When Ming Sui arrived at the Thousands Serpents Pit, the place was packed with people. There were men, women, the elderly, children, cultivators, and ordinary folk—most of them had come to watch the spectacle after hearing the news.

Some clever vendors had even set up stalls selling hot tea on the nearby open ground.

It was freezing cold, with light snow drifting down from the sky, so business was good. Many people crowded around the tea stalls, chatting away.

“Quite the scene today. I wonder who’ll win the beauty’s heart.”

“For the past half-year, countless men have pursued Lady Wan, but have you ever seen her eyes linger on any of them? I’m telling you, she probably already knows no one will make it through the Thousands Serpents Pit today.”

“That’s nonsense. Don’t forget that both the young master of the Spirit Pill Sect and the young master of the Medical Hall are here, not to mention several cultivators on the verge of breaking through to the peak of Foundation Establishment.”

“Hah, young master? Young sect master? Or those at the peak of Foundation Establishment?” A man holding a cup of tea scoffed as he shook his head. “Have you forgotten? Lady Wan herself is at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Do you really think she’d be interested in anyone weaker than her?”

The others were about to argue back, but suddenly they noticed the light around them dim.

Looking up, they realized a tall man was standing before them.

As they took in his features, the faces of the tea drinkers paled in unison—it was none other than the person they had just been talking about, the young master of the Medical Hall, Ming Sui.

Ming Sui’s face was filled with irritation, and his lowered eyelashes couldn’t conceal the anger in his eyes.

He had clearly overheard their conversation. If it had been any other day, he would have turned these people to ash without a second thought. But today was special, and if he caused trouble here, wouldn’t that be an insult to Lady Wan?

If Lady Wan got upset, he’d have to spend dozens of high-grade magical tools and countless spirit stones to appease her.

It wasn’t the loss of resources that bothered him—it was the time. Heaven knew how hard it was to placate Lady Wan when she was in a bad mood.

Ming Sui had too many concerns, so he forcefully swallowed his rage and coldly asked, “The Spirit Pill Sect’s young master is here too?”

The people sitting on the small stools were terrified, trembling for a moment before finally realizing that Ming Sui was asking them a question.

“Y-yes, young master. The young sect master of the Spirit Pill Sect has indeed arrived.”

“Where is he?”

One of them pointed in a direction. “The young sect master entered the Thousands Serpents Pit about two hours ago.”

Ming Sui snorted coldly and turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back at them. “If I hear you gossiping like this again, I’ll rip out your tongues along with those of your mothers, wives, and children!”

The terrified men spilled their tea everywhere and quickly knelt down, trembling and begging for mercy. “We were wrong, young master! Please spare us!”

Ming Sui didn’t spare them another glance as he walked away. The dark look in his eyes deepened as he thought about what they had said.

He hadn’t expected Qi Heng to come.

Qi Heng was the only son of Qi Wangtian, the sect master of the Spirit Pill Sect, and also its young sect master.

The Spirit Pill Sect was often compared to the Medical Hall, as both were born in the Demon Realm but had gradually shifted toward the righteous path. They each held a place in the righteous world while still maintaining ties to the Demon Realm.

Because of their similar histories, the Spirit Pill Sect and the Medical Hall had a subtle rivalry, and Qi Heng and Ming Sui despised each other. On top of that, both had fallen for Lady Wan, and they had already fought over her several times, so their enmity had only grown.

However, Qi Heng’s situation in the Spirit Pill Sect was different from Ming Sui’s. In the Medical Hall, Ming Sui and his father were essentially in complete control—whatever they said was law. But the Spirit Pill Sect had many branches, each led by powerful elders who kept each other in check. Ming Sui had heard that Qi Heng’s antics in Jiu Yao County had already angered many of the elders, and Qi Wangtian had had to clean up after his son several times.

Yet Qi Heng still came today.

Ha, no wonder Lady Wan had caught his interest—her charm was truly unparalleled.

