Lin Xue returned to the ancestral hall and saw Zhang Zongnian leaning against the wall, his head hanging low.
The sword that had been plunged into his abdomen had already been pulled out by him, discarded to the side, bloodied and dripping.
His eyes were tightly shut, his face as pale as paper, completely motionless, lying in a large pool of blood.
Lin Xue was startled, thinking this unlucky guy hadn’t made it and was already dead.
She placed her fingers near his nose to check and found that he still had breath, though it was very faint.
She breathed a sigh of relief, crouched down, and patted his shoulder: “Brother Zhang, wake up!”
Zhang Zongnian didn’t respond.
Seeing that the situation was dire, Lin Xue took several bottles of healing medicine out from the Teleportation Ring’s Storage Pouch, poured out a Sevenfold Resurrection Pill, held his jaw, pried his mouth open, and dropped it inside.
Then, with a “sala” sound, she tore open his clothes.
Zhang Zongnian’s abdomen was a bloody mess, the two wounds horrifyingly gruesome and unbearable to look at.
Lin Xue took out several Green Jade Essence Balms, crushed them, and applied the paste onto his wounds.
The effect of the Sevenfold Resurrection Pill seemed quite good.
Slowly, Zhang Zongnian’s chest rose and fell, his breathing became clearer, though he hadn’t woken up yet.
Seeing his condition improve, Lin Xue relaxed.
What should she do next?
She couldn’t just stay crouched here guarding this unlucky fellow forever.
But leaving him alone — would he die?
There had been five members from the Demon-Slaying Bureau in total, four of whom had died, leaving only this one barely alive, with no one to look after him.
Outside, the surviving villagers had just narrowly escaped Yang Yuhai’s pursuit.
Those still alive had hidden far away and didn’t dare to come back.
If she left now, no one would be there to care for him, and his life would be truly uncertain.
Lin Xue hesitated for a moment, then decided to stay a while longer to observe Zhang Zongnian’s condition.
After all, this man had saved her life just now.
If he hadn’t torn open the Fuyao Wang to let her escape, Yang Yuhai might have slaughtered all the villagers by now, come back, and forced her to take those Everlasting Gold Spear Pills, Jade Maiden’s Enchantments, and other medicines — treating her like some rag doll to be poked and prodded.
The very thought was unbearable.
Now that Zhang Zongnian was in peril, she couldn’t just leave him behind carelessly.
Lin Xue sat down beside Zhang Zongnian, planning to take this opportunity to retrieve the dozen or so Technique Manuals from the Teleportation Ring’s Storage Pouch and record them into the System.
Her panel currently showed 130 Experience Points; she could try investing in new techniques.
The Swiftwind Sword Manual was still in progress, and she could continue pouring Experience Points into it, but first, she wanted to see if there were any stronger new techniques.
She selected a book from the Storage Pouch with her mind.
The book flew out directly and landed in her hand.
Lin Xue eagerly lowered her head to look.
On the cover was a vivid illustration of a man and woman, barely clad, entangled in an intimate embrace, engaged in the act of love.
The title in three large characters: 《Yin Ping Mei》.
Lin Xue was stunned.
What the hell? Even this cultivation world has “Xiao Huang Shu” (little imperial uncles)?
Shocked, she grabbed another book.
The cover was similarly explicit—a pair of lovers wildly entwined on a bed, deeply involved, titled 《Xiang Gong Wo Yao》.
She flipped through all the books one by one and discovered that Yang Yuhai had collected nothing but novels like 《Shao Nian Xiao Bin》, 《Shao Fu Bai Jie》, 《Yu Nu Xin Jing》, 《**》, and 《Dao Shi De Yi Chang Chun Meng》 — not a single Technique Manual among them.
Lin Xue felt very frustrated.
Where were the foundation cultivation manuals she was promised?
Yang Yuhai really was a blockhead, only thinking about lewd things, not a single cultivation book to be found.
But, to be fair, the little imperial uncle covers were impressively lively and quite stimulating — the quality looked very high.
She wondered what the contents were like.
Curious, Lin Xue casually opened 《Xiang Gong Wo Yao》, scanning the pages with a critical eye.
……
Zhang Zongnian woke up.
He was amazed to find that he was still alive.
He knew his injuries well.
