That hoarse "support me" fell, and the suffocating pressure around them finally dissipated.
Shen Manyi was frozen stiff in Xiao Mo's embrace.
The bone-chilling cold emanating from the man had vanished, but his body was still icy.
Tears still clung to Shen Manyi's long lashes, and for a moment, she forgot how to react.
He agreed?
Was she hearing things?
"Little girl, stop standing there dumbfounded! He's withdrawn his Sword Qi!"
Tangyuan's voice was frantic in her mind.
"We survived! We actually survived! This Divine Beast knew the beauty trap would work!"
Startled back to her senses by its clamoring, Shen Manyi finally snapped out of it.
Cautiously, she lifted her head from Xiao Mo's icy chest, meeting his deep, dark eyes directly.
The bloodlust and savagery within them had receded, leaving only a gaze she couldn't decipher—an almost indifferent scrutiny.
"Brother…?"
Shen Manyi called out tentatively again, her voice soft and sticky, the tail end trembling slightly.
Xiao Mo didn't respond, merely lowering his gaze to look at her.
Shen Manyi wore an ill-fitting set of night clothes.
Her hair was disheveled, and her palm-sized face was streaked with tears and dirt, like a kitten that had just rolled around in the mud.
Yet those almond-shaped eyes of hers were startlingly bright.
"You said earlier that you brought all the family assets with you?"
Xiao Mo finally spoke, his voice still hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
Hearing this, Shen Manyi immediately nodded like a pecking chick.
"Yes, yes, yes! Brother, I cleaned out the entire Shen family's Zangbaoge!
Spirit Stones, Dharma Tools, Medicinal Pills—I even pried up the floor tiles!
From now on, I'll take care of you. You can buy whatever you want, and we'll never have to read anyone's expressions again!"
As she spoke, she moved to pull things out of her Storage Space to show him.
"Don't move." Xiao Mo pressed down on her hand.
His palm was cold, devoid of any warmth.
Yet it was precisely this icy touch that made Shen Manyi's tense body unconsciously relax a little.
Clinging tightly to this powerful thigh was her only path to survival, even if that thigh was as cold as a block of ice.
"You… get up first."
Xiao Mo's tone was strained, carrying an unnatural edge.
He had lived for thousands of years and had never been this close to anyone.
The warm, soft presence in his arms was like a ball of fire, making him utterly uncomfortable.
Yet the faint scent of grass and pure Spiritual Power emanating from her made him instinctively reluctant to push her away.
"Oh, oh, okay."
Only then did Shen Manyi realize she was still clinging to him like an octopus.
Her face flushed hot, and she scrambled to get up.
But the moment she moved, she spotted a large, suspicious water stain on the front of Xiao Mo's black robe—rubbed there by her tears and snot.
Her little face turned pale in an instant.
"We're doomed, we're doomed," Tangyuan wailed in her head.
"You've dirtied the clothes of a god of slaughter. What if he finds you filthy and just tosses us out to feed the snow wolves?"
Shen Manyi's heart leaped to her throat.
She had heard that these masters who cultivated Demonic Arts all had obsessive cleanliness and bizarre temperaments—they could turn on you in an instant.
She quickly extended her sleeve and carefully began wiping at the stain on Xiao Mo's robe.
She apologized in a small voice: "I'm sorry, Brother, I… I didn't mean to. I'll wipe it clean for you."
Her movements were gentle, the fabric of her sleeve brushing lightly across.
Xiao Mo's body tensed instantly.
He could clearly feel her soft sleeve graze his chest, sending a strange, tingling sensation through him.
The residual waves of the Xinmo within him had yet to settle.
This sudden touch stirred up the murderous intent he had barely managed to suppress.
It was a very unpleasant feeling.
"Enough." His voice dropped low.
Shen Manyi's hand froze mid-air, not daring to breathe.
"Brother…?"
Xiao Mo didn't look at her. Instead, he braced himself with his uninjured hand, trying to stand.
But the moment he exerted force, his body swayed uncontrollably.
Shen Manyi reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward to support his arm. "Brother, you're injured?"
Only then did she notice the hand he had been bracing on the ground.
There was a wound on the back of it, so deep the bone was visible. The blood had already clotted, frozen together with the snow.
His complexion was even paler than before, his lips completely devoid of color.
"I'm fine."
Xiao Mo tried to push her away, his voice betraying no emotion.
"How can you be fine!"
Shen Manyi grew anxious, her fear momentarily forgotten as her tone unconsciously took on a note of reproach.
"Look at you! You've lost so much blood!
Did you go into Qi Deviation from training again?
How many times have I told you to stop cultivating those harmful Demonic Arts! You just won't listen!"
As she scolded him, she treated him like her own biological brother, fully immersed in her performance.
Xiao Mo: "…"
When had he ever cultivated Demonic Arts?
What resided within him was the Inner Demon Baleful Qi, suppressed for a thousand years, tangled in karmic consequences.
"Little girl, you're overacting," Tangyuan reminded her. "Keep going and you'll blow your cover!"
Shen Manyi also realized she had said too much and quickly shut her mouth.
She simply looked at him with her big, watery apricot eyes, filled with anxiety.
"Brother, let's find a place to treat your wounds first, okay? You can't keep going like this."
Xiao Mo looked at the anxiety in her eyes—that concern didn't seem feigned.
He couldn't remember the last time someone had cared about him like this.
The feeling was unfamiliar, but he didn't refuse again.
"Mm."
With his permission, Shen Manyi perked up immediately.
She supported Xiao Mo and trudged with difficulty toward the outside of the snowy mountain.
Xiao Mo was tall, and most of his body weight pressed down on her, making walking a struggle.
"Hey, little girl, where exactly are you planning to take him?" Tangyuan asked quietly from her shoulder.
"How should I know? Let's just get out of this godforsaken place first," Shen Manyi gritted out in response.
"Aren't you afraid that once his wounds heal, the first thing he'll do is kill us to silence us?"
"I am afraid, but right now he's my brother—my only support."
Shen Manyi's gaze was resolute. "As long as he acknowledges me as his sister, I have to take good care of him.
Didn't you hear him? He told me to support him."
"Support him? With what? With that junk you stole from the Shen family?"
Tangyuan scoffed. "A big shot at his level—the Spirit Stones he eats in one meal would be enough for you to cultivate all the way to the Golden Core Stage!"
"Then I'll still support him." Shen Manyi's tone left no room for argument.
Just as the two were communicating through Divine Sense, the tall man beside her suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong, brother?" Shen Manyi asked with concern.
Xiao Mo didn't answer. He simply raised his eyes toward an ice cliff not far away.
There, a naturally formed wind-sheltered cave.
"There." He spoke tersely.
"Got it!"
Shen Manyi helped him along and finally managed to get them into the cave.
The cave was dry, able to temporarily ward off the wind and snow outside.
She had just helped Xiao Mo sit down against a flat stone wall
when she heard him speak in that flat, emotionless voice.
"You want to support me? Fine."
Shen Manyi's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Xiao Mo looked at her, his gaze calm, but the words he spoke stunned both Shen Manyi and Tangyuan.
"Your brother here—is expensive."
After saying this, his eyelids closed, and his tall frame toppled straight to the side, having fainted outright.
"Brother—!"
Shen Manyi let out a cry of alarm and hurried forward to catch him.