Crisis Erupts

Li Yuan explained very earnestly, even specifically mentioning that he didn't mind.

Xia Zhao looked at the remaining food in her hand, then suddenly shoved it into Li Yuan's mouth.

Turning back, she pretended to be seriously recovering her cultivation.

Using these actions to conceal the smile at the corners of her mouth.

She didn't know why, but hearing that Li Yuan was alone made her heart so happy...

On the seventh day, it was equally peaceful.

Another night of rest.

Li Yuan was still the same as before, going out for two hours every day to observe the surroundings.

Occasionally, he would pick some fruits and bring them back.

He could name each fruit, explain its effects, whether it was poisonous, and so on.

During today's conversation, Xia Zhao brought up some confusions she had in her cultivation.

She mentioned the difficulties in both her cultivation method and martial techniques, discussing them with Li Yuan.

In this simple chat, she actually received several pieces of advice from him.

One piece she understood immediately.

What had previously puzzled her and left her stuck was just her mind not turning the corner.

With Li Yuan's pointer, everything became clear.

As for the other pieces of advice, Xia Zhao, a martial genius, actually couldn't understand some of them.

She felt these suggestions had some merit, but relying solely on imagination, many situations were hard to grasp.

Xia Zhao didn't argue or question; she simply committed them firmly to memory.

If she got the chance to leave this dangerous place, she would verify them through practice.

By putting them into practice, whether these suggestions were effective would become clear.

Discussing martial techniques and cultivation methods with Li Yuan, Xia Zhao faintly felt a sensation.

A sensation of "being outshone."

Since she could remember, Xia Zhao had never felt this way.

Whether in her family or at outside schools.

She had never experienced this feeling.

It was always others who were pushed into feeling this way by her.

Sensing this, Xia Zhao didn't feel upset; instead, she was somewhat happy.

Although Li Yuan was only at the Fifth Grade of martial arts now.

From the martial techniques and cultivation methods he practiced, it was clear that Li Yuan likely had no background—just an ordinary family.

But with such excellent insight, perhaps the two of them really had a chance...

As they spent more and more time together, they grew increasingly familiar.

Both felt the other was quite good.

But good was good; they were both adults.

Adults over thirty knew that some words weren't suitable to say aloud, knew they should be kept hidden.

For now, the two were still in danger.

The danger hadn't been completely shaken off yet; what meaning was there in talking about other things, wasting already precious energy?

The two made it safely to the twelfth day.

From Xia Zhao's assessment, she would need three more days to recover to a relatively good state.

Three days—the two only needed to hold out for three more days!

As the twelfth day was about to turn to night.

Li Yuan, who had been checking the observation point, immediately stood up and grabbed Xia Zhao's hand beside him.

"Follow me!"

Xia Zhao, who had been resting quietly, didn't know the situation but didn't say a word; she immediately followed Li Yuan out of the Observation Station.

It was almost dark, and leaving the Observation Station at this time was not a good decision.

But after this period of getting to know him, Xia Zhao trusted Li Yuan's judgment.

Li Yuan held Xia Zhao's hand with one hand and picked up a branch with the other, cutting through some surrounding plants.

The two headed southeast for about three hundred meters.

Then they hid in a narrow cave, covered by dead branches and fallen leaves.

Plus, it was about to get dark.

In this situation, this spot was an excellent hiding place.

The two squeezed into the narrow cave, watching the sky darken.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan finally began to explain the reason.

Near the Observation Station, there was a small nest of Fierce Beasts, which Li Yuan identified as Wildcat Fierce Beasts.

After discovering this nest of Fierce Beasts, Li Yuan didn't tip them off.

Instead, he used them as an alarm system.

A person's ability to detect Fierce Beast aura, or to sense other martial arts experts, was no match for the Fierce Beasts themselves.

Just now, this nest of Wildcat Fierce Beasts had fled in a panic, scrambling every which way.

Li Yuan understood that danger had arrived.

Li Yuan went out for two hours every day precisely to prepare in advance for potential crises.

"If we were only facing Fierce Beasts, hiding in the Observation Station would be a good choice.

But if there are malicious people or villains, staying hidden inside tonight would be like catching a turtle in a jar..."

Hearing Li Yuan's explanation, Xia Zhao nodded.

Although these were still just guesses, she trusted Li Yuan's judgment.

The sky gradually darkened, and visibility kept decreasing.

Martial arts training did improve eyesight, and night vision certainly got a boost.

But compared to daytime, there was still a huge difference.

Especially in this wilderness—without moonlight, the night was basically pitch black.

The two squeezed into the narrow cave, preparing to spend the night like this.

"You rest, I'll keep watch. We'll switch later."

Li Yuan made the arrangements.

Xia Zhao nodded, then leaned against Li Yuan to rest.

Li Yuan cooperated, adjusting to a comfortable position for her to lean on.

Then he quietly stared ahead.

From this spot, the Observation Station was easily visible.

The wilderness at night was actually quite noisy.

The chirping of insects rose and fell, one after another.

Occasionally, sounds from larger animals could be heard—maybe Fierce Beasts, maybe just ordinary beasts.

About four hours passed, and it was now two in the morning.

Li Yuan reached out and lightly tapped Xia Zhao. She hadn't been sleeping deeply anyway.

"Look at the Observation Station..."

Li Yuan said in a very low, suppressed voice.

Hearing this, Xia Zhao lifted her eyes toward the Observation Station.

Light was seeping out from the observation points and some ventilation holes.

It looked like the light from flashlights.

These lights weren't very bright, but they seemed glaring in the wilderness.

Xia Zhao's hand unconsciously grabbed Li Yuan's arm.

This scene confirmed that Li Yuan's guess was completely correct.

He had predicted it from the very beginning.

In this wilderness area, the communication signal was completely cut off.

The signal in the wild was indeed poor, but not to the point of being totally absent.

For this to happen, someone must have been pulling strings behind the scenes.

If the two of them hadn't hidden out tonight, they might have lost their lives inside.

"Um... that hurts a bit..."

After a moment's hesitation, Li Yuan spoke quietly again.

This time, it was because Xia Zhao was gripping his arm a bit too hard.

Given her martial arts strength, he couldn't really withstand her force.

Hearing this, Xia Zhao quickly let go.

She reached out to rub Li Yuan's arm, trying to ease the pain.

The light in the Observation Station disappeared about ten minutes later.

It seemed that person had already left.

Li Yuan and Xia Zhao continued to hide in this narrow cave.

There was no way they were going out tonight.

Xia Zhao had rested for quite a while, so she let Li Yuan lean against her to rest.

Taking turns resting, they finally held out until dawn.

After daybreak, the two remained extremely vigilant, still hiding.

Past noon, Xia Zhao suggested they could try heading toward Qijia Town.