In the room, Ah Dong looked lifeless, lying quietly on the bed.

This child was usually lively and active. Even when he was bullied to cry by Xie Shuci, he would soon bounce back and follow Xie Shuci’s butt around. But now, he seemed like an empty shell, devoid of any vitality.

Xie Shuci carefully placed the demon next to Ah Dong. His pills didn’t seem to have any effect on the demon, as the wounds on its chest and abdomen were still oozing fresh blood. With each labored breath, the blood soaked the bed.

“What should I do?” Xie Shuci looked at it with red eyes.

The demon glanced at him, bared its fangs, and a white fairy mist drifted out of its mouth.

As the fairy mist continuously surged, the fur on the demon’s body gradually lost its luster.

The fairy mist formed a meandering river in the air, merging into Ah Dong’s slightly parted lips.

As the blood faded from the demon’s entire body, a dazzling white light emitted from Ah Dong’s body. A surging spiritual energy enveloped him, gradually repairing the deep claw marks on his chest. Almost in the blink of an eye, the wounds disappeared, and his skin returned to its original state. Ah Dong’s complexion also regained its color at a visible speed.

Xie Shuci felt that this spiritual power was very gentle, like a mild stream, adhering to his skin. Even though Ah Dong’s injuries had already healed, the demon did not stop releasing its final bit of spiritual power. One of its streams of power still entangled with Xie Shuci’s body, seeping into his skin, enveloping his meridians, and finally spreading to his dantian, surrounding his dim and lifeless golden core.

“Enough… Stop! Please stop!”

The more fairy mist it exhaled, the paler its complexion became, and its limbs gradually showed signs of exhaustion.

Tears blurred Xie Shuci’s vision as the demon’s spiritual power merged with him. It was as if their senses were connected, and at this moment, he clearly realized one thing: the demon was trying to share its two hundred years of cultivation with him.

“I don’t want it! Take it back, you silly dog! Are you crazy? I don’t want your cultivation, take it back…”

“Stop your nonsense.”

A strange voice suddenly echoed in Xie Shuci’s mind.

“What I’ve given you, you must accept.”

Xie Shuci was stunned for a moment, realizing that the voice came directly from his mind.

“Stupid dog?” Xie Shuci muttered.

“I’m not a dog, I’m a wolf!” the demon replied.

Xie Shuci, “…”

“Why cry? I’ve lived too long and don’t want to live anymore, so I made a deal with someone. I exchanged my life for the chance for my tribe to be reincarnated as a human. These two hundred years of cultivation are worthless to me.”

A formation appeared beneath the demon’s body, and a dazzling white light enveloped it as if it was performing some sacred ritual.

A deal? What deal?

More and more spiritual power surged into Xie Shuci’s body, and he felt overwhelmed. Two streams of spiritual power seemed to be fighting inside him, tearing at his soul, and making his consciousness gradually hazy.

“You really think I was convinced by you, you fool?” 

Due to not having spoken to anyone in a long time, the demon’s voice kept echoing in Xie Shuci’s mind.

His consciousness was too chaotic to understand what the demon was saying, but he could clearly feel that the creature’s life force was being consumed bit by bit by the formation.

“No, this can’t be!” The demon’s voice suddenly turned serious. “Your fate… how could it be like this?”

What?

Xie Shuci thought in confusion.

“How could you be… Kid, listen carefully. From now on, cultivate diligently and don’t die. Find someone named Bixie; he can help you…”

What cultivation? What death? Who is Bixie? What is it talking about?

Xie Shuci’s mind was in a state of confusion, unable to comprehend its words.

“Remember, you must remember…”

The demon’s voice grew weaker, and the fairy mist in its mouth also diminished until it all dispersed in the air.

As the formation vanished, a Daoist in a green robe rushed into the room.

When he saw the lifeless body of the demon and the lingering spiritual power around Ah Dong and Xie Shuci, he drooped his head and stumbled back a few steps, leaning against the door. “I came too late.”

Xie Shuci raised his head in confusion, and the turbulent spiritual power inside him caused his memories to become chaotic. He didn’t know where he was.

He heard many footsteps around him, too many to distinguish.

He felt like he was trapped in a transparent space, out of sync with his surroundings. His emotions were constantly squeezed, feeling uncomfortable and suffocated. He needed to vent.

“Oh no, Xie Shuci can’t control the demon’s spiritual power. He’s going to lose control and about to go crazy!”

Crazy? Who? Me? Are you kidding? Do you think this is a TV drama?

Another set of footsteps sounded from behind, distinct from the others.