But so what if her charm was unrivaled?

In the end, he would be the one to win her heart.

A wild grin spread across Ming Sui’s face as he pushed aside the crowd gathered around the Thousands Serpents Pit and plunged into the snow-covered forest.

—

Mi Lu sensed the spiritual energy coming from the talisman Hulü Yan had handed him, leading them southwest. As for what lay in that direction, he could easily find out by asking around.

He approached a vendor selling sugar figurines, and after paying, casually asked his question.

The vendor gave him an intrigued look, his gaze wandering over Mi Lu’s face. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Mi Lu replied, “We’re from out of town.”

“That explains it.” The vendor nodded in understanding. “The place you’re looking for is probably the Thousands Serpents Pit outside Jiu Yao County. Just head southwest. If you can’t find it, ask anyone around—they’ll point you in the right direction.”

Then the vendor winked and asked, “Young master, did you come all this way just to catch a glimpse of Lady Wan?”

“Lady Wan?” Mi Lu was taken aback, but then he realized something. His previously calm demeanor quickly shifted into excitement. “Are you talking about the demon cultivator, Lady Wan?”

“That’s right.”

“Lady Wan is here?”

“Of course.” The vendor shot Mi Lu a puzzled look. “You didn’t know? Weren’t you here for Lady Wan?”

Mi Lu’s expression froze. He didn’t know whether to nod or shake his head.

Lady Wan was actually in Jiu Yao County!

But in the previous ten cycles, Mi Lu clearly remembered that Hulü Yan only encountered Lady Wan in the Dark City, the capital of the Demon Realm, after being betrayed by three of the great families, excluding the Mi family.

By then, Lady Wan had already reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul and was known as one of the five greatest experts in the Demon Realm. She had fallen in love with Hulü Yan at first sight, even abandoning everything to follow him through life and death.

But that was much later in the story.

First, there had been Ni Wenhui, and now Lady Wan. Mi Lu’s rebirth seemed to not only have altered the plot but also shifted the romantic developments between the protagonist and the potential female leads.

If this kept up, the ending of the book might really turn out differently.

Mi Lu took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts.

By the time he regained his composure, the vendor had already started talking again, as if continuing a one-sided conversation.

“So, you came to test your luck after hearing about Lady Wan, huh? If that’s the case, I suggest you give up now. The Thousands Serpents Pit isn’t a place you can just stroll into. Even in spring and summer, plenty of people go in and never come out. And now, with the heavy snow…”

The vendor looked Mi Lu up and down, shaking his head in disapproval. “With your frail body and mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivation, forget about making it through the Thousands Serpents Pit—you’d probably collapse before even reaching the edge.”

Mi Lu couldn’t help but laugh at the vendor’s assessment. He wanted to explain that they weren’t going for Lady Wan, but before he could speak, Hulü Yan’s raspy voice cut in.

“Where is Ming Sui?”

Only then did the vendor notice Hulü Yan standing beside Mi Lu.

Compared to Mi Lu’s fair and polite appearance, Hulü Yan, dressed all in black with a constantly expressionless face, looked like he was practically invisible.

And with the mask covering Hulü Yan’s face, the vendor could only see a plain-looking man exuding a dark, gloomy aura.

At that moment, the strange man was staring at him with cold, unfocused eyes.

The vendor, who had lived his whole life in Jiu Yao County and had seen all sorts of people, found himself unnerved by this emotionless figure for the first time.

“You mean Ming Sui, the young master of the Medical Hall?” The vendor rubbed his arms, which had broken out in goosebumps, and muttered, “It’s such an important day—he’s probably already rushed into the Thousands Serpents Pit. After all, he’s desperate to win Lady Wan.”

Hulü Yan asked again, “How can I find him?”

“Wait for today to pass and then stake out the entrance to the Golden Phoenix Pavilion. He’s a regular there—practically treats it like his second home,” the vendor replied truthfully.

