Mi Lu knew that if the person in the shadows had truly intended to kill them, they would have struck long before shooting an arrow. There would have been no warning or question asked.

It seemed the person feared their arrival but did not want to stir up trouble, so they made a tentative move to test them.

Mi Lu hesitated for a moment and placed the magical artifact he had just taken out back onto the cart.

He cupped his hands towards the direction from where the arrow had come and raised his voice, “Fellow Daoist, we are disciples of the Medical Hall, sent out on a mission by our sect for training. On our way back, we accidentally encountered a large demonic beast. The three of us were no match for it and barely escaped with our lives.”

After speaking, he pointed to Wei Sheng and Hulü Yan, who was lying on the cart, and continued, “Both my senior and junior brothers are injured. We humbly ask for your kindness to let us rest here for the night. The Medical Hall will surely repay this favor in the future.”

Wei Sheng: “…”

He was stunned by Mi Lu’s shamelessness.

What “our Medical Hall”?

The Medical Hall belonged to their Hall Master! What did it have to do with this Mi fellow?!

And now, Mi Lu had just used the Medical Hall’s name to owe a favor. If the Hall Master found out about this, he would surely kill the three of them in rage.

Wei Sheng was fuming, but helpless. He glared at Mi Lu in the darkness.

Mi Lu, just you wait!

No sooner had he thought this than Mi Lu suddenly glanced his way.

Wei Sheng quickly wiped away the resentment from his face, pretending to be nonchalant, and even tilted his head at Mi Lu as if puzzled.

Mi Lu smiled and said, “Senior Brother, I heard you have quite a reputation in the cultivation world. Perhaps they recognize you?”

Wei Sheng wasn’t stupid—he instantly understood the hidden meaning behind Mi Lu’s words and backed away in protest.

Mi Lu casually touched the long whip that was once again tied around his waist.

Wei Sheng stiffened, his voice rising immediately, “I am Wei Sheng of the Medical Hall. If Fellow Daoist is willing to show us some kindness, I, Wei Sheng, will remember this favor. In the future, should you need my help, I will not refuse.”

“Ah, so it’s Wei Sheng!” The person clearly recognized Wei Sheng.

As soon as he spoke, a shadow silently appeared not far from them.

Mi Lu squinted his eyes, and with his current cultivation, he could only make out that the person was a short middle-aged man. As for his appearance, it was nearly indistinguishable in the darkness, where the light of the night pearl did not reach.

Mi Lu couldn’t sense the man’s cultivation level at all.

The man cupped his hands towards them, but his words were directed at Wei Sheng. “I am Shi Fang, an outer disciple of the Tai Sheng Sect. I once had the honor of meeting you, Wei Sheng, a few times at Tai Sheng Mountain. I wonder if you still remember me?”

Of course, Wei Sheng didn’t remember. Unless someone was exceptionally beautiful, he never bothered to remember such small fry. But considering their current situation, another thought crossed his mind.

“Of course, I remember.” Wei Sheng had just finished speaking when he suddenly felt something poke his waist.

Ah—

So Mi Lu had somehow moved behind him, and the handle of his long whip was jabbing into his waist.

Mi Lu smiled and said, “Senior Brother, you and Junior Brother are both injured. Resting is the priority. There’s plenty of time to chat later.”

Wei Sheng: “…”

Shi Fang, standing a short distance away, heard Mi Lu’s words and said, “I won’t disturb your rest then, Wei Sheng, and your junior brothers. Another day, I’ll invite you for a drink.”

As soon as Shi Fang finished speaking, his figure disappeared into the night.

Shi Fang returned to the spot where his group had been resting.

Inside the carriage, three women had been anxiously waiting. The moment they saw him return, they all started bombarding him with questions.

Shi Fang waited until they were done, then smiled and reassured them, “You can relax. They’re from the Medical Hall, just passing through and stopping to rest for the night. Two of them are injured, and the uninjured one is only in the early stages of Qi Refinement—nothing to worry about.”

Upon hearing this, Jing Tao and Yu Ying both let out sighs of relief.

Only Ni Wenhui’s expression remained indifferent, though her previously tense face softened a little.

Shi Fang added, “You should all get some rest. I’ll keep watch outside; there’s no need for shifts tonight. We still have a long journey ahead.”

Jing Tao nodded, “Thank you for your trouble.”

On the other side, Mi Lu rummaged through Wei Sheng’s Hundreds Treasure pouch and pulled out two blankets. Just by touch, he could tell they weren’t ordinary. Wrapped in them, one could hardly feel the cold wind.

Mi Lu wrapped himself in one blanket and covered the still-unconscious Hulü Yan with the other. Meanwhile, Wei Sheng sat there with his eyes bulging and his teeth grinding.

Suppressing his rage, Wei Sheng growled, “What about me?”

Mi Lu had already climbed onto the cart and shifted Hulü Yan to the side a bit. He wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, leaving only his round eyes exposed. He blinked and said innocently, “What about you?”

Wei Sheng asked, “Where’s my blanket?”

Mi Lu replied, “There were only two blankets—one for me and one for him. There’s none left for you.”

Wei Sheng closed his eyes, trying to stay calm. “There’s a blanket in Wu Du’s Hundreds Treasure pouch. You can take that one out for me.”

