The man was so startled by Mi Lu’s words that he trembled and collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

He reached out to grab Mi Lu’s legs, but Mi Lu quickly stepped back, avoiding him.

“Please, Young Master, won’t you take me with you?” The man knelt on the ground, crying bitterly. “I’ll die if I stay alone in the Serpent Pit. I can’t move an inch in there, I couldn’t even handle a few Sky Spiders. How am I supposed to make it back?”

Mi Lu was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. “But our situation is unique. I’m afraid we can’t take you with us.”

The man cried out, “Why?”

Mi Lu didn’t answer his question directly. “Either head back or stay here and wait for someone else to pass by. We really can’t take you. I’m truly sorry.”

With that, Mi Lu turned and began to walk away.

But after just two steps, the man behind him shouted, “You’re not taking me because my cultivation is only at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement? Or are you afraid I’ll slow you down?”

Mi Lu paused. He wanted to explain that it wasn’t because of the man’s abilities, but rather due to their own circumstances. However, he decided against explaining further.

In any case, he wasn’t going to take the man with them, so no amount of explanation would change that.

Pressing his lips together, Mi Lu continued walking.

Unwilling to give up, the man called after him, “You’re also at the Qi Refinement stage! We’re the same! Why do you look down on me like this? You won’t even do me a small favor!”

These words made Mi Lu frown.

Before he could respond, the man suddenly changed his tone. “We’re the same type of people, you’re not much nobler than I am. You’re only better because you picked a better companion. That boy you chose is much stronger than the Young Master Lin I chose.”

Mi Lu’s brow furrowed tightly, and he turned to glare at the man with displeasure. “What are you talking about?”

The man wiped the tears from his face, crawling up from the ground, staring intently at Mi Lu. He softly said, “The relationship between you and that boy—isn’t it the same as my relationship with Young Master Lin?”

Mi Lu’s eyes widened in shock, staring blankly for a long moment before shaking his head vigorously.

This was the first time he had heard such absurd nonsense.

How could he and Hulü Yan possibly have that kind of relationship!?

Not to mention that neither he nor Hulü Yan liked men, and Hulü Yan had just turned fourteen! How insane would he have to be to do anything to a child!?

“You misunderstand. There’s nothing between us like you’re thinking. We’re just traveling companions, that’s all.”

The man gave him a look that said, “Do you really think I believe that?” and smiled knowingly. “Is that so?”

Mi Lu: “…”

Forget it. There’s no explaining this.

He gave up trying!

“Anyway, it’s not convenient for us to bring you along. We part ways here, so take care of yourself.” Mi Lu finished speaking quickly and hurried away.

He was terrified that the man would say something even stranger, so he ran as fast as he could.

Before long, he caught up with Hulü Yan, who was waiting for him up ahead.

Ming Sui was lying on the ground, completely exhausted, like a dying dog. His once-white clothes were stained with blood and dirt, making him look utterly wretched.

When Ming Sui saw Mi Lu approaching, he struggled to turn over and, with great effort, squeezed out a plea from between his teeth, “Please, let me go… Whatever you want… I’ll have my father give it to you…”

Mi Lu thought to himself, Poor child, your father is already gone.

He ignored Ming Sui and walked over to Hulü Yan. “What’s your plan now?”

Hulü Yan responded with a question instead of an answer. “Where did you go?”

Mi Lu thought about his earlier conversation with the man, which made his scalp tingle with embarrassment. There was no way he could repeat those words to Hulü Yan, so he only gave a partial truth. “That guy wanted to leave with us. I refused.”

Hulü Yan gave a soft hum. “And?”

“That’s all.”

Hulü Yan said nothing, his empty eye sockets staring at Mi Lu.

Mi Lu felt inexplicably guilty. But then he remembered that what the man had said wasn’t important. It didn’t matter if he told Hulü Yan or not, and if he did, it would only make things awkward.

With that thought, he regained his confidence.

He looked at Hulü Yan’s face squarely, casually shifting the topic back. “So, what’s your plan?”

Hulü Yan’s answer was short and to the point, “Medical Hall.”

So, he was planning to head to the Medical Hall.

To get there, they needed to walk straight through the Serpent Pit. If they weren’t in a hurry, they could also take the long way around the pit’s edge.

But judging by Hulü Yan’s posture, he didn’t want to waste time and intended to go straight through the Serpent Pit.

Mi Lu nodded, then suddenly remembered Hulü Yan couldn’t see, so he said, “Alright.”

After a moment, something else occurred to him, and he asked, “Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were the first to cross the Serpent Pit?”

Hulü Yan tilted his head slightly, not understanding.

Mi Lu explained, “If you really are the first one through, would you end up with Lady Wan?”

It wasn’t that Mi Lu didn’t want Hulü Yan to be with Lady Wan. It was just that Hulü Yan was still so young. The idea of him being in a relationship with Lady Wan felt odd.

After all, Lady Wan was already in her twenties.

He remembered Lady Wan was about ten years older than Hulü Yan.

