finish his sentence because even without saying it, everyone could tell he was beyond saving.
Guilt and regret tormented this iron-strong man every moment. Shi Jieyi said, “It’s Shi Yi’s fault. I’ll cut off this hand right now.” Then he tried to snatch the Great Sword King’s sword.
Enduring the pain in his body, Liu Yi snapped, “Stop… How… so useless! Do you think cutting off your own… hand will make me better? Without a hand… how will you marry A Jiu?”
Hearing Liu Yi’s words, Shi Jieyi became even more heartbroken. At such a time, Liu Yi was still thinking of himself…
Liu Yi coughed up some blood and said weakly, “Shi Yi, take good care of yourself from now on. Help me find Princess Jiu. Liu Fu depends on you now. My body hurts so much, I’m so tired. I… I want to sleep for a while.” Then he slowly closed his eyes.
Shi Jieyi immediately reacted, hugged Liu Yi, and shook him, saying, “Boss, don’t sleep! Don’t sleep! It’s almost dawn. We still need to keep moving.”
But Liu Yi’s eyes remained tightly closed. Shi Jieyi reached out again, channeling his internal energy into Liu Yi’s body, but Liu Yi showed no reaction at all…
Panicked and confused, Shi Jieyi shouted, “Boss! Boss, don’t scare me! Don’t scare me! You’ll be fine. Open your eyes and look at Shi Yi! Boss, don’t scare me!” Shi Yi shook Liu Yi’s body violently.
But Liu Yi was like a dead man, showing no response at all…
The Great Sword King shook his head and patted Shi Jieyi’s shoulder, saying, “Brother Shi Yi, don’t do this. Lord Liu… he’s already dead. This is pointless.”
Shi Jieyi raised his head, his eyes red, and said, “No, the boss won’t die. He’s just… taking a rest.”
Just then, the Fox Demon slowly walked over…
Seeing this, the Great Sword King quickly picked up his great sword, ready to fight. Judging by Shi Jieyi’s state, it wasn’t the time to engage in battle.
The Fox Demon glanced at the Great Sword King and said, “I won’t hurt you. I’m here to help him.”
The Great Sword King charged at her with his sword, shouting, “Who would believe you? He’s already dead. What tricks are you trying to play?”
The Fox Demon lightly dodged, but she didn’t fight back or harm the Great Sword King. Instead, she continued toward Liu Yi’s body and squatted down.
The Great Sword King was puzzled. The Fox Demon could have hurt him just now—why didn’t she? Had everyone here gone mad today?
The Fox Demon looked at Liu Yi and said to Shi Jieyi, “I can save him.”

Shi Jieyi raised his head. At that moment, the two tearful figures faced each other, evoking an indescribable sense of sorrow… Shi Jieyi exclaimed in surprise, “Really? Can you truly bring our leader back to life?”
The fox spirit nodded and simply smiled, saying, “He is a good person who shouldn’t die. As for me, I’ve hurt too many innocent people. I no longer have any ties to this world. I must go to another world to be with the one I love; otherwise, he will be alone.”
As she spoke, a white sphere emerged from her mouth. It was only the size of a thumb, glowing with a white light, with light flowing within it—extremely beautiful. The fox spirit glanced at the black bear lying on the ground and smiled, “Wait for me.”