“Is that so?”
In the end, he didn’t make a move. The demons behind him were no pushovers.
They were struggling out of the rubble, their eyes burning with a vengeful fury as they stared at him.
The young man’s eyes curved into a smile, but the amusement faded from his lips. “Then why don’t you show me your sincerity?”
Xu Songhe let out a startled cry. Before she could even process his words, a small demon spat a fireball and lunged at her.
She scrambled to dodge, the fireball grazing her clothes and scorching the rocks behind her with a loud crackle.
“I’m injured and can’t fight,” he said, taking a slow step back.
A hint of helplessness now flickered in his eyes, a stark contrast to his previous demeanor. “It seems I can only leave them to you.”
He had always been a man of principle. In the cave earlier, she had indeed helped him stall for time. Repaying kindness with enmity was not his way.
Instead, he would push her forward, she would be devoured by the demons in moments. As for her choosing to help the enemy against him… well, that would cancel out the debt. If he then killed her, it would be perfectly justifiable.
After all, this was the only path she could take to get home.
“H-Husband, don’t be scared, I’ll protect you!”
Xu Songhe scooped up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the demons. When that failed to stop them from closing in, she gave up the fight.
Seizing the young man’s hand, she tried to drag him away. “I can’t fight them either! Let’s just run!”
I just died and transmigrated here, she thought. I can’t die again already, can I?!
After a long moment, Xu Songhe tremblingly pried open her eyes. What she saw was a pile of demon corpses stacked on top of one another.
“What a nuisance.”
She heard the young man next to her scoff. He was looking down, wiping blood from his hands.
Great! The system wasn’t completely lying after all. He really wouldn’t just stand by and watch me get eaten by demons.
“Young Master, are you alright—Hey, wait for me!” Seeing him turn to leave without her, Xu Songhe scrambled to her feet.
She brushed the dust off her clothes and stumbled after him.
“You did help me.”
His cool voice drifted over as three bamboo whistles fell to the ground. Xu Songhe froze, staring at him in confusion.
The young man glanced back at her. “If you ever need me, blow one of these, and I will appear.”
A coward with such weak spiritual power, he thought. I can’t be bothered to deal with her. I might as well just send her away with a few empty promises. Even if she blows those whistles until her lips bleed, I’ll never show up.
Xu Songhe couldn’t believe her ears.
After a moment of stunned silence, she bent down and solemnly picked up the three bamboo whistles, tucking them into her robes.
Such a cliché plot…
But it was incredibly useful. She was even a little flattered.
Before she could say thank you, he turned his back and started to walk away.
She hurried after him. “Young Master, didn’t you say you were injured? I’ve studied some medicine—let me help you!”
When she finally caught up, she grabbed his arm and looked up at him, panting. “Young Master, where are you going?”
The young man stopped dead. His gaze swept over her hand, and a hint of murderous intent flickered in his eyes. “Let go.”
“Ah, sorry…”
Realizing her gesture had been too forward, Xu Songhe started to release him. But suddenly, her foot slipped. In her panic, she grabbed onto whatever was nearest to her, barely managing to keep her balance.
Xu Songhe looked down at the hand she was holding and felt a surge of relief.
He acts tough but has a soft heart, she thought. He really didn’t just abandon me.
CRACK—
The sound was so sickening that her scalp prickled—an instinctive reaction from her body.
Xu Songhe looked up, her eyes following the arm she held to the young man who had already walked several paces away. The smile froze on her lips.
A pale arm was clutched in her hand. It had been severed cleanly at the joint, without a single drop of blood, looking more like a dried tree branch than human flesh.
Overwhelming terror crashed over her.
He hadn’t caught her; she had ripped his arm clean off in her desperation to balance herself!
“Ah—!”
The shock was too much. Her hand shook, and the severed arm clattered to the ground.
“I… I…” She collapsed, her teeth chattering. She couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
An arm. A real human arm! How could she have just pulled it off?
She whipped her head up and saw the young man pause. He glanced at his empty sleeve, his brow furrowing slightly.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do it! What are we going to do about your arm?” Xu Songhe practically wailed, her voice breaking.
She scrambled to pick up the severed limb, her fingers trembling as she tried to stuff it back into his empty sleeve. “I’ll… I’ll give you my arm! Can you still reattach it?”
The young man suppressed his annoyance at her tearful, nonstop babbling. A cold smile touched his lips. “Fine. Go ahead and cut it off.”
Really? I have to… actually cut it off?
But she had ripped his arm off. If she didn’t give him one of hers, he’d be a cripple for the rest of his life. Her conscience would never let her live it down.
Xu Songhe scanned the ground and spotted a sharp stone.
She stepped in front of him, fighting back tears as she held out the rock.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her shoulders shaking violently. “You… you do it. I can’t bring myself to do it.”
She waited, but no answer came. After a long moment, she cracked one eye open, only to see him walking right past her, heading away from them.
“Annoying,” he muttered coolly over his shoulder.
Xu Songhe stared blankly, stunned into silence.
