He was about to step forward to help when the woman gently waved her hand and said with a smile, "My leg injury is much better now, so you can just sit here."
Erzhuang had no choice but to comply with her wishes and sit on the bamboo stool in the courtyard.
A gentle breeze swept by, carrying a hint of coolness, but it also dispelled the doubts in his heart.
At this moment, Xu Yuehuai's voice suddenly rang in Erzhuang's ears. She used her internal energy to transmit her voice and solemnly instructed, "When she gives you something to eat later, you must not swallow it."
Er Zhuang was startled, but immediately understood Xu Yuehuai's intention and solemnly replied, "Yes, sir."
Soon, the woman came out of the kitchen carrying several plates of what looked like ordinary dishes. She smiled apologetically, "My home is simple, please make do with the food, my benefactor."
Erzhuang looked at the dishes; though simple, they exuded a sense of homey warmth. He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and tasted it. Although it was bitter, he pretended to swallow it as if nothing was wrong.
However, he did not actually swallow it, but cleverly hid it in his sleeve.
Suddenly, Erzhuang felt a numbness in his tongue. Startled, he immediately pretended to faint and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the woman smiled smugly: "What a silly fool."
She suddenly pulled out a dagger and held it to Erzhuang's neck. "Come out too. You've been following me all this way. It must have been hard for you."
As the woman finished speaking, Xu Yuehuai emerged from the shadows. She looked at the woman with a cold gaze, "Why did you lead us here?"
The woman looked at Xu Yuehuai and smiled sinisterly, "Don't you remember me?"
"Have we met before?" Xu Yuehuai genuinely couldn't recall ever having met her before.
The woman's tone was icy: "It seems you've already forgotten."
Xu Yuehuai didn't give her a chance to speak further and asked directly, "Stop being so mysterious, what exactly do you want?"
"I want your life!" Before she finished speaking, she had already swung her dagger at Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai moved swiftly, effortlessly dodging the woman's attack. Suddenly, a dagger appeared in her hand, its blade gleaming coldly and sharper than the woman's.
The two instantly engaged in a fierce battle, each attack being evenly matched, making for a thrilling spectacle.
Er Zhuang had already stood up, his gaze shifting between the two. He wanted to step forward to help, but a look from Xu Yuehuai made him stop in his tracks.
Xu Yuehuai secretly transmitted her voice to him: "Go inside the house and check it out."
Erzhuang nodded and quickly went into the house. He carefully checked every corner of the house but found nothing unusual.
At that moment, a woman's screams came from the courtyard.
He rushed out and saw that Xu Yuehuai had already defeated the woman.
The woman looked at Xu Yuehuai and said, "I will take your life sooner or later."
She dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared into a thick fog.
Xu Yuehuai didn't chase after her. She stared in the direction the woman had gone, lost in thought for a long time. She seemed to remember something; perhaps she really had seen this woman before.
Erzhuang walked up to her and asked, "Sir, should I chase after them?"
Xu Yuehuai sighed, "No need, let's go back to the palace first."
As night deepened, only the two of them remained in the valley, appearing exceptionally lonely in the vast darkness.
...
Xu Yuehuai stepped into the long-unseen royal palace. The palace lanterns swayed, casting dappled light and shadow, seemingly foreshadowing something extraordinary about to unfold.
She walked hurriedly, but her heart was filled with indescribable doubts.
After passing through the winding corridors, Xu Yuehuai arrived at the hot spring pool deep inside the palace.
The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the surface of the pond, creating ripples. She frowned slightly, as if she had noticed something amiss.
Sure enough, as she approached, she discovered that there was a person in the hot spring pool, none other than the mysterious Bai Yu.
Xu Yuehuai looked at Bai Yu soaking in the hot spring and felt a surge of inexplicable anger.
She said coldly, "Since you keep coming here whether you have something to do or not, why don't you arrange another place for me to stay?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yu did not look up, but simply closed his eyes to rest, as if he had ignored Xu Yuehuai's words.
Seeing Bai Yu's attitude, Xu Yuehuai became even more furious.
She stepped forward, grabbed Bai Yu by the neck, and shouted angrily, "Who are you? Why are you always haunting me like a ghost?"
Bai Yu, choked and struggling to breathe, finally opened his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, as if scorched by flames, sending chills down one's spine.
"Do you want to kill me?"
"That depends on whether you want to die," Xu Yuehuai said indifferently.
Bai Yu suddenly laughed: "To die by your hand is my dream come true."
Startled by his sudden outburst of madness, Xu Yuehuai took a few steps back and released her grip on his neck.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Bai Yu sat up and laughed loudly, "It seems you still can't bear to kill me."
Xu Yuehuai snorted coldly: "What's wrong with you? You look like you've gone mad."
Bai Yu waved his hand: "It's nothing, it's an old ailment, I'll recover in a bit."
The two remained silent, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Looking at Bai Yu's twisted and crazed face, Xu Yuehuai suddenly remembered something: "Actually, I already know how to leave this world. If you want to leave, we can cooperate."
Bai Yu was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed again: "If you had talked to me earlier, I would have been interested. But now... I don't want to leave."
Xu Yuehuai asked, puzzled, "Why? Don't you hate this world?"
“Yes, I hate this place. But you are here in this world, and only here can I possess you. Why should I leave?” Bai Yu stared at Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai was stunned by Bai Yu's blatant confession. She never imagined that Bai Yu would harbor such a morbid obsession with her.
She angrily shouted, "I never expected you to be so shameless!"
Bai Yu laughed nonchalantly, "How can this be shameless? It's clearly being almost demonically intelligent."
Xu Yuehuai was trembling with anger; she didn't want to waste any more words with Bai Yu. She got up to leave, but Bai Yu grabbed the hem of her skirt. Xu Yuehuai stumbled and fell into the pool.
Seeing this, Bai Yu burst into laughter and pounced on Xu Yuehuai, pinning him beneath him.
Xu Yuehuai struggled desperately, but to no avail.
She angrily raised her hand and slapped Bai Yu across the face: "You madman! Let go of me!"
Bai Yu was stunned for a moment by the slap, but still had a faint smile on his face: "You're still so fierce."
The sounds of their fight alerted the nearby guards, who rushed over to check the situation. They found Bai Yu pinning Xu Yuehuai down, both of them disheveled and flushed, clearly having been locked in a struggle for some time.
Seeing this, the guards dared not approach, and could only watch from a distance before quickly retreating and leaving the area.
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