In the silent, empty cave, the only sound was Tian Luo chattering nonstop.
There was no helping it. Whenever people got nervous, they always wanted to talk to ease the awkwardness and fear.
The boast had already been made.
Tian Luo was clutching the man’s icy wrist, too frightened to move. Even the bones in her fingers felt stiff.
If she had known entering the Bixi Secret Realm would lead to something like this, she would never have come in, even if beaten to death.
The bear-head hat wasn’t that bad after all!
This was definitely a villain. The difficult kind of villain.
Because a normal villain, upon hearing someone claim they had come to save him, would at least sneer, “You?”
But this shameless villain, who wasn’t wearing a single thread of clothing, remained expressionless and unresponsive. He simply opened his mouth and went straight for her neck.
What are you, a vampire? Why are you biting people’s necks?!
“Give me a chance! Give me a chance!” Tian Luo raised her voice several notches. In her desperation, her brain suddenly worked at lightning speed. “I’m a ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit! I really can save you! Look at all the wounds on your body, all those holes—of course they hurt! Before, nobody took care of you, but things are different now. I can heal you. Really!”
The villain stared at her with those cold, golden eyes.
His lips never moved, but Tian Luo once again heard that malicious, mocking male voice.
“Who sent you?”
Tian Luo didn’t dare lie.
“I came on my own. Really, I came on my own. I’m a ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit. I’m afraid of being chopped apart and eaten, so I worked hard to become a disciple of Zixu Sword Sect. This time I entered the Bixi Secret Realm to find the Nine-Qilin Armor for protection and, while I was at it, save you.”
The last five words were a lie.
But since she put them at the end, it probably didn’t matter much.
The villain let out a cold laugh. This time, he moved his face slightly away and looked her up and down.
Then, surprisingly, he asked:
“Why save me?”
Why?
You’re seriously asking why?
Isn’t it because I’m afraid you’ll eat me?!
Tian Luo was screaming internally, but her face remained calm.
If he wanted a reason, then his thought process definitely wasn’t normal. Some people refused charity and wouldn’t accept favors without cause. Maybe he was one of those.
So Tian Luo pondered for a moment and said:
“Well… because I charge money.”
The villain narrowed his eyes, looking at Tian Luo as if she had just said the most absurd thing imaginable.
Tian Luo nodded solemnly.
“That’s right. Men die for wealth, birds die for food. I’m extremely poor. I usually make money by saving people. You look like someone important, so I figured you’d probably earn a lot.”
She still had no idea who he was.
But that didn’t stop her from bluffing.
“You’ve got guts.”
Though his face remained expressionless, there was a strangely seductive amusement in his voice.
Tian Luo sighed.
“You don’t understand. It’s really hard making a living out there without money.”
Lu Qizhi stared at her, his golden eyes dark and eerie.
Go on. Keep acting. I’m watching.
Tian Luo lowered her head.
“How about you let me go first? I’ll try to remove your chains.”
Lu Qizhi didn’t move.
But Tian Luo felt the force holding her suddenly disappear.
She was free.
Even so, she didn’t dare relax.
Now she understood.
Even chained up, pierced through the chest and abdomen, this villain could still crush her as easily as crushing an ant.
Well then.
She would do her best.
If she genuinely couldn’t remove the chains, then there was nothing she could do. Her abilities had limits.
At worst, she would forgo the payment.
He looked somewhat reasonable.
Tian Luo put on a thoughtful expression and examined the chains on his body before reaching out to touch one.
“I’ll give it a try.”
She used a little strength.
Then twisted.
Crack!
The chain snapped.
Tian Luo froze.
…
Lu Qizhi frowned.
…
Tian Luo: Great heavens above, I honestly didn’t expect to snap it by casually twisting it! What are these chains made of, foam plastic? Didn’t the expert who made them think about adding some seals or something? What am I supposed to do now? Did I just release some super-villain?
What kind of logic is this?
I’m dead!
Lu Qizhi stared at the broken chain for a second.
