"What about you?"
It seemed this was the first time anyone had cared about his fate.
Wu Li nonchalantly lifted his eyelids. Paper could never wrap up fire; his Gu arts were improving day by day, and the High Priest would inevitably find out sooner or later.
Unfortunately for the High Priest, apart from inflicting physical pain, there was nothing else he could do.
After all, Wu Li couldn't die.
Wu Li was completely fearless. "What can he do? At most, he'll lock me in the Gu cave, torture me for a few days, and then let me out."
He paused, then added lightly, "Maybe it will be a bit longer this time."
Chai Xiaomi furrowed her brows. The image of the frail young man pinned to the stone wall flashed through her mind, covered in crisscrossing bloodstains, battered and broken. How could he brush over such experiences in such a flat tone?
"Then can't you just fly far away and never go back?"
"Have you ever flown a paper kite?" Wu Li fell silent for a moment, then raised a hand and tapped his chest. "A mother Crimson Blood Silkworm lives in here. As long as he wants to, he can summon me back at any time. The string is in his hands. I am nothing but a paper kite, unable to control my own body."
His voice was very faint, so faint it sounded like he was talking about someone else's affairs.
"Then..." Chai Xiaomi bit her lip. "I will stay with you. No matter where you go, I'll stay by your side."
This time, Wu Li stopped in his tracks.
He turned around, his dark and profound eyes meeting her gaze, which was firm yet tinged with a bit of unease.
Dappled light from the forest fell upon his face, flickering in and out of the shadows.
"Aren't you a coward?" He looked at her, the corners of his mouth curling into an extremely faint, almost imperceptible smile. "Chai Xiaomi, if you follow me into the Gu cave, you will be eaten. Aren't you afraid?"
"I wasn't eaten last time, was I?" Chai Xiaomi still remembered those densely packed bats; they had swirled around her but never came close. "You will protect me, right?"
As if hearing a joke, Wu Li retorted disdainfully, "What makes you think I would protect you?"
"Because—" Chai Xiaomi crossed her arms, answering with righteous confidence, "I am the person who likes you the most in this world."
"If I were to disappear, where would you ever find someone else who likes you this much?"
She leaned in half a step, her voice soft and gentle:
"Ah Li."
This intimate form of address made Wu Li pause slightly.
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the gaps in the canopy, draping over the young girl's face like a thin veil. Earlier, when he had gripped her chin, his fingertips had pressed into her cheeks, leaving two faint red marks on her fair skin.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he reached out, his fingertips gently poking the little red mark on her cheek. It was soft and delicate, like a newly bloomed petal.
"I won't save you." He withdrew his hand, his tone cold. "I don't even like you."
"Besides, Gu bugs don't like eating idiots. They have brains."
His sleeve suddenly moved.
A small, dark red snake head quietly poked out, its eerie green vertical pupils staring straight at Chai Xiaomi.
Wu Li lowered his eyes and tapped the snake's head with his fingertip. "Hongjiao, do you like eating idiots?"
Hongjiao flicked its tongue and rolled its eyes around. This girl looked tender and delicate; it really wanted to eat her, but its master had warned it long ago.
So it reluctantly shook its head, throwing Chai Xiaomi a "figure it out yourself" look before zipping back into the sleeve.
Chai Xiaomi: "..."
Was she seeing things? Did this snake actually just roll its eyes?
Sure enough! Like master, like pet!
She shouldn't have expected him to say anything nice.
"Oh! Fine, don't save me then!" she replied grumpily, taking two quick steps to pass him and walk ahead, leaving him with nothing but an angry back of the head.
Watching the young girl's suddenly quickened pace and her displeased back, a fleeting ripple, one so swift even he didn't notice it, flashed through the depths of Wu Li's eyes.
He resumed walking, following behind her at a moderate distance.
The mountain forest was silent; the road ahead was unknown.
Four people and three horses headed toward Liangya Prefecture.
Chai Xiaomi didn't know how to ride a horse, so as usual, she shared a mount with Wu Li. The two large bundles of luggage tied to the horse's back swayed back and forth with the rhythm of the hooves.
Jiang Zhiyu tugged at his reins and kindly reminded them, "You can put the luggage into the Cosmos Bag. It would be more convenient."
Hearing this, Chai Xiaomi's eyes lit up. She had almost forgotten the use of this treasure!
Wu Li, however, shot Jiang Zhiyu a faint glance. "The demonic aura in that bag is too heavy; putting things in there will taint them with a foul stench. My wife loves cleanliness and cannot stand the smell."
"I didn't think it through," Jiang Zhiyu smiled awkwardly. The Cosmos Bag did indeed often hold demon cores, so the smells were inevitably mixed.
He suddenly remembered that there was also a shattered plantain spirit's inner core in the bag. Since he had already given it away, it wouldn't be appropriate to ask for it back. Never mind, it was already broken anyway; leaving it there wouldn't hurt.
Chai Xiaomi wasn't used to riding horses for long periods. Coupled with the fact that she had just recovered from a high fever, she squinted and leaned against Wu Li's embrace.
Half asleep and half awake, the feeling was worse than motion sickness.
The horse's hooves clattered, stepping into dreamland...
Inside the Yuebai Settlement, after Qi Lao's accident, the guests from various tribes who had come to attend the ceremony took their leave one after another.
The settlement was in a state of chaos. The bride was missing, and the Phantom Color Stone had been stolen. The tribal elders were overwhelmed, sending out large groups of people to search the mountain forests and streams. They had no time left to entertain guests.
Little Chubby mingled with the dispersing crowds. He was looking down, adjusting his somewhat messy collar, when he suddenly felt something furry brush against his foot.
Looking down, he saw a completely snow-white cat.
Little Chubby felt a surge of joy and hurriedly followed the white cat, silently slipping away to a secluded spot in the southwest corner of the settlement.
As soon as they avoided the crowd, he immediately dropped to his knees, respectfully kowtowing to the white cat with an anxious tone:
"Alchemist Ji! You're finally here! When the Young Master encountered a great demon a few nights ago, he sent a talisman to notify you. Why have you only arrived today? The Young Master ran off again and ordered me to stay here and wait for you."
The white cat squatted on the stone steps, its whiskers twitching, and grumpily squeezed out a human voice from its throat: "That brat, he ran off with Little Song again?!"
"Exactly." Little Chubby kowtowed again with a wronged expression. "The Young Master knew you would definitely chase after him once you received the message, so he left me here all alone. I have nowhere to go. Alchemist Ji, you have to save me."
This time, the Young Master had secretly rushed to Yuebai to crash the wedding. No one in the palace city knew about it; he was the only insider. If he went back to Lingyu Prefecture just like this, he probably wouldn't be able to escape the Lord's punishment.
Fortunately, Alchemist Ji had a gentle and kind disposition, and he had some influence to speak up in front of the Lord.
"Hey, hey, stop kowtowing, stop kowtowing," the white cat raised a front paw and waved it, sighing. "My old bones can't withstand you kowtowing like this! This matter isn't your fault; it's that boy who is too lawless."
It twitched its ears, its glass-like eyes rolling around. "Do you know where he went with Little Song?"
Little Chubby thought back carefully, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "When I was packing the Young Master's luggage, I think I heard him mention Youquan Town."
The white cat's pupils shrank slightly.
Youquan Town.
That name made its snow-white fur seem to stand on end slightly.
It stayed silent for a moment before slowly speaking, its voice carrying a certain profound implication: "He certainly knows how to pick a place."
Little Chubby looked up in confusion, only to see that the white cat had already leaped gracefully onto the top of the wall. Glancing back at him, it said, "Go on back. I will definitely drag that brat back here!"
