In the bamboo grove, where moonlight was somber, a cool breeze brushed against the face.
In the sky, fine snow fluttered down.
The weather in this secret realm was entirely consistent with the outside world.
Right now, in the reality outside, it should be the harsh winter moment, with snow falling.
Thus, snowflakes also fell within the secret realm.
Li Muyang sat beside the fire, roasting bamboo shoot skewers, waiting for tonight’s dinner to be ready.
Opposite him, a woman in a brand-new robe curled up in her new clothes, her gaze dull as she looked at the burning fire, not saying a word.
It wasn’t that it was cold, but merely that the atmosphere was awkward.
After witnessing the woman bury herself in the ground, Li Muyang hesitated but still ran over and dug her out.
The Yan Xiaoru who was dug out had become what she was now.
She was dragged by Li Muyang into the bamboo grove like a marionette, with no resistance, yet also not speaking a word.
It wasn’t until the snow began to fall from the sky that the woman finally took out a new set of robes from her Qiankun Ring to wrap around herself.
Li Muyang didn’t speak, and she didn’t either.
Such silence continued until the bamboo skewers were roasted, and Li Muyang started to devour the bamboo shoots. Only then did the woman’s eyes flicker.
“… why did you save me?”
After a long silence, the first thing Yan Xiaoru said was nonsense.
Li Muyang, who was eating a bamboo shoot, looked up at her and sighed, “If the secret realm were to be broken open by the Sect Master and they found only me alive and you, Elder Yan, dead… how would I explain it?”
“Wouldn’t they suspect I harmed you and wish to crush my bones and scatter my ashes?”
Li Muyang made a lot of sense.
However, Yan Xiaoru frowned at him, “At this point, do you still think there is hope of getting out?”
Her look at Li Muyang was like seeing a naive fool.
The two had been trapped in the secret realm for three months. If the people of the Demon Sect had found the secret realm and could save them, they would have broken it open and rescued them long ago.
But so far, there had been no disturbance in the secret realm.
Clearly, the Demon Sect considered that Li Muyang and Yan Xiaoru had perished underground, their bones turned to dust.
This was quite obvious.
Yan Xiaoru pointed this out, yet Li Muyang shook his head unconcernedly, “Even so, one should not just die easily… Even ants cling to life. It would be a pity, Elder Yan, for someone of your stature who has achieved the Spirit Travel Realm and is a revered leader of the Demon Path, to just perish here.”
In the Spirit Travel Realm, Yan Xiaoru was nearly at the pinnacle of cultivation in this world.
Beyond that was the Purple Mansion Realm.
But those of the Purple Mansion Realm were all dominators, the masters of their era.
In the eyes of most cultivators, Yan Xiaoru of the Spirit Travel Realm was already a prominent figure.
Such a level of cultivation would indeed be a pity to be lost here.
Yet, Yan Xiaoru’s gaze remained indifferent, and she was unresponsive to Li Muyang’s words.
“Being overly obsessed with life and death, fearing death, only makes one appear ugly.”
“Rather than dying a cowardly and miserable death, it’s better to leave boldly while still breathing.”
With a cold expression, Yan Xiaoru finished her words, and a trickle of black blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.
Her complexion suddenly turned a mix of purple and cyan.
Although this bizarre color quickly returned to normal, it still slightly startled Li Muyang.
“Elder Yan, you…”
“Poisoned, demon poison,” Yan Xiaoru said indifferently, “I was poisoned by the female centipede from Centipede Ridge. The toxin has penetrated deep into my bones, and my life will not last much longer.”
“Under normal circumstances, I could force out the toxin and gradually recuperate. But here, in this secret realm, with my powers diminished, I can only rely on the Spiritual Medicine in my Qiankun Ring to sustain my life.”
“But the Spiritual Medicine can only delay the spread of the toxin, not detoxify. My death is irreversible.”
Yan Xiaoru said coldly, then looked at Li Muyang, “So do you understand now why I tried to end it all?”
“Er… I think I understand,” Li Muyang nodded.
Yan Xiaoru, poisoned by a centipede, did not want anyone to see the tragic death she would endure, in agonizing pain as the toxin permeated her bones.
It was said that upon the entering of the demonic poison into one’s system, the mind would become deranged, and the body would grotesquely deform into something neither human nor demon, ultimately leading to a death in utmost agony and ugliness.
This thing somewhat resembled the corpse poison in zombie movies from the previous life, transforming the afflicted into monsters.
Knowing the horrors of the demonic poison, Yan Xiaoru decided to give herself a dignified death by digging a hole and burying herself while the toxin had not yet spread throughout her body.
This was indeed a thought that ordinary people could understand.
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But Li Muyang still shook his head.
“But, Elder Yan, you can’t die yet, can you? You’re still holding on, aren’t you?”
“Just hold on a little longer.”
“If you really can’t hold on anymore, I will give you a quick end at the crucial moment to let you go more peacefully.”
“However, before that, let’s keep waiting. Perhaps the sect master and others will break into the secret realm tomorrow?”
Li Muyang spoke with great brightness and cheerful sincerity in his eyes.
If someone who didn’t know the situation saw his face, they might mistake him for an optimistic, positively driven, sunny young man.
Yan Xiaoru looked at him silently for a long while, her gaze finally turning cold.
“Nonsense!”
“If you dare to stop me again, I will kill you!”
Yan Xiaoru, the Elder of the Demon Sect, put forward such a harsh threat.
Clearly, Li Muyang’s persuasion had no effect.
In such a circumstance, the woman’s blunt threat did not carry much destructive power.
Li Muyang looked at her helplessly, spreading his hands: “If the sect master and the others break the secret realm and find that I did not try to save you, Elder Yan… they will kill me as well.”
Yan Xiaoru: “…”
“So, Elder Yan, let’s hang on for a few more days. If you really can’t stand it anymore, I promise, I will definitely give you a quick ending without you suffering.”
Li Muyang was very sincere.
His Startling Swan Sword Technique was nearly completed, and he must persuade Yan Xiaoru at all costs not to let her die here.
This time, faced with Li Muyang’s earnest persuasion, Yan Xiaoru did not speak.
She curled up, tightly wrapping herself in her robe, her face expressionless as she fell silent.
It seemed she tacitly agreed.
After all, Li Muyang’s reasoning was quite solid, and at this moment, it was difficult for her to dismiss his opinion.
Seeing Yan Xiaoru calm down, Li Muyang also breathed a sigh of relief and then handed over the bamboo shoot skewer he had roasted.
The fragrant aroma of the bamboo shoots wafting up to her, Yan Xiaoru paused a moment before frowning at Li Muyang.
But she saw Li Muyang’s face lit up with a brilliant smile: “I figured the date, and it turns out tonight is New Year’s Eve… Elder Yan, would you like to try some?”
“These bamboo shoots in the secret realm actually contain Spiritual Energy, and they taste really good, just consider it a New Year’s Eve dinner.”
This was the first New Year he was spending in this world, and it was being spent inside a secret realm.
Li Muyang handed over the bamboo shoot, expressing goodwill.
He remembered that Elder Yan was quite a foodie, her Qiankun Ring packed with all sorts of snacks.
And the bamboo shoots from this secret realm indeed tasted delicious, even when simply charcoal-roasted without any seasoning.
Indeed, at the scent of the roasted bamboo shoots, Yan Xiaoru’s nose twitched slightly.
After a brief silence, she silently reached out to take the roasted bamboo shoot.
By the fire, the sound of the woman nibbling little by little could be heard.
After a while, her voice echoed again.
“Give me two more skewers…”