Then he looked at Tian Luo.
“Ah. So that’s how it is.”
Huh?
How is what?
Tian Luo looked completely bewildered.
Lu Qizhi rolled the wrist that had just been freed and finally spoke aloud.
“Continue.”
Tian Luo nodded rapidly.
“Okay, okay.”
Now she was even less willing to stop.
She snapped the chain on his other wrist.
Then she crouched down and broke the chains on both of his ankles.
“Anklets. Try those.”
His voice came from above her head, suddenly tinged with impatience.
“Okay, okay.”
Tian Luo reached for one of the anklets.
The moment she touched it, her hand was burned.
She jerked back instantly.
Her palm had turned red and looked close to bleeding.
Lu Qizhi wasn’t surprised.
Tian Luo stood up. She had intended to explain things and maybe help break the chain through his waist and chest.
Then she saw him calmly shove both hands into his own abdomen.
Blood-covered fingers grabbed the chain.
With a violent pull—
It snapped.
The chain had been threaded through his waist bone.
As it was pulled free, three of his ribs broke with it.
A gaping hole remained in his waist as blood poured down continuously.
Yet he seemed completely unconcerned.
A faint smile even appeared on his pale face.
He raised a hand, blood dripping from his fingers.
Looking down at the branding-iron spike embedded in his chest, he then glanced at Tian Luo.
“Pull it out for me.”
There was even a hint of excitement in his tone.
The golden eyes didn’t seem quite as cold as before.
Tian Luo wanted to point out that the iron spike looked incredibly hot and she probably couldn’t grab it.
As if reading her thoughts, he smiled.
“Pull the chain from the other end. Use force.”
Following the direction he indicated, she looked toward a pile of chains stacked in the corner of the cave.
Well.
She had already come this far.
There was no turning back now.
Tian Luo ran over, took a deep breath, hoisted the chain onto her shoulder, wrapped it around her arm, and pulled with all her strength.
At that instant, the entire chain erupted with golden light.
It felt as though some mark had been branded onto Tian Luo’s forehead.
A wind rose inside the cave from nowhere.
The loose hair before her brow lifted, revealing a golden symbol appearing briefly between her eyebrows.
The symbol flashed once and quickly vanished.
At the same moment, an identical mark appeared briefly between Lu Qizhi’s brows before disappearing as well.
Meanwhile, within Tianyan Sect—the place with the densest spiritual energy in the cultivation world—the entire sect suddenly shook violently.
Nineteen great spirit veins dried up simultaneously.
The spiritual glow scattered from the clouds.
Deep within the Immortal Palace at Yunmiao Peak, Ancestor Xuwang abruptly emerged from seclusion.
Tian Luo didn’t dare turn around.
But she heard the sound of flesh, muscle, and bone being torn apart.
A ripping noise.
Skin tearing.
Just hearing it made her feel as though it hurt terribly.
Yet the man behind her let out a low laugh.
Then the laughter grew louder and louder.
He seemed extremely happy.
Thinking about it carefully, Tian Luo felt that made sense.
He was free!
When she turned around, she saw the man standing there like a madman, laughing while blood flowed from nearly every part of his body.
He paid no attention whatsoever to his injuries.
At this point, Tian Luo thought she might as well finish what she started.
Heal him completely.
Maybe she’d gain an invincible bodyguard.
For a ginseng spirit wandering the world, having an extra bodyguard wasn’t a bad thing.
With that thought, Tian Luo rummaged through her storage pouch.
Eventually, she pulled out a clay jar.
Inside was her foot-soaking water.
Clay jars like this were distributed free of charge in the outer sect.
She had quite a few of them, all filled with foot-soaking water—otherwise known as ginseng-root broth.
The thing was, she didn’t dare bathe openly in the outer sect.
She was afraid someone might ambush her.
At most, she’d soak her feet and wipe herself down.
As a spirit born from heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, she couldn’t actually get dirty.
But habits were habits.
What beautiful young woman didn’t care about hygiene?
