Xie Zhou, however, refused to let it go. He stepped forward, his cool palm cupping the back of her neck. His thumb pressed against the hot, swollen skin, applying a slight pressure that forced her to tilt her head up.
He looked down at her, his dark eyes so deep that his emotions were completely unreadable. His voice was as cold as if it had been submerged in an icy pool. “If it hurt, why did you let her bite you?”
This posture was incredibly awkward. The faint scent of paper talismans and incense on him completely masked the cool fragrance Wen Tang had left behind.
Forced to look at him, Song Yao said blankly, “I didn't know she was going to bite me.”
Xie Zhou stared at her in silence. “Couldn't you push her away?”
Song Yao was temporarily at a loss for words.
If she had really tried to force her way out, she could have, of course. She would have just needed to use the Bishui Sword or control the plants in the room.
But she had been afraid of accidentally hurting Wen Tang in the heat of the moment, so she had simply given up.
Not knowing what Xie Zhou was so fixated on, she smiled at him and said nonchalantly, “It's fine. We're fellow disciples. It's just a bite, I won't die.”
“We're fellow disciples,” Xie Zhou repeated, suddenly leaning down.
Before Song Yao could react, a sharp pain shot through her earlobe. She shuddered, looking at him in utter confusion, her cheek lightly brushing against his hand as he drew it back.
Xie Zhou bit her ear?!
Had he lost his mind?
He took two steps back, his gaze falling on her reddened earlobe. His tone was flat. “I am also your fellow disciple. A little bite shouldn't be too much, right?”
Song Yao was once again speechless.
If he put it that way, indeed it wasn't too much.
But it still felt incredibly bizarre.
Wen Tang had bitten her because of her illness. Did he really have to match her?
Song Yao winced, rubbing her ear as she calculated in her mind.
The relationship between the disciples of the Nine Saints Hall's main peak had never been very good since years ago. Although their cultivation paths were different, there still seemed to be a sense of competition between them.
Especially Fourth Junior Brother and Fifth Junior Sister. Both of them were clearly well-behaved children, yet whenever they crossed paths, sparks would fly.
Now, it seemed even more severe—they even had to compete over biting her.
“Alright, it's fine.”
There was no need to fuss over such trivial matters. Song Yao glanced at Wen Tang, who still looked uncomfortable on the inner side of the bed, and climbed over to check on her.
However, a large hand clamped around her waist, lifting her straight off the bed and forcing her to stand on the floor.
Xie Zhou's eyes were pitch-black. Before Song Yao could ask, he said, “Do you still want to be bitten by her?”
Song Yao protested, “Fifth Senior Sister has already passed out. How could she bite me?”
As she spoke, a thought occurred to her. “By the way, why are you here?”
Given the current situation at Nine Saints Hall, they shouldn't be short-staffed to the point of leaving the main peak unattended.
Xie Zhou was concise. “Investigating a matter. I was passing by and noticed unusual activity.”
“Fifth Senior Sister's dark poison flared up, and the puppets went out of control, releasing all the evil cultivators. But everything is fine now,” Song Yao explained briefly. “Fourth Senior Brother, you don't need to worry about this place.”
She made to sit back down on the edge of the bed, but before her bottom could even touch it, Xie Zhou lifted her up again.
Song Yao: “...”
She took a deep breath and asked patiently, “Do you have something else?”
Xie Zhou released his grip, his tone remaining flat. “Wen Tang is too unstable. If she acts up again, Nine Saints Hall won't be able to look after you. I will find a place for you to stay temporarily; it will be safer.”
Song Yao was taken aback. Instead of refusing outright, she hesitated for a moment and said, “How about I return to Nine Saints Hall with you?”
The Qi-Replenishing Pills she had refined this time were effective against the dark poison. Since there were still several sick people back at Nine Saints Hall, returning there had already been in her plans.
Xie Zhou knit his brows, hesitating for a moment.
While this place was dangerous, Nine Saints Hall wasn't necessarily safe either.
However, there was a secret realm in the back mountain of Nine Saints Hall. Letting her hide there to avoid the trouble would probably be safer.
He nodded. “Let's go.”
