In the darkness, it’s easy for people to lose track of time.

Ever since Hulü Yan lost sight of the light, he could no longer feel the passage of time.

He didn’t know where he was, but the bone-chilling cold gnawed at his broken body every moment, like a torn-up rag with countless holes, with his last remaining life force slowly seeping away.

Scarlet blood flowed from his empty eye sockets, leaving two vivid trails on his deathly pale face—his eyes were gone, gouged out.

He gasped for breath, his mouth empty as well—because his tongue had been cut out.

He had no hands, and only his right leg remained, barely supporting his agonizingly slow crawl forward.

Every inch he moved felt like he was rolling on knife blades, the pain biting into him like a beast with a bloody maw, tearing at him with every move.

The ground beneath him was so cold, it seemed frosted over, as if lingering there for even a quarter-hour would claim his life.

He gave his all to crawl forward.

In his daze, he seemed to hear the voice of that woman, her words echoing in his mind.

“You should never have been born into this world. Look at how many people you’ve caused to die.”

“Your death would be my release.”

“Why do I have to suffer like this because of you? What do I owe you? You might as well kill me—I can’t take it anymore, sob, sob…”

The woman’s figure appeared in the darkness, lying on the ground, her clothes in tatters. Her exposed white skin was covered in ambiguous red marks and shocking purple welts from a whip.

The woman slightly raised her head, her eyes full of hatred as she glared at him, spitting out each word like venom-tipped needles: “Why don’t you just die?”

Would these lotus roots reduce some of Hulü Yan’s hostility toward him?

At the very least, they might show Hulü Yan that he was here to save him.

Mi Lu quickly arranged several pieces of lotus root in position and stuck talisman papers on each one. The last talisman was placed on Hulü Yan’s chest.

Closing his eyes, his lips moved, murmuring softly.

The gentle incantation slipped from his lips, carrying a trace of spiritual energy like a thin, soft veil, slowly covering Hulü Yan’s body and the lotus roots placed at his limbs.

It didn’t take long before the lotus roots started to change.

They transformed into hands and feet, with pale skin wrapping around them like climbing vines.

Finally, Hulü Yan, who had been missing limbs, now had complete arms and legs.

But they were complete in appearance only.

After finishing the incantation, Mi Lu had used up most of his spiritual energy. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, rested for a moment, and then helped Hulü Yan put his clothes back on.

Although Hulü Yan’s wounds had stopped bleeding, his face and body were covered with dried, caked blood, making him look filthy and pitiful.

Without even getting close, one could already smell the nauseating stench of blood.

Mi Lu didn’t dare to use a cleansing spell casually, so he could only lift Hulü Yan into his arms. Though Mi Lu wasn’t very strong, fortunately, Hulü Yan was much lighter than others his age. Even so, he still struggled to carry him.

Gasping for breath, he nodded toward the San Xiu, “Let’s go.”

San Xiu glanced over and asked, “Need help?”

Mi Lu shook his head.

He was afraid Hulü Yan might have another moment of madness and bite someone’s neck again. If he bit San Xiu, San Xiu would probably kill him on the spot.

Although Hulü Yan would one day possess the power to destroy worlds, for now, he was just a limbless child.

Mi Lu looked down at the child in his arms, only to find himself suddenly locking eyes with Hulü Yan’s empty, hollow sockets.

Hulü Yan’s face was still turned toward him.

Mi Lu noticed the blood at the corner of Hulü Yan’s mouth that hadn’t been wiped away, and his neck instinctively tingled. He leaned his head back a bit, just in case Hulü Yan decided to bite his neck again.

Even with the right direction, it would take three or four days to leave Han Tu Abyss. But with Mi Lu’s slow pace—needing to rest after every few steps—he dragged the journey into five or six days.

They traveled by day and rested by night.

When the first ray of sunlight outside the abyss fell on Mi Lu, he felt as though a lifetime had passed.

He glanced at Hulü Yan in his arms.

Hulü Yan seemed to sense the warmth of the sun on his face. After staring at Mi Lu’s face for the past three or four days, he finally turned his head slightly to the side.

The golden sunlight illuminated the blood and grime on Hulü Yan’s face, making it even clearer. Blood trickled from his hollow eye sockets, slowly pooling into a tear of blood at the corner of his eye, then rolling down.

It fell onto Mi Lu’s sleeve.

The once pristine white sleeve was now stained with blood.

Being this close, Mi Lu could hardly bear to look.

He turned his head, about to take a step, when suddenly, he heard San Xiu’s low voice in alarm: “Someone’s coming!”

San Xiu rushed over, shoving Mi Lu toward the flying boat. “Quick, quick, quick! They don’t seem friendly. We have to leave immediately.”

Without hesitation, Mi Lu hurriedly climbed onto the boat, still holding Hulü Yan. From deep within his throat came a dull, hoarse wail, like a bird too weak to fly across the snow plains, flapping its wings in a final, sorrowful struggle against the snow.

He could no longer move. Curling up his one remaining leg, the last of his life force drained away.

