Inside the room, Ah Dong lay quietly on the bed, his face ashen.
This child was lively and active; even if he was bullied and cried by Xie Shuci, he would be bouncing around and following Xie Shuci around again in no time. But right now, he was like an empty shell, devoid of any life.
Xie Shuci carefully placed the dog demon next to A Dong. His pills seemed to have no effect on the beast. The several sword wounds on the dog demon's chest and abdomen were still bleeding profusely. With each labored rise and fall of its chest, the blood soaked the bed.
"What should I do?" Xie Shuci asked, her eyes red.
The dog demon glanced at him, bared its fangs, and a wisp of white fairy mist floated out of its mouth.
As the celestial mist continued to pour out, the dog demon's fur gradually lost its luster.
The mist formed a trickling river in the air, flowing into the space between Adong's slightly parted lips and teeth.
As the dog demon's blood drained away, A Dong's body emitted a blinding white light. A surge of spiritual energy covered his body, gradually repairing the deep, bone-revealing claw marks on his chest. Almost instantly, the wounds disappeared, and his skin was completely healed. A Dong's complexion visibly regained its color.
Xie Shuci felt that this spiritual power was very gentle, like a gentle stream, clinging to his skin. Even though A Dong's injuries had recovered, the dog demon did not stop releasing its last bit of spiritual power. One of the streams was still wrapped around Xie Shuci, seeping into his skin, enveloping his spiritual meridians, and finally spreading to his dantian, surrounding his dull golden core.
"Enough...enough! Stop it now!"
The more celestial mist it exhaled, the paler its body became, and its limbs gradually withered away.
Xie Shuci's vision blurred with tears. The dog demon's spiritual power merged with his, and their senses seemed to be interconnected. At this moment, he clearly realized one thing: the dog demon was sharing its two hundred years of cultivation with them.
"I don't want it, take it back, you stupid dog! Are you sick in the head? I don't want your cultivation, take it back..."
"Stop talking nonsense."
A strange voice suddenly echoed in Xie Shuci's mind.
"What I give you, you have to take."
Xie Shuci was stunned for a moment, realizing that the voice came directly from his mind.
"Idiot?" Xie Shuci murmured.
"I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf!"
Xie Shuci: "..."
"Why are you crying? I've lived too long and I don't want to live anymore, so I made a deal with someone to exchange my life for the chance for my clan dog to be reincarnated as a human. I might as well take these two hundred years of cultivation."
A formation appeared out of thin air beneath the dog demon's body, enveloping it in a blinding white light, as if it were performing some kind of sacred sacrificial ritual.
A transaction? What kind of transaction?
More and more spiritual energy poured into Xie Shuci's body, and he was somewhat overwhelmed. The two spiritual energies in his body seemed to be fighting, tearing at his soul and making his consciousness gradually become hazy.
"You idiot, you really think you've convinced me?"
Perhaps because it had been too long since I had spoken to anyone, the dog demon's voice kept echoing in my mind.
Xie Shuci's consciousness was too chaotic to understand what the dog demon was saying, but he could clearly feel that the dog demon's life force was being devoured by the formation bit by bit.
"No!" The dog demon's voice suddenly turned serious. "You... how could your fate be..."
What?
Xie Shuci thought in confusion.
"How could you be... Kid, listen carefully, from now on cultivate diligently, and whatever you do, don't die. Go find someone named Bixie, he can help you..."
What cultivation? What death? What exorcism? What is it saying?
Xie Shuci's mind was in complete chaos, and he couldn't understand its words at all.
"Remember, you must remember..."
The dog demon's voice grew weaker and weaker, and the immortal mist in its mouth dwindled until it all dissipated into the air.
As the formation disappeared, the Taoist priest in the green robe rushed into the room.
When he saw the dog demon's silent corpse and the lingering spiritual energy on A Dong and Xie Shuci, he lowered his head dejectedly, staggered back two steps, and leaned against the door. "I'm too late."
Xie Shuci raised his head in confusion. The chaotic spiritual energy within his body was surging against him, causing his memory to become disordered for a moment, and he did not know where he was.
He heard many footsteps around him, so many that he couldn't distinguish them.
He felt trapped in a transparent space, completely out of place with his surroundings. His inner emotions were constantly being squeezed, causing him discomfort and suffocation. He needed to vent.
"Oh no! Xie Shuci can't control the demon's spiritual power and is about to suffer a qi deviation!"
