The dim cave was filled with a damp smell as Tang Xiu opened his eyes after discharging the poisons out of his system and recuperating from his serious internal injuries. To his surprise, the sky outside had gradually faded into dimness while the cool breeze brought along with it the fragrance of a meal.

"Hm?"

Tang Xiu turned back and saw Zhang Xinyue leaning against the mountain wall, yet she looked blanked out and seemed to be at a loss. His heart was suddenly inundated with complex emotions he found so hard to express.

"What should I do?"

He racked his brains to ponder about this particular issue, yet was unable to figure out any proper way. It was because he was not that close with Zhang Xinya and they both had only met a few times before. If it was Zhang Xinya who lost her virginity to him, Tang Xiu might be able to accept her reluctantly, but he couldn"t think of anything suitable for Zhang Xinyue.

"Should I take responsibility?"

Not to mention that it was pretty hard for him to cherish her, the possibility that Zhang Xinya would learn about this matter between him and Zhang Xinyue would probably send painful agony to the former. Furthermore, even if he did become her man and take responsibility for her, without attachment and feelings, it wouldn"t end up better for Zhang Xinyue and might even become her burden.

"You"ve… awaken already?"

Zhang Xinyue sobered up and came to her senses. She could see the complex expression on Tang Xiu"s face as he looked at her. An awkward look immediately filled her face for a few seconds before she quickly adjusted herself and said, "You don"t need to worry about what happened today. The reason why I was… well, it"s just to repay the grace for saving my life."

"I understand." Tang Xiu floated and said again, "And thank you!"

Yet, a sour and bitter feeling filled Zhang Xinyue"s heart. She had lost what was most important for a woman— her chast.i.ty— but in end, it was exchanged with just thankful words?

Her eyes could see the apologetic expression on Tang Xiu"s face and she shook her head and said, "Let"s just forget it! You saved me once and I saved you now, so we are even. I just hope that you never mention anything to anyone about what has happened today, while on my part, I naturally will not tell others of what happened in Qingcheng Mountain either. Nothing happens between us after we leave this place."

"I give you my word." Tang Xiu nodded and looked at her while her body s.h.i.+vered a few times. Then, he suddenly asked, "Anyways, have you had… a bite from yesterday until now?"

"I haven"t eaten anything since last night," answered Zhang Xinyue.

Tang Xiu nodded without a word. He turned around to stride out of the cave and looked at Mo Awu, who stood next to a boulder dozens of meters away and said in a deep voice, "Did you return with something to eat?"

Mo Awu flew over and then respectfully said, "We were worried that making a bonfire to roast meat would alarm the enemy last night, so we bought food from the county town. Are you hungry? I"ll give them to you now."

Tang Xiu nodded at his words and asked again while Tang Xiu took the packaged meal, "What about the Red Silk Flower?"

Mo Awu spread out his palm and took the Red Silk Flower that was still in full bloom from his interspatial ring before saying, "We obtained this Red Silk Flower from w.a.n.g Xuezhong last night, but we also encountered an unexpected situation. We killed two men who sought revenge from Qingcheng Monastery, but the rest of the monastery"s people also fled."

"I see. Did you find any abnormal situation when you went to Qinglin County town?" asked Tang Xiu in a deep voice.

"We heard the news that w.a.n.g Xuegang, the developer of Golden Goblet Emperor Gauze villa complex, was murdered, along with several of his bodyguards that were around him. All of them were beheaded and their heads are now hung on the gate of the villa complex. We asked around and heard that an old man in a green robe is the culprit."

Dao Master Poison?

Tang Xiu"s expression slightly changed. Then he nodded and said, "So, Dao Master Poison hasn"t yet left. He"s probably hiding in some corners of Qinglin County, waiting for us to walk into a trap. Awu, we"ll keep hiding here for the next few days, but we"ll leave after I recuperate from my injuries. However, I need you to do something."

"Please issue the order, Boss," asked Mo Awu.

"I"ll write a list of medicinal herbs for you," said Tang Xiu. "You will go to the Qinglin County medicinal herbs market and purchase them. If you can"t find all of them over there, go buy them in other places. Remember, be sure to buy all the herbs I need within three days!"

"Understood!" replied Mo Awu respectfully.

Tang Xiu went back to the cave and saw that Zhang Xinyue had put on his clothes, though they still couldn"t hide her stunning charm. He sighed inwardly before taking out a folding table and chair from his interspatial ring. As he put the lunch box on the folding table, he said, "Alright, let"s have a bite first. Also, I"m afraid that we must still stay here for the next few days."

Zhang Xinyue, however, only stared blankly at the table and chairs that suddenly appeared out of thin air and muttered, "Did you just cast some magic? Where did these tables and chairs come out from?"

"They"re from my interspatial ring," answered Tang Xiu with a chuckle. "It"s an object used by cultivators like me to store our stuff. I often adventure and sleep outside deep in the forest and mountains; hence, I always bring some daily necessities to be used at any time."

Zhang Xinyue recalled how Mo Awu and the rest were also able to fly, so she gradually relaxed around Tang Xiu who could also do some magical stuff. It had been two days since the last time she ate something and she was starving. As she opened the lunch box, the fragrant smell of warm rice congee and porridge drifted out to the air and she hurriedly took a few mouthfuls of porridge and wolfed down the rest.

