Soulbound Destiny

Chapter 22: Miraculous Survival

Agony! An indescribable, all-consuming pain suddenly engulfed Gene’s consciousness. Blood poured uncontrollably from his mouth and nose, and he felt his life force draining away in an unstoppable torrent. Every breath was agony, every heartbeat felt like a hammer smashing against his chest. The world around him blurred, fading into darkness.

Feng Tianyu advanced slowly, each step deliberate, his gaze cold and merciless, as though inspecting an insignificant insect. “Remember this in your next life,” he said, his voice icy and unwavering, “when life is cheap, one must know their place. Do not dare to overreach.”

Gene coughed violently, blood spraying across his pale face, his vision clouding with blackness. He knew, without a shadow of doubt, that this was the end. Death was so near he could feel it brushing against his skin. But even in this imminent demise, fury and defiance surged through him like wildfire.

In a desperate, reckless act, he forced out a lie—one designed to pierce Feng Tianyu’s heart with jealousy:

“You guessed right… I did have… intimacy with Ling Yue… I held her, kissed her… I even… helped her change her clothes… I saw… touched… every inch of her… ha… ha… ha… cough… cough… cough…”

He knew the words were poisonous, deliberately cruel, and they would ignite Feng Tianyu’s fury. Even if it only managed to enrage him slightly, it would be worth it. This was his last act of defiance, the final spark of rebellion from a man on the edge of death.

“Damn you!” Feng Tianyu’s eyes blazed with uncontrollable rage. His right palm began to glow with condensed spiritual energy, the aura of death coalescing, ready to deliver the final, lethal strike.

But at that critical moment—just as Gene felt consciousness slipping into the eternal void—a sharp, furious female voice pierced the night air, clear and forceful, coming from a distance but closing with lightning speed:

“Feng Tianyu! Stop!”

It was Ling Yue.

Through the haze of blood and pain, Gene’s mind, barely clinging to awareness, saw a familiar, slender figure darting toward them like a streak of lightning. Her face was etched with a mixture of shock, anger, and determination, and every step she took seemed to shake the earth itself.

Feng Tianyu froze, his deadly attack halted midair, his gaze snapping toward the source of the voice. The tension of the night seemed to crackle like static, the forest around them holding its breath.

Gene, lying battered and broken, felt a flicker of hope surge through his veins. He could see the fire of life in Ling Yue’s eyes, her spirit radiating with unyielding force, a defiance strong enough to challenge even the wrath of Feng Tianyu.

Every ounce of energy in Gene’s body, every shattered bone and torn muscle, seemed to respond to her presence. The chill of death receded slightly, replaced by a trembling spark of survival. Somehow, miraculously, he had a chance.

Feng Tianyu’s lips parted, his voice now mixed with fury and disbelief. “You… dare…”

Ling Yue’s footsteps thundered closer, and Gene felt the warmth of her spirit brush against the cold night. Even in his weakened state, he knew that help had arrived. The tide was shifting. The hunter’s certainty of victory wavered.

Gene gasped, coughing up more blood, but his heart, long battered and near despair, now beat with a stubborn, stubborn determination. Against the edge of death, with the shadow of annihilation looming, the miraculous chance for survival had arrived—borne on the fury and courage of the one person he had vowed never to abandon.

The night held its breath as the clash of wills, fury, and desperate survival drew ever closer, the next moment promising life, death, or something even stranger in the shadowed forest.