While Mi Lu was still in a daze, Jing Lan suddenly dropped to her knees and kowtowed to him in the snow. “Sect Master, you know how awkward the status of the Medical Hall is. We don’t fit in with the righteous sects, but the demonic realm looks down on us. If a righteous sect is willing to take us in, that would be great. But if they abandon us, staying here will only make us targets for those in the demonic realm.”

The boy next to her, seeing this, also knelt down with a thud. “Sect Master, please take us with you. From the moment you became our sect master, we’ve been yours. We’ll serve you, and our lives belong to you.”

The others also knelt one after another, all crying out for their sect master, their faces filled with sincerity, looking pitiful.

Mi Lu felt his head throbbing from all their pleas.

Hearing their words, he finally understood why they were so desperate to follow him.

The status of the Medical Hall was indeed awkward, caught between the righteous sects and the demonic realm, belonging to neither. Moreover, Jiu Yao County was demonic territory, and the Medical Hall was close by. Unfortunately, the righteous sects, led by the HuLü family, were located far away, too distant to offer timely help. The Medical Hall was now like fish on a chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.

Besides, the righteous sects didn’t even value someone like Ming De Yi. How could they possibly care about a few remaining nobodies from the Medical Hall?

So, after thinking it through, following Mi Lu seemed like their best option.

After all, Mi Lu still had HuLü Yan, whose power was unrivaled.

They had all witnessed HuLü Yan’s terrifying strength firsthand.

As their incessant pleading continued, Mi Lu fell into silence. He pressed his lips together, his gaze sweeping over their pale faces. After a long pause, he let out a soft sigh. “Have you packed your things?”

They were momentarily stunned, but once they realized what he meant, joy spread across their faces. Jing Lan was the first to answer, “Yes, Sect Master! We’ve packed everything. All of our belongings are in our Hundred Silk Pouches, which we carry with us.”

Mi Lu suddenly remembered that every disciple in the Medical Hall was given a Hundred Silk Pouch upon joining. These pouches didn’t hold much—just enough for a few magical tools and some daily essentials. When a disciple’s rank in the sect increased, they could go to the logistics hall to exchange for a larger Hundred Silk Pouch.

So, Mi Lu asked, “Do your pouches have enough space?”

“Enough, enough, definitely enough!” Jing Lan nodded enthusiastically and quickly pulled out a black Hundred Silk Pouch from her sleeve.

Soon after, she took something out of the pouch.

To Mi Lu’s surprise, the object started small, then grew larger, finally landing with a thud in the thick snow, sending snowflakes flying everywhere. The snow that splashed onto the golden surface of the object melted instantly from the heat it radiated, turning into clear droplets that trickled down.

Mi Lu focused his gaze.

He realized the object was a rather large furnace, with a faint fire burning inside, causing the surface to glow.

Just as Mi Lu was still reeling from his surprise, Jing Lan kept pulling out more furnaces from her Hundred Silk Pouch. She was soon panting from the effort, but her eyes gleamed with excitement, as if she had just struck gold.

“Sect Master, we brought many Hundred Silk Pouches with us, all collected from others. Last night, before you came out of the formation, we searched the entire sect. Anything that could be taken, we stuffed into the pouches.” She pointed at the large furnaces in front of her, carefully seeking praise. “These are the best furnaces in the sect. The elders used them to refine elixirs, so we packed them up too.”

Mi Lu was dumbfounded.

“And there’s more—” The boy beside Jing Lan pulled out another black Hundred Silk Pouch, this time dumping out a pile of various items. “Besides vases and decorations, there are pots, bowls, and pans, all said to be made from top-grade spiritual stones dug from Kunlun Mountain. Everything’s brand new.”

“…”

“I also grabbed the former sect master’s clothes!” A young man in the back chimed in urgently. “He had a lot of clothes, most of them brand new. If we didn’t take them, it’d be a waste, so I packed as many as I could!”

“…”

“And I took Elder Miao’s plants! I only left the ones that weren’t growing well or weren’t useful. The rest, I stuffed into the pouch!”

