Chapter 15: A Handsome Guy Who Doesn't Want to Reveal His Name

“Cough! Cough cough!”

Just two coughs sent waves of pain through her body, jolting Youqin Xuanya awake from her unconscious state.

Where… where is this place?

Youqin Xuanya sat up alertly, her dark eyes gleaming with a faint red light. In an instant, the dim cave became as clear as daylight to her, every detail sharp.

As a cultivator who had reached the fourth stage of Fan Xu Jing, she could see in the dark without any special effort or need for specific spells.

The first thing that caught her eye was the large round stone blocking the cave entrance; it must have been dug from within, fitting perfectly with the cave’s contours and leaving only faint cracks for light to seep through.

Outside, it was probably night, so the light was extremely dim.

Extending her Ling Shi, she sensed only a few poisonous beasts moving within a few li radius; other than herself, there were no other human figures.

Had she been saved?

Fragments of memories surfaced: she had been surrounded by bandits, fought fiercely, been captured, and in a brief window while they prepared their Gu Chong, she had seized the chance to tear open the life-saving Fu Lu given by her master, teleporting thousands of li away.

This kind of teleportation had an uncertain landing point, making it a highly risky move. Fortunately, she had landed in a place with torrential rain, and through the downpour, she had seen that senior brother from the same sect whom she had recently met…

‘Did he save me?’

Glancing at the stacks of Fu Lu and porcelain bottles placed nearby, Youqin Xuanya paused slightly.

Then, she looked down at herself, and a sudden blush crept over her pale face. She gently bit her pink lips.

It was a pity that such a rare display of shyness from this beauty went unseen.

—Li Changshou had already slipped away long ago.

The reason for Youqin Xuanya’s sudden bashfulness was the more than ten wounds on her body that had been carefully bandaged.

The bandages used were the Zhi Xue Yun Qi Dai that Du Xian Men disciples could obtain—clean cloth soaked in various medicinal decoctions.

To be fair, the bandaging was done perfectly; the inside of the Zhi Xue Yun Qi Dai was even applied with spiritual ointment for healing and detoxifying, so most of her injuries had already healed by about seventy or eighty percent, although the pain lingered.

But…

The deep wounds on her shoulder socket and left rib required bandaging that passed over her chest, forcing her to slip her long skirt down from her shoulders…

Youqin Xuanya suddenly raised her right hand and slapped herself across the face, saying firmly:

“Senior Brother Changshou saved my life and patiently tended to my wounds. How could I doubt his character in my heart?”

Her gaze quickly returned to its usual clarity. She checked her internal condition, and her breathing had stabilized; overall, her injuries were nearly fully healed.

Clearly, her Qi had been adjusted by someone else.

Turning her head, she noticed a folded sheepskin where she had been lying—it had served as her pillow, stained with a little blood, and seemed to have writing on it.

Picking it up, she read the words written on it, along with a simple map.

‘Fellow sect members help each other without needing much thought. This place is two thousand li from Luan Zhang Bao Lin. Attached below is a map for detouring away.

Always prioritize your own life. Nearby are Fu Lu for avoiding miasma, hiding traces, detoxifying pills, and Yuan Pei Dan.

A word of advice for my junior sister:

The heart is separated by the belly; do not trust lightly.

The road ahead is dangerous; take care of yourself.

From a handsome guy who prefers not to reveal his name.’

Youqin Xuanya blinked, looking at the last line, a bit unsure of its meaning.

The handwriting was fading rapidly, and in just a few breaths, it vanished completely…

Fortunately, the map below wasn’t treated the same way; it was detailed with terrain and proportions, even marking Youqin Xuanya’s current location.

It’s worth noting that the detour route on the map was in the complete opposite direction from the one Li Changshou was heading.

“This Senior Brother Changshou… is truly meticulous and kind-hearted.”

Youqin Xuanya frowned slightly, rolled up the sheepskin, and said with a serious expression, “Your great kindness needs no words of thanks. If I, Xuanya, survive this, I will repay you with all I have.”

With that, she bowed to the sheepskin in Dao etiquette, then put the map away.

Glancing down, she saw the Fu Lu for avoiding miasma and hiding traces stuck on her shoulder; their spiritual power was still sufficient, so no immediate replacement was needed.

Gathering the pills and Fu Lu beside her, Youqin Xuanya sat in place to regulate her breath and restore her condition to its best.

Her great sword lay in the corner, its spiritual light gradually recovering.

Gradually, two figures appeared in her mind…

The one on the left was her so-called childhood friend, Yuan Qing, who had entered Du Xian Men with her and would quickly follow if she showed up.

Youqin Xuanya had long felt that this fellow townsman and sect member was two-faced, so she had always kept her distance.

But she never expected that once he dropped his usual hypocritical facade, he would be so vicious and despicable!