Wei Sheng fumed internally. This Mi Lu, despite being the only son of Gu Qiu and Mi Hefeng, acted like a country bumpkin who had never seen anything valuable. He had taken all their Hundreds Treasure pouches and even confiscated their talismans and silver coins.

Mi Lu was completely unaware of Wei Sheng’s inner turmoil. He said, sounding troubled, “But Wu Du’s pouch has a seal on it. I can’t unlock it.”

Wei Sheng replied through gritted teeth, “I’ll teach you how to unlock it.”

Mi Lu’s eyes lit up, “Great!”

The sealing technique used by the Medical Hall wasn’t too difficult—it was challenging for outsiders but easy for sect members. As one of the elders of the Medical Hall, Wei Sheng had long mastered these techniques and quickly taught Mi Lu.

However, after rummaging through Wu Du’s pouch for a while, Mi Lu couldn’t find anything.

Meanwhile, the cold wind continued to bite at Wei Sheng, making him shiver. He could feel the frigid air creeping up from his feet.

In the past, he would have easily sensed something was wrong, but now his mind was too numb from the cold. He grumbled, “Try Qi Sha’s pouch next.”

Mi Lu responded, “There’s a seal on his pouch too.”

Grinding his teeth, Wei Sheng replied, “That’s a different technique. I’ll teach you.”

Mi Lu’s eyes sparkled like the stars, “Okay!”

After unlocking the seal, Mi Lu rummaged through Qi Sha’s pouch for a long time, only to pull out an Immortal Binding Rope.

Curious, he tossed the rope onto Wei Sheng.

Before Wei Sheng could react, he suddenly felt something tighten around him. By the time he instinctively struggled, it was already too late—he couldn’t move.

When he saw the rope binding him, his forehead throbbed with veins as he glared at Mi Lu with murderous intent. “What are you doing?!”

Mi Lu placed Qi Sha’s pouch into his own space pouch and sat back down on the cart, bundled in his blanket. “Oh, so that’s what it does.”

Wei Sheng roared, “Untie me!”

Mi Lu replied honestly, “I don’t know how.”

“The Immortal Binding Rope doesn’t require any incantations—you just need your hands to untie it,” Wei Sheng snapped. “You tied it, so only you can untie it!”

Mi Lu let out an “Oh” and suddenly smiled. “Well, since you’re not behaving, I’ll feel safer with you tied up.”

Wei Sheng’s face turned as dark as the night. It took him a moment to realize the truth, and he spoke slowly through clenched teeth, “So, when you said you didn’t find a blanket in their pouches, you were lying?”

Mi Lu closed his eyes, staying silent.

The silence stretched on, and then a furious shout echoed through the night, “Mi Lu!!!”

Curled up beside Hulü Yan, Mi Lu didn’t dare let himself fall asleep.

His mind raced through the events of recent days. Ever since he overheard from Wei Sheng that the Hall Master of the Medical Hall had recently been in this area, everything started to make sense.

Why had Hulü Yan insisted on going to the town?

Why had Hulü Yan seemed lost after reaching the town?

It was because Hulü Yan had sensed the presence of the Hall Master, who was also his tongue. He had followed his instincts but had just missed the Hall Master.

When the Hall Master left on his flying ship, Hulü Yan lost his sense of direction.

Mi Lu recalled the original plot and remembered that Hulü Yan’s first target to retrieve his organ was indeed the Hall Master of the Medical Hall. However, that was supposed to happen two years later.

If he allowed this event to happen now, could it trigger a butterfly effect on the established storyline?

Mi Lu didn’t know.

He only knew that his heart was racing. He was eager, excited, and felt as if he had glimpsed a ray of hope.

The Hall Master had gone to Immortal Valley, and the Medical Hall was now leaderless and in disarray. It was the perfect time to scout things out.

The journey to the Medical Hall wasn’t far, but it wasn’t exactly close either. It would give him time to cultivate along the way.

The only question was when Hulü Yan would wake up.

As Mi Lu thought about it, he considered confessing to Hulü Yan, but quickly suppressed the idea. After following Hulü Yan for so long, he knew how unpredictable Hulü Yan’s temperament was.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Better to do more and talk less.

Later that night, Mi Lu started to feel drowsy.

But before long, he was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of wheels screeching against the ground. When he opened his eyes, he saw a carriage speeding towards them.

“Wei Sheng!” came Shi Fang’s panicked and fearful voice from outside the carriage, “Something’s wrong! We’ve encountered a group of demonic beasts!”

Talk about bad luck.

Although there were many demonic beasts in the area, they rarely traveled in packs due to the scarcity of food. However, with the recent surge of cultivators drawn by the Hulü Family’s activities, the demonic beasts had been facing increasing danger.

Some beasts, having gained some intelligence, realized that there was strength in numbers and began moving in groups.

There weren’t many demonic beast packs, but tonight, they had run right into one.

Sure enough, as soon as Shi Fang finished speaking, the ground began to tremble faintly, and the tremors grew stronger and stronger—like a herd of massive creatures running towards them through the cold night.

Wei Sheng’s face changed, and he cursed, “Damn it! Of all things, we had to run into a pack of demonic beasts. Our luck couldn’t be worse!”

In the blink of an eye, the carriage reached them.

Shi Fang pulled hard on the reins, letting out a sharp “whoa” as the horse reared up, sending a cloud of dust flying in the moonlight.

“Hurry, get in!” Shi Fang urged, “There are only three women inside, and they’ve agreed to take you with them.”