Looking at her appearance at the moment made Tang Xiu feel amused inside. He was also starving so he followed suit and ate directly. Fortunately, Mo Awu bought a lot of meals, enough for him and Zhang Xinyue to satiate themselves.

"Ah, I"m stuffed," said Zhang Xinyue after some time, filled with a look of satisfaction and a slightly bulging belly. With that said, she reached out to clean up the leftovers and quickly got up and prepared to throw them outside. Just as she paced a step, she cried out after her feet staggered and stumbled, her waist bent before she fell onto the ground.

Tang Xiu quickly squatted beside her, then propped her up and asked, "What"s wrong? Are you hurt?"

"The suffering… is due to you, freak!" angrily cursed Zhang Xinyue as she glared at Tang Xiu.

"Uh, what"s wrong? You seem to be in pain?" Tang Xiu was confused.

"You still dare continue?!" Zhang Xinyue was furious.

Tang Xiu was downright confused by her att.i.tude. He racked his brain for a long time while watching her stand up carefully. Only then did he realize the situation.

"I…" He was somewhat awkward and embarra.s.sed because he realized that the "skins.h.i.+p" should have been Zhang Xinyue"s first time. He broke her chast.i.ty during his unconscious state and he might have made her suffer big time due to his lack of control in strength and timing.

"You take them out!" said Zhang Xinyue angrily as she sat back on the chair.

Tang Xiu touched his nose and took the leftovers to quickly leave toward the cave entrance. After discarding the leftovers in some hidden bushes, he found a thick tree nearby and cut it into wooden boards and quickly made a rough single bed.

As he returned to the cave, Tang Xiu put the single bed on the side of the wall, then took out some bedding and a pillow from his interspatial ring as he said, "We"ll be staying here for a while, so you can sleep on this bed later! You don"t need to worry about water and meals since I brought a lot of them with me. It"s enough for us to last a few days."

Although Zhang Xinyue had seen Tang Xiu"s magical means, she found it still interesting. However, the relations.h.i.+p between them at present was somewhat special, so she was too ashamed to make a detailed inquiry.

A few days later, after Tang Xiu took another Holy Healing pill, his injuries had finally healed. However, he wasn"t in a hurry to leave this place even though his purpose of coming to Qingcheng Mountain had been achieved. It was because he had yet to get rid of the strong enemies here, while Jin s.h.i.+, who had sneaked into Qinglin County many times, also reported that he obtained a lot of news from there.

Among them were the murder cases that frequently appeared recently in Qinglin County. Nearly all the victims who met with tragic death were from the Qingcheng Monastery. The entire county was now under martial law, and an investigation had been conducted to find the murderer who wore a green robe. Yet, there had been little to no progress so far.

"Boss, of the dozens of Qingcheng Monastery members who ran away, six of them have already died now. This School might be completely annihilated if the situation continues like this," reported Jin s.h.i.+ with a bitter smile.

"Every cause has its result," said Tang Xiu indifferently. "It was a mistake made by the Qingcheng school in the past and what happens now is just retribution. w.a.n.g Rui once helped Viviani; thus, she chose to join our Everlasting Feast Hall, so we owe him a favor. Though it"s rather unfortunate that we didn"t see that night, I"m afraid that his situation is fraught with grim possibilities."

"Speaking about it, w.a.n.g Rui is indeed a good talent for cultivation," lamented Jin s.h.i.+. "It"s just he has his shortcoming of being rather boastful. It"s a pity that he died in the battle that night, else he might have been able to be a steady power among the Qingcheng school. They have gone through such a catastrophe, which might have stimulated him to achieve some success in the future."

"Indeed, he is a talented individual, but Qingcheng Monastery is his home, nevertheless," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "If the Qingcheng school is not extinct, he"s not of any use for us, even if he survived. As for you… just don"t make blind and disorderly conjectures."

"Hehe, since we can"t use that talented individual, that means that he"s not a real talent, no?" Jin s.h.i.+ grinned. "By the way, you"ve been healed from your injuries, Boss, so when are we leaving?"

Not far away from their spot, Zhang Xinyue"s expression moved as she could also hear their dialogue. Her mood was very complicated at the moment. She didn"t have a liking for Tang Xiu at first even though she admitted that he was a talented good young man. After the experience from the incident she had in Qingcheng Mountain—more so with the fact that she had given him her chast.i.ty—there was now a special feeling in her heart for him. But if this feeling was called love, it was also far from that.

But after being together the past few days, even though Tang Xiu had been practicing for most of the time, she paid extra attention and had her eyes always fixated on him. She paid extra attention to his every word and deed, to each action and movement he made, and even the apologetic words, deeds, and regrets Tang Xiu expressed while taking care of her. They all felt very incredible to her, making her constantly touched inside.

And now, after hearing the inquiry from Jin s.h.i.+ about when they were going to leave this remote and secluded forested mountain, another emotion birthed inside her heart. The feeling of reluctance and unwillingness to end the days when she could be together with Tang Xiu from morning to night.

"W-what… what"s wrong with this image in my mind?"

Zhang Xinyue suddenly came back to her senses and quickly justified it to herself with other thoughts, like: The reason why I want to get along with Tang Xiu is more because he has endless mystical means… definitely!