But before the vendor could finish, Hulü Yan suddenly stepped forward, his hand darting out to grab the vendor’s throat.

Caught off guard, the vendor’s face turned bright red, and he started coughing and frantically slapping at Hulü Yan’s hand.

But Hulü Yan didn’t let go. Instead, he lifted the vendor off the ground.

Hulü Yan’s expression was as cold as ice. “I don’t want to wait. I want to find him now.”

With people bustling about on the street, bystanders quickly gathered around to see what was happening.

Mi Lu was taken aback by Hulü Yan’s sudden aggression. He hurriedly grasped Hulü Yan’s arm and urgently said, “What are you doing? He hasn’t done anything to you—put him down!”

Hulü Yan ignored Mi Lu’s protests and coldly asked the vendor, “How do I find Ming Sui?”

The vendor rolled his eyes back in pain, struggling to get the words out. “You… you’ll find him if you get through the Thousands Serpents Pit… cough, cough…”

Hulü Yan finally released his grip.

The vendor collapsed to the ground, cradling his bruised neck with trembling hands, his gaze filled with fear as he looked at Hulü Yan.

But Hulü Yan didn’t care. He turned and headed southwest.

Mi Lu felt guilty as he pulled a silver coin from his bag and placed it on the vendor’s stall filled with sugar figurines. He clasped his hands together and repeatedly apologized before pushing through the crowd to catch up with Hulü Yan.

The vendor’s eyes lit up as he quickly recovered from his pain, scrambling to pick up the silver coin and pocket it.

After watching Mi Lu and Hulü Yan leave, the vendor shook his head in sympathy.

What a good young master—handsome and kind-hearted. It’s a shame he got involved with such a strange person.

Truly unfortunate.

Meanwhile, Mi Lu, completely unaware of the sympathy directed at him, was scolding Hulü Yan.

“That was too much! You could have just asked nicely—why did you suddenly get physical? If that guy didn’t answer your question, would you have taken his life?”

Hulü Yan paused and turned his head slightly toward Mi Lu. He corrected him seriously, “I didn’t take his life.”

“That’s only because he answered your question.” Mi Lu stopped walking and frowned. “What if he hadn’t?”

Hulü Yan was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

He didn’t know what he would do; he might have let that person go or he might have killed him.

All he knew was that he wanted an answer. If that person couldn’t provide it, then they were useless to him. The lives and deaths of useless people didn’t concern him at all.

He couldn’t even comprehend—

Why was Mi Lu so angry? Why did he care so much about that person’s life and death? Why was this matter so important to him?

It was such a trivial thing.

Seeing the confusion on Hulü Yan’s face, Mi Lu gradually calmed down. He pulled Hulü Yan along as they walked forward, trying to reason with him. “That person didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t owe us anything. He simply couldn’t provide the answer you were looking for at that moment. To act against him so violently is disregarding human life.”

Hulü Yan replied flatly, “This world is one of the strong eating the weak.”

“That doesn’t mean you should treat lives as disposable,” Mi Lu said. “Only the weak resort to violence against those weaker than themselves. Besides, he was just a kind stranger trying to point us in the right direction.”

Hulü Yan fell silent.

Mi Lu thought that perhaps his words were sinking in, so he softened his tone, saying, “What’s done is done. I just want to say that life and death are fated. No matter how strong you are, you shouldn’t easily decide the fate of others.”

Hulü Yan quietly asked, “What about me?”

Mi Lu blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Hulü Yan took Mi Lu’s hand and placed it over his eyes.

Mi Lu’s hand broke through the illusion created by the magical tool, perfectly covering the empty sockets where his eyes should have been, revealing an incredibly beautiful face, though marred by the black holes of his eye sockets.

“I am also an innocent person. Why is my life and death always in the hands of others?”

Mi Lu’s throat tightened, and he opened his mouth but couldn’t answer Hulü Yan’s question.

After a long pause, Hulü Yan let go of Mi Lu’s hand.

