Tears trickled down her cheeks as she saw Huo Lian bringing in another bowl of tonic to her, she had been drinking several bowls of tonic ever since she collapsed and her condition had only gotten worse. As Huo Lian came close to the bedside, she handed the bowl of tonic to Huo Mei, the both of them saw the tears on Huo Ying face but they didn't bother to wipe it, they knew what those tears meant. If the guardians don't return today, Huo Ying will surely die since there is no other way to stop her from dying. But they couldn't bring themselves to cry, they needed themselves to put on a strong front for Huo Ying to trust them to save her.

What they feared the most are not that they wouldn't be able to get the herbs but the distance between the flame sect and the vitality sect, even if they are able to get the herbs, they wouldn't be able to return to the flame sect within three days. If they rode at their fastest speed then they would only be able to return to the flame sect within six days but this is already the third day and Huo Ying would not be able to last this day without the herbs. Huo Mei hasn't left the room since the day Huo Ying collapsed because she blamed herself, if only she had done her duty carefully, they wouldn't have run out of the herbs. All the disciples in the sect have also not been eating and training, the sect has been thrown into mourning ever since they found out how serious he serious is and that she cannot survive the third day without the herbs. ​​

Huo Mei helped Huo Ying to sit on the bed then she scooped a spoonful of tonic to feed to Huo Ying, but when she brought it forward to her mouth, she wouldn't open her mouth. Tears just kept dropping from her eyes without any emotion showing on her face, her lips were already white and pale while her face was as pale as a ghost.

"Young mistress, you have to drink this, we can only stall time until they arrive with the herbs but if you don't, you wouldn't be able to survive at all, please…" Huo Mei pleaded, all the tears that she had held in before started dropping, she couldn't hold the tears in again and neither could she hide her emotions, even she knew that the chances of her surviving are very slim.

"Young mistress, please drink the tonic…" Huo Lian pleaded too.

Huo Mei raised the spoon to feed her again but Huo Ying just flipped the whole bowl of tonic on the floor, then the bowl shattered. Both of them gasped as they watched the bowl shatter on the ground.

"young mistress…." Huo Mei said softly, she was shocked at Huo Ying's actions, ever since she got sick, she hasn't done such a thing even if she wanted to, she lacked the strength to do it.

"I…I…I don't…don't want it" She said, she had not said anything for so long because she lacked the strength to even talk. She rested both hands at the edge of the bed with her hair pouring down her on her right shoulder.

"Young mistress what is it..." Huo Mei asked

"am I supposed to waste the last moment of my life drinking tonics…. right…right now..." she struggled to talk but she was using up too much energy, she could feel that she was about to spit out something but it just hasn't come yet, the both of them noticed that she suddenly stopped talking so there must be a reason for that, Huo Mei immediately stood up from the chair to check her pulse, she knelt down by the bedside and held her wrist while placing her index and third finger on her wrist. Huo Ying suddenly felt a metallic test in her mouth, she wanted to tell them but she couldn't, she had used to much strength in throwing a tantrum just now that she couldn't speak, she looked at them while their eyes met her eyes, they knew that she wanted to say something. At that moment, blood started drooling out of her mouth, it just kept on flowing from the side of her mouth without stopping. Huo Lian quickly straightened her body and sat behind Huo Ying while Huo Mei sat in front of her and held her hand. The blood still continued flowing from the side of her mouth but they didn't try to clean it, the first thing they needed to do was to stop the blood from pouring out of her mouth and keeping her alive for as long as they can.

Huo Lian used her index finger and her third finger to hit the middle of her back and the two upper sides of her back, immediately Huo Ying jerked forward and vomited a large amount of blood from her mouth, the blood sprayed itself on Huo Mei face like a shower of blood.

Seeing how much blood she had vomited, they were even more convinced that she might not make it, Huo Lian made an arc in the air and passed her vital energy to her palm then she hit Huo Ying's back with her palm with a great amount of force to channel her internal force to Huo Ying, as soon as her palm hit her back she spat out another mouthful of blood.

After thirty minutes of passing, they had all started sweating, Huo Lian had almost used up her internal force and she was already feeling too weak, Huo Ying's body had already absorbed too much of her internal force, she already felt weak but she couldn't stop for the meantime or else Huo Ying will lose consciousness and it would be hard for her to wake up again.

"A'Lian, can you continue, you are looking exhausted," Huo Mei said, she could already judge from Huo Lian complexion that she was already exhausted and she would pass out if she still continued channelling her internal force into Huo Ying's body.