No sound escaped his throat anymore.

In the haze, Hulü Yan felt a warm hand gently caress his cheek.

The touch was so light, as if it was handling a fragile treasure.

So warm…

He had never been treated like this before, not even by the woman he called mother for almost ten years.

Soon, the hand left his cheek and carefully helped him sit up.

He smelled a faint floral fragrance.

Hulü Yan stared blankly with his hollow eye sockets.

The person fed him some medicinal pills, dressed his wounds, and wrapped him in warm clothes.

The rare warmth dispelled some of the cold.

When that person’s palm pressed against his back, Hulü Yan suddenly felt a weak but warm spiritual energy flow into his body.

The spiritual energy spread like a web of delicate blood vessels.

Using this energy as a bridge, his senses unconsciously followed this medium and drilled into the other person’s body—without the other person realizing it.

Then—

Thump-thump—

He heard the sound of the person’s heartbeat.

Thump-thump—

Thump-thump—

That… that was…

Thump-thump—

Thump-thump—

His heart!

Hulü Yan’s eye sockets widened, scarlet blood gushing from his hollow eyes like a spring.

His heart was in that person’s body.

##

Mi Lu had just finished wrapping Hulü Yan in clothes, and as he was about to lift him, Hulü Yan suddenly bit into his neck. His sharp teeth pierced through the three layers of clothing Mi Lu had wrapped himself in and sank into his vulnerable skin.

Mi Lu had never expected that Hulü Yan, who seemed barely hanging on to life, would still have the strength to bite him.

And to make things worse—

Not only was he biting, but also sucking blood!!

Was this kid part mosquito?

The pain made Mi Lu’s body twitch. He was about to push Hulü Yan away when his heart suddenly seized up.

The next moment, a sharp, piercing pain exploded in his chest, spreading like wildfire through his limbs.

S-so painful…

Mi Lu’s vision went black, and he almost passed out from the pain.

His already pale face turned even whiter, like a ghost. It felt as though he was being controlled, his limbs paralyzed, unable to move, while the relentless pain hammered at his nerves.

In an instant, cold sweat drenched his face.

But what was worse—

His spiritual energy was being drained, ever so faintly, by Hulü Yan…

It was clear Hulü Yan had realized this too, and after getting a taste of it, he greedily, hungrily, and impatiently continued to suck both Mi Lu’s blood and spiritual energy.

If Hulü Yan’s body weren’t so damaged, Mi Lu was certain that he would have been sucked dry.

Not just of blood, but of his spiritual power as well.

Help…

He had been trying to atone, but he didn’t want to die so soon!

He had only been reincarnated for a few days!

Just when Mi Lu thought this reckless NPC (non-playable character) was about to die in a foreign land, a pair of strong hands yanked him and Hulü Yan apart.

The painful grip on his heart instantly vanished.

Mi Lu slumped to the ground, momentarily forgetting how to breathe. If he could see his own face, he would know that he was now paler than a corpse.

Sweat soaked his bangs, and his limbs were still numb.

San Xiu came over and pulled him up off the ground.

Mi Lu’s legs trembled, and it was only with San Xiu’s help, leaning against a boulder, that he managed to stand. He immediately looked over at Hulü Yan.

Hulü Yan lay in a pitiful state on the ground, still wrapped in the clothes Mi Lu had given him, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth—Mi Lu’s blood.

San Xiu had been patrolling the area just now, giving Mi Lu and Hulü Yan some space, only to return and witness such a shocking scene.

San Xiu glanced at Mi Lu’s neck. “Did he bite you?”

Mi Lu, parched, couldn’t speak, so he closed his eyes in response.

San Xiu pulled out a hemostatic pill and fed it to Mi Lu. After resting for a while, Mi Lu pulled a few more spiritual pills from his Qiankun pouch and stuffed them all into his mouth.

After swallowing, San Xiu asked, “What should we do with him?”

Though Mi Lu felt slightly better than before, the excessive loss of blood and spiritual energy had worsened his already weakened body. He leaned against the boulder, his voice hoarse as he said, “Take him back.”

San Xiu asked, “Are you sure?”

Mi Lu nodded.

San Xiu wanted to say more, but seeing Mi Lu’s determined expression—and remembering that he was just here to do a job—he wisely shut his mouth.

Mi Lu took out the prepared pieces of lotus root from his Qiankun pouch and carried them to Hulü Yan’s side.

San Xiu, wary that Hulü Yan might harm Mi Lu again, stayed alert and protected him.

Hulü Yan seemed to sense Mi Lu’s presence, turning his head toward him, his empty, hollow eye sockets staring directly at Mi Lu.

No, it couldn’t be called “staring.”

Because Hulü Yan didn’t have any eyes.

Yet Mi Lu still felt like he was being watched.

The sensation made his scalp tingle, goosebumps rising all over his skin, his hands trembling slightly as he held the lotus roots.

Mi Lu had originally planned to wait until they were out of Han Tu Abyss to take out the lotus roots, but after sensing Hulü Yan’s killing intent just now, he changed his plans.