---o---
Cifera weakly grabbed onto Phainon's pant leg. She opened her mouth several times but couldn't form a complete sentence.
"The man in black... is with... cough cough..."
Seeing Cifera cough up mouthful after mouthful of blood, Phainon panicked. He quickly turned to Dan Heng, who was examining her. "How is she?"
Dan Heng didn't answer, his face tense as he tried everything he could think of to save Cifera.
In truth, even without him saying anything, Phainon could see that Cifera was probably not going to make it. Still, he held onto a sliver of hope. Since they were Fu Zhu's companions, perhaps they had some miraculous method to save her.
After a moment, Dan Heng sighed and shook his head silently at Phainon.
He was out of options. If he possessed the complete power of the High Elder, he might have been able to try something, but unfortunately, the healing portion of that power resided with Bailu. He was powerless.
Seeing Dan Heng shake his head, Phainon's face tightened. He reached down to help Cifera up.
"Let's go! We'll head back to Okhema! With MK2000, we can get you treated quickly!"
But Cifera feebly raised a hand, patting the hand Phainon offered. She forced herself to speak through the pain. "That man in black... is connected... to the Chrysos Heirs... the one called the dressmaker woman... be careful..."
"Stop talking! I'm taking you back to Okhema!"
Phainon was frantic. He couldn't bear to watch his companion die right in front of him.
"It's too late. She won't make it."
Just then, Stelle, who had been standing quietly to the side, spoke up. Though she knew nothing of medicine, one look at the amount of blood Cifera was losing was enough to tell her that it was over. The fact that she was still conscious was a testament to her incredible constitution.
"Then what do we do?" Phainon asked desperately.
"I may not be able to come up with a Plan A, B, and C like my brother, but I have a plan!"
Stelle began patting herself down, only to realize that the Totem of Undying she always carried with her must have gone missing when the Express carriage crashed. She had no idea where it went.
"Use mine."
Seeing Stelle fumbling around, Dan Heng immediately thought of the Totem of Undying.
Stelle and he were not healers, but if she said she had a way, it could only be related to one of Fu Zhu's items.
Seeing Dan Heng pull out the Totem of Undying, Stelle didn't waste any more words. Cifera's condition was far too critical to allow for idle chatter.
Stelle took the Totem of Undying, pushed it into Cifera's hand, and helped her clench her fingers around it. Then, she took out her baseball bat, hesitated for a moment as she aimed it at Cifera's head, and then looked uncertainly at Dan Heng.
"Are there any special requirements for activating the Totem of Undying?"
Dan Heng shook his head. Fu Zhu had only told them that the Totem could block death once, but he'd never specified any limitations on the method of death.
With Dan Heng also uncertain, Stelle's confidence evaporated. She scratched her head and passed the baseball bat to Phainon.
"You do it! She's your companion. Put her out of her misery!"
"What?!"
Phainon looked at Stelle in utter disbelief. One moment she was saying she had a plan, and the next she was handing him a small sculpture to give to Cifera before telling him to finish her off?
Is your plan to perform last rites for her?!
Even Cifera, lying on the ground with her consciousness fading, couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood when she heard Stelle's words.
Sister, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather live!
But unfortunately, her injuries were too severe for her to speak those words.
Cifera felt her vision being consumed by darkness, her body growing colder and colder. Just as her consciousness was about to be completely submerged in the abyss, a loud crack echoed in her ears, and a strange, bronze-colored sculpture hovered before her eyes.
After shattering, the Totem of Undying dissolved into countless points of light that flowed into Cifera's body. The wounds on her body healed in an instant.
Phainon stared, stunned at the scene. Beside him, Stelle shot him a "reproachful" look.
"I told you to put her out of her misery. See? She had to bleed to death for the Totem of Undying to activate."
Cifera bolted upright, subconsciously looking at Stelle as she retorted, "I was about to die from your temper!"
"What? Me?" Stelle scratched the back of her head, embarrassed. "But the result was good, wasn't it?"
Cifera wanted to retort again, but she suddenly came to her senses and began frantically checking her body.
"I'm... alive?!"
Although she felt incredibly weak, she was certain that all the injuries on her body were completely healed! With a day or two of rest, she would be back on her feet!
Seeing that Cifera was alive, Phainon was overjoyed but also curious. He turned to Stelle and Dan Heng.
"How did you do that? Just now, I saw that sculpture fly out of Cifera's hand and merge into her body. Was it because of the sculpture?"
Dan Heng nodded.
"That's a Totem of Undying. Its effect is to negate death for the holder one time. It was something Fu Zhu gave us to protect ourselves, but we couldn't afford to be so considerate under the circumstances."
Hearing that it was such a precious item, Phainon was overcome with guilt. But thinking that it was his companion who had been saved, he stood up and gave Dan Heng and Stelle a deep, solemn bow.
"Thank you. All Chrysos Heirs owe you a great debt."
Stelle, however, grinned nonchalantly. "It's fine. We have one more. It's just... I don't know where I dropped mine."
Beside her, Dan Heng looked at Stelle's profile, lost in thought.
He had a guess as to where her Totem of Undying went.
The Express had been hit by a sudden attack, causing it to crash. Stelle's Totem of Undying had likely been triggered and consumed at that moment.
There was no other way to explain how Stelle, who had clearly been injured at the time, was able to get up and run around so energetically.
Cifera, meanwhile, was sitting on the ground, muttering to herself.
"You've already disappeared, yet you saved me a second time through your companions... I owe you two lives now. You, my creditor, should probably show up to collect..."
Cifera had just stood up when she suddenly thought of the man in black. She immediately said to the group with a sense of urgency, "Let's go! That man in black was sent flying by you all, but I don't think he's dead! This isn't a place to talk. Let's leave first!"
If it were just her and Phainon, she might have tried to capture the man in black and interrogate him for information.
But Dan Heng and Stelle were here, and they were Fu Zhu's companions. Cifera didn't want them to see anything that would hurt Fu Zhu. For the sake of caution, it was better to leave this place and formulate a long-term plan.
That was what she thought, but someone else thought differently.
Stelle picked up her baseball bat and looked in the direction Khaslana had been sent flying.
"I should avoid him?"