The footsteps approached steadily, with a firm and calm pace. A young man walked behind Xie Shuci, gently raising his hand, and a fragrance emanated from his sleeves. His slender fingers pressed down on Xie Shuci’s shoulder, calming the surging spiritual power within him.

Xie Shuci suddenly felt his senses returning to normal, and the unruly spiritual power instantly became tranquil. He looked up in a daze at the young man behind him and whispered softly, “Little Blind?”

The young man’s lips moved slightly, seemingly responding.

Xie Shuci understood; Little Blind was saying, “Coward.”

Who are you calling a coward? You, you blind fool, you’re the coward! Weren’t you the one who didn’t want to sleep alone and asked me to accompany you?

Xie Shuci silently rebutted Xie An’s words in his mind.

Xie An bent down and picked him up, ignoring everyone else, and strode out of the room.

In that moment, the lifeless body of the demon gradually dispersed into the air, along with the bloodstains on Xie Shuci’s body, all turning into nothingness, forever disappearing from the world.

The Daoist in the green robe sighed deeply as he witnessed this scene.

Xie Shuci felt unusually tired, as if he had just finished running a marathon. Little Blind’s chest was broad and comfortable to lean on, making him feel safe and sleepy.

When Little Blind gently put him back on the bed, he subconsciously reached out and held onto the young man’s sleeve.

He wanted to sleep, but he didn’t want to be alone.

This place was so scary, completely different from his original world.

Those bloodied things felt like a nightmare.

If only it was all a dream, that would be so much better.

But then Little Blind wouldn’t be here, which wouldn’t be good.

“Little Blind, you said you’re afraid of sleeping alone, right? I’ll accompany you.”

A person lying on the bed, half-dozing, and tightly holding the young man’s sleeve, saying, “I’ll accompany you,” was quite ridiculous.

Xie An looked down, hesitating a little. He felt like tearing Xie Shuci’s hand off, but when his fingers touched the back of Xie Shuci’s hand, he inexplicably hesitated.

“Do you know, Little Blind, actually ‘Xie An’ is the name I prepared for my son… It’s better if you don’t know, otherwise, you’ll definitely be angry…” Xie Shuci murmured.

Xie An pressed his lips together.

Xie Shuci smiled foolishly, “Son named Xie An, daughter named Xie Quan… ‘Safety’ hehe…” [1] 

Xie An, “…”

It seemed that if he didn’t stay, Xie Shuci wouldn’t behave himself.

Xie An sighed, wrapping his large hand around Xie Shuci’s hand, and sat down at the bedside.

Feeling like he was in a safe environment, Xie Shuci’s murmurs grew weaker. He rested his head on Xie An’s waist and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

——

When Xie Shuci woke up, his body and spirit felt exceptionally light. He stretched lazily and opened his eyes.

Xie An leaned against the head of the bed, closing his eyes and breathing evenly.

“Xie An?” Xie Shuci called out in a soft voice as he sat up.

He remembered that Little Blind’s hearing had already recovered, but seeing no reaction from him, Xie Shuci quietly climbed down from the bed and left the room.

He only remembered parts of what happened last night; the silly dog said it was not a dog but a wolf, and it shared its cultivation with him and Ah Dong. The rest of the events were hazy in his memory. Anyway, Xie An brought him back to the room, and he vaguely remembered babbling something to Xie An.

When he reached Ah Dong’s room, he pushed the door open and was surprised to find several disciples still inside.

Upon hearing the movement, they all turned to look at him, and their expressions immediately became complicated when they saw Xie Shuci.

“Why are you all here?” Xie Shuci mumbled.

The demon’s inner core was gone; why hadn’t they left?

The Daoist in the green robe stood by the bed and looked at him, “You’re awake?”

Xie Shuci didn’t like seeing him much, rolled his eyes, and said, “Wow, you can tell I’m awake. Impressive.”

“You… presumptuous!” One of the disciples couldn’t bear it and immediately stood up in anger.

The Daoist in the green robe cast a restraining look at him, and the latter lowered his head in frustration, no longer speaking.

Xie Shuci couldn’t be bothered with them and walked to the bedside to check on Ah Dong’s condition.

The Daoist in the green robe said, “The demon not only healed his injuries but also helped him form a golden core, and it also upgraded his aptitude. However, he is too young, and it will take some time for him to adapt before waking up.”

Xie Shuci glanced at him but remained silent.

Last night, when they fought with Xie An, Xie Shuci had noticed that they didn’t go all out against him. Otherwise, Xie An, with his cultivation severely damaged, wouldn’t have been a match for them, even with some sword skills.

