Pretty Hard to Kill

"Do I look like I'm worried about you?"

Li Muyang said it with a perfectly calm expression, and the girl immediately burst out laughing.

Though Li Muyang had no idea what was so funny about it.

In any case, his cheap little sister's symptoms had improved a lot. At the very least, she wasn't in so much pain anymore.

Seeing that her condition had stabilized, Li Muyang took his water dipper and went outside to keep watering the spirit fields.

He needed to think through what to do next on his own.

But before long, Ning Wan'er came to visit.

After learning about Li Yuechan's condition, she seemed to want to say something.

But in the end, the girl said nothing.

The young lady from the Ning Estate chatted with Li Yuechan for a while, then left.

Guan Xiaoshun, on the other hand, showed up outside the thatched cottage at dusk and brought three eighty-year-old Vermilion Fruits.

"Um... Brother Li, take these three Vermilion Fruits."

Guan Xiaoshun scratched his head. "I spent all the money I'd saved on a custom flying sword from the Alchemy Furnace in Cloud City. I went to ask them about it today, but they wouldn't refund me. These are all I have left. Sorry."

The young man from a small town even more remote than Jiuyuan City had a sincere look in his eyes.

Considering his relationship with Li Muyang, it was beyond anything Li Muyang had expected for him to go this far.

Looking at the three Vermilion Fruits before him, Li Muyang was at a loss for a moment.

"Xiaoshun..."

Was this kid for real? He was being so generous?

Li Muyang was a little dumbfounded.

They'd been neighbors before, but they weren't especially close. Yet when trouble struck, this kid had come straight over with three Vermilion Fruits.

In the outer sect, where people were so cold to one another, this was an enormous favor.

But though Guan Xiaoshun was simple and kindhearted, he wasn't some bleeding heart.

Other outer-sect disciples he knew had gotten into trouble before, but he'd never been this concerned about them.

Li Muyang was baffled, while Guan Xiaoshun awkwardly scratched his head.

"Um... Brother Li, you're different from them."

"Those people always think I'm young, that I came from the countryside and don't know any better, so they try to cheat me out of my money or take advantage of me."

"But you never covet my money, and you've never looked down on me. You're my friend. You're completely different."

"I can tell you're nothing like those other people, Brother Li. That's why I'm willing to help you and treat you well, because I know you'd do the same for me."

Guan Xiaoshun's words left Li Muyang somewhat quiet.

After a long silence, he finally sighed and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"All right. Thank you."

At a time like this, saying too much would only sound trite. Li Muyang thanked him simply and kept Guan Xiaoshun's kindness in his heart.

As Guan Xiaoshun was leaving, he told Li Muyang some news.

"By the way, Brother Li, I heard Senior Sister Qin Haie got into trouble!"

After checking that no one was around, Guan Xiaoshun lowered his voice conspiratorially. "When I was in the city, I heard two inner-sect disciples talking. They said Senior Sister Qin Haie must've offended some wicked cultivator. She almost died in her sleep last night."

"They said some terrifying monster chased her through her dream. Senior Sister Qin screamed and cried, and kept getting wounded, but she just couldn't wake up. If Elder Qi hadn't stepped in in time, Senior Sister Qin Haie might've died last night."

"But even so, Senior Sister Qin was badly injured..."

Guan Xiaoshun shared the latest news he'd heard with Li Muyang.

As the simple young man spoke, he sighed softly. "What a pity that wicked cultivator didn't just kill Senior Sister Qin... Why didn't he kill her..."

Guan Xiaoshun sounded terribly disappointed.

Hearing the news, Li Muyang smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, Senior Sister Qin has a pretty tough life."

As expected of a Core Formation expert. Pretty hard to kill.

But Elder Qi had saved her last night. What about tonight? And the night after that, and every night thereafter?

Flesh-Bone Green Robe would be coming every night...

Li Muyang sent Guan Xiaoshun off with a beaming smile, then let it fade.

He returned indoors, refined the three Vermilion Fruits Guan Xiaoshun had brought into medicinal liquid, and fed it to Li Yuechan, who was dozing on the bed, barely awake.

Then he went beneath the old tree behind the house and dug up a creepy, sinister-looking doll.

The paper stuck to the doll's back had burned away.

But Li Muyang had prepared a new slip. The palm-sized piece of paper was filled with detailed information about Qin Haie's identity.

Calmly, he stuck the slip onto Flesh-Bone Green Robe's back, then tossed the eerie doll into the dirt again and covered it with a little soil.

This system item was even more powerful than he'd imagined.

Even a Core Formation demonic cultivator couldn't resist it. Elder Qi had forcefully dragged Qin Haie out of her sleep, but all she'd managed to do was burn away one piece of paper.

Flesh-Bone Green Robe was completely unharmed and could still go back tonight.

After covering it with soil, Li Muyang rose and looked toward the distant mountaintops.

That was where the inner sect was, and where Senior Sister Qin Haie lived.

Though he was just an outer-sect menial disciple and couldn't see what was happening in the inner sect, Elder Qi's residence and those of her personal disciples must be quite lively right now.

"Do your best to stay alive, Senior Sister Qin."

Li Muyang murmured indifferently, then turned and left.

You're so powerful, and your master is powerful too. Hopefully she can keep you safe for a few more days.

That way, you can suffer a little longer in your nightmares.

Li Muyang's expression was calm, without the slightest hint of guilt or unease.

Even if someone from the inner sect tracked him down, they wouldn't be able to find anything unusual about this ordinary outer-sect disciple.

Besides, the outer sect was a filthy dump. Why would those lofty demonic cultivators from the inner sect ever come here to investigate?

Who would suspect that a high-and-mighty personal disciple of the Demon Sect had been secretly harmed by an insignificant menial in the outer sect?

Everyone was probably suspecting that mysterious figure in Cloud City, or some other personal disciple in the Demon Refining Sect... After all, in a demonic sect like the Demon Refining Sect, personal disciples scheming against one another and cursing one another to death was perfectly commonplace.

Li Muyang wasn't worried in the least that anyone would trace it back to him.

But before long, something even more absurd than the inner sect sending someone to investigate him happened.

"Um... Miss Ning, are you serious?"

Li Muyang had just finished watering the spirit fields. Looking at Ning Wan'er, who had come to visit again, even his usually calm, composed expression crumbled.

He stared at the green-tea girl and the pile of spirit medicines she'd brought, wondering if he was still dreaming.

"Where did you get all these spirit medicines?" Li Muyang asked, stunned.

It was one thing that this woman wasn't trying to cheat him out of his money, but she was actually bringing him money of her own accord... Had the sun risen in the west?

Li Muyang's shocked expression made Ning Wan'er blush.

But she still did her best to stay composed. "I brought these from home. They're spirit medicines I've saved up over several years. Together with what I have, they might be enough to save Yuechan."

After saying that, the girl glanced at the pile of spirit medicines with a pained look and kept reassuring herself.

It was his money that bought them in the first place. I'm only giving it back to him now. Don't feel bad, don't feel bad. There's no need to feel bad...

The girl tried to hypnotize herself, but her smile was painfully forced.

She was practically on the verge of tears.

Waaah... I worked so hard to save all these! Three whole years!

At least half of this came out of my own pocket. Why do I have to give it all to Li Muyang?

Ning Wan'er, have you lost your mind?

Waaah...