Xie Shuci asked a few more questions and learned that shortly after he fainted, the monster had escaped the town injured.

Although A Dong's injuries were severe, Xie Shuci promptly channeled spiritual energy into him, barely keeping him alive.

However, he is too young and his body cannot last long, so he must find the monster's inner core as soon as possible.

After parting ways with Li Song, Xie Shuci was quite hungry, so he went to the kitchen and cooked two bowls of clear soup noodles, which he then brought back to his room.

Xie Shuci, whose hands were busy, used his foot to push open the door and went inside.

He looked up and saw Xie An leaning against the headboard, playing with a dagger he had somehow acquired.

Xie An's fingers were incredibly nimble; the dagger danced between his fingers, its blade flashing like a silver dragon.

Thinking about his decision, Xie Shuci took a deep breath, placed the tray on the table, and then slowly approached Xie An.

Perhaps it was because Xie Shuci's footsteps were swift, but as he approached, Xie An's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and the silver light between his fingers suddenly paused before slicing through the air. The sharp blade, like lightning, instantly struck Xie Shuci's neck.

"Thank you for your help!"

The blade tip was less than a foot away from his skin, and Xie Shuci could even feel the temperature of that cold weapon for that instant, icy and sharp.

Xie An stopped the dagger in his hand just before it was about to slit Xie Shuci's throat. Xie Shuci was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and stood still, not daring to take another step closer.

Xie An's long eyelashes trembled, and he looked up at Xie Shuci.

Whether it was Xie Shuci's imagination or not, he saw a fleeting chill on Xie An's face.

—I'll give you one more chance.

Xie An sheathed the dagger, his brow furrowed slightly, and asked, "Xie Shuci?"

Xie Shuci breathed a heavy sigh of relief. This moment of Xie An reminded Xie Shuci of the look in his eyes when they first met. Even now, thinking back on it, Xie Shuci still felt lingering fear.

Looking at Xie An, who had regained his composure, Xie Shuci couldn't help but feel uneasy. He began to agree with what Li Song had said: the little blind man's identity might not be so simple.

“It’s me.” Xie Shuci carefully took his hand and wrote in his palm.

Xie An nodded slightly and said silently, "I'm sorry, I thought he was a bad person."

Xie Shuci shook his head and wrote in his palm, "Are you hungry? I cooked some noodles."

Xie An nodded. Xie Shuci led him to the table, put chopsticks in his hand, and sat down on the other side, slurping a mouthful of noodles and glancing at Xie An. If Xie An couldn't see him, he would definitely think Xie Shuci was crazy.

Xie Shuci was pondering how to bring it up with Xie An, after all, he had previously vowed to let Xie An follow him.

After hesitating for a long time, Xie An finally spoke first.

Xie An never ate much. He dipped a chopstick into some noodle soup and wrote on the table, "How is A-Dong?"

Xie Shuci wiped his mouth, took Xie An's hand and put it to his lips, saying, "Don't worry."

Xie Shuci didn't want him to know about A Dong's injuries, fearing it would upset him.

Xie An's lips twitched slightly, but he did not speak.

After another moment of silence, Xie An asked, "Is there anything you want to say to me?"

Xie Shuci was taken aback for a moment after seeing this. He lowered his head, slowly put down his chopsticks, and wrote "Yes" in Xie An's palm.

Xie An's expression darkened, and a cold smile appeared on his lips. "What do you want to say?"

"Wait me a moment."

After saying that, Xie Shuci ran to the other side of the screen, poured out all the pills from his bamboo basket, divided them into two portions, and also divided up some rare treasures that could be divided, and put the rest into a cloth and wrapped them up.

Xie Anjing stood behind him, her gaze sweeping over his busy back, a hint of murderous intent appearing in her eyes.

Should we go with someone else? Or should we listen to someone else and leave him here?

Unfortunately, you weren't destined for that.

He gripped the hilt of the knife tightly with his five fingers, and a flash of silver light appeared on one side of the blade. He then approached Xie Shuci with light steps.

Xie Shuci was in a dilemma. He didn't know which senior brother had given him this cauldron-like contraption, what its purpose was, and how incredibly heavy it was. He was completely unaware that danger was gradually approaching him.

Xie An stopped and slowly raised his arm. He was not far from Xie Shuci. With just one swing of his sword, he could surely decapitate him.

Xie Shuci suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He instinctively turned around and was startled to see Xie An standing less than half a step behind him. His legs went weak, and he landed squarely on the small bronze cauldron. He instantly contorted in pain, cursing, "Damn it! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Xie An: "..."

He sprang to his feet, unable to resist giving Xie An a sidelong glance. "How did you appear out of nowhere? You scared me to death!"

Xie An seemed to be holding something in his right hand, which he concealed in his sleeve when Xie Shuci looked over. His expression was cold, his pupils were dark, and his gaze lingered on Xie Shuci for a moment.

Xie Shuci rubbed his injured bottom. Xie An was blind, so he couldn't get angry with him and could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

Once he had recovered, he wrapped up all the items he had separated and stuffed them into Xie An's arms.

Xie An was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took it, looking puzzled.

Xie Shuci couldn't help but sigh, took Xie An's hand, gently pressed his palm to her lips, and said, "Xie An, you can't continue to follow me."

"Why?" Xie An asked.

