Unfortunately, the words she spoke received no response.

Lady Wan let out a soft sigh and asked again, “Who exactly are you?”

The young man still gave no answer.

He held tightly onto the hand of the young man in white, standing close to him. It was unclear whether he didn’t hear her question or simply didn’t want to acknowledge her.

Lady Wan stood in silence for a long time before finally conceding with a wave of her hand, “Fine, you can leave.”

Hei Sha was startled by this and exclaimed, “Lady Wan, you’re just going to let them go?”

The crowd around them looked equally shocked, unable to hold back their whispered discussions.

Just moments ago, everything had escalated so dramatically!

How could Lady Wan have given in so easily?

Lady Wan didn’t respond to Hei Sha, nor did she seem to hear the murmurs of the crowd. She calmly looked at the young man in white, who stood closely to the other youth, and repeated, “You can take Ming Sui with you. Go ahead.”

After saying that, Lady Wan stepped aside.

Seeing this, Hei Sha and the others quickly retreated behind her.

Despite the commotion earlier, Ming Sui, lying on the ground, had not woken from his unconscious state, still lying there like a dead dog.

Everyone watched as the young man dragged Ming Sui away, dead weight and all, without even looking back. They left together with the young man in white, leaving the crowd with mixed emotions.

Especially Hei Sha and his group.

Having spent so much time with Lady Wan, they knew her temperament all too well.

She was someone who would repay any slight against her tenfold. If someone hurt her an inch, she would make sure to retaliate a foot. If anyone had dared to treat her like that boy just did, she would have torn them to shreds by now.

Yet, Lady Wan let the boy go!

Hei Sha and the others couldn’t make sense of it. They exchanged confused looks before Hei Sha cautiously spoke up, “Lady Wan, is there anything we should do?”

“No need,” Lady Wan replied absentmindedly as she toyed with her long hair, casting a meaningful glance in the direction the young man had disappeared. “One day, we will meet again.”

Hei Sha, completely baffled, asked, “Meet again? Why?”

Lady Wan couldn’t be bothered to explain further. She swept her gaze around the crowd and let out an annoyed click of her tongue. “Alright, scatter. You’re all a bunch of useless trash, not even as good as an ordinary person.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but with the help of spiritual energy, it was clearly heard by everyone present.

For a moment, the crowd’s expressions became quite colorful.

It wasn’t until Lady Wan left, not looking back, that people slowly began to react—

Was that boy really an ordinary person?

Since Lady Wan had said so, he must be.

But how did an ordinary person manage to get through the Thousands Serpent Pit?

Even those at the peak of Foundation Establishment hadn’t made it out.

So, what kind of “ordinary” person was he, really?

Once Lady Wan left, the crowd, seeing there was nothing exciting left to watch, gradually dispersed.

By the time the Young Master of the Spirit Pill Sect, Qi Heng, made it out of the Thousands Serpent Pit, it was already evening. The sun was setting, and the sky had become a chaotic dark white, with only the occasional lonely bird flying by and giving a desolate cry.

Several disciples of the Spirit Pill Sect were anxiously looking out, and when they saw the disheveled figure of Qi Heng, they rushed over with joy on their faces.

“Young Master!”

Qi Heng’s once white robe had turned gray and black, but he had exhausted his spiritual energy and couldn’t even perform a simple Cleansing Technique.

After his disciples helped clean him up, he quickly wrapped himself in the cloak they handed him, glancing around in confusion. “Why are there so few people? Where are the others?”

Upon hearing this, the disciples froze and their faces turned awkward.

After a moment of silence, one of them finally replied, “Young Master, everyone has already left.”

“Left?” Qi Heng was dumbfounded. “What do you mean left? Does the competition not count anymore?”

The disciple mumbled, “It’s not that…”

Seeing the disciple’s hesitation, Qi Heng became anxious and shoved him aside, “I was the first one to make it out, right? Where’s Lady Wan? I need to find her!”

“Young Master!” Several disciples hurriedly grabbed Qi Heng, stammering as they explained, “You weren’t the first to make it out of the Thousands Serpent Pit.”

“What?!”

“Two or three hours ago, someone else passed through the pit first.”

Qi Heng stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, the color draining from his face in an instant.

The cold wind blew, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

It took a long time before Qi Heng could find his voice, trembling as he asked, “That person… was it Ming Sui?”

“No,” the disciple shook his head. “It was a boy with no cultivation.”

“No cultivation?”

“Yes, I wasn’t mistaken. That boy was definitely an ordinary person.”

What the disciple didn’t dare say was that not only was the boy an ordinary person without any cultivation, but he had also publicly refused Lady Wan’s advances in front of everyone.

If he said that, their Young Master would likely go crazy trying to hunt down that boy.

But even if they didn’t say it, rumors about that boy spread throughout Jiu Yao County like wildfire. In just half a day, everyone had heard about it.

Everyone was curious about who this mysterious boy was, who had the audacity to reject Lady Wan, the flower of the Demon Realm.

Who would have thought that there was a man in this world who could resist Lady Wan’s charms?