Going mad? Who? Me? Are you kidding me? Do you think this is a TV drama?
Another set of footsteps sounded behind them, different from the others.
The footsteps were neither too fast nor too slow, but steady and calm. They walked up to Xie Shuci from behind, and with a gentle lift of the hand, a fragrance wafted from the sleeve. The slender fingers pressed down on Xie Shuci's shoulder, suppressing all the surging spiritual energy within him.
Xie Shuci suddenly felt all his senses return, and the rampant spiritual energy instantly returned to calm. He raised his head blankly, looked at the boy behind him, and murmured, "Little blind boy?"
The little blind man's lips twitched slightly, as if in response.
Xie Shuci understood; the little blind man was saying, "Coward."
Who are you calling a coward? You blind idiot, you're the coward! Aren't you the one who's afraid to sleep alone and wants me to keep him company?
Xie Shuci silently refuted Xie An's words in his heart.
Xie An bent down, picked him up, ignored everyone else, and strode out of the room.
In the instant they turned around, the dog demon's withered body gradually dissipated into the air, along with the bloodstains on Xie Shuci's body, all turning into dust and disappearing forever into the world.
The Taoist priest in the green robe let out a deep sigh as he watched this scene.
Xie Shuci felt extremely tired, as if he had run a marathon. The little blind man's chest was very broad and thick, and it felt comfortable and safe to lean against him, which made him feel sleepy.
When the blind boy put him back on the bed, he instinctively reached out and grabbed the boy's sleeve.
He wanted to sleep, but he didn't want to be alone.
This place is terrifying; it's completely different from his original world.
Those blood-soaked things were like a nightmare.
If only it were all a dream.
But then the little blind boy wouldn't be here anymore, that's not good.
"Little blind girl, aren't you afraid to sleep alone? I'll keep you company."
It's utterly ridiculous for someone lying in bed, half asleep, clutching his sleeve tightly in his palm, to say, "I'll stay with you."
Xie An lowered his eyes and paused for a moment. He wanted to pry Xie Shuci's hand off, but when his fingers touched the back of Xie Shuci's hand, he hesitated for no reason.
“Little blind man, do you know that ‘Xie An’ is actually the name I prepared for my son… You’d better not know, or you’ll be furious…” Xie Shuci muttered in his sleep.
Xie An pressed down the corners of his lips.
Xie Shuci chuckled to himself, "My son is named Xie An, my daughter is named Xie Quan... Safety, hehe..."
Xie An: "..."
It seemed that Xie Shuci wouldn't stay put if he didn't stay.
Xie An seemed to sigh, then took his hand in his large hand and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Seemingly certain that she was in a safe environment, Xie Shuci's murmurs subsided, and she rested her head against Xie An's waist, gradually falling into a deep sleep.
——
When Xie Shuci woke up, he felt exceptionally light in body and mind. He stretched and opened his eyes.
Xie An leaned against the headboard for a short rest, his eyes closed, his breathing even.
"Xie An?" Xie Shuci sat up and called out softly.
He remembered that the little blind boy's hearing had recovered. Seeing that he didn't move, Xie Shuci tiptoed off the bed and left the room.
He only remembered part of what happened last night. The silly dog said it wasn't a dog but a wolf, and it even shared its power with him and A-Dong. As for what happened after that, Xie Shuci was only vaguely aware of it. Anyway, Xie An took him back to his room, and he seemed to have babbled a few nonsense words to Xie An.
When he reached A Dong's door, he pushed it open and was surprised to find several disciples sitting inside.
Hearing the commotion, everyone looked over at him, and when they saw it was Xie Shuci, their expressions immediately became complicated.
"What are you doing here?" Xie Shuci muttered.
The monster's inner core is gone, why haven't they left yet?
The Taoist priest in the green robe stood by the bed and looked at him upon hearing this. "You're awake?"
Xie Shuci didn't like him much, rolled her eyes and said, "Wow, you can even see that, that's amazing."
"You... how dare you!" One of the disciples couldn't stand it any longer and immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
The Taoist in the green robe gave him a disapproving look, and the former lowered his head in frustration, remaining silent.
Xie Shuci ignored them and went to the bedside to check on A Dong's condition.
The Taoist in the green robe said, "The demon not only healed his injuries but also helped him form a golden core, and incidentally improved your aptitude as well. However, he is too young and needs some time to adapt before he can wake up."
