In the dim, blurred haze, she seemed to hear someone calling her.
On the foggy opposite bank of the river, she saw many familiar figures.
There were faces that welcomed her with joy and there were many others with hideously twisted features that seemed eager to rush over and kill her.
And there were more of the latter.
Those grotesque faces appeared and disappeared within the mist, creating an eerie, unsettling atmosphere.
They were all waiting for her to come over.
But Yan Xiaoru stood on the riverbank, her demeanor unchanged, showing no signs of panic.
She quietly stood there, looking at the sinister figures and beckoning faces on the other side, and slowly shook her head.
“It’s not time yet…”
Behind Yan Xiaoru, the man’s calling became clearer and clearer.
…Yan Xiaoru! Yan Xiaoru, wake up!
That man, for the first time, called out her real name.
Hearing this voice, Yan Xiaoru softly said, “I promised him, not now to die…”
Having promised, she had to fulfill it.
In the bamboo grove, Yan Xiaoru’s eyes, which had opened but remained lifeless, flickered, and then regained their expression.
She saw the snow falling in the night sky and the flames blazing fiercely beside her.
And the man sitting beside her, continuously rubbing her skin with his large, rough hands.
Yan Xiaoru turned her head, looking at Li Muyang.
Li Muyang was also looking at her.
Their gazes met, and the air seemed to freeze.
Yan Xiaoru lowered her head to see the man’s hands holding her right hand. His broad palm transmitted a very warm heat that seeped into her cold skin.
“…What are you doing?” Yan Xiaoru asked expressionlessly as she sat up.
Li Muyang instinctively withdrew his hands.
“Ah… you were too cold, I was warming you up,” Li Muyang cautiously phrased, all the while carefully observing the woman in front of him.
Fearing she would explode on the spot and accuse him of taking advantage of her while she was unconscious.
But Yan Xiaoru didn’t blame him. She merely glanced at Li Muyang’s broad palm and then looked at the burning fire beside her.
“It’s time for dinner.”
The woman who had just walked back from the brink of death spoke in such an abrupt manner.
Li Muyang, who considered himself a quick thinker, was stunned by her remark.
“Ah? Oh… right, right, right, it’s time for dinner.”
Li Muyang quickly got up to prepare the bamboo shoots he was going to roast tonight, while sneaking peeks at Yan Xiaoru.
Is this woman really lacking in emotions?
She nearly died, wakes up not caring about life or death, or that Li Muyang touched her, but about dinner?
Although he knew she loved to eat, wasn’t this food-oriented trait a bit too strong?
As Li Muyang prepared the charcoal-grilled bamboo shoots, he kept an eye on the woman by the fire.
But the woman who had just skirted death showed no signs of abnormality.
As usual, she sat by the fire and took out a spiritual medicine from the Qiankun Ring and stuffed it into her mouth, slightly frowning as she swallowed the extremely pungent pill.
Then the dark, purplish tint on her face began to fade a little.
When Li Muyang returned to sit by the fire and began roasting the bamboo shoots, the silent Yan Xiaoru took the initiative to speak.
She flicked her wrist lightly, and a light blue porcelain bottle appeared in the palm of her hand.
“This is the Black Poison Heartbreaking Pill. Take one a day; it can forcefully extend life. A body in the Spirit Travel Realm can take up to twenty-seven pills.”
“After twenty-seven days, if I still haven’t left this secret realm, I will die instantly, beyond the help of gods.”
Yan Xiaoru looked at Li Muyang with a steady gaze and said, “There are twenty-seven days left. If we cannot leave the secret realm by then, I hope you will keep your promise and bury me properly.”
“Uh…” Yan Xiaoru suddenly brought up such a grave topic, causing Li Muyang to pause.
He frowned and thought for a moment: “Twenty-seven days, huh…”
It should be enough time.
“Okay! I promise to keep my word and bury Elder Yan properly! I will not desecrate your body!”