“…”

Mi Lu silently thought back to when he had emerged from the Peach Blossom Formation and noticed that the once vibrant flower field had vanished, leaving only a few withered plants scattered along the path.

So, this was their doing!

Robbers! They were real, bona fide robbers!

Compared to them, Mi Lu’s act of looting everything from Ming De Yi and Wei Sheng seemed like nothing. Even clearing out the Medical Hall’s warehouse was small potatoes next to what they had done.

Jing Lan and the others anxiously watched Mi Lu’s reaction, growing more nervous with each passing moment of his silence.

“Sect Master, if you think it’s not enough, we can go back and grab more.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go back and take a look!” The boy beside Jing Lan quickly chimed in, “I remember the former sect master’s doors were made of top-quality materials. They may not compare to the vases, but they’re still better than nothing.”

Jing Lan, fired up, slapped her forehead. “Let’s go!”

“Go!”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Mi Lu quickly stopped them, rubbing his temples in frustration. “No need, there’s no time.”

They had already wasted quite a bit of time here. The HuLü family had likely received news and was already on their way.

He wasn’t sure how things were going back at the Mi family either.

Thinking of Mi Hefeng and Gu Qiu, Mi Lu couldn’t help but feel guilty.

He had wanted to communicate with them, but knowing them as well as he did, they would probably never understand why he had taken HuLü Yan.

From the moment they took half of HuLü Yan’s heart from the sacrificial altar, they were destined to stand on opposite sides from him.

He had let them down.

Mi Lu’s face darkened slightly, but he could only sigh inwardly. He quickly shook off these messy thoughts and said, “Pack up everything on the ground. We need to leave now. If we wait any longer, those people will arrive.”

Jing Lan and the others were overjoyed and immediately agreed in unison.

There were actually many flying magical tools still left in the Medical Hall, hidden in Ming De Yi’s secret chamber. Unfortunately, the chamber was protected by a formation, and Jing Lan and the others didn’t know how to break it.

But even if they had taken the flying tools, it wouldn’t have done much good. Using them to escape would make them easy targets in the sky, practically inviting those chasing them to see exactly where they were.

As a result, those flying tools were nothing but useless burdens.

Once Jing Lan and the others packed up, Mi Lu led them on foot.

Thankfully, each of them had multiple Hundred Silk Pouches, so they could store their belongings inside, making their load much lighter. Although the icy, snowy environment was harsh, at least walking was easier.

Mi Lu continued to lead them northwest.

It was said that the further northwest one traveled, the more desolate it became.

If they kept going, they would eventually enter demonic territory.

Mi Lu didn’t dare confront the people of the demonic realm head-on, but he was even more afraid of being caught by the righteous sects. If those people learned the secrets of HuLü Yan’s body, who knew what they would do to him—Mi Lu didn’t even want to imagine it.

Life outside the Medical Hall was far from easy. They traveled by day and rested by night, living off the land as best they could.

During this time, Mi Lu learned the names of the eight people.

The ones he interacted with most were Jing Lan and the boy named Li Huai. The others seemed somewhat fearful of him, speaking to him with trembling voices. Two of the younger girls were so scared that their legs shook.

What puzzled Mi Lu was that they all appeared to be about the same age, around twelve to fourteen, and their faces bore a striking resemblance to one another.

It was strange. If they were all somehow related, it wouldn’t make sense for all of them to look this similar.

Mi Lu thought carefully and concluded that Jing Lan, Li Huai, and the others must have been drugged by the Medical Hall, causing their appearances to change without them realizing it.

Combined with their memory loss, they had no idea what they originally looked like, so they had never questioned it.

Memory loss…

Changing appearance…

Mi Lu mulled over these two points, and something finally began to click in his mind.

However, just as the thought flashed through his mind, it disappeared as quickly as it came. He couldn’t quite grasp the thread of insight.

“Sect Master?”

A soft voice pulled Mi Lu out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Jing Lan squatting in front of him.

