She raised her hand, which was covered with bark texture and had sharp fingertips, and pointed at the unconscious Xu Shuangyao.

"Let's make a deal, Weapon." Her voice was like a venomous snake hissing in my ears. "Give her to me. In exchange, I can temporarily not tear you into pieces to feed the roots of the 'Mother Tree'. I can even... give you a chance."

Qing Man paused slightly, her dark green eyes tightly locked onto every change in Pei Du's molten golden pupils, and she spoke clearly, word by word, the cold weight:

"A chance... to give her a few more breaths. Otherwise, in the next round of attack, my children will tear her into pieces first, and then drag you into the root nest, and digest you bit by bit...." There was no concealment of the cruelty in the words.

Pei Du's body, covered in dark gold lines, remained erect as a spear, as if the previous storm-like attack and the current threat were but a gentle breeze. But every word of Qing Man's cold and hoarse "deal" was like a poisoned icicle, piercing the core of his consciousness.

Hand over Xu Shuangyao? In exchange for a moment of her survival?

absurd!

A cold, violent murderous intent, emanating from the deepest depths of his star-core blood, instantly surged up, threatening to burst through the dam of his rationality! The dark golden lines covering his body rekindled in response, emitting a low, humming sound like the suppressed roar of a ferocious beast. Deep within his molten-gold pupils, golden light boiled and compressed like molten lava, locking onto Qingman's pale, bark-like face.

Yet, the cold reality weighed heavily on his will like a yoke. The piercing wound on the outside of his right leg, punctured by poison ivy, sent waves of numbing, searing pain through him, a reminder of his depleted strength and the trauma he'd sustained. The forceful burst of that drop of star-core blood within him brought a wave of emptiness, like a bottomless abyss gaping open beneath his feet. Even more deadly was the surrounding, solidified green killing formation of countless vines and poisonous insects! They hadn't vanished, merely been forcibly paused. He could clearly sense the cold hostility of billions of plants, like a sharp blade hanging overhead, poised to strike again at any moment with a single thought from Qingman.

Protecting Xu Shuangyao... was his only obsession at the moment. However, the disparity in power and the harsh environment made his protection at this moment as fragile as a paper boat in a storm, vulnerable to a single blow.

Taking her away by force? With the Qing Man and this revitalized forest surrounding them, the chances of success were close to zero. Once the battle began, the first person to be torn apart would undoubtedly be the defenseless Xu Shuangyao!

Cold logic and a raging will to protect him collided and tore at each other's core within Pei Du's mind. Every trade-off felt like tearing a piece of flesh from his soul. Within his molten-gold eyes, a golden light flickered, like a sky on the verge of a storm.

Qing Man waited patiently, her dark green eyes like two deep pools, quietly reflecting Pei Du's inner struggle. The cold curve at the corners of her mouth never faded. She understood this struggle all too well. Faced with an absolute disparity in power, so-called protection ultimately became nothing more than a bargaining chip for submission. She admired the process of this powerful weapon's heart being torn apart bit by bit.

Time seemed to stand still, with only the rustling sound of the moss underfoot slowly creeping, like an hourglass counting down.

Finally, the seething dark-gold light surrounding Pei Du slowly receded and subsided, like receding tide, leaving only a faint shimmer on the surface. Slowly, with great rigidity... he loosened his clenched fists. Several tiny traces on his left palm, covered in dark-gold lines, twitched slightly.

He raised his head, and all the emotional storms in his molten-gold eyes had subsided, leaving only a bottomless, frozen calm. Beneath that calm lay icy magma that could incinerate stars.

"...Trade." His voice was low and dry, like a rusty gear being forced to turn, each word carrying the hoarseness of metallic friction. "How do you do it?"

A hint of the expected triumphant glint of catching prey flashed across Qingman's dark green eyes. She nodded slightly, her voice still icy, "A wise choice, though a little late." She extended a pale finger, covered in the grain of bark, and pointed at the unconscious Xu Shuangyao behind Pei Du.

"Put her where she is. Back off." The order was terse and unquestionable.

Pei Du didn't move immediately. His molten-gold pupils, like cold probes, swept across Qingman's face, across the surrounding forest of solidified vines, and finally returned to Xu Shuangyao's pale features. He was silent for a few seconds, as if making a final confirmation, or as if gathering some strength. Then, he bent down extremely slowly, his movements so gentle that they were completely different from his previous violent fighting stance. He carefully lifted Xu Shuangyao from the hollow of the tree roots, holding her like a fragile and rare treasure, and gently placed her on the relatively flat, thick layer of moss. He even subconsciously and clumsily brushed away the moss debris on her cheek with the back of his hand.

After doing all this, he straightened up, his body, covered in dark gold lines, like a silent mountain, slowly retreating. One step, two steps... Each step clunked against the thick, wriggling moss. He retreated to about ten steps away from Xu Shuangyao and stopped. This distance was within Qingman's acceptable range, while ensuring he could instantly unleash his full strength for a final decisive blow—should the opponent change his mind. His molten gold pupils were like lasers locked onto Qingman, firmly fixed on her, capturing not a single movement.

The curve of Qing Man's mouth deepened, with a hint of mockery, as if she saw through Pei Du's last bit of unwillingness and vigilance. She didn't immediately approach Xu Shuangyao, but raised her hand and made an extremely subtle gesture towards the surrounding vines and jungle.

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