Song Yao hesitated again.
With Wen Tang in this state and the mountain full of evil cultivators harboring malicious intents, leaving her alone on Black Cloud Mountain seemed a bit inappropriate.
After a moment's thought, she said to Xie Zhou, “Then I'll wait for Fifth Senior Sister to wake up and let her know.”
“...”
Let her know?
Back when she had abandoned him on Black Cloud Mountain among a horde of evil cultivators, she hadn't shown him a single shred of concern.
Yet now she was like this toward Wen Tang?
So she did have a heart; it was just that her heart wasn't on him.
Xie Zhou's eyes grew a fraction colder in an instant. His voice was low, carrying a hint of sarcasm. “So you do know that you should report to someone before you leave.”
This comment came out of nowhere. Song Yao's mind was on other things, so she wasn't quite following. She looked up blankly. “What?”
Xie Zhou didn't repeat himself, nor did he intend to explain.
With a flip of his hand, two paper talisman figures, barely an inch tall, appeared in his palm. With a slight nudge of spiritual energy, he sent them forward.
As soon as the paper figures touched the ground, they expanded, growing to the size of normal humans in the blink of an eye. They stood expressionlessly by the door and the window, their bodies enveloped in a very faint spiritual glow.
Their aura was restrained, yet it carried an intimidating pressure that could not be underestimated.
“They will guard this place. If there is any unusual movement, I will know immediately.” Xie Zhou glanced at her and asked, “Can we leave now?”
Song Yao felt like he was angry again, but figuring that corrupted people were always mercurial like this, she nodded and agreed, “Alright, we can leave now.”
Xie Zhou's paper talisman figures seemed much more reliable than her.
Besides, based on her past experience, Wen Tang's backlash usually wouldn't last too long.
She slipped a note under Wen Tang's pillow. Seeing Xie Zhou heading out, she suddenly stopped. “Oh, wait a moment. I also want to go to Shao City.”
Xie Zhou asked, “What for?”
Song Yao replied, “To deliver some pills. I promised someone I would help resolve their situation.”
Xie Zhou: “...”
Song Yao counted the number of pills in her last batch of Qi-Replenishing Pills and felt it wasn't quite enough; she needed to refine another cauldron.
She turned back. Realizing Xie Zhou was still waiting, she glanced at his cold, weary expression and said considerately, “Fourth Senior Brother, if you're in a hurry, you can head back first. I can make my own way back later.”
Xie Zhou: “...I'm not in a hurry.”
“Oh, okay. I'll be quick. Wait for me a moment.”
As Song Yao spoke, she hurried back to the bed and grabbed Wen Tang's hand.
Xie Zhou's brow twitched as he watched a flash of spiritual energy spark from Song Yao's fingertip. She swiftly and cleanly sliced Wen Tang's palm, collecting some of her blood. She didn't forget to mumble under her breath, “Tangtang, you bit me once, so I'm taking some of your blood. Now we're even.”
Running back to the cauldron, she politely asked Xie Zhou, “Fourth Senior Brother, if you have nothing to do, could you help bandage or heal Fifth Senior Sister's hand wound?”
Xie Zhou: “...”
He was almost driven to laughter by his own anger.
She actually wanted him to heal Wen Tang?
It truly fit her current alias.
Lin Mu, Lin Mu.
There was truly no one in the world more block-headed than her.
He didn't budge an inch. With a flick of his finger, the paper talisman figure by the window walked over, grabbed a random piece of cloth, and wrapped it around Wen Tang's hand, calling it a day.
On Song Yao's end, practice made perfect. Within half an incense stick's time, she had refined two more batches. Stashing the still-warm pills, she walked over to Xie Zhou. “Alright, let's go.”
When they arrived at Shao City, the sky was still dark. The city was dead silent, without a single sound.
Only the City Master's estate in the center of the city flickered with faint, dim light.
As they neared the outer wall of the estate, intermittent groans and wails of agony drifted over with the night wind.
Given how excruciating Wen Tang's dark poison backlash had been today, the people afflicted by the dark poison here likely weren't having an easy time either.
Rate on N.U.
