The cultivation levels of the two women seemed to be below the peak of Qi Refining, and their conversation was crystal clear in Mi Lu’s ears.

When Mi Lu heard the words “Hulü Family Young Master,” he froze for a moment and instinctively turned to look at Hulü Yan behind him.

He noticed that Hulü Yan had also slightly tilted his head toward the direction of the two women, perhaps having overheard something as well.

The next moment, Hulü Yan suddenly grabbed Mi Lu’s wrist with his hand.

Hulü Yan’s grip was strong, as if he wanted to crush Mi Lu’s wrist.

Mi Lu’s face turned pale instantly, and he tried to struggle, but the more he fought, the tighter Hulü Yan’s fingers clenched, and soon Hulü Yan’s whole body pressed against him.

At that moment, the two women and the proprietress walking ahead noticed their commotion and turned to look.

Mi Lu wanted to struggle more but didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention from the women and the proprietress. So, gritting his teeth, he forcibly endured the sharp pain in his wrist.

Soon, he tasted the metallic flavor of blood spreading through his mouth.

The proprietress cast a strange glance at Hulü Yan, who had his face completely covered, and finally focused on Mi Lu, whose face was only half-hidden.

Even though Mi Lu only had his eyes exposed, the proprietress sensitively noticed something and asked with concern, “Is the young master feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine,” Mi Lu lightly shook his head and politely replied, “Please, continue leading the way.”

Seeing this, the proprietress didn’t ask more and withdrew her gaze.

After they walked away, the two women, who were still selecting fabrics, exchanged slow glances.

Some things didn’t need to be said aloud—they both understood.

The people outside were getting stranger and stranger. It was one thing to have peculiar personalities, but even their clothing was weird. Especially that person who covered their eyes so tightly—how did they even see where they were going? Did they really look that bad?

The women quickly pushed aside the strange incident and returned to their conversation as they continued browsing fabrics.

“Back to the topic, isn’t it about time for the Hulü Family Young Master to get engaged after his birthday? He and Hui Hui have known each other since childhood, growing up together. It’s long overdue for them to settle down.”

“Exactly. And to think Hui Hui has waited all these years—if it were me, I wouldn’t have lasted that long.”

“That’s not necessarily true. The Hulü Family Young Master is quite the catch—handsome and talented, not to mention the sole heir of the Hulü Family. He’s also a rare fire spiritual root in the cultivation world. Before turning fourteen, he was already about to break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. If you had someone like that, wouldn’t you wait?”

“Hmm…” The woman pretended to hesitate before nodding decisively. “Of course, I’d wait! Who would give up such an amazing young man?”

“Hahaha, I knew you were just pretending to be modest!”

“Hmph! And you’re telling me you wouldn’t do the same?”

The two women burst into laughter.

In the middle of their playful banter, one of them suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, isn’t Hui Hui still at the inn? Should we pick something out for her?”

“She wasn’t feeling well earlier, so I let her rest. Let’s just pick something nice for her ourselves.”

“Sigh, Hui Hui’s health is getting worse. I hope this trip to the Hulü Family helps find a solution.”

On the other side, Mi Lu frowned deeply as he listened.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the “Hui Hui” they were referring to was likely Ni Wenhui, the only daughter of the Yun Yan Sect Master. Yun Yan Sect was one of the top ten sects in the cultivation world, but it only accepted female disciples.

Ni Wenhui was no stranger to him.

Although Ni Wenhui was just a supporting character in this no-romance, leveling-up webnovel, she had so much presence that she could be mistaken for the main heroine. Outside the story, there were countless fans of the Hulü Yan and Ni Wenhui pairing, constantly begging the author to flesh out their romance.

But right now, the plot was still in its early stages. Hulü Yan and Ni Wenhui hadn’t even met yet, and Ni Wenhui was actually the love interest of Hulü Yan’s younger brother, Hulü Lan, who was born on the same day, month, and year as him.

Soon, Ni Wenhui was supposed to get engaged to Hulü Lan.

As for the beginnings of Hulü Yan and Ni Wenhui’s relationship, those wouldn’t happen until after she and Hulü Lan were engaged.

Yet, Mi Lu distinctly remembered that Ni Wenhui wasn’t supposed to appear until much later. At least, during the two years he was bound to Hulü Yan after his death, Hulü Yan had never met her.

So why was she appearing so early?

Could it be that Hulü Yan and Ni Wenhui had already met but didn’t remember each other?

Mi Lu racked his brain trying to recall the details from the book, but nothing came to mind.

All he could remember was the basic plot and how the readers reacted to it. Everything else was a vague, hazy mist in his mind.

Mi Lu sighed quietly, and just as he was coming back to his senses, he found himself face-to-face with a head wrapped tightly in his old clothes.

That head was inches away, almost touching him.

Startled, Mi Lu instinctively tried to back away, but the owner of the head pulled him even closer.

At the same time, the proprietress’ half-playful, half-complaining voice rang in his ears. “Oh my, young master, are you daydreaming again? I’ve called you several times, but you didn’t respond.”

Only then did Mi Lu notice that the proprietress was holding two sets of clothes in her hands.

