In a small town that was nearly devoid of people.
Winter Melon rejected the suggestion of taking the young man to a clean inn for treatment first.
Instead, she found a house that had been long abandoned, covered in dust and cobwebs, with withered weeds growing on the roof.
Lin Luoyu merely raised her hand and cleared out a spot inside the room.
"With injuries like that, he'll definitely die here if he doesn't get emergency treatment," Cui Hao said, looking at the young man lying on the floor with no sign of life.
His tone was somewhat wistful as he continued.
"You survived, but you're not actually planning to bury him here, are you?"
"He's just a kid. To truly experience the feeling of losing half of himself at such a young age — his whole life is going to be one big gray cloud."
Winter Melon glanced up at the talking Cui Hao. This person's thought process was simple, and his words were blunt enough to make anyone want to slap him.
Forget it — she was the one asking for help, after all.
She shook her head gently.
"We still don't know whether the demonic cultivator is searching for us in the outer area. Walking around openly will only draw attention."
"Watermelon's cultivation isn't low either. As long as he gets basic treatment and time, he can recover."
Cui Hao looked slightly surprised at her words.
"Then his life is as tough as a cockroach. Truly impressive."
"So by that logic, your life is as tough as this cock... cough... as Watermelon's too?"
Winter Melon confirmed one thing. Whether this person was kind-hearted or not was unclear, but his mouth had absolutely no filter.
Did his words not pass through his brain even once?
Did he know that this could basically be considered an insult?!
"We cultivators naturally cannot be compared to ordinary mortals," Winter Melon held back her anger.
"Thank you both for lending a hand..."
"No need. When out in the world, acting chivalrously is exactly what we cultivators ought to do."
Cui Hao waved his hand broadly, directly cutting off Winter Melon before she could continue.
"Now that you two are both safe, my Senior Sister and I won't intrude any longer. Rest up and heal."
Winter Melon quickly spoke up.
"Wait... my cultivation is barely a tenth of what it was. I don't know where you two Fellow Daoists plan to go."
"If it's on the way, perhaps we could travel together?"
These two were still somewhat useful. If she got targeted again, she could use them to pass messages up the chain.
What's more, the current situation was unclear. Finding someone to scout the road was a good idea.
This Cui Hao might say annoying things, but a useful person was a person worth using well.
Cui Hao said nothing, only glancing sideways at Lin Luoyu.
Lin Luoyu caught Cui Hao's glance, paused for a moment, then spoke.
"We're under sect orders to investigate a hidden matter. Our destination and mission are not convenient to disclose."
"I can leave you two some more pills. This place isn't far from Fuyao Immortal City."
Hearing this, Winter Melon dropped to her knees without hesitation, her voice full of grief.
"Fellow Daoist's kindness is impossible to repay."
"That demonic cultivator is near Qulin City, beside Fuyao Immortal City. Going there would truly be nine deaths to one life."
"Better to let us two follow along with you Fellow Daoists. I promise we won't ask anything along the way, and we won't look at what we shouldn't see."
"If you have any orders, we can also handle some small matters for you — a small way to repay your kindness, at least."
Lin Luoyu's face remained calm as she looked at Winter Melon's tearful, downcast expression without a word.
Noticing this, Winter Melon quickly turned her grieving gaze toward Cui Hao.
"I'm willing to be ox or horse for my benefactors!"
This sentence seemed to strike a nerve in Cui Hao. He looked toward Lin Luoyu.
"Senior Sister... look how pitiful she is. And there's one who can only be pitied by half."
"If we don't show them some pity, there'll be nothing left to pity."
Lin Luoyu shot him a glare. Cui Hao's expression and words didn't seem like an act at all — as if a genuine pig of a teammate had been reincarnated beside her.
"Fine. Save someone to the end. How do you plan to treat this boy?"
"I'm something of a healing cultivator. I have my own way to keep him safe. We'll just need to trouble you two to walk a bit slower on the road."
Cui Hao reacted quickly, extending a hand.
"Should I go rent a carriage? We can't drag this kid along the whole way, can we?"
Lin Luoyu gave a slight nod of agreement.
Cui Hao walked out the door with a smile on his face, off to find a carriage.
At this moment, only three people remained in the room.
Lin Luoyu, watching Winter Melon with a calm face. And the young man, playing unconscious and saying nothing.
Once outside, the smile faded from Cui Hao's face.
He quickly glanced toward a Tai Dao Sect cultivator hidden in the deep mountains nearby, gave a slight nod, and signaled that the mission was proceeding smoothly — the next phase of preparation could begin.
——————
Fuyao Immortal Pavilion.
"Chu Xingchen, didn't you claim your pills were unmatched in the world?"
"This one's swallowed nearly a whole bottle, so why is he still being stubborn?"
Daoist Yu Yang looked at the trembling Corn and couldn't help glancing over at Chu Xingchen, who had his head down over the documents on his desk.
Chu Xingchen didn't even lift his head.
"If you think the potency is too weak, why don't you swallow one yourself and see how it feels?"
"You still want to fool me? Only a fool would swallow one."
"Your pills obviously use shady materials." Daoist Yu Yang flicked his daoist robe, his face full of disgust.
Chu Xingchen's gaze shifted to Xie Lingyu beside him.
"How are things on Yingling's end?"
"She's made contact. And news came that Luoyu and Cui Hao have already successfully engaged the targets."
"I told you. Whether demonic cultivator or good person, everyone likes a person full of righteous aura."
"Demonic cultivators can share hardship but never prosperity. Only good people are the easiest to bully."
"With Lin Luoyu standing there, she might as well have 'I am a good person' pasted on her face."
Xie Lingyu fell slightly silent at his words. She couldn't quite recall when the word good person had started becoming synonymous with fool.
Chu Xingchen tossed the documents in his hand back onto the desk.
He looked at Corn, who had swallowed his pills and was trembling all over, thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Watermelon has already confessed all of Winter Melon's plans. Why keep being stubborn?"
Corn's dark face looked up, his voice slightly trembling.
"Whether he confesses or not has nothing to do with me."
"I won't say anything. Just kill me."
Chu Xingchen let out a soft sigh.
"Only fools have the truest feelings. I don't hate people who stick to their convictions."
"But unfortunately — you're not human."
"And I'm keeping you alive not because I actually plan to pry any words out of your mouth. You have another value."
Chu Xingchen paused, then looked at Daoist Yu Yang.
"Yu Yang, I'm giving this [Demon] to your Tai Dao Sect. Consider it fulfilling our original agreement."
"Whether you have methods to handle him is no longer my concern."
Daoist Yu Yang glanced at Corn, thought it over, then gave a slight nod.
"In that case, I'll send him back to the Tai Dao Sect tonight."
"If anything comes out of further interrogation, I'll let you know."
Chu Xingchen pushed himself up from his seat, glanced at the documents on his desk, and spoke calmly.
"I need to go back for a bit. Lingyu will handle things here in my place. I'll be back in a few days."
Daoist Yu Yang looked at him with some confusion but didn't ask further. He just nodded in agreement.
————
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