With such severe wounds, he should have died by now.
Yet he could still breathe, his heart still beating, and he could feel the pain in his wounds.
There was a strong medicinal scent in his mouth.
Back at his sect, he had learned some medical knowledge from his master, and from the scent, he judged that the medicine was of good quality.
It was this medicine that had saved his life.
His abdomen felt cool where the medicine had been applied.
Someone had saved him.
Zhang Zongnian turned his head and saw a beautiful figure beside him.
The gorgeous female demon had not left; she was sitting next to him, engrossed in a book.
She was the one who had saved him.
And she had stayed to take care of him.
Looking at Lin Xue’s beautiful profile, a wonderful feeling flooded Zhang Zongnian’s heart.
It was happiness tinged with warmth.
She’s taking care of me.
He hadn’t expected her to be literate, let alone enjoy reading.
He had heard that demons usually despised reading and few could learn to recognize characters.
He wondered what kind of book she was so focused on.
Zhang Zongnian glanced at the book in Lin Xue’s hands.
He saw the cover—naked man and woman entwined—and the title 《Xiang Gong Wo Yao》 in four large characters.
His expression instantly turned strange.
Lin Xue was completely absorbed in the book.
Unexpectedly, the content was quite exciting, rivaling famous works from Blue Star.
Especially the vividly drawn illustrations, very realistic and visually striking, making her whole body flush hot and her face turn red.
She was admiring a passionate illustration when her peripheral vision caught Zhang Zongnian moving slightly beside her.
She turned her head and saw that Zhang Zongnian had woken up, his eyes fixed on the book in her hand with a very odd expression.
Her face immediately flushed.
With a quick “whoosh,” she sprang up and threw the book more than ten meters away, flustered as she explained, “I thought this was a cultivation manual, hehe…”
Zhang Zongnian cleared his throat gently and said, “Thank you for saving my life.”
Lin Xue awkwardly waved her hand and said, “Brother Zhang, no need to be so polite. Actually, I should be thanking you for tearing me out of that damn net earlier. Otherwise, I don’t know how badly Yang Yuhai would have treated me.”
She still felt a lingering chill from that experience.
The Fuyao Wang was truly perverse; once trapped, she couldn’t use any strength and was completely at others’ mercy.
She had already taken the Fuyao Wang back out and stored it in her Storage Pouch.
Maybe it would be useful against other demons in the future.
As she spoke, Lin Xue checked Zhang Zongnian’s complexion again. He looked much better, with no immediate danger to his life.
She said, “Brother Zhang, you seem to be recovering well, so I can rest assured. What are your plans next? Can you contact your comrades to come pick you up? Is there anything you need help with?”
If there was nothing, she could leave without worry.
Hearing this, Zhang Zongnian knew she was preparing to leave.
He felt extremely reluctant.
But he also understood she was a demon and he was an officer of the Demon-Slaying Bureau. They couldn’t stay together long.
Besides, if the villagers outside saw them, it would cause trouble.
Feeling his body, he thought he could get moving after some more rest, so he said, “There’s nothing you need to help with. I’ll rest a little longer and then find a doctor in town myself.”
Lin Xue nodded, “That’s good. I have some things to take care of. Let’s part here. Take care, Brother Zhang. I wish you a speedy recovery.”
She then cupped her hands in a respectful salute, imitating those from ancient dramas, and turned to leave.
Zhang Zongnian watched her go with lingering reluctance, then suddenly remembered something important.
He hurriedly called out, “Wait!”
Lin Xue turned back, puzzled.
Zhang Zongnian’s eyes widened as he looked at her beautiful figure, as if wanting to imprint her image like a painting in his mind.
He asked, “May I know your honorable name, miss?”
Lin Xue smiled slightly and said, “My name is Lin Xue.”
Lin Xue.
Zhang Zongnian memorized the name in his heart.
Reluctantly, he cupped his hands to bid farewell, “Farewell, Miss Lin Xue. I hope we meet again.”
Lin Xue nodded, “Until we meet again.”
Then she turned and left, but in her heart, she thought: I hope we never meet again.
You’re an officer of the Demon-Slaying Bureau, I’m a demon — how could anything good come from our meeting?
If we didn’t end up beating each other to a pulp, that’d be the real miracle!