I'm in the Dragon Clan, bound to the Naruto Counterattack System

Chapter 176 Xia Mi: I will die

The evening breeze blew through the tree-lined avenue of the preparatory school in the capital, carrying the coolness of late autumn.

Chu Zihang walked alone on the road, his steps steady and his face expressionless.

As the streetlights lit up one by one, they stretched his shadow to varying lengths.

A figure emerged from the shadows of the teaching building, his steps somewhat unsteady.

Chu Zihang looked at Caesar, who had suddenly appeared from some corner, with a hint of surprise on his usually expressionless face.

This young nobleman, who was always known for his elegance and pride, was now pale, his long golden hair was somewhat disheveled, and his icy blue eyes held a rare look of bewilderment and confusion.

"Are you alright?" Chu Zihang stopped in his tracks, his voice as calm as ever, revealing no emotion.

Caesar looked up and saw that it was Chu Zihang. He forced a smile, but the smile was full of exhaustion.

"It's nothing, just—I'm a little dizzy."

"What happened?" Chu Zihang asked directly.

Caesar frowned, as if trying to recall.

"I don't know either." He shook his head. "My last memory is of being on campus in the afternoon, and then—it's like I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was already in the infirmary."

He paused, rubbed his still sore neck, and looked even more confused.

"The doctors couldn't explain why I fainted. That memory is like it was cut off with scissors; it's completely blank."

Chu Zihang showed a hint of surprise, but quickly regained his composure.

A blank memory, a sudden fainting spell.

How similar this scene is.

He had experienced something similar not long ago.

That time, the last person he came into contact with before he fell into a coma was Xia Mi.

Chu Zihang's gaze unconsciously sharpened.

He looked at Caesar and abruptly asked, "Did you see Xia Mi before you fell unconscious?"

Caesar was stunned.

He tried hard to search his memory, and vaguely he seemed to see a blurry figure, a petite figure in a school uniform.

But the image flashed by so quickly that it was impossible to catch.

"Not sure." Caesar finally shook his head. "I don't really remember her."

Has your memory been erased?

Chu Zihang already had the answer in his heart.

If it's a coincidence once, can it be a coincidence twice?

That carefree, seemingly harmless, cheerful girl must be hiding a huge secret.

In Chu Zihang's mind, a picture began to become clear.

It was a rainy day not long ago. He went to Xia Mi's house with her. He always had a good memory and could still remember the location of the apartment building and Xia Mi's house number.

"You should get some rest," Chu Zihang said to Caesar, then turned and started walking.

Instead of going home, he walked in the opposite direction from his residence.

Night fell, enveloping the entire city.

Chu Zihang stood in front of a somewhat old apartment building and looked up in a certain direction.

The lights there flickered on and off, like a faulty circuit flashing in the pitch-black night.

Chu Zihang tightened his grip on the tennis bag on his back, inside which was his saber, Murasame.

He walked into the stairwell, his footsteps echoing in the empty space. He arrived at Xia Mi's room and stood before that familiar door.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Boom, boom, boom.

After a dull knock, there was an eerily quiet silence.

No one answered.

Chu Zihang frowned and pressed his ear against the cold door panel.

He heard a very faint sound coming from behind the door.

Those were suppressed gasps, as if someone was enduring immense pain, making even breathing difficult.

Then came a muffled "bang".

It looked like something heavy had fallen to the floor.

Chu Zihang's heart sank.

Reason told him that unknown dangers might be lurking behind the door, and the best option now was to leave immediately and then come over with Cheng Sui and Caesar.

But an inexplicable worry, or perhaps an intuition, led him to make another choice.

He grasped the doorknob and tentatively turned it gently.

"Click".

The door wasn't locked, and Chu Zihang easily pushed it open.

A strong, pungent smell of blood wafted over.

-

Chu Zihang pushed open the door, and the sight that greeted him made his pupils shrink abruptly.

The room was a complete mess.

Books and miscellaneous items were scattered all over the floor, a chair lay overturned beside it, and in the center of this chaos, Xia Mi curled up on the floor.

Her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. Her bangs were soaked with cold sweat and clung tightly to her skin.

Her pristine white school uniform shirt was completely soaked in blood on the side, turning it into a shocking dark red.

Chu Zihang didn't say much; he was always a man of action.

Chu Zihang strode forward and squatted down in front of Xia Mi.

By the faint moonlight filtering in from the window, he saw the wound on Xia Mi's waist and abdomen.

A gruesome wound tore through his clothes and skin, leaving a bloody mess. And along the edges of the gaping flesh, he could see some faint traces.

Those were several dragon scales shimmering with an eerie light.

Chu Zihang's guesses were all confirmed at this moment.

Xia Mi is definitely not an ordinary girl.

However, his body reacted even faster than his brain.

He immediately took off his coat, tore off a piece of cloth, and carefully pressed it against her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

His movements were somewhat clumsy, after all, he himself was not very good at treating wounds. When he encountered this situation, he would usually just use a stapler to sew the skin and flesh together, and then use tape to stop the bleeding.

But Chu Zihang, who was treating Xia Mi's wounds, was unusually focused at the moment.

Just as he was cleaning the blood around the wound, the girl on the floor let out a faint groan.

Xia Mi slowly opened her eyes. Her usual clear and lively eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by a burning, molten gold-like flame.

When those golden eyes focused on Chu Zihang's face, who was standing right in front of him, the chilling killing intent instantly erupted to its peak.

Chu Zihang could even feel goosebumps rising on his skin, but he did not stop stopping Xia Mi's bleeding.

Xia Mi's murderous gaze slowly moved down from Chu Zihang's cold face and landed on his hands that were pressing on his wound.

At this moment, Chu Zihang was clumsily pressing on her wound with a piece of torn school uniform fabric, trying to stop the loss of life.

In Xia Mi's eyes, Chu Zihang's brows were furrowed, and he was not deterred by the murderous aura that she instinctively exuded.

Looking at Chu Zihang, the golden flames in Xia Mi's eyes gradually died down, and the suffocating pressure dissipated as well.

Chu Zihang felt the pressure ease. He silently gave Xia Mi a simple bandage and then stood up.

He looked down at the weak girl on the ground, his expression returning to its usual cold and aloof demeanor.

His long-standing intuition, honed through missions, told him that this was the perfect time to act. He could use Xia Mi's injuries to interrogate her about her words and actions.

But looking at Xia Mi's pale face, Chu Zihang felt a strange sensation.

"I'll come see you again in a few days."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and prepared to leave.

However, he had just taken a step when a cold hand grabbed the hem of his clothes.

That hand wasn't very strong; Chu Zihang could easily get rid of it.

Chu Zihang froze.

He heard Xia Mi's extremely weak voice behind him, filled with self-mockery and a complex emotion he couldn't understand.

"You saw it—and you think you can just leave like that?"

"I will die alone."

Chu Zihang stood still, his back to her, and fell silent.

The moonlight from outside the window shone through the slightly open curtains, casting a distinct shadow between him and her.

After a long while, Chu Zihang sighed silently and turned to walk into the shadow that enveloped Xia Mi.