Chapter 53: Completely lost

Her dark circles were heavy, and she had more bruises on her body.

Her hair was messy with some straw stuck in it, as if she had just slept in a stable all night.

“Master… Xiaotang she…”

“Master…”

Both turned to look at Chu Fan, waiting for him to make a decision.

But when they turned, they found Chu Fan was no longer in his original spot.

He had instantly appeared in front of Su Xiaotang.

“Hey.”

Standing in front of Su Xiaotang, Chu Fan called out to her somewhat seriously.

Somewhat dazed, Su Xiaotang slowly looked up.

As she looked at Chu Fan, the sunlight from behind him hit her eyes, making her instinctively raise her hand.

“Big Brother… you’re here too…” Su Xiaotang lowered her head, her voice hoarse.

“Do you know what that tower in front of you is?” Chu Fan asked seriously.

“I know…”

“Do you think you can come out alive?”

Hearing this, Su Xiaotang’s hands tightened in front of her chest.

She pursed her chapped lips and gave a stiff nod.

“Even if I went in alone, I wouldn’t have a hundred percent certainty of coming out alive. What makes you think you can?”

Su Xiaotang was silent for a moment, then lightly bit her lower lip.

Though her voice was weak, it was very firm: “Because… I have to… come out…”

“Why?”

“If I don’t come out… my little sister will… be thrown away… by dad…”

“What?”

Chu Fan didn’t understand what she was saying until Su Xiaotang gradually revealed everything.

After hearing all this, Chu Fan silently clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

He didn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel.

He realized he had ultimately underestimated the severity of the matter.

He had originally thought it was just the merchant’s momentary anger, but he never expected someone could be so heartless—just because the child’s gender wasn’t what they wanted, they would throw her away like a cheap drop from a raising simulation game.

But there was one thing Chu Fan still didn’t understand, so he asked: “That’s just a newborn, and she’s born from your stepmother. Even if she’s your half-sister, she’s still a stranger with no emotional connection to you, right?”

“Mm…” Su Xiaotang nodded.

“Then why?”

“Even if she and I have no feelings… she just came into this world… She’s innocent…”

“And aren’t you innocent too?”

Hearing this, Su Xiaotang gave a bitter smile.

“I am too…”

“It’s just that… I had bad luck…”

“So… heh heh…”

Su Xiaotang’s smile was bitter.

Chu Fan frowned at her, not knowing what to say.

After thinking it over, Chu Fan took out a golden talisman from his ring and handed it to Su Xiaotang.

“This is…”

“Take it. Remember, once you go in, no matter how sleepy you get, you must not fall asleep. Got it?”

“Got it. Thank you, Big Brother.”

Su Xiaotang clutched the talisman in both hands and slightly raised the corners of her mouth: “Thank you, Big Brother. For saying so much to me before I leave. I feel much more at ease.”

“What? Aren’t you planning to come back alive?”

“Of course, I’m going to come back alive. There are still so many sights I haven’t seen and so many delicious foods I haven’t tried.”

“Then when you come out, I’ll take you to see them and eat them.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Saying that, Chu Fan took out another pure white slip of paper, wrote a few words on it, and handed it to Su Xiaotang.

“A wish list?”

“Consider this as a token. When you come out, you can write whatever you want on it.”

Looking at the white slip, whose writing was a bit casual but whose strokes exuded sincerity, Su Xiaotang smiled.

“Then… it’s a deal.”

Su Xiaotang extended her pinky finger to him.

“It’s a deal.”

The two pinky swore, and then Chu Fan watched as she entered the Demon Locking Tower.

He waited outside, waiting, waiting, just waiting.

Until late at night, Su Xiaotang’s father casually said, “Tch, as expected, no good,” and then turned and left.

Chu Fan still waited there, just waiting.

His disciples naturally accompanied him as well.

They ate and slept here, guarding the tower without leaving for a single step.

It wasn’t because they harbored an impossible hope, but because Chu Fan could always sense the presence of that talisman.

It was connecting to Su Xiaotang’s life flame.

That flame, though faint and flickering like a candle in the wind, was still burning.

She was still persisting.

She had not given up.

At this moment, Shen Yuying voiced her question: “Master, since you’re so worried, why don’t you go in for her? After all, aren’t we here to get the demon sword too?”

Hearing this, Chu Fan smiled.

“Yuying, do you know what the Ten Ancient Emperors are?”

“Of course. Master said they were the ten strongest people from the ancient mythological era.”

“Yes, that’s the Ten Ancient Emperors.”

“And among the Ten Ancient Emperors, although all of them were extraordinarily talented, one of them was a mortal with no talent at all by birth.”

“A mortal? How did he cultivate then?”

“Well, he originally had no access to his Qi Sea or Snow Mountain. But after being possessed by a great demon and then rescued by an immortal, he began his path of cultivation, and his progress skyrocketed.”

“Surviving a great disaster leads to good fortune?”

“Mm, that’s right.”

“And the tower houses famous great demons, and the strongest demon sword is an ancient demonic artifact. If she has enough fortune, Su Xiaotang can reverse her fate.”

“But… what if her fortune isn’t enough…”

“In that case, don’t worry. That talisman will send her out when she faces genuine life-threatening danger.”

“I see. As expected of Master, you’ve thought of everything!”

Chen Qianchi clung to Chu Fan’s arm and coquettishly said.

“Ha!”

Shen Yuying snorted again.

“Nyah~”

Chen Qianchi made a funny face at her.

Chu Fan watched them playfully, slightly raising the corners of his mouth.

Then he looked up at the tower and began to pray in his heart.

Whether she came out on her own or not, her courage and character had already made Chu Fan mentally designate her as his disciple.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said those words about taking her to see and eat.

He waited there, just waiting, waiting.

Until forty-nine days later.

The tower opened.

Chu Fan suddenly stood up from the ground and looked into the distance.

The figure that emerged from the tower had tattered clothes and many wounds, but it was clearly Su Xiaotang.

And from Su Xiaotang’s condition, it was obvious she wasn’t being mind-controlled.

Her mental strength was even greater than that of the ancient Ten Emperors.

Confirming this information, Chu Fan couldn’t help but beam with joy, his mouth stretching almost to his ears.

He strode quickly to Su Xiaotang, just about to say something when he saw her movements become strange.

Her eyes were vacant and dull, not looking toward Chu Fan even though he had made enough noise.

Her walking movements were even stranger, as if she were testing something.

She reached out her hand, groping in the air, until she touched Chu Fan’s chest.

As if startled, she abruptly pulled her hand back.

“Su Xiaotang…”

Chu Fan tried calling her name, but she showed no reaction.

Her gaze remained vacant, but she tried to reach out again and touch Chu Fan.

This time, upon touching him, she didn’t flinch.

Instead, she climbed up his face, gently touched it twice, then moved down to find his hand and wrote characters on his palm.

On his palm, although Chu Fan felt a slight tickle, he could clearly feel the characters were: “Is, it, Big, Brother?”

Chu Fan frowned and wrote in her palm: “Yes.”

“Master…”

“Master…”

The two disciples seemed not to understand what was happening, until Chu Fan said with some pain: “She has lost four of her senses. Now only her sense of touch remains.”