That beautiful face was once again shrouded in the illusion, the hollow eye sockets replaced by a pair of lifeless, dull eyes.

Hulü Yan’s eyes didn’t actually look like that. He had elongated phoenix eyes with bright yellow pupils, reminiscent of a scorching sun on a hot summer day.

At that moment, the stark contrast between how ordinary Hulü Yan’s eyes looked now and Mi Lu’s previous words felt like standing and talking without feeling the pain.

Mi Lu hesitated for a long time before slowly taking Hulü Yan’s hand. He said, “From now on, your life and death will only be in your own hands.”

After saying that, he shoved the sugar figurine he was holding into Hulü Yan’s palm. “Eat this.”

Hulü Yan accepted the figurine and popped it into his mouth, crunching down hard and biting off the head.

Mi Lu: “…”

He looked at the pitiful sugar figurine left with only a body and sighed inwardly.

Forget it.

Changing the plot was the priority. The rest would just depend on fate.

As they made their way to the Thousands Serpents Pit, there was no one to clear the path outside Jiu Yao County. The snow piled up past Mi Lu’s ankles, and light snowflakes drifted down again, biting at their cheeks in the cold wind.

Even so, the crowd watching the Thousands Serpents Pit hadn’t dispersed, and business at the tea stalls remained booming.

The sound of Mi Lu’s shoes crunching in the snow drew attention as he casually approached a tea stall and asked the three men sitting nearby, “Excuse me, how do I get to the Thousands Serpents Pit?”

“Straight ahead,” one man said, pointing. “Just keep going.”

Mi Lu thanked him and was about to walk away when he heard Hulü Yan ask, “Where is Ming Sui?”

Upon hearing this, the three men froze momentarily, unable to help but look closely at Hulü Yan.

Finally, one man spoke up, “Are you looking for the young master of the Medical Hall, Ming Sui?”

Hulü Yan responded with a slight nod.

Mi Lu, fearing that Hulü Yan might act rashly again, intentionally positioned himself in front of Hulü Yan.

The man then asked, “Are you looking for the young master for something?”

Hulü Yan nodded again.

The man curiously inquired, “What is it?”

Hulü Yan coldly replied, “It’s urgent.”

The man was taken aback.

After waiting for a while without a response from Hulü Yan, he finally shrugged and said, “The young master went into the Thousands Serpents Pit a while ago. If you want to find him, you’ll have to either go in after him or wait for him to come out. But whether he can make it back out is another question.”

Before he could finish, Hulü Yan turned and walked away.

The man, seeing this, was infuriated. “Hey, who’s that little punk? Acting so arrogant! I was just trying to be nice!”

Embarrassed, Mi Lu hurriedly apologized to the man before rushing to catch up with the single-mindedly forward-moving Hulü Yan.

As soon as he caught up, he heard Hulü Yan say, “I remember everything you just said.”

Mi Lu wanted to ask what he remembered, but he saw that Hulü Yan had already stepped into the dense forest of the Thousands Serpents Pit, leaving behind a crowd of stunned onlookers.

Once Mi Lu followed him inside, the crowd erupted into chatter.

“I can’t be wrong, right? That young master who just went in had only mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivation, right?”

“What? Mid-stage Qi Refinement? You must be mistaken! How could he only have mid-stage cultivation?!”

“Exactly! Not only does he have mid-stage cultivation, but the one who just went in with him was also an ordinary person who hasn’t even started to cultivate.”

“Do they even know what the Thousands Serpents Pit is? How could they dare to go in there? That’s like asking for death!”

“They’re throwing their lives away for Lady Wan. They’re truly crazy.”

Author’s Note:

Not long after—

Lady Wan: “So, what are your terms?”

Hulü Yan: “I want a person.”

Lady Wan: “Who?”

Hulü Yan points at Lady Wan: “You—”

Lady Wan’s face lights up with joy.

Hulü Yan: “The one behind you.”

Lady Wan: “…”