Then she had discovered that water she’d soaked her feet in for a while carried a sweet fragrance.
If not for the psychological hurdle, she might even have been tempted to drink it herself.
Naturally, she didn’t dare throw it away either.
That might attract attention.
So she had collected it all.
And now, it finally had a use!
“This is my specially brewed spiritual wine. It’s particularly effective for healing injuries. Look at you—you’re wounded so badly. Try a jar.”
Tian Luo spoke with great enthusiasm.
The smile hadn’t faded from Lu Qizhi’s pale face.
Yet his eyes remained icy.
“Does this cost money too?”
Tian Luo nodded.
“Meeting is fate. I’ll give you a discount. One thousand spirit stones per jar.”
Quite generous, really.
Super cheap.
Lu Qizhi accepted the jar and lowered his gaze to sniff it.
The scent of ten-thousand-year ginseng.
A supreme healing treasure.
Before drinking, he glanced at Tian Luo.
That look practically said:
If there’s anything wrong with this, I can kill you with a single finger.
Tian Luo suddenly felt a little regretful.
What if he found out she was making him drink foot-soaking water?
But it was too late.
He tilted his head back and drank.
She grew nervous.
Not because she was worried it wouldn’t work.
She was worried he’d recognize what it was.
“How does it taste?” she asked.
Lu Qizhi tossed the jar back.
Tian Luo looked inside.
Good grief.
It was empty.
Completely empty.
He had finished every drop.
Then she heard his answer.
“Acceptable.”
What a delightful evaluation.
After drinking the foot-soaking water, the wounds on his body healed noticeably faster.
Actually, they had already been healing while he was laughing earlier.
Just not this quickly.
Which meant—
Her foot-soaking water was absolutely incredible!
Now that she realized how useful she was, Tian Luo’s courage grew considerably.
Acting as though she had accidentally let something slip, she said:
“This spiritual brew was made from my own flesh and blood. The effect seems pretty good. Honestly, charging you only one thousand spirit stones per jar is already a loss for me. Including the fee for removing your chains, that comes to about ten thousand and one thousand spirit stones total. Upper-grade spirit stones, of course.”
After a pause, she added:
“Well, I suppose credit is acceptable too. It’s just that my interest rates are very high. Ten percent per day. A distinguished figure like yourself wouldn’t default on a debt, right? I don’t mind waiting until after we get out.”
At this point, she strongly suspected this cave wasn’t part of the Bixi Secret Realm at all.
More likely, the realm connected to some other location, and because she was a spirit born from heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, she had been accidentally pulled over.
In other words—
Getting out would probably depend on him.
Lu Qizhi neither agreed nor disagreed.
Instead, he hooked an arm around Tian Luo’s waist—
Well.
She didn’t really have much of a waist.
And flew toward the cave entrance.
All Tian Luo could hear was the howling wind.
The stench retreated rapidly behind them.
Soon, she felt the air ahead ripple slightly, like the surface of water.
She couldn’t see it.
But she clearly sensed it.
The next moment, daylight returned.
Tian Luo inhaled the fresh air, looked at the blue sky, white clouds, singing birds, and blooming flowers, and couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
Wow.
There was even the smell of roasted meat in the air.
Though it was a little plain.
If they added cumin and chili powder, it’d be even better—
Wait.
Tian Luo opened her eyes and looked forward.
Then she found herself staring directly at a large group of Zixu Sword Sect Senior Brother and Senior Sister in green robes who were currently eating roasted meat.
The Senior Brother and Senior Sister stared back.
???
Tian Luo thought about how she had barely managed to survive just now.
Villains generally had bad tempers.
She definitely didn’t want her family—her fellow disciples—to get casually crushed to death.
So—
She spread her arms, blocking the sight of all the Senior Brother and Senior Sister.
At the same time, she blocked the hand Lu Qizhi had just started to raise.
Turning around, she coaxed him sweetly and bashfully:
“Dear, could you please put some clothes on first?”