What had happened these past few days?

The heart is separated by the belly—Senior Brother Changshou’s words were truly spot on.

Thinking of this, Youqin Xuanya smiled bitterly, feeling the world’s harshness, a mix of disappointment and anger in her heart.

But among the two figures in her mind, the one on the right…

This figure had been somewhat faint before, but now it grew a bit clearer; it was just a slight profile when turning his head and the back she remembered well.

Before this training assembly, Xuanya hadn’t met Senior Brother Changshou; she only felt a bit surprised when she learned he was at Huan Shen ninth stage and coming to Bei Ju Lu Zhou for herbs.

The only thing that left an impression on Youqin Xuanya was this senior brother’s condition of convulsing whenever he contacted women.

Wait!

Senior Brother Changshou has this condition, yet he endured the pain of convulsions and foaming at the mouth to bandage more than ten wounds for me!

What kind of self-sacrifice is this? What kind of righteous person is he!

In her mind, Youqin Xuanya imagined the scene:

In the dark, narrow cave, a certain senior brother trembled all over, breathed chaotically, his hands and feet deformed, his face in extreme pain, but his eyes firm as he reached out to help her…

Slap!

Youqin Xuanya raised her hand and slapped herself again.

‘Senior Brother endured such agony to save me, and here I was doubting his character earlier.

Youqin Xuanya, when did you become such a petty person…’

She bit her lip and bowed to the sheepskin map again.

“If I ever get the chance to repay Senior Brother Changshou, I won’t hesitate or hold back in the slightest.”

With this resolute vow, Youqin Xuanya’s gaze became even more determined. She first tidied up the items around, then reached out and grasped the hilt of her great sword.

Kneeling on one knee, her blood-stained skirt spread around her, she held her left hand in sword fingers upright before her, and her entire aura began to tremble intensely!

Survive.

Expose Yuan Qing’s true face, repay Senior Brother Changshou’s genuine kindness, and send a message to my father warning him to beware of these treacherous bandits!

Youqin Xuanya’s right hand gripping the great sword began to shine with fiery red light.

“Nine Yuan Essence Spirits, a thousand lotuses to steady the heart!”

She chanted softly, and the great sword in her hand burst with flames, intricate patterns emerging on its surface as the cracks quickly vanished.

As her long hair danced, lotus flowers of fire floated around her, illuminating her flawless skin and her eyes like stars.

“Immortals in the north, people in the south, devouring clouds with heavenly fire, shining extraordinarily across the four seas!

Huo Lin Jian Xia!

Open!”

With three resounding clangs, sword cries echoed for ten li!

The round stone at the cave entrance exploded, and a fiery red figure shot out, dozens of flying swords swirling around her!

After dashing several dozen zhang, Youqin Xuanya concealed the fire light around her and vanished into the miasma-filled dark forest, heading southwest…

Uh, heading northeast!

‘By intuition, this should be southwest. As long as I follow the map Senior Brother Changshou left and take the detour, I can definitely avoid those villains.

I must survive and return!’

…

Meanwhile, six hundred li north of the cave where Youqin Xuanya had been hiding.

Li Changshou lay prone on a cliff, carefully searching for crevices filled with miasma.

After bustling around for half a day, Li Changshou could only shake his head and drift away from the spot.

Thus, in this area recorded in ancient texts as growing Xian Jie Cao, he had found nothing…

Li Changshou found an open space, sat cross-legged, and held a dagger, sketching on the ground all the areas he had searched. After pondering for a while, he decided:

Search north for another two or three days.

It felt unsatisfying not to find the Xian Jie Cao after all this effort, especially since he had prepared so long for this ‘Bei Zhou Exploration Plan’…

“Keep pushing forward!”

Patting his knees, Li Changshou stood up and headed north, leaving only trails of afterimages in the night.

Perhaps due to the heavy rain the previous day, gaps appeared in the miasma clouds in this area, and a beam of moonlight happened to fall on his path.

A touch of poetic sentiment rose in Li Changshou’s heart. He found a good spot and cover, standing in the moonlight to gaze at the moon for a moment.

Ah, this moon is so long…

Cough, this shape is so white…

Hmm, this crescent is so round and full…

As poisonous fog surged in, the hard-won moonlight was cut off.

“Am I getting to that age?”

Li Changshou raised an eyebrow, shook his head with a light laugh, leaned forward, and sped away, blending perfectly with the night.

A Dao companion? That’s even more terrifying than a junior sister—practically an unstable causal bomb…

Can’t afford to provoke it, won’t even think about it.

Moreover, compared to someone like Youqin Xuanya, who is in a league of her own in looks but has a complicated background, Li Changshou actually felt that…

A strong female immortal like Jiu Jiu Shishu was more reassuring.