Tan Yin felt herself being half-carried, half-dragged up the stairs by Yuan Xiaozhong, who had an expression of both nervousness and excitement. Like a thief, he locked the door behind him and left a small crack in the window, through which he peered outside, spying on the scene below.
She wanted to speak, but her body wouldn’t respond. She tried to summon her divine sense, but her powers were blocked. Fortunately, the suffocating feeling in her chest began to dissipate, and the cause of her paralysis slowly revealed itself—an almost sesame-sized drop of divine crystal, which had undoubtedly been mixed into her tea and swallowed without her realizing.
Tan Yin struggled to regain control of her body, attempting to shake off the effects of the divine crystal. She couldn’t just lie there, helpless. The cave’s life gate was about to be broken, and Yuan Zhong would have to face the battle spirits alone. If they used the divine crystal to seal his left hand... she didn’t even want to think about the consequences. Her hands trembled slightly, but trying to move was like climbing a mountain.
Noticing her tremor, Yuan Xiaozhong rushed over to the bed, eager and attentive. “Master, do you need something?”
Tan Yin couldn’t open her mouth, so she glared at him with all the intensity she could muster, hoping he would understand her unspoken plea: Get me some water.
Yuan Xiaozhong took a step back, clutching his chest in alarm. “Master! What’s wrong?!”
I need water! She tried to convey her request through her gaze alone.
“Are you cold?” He quickly bundled her up in another layer of blankets.
Water! Her eyes were starting to strain from how hard she was staring.
“Still cold?” He thoughtfully added yet another blanket.
Water! Tan Yin was on the verge of despair.
Yuan Xiaozhong bashfully fidgeted with his sleeves and shyly lowered his head. “I know you’re cold, but… but I’m just a mechanical man. I can’t get in bed with you to warm it up…”
Suddenly, Tan Yin understood why Yuan Zhong always looked like he was about to faint from frustration when dealing with this mechanical man. She, too, felt like spitting blood.
“…Water!” she finally rasped out, managing to squeeze out the word with immense difficulty, her voice dry and weak. That one word seemed to drain all her energy, and she collapsed back onto the bed, panting heavily.
In a flurry, Yuan Xiaozhong fetched a teapot and poured her a cup of water, carefully feeding it to her. Tan Yin exhaled slowly in relief. Though she couldn’t expel the divine crystal from her body, drinking large amounts of water at least helped suppress its effects for the time being.
“…More,” she croaked out.
After drinking three whole teapots of water, Tan Yin could finally move her limbs a little, though standing up was still out of the question. Yuan Xiaozhong stared at her round, bloated belly in awe, too afraid to say anything.
Closing her eyes, Tan Yin painstakingly tried to summon what little divine power she could. Outside, the thunderous sound of the battle spirits pounding on the life gate had ceased, indicating they had broken into the cave. Her heart raced with worry, and she asked in a low voice, “Yuan Xiaozhong, what’s going on outside?”
Yuan Xiaozhong hurried to the window and peeked out, focusing intently. “Oh no! There are so many fierce-looking people rushing this way! Let me count… One, two, three… Seems like around ten or so. They’ve stopped and are talking to Yuan Dazhong, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. Yuan Dazhong is smiling—he’s actually smiling!”
Tan Yin sighed in frustration. She realized her mistake—Yuan Xiaozhong wasn’t suited for tasks like this.
“Come over here,” she instructed. “Help me sit up.”
Following her orders, Yuan Xiaozhong propped her up in a cross-legged position. Tan Yin took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused all her energy on gathering what little divine power she could. She tried her best to tune out Yuan Xiaozhong’s incessant chattering. She needed to get downstairs. She had to protect Yuan Zhong.
The life gate of the cave had finally been broken. The thunderous crashing suddenly fell silent, replaced by an eerie, suffocating stillness.
Every living being within the cave hid in fear. The old turtle in the lake burrowed deep into the mud at the lake’s bottom, not daring to release even a hint of its spirit. The breaking of a cave’s life gate was a heavy blow to the immortal who had created the cave. Each cave had one life gate, the point of entry and exit, and once it was forcibly broken, the cave would be rendered useless. Had Tang Hua not left traces behind, the battle spirits likely wouldn’t have found the gate so quickly.
Yuan Zhong sighed deeply and opened his eyes. The distant mountains were still verdant, but the sky above was pitch black, as though a beautiful stained-glass ceiling had been shattered, exposing the harsh reality of the mortal realm outside.
About a dozen battle spirits approached silently. They were clearly different from the young battle spirits he had encountered last time. Each one had crimson eyes and double pupils, exuding an overwhelming killing intent. These were mature battle spirits who had survived the trial of reaching twenty-five years old. Unlike their younger counterparts, they didn’t recklessly charge in, shouting and attacking. Instead, they cautiously halted a few yards away from the small building, silently watching him.
Yuan Zhong chuckled lightly and suddenly asked, “How is Li Chaoyang?”
The lead battle spirit gave a slight nod, his tone not entirely hostile. “…We should thank you for the remedy. The lady has been freed from the ice, but her body is weak and will need time to recover.”
Yuan Zhong laughed. “I was the one who sealed her in the ice—no need to thank me. But I doubt that’s why you broke into this cave, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” the battle spirit replied, his expression turning serious. “You stole the treasure of the gods. The heavens won’t tolerate it. If you surrender peacefully, we are willing to put aside the enmity between our clans and spare your life.”
“Stole the treasure?” Yuan Zhong was momentarily confused. Then, he recalled the two young battle spirits in Yandu, who had cursed him as a “thieving insect that stole the treasure of the gods” before sealing his left hand with the divine crystal.
His left hand… Their target was his left hand again?
He found it both absurd and amusing. “I was born with this hand. How could that be stealing? The excuse you’ve come up with is laughably weak.”
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