Their eyes met, and Gu Liyan saw greed in the scorpion's eerie green eyes. He then spoke coldly:
Do you think I'm not capable of killing you right now?
The scorpion gave a wicked smile, but his gaze fell on Hua Xiaoxiao behind Gu Liyan. He said, "I told you, you can make your move while my disciple is still asleep! But... a teacher for a day is a father for life. If you kill me, my disciple will know who did it when he wakes up!"
Gu Liyan clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with a cold light. "You plotted against us?"
"It's not a scheme, I saved your life, and if you repay kindness with enmity, I'll accept it!" Scorpion chuckled.
Gu Liyan took a deep breath, his chest heaving. This was the first time he had ever been threatened like this by someone other than his own Bai clan! The first time was by his father, Gu Yan, the second time was by his senior brother, Gu Changyuan, and this time, he never expected it to be an enemy handpicked by the Nine Springs Realm!
Gu Liyan glanced at Hua Xiaoxiao, gritted his teeth, and looked at the Demon Scorpion, saying, "I can help you recover, but you must sever your master-disciple relationship with Xiaoxiao!"
Upon hearing Gu Liyan's words, the Scorpion couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Good!"
Gu Liyan said coldly, "Keep your voice down! You venomous scorpion! If you let her know about our agreement, I'll kill you right now!"
The Scorpion shut its mouth and said in a low voice, "Hmph, even if we sever our master-disciple relationship, do you think he would still let you kill me?"
Gu Liyan's cold gaze swept over them. "If you insist on forcing me, I will absolutely not show any mercy!"
The two looked at each other, each with their own plans.
——
Early the next morning
Hua Xiaoxiao scratched her itchy face and slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself draped in Gu Liyan's long robe. Looking up at Gu Liyan, she discovered that he was looking down at her.
Hua Xiaoxiao blushed instantly, quickly sat up, tidied her hair, and said shyly, "You, you're awake..."
Seeing her flustered appearance, Gu Liyan nodded gently and said, "Mm."
"Thank you for saving me..." Hua Xiaoxiao looked at Gu Liyan and gave him a bright smile.
"It's my fault for dragging you into this," Gu Liyan said calmly, his gaze darting away.
Hua Xiaoxiao noticed that Gu Liyan was avoiding her gaze and became somewhat flustered. "No, no, actually it was me who decided to blow up that wall. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid they would have arrested me and made me a prisoner!"
Gu Liyan pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but didn't. He turned his head to look at the cave entrance, where the waterfall cascading down made a somewhat jarring sound, which made him feel restless and uneasy.
When Hua Xiaoxiao saw Gu Liyan, she knew clearly that the person behind that mask was the Gu Liyan she had been longing for, but she really didn't know what to say to him.
Finally, Hua Xiaoxiao couldn't help but speak up, "My name is Hua Xiaoxiao, you can call me Xiaoxiao!"
Gu Liyan was slightly taken aback. Looking at Hua Xiaoxiao's expectant face, he even suspected that Hua Xiaoxiao had seen through his identity. But that was impossible; he was still wearing a mask.
“My name is… Mo Li,” Gu Liyan said, smiling at the flowers.
Hua Xiaoxiao smiled slightly, also looking at Gu Liyan, "You and one of my friends both have the character 'Li' in your name, so can I call you Xiao Li too?"
Upon hearing Hua Xiaoxiao's words, Gu Liyan was startled and immediately turned his head away from Hua Xiaoxiao, saying, "Do as you please."
Hua Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Then it's settled, Xiao Li!"
Gu Liyan did not respond, but closed her eyes to rest, and fell asleep at some point.
—On the other side
Pang Zi realized that Mo Chen and the other person were Gu Liyan's friends, so he hurriedly returned along the same route and happened to run into the two of them who were intentionally or unintentionally following him.
"Gentlemen, I apologize for my earlier offense. You are my family as well as my family. I will definitely cooperate with your investigation!" Pang Zi said with a fawning expression.
Xiao Tao pouted, put her hands on her hips, and pointed at Pang Zi with a leader's air, saying, "You fatso, you better behave yourself, or when I find my father, I'll tell him you bullied me!"
"Young master, please calm down! I will never dare to do it again!" Pang Zi hurriedly begged for mercy. If Gu Liyan found out that he had offended his daughter, he would be lucky to escape being killed on the spot!
"Alright, Xiao Tao, the reason he didn't tell us about your father was out of loyalty to him, so please forgive him." Mo Chen shook his head with a wry smile and spoke up for Pang Zi.
Xiao Tao snorted coldly, waved her little fist, and said, "I'll let you off this time! But if there's a next time, I'll tear you apart and teach you a lesson!"
Pang Zi hurriedly nodded, "Yes, yes, I will do whatever my young master says. I will never dare to do it again."
Xiao Tao proudly raised her chin, "You're smart to know what's good for you!"
As the two were talking, Mo Chen suddenly sensed the presence of another person and immediately shouted, "Who is it? Hiding like that, come out now!"
"Did...did they find me?" Murong Xiaoxiao, hiding in the bushes, looked at Mo Chen's back with a blank expression, and became somewhat flustered.
Mo Chen frowned. "Aren't you coming out? Then I'll have to ask you to come out—"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Chen flipped his hand and gently waved his peach blossom fan, instantly creating a gust of wind.
"Whoa—" Murong Xiaoxiao was blown about by the wind and fell flat on her back.
After the wind stopped, Murong Xiaoxiao rubbed her bottom and slowly got up from the ground. "Ouch, that hurts! Why was this wind so weird..."
Her voice stopped abruptly. She looked up and saw that three figures—one tall, one short, and one fat—had surrounded her.
At that moment, Murong Xiaoxiao said awkwardly, "Hello, you three. I... I just came to use your esteemed place for a moment. I didn't mean to disturb you. In that case, I won't bother you any longer!"
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