After saying that, Long Xuanye stood up.
“I’ll go clean up some things.”
He turned and hid behind one side of the thatched hut, avoiding Sheng Cai’er’s line of sight.
The moment he stopped, a sweetness surged into his throat.
“Puh—”
A mouthful of dark red blood was forced back down, but some still leaked from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the soil.
His vision went black in waves.
The world spun around him.
It was as if a ball of fire was burning inside his brain, scorching every nerve.
The backlash from overusing his internal spiritual power had finally erupted.
Last night, the system had triggered another choice.
Still fixed mode.
The reward for annihilating the demon squad was one point of Innate Dark Internal Spiritual Power, so the difficulty had naturally risen.
To instantly kill the squad led by two fourth-rank demons, he had used three seconds of Primordial Chaos Opening.
It was only a short moment, but it had almost drained all of his spiritual power and placed a huge burden on his body.
He did not dare get injured.
Even less did he dare let Cai’er discover it.
Long Xuanye leaned against the wall and retched violently for a while.
Only after that churning feeling eased slightly did he wipe the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
He took a deep breath, fixed his expression, then walked back as if nothing had happened.
The fourth day.
The sun was already high when Long Xuanye slowly woke up.
It had been a long time since he had woken this late.
His mind was heavy.
His eyelids felt as if they had been filled with lead.
Every bone in his body seemed to be groaning under pressure.
“Xuanye, you’re awake?”
A voice filled with concern sounded beside his ear.
Sheng Cai’er was holding a basin of clean water.
When she saw him open his eyes, worry instantly filled her face.
She reached out with her cool little hand and touched his forehead.
“So hot… You have a fever.”
Sheng Cai’er’s brows furrowed tightly.
“Lie down.
You’re not allowed to cultivate today.
Rest properly.”
Long Xuanye did not have the strength to argue.
He could only let her press him back onto the simple bed made from dry grass.
In a daze, he moved his thoughts and called up the system panel only he could see.
[God-Level Choice Completed.]
[Choice: Annihilate the attacking demon squad.]
[Mission Reward: Innate Dark Internal Spiritual Power +1, Internal Spiritual Power +2.]
The reward was generous.
So generous that his heart sank.
Because the enemies last night had been stronger than ever before.
His Innate Dark Internal Spiritual Power had already quietly reached 5 points.
Last night…
Long Xuanye tried to recall it, but only fragmented blood-colored scenes remained in his mind.
He only remembered being driven by something like a beast’s instinct, forcibly draining the life force and demonic energy of a fourth-rank demon, condensing them into a pure dark blade in his palm.
After that, there was a black light cutting through the night sky and several heads flying into the air.
His memories after that were blank.
“Xuanye, I’ll wipe your body for you.
You’ll feel more comfortable.”
Sheng Cai’er’s voice pulled him back from those bloody memories.
A warm towel gently wiped across his cheek and neck.
Her movements were light, like feathers.
After wiping him down, Sheng Cai’er did not leave.
She only sat quietly at the bedside and held his hand.
Her hand was small, but very warm.
In his hazy consciousness, Long Xuanye felt very at ease.
For some reason, he felt as if he had not transmigrated to the Holy Demon Continent at all.
Instead, he was lying at home after falling sick, while someone sat beside the bed in worry.
He opened his eyes.
What he saw was Cai’er tilting her head, bringing her face closer to his.
The girl’s cheek was smooth, soft, and slightly cool.
It felt very comfortable.
“Xuanye, it’s fine.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’ll go to the nearby town and buy some fever medicine for you,” Sheng Cai’er said softly.
“You have to wait for Mother to come back.”
“Everything will get better.”
Long Xuanye felt as if he had been hugged for a moment.
Then her breathing gradually moved away.
Sheng Cai’er turned around, left the house, and walked toward the forest path.
Long Xuanye lay on the grass bed and watched her back until that thin figure completely disappeared at the end of the tree shadows.
Inside the thatched hut, it instantly became so quiet that only his heavy, burning breaths remained.
And at that moment.
A cold mechanical voice exploded in his mind.
[God-Level Choice Triggered.]
[Choice One: Annihilate the attacking demon squad.
Reward: Innate Dark Internal Spiritual Power +2, Internal Spiritual Power +10.]
[Choice Two: Immediately flee this place.
Reward: Internal Spiritual Power +3.]
Long Xuanye’s pupils suddenly shrank to needle points.
Two points of Innate Dark Internal Spiritual Power.
Ten points of internal spiritual power.
An unprecedentedly rich reward.
So rich that all the blood in his body nearly froze.
The higher the reward, the higher the difficulty.
This meant that the enemies about to arrive would be overwhelmingly powerful.
They would be far beyond every previous crisis.
A true desperate situation.
Run?
He instinctively looked at the second choice.
But what about Cai’er?
If he chose to flee now, what would happen to Cai’er, who had gone to town alone?
She would run straight into those demons!
The moment he thought of that scene, Long Xuanye felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
“Is there no other choice?”
He suddenly asked, his burning breath scraping against his dry throat.
“Tell me which town Cai’er is going to!
Speak!”
“Is there no choice where I take Cai’er and escape together?!”
As always, the system remained silent.
Only those two choices floated alone in his sea of consciousness.
Long Xuanye’s chest rose and fell violently.
Suddenly, he let out a soft laugh.
The laugh was hoarse and dry, but carried a desperate madness.
He propped up his weak body with one arm.
His tendons and bones groaned under the strain as he slowly sat up bit by bit.
Then he reached back and grabbed the short blade at the head of the bed.
Clang.
The blade left its sheath, drawing a cold arc in the dim hut.
He walked out of the thatched hut.
The noon sunlight fell on his body, warm and gentle.
Long Xuanye seemed to hear Cai’er’s voice again.
Everything will get better.
In the wind came the sound of distant leaves being violently pushed aside.
The noise was dense and heavy, the kind made only by a large group rushing at high speed.
Fuck!
Long Xuanye cursed in his heart.
A trace of regret surged up uncontrollably.
Perhaps…
Perhaps from the very beginning, he should not have taken Cai’er away with him.
If he had let her leave with that white-robed assassin, with the Assassin Temple’s foundation, she should have been safe.
She would not have had to follow him here and live days where survival was uncertain and fear never stopped.
“I choose Two.”
…
Elsewhere.
On the forest path leading to Odin Town.
Sheng Cai’er was walking quickly, her small face filled with anxiety.
Suddenly, her steps stopped.
On the road ahead, two figures had appeared silently at some unknown time.
They wore dark gray fitted clothes, their bodies hidden beneath the shade of the trees.
Their auras had merged with the surroundings.
If they had not revealed themselves on purpose, ordinary people would never have noticed them.
They were from the Assassin Temple.