Li Muyang pledged earnestly.
Yan Xiaoru, however, frowned and gave him a look: “How do you plan to desecrate my body?”
“…I mean, I would never defile!” What kind of thought process does this woman have?
Misunderstood, Li Muyang felt completely numb.
Yan Xiaoru looked deeply at him and said, “Then in twenty-seven days, I will trouble you.”
After speaking, she closed her eyes.
The woman who had been chattering non-stop with Li Muyang chose to be silent today.
The area around the fire suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of sparks crackling and popping.
For some reason, Li Muyang suddenly felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
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His relationship with Yan Xiaoru seemed to have returned to that initial distant and lukewarm state.
They had been getting along quite harmoniously just before…
Li Muyang hesitated for a moment, then decided to take the initiative to break the awkward silence between them.
After all, they still had to coexist for more than twenty days, and if it continued to be this awkward, it would be too uncomfortable.
“…uh… Elder Yan, did you go outside earlier to try to tame the Immortal Sword?”
Li Muyang was simply making conversation, speaking utter nonsense.
But the woman by the fire opened her eyes and looked at him.
“Just call me Yan Xiaoru.”
Her eyes fixed on the fire, her thoughts unknown, she still spoke coolly, “There are no Demon Sect Elders here, nor any Demon Sect disciples. I don’t want to die as a Demon Sect Elder.”
“You can just call me by my name in the future.”
Yan Xiaoru still held no hope of leaving the secret realm.
Li Muyang was somewhat curious, “Elder Yan, you um…”
As soon as Li Muyang started speaking, he saw the woman by the fire looking coldly at him.
That icy stare seemed as if it could kill.
Li Muyang immediately corrected himself.
“…Why don’t you want to die as a Demon Sect Elder, Yan Xiaoru? Do you have objections to the Soul Refining Sect?”
To be a Demon Sect Elder would seem to be an honor for anyone in the Demon Path, wouldn’t it?
Yan Xiaoru looked at him indifferently and said, “Want to know the reason?”
Li Muyang obediently nodded, “I am a bit curious…”
Hearing Li Muyang’s honest response, the woman by the fire scoffed.
“If you want to know, marry me. I’ll tell the man who marries me the reason.”
She seemed to be joking, but her gaze remained cold.
Li Muyang was utterly choked by her comment.
This kind of joke, Yan Xiaoru dared to make, but he certainly didn’t dare to respond!
He vaguely sensed that, as her death approached, this woman’s mentality seemed to have fallen into some distorted, frenzied brink.
It had even made her a bit mad.
That wasn’t surprising, after all, anyone in her situation, with death drawing closer every day, would go insane.
The process of waiting for death is far more terrifying than death itself.
As people face death, their emotions and thoughts undergo significant changes.
After Yan Xiaoru finished her untimely cold joke, the area around the fire once again fell into dead silence.
Li Muyang scratched his head, then finally, with great stiffness, shifted the topic.
“…Speaking of which, when my sister visited the sect last time, she brought me some weird-looking, yellow-orange fruits from White Crane Ridge, but they tasted pretty good.”
The woman by the fire calmly nodded.
“The Yellow Yam fruits from White Crane Ridge are indeed very tasty.”
“But the best batch is in the White Crane Elder’s garden, rarely seen by ordinary people…”
The ever food-savvy Yan Xiaoru, true to a gourmand’s nature, spoke of the delicacies as if reciting treasures.
Seeing that the topic had finally shifted and the atmosphere had relaxed considerably, Li Muyang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, he was breaking a sweat, eagerly wishing to leave the secret realm before Yan Xiaoru completely lost her sanity.
If he were unfortunate enough to witness the madness of this Demon Sect Elder, once he left the secret realm, Yan Xiaoru might very well silence him!
Fortunately, it was almost time; twenty days left, or perhaps even just ten days if they hurried.
Ten days. Hopefully, the Elder Yan wouldn’t do anything too extreme… right?