Xie Shuci fell silent. He was indeed afraid of death and timid, but A Dong's injury was inextricably linked to him. Perhaps A Dong firmly believed that Xie Shuci could save him, which was why he dared to run up and take that blow for his father. He was still young and couldn't see that Xie Shuci was just bragging.

The silent words Ah Dong uttered before closing his eyes kept replaying in Xie Shuci's mind. No matter what method he used, he had to try to save Ah Dong, otherwise he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

He couldn't wait for the Xie family to find another inner core. He could wait, but A-Dong couldn't. The only thing that could save A-Dong now was the dog demon's inner core. Xie Shuci knew he wasn't capable of competing with the Li family for it, and he wouldn't even need them to intervene; the dog demon would kill him with a single claw. But what if he could return to his original world after he died? After all, isn't that how it's often written in books?

Therefore, Xie Shuci planned to obtain the dog demon's inner core while Li Song went back to get reinforcements. He still felt that the dog demon was innocent, but A Dong was also innocent. Xie Shuci didn't think he could kill the dog demon and take its inner core, but he couldn't do nothing.

Xie Shuci was self-aware; going there would likely mean certain death.

He might be able to return to the modern world if he dies, but what about the little blind man? What will happen to the little blind man if he dies?

"Because of me, I'm going to become a great hero. I can't be a great hero with you as a burden. It just so happens that Young Master Li is particularly fond of you. You can go back to the Li family with him. You can leave when your eyes recover, or whenever you want to leave." Xie Shuci's tone was deliberately relaxed, but looking at Xie An's handsome face, there was still a little reluctance in her heart.

If he can't return to the modern world, he'll really be dead.

Xie Shuci was certainly afraid, but he was such a stubborn idiot that he couldn't even save a little kid; he used to think he could save the whole world.

Although he had only known the little blind boy for half a month, the thought of never seeing him again made him a little sad. Of course, the root of the problem was that the little blind boy was just too beautiful.

Xie An was stunned for a moment, opened his mouth, and remained silent.

After a long pause, he finally said, "He wants me to go with him?"

“Yes,” Xie Shuci said.

Xie An's expression suddenly became somewhat strange. "I have no relation to him, so why does he favor a blind woman like me and want me to go with him? You have a close relationship with him, so he should be taking you with him."

Before Xie Shuci could respond, Xie An asked again, "Why don't you go with him? You should take this opportunity to abandon me."

Xie Shuci didn't expect him to be so smart, guessing it right away.

Xie Shuci rolled her eyes. "Why are you talking so much nonsense? I already said I want to be a great hero. How can I be a great hero if I go back with him?"

Perhaps because he felt guilty, or perhaps because he had said too much, he unconsciously pursed his lips.

A soft, moist tongue brushed against his palm, sending a strange tingling sensation through his palm and up his entire arm, making Xie An gasp for breath.

Half an hour later, Xie Shuci gave Xie An the white horse "Fairy Crane" that had accompanied him down the mountain.

Cranes are considered to be spiritual beings and are therefore relatively safe.

Before leaving, Li Song asked him with a complicated expression, "Have you thought it through?"

"Stop dawdling. A real man never looks back," Xie Shuci said confidently.

Li Song was speechless. He moved closer to Xie Shuci and lowered his voice, saying, "Xie Shuci, I know what you're trying to do. I advise you to give up now and not throw your life away in vain."

Xie An lowered his eyes and stood quietly beside the crane, his face expressionless. However, the disciples beside him were quite wary of him and stood a few feet away from him.

Xie An gripped the reins tightly, pursed his lips, and lowered his head, appearing particularly lonely.

Xie Shuci's eyes were fixed on Xie An, and he didn't listen carefully to what Li Song was saying.

In Xie Shuci's view, the disciples' avoidance of Xie An stemmed from their disdain for him. After all, Xie An was now just a cripple, and the thought of him venturing alone into an unfamiliar environment, unsure of what he would encounter, brought a lump to Xie Shuci's throat. Although Xie An was not flamboyant, he was actually quite proud, and now that he had fallen to this state, he must be feeling extremely distressed.

Xie Shuci felt a pang of pity, so he pushed Li Song aside and walked to Xie An's side.

Xie An seemed to smell his scent and instinctively moved closer to him. When he touched Xie Shuci, his tense nerves relaxed, as if being next to Xie Shuci was a safe zone for him, and everywhere else was dangerous, forcing him to be extremely vigilant.

Seeing how much he trusted her, Xie Shuci felt incredibly jealous.

Sensing Xie Shuci's emotions, Xie An gave him a reassuring smile, his lips slightly parted, and said, "Don't worry, I can survive anywhere. I won't be a burden to you."

"I……"

Hearing him say that, Xie Shuci felt even worse.

Xie An added, "You don't need to feel guilty. I've been very happy and relaxed by your side for the past half month. It's just a pity that I met you so late."

Xie Shuci's eyes reddened, and she held his hand tightly, writing on his palm with her index finger: "When I stop being a chivalrous hero, I will definitely come to find you."

Xie An's expression darkened. "No need. I don't want to be a burden to you."

Li Song watched from the side. Although he didn't know what the two were talking about, he rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky when he saw Xie An's pitiful appearance.

Who was it that displayed such masterful skill with the Free and Unfettered Sword Technique last night?

It turns out that the disciples of the Free and Unfettered Sect are not only highly skilled in cultivation, but also quite adept at putting on airs.