The Daoist in the green robe continued, “After waking up, he probably won’t remember what happened before. This might be a good thing. I plan to take him back to the Li family and nurture him properly.”

The innkeeper was already dead, and the Li family seemed to be the best place for Ah Dong, so Xie Shuci nodded in agreement and asked, “What about…the corpse of Brother Chen and the demon’s body?”

“The innkeeper has been buried properly. As for the demon, it violated the laws of heaven and earth, and as such, heaven and earth did not allow it to exist. After death, its divine form dissipated, becoming an invisible wisp of scattered spirit, wandering eternally without reincarnation.”

Xie Shuci’s heart trembled. “Eternally without reincarnation?”

Xie Shuci only had a rough idea about the world’s settings. 

When extremely wicked creatures died, they would be expelled by the laws of heaven and earth, known as “divine form dissipation,” leaving behind only invisible soul fragments, like intangible winds wandering in this world.

If everything in the world followed a cycle of cause and effect, these creatures transcended the laws of heaven and earth, having no cause and effect, and no cycle. They were completely cut off from the mortal world.

Xie Shuci didn’t know what the definition of “extremely wicked creatures” was, perhaps there was no fixed definition.

Was this what the demon called a “deal”?

In exchange for the dead tribe’s demons to be reborn as a human, the creature willingly sacrificed itself, causing its divine form to dissipate forever.

Xie Shuci couldn’t quite describe the feelings in his heart. It felt like a heavy stone was lodged in his chest. He had never been so close to life and death before, and his mind was in a mess.

He couldn’t feel sorry for it; perhaps it had grown tired of humans and given up the chance to cultivate into a human, even sacrificing its own life and erasing its existence to grant the dead tribe a chance to be reborn as a human.

However, he vaguely remembered that the demon had said something to him before it died. Because his consciousness was too blurry at the time, he couldn’t recall some of the details.

After confirming that Ah Dong was fine, Xie Shuci returned to his room.

Xie An was awake, writing something on a piece of paper.

Xie Shuci thought that sound discernment was quite impressive. After Xie An regained his hearing, he moved like any other person, with an otherwordly demeanor.

“Xie An, do you want to restore your cultivation?” Xie Shuci dragged a stool and sat on the other side, propping his chin on his hands as he looked at Xie An.

Xie Shuci hadn’t realized before that cultivation was so important in this world. Although the silly dog had given him a portion of its cultivation, it only helped improve his aptitude. Xie Shuci didn’t like fighting, and he had no intention of cultivating seriously. The stronger his power, the greater the responsibility, and he didn’t feel capable of protecting Xie An that way.

Xie An was, in fact, a blind person, yet his sword skills were even better than his.

Xie An lifted his head curiously, asking, “Why do you ask?”

“Do you used to have high cultivation? Last night, you scared them away with a few moves. I think it’s dangerous for you to stay with me.”

Xie An’s eyes darkened, “Do you want to send me away?”

Xie Shuci sighed and slumped onto the table, snatching the brush from Xie An’s hand, and scribbled on the paper. He muttered, “Even if you don’t follow me, you can still live well.”

Rather, Xie Shuci felt that if they encountered danger in the future, he would be more of a burden to Xie An. This was entirely opposite to the meaning of keeping Xie An by his side; he had thought he could protect Little Blind.

Xie An fell silent for a moment and suddenly said, “I’m not as powerful as you think. That set of sword skills is just for show, used to deceive people.”

“Is that so?” Xie Shuci looked at him skeptically.

Xie An lowered his head, playing with the edge of his sleeve, with a peculiar expression on his face. “Besides, I’m afraid of sleeping alone.”

Xie Shuci had no doubt about this point.

Upon hearing Xie An’s question, Xie Shuci immediately perked up, sitting up straight and laughing heartily, “I didn’t realize you were so timid. Alright, then you should still stick with me. Besides me, who else would be willing to accompany a big man like you to sleep?”

Xie An pursed his lips and suddenly asked, “Do you like women?”

Xie Shuci didn’t understand why the topic changed so quickly and replied earnestly, “I like good-looking women.”

“Then why did you drug a man?” Xie An questioned.

“???” 

Xie Shuci was taken aback, and all the effort he put into maintaining his image in front of the little blind boy seemed to have been in vain.

“Fuck—how do you know?”

---

[1] is a pun or wordplay based on the names of the characters involved.

Xie Shuci is making a playful joke about the names 謝安 (Xie An) and 謝全 (Xie Quan). The wordplay comes from combining the names of the two children, 謝安 (Xie An) and 謝全 (Xie Quan), to create a phrase “安全” (an quan), which means “safety” or “secure” in Chinese.