How could he be so calm? she wondered. Can’t he feel the pain?
It was as if losing an arm was as casual as taking a sip of water. And why was there no blood where his arm had been severed?
But she was too consumed by her own terror and guilt to dwell on the question.
“Young Master, are you really okay? Doesn’t it hurt?”
Xu Songhe kept her head bowed, following him cautiously. Her mind raced, trying to figure out how to reattach the arm. It was a macabre sight—she walked behind the man whose arm she had just torn off, clutching the severed limb to her chest.
The young man suddenly turned to her, a faint smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. “Are you still here?”
“Where am I supposed to go?” she asked instinctively, tilting her head in confusion. “I… I don’t know where else I can go.”
When he didn’t respond, her fingers nervously twisted the fabric of her skirt.
“I’m from somewhere else,” she murmured. “I have no home anymore. I really don’t know where else to go…”
“Oh,” Qi Wuyang said, his gaze falling on the severed arm in her arms. His tone was flat. “And how does that have anything to do with me?”
I’m screwed, she thought. Is he going to leave me behind?
This place was positively haunted. Her only chance of survival was to stick with a powerful figure like him.
“Big Shot… no, Husband,” Xu Songhe tried cautiously.
When he didn’t seem to object to the name, she lowered her voice and continued, “Actually, I traveled here from the future. In my time, you were already my husband, and we were very much in love. Given what just happened… could you please give me a chance to apologize?”
But he wasn’t in the mood to listen. He lazily brushed a fallen leaf off his shoulder, turned, and walked away.
Xu Songhe froze, then tried to follow. But as she took her first step, a sudden gust of wind whipped sand into her eyes.
She crouched down, rubbing her eyes. By the time she could see the path again, the young man’s figure had already vanished.
The surrounding trees were sparse, leaving nothing but vast stretches of sandy, yellowish earth. Forcing herself to stay calm, Xu Songhe followed the footprints that hadn’t yet been covered by the drifting sand.
She walked until she reached a denser, greener grove, where the footprints finally disappeared completely.
“Husband, don’t leave me alone—”
She looked around, lost and helpless. After a moment’s hesitation, she cleared her throat and called out a few more times, but only her own echo answered her.
By the time she had escaped the demon’s den, it was already late. Now, after wasting even more time, the surroundings had plunged into near-complete darkness.
Several unidentifiable insects buzzed around the bushes, occasionally landing on her. Xu Songhe dreaded these little creatures.
She curled into a ball, burying her head in the crook of her arm, yet still fiercely protecting the severed arm she had just found.
The sensation of insects flying over her head was nauseating. In frustration, she yanked a handful of her own hair. Once she was sure the bugs were gone, she slowly let go, but the stinging pain in her scalp only grew more pronounced.
She hugged her knees, her cheeks wet with tears.
Xu Songhe slowly wiped them away. Her vision blurred, the world before her merging and then separating again.
I’m so dizzy. I just want to go home…
The tears threatened to fall again.
If she could only go home, she’d even be willing to face her skin-flaying boss’s foul expression all day. She didn’t want to spend another second in a place where she might be eaten alive at any moment.
“Host, don’t be sad. I’ve detected a demon nearby. You need to run for your life.”
Xu Songhe froze, then looked up, stunned. “How do you know?”
The system’s voice sounded proud. “I automatically record the auras of threats to my Host and activate real-time monitoring.”
In the moonlight filtering onto the ground, a figure swayed leisurely. From her angle, she could only see half its body.
Her head buzzed. Even her tears dried up.
A single thought filled her mind—I can’t escape anyway. If I die, will I be able to return to my original world?
The System had told her she needed to raise the demon’s favorability, but what if it was wrong? What other choice did she have?
In a desperate, defiant act, Xu Songhe scooped up a pebble and hurled it at the figure.
A soft “Tch” echoed in the air.
“You shouldn’t have come outside,” the man sneered, releasing his grip on her hair.
His tone was heavy with disappointment. “I thought I’d found a new shell, but it’s just you again.”
Xu Songhe looked up hesitantly, tears shimmering in her eyes. A completely unfamiliar face stared back at her.
[Host, don’t just stand there! If you die here, you’re dead for real.]
She froze for a moment as her will to live surged. Terror, like vines sprouting from the ground, coiled tightly around her.
“Please don’t eat me! I’m not from around here, my meat probably tastes terrible…” Xu Songhe nearly collapsed to her knees. The figure loomed closer, closing the distance rapidly. “F-Fine! Let’s compromise. I’ll let you take one bite, then you let me go, okay?”
“Weren’t you just insisting on following me?” the man asked coolly, his voice drifting through the moonlight.
Wait, that voice…
Xu Songhe thought she had misheard. She looked up in shock, staring at the man whose appearance had completely changed. This wasn’t the same demon from a moment ago. This was…
Half of the young man’s face was bathed in soft moonlight, while the other half remained lost in shadow. He leaned down slightly, a teasing glint in his eyes as he looked at her.
“So timid,” he murmured, his tone laced with amusement. “How boring.”