"If I stop now, she will lose consciousness and once she does, we might not be able to save her again" Huo Lian replied with a weak voice, her hands had already started trembling and she had already started sweating profusely.

"I will pass my internal force to her, you go and inform the sect leader of the situation, we can't keep him from this" Huo Mei said, then Huo Lian stopped channelling her internal force, she calmed her Qi down then she stood up from the bed. As soon as she stopped channelling her internal force, Huo Mei quickly joined her palm with Huo Ying's palm then she began channelling her internal force into her body.

------------------------

They had been riding their horses at the fastest speed with the vitality sect disciples chasing behind them, they had been riding for hours now ever since the day broke and it was already afternoon now.

"I think we have managed to get them off our trail" Huo Li said, they had been pursued by the vitality sect disciples ever since they ran out of their sect and they still haven't stopped riding.

"I don't think the young mistress can wait until we reach the sect, with those idiots pursuing us, it would take us at least three days to return to the sect," Bingchen said

"I am afraid that she wouldn't be able to live past today without the herbs," Huo Qiang said.

They started riding faster than they did before when they realized that they had no chance of saving her life if they can't return to the sect today.

When they rode out of the mountains, they had arrived at the entrance Ping Yao city and they intended to just continue riding even though they were tired, but they suddenly realised that there was something amiss in front of the city gate, then they decided not to go close to the city gate. The three of them got down from the horse, then they hid behind an abandoned house far away from the city gate.

"They seem to be searching for someone, seeing how they are not letting anyone enter into the city without searching them," Huo Li said.

"Even though the vitality sect is a small sect, they are highly favoured by the government, we can't rule out the chance that we are the ones they are searching for," Bingchen said

"But we can't stay here for long, the young mistress life is at stake here," Huo Qiang said, it was clear from his tone that he was already getting impatient, he is the closest person to Huo Ying among all the guardians and disciples of the sect, whenever she had a problem she always told him first before the other, he just couldn't wait here while her life was at stake.

"They don't know how we look like but our dressing and Huo Li stature might expose us," Bingchen said

"How is my stature going to expose us, are you mocking me" Huo Li said

"aren't you being paranoid, can't you see that on that side, there are girls with smaller stature being held," Bingchen said, then Huo Li glanced at the gate, several girls with a similar height to her were standing at the side of the gate.

"let's check inside this house if there is someone in it," Huo Qiang said

The three of them entered into the house, it seems like the house belonged to a male seeing how there are knives and arrows in the house, different clothes were hanging inside one of the rooms, Huo Li noticed a silver object lying in the corner of one of the rooms, she entered the room alone when she noticed the silver object.

How can there be anything made of silver in this shabby house…

She thought!

She entered the room and she saw a silver box lying in the corner of the room, the box is big enough for a human to fit in. She moved to the corner of the room but as soon as she touched the box, the door of the room closed and someone appeared behind her, he quickly hit the acupoint on her neck to immobilise her, then he put a knife on her neck. She wasn't expecting anyone to be in the house so she didn't out her guard up that was why the man was able to hit her.

"Who are you," the man asked, he looked like he is in his mid-forties and he had a very small stature, he looks ruffled but he didn't seem like someone who had good martial art.

"if you don't release me now don't blame me for being cruel," Huo Li said.

"you can't even move so what can you do me," the man said, seeing Huo Li small stature, he had already let his guard down and belittled her. She gave the man an evil smile then she….

Outside the room, the other two had not yet noticed her absence, they were about to leave the house when Bingchen noticed that Huo Li was not with them.

"Where is Huo Li?" Bingchen asked, Huo Qiang looked around but he couldn't see her, the checked the rooms they had entered before but they didn't find her, then Huo Qiang saw the room that Huo Li entered.

"I think I saw her entering this room," Huo Qiang said, then the both of them went towards the room, Bingchen pulled the doorknob but the door wouldn't open.

"Why aren't you opening the door?" Huo Qiang asked

"someone locked it from inside" Bingchen replied, then he kicked the door down.

They were shocked at the sight of the scene in front of them. She had already knocked the man out then she just kept on slapping his face, when she noticed that they were inside the room, she stopped then she pulled the man's cloth by his neck to pull him up.

"We are supposed to be looking for how to escape this search but you are here beating up an innocent man," Bingchen said, then she glared at him and turned to look at the man who was already unconscious.

"Innocent man! do you know what this man did to me" Huo Li said, then Huo Qiang and Bingchen glanced at each other.

"He harassed you!!" the both of them chorused, but before she could deny the accusation against the man who was just dangling in her hand, they had already...