•

Meanwhile.

After HuLü Yan dragged Ming Sui out of Jiu Yao County, Ming Sui slowly began to regain consciousness. Through his blurry vision, HuLü Yan’s profile gradually came into focus.

At first, Ming Sui thought he was dreaming, but the pain from being dragged along the ground grew clearer and clearer.

He gasped for breath, groaned, and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he still saw HuLü Yan’s profile.

“Hu… HuLü Yan?” Ming Sui’s eyes widened in shock, his face full of terror. “Why… why is it you?”

Mi Lu, puzzled, bent down to look at Ming Sui, “Do you know him?”

Ming Sui struggled frantically, ignoring everything else, “Let me go…”

Mi Lu looked up at HuLü Yan, “You should let him go.”

HuLü Yan immediately obeyed, dropping the long whip coiled around Ming Sui without a word.

However, his tense expression didn’t relax as he turned to Mi Lu and asked, “Are you angry?”

The question came out of nowhere, catching Mi Lu off guard. “Why would I be angry?”

“I attacked that woman,” HuLü Yan paused for a moment before continuing, “You don’t like it when I hurt people.”

Mi Lu suddenly understood. He had thought HuLü Yan had been hesitant because he was wary of Lady Wan, but it seemed he had only been concerned about upsetting Mi Lu.

But why would HuLü Yan care about his feelings? That wasn’t like him at all.

Mi Lu shook his head, “I’m not angry.”

HuLü Yan frowned slightly, showing a bit of confusion in his expression. “Why not?”

“She blocked our path, so she was in the wrong. Besides, you didn’t kill her,” Mi Lu wasn’t sure how to explain. Having lived in seclusion for so long, he didn’t fully understand the ways of the outside world.

After thinking for a moment, he added, “HuLü Yan, the world isn’t just black and white. There are no fixed rules for survival. Protecting yourself while leaving room for retreat also gives you a way out.”

HuLü Yan quickly replied, “I understand.”

Mi Lu was taken aback. Did HuLü Yan really comprehend what he said that fast?

HuLü Yan stepped closer, just as he always did, his five fingers slowly curling around Mi Lu’s wrist.

“I understand,” HuLü Yan repeated clearly, word by word, “I won’t do anything you dislike.”

Something about his words sounded off to Mi Lu.

But before he could ask, HuLü Yan suddenly curled his lips into a smile, though it was an eerie one, sending a chill down Mi Lu’s spine.

“After all, we’ll always be together, right?” HuLü Yan’s voice was soft, though still hoarse, and he pronounced each word with clear precision. “So you shouldn’t do anything I dislike either.”

Mi Lu: “…”

He stared at HuLü Yan’s face, momentarily speechless. Without the mask to conceal it, HuLü Yan’s face revealed an almost unreal beauty, even more stunning than the so-called flower of the Demon Realm, Lady Wan.

But while Lady Wan was like a black rose that every man wanted to pluck, HuLü Yan was more like a wild poppy growing by the roadside, drawing people in with his vibrant colors, but exuding such an extreme sense of danger that no one dared approach.

At this moment, Mi Lu could feel that unmistakable sense of danger radiating from HuLü Yan.

His whole body stiffened, his limbs going numb, and his mind was screaming with warning signals.

He wanted to step back, to distance himself from this source of danger, but he found his legs refused to obey.

The five fingers gripping his wrist slowly loosened, crawling up his arm, over his chest, his neck, his chin…

Finally, cold fingertips brushed against his cheek.

“Do you understand?” HuLü Yan asked.

“…” Mi Lu swallowed hard and softly replied, “I understand.”

Satisfied, HuLü Yan’s lips curled in what appeared to be a pleased smile as he let go.

Mi Lu stood there in a daze for a moment before suddenly snapping back to reality and kicking the still-dazed Ming Sui, who had just managed to stand, right in the butt.

Ming Sui let out a wail and collapsed back to the ground.

Mi Lu bent down, picked up one end of the long whip, and with some effort, dragged Ming Sui a few steps toward a nearby thicket, then threw him forward.

The whip’s end flew through the bushes and landed squarely on someone’s head.

That person, with the whip on their head, nervously raised their eyes and met Mi Lu’s gaze. After a moment, they forced a fawning smile, “Young Master, we meet again.”

“Haven’t you been following us the whole time?” Mi Lu looked down at the man, his long eyelashes casting small shadows on his pale skin. His straight, unsmiling lips gave him a somewhat aloof appearance. “You already made it out of the Thousands Serpent Pit. Why are you still following us?”

The man sniffled and, in an instant, his eyes turned red, “Young Master, I came to Jiu Yao County with Young Master Lin, but they all died in the Thousands Serpent Pit. Now, I’m all alone in Jiu Yao County, unfamiliar with the people and the place. I have nowhere else to go, so I had no choice but to follow you…”

Author’s Note:

Supporting characters are just here to advance the romance! This one is clearly here to help the protagonist realize his feelings. But the protagonist is still too young, so let’s give him two or three more years!