Pursuing Crane Mountain, on the narrow path near the summit, Li Changyi and Hu Delu—an elderly man and a middle-aged man—walked one after the other, each carrying a basket of medicinal herbs.
“That… why do you still need me to come? Senior, you’re capable of making this medicine yourself, aren’t you?”
“Oh, it’s because I thought it’s been a while since we last met. You’re still an uncle after all,”
the white-haired elder turned and patted the man behind him on the shoulder, stepping backward as he spoke with a smile.
“Even though there’s no blood relation, it never hurts to get closer, right?”
“Ah… yes, yes… you’re right…”
Hehe, I think this old man’s just lazy to carry the baskets himself, Hu Delu thought silently, shaking the basket of herbs on his back.
He glanced up at the elder ahead, then naturally shifted his gaze toward the bamboo hut not far off, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest.
“Um… Senior Li, Xun Yi, that girl—she should be lying in the middle room, right?”
“Yes, why? Why do you ask?”
“The door to that middle room should be closed, right?”
“Of course. The wind’s strong up here. What if she catches a cold?”
The elder gave a disdainful glance.
Just as he was about to ask, “What exactly are you trying to say?”
he noticed the man’s face twisted in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
He suddenly turned around, his face full of disbelief.
“Damn! How is the door open!”
He shouted and then strode quickly toward the hut.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Hu Delu followed.
“This is bad, bad. That girl Xun Yi must have gotten into some kind of trouble. There’s no way she could have broken those chains herself. This is really bad…”
Li Changyi looked at the empty room, his expression growing tense.
He looked like a child who had lost a family heirloom—completely abandoning his usual calm and composed demeanor.
“Um, I say, why don’t you sense her aura?”
Hu Delu stood at the door, unable to hold back the suggestion.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to let Shangguan Xun Yi run wild. If she really goes berserk, it’ll cause huge trouble, won’t it?”
“Right. If you hadn’t mentioned it, old man, I almost forgot about that.”
Hearing this, the white-haired elder halted his restless steps and stood still.
With two fingers, he pinched an invisible feather from thin air.
Behind him, a gigantic white crane silhouette spread its wings.
His eyes closed slightly as he muttered incantations.
If one listened closely, they could faintly hear the mingled calls of cranes.
“Hiss… Strange… Xun Yi’s aura… why are there two intertwined?”
After a moment, Li Changyi furrowed his brows and muttered to himself.
“Wait, they’re getting closer… Could she still be in the mountain? Ten steps, nine steps…”
Hu Delu listened in confusion, not understanding a word.
“Uh… Old man, what nonsense are you babbling about? Ten steps, nine steps… Did you sense anything or not?”
“Shut up, don’t disturb me… three steps, two steps, one step…”
“Um, Uncle Hu, could you move aside for a moment?”
Before Hu Delu could react, he felt a light tap on his back, followed by a cold female voice.
Turning around, he met Shangguan Xun Yi’s face, one full of despair.
He wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
In fact… his body instinctively moved aside to give her space.
The girl’s current state left him at a loss for words.
Inside the room, Li Changyi also noticed the situation.
The words of concern and reprimand he had just been about to say were all swallowed back.
The girl walked straight to the bedside and sat down.
She lowered her eyes, her gaze distant and vacant.
Inside her mind, Sha Qianmo sat cross-legged, sneering.
[I say, if you keep silent like this, do you think these old folks can guess what you’re thinking?]
The girl didn’t reply.
[Uh… although I’m not human, I know very well that staying silent won’t solve anything and will only make more people worry, isn’t that right?]
The girl’s heart trembled slightly.
That was true—straightforward communication often prevents most troubles.
Everyone knows this, yet few actually do it.
She was no exception, but… she didn’t want to.
“Master, Uncle Hu, I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m not hurt, so please don’t worry.”
That one sentence immediately put both of them at ease.
They exchanged a glance, then started making faces at each other.
[Old Li, you’re really her master; you should be the one asking about the rest.]
[Hey, but she calls you uncle, don’t you feel responsible at all?]
Before they could argue, Shangguan Xun Yi continued explaining.
“Actually, I went to visit Xiao Mu again…”
She calmly recounted everything she had just experienced, including buying all the lanterns and binding the two men in the cave.
Of course… she concealed all information about Sha Qianmo.
“Master, this is a fragment of Xiao Mu’s soul. Do you think… I still have a chance to return it to him?”
The girl raised her hand, summoning a small, water-like, blood-colored orb carrying the youthful aura.
She looked up at her teacher, her eyes misty.
Having grasped the situation, Li Changyi sighed deeply.
Turbulence churned within his heart, but he still steadied his spirit and gently comforted her.
“Xun Yi, don’t worry. In a few days… you’ll see Yun Mu again.”
“Master… what do you mean? Are you going to rescue him?”
“Not me—it’s your Uncle Hu.”
He pointed at Hu Delu and chuckled.
“Xun Yi, although you’re not of the demon clan, you’ve been my disciple for so many years. Do you remember the Prophecy Tree I mentioned before?”
The girl nodded; she had heard the elder speak about the tree many times.
“Master, what does this have to do with Xiao Mu?”
“It’s connected. The Empress once learned of Yun Mu’s existence through the Prophecy Tree… and the Prophecy Tree also said… this young man would arrive at the Hundred Demon Ancient Kingdom on a day between late spring and early summer…”
Li Changyi lightly patted her shoulder and added,
“He will come alive, don’t worry. Master has never lied to you, right?”
His hoarse voice brought the girl unexpected reassurance.
She softly responded with a
“hm”
and carefully withdrew the fragment of the youth’s soul.
Seeing her in this state, Li Changyi finally felt relieved.
He straightened up and gave another reminder.
“Until then, just rest well. I’ll bring the medicine to suppress the Killing Intent inside you later, alright?”
“Thank you, Master… but I don’t need the medicine anymore. I think I’ve already subdued it… I just want to sleep now.”
“Well… if that’s the case, I’ll take my leave then.”
“Okay.”
She nodded in farewell.
Li Changyi turned to glance at Hu Delu, who had been quietly watching the scene.
He gave him a glare, then grabbed him and left the hut, heading straight down the mountain.
They only stopped halfway down.
“I say, are you sure you don’t want her to take the medicine? What if she goes berserk?”
“Don’t worry. If she really had a problem, I wouldn’t let her run wild. I sensed just now—the power on Xun Yi has mostly dissipated.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”
“Are you doubting me?”
“Not at all, it’s just the first time something like this has happened. It’s normal to be suspicious of a demon, right?”
“Hmph… slick talk…”
“Ha ha… what you said.”
After that, one demon looked far into the distance while the other sighed deeply, and between them, no more words were spoken—only endless silence remained.