"What a pity, we've been found out." Wu Li's smile grew wider, revealing pure malice. "What should we do?"
He ignored those people and instead pinched Chai Xiaomi's chin, lifting her face.
His sharp black fingernails were like a demon's claws, poking into her soft cheek with a slight sting.
Just as Chai Xiaomi was about to cry out in pain, she saw Wu Li looking down at her. His expression was incredibly focused, but his pupils churned with a near-mad ruthlessness. "Tell me, if a secret is discovered, how should it end?"
Her chin hurt from his pinch, making her speech a bit slurred:
"Hand everyone a boxed lunch."
Wu Li paused, not understanding her meaning, and his fingers loosened their grip slightly. "No Central Plains idioms. Say it again."
This wasn't a Central Plains idiom, it was internet slang! Chai Xiaomi immediately waved her hand and translated for him, "It means, kill them all."
A glint of excitement and surprise flashed across his bewitching heterochromic eyes. Wu Li seemed to doubt Chai Xiaomi's words. He raised a finger, casually pointing at Meng Lu. "You mean—"
"Like this?" He tapped his fingertip downward.
As his voice fell, the bizarre writhing in Meng Lu's throat abruptly stopped. His entire body jolted as if the last ounce of his strength had been drained. He rapidly shriveled and turned black, ultimately crumbling into an inconspicuous pile of ash that drifted down through the air.
It was faster than a tree demon sucking a person dry!
"Wu Li! You... you planted Marrow-Devouring Gu in all of us?!"
At this moment, no one dared to call him a half-breed anymore.
Those few people were already pale as sheets, looking as if they had seen a ghost, their legs trembling so much they could barely stand.
They looked at Wu Li in terror, then at Meng Lu who had turned to ash on the ground. They wanted to flee, but their feet seemed rooted to the spot.
He had hidden himself too well, so well that everyone mistakenly believed he was merely a vessel for the High Priest to raise Gu poisons, nothing but a monster.
No one had ever realized that the young man before them had long since become a far more dangerous existence capable of manipulating powerful Gu arts.
Wu Li glanced at them, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at dead objects.
With a slight flick of his fingertips, the remaining people turned to ash before they could even beg for mercy, piling up on the ground.
He was so indifferent, as if he had merely disposed of some unsightly clutter.
"Did I do it right?" Wu Li's lips curled up. He looked down and spoke to Chai Xiaomi, who was still clinging to his collar.
"Yes, yes, yes, exactly like that." Chai Xiaomi nodded wildly, her scalp tingling. This was also her first time witnessing Wu Li's true strength, and she suddenly realized that his making her unable to speak was nothing more than child's play.
"Since I did it right, what are you afraid of? Why keep your eyes closed?" Wu Li grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face the pile of ash on the ground. He bent down, leaning close to her ear to coax her into opening her eyes. "Look. Why aren't you looking? Do you think it will dirty your eyes?"
Chai Xiaomi shook her head.
Forgive her; as someone who needed jump scare warnings to survive watching horror movies, this kind of unbuffered thriller scene would truly leave her with psychological trauma.
Ever since coming to this world, not a single night went by without her dreaming.
If it wasn't a nightmare, it was a wet dream. She had really had enough.
But Wu Li was relentless; clearly, his malicious streak was acting up again.
"I order you to open your eyes." He lowered his voice even further, his warm breath brushing past the shell of her ear. "Otherwise, I'll turn you into ash, too."
If he really wanted to, he would have done it already. He was just scaring her on purpose!
Chai Xiaomi thought indignantly, though the eyes she opened were indeed wet with tears.
"Wu Li..." she whispered. "Next time you pull this kind of underworld stuff, could you give me a heads-up first? Don't scare me like that, okay?"
The young man tilted his head, studying her reddened eyes caused by fear, his voice wrapped in a morbid delight. "No."
"Xiaomi—!"
Jiang Zhiyu's shout pierced through the morning mist right at that moment.
"The horses are ready. How are things on your end?"
"Eh?" Jiang Zhiyu walked a few steps closer, holding the reins, and looked around. Just a moment ago, he had clearly seen Wu Li talking with several tribesmen. How did they all disappear in the blink of an eye?
"Wu Li, where are your tribesmen?" He was about to step forward.
Chai Xiaomi quickly used the tip of her shoe to scatter and kick the pile of ash flat. With a light hop, she perfectly blocked that patch of ground. "They left! We're ready, too!"
Her voice was crisp, her smile impeccable.
Wu Li lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on the dark gray smudges on the tip of her shoe. Deep within his pupils, something dark and obscure slowly churned.
Jiang Zhiyu stopped in his tracks. "That's good. Yaoyao is waiting up ahead, follow me."
"Let's go, don't keep them waiting," Chai Xiaomi called out to him, her tone as relaxed as if nothing had happened.
She bent down to pick up the bundle she had dropped earlier.
However, a pale, slender hand beat her to it, effortlessly lifting the two heavy bundles.
Chai Xiaomi paused and looked up at him.
Wu Li had already turned around, casually slinging the bundles over his shoulder. The lines of his profile appeared somewhat cold and hard in the thin morning sunlight. He took two steps, and seeing that Chai Xiaomi hadn't followed, he tilted his head slightly, his tone flat and unrippled. "Weren't we in a hurry? Keep up."
Chai Xiaomi hastily jogged to catch up, following closely by his side, her mind a mess.
Was she afraid? A little, but mostly it was an indescribable feeling.
A mix of suffocation and frustration intertwined in her chest. How wonderful it would be if he treated her with the same gentle brightness he showed the female lead.
Why did he always like seeing her frightened?
So annoying. Truly annoying.
The mountain path was rugged, and the morning mist was gradually dissipating.
Chai Xiaomi suddenly stopped in her tracks, gazing at the young man's back ahead of her.
The lingering morning mist draped a layer of cool, thin dampness over his shoulders, slightly wetting the tips of his flying hair. His silver ornaments jingled softly. In the hazy dawn light, his figure looked as frail as a wisp of a ghost that could scatter at any moment.
This temperamental, unpredictable guy...
It seemed...
He wasn't that annoying after all.
She quickened her pace to catch up and reached out to take the bundles from his shoulder. "Let me carry them!"
Wu Li didn't stop walking. Staring straight ahead, his tone was devoid of emotion. "No need. It'll save others from saying I mistreat my pregnant wife."
Pausing for a moment, he added lightly, "If you don't want to play this part anymore, then take them."
Chai Xiaomi immediately withdrew her hand, not standing on ceremony with him at all.
After walking a few steps, she stared at the dew-soaked grass beneath her feet and finally couldn't hold back. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Those people just now, they vanished into thin air. What will you do if the Clan Chief and the High Priest start investigating?"
