Chapter 23: She was unaware

Zhu Lan forced herself to stay calm and said, “Fellow countryman, what if the Bone-Erosion Insect is a fake? If something like a voodoo insect really existed in this world, it would be far too shocking.”

Ye Feng ruthlessly shattered Zhu Lan’s wishful thinking.

“It would be fine if the sub-insect in our bodies and the mother insect never met. But now that we are in the same room, they can sense each other’s existence. They will go into a frenzy, desperately trying to break through our bodies to devour one another.”

“Haha, it’s fine. Look at me, I’m still doing okay—ah!”

In an instant, Zhu Lan’s entire body was consumed by pain.

It felt as if 10,000 ants were constantly gnawing at the bones inside her body; the agony was excruciating.

The pain caused Zhu Lan to roll off the bed immediately, losing all ability to move.

She was hurting so much that she could barely speak.

She could only gasp for air repeatedly, her entire body trembling like a banana leaf battered by the rain.

Ye Feng immediately stepped forward to lift Zhu Lan back onto the bed.

Without hesitation, he cut his wrist, letting the blood that poured frantically from the wound flow into Zhu Lan’s mouth.

“Calm your mind and focus. Swallow the blood in your mouth.”

Ye Feng’s voice was steady and powerful, sounding incredibly reassuring.

Zhu Lan’s entire body was racked with cramps.

The pain had almost caused her to lose consciousness, so she could only follow Ye Feng’s instructions in a daze.

After nearly eight minutes, Zhu Lan finally felt the pain slowly dissipate.

The small cultivation room was now filled with the scent of blood.

Zhu Lan cried from the pain—truly cried.

‘Damn it,’ she thought.

The pain she had experienced in both her lives combined didn’t even amount to half of what she felt today.

It was too much.

Not a single part of her body was spared.

During those few minutes, it felt as if an ant was tearing at every single part of her bones simultaneously.

Under the extreme agony, she had almost blacked out from shock.

The pain had utterly broken her.

Ye Feng remained motionless, still holding Zhu Lan in his arms, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Zhu Lan couldn’t worry about any of that; she was still sobbing as she tried to calm her emotions.

After a long time, Ye Feng finally spoke.

“Until the Bone-Erosion Insect is expelled from your body, you will experience this bone-eroding pain once a week. Ordinary cultivators simply cannot endure this pain and can only die a miserable death.”

Zhu Lan became subdued.

That single interval of pain felt as long and difficult as one century.

If there were a next time, she might just pull out a sword and kill herself to find relief.

“Is… is there a way to ease it?”

Zhu Lan wiped her tears, sniffled, and lay obediently in Ye Feng’s arms.

Feeling the girl’s submissiveness in his embrace, Ye Feng’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly.

His voice was very soft.

“Before the weekly onset, drink the blood of the person hosting the mother insect. It makes the sub-insect and mother insect mistakenly believe they have met, and they will be willing to settle down again.”

“Then, does that mean I have to drink the blood from your… self-harm every week?”

Zhu Lan didn’t finish her sentence.

She had no reason to feel at ease accepting such a massive sacrifice from the male protagonist.

Moreover, her relationship with him was at most that of “fellow countrymen.”

What reason did he have to be willing to pay such a price?

“Sigh.”

Ye Feng let out a deep sigh.

No one knew what he was struggling with.

Then, he performed an incomprehensible action.

“You don’t need to drink my blood every week. This works too.”

Ye Feng leaned down quickly.

For a moment, a sense of softness and strangeness bloomed between their lips.

It was a touch as brief as a dragonfly skimming the water, yet it acted like a key of no return, clumsily unlocking a rusted, dust-covered lock.

Clearly, someone had intended to obtain everything as an outsider, but he hadn’t expected to be the first one to lose the battle.

The moment they touched, Ye Feng was forced to face his own heart.

Whether it was an attraction to her beauty or feelings grown over time, he ultimately had to admit that Zhu Lan had begun to occupy a specific place in his heart.

Zhu Lan’s reaction was a bit slow; her head was in a fog.

‘What… what just happened?’

Zhu Lan’s eyes were wide as she looked at Ye Feng in disbelief.

As their gazes met, neither of them spoke.

The only sound was the occasional sob from Zhu Lan.

Zhu Lan shifted her gaze away and tried to struggle out of Ye Feng’s arms.

Ye Feng naturally let go of her, giving her time to think.

“Starting today, you must come to the back mountain to find me every night. My cultivation room is over there.”

“Why?”

“Your current combat experience is too poor. I will teach you how to fight. During the recruitment, you were almost knocked off the stage during your duel with that fat guy.”

“But I won in the end.”

“That was because I flicked a pebble at his leg, causing him to lose his balance.”

“Huh?”

Zhu Lan realized belatedly that Liang Zhichao’s performance that day had indeed been a bit strange.

If she hadn’t used the Seven Slaying Art, she really would have been beaten down.

“Try not to use the Seven Slaying Art in front of others. A man’s wealth is his ruin; it will cause a lot of trouble when the time comes.”

“Um, I understand.”

“Also…”

Zhu Lan interrupted, “I know! You should head back first. I’ll go find you tomorrow night to practice moves.”

Zhu Lan issued an order for him to leave.

Ye Feng opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Zhu Lan looked quite a mess right now.

There were red marks around her eyes, and her sockets were filled with mist.

She looked pitiful and moving, the kind of sight that constantly stimulated a man’s desire to both protect and bully.

Ye Feng lowered his eyes, concealing the dark undercurrents swirling within.

She didn’t realize how much of an attraction she held for men.

If he wanted to…

“Fine, I’m leaving. If you don’t show up tomorrow night, I’ll come find you myself. Oh, and there is a bracelet in that storage ring. You must wear it at all times. If I catch you not wearing it, you know the consequences.”

Ye Feng left those few words before departing.

Once Ye Feng was gone, Zhu Lan let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Escaped again.

But now that the male protagonist was under the same peak as her, she couldn’t hide even if she wanted to.

She could only take things one step at a time.

The male protagonist’s behavior today was a bit abnormal.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the way he looked at her seemed different than before.

There were several times she felt her chastity was at risk, yet he didn’t do anything insane.

Cultivate, cultivate! She had to hurry and cultivate!

…

“Little girl, this Ice Palm book is perfect for you. Although it’s only a Yellow Grade, Low Tier manual, its power is stable and the consumption isn’t high. Most importantly, it only costs 100 merit points to exchange. Every new disciple gets 100 merit points upon entering, and most people choose this technique.”

The grades of techniques in this cultivation world weren’t much different from the cultivation novels Zhu Lan had read in her previous life.

From high to low, they were: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.

Each grade was further divided into high, medium, and low tiers, which wasn’t hard to understand.

Under the strong recommendation of the Scripture Pavilion’s administrator, Zhu Lan gritted her teeth and used all her merit points to exchange for the Ice Palm.

Even though this was a technique of the lowest grade, she could only afford this kind of trash with her current merit points.

The main reason was that she didn’t even have a single primary offensive technique right now.

She desperately needed one that could be used for attacking.

“Junior Sister, are you looking for a manual?”