But this was Hulü Yan’s private matter. Whatever decision Hulü Yan made was none of his business.

Mi Lu realized his question had been rather pointless. He scratched his nose, about to say something to change the subject, when Hulü Yan spoke, “Who is Lady Wan?”

Mi Lu: “…”

Hulü Yan continued, “Why would I be with her?”

Mi Lu was torn between laughter and frustration. “I was just making a hypothetical situation. If you were the first one through the Serpent Pit.”

Hulü Yan, still expressionless, said, “Whether I’m first or not, what does that have to do with her?”

Mi Lu: “…”

Alright, fine. He had been worrying for nothing.

What would a fourteen-year-old kid even know about relationships?

After resting for a while, they continued on their journey.

Because they were dragging Ming Sui along, their pace slowed significantly. Eventually, Hulü Yan grew irritated with Ming Sui’s complaints and knocked him out cold.

They traveled intermittently, and perhaps due to their good fortune, they didn’t encounter any high-level demonic beasts. The lower-level beasts that did cross their path turned and ran as if they had seen a ghost.

Mi Lu was baffled and glanced at Hulü Yan, who seemed lost in thought.

It wasn’t until the second night that Hulü Yan caught a bird and skillfully extracted a golden core from its belly, handing it to Mi Lu.

Mi Lu finally realized—

No wonder they had such a smooth journey. He hadn’t seen any demonic beasts at all because Hulü Yan was like a walking cheat code!

The beasts in the Serpent Pit didn’t even have time to run away after seeing them.

Two days later, they reached the edge of the Serpent Pit.

This side was close to Jiu Yao County, where there were fewer signs of demonic beasts. However, the vegetation grew thick and tall, and every step they took through it made a rustling sound.

Mi Lu heard the rustling behind him and, during a break, walked over to a patch of half-man-high grass. He parted the grass and came face to face with the man who had been sneaking behind them.

The man looked flustered for a moment but quickly regained his composure. He raised his head and flashed Mi Lu an ingratiating smile.

Mi Lu pointed behind him. “Walk a bit further, and you’ll be out of the Serpent Pit. There’s no danger here, so you don’t need to follow us anymore.”

“Oh.” The man nodded awkwardly. “Thank you.”

Mi Lu acknowledged this with a hum, said no more, and walked away.

However, even as they continued on, the man stayed close behind them, and even after they left the Serpent Pit, he showed no sign of leaving.

—

On the fifth level of the high platform.

Lady Wan had been waiting for two days and nights, long since grown impatient. Seeing no movement outside, she beckoned a demon cultivator over and coldly ordered, “I’m leaving now. If someone does manage to get through the Serpent Pit, tell them they were too slow. I, Lady Wan, don’t have the time to wait around for anyone.”

The demon cultivator nodded and replied, “Yes.”

Lady Wan rose from her low couch and had just smoothed her long, black hair when Hei Sha and his group came rushing in, nearly stumbling over themselves.

Lady Wan frowned slightly, scolding them, “What’s the rush? Why are you acting so carelessly?”

Hei Sha swallowed nervously, both anxious and excited. “Lady Wan, someone’s made it out of the Serpent Pit!”

Lady Wan raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Too late.”

Hei Sha blinked in confusion. “Too late?”

“Of course, he took too long,” Lady Wan said, drawing the black veil across her chest and curling her lips in a mocking smile. Her movements were graceful, exuding an irresistible allure, and Hei Sha and the others were momentarily spellbound by her.

Lady Wan chuckled. “That person has some skill, to be the first one out of the Serpent Pit, but unfortunately, they took too long. I’m no longer interested. Just consider it their bad luck; I’m not going to entertain them anymore.”

With that, she turned and began to walk away.

Hei Sha and the others hurried to follow.

“Lady Wan, there’s something you don’t know,” Hei Sha said urgently. “The person who made it out is the same person I mentioned to you before.”

Lady Wan glanced at him. “How many people have you mentioned to me?”

“No, this one is different,” Hei Sha shook his head. “Do you remember the ordinary person I told you about, the one who hadn’t even started cultivating? The first one out of the Serpent Pit is that very same person.”

“Oh?” Lady Wan stopped in her tracks, her interest piqued. “Really just an ordinary person?”

“He’s definitely an ordinary person!” Bai Yuan chimed in. “And I’d say he’s only about ten years old. The three people traveling with him, two of them were at the Qi Refinement stage. The last one, you know him—Ming Sui, the Young Master of the Medical Hall.”

At this, Bai Yuan scratched his head in confusion. “But what’s strange is that Ming Sui was being dragged out by that boy.”

Lady Wan was silent for a moment, her expression turning more playful. She covered her mouth with her hand, her smile bewitching. “Interesting. Looks like I’ll have to meet this person myself.”

From their vantage point on the high platform, they could see everything happening below.

The crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion surrounded the group Hei Sha had mentioned, though no one dared get too close. Every time they took a step forward, the crowd would back away a little.

Lady Wan’s gaze immediately landed on the boy in black amongst them.