He walked up to Su Wan'er and glanced down at the Soul Bead, a trace of distaste crossing his face.
"Tell me, this thing's practically dripping with yin energy. What's a young woman like you doing carrying it around? Trying to imitate those evil cultivators and cuddle it to sleep so you can have nightmares for fun?"
His tone was flippant, yet carried an air of unquestionable authority.
Su Wan'er's cheeks flushed slightly at his words. She bit her lower lip, worked up her courage, and held out the Soul Bead with both hands.
"Senior... this is your spoils of war. This junior wouldn't dare claim it. Thank you for saving my life. I... I have no way to repay you. This bead should rightfully belong to you."
Her voice trembled, both from awe at Lu Yuan's strength and from the pain of personally giving up a treasure that could change the fates of her and her younger brother.
But she knew perfectly well that without this man, she and her brother would have become nourishment for that vengeful spirit. The bead wouldn't even exist.
Lu Yuan looked down at the bead she was offering, but made no move to take it.
Instead, he stepped back half a pace, as if afraid of getting something filthy on him, and waved his hand.
"No, no, stop right there! Whatever you do, don't give it to me."
He put on a solemn expression. "I'm a bit of a germophobe. This thing fell off that loud, smelly slug. I think it's dirty."
Su Wan'er's hands, holding the bead, froze in midair. She didn't know whether to keep them extended or pull them back, and her expression grew utterly complicated.
Dirty...?
In her twenty-odd years of life, she'd never heard anyone describe a Soul