Xie Shuci glanced at him but didn't say anything.
When they fought Xie An last night, Xie Shuci could tell that they hadn't tried to kill him. Otherwise, Xie An, whose cultivation had been completely destroyed, would definitely not be a match for them, the cultivators, even if he knew some swordsmanship.
The Taoist in the green robe said again, "He probably won't remember what happened before after he wakes up, which may be a good thing. I plan to take him back to the Li family and raise him properly."
The shopkeeper was dead, and the Li family seemed to be the best place for A-Dong, so Xie Shuci nodded and asked, "Brother Chen and the demon's... corpses?"
"The shopkeeper has been given a proper burial. As for the demon, it violated the laws of heaven and earth and was not tolerated by them. After its death, its spirit and form were destroyed, and it became an invisible, scattered spirit, never to be reincarnated."
Xie Shuci's heart skipped a beat, "Never to be reincarnated?"
Xie Shuci only knew a rough outline of the world's setting.
Some vicious creatures, after they die, are expelled by the laws of heaven and earth, which is called "annihilation of both body and soul," leaving only a wisp of soul invisible to the naked eye, drifting in this world like an invisible wind.
If everything in the world has a cause and effect cycle, then these creatures are beyond the laws of heaven and earth, without cause and effect, unable to cycle, and completely isolated from the human world.
Xie Shuci didn't know what the law defined as "extremely vicious," or perhaps there was no definition at all.
Is this what it calls a "deal"?
He sacrificed his own body and soul to give the dead dogs of his clan a chance to be reborn as humans.
Xie Shuci couldn't quite describe his feelings. It felt like a stone was lodged in his chest. This was the first time he had been so close to life and death, and his mind was in complete chaos.
Xie Shuci couldn't feel sorry for it. Perhaps it had already grown tired of humans, giving up its chance to cultivate into a human, or even giving up its own life to erase its own existence, so as to give the dead clan dog a chance to become an adult.
He vaguely remembered what the dog demon said to him before it died, but because his consciousness was too blurred at the time, he couldn't recall it.
After confirming that A-Dong was alright, Xie Shuci returned to his room.
Xie An woke up and was writing something on a piece of paper.
So, being able to pinpoint the location by sound is really impressive. After Xie An was able to hear it, he acted no differently than an ordinary person, and he always seemed like a hermit.
"Xie An, do you want to restore your cultivation?" Xie Shuci dragged a stool to sit on the other side, resting his chin on his hands as he looked at Xie An.
Xie Shuci hadn't realized before that cultivation was more important in this world than he imagined. Although the silly dog had given his cultivation points to Xie Shuci, it only helped him improve his aptitude. Xie Shuci didn't like fighting and killing, and he didn't plan to cultivate properly. The stronger one is, the greater the responsibility, but in that case, he couldn't protect Xie An.
Xie An was clearly blind, yet he wielded a sword better than Xie An.
Xie An raised his head in surprise and asked, "Why do you ask that?"
"Weren't you quite skilled in cultivation before? Those few moves last night scared them off. I think it's too dangerous for you to follow me."
Xie An's gaze darkened. "You want to get rid of me?"
Xie Shuci slumped onto the table in frustration, snatched the pen from Xie An's hand, scribbled a few lines on the paper, and muttered, "You can live a good life even if you don't follow me."
Rather, Xie Shuci felt that if they encountered any danger in the future, he would be more like a burden to Xie An. This was completely contrary to the meaning of keeping Xie An by his side; he had thought he could protect the little blind boy.
Xie An was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I'm not as good as you think. That sword technique is just a show to fool people."
"Really?" Xie Shuci looked at him suspiciously.
Xie An lowered his head, rubbing his sleeves, his expression strangely indescribable. "Besides, I'm afraid to sleep alone."
Xie Shuci firmly believed this.
He immediately perked up, sat up straight, and laughed heartily: "I really didn't realize you were such a coward. Fine, then you'd better come with me. No one else would want to sleep with a grown man like me."
Xie An pursed his lips, then suddenly asked, "You like women?"
Xie Shuci didn't know why he changed the subject so quickly, and said seriously, "She's a beautiful woman."
"Then why drug a man?"
"???"
Xie Shuci was stunned. Had all the image he had painstakingly maintained in front of the little blind man just vanished like that?
"Holy crap—how did you know?"
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