Feeling embarrassed, Mi Lu wanted to reach out and touch the clothes, but he soon realized that Hulü Yan had somehow grabbed both of his hands and was holding them tightly, showing no intention of letting go.

Mi Lu: “…”

After a moment of awkwardness, Mi Lu whispered, “Let go of my hands.”

Hulü Yan didn’t budge.

Gritting his teeth, Mi Lu squeezed out three words, “Hulü Yan.”

Still, Hulü Yan didn’t move, as if quietly staring at Mi Lu through the layers of clothing.

After a few more moments of standoff, Mi Lu gave up and turned to the proprietress, reluctantly saying, “Please wrap these two sets for me. I’d like to take a look at more styles.”

The proprietress, who had been running her shop for over a decade, had seen all kinds of people. It wasn’t hard for her to pick up on the tension between Mi Lu and Hulü Yan. However, it wasn’t her place to get involved. After casting another complex glance at Hulü Yan, she turned and went to wrap the clothes.

Mi Lu also looked at Hulü Yan.

Hulü Yan had once again turned into a block of wood.

His face was completely wrapped, so Mi Lu couldn’t see any expression on him… Of course, even if Hulü Yan’s face was visible, he’d probably have the same cold, expressionless look as usual.

Mi Lu really couldn’t figure out what Hulü Yan was thinking.

He had been acting normally before they entered the shop.

Could he be angry because Mi Lu had glanced at the two women a few times?

Mi Lu had no idea. The only thing he was grateful for was that Hulü Yan had finally eased up on his grip. Otherwise, Mi Lu doubted he’d last until they got back to the inn before trying to fight Hulü Yan.

Taking a deep breath, Mi Lu thought to himself—

Just endure it. Keep calm and the storm will pass. Retreat a little, and the sea will open up before you.

Who knows? Maybe enduring this might just lead him to an escape route!

Tired of being tangled up with Hulü Yan, Mi Lu decided to stop being picky. He told the proprietress to gather a pile of clothes that suited them and pack them into his qiankun bag.

After settling the bill, he and Hulü Yan hurriedly left the tailor shop.

But as soon as they stepped outside, Hulü Yan returned to his usual self. Not only did he release Mi Lu’s hands, but he also quietly followed him without causing any trouble.

Mi Lu: “…”

Forget it. He no longer wanted to figure out Hulü Yan’s erratic mood swings.

By the time they finished buying the rest of the supplies, the sky had completely darkened.

Mi Lu led Hulü Yan back to the inn.

It was past dinnertime, and the inn’s first floor was now empty, save for two attendants still working.

One of the attendants led Mi Lu and Hulü Yan upstairs. After they entered their respective rooms, the attendant arranged for someone to bring them wooden tubs and hot water for bathing.

Mi Lu had initially been worried about whether Hulü Yan would be comfortable staying in a room by himself, but when he saw that Hulü Yan showed no reaction, he didn’t give it much more thought.

After over two months of rough travel, Mi Lu barely touched the soft bed before drifting off to sleep.

Although Mi Lu slept deeply, it wasn’t a restful sleep. He kept slipping in and out of nightmares.

He dreamt that he was back in his soul form, watching helplessly as Hulü Yan retrieved his organs one by one, growing more and more unhinged with each one. His methods of killing became increasingly brutal.

Hulü Yan enjoyed seeing the ground soaked in blood. The thick smell of iron excited his nerves, but he didn’t like killing people outright. Instead, he used a long whip to carve deep gashes into his victim, tormenting them slowly, much like a cat playing with a mouse, until they finally died in utter terror.

Mi Lu tried to stay as far away from Hulü Yan as possible, but the overpowering stench of blood wrapped around him, making his stomach churn until he could hardly keep from retching.

In fact, he had already doubled over, dry heaving.

After he finished retching, he looked up, only to be met with a pair of blood-red eyes—Hulü Yan could see him!

Mi Lu’s heart dropped, and he turned to run, but he suddenly slammed into an invisible force, like a transparent wall standing right in front of him.

It was the same force that had been binding him to Hulü Yan.

Before he could react, Hulü Yan grabbed his wrist and yanked him back.

Hulü Yan’s lips twisted into a mocking smile. His handsome features combined with his ghostly pale face sent a shiver down Mi Lu’s spine. Hulü Yan’s other hand gripped Mi Lu’s chin tightly, his voice dripping with malice: “Trying to escape? In your dreams!”

Cold sweat streamed down Mi Lu’s face as his legs trembled uncontrollably, his entire being consumed by fear.

Pain radiated from his chin, but Hulü Yan’s grip only tightened.

“You took my heart. Where do you think you can run?” Hulü Yan’s bloodshot eyes darkened, his pupils filled with madness. With a sudden jerk, he crushed Mi Lu’s jaw. “Die with me!”

Mi Lu jolted awake.

His heart pounded loudly in his chest, each thud accompanied by his ragged breathing.

Before him was darkness, though not complete—he could still make out the faint outlines of the room’s simple furnishings.

His chest heaved as he tried to steady himself, slowly realizing that he was in the guest room, and everything had just been a nightmare.

But as the tension in his mind started to ease—

Halfway through relaxing, he suddenly caught the smell of blood.

He hadn’t noticed it earlier, but now the entire room reeked of blood.