Back then, Maxwell Jing came to the snowy mountains and found a Snow Jade Branch, but he had no idea when it would mature. Jenna Huang promised to keep an eye on it for him, so over the years, whenever she had time, she would come to guard it. Yet in the end, they still missed it—such is fate!
Besides, now it's truly no longer needed!
It took Jenna Huang a long while to finish crying. She wiped the tears from her face and said, "Brother Jing, maybe you should cry too. You'll feel better if you let it out. I won't tell anyone, I promise!"
Maxwell Jing reached out and pinched her cheek, smiling, "Not even your big brother?"
Jenna Huang nodded and said, "Even though he's my real big brother, I treat everyone the same. You and my brother are both important to me!"
Maxwell Jing smiled and said, "I'm fine. You should go back now."
Jenna Huang frowned and said softly, "Brother Jing, I know you want to be alone for a while, so I'll leave. But promise me you won't do anything foolish. Otherwise, I'll be really sad—and so will my brother and father!"
Maxwell Jing smiled, "I know. I'm important, so I can't just do something foolish!"
Jenna Huang kept nodding, then left, turning back to look at him every few steps.
Maxwell Jing shook his head, watching her walk away. Only then did he call out, "You can come out now!"
Seeing Ethan Gu appear, Maxwell Jing smiled and sighed, "Why is it that no matter where I hide, you always manage to find me?"
Is it fate? Or maybe it's fate without a future.
Ethan Gu's face was stern as he said, "If nothing's wrong, why are you hiding?"
Maxwell Jing shrugged, "Which eye of yours saw me hiding?"
"Not hiding?" Ethan Gu strode over, grabbed Maxwell Jing by the collar, and shouted angrily, "If you weren't hiding, why couldn't the Ghost Guild find you?"
Seeing the anger in Ethan Gu's eyes, Maxwell Jing still wore his devil-may-care smile and said indifferently, "Just pretend I'm already dead... mmph..."
Before he could finish, he took a punch to the stomach. Ethan Gu seemed to be venting something—he didn't use spirit power, but he put all his strength into it, hitting Maxwell Jing with all he had!
Maxwell Jing neither fought back nor dodged. After a few punches, Ethan Gu realized he hadn't used spirit power to protect himself. Seeing the blood at Maxwell's lips, Ethan's anger flared as he grabbed Maxwell's collar again and shouted, "Are you crazy or just stupid?"
Maxwell Jing suddenly smiled, looked at him, and said, "Don't you think you look even crazier?"
Ethan Gu gritted his teeth, unable to hit him again. Suddenly, he reached out and hugged Maxwell Jing tightly, using all his strength. Maxwell froze for a moment, then looked off into the distance as the smile slowly faded from his lips.
The two of them quietly held each other, neither moving, as if frozen in a timeless tableau.
Suddenly, Maxwell Jing felt something wet against his neck, startled. He looked down at Ethan Gu, his hand at his side slowly clenching. He wanted to reach out and hug him, but in the end his strength failed and his hand fell away. He gave a self-mocking smile, eyes rimmed with red.
Why does fate always toy with him?
Just as he was thinking this, Maxwell Jing's body suddenly stiffened. He couldn't help but curse under his breath, grabbed Ethan Gu, and ran. Damn sky, not only does it toy with him, now it won't even let him complain—so quick to retaliate!
Ethan Gu snapped back to his senses and, seeing the snow mountain collapse in an instant, could only run for his life with Maxwell Jing.
"Ethan Gu, you really are a jinx!" As soon as he finished, Maxwell Jing spotted a big boulder, dragged Ethan over, but before they could steady themselves, the ground gave way and both fell down.
Maxwell Jing supported his aching waist as he stood up, glaring at Ethan Gu and scolding, "Don't you know you're not supposed to shout on a snow mountain?"
Ethan Gu got up, dusted off the snow, and replied unhurriedly, "I didn't know. You never told me!"
Maxwell Jing was rendered speechless. Seeing Ethan Gu's look that said "It's your responsibility," he twitched his lips. Was this really his fault?
Once their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Maxwell Jing could vaguely make out that they were in a cave. He muttered, "Last time it was falling off a cliff, this time it's falling into a cave. Talk about bad luck!"
As soon as he finished, Maxwell Jing's body suddenly wavered. Ethan Gu quickly caught him and was about to check his pulse, but Maxwell grabbed his hand.
Maxwell Jing shook his head. "It's no use. Ten days is my limit!" Still, his timing was truly unfortunate—he just didn't want Ethan Gu to watch him die, which was why he'd tried to hide. Yet he'd still been found!
Ethan Gu's hand trembled. "What do you mean?"
Maxwell Jing gave a faint smile. "Yihan, you know better than I do—once the Blood Curse Poison has been triggered, there's no cure!"
Ethan Gu's arms tightened around him. "But you made it ten days already—can't you last another ten? I'll find a way to save you!"
Maxwell Jing coughed lightly, his breathing growing rapid. Ethan Gu quickly helped him sit down and hugged him tightly. "You promised you wouldn't die before I did!"
Maxwell Jing whispered, "I'm sorry... Looks like I'll have to break that promise..."
"Don't..." Ethan Gu wiped away the fresh blood at Maxwell Jing's lips, his heart gripped by unprecedented panic. His voice shook: "Don't die... I love you..."
After a long silence, Maxwell Jing suddenly shouted, "Ethan Gu, are you messing with me? You wait until I'm dying to say you love me—where were you before? Cough, cough..."
Ethan Gu quickly patted his back. "It's my fault..."
Maxwell Jing finally managed to catch his breath, his voice sounding weak. "I must owe you from a past life. Can't you just let me die in peace? Why did you have to say you love me now? How am I supposed to die without worries?"
For a long time, there was no sound at all—not even the faintest breath. Ethan Gu hugged him tightly, trembling, and threatened, "Maxwell Jing, don't you dare die! If you do, I'll chop you up so you won't even have a whole corpse!"
Maxwell Jing glared, wanting to speak but too exhausted. He was tired—truly, deeply tired.
Ethan Gu felt Maxwell Jing's hand slip from his arm, and his body went rigid. The emptiness in his heart vanished, replaced by numbness. After a long time, pain began to spread throughout his body, and a bitter taste rose in his throat—he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
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