Chapter 5: The One Who Killed You Was Her

Mu Shuiqi looked up—
It was the “Master of Bingying” she had seen earlier that day.

Seeing his profile up close nearly took her breath away.

There was a faint, refreshing herbal fragrance about him, clearing her mind and calming her heart. She finally realized—her life was safe, for now.

Bingyou released her waist and gazed coolly at the Devourer Serpent, now engulfed in blazing crimson fire.

“Thank you… for saving me,” she said softly.

His violet eyes shifted slightly toward her, then back to the serpent—without ever really looking at her.

The serpent’s screams grew weaker. With a loud pop, the enormous monster shrank into a tiny snake no thicker than a finger and half a foot long.

“It—it got smaller?” she asked, pointing at it in disbelief.

He didn’t answer, his expression distant, as though deep in thought.

“Save me, Master Bingying! I was wrong, I was wrong!” The serpent, clinging to its last breath, begged for mercy. “I shouldn’t have tried to eat a spirit at your doorstep.”

“The one killing you isn’t me.” Bingyou’s lips curved faintly into a mocking smile as he glanced at Mu Shuiqi. “It’s her.”

“Me?” She pointed at herself, utterly baffled. “But it was trying to eat me! I didn’t do anything.”

Still, even if it died, wasn’t that its own fault?

“Please, young lady, don’t kill me! Spare me! I’ll be your servant, your beast of burden—just let me live!” the serpent cried, turning its pleas toward her.

“…” She frowned, completely at a loss.

The flames devouring the serpent didn’t die down. It writhed in agony, rolling across the ground, until it could no longer even speak.

“Master, it’s almost dead,” Yi Yao’s voice came as he hurried over, appearing behind Bingyou.

“The Devourer Serpent can become a bound beast,” Bingyou explained calmly. “Once it recognizes a master, it will be utterly loyal. If the master lives, it lives. If the master dies, it dies.”

Yi Yao knew this already. Clearly, those words were meant for her. He turned to Mu Shuiqi. “Miss, if you want to save it, there’s still time. But wait even a moment longer, and it won’t survive.”

So… they thought it would be a pity if it died?
She didn’t really understand what a “bound beast” was. Maybe she should just save it first and ask questions later.

After all, it hadn’t actually eaten her. In modern terms, this was an attempted murder—not a completed one. That wasn’t a death sentence. And saving a life was said to be worth more than building a seven-story pagoda; surely saving a demon’s life earned some merit too.

So, she pulled off the detachable hood from her down jacket, ran to the small lake, scooped up water, and dumped it over the serpent.

The blazing fire still didn’t go out.

Bewildered, she turned toward Bingyou and Yi Yao.

Bingyou’s expression was faintly amused, offering no comment. Yi Yao, however, looked at her speechlessly. “What are you doing? Ordinary water could never extinguish demonic fire like this.”

“Then… how do I save it?” she asked helplessly.

The serpent was barely breathing, its body limp as the flames continued to consume it.

Yi Yao cast a spell, but even his magic couldn’t quench the fire. “Master, this fire is strange indeed. Even I can’t put it out. What kind of flame is it?”

Bingyou frowned slightly and glanced at Mu Shuiqi from head to toe. She seemed so ordinary, yet carried within her such a terrifying fire. Her sudden appearance in Bingying… it could not have been mere chance.

With a flick of his wide sleeve, a surge of immortal wind swept out. A touch of his spell snuffed out the flames instantly.

Mu Shuiqi hurried over to check the serpent. Its body was scorched black, charred almost beyond recognition.

The once-terrifying snake now looked like… a crispy roasted delicacy.

“I think it’s dead,” she said solemnly. “Guess I saved it a little too late.”