He couldn’t help but stare at her face for a moment longer, until Jing Lan’s cheeks flushed red, and she began to look uneasy. Only then did he snap back to attention, lightly lifting his chin. “Is there something you need?”

“Sect Master, if we keep going forward, we’ll enter demonic territory. Should we continue?”

Mi Lu paused, then asked, “How long have we been traveling?”

Jing Lan immediately counted on her fingers. “It’s been three months.”

Hearing this, Mi Lu was momentarily dazed.

They had been so busy hiding and fleeing that he hadn’t realized three months had already passed.

Indeed.

They had walked through snow and ice, through thick snowfalls, and past the first hints of green sprouting from the ground. Spring had long since arrived, and the weather was warming. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before summer was upon them.

Yet HuLü Yan still hadn’t woken up.

Mi Lu had found spiritual stones and good wood to craft a new pair of arms for HuLü Yan. HuLü Yan’s face and body had been cleaned, and he now lay quietly in a fresh set of clothes in a makeshift bed that Li Huai and the others had prepared.

Sitting next to the bed, Mi Lu could turn his head and see HuLü Yan’s face, illuminated by the soft glow of a night pearl.

The spring night was filled with the sound of insects chirping, and a gentle breeze brought a refreshing coolness to the air.

Mi Lu reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind HuLü Yan’s ear, then returned to the conversation with Jing Lan. “Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe another six months or a year before we enter the demonic realm.”

Jing Lan was stunned. “Sect Master, are we planning to settle in the demonic realm?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll take things one step at a time,” Mi Lu answered honestly. “But if I have to choose between facing a true villain or a hypocrite, I’d rather deal with the villain.”

Jing Lan, still confused, nodded slowly. “We’ll follow your lead, Sect Master.”

“No rush.” Mi Lu smiled at her. “Until then, we’ll have to rough it out in the wild for a while longer. I’m sorry to make you all endure this with me.”

Jing Lan was startled and immediately shook her head. “Sect Master, what are you saying? We live and die by your side. Naturally, wherever you go, we go. There’s no talk of hardship.”

After speaking, she hesitated for a moment, her worried gaze falling on HuLü Yan. “But he’s been unconscious for so long. Out here in the wilderness, we can’t find any healers. What should we do?”

“You don’t need to worry.” Mi Lu’s tone was calm. “He just needs to rest.”

“…” Jing Lan blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

Mi Lu couldn’t explain to her that HuLü Yan needed time to absorb the spiritual energy he had consumed, so he simply brushed it off. “In any case, he’ll be fine.”

Jing Lan scratched her head, still unsure, but since Mi Lu had said so, she didn’t press further. After bidding him farewell, she went off to take care of other matters.

Mi Lu’s gaze returned to HuLü Yan’s face.

Three months had passed.

Who knew when HuLü Yan would wake up?

Mi Lu had originally planned to visit Zui City, as Qiu Bei had mentioned, once spring arrived. But now, it seemed that would have to be delayed for quite some time.

Sigh.

Mi Lu sighed and reached out to touch HuLü Yan’s face.

After three months of treatment, most of the burns on HuLü Yan’s face and body had healed, but his skin still felt rough, the scars uneven and bumpy under Mi Lu’s fingers.

As he traced the scars, Mi Lu couldn’t help but recall the events in the Peach Blossom Formation.

The flames of the blood curse.

Qiu Bei’s words.

HuLü Yan’s memories.

And—

That dream at the end, which had never actually happened.

Mi Lu froze for a moment, suddenly realizing what he had been thinking about. His face flushed with embarrassment, and his hand, which had been gently resting on HuLü Yan’s face, jerked back as if it had been electrocuted.

After a long pause, he frustratedly ruffled his own hair.

What on earth was he thinking?

Author’s note:

Although I’ll be using a time-skip technique, I can’t just jump ahead with nothing happening in between and write, “Several years later, HuLü Yan opened his eyes…” So, please bear with me as I transition through this period (:з」∠).