An Uninvited Guest

He recognized this thing.

Before his accident, it had been the last thing he saw.

Back then, it had merely been an ancient palace model. It had appeared several times in his dreams afterward, but Li Yuan had never paid it much mind.

Yet now, it had truly appeared within his consciousness.

Could his transmigration be connected to it as well?

But of one thing he was certain: the reason he had been able to test as having a level-nine talent was absolutely inseparable from this mysterious, unfathomable palace.

What exactly was it?

And what kind of world lay behind that door?

Night fell, and darkness completely swallowed the room. Yet Li Yuan remained seated in the shadows without moving, as though he had become a stone statue.

Who knew how much time had passed when an exceedingly faint click came from outside the window, clear as day in the silence.

Immediately afterward, the wooden latch was silently pushed aside, and a black shadow slipped through the window.

After entering, the shadow hurriedly shut the window. Li Yuan was startled and held his breath. Was this person here for him?

If the intruder was a martial artist, that would be manageable. What he feared was that they might be a cultivator; then he would have almost no chance of winning.

With that thought, he decided to observe first.

Just then, the person's body swayed slightly before they staggered and collapsed to the side with a muffled, suppressed groan.

A thick scent of blood instantly spread through the room.

This person was injured.

Li Yuan remained hidden in the shadows, watching without revealing a trace of emotion. The person curled up on the floor, panting continuously, their breathing seemingly growing weaker and weaker.

"If you don't stop the bleeding soon, you're afraid to bleed dry."

Just as the person's consciousness was about to slip into unconsciousness, he suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.

The black shadow jolted violently and sprang up at once. The movement was too abrupt and pulled at the wound, drawing another stifled groan of pain.

They whirled toward the voice. In the darkness, those eyes gleaming with a ghostly light locked tightly onto Li Yuan.

"Who?!"

Before the words had even faded, the black shadow had pounced into the corner. A cold blade pressed against Li Yuan's throat.

"Don't move! Make a sound, and I'll slaughter you!"

The black shadow was breathing hard, the dagger pressed tightly against Li Yuan's skin. The voice was vicious, but the hand gripping the dagger could not stop trembling.

Li Yuan made no attempt to resist or cry out. He did not even move his body. Calmly, he said, "There's wound medicine and clean gauze in the gray bundle in the corner."

The black shadow clearly had not expected such a reaction. They froze for a moment, but the dagger did not loosen in the slightest. Instead, it pressed even harder, nearly cutting into flesh.

"Don't try anything!"

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"This is my house." Li Yuan sighed. "You broke into my home, and you're questioning me?"

"Besides, you're the one bleeding, not me. I'm not in a hurry."

Hearing the unmistakable mockery in his voice, the black shadow's breathing hitched. They seemed to be weighing the pros and cons.

After two seconds of silence, they gritted their teeth and said in a low voice, "Go get it. Try anything, and I'll kill you!"

"Sure."

Li Yuan slowly raised his hands to show that he meant no harm, then walked slowly to the corner, untied the bundle, and took out a porcelain bottle and a stack of clean white linen cloths.

"Light the lamp."

The black shadow gave the order in a deep voice, the dagger still aimed at the center of his back.

Li Yuan took out a tinderbox and lit the oil lamp on the table. Dim yellow light spread outward, illuminating the cramped room.

The other person wore black night clothes that outlined a slender figure. A black cloth covered their face, revealing only a pair of clear eyes that were currently glaring at him warily.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on her hands. Her fingers were long and slender, and her wrists were unexpectedly delicate.

Beneath the scent of blood, he caught the faintest trace of fragrance, and a suspicion surfaced in his mind.

"Give it to me."

The person in black picked up the porcelain bottle with one hand and inspected it, confirming that it was ordinary wound medicine.

She tightened her grip on the dagger and ordered in a low voice, "Turn around. Squat down. Put your hands over your head..."

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow, released the dagger hidden in his sleeve, and slowly turned around as instructed. Facing the wall, he squatted down and clasped his hands over his head.

Behind him came rustling sounds mixed with suppressed gasps.

"Your wound is on your shoulder blade," Li Yuan said without turning his head. "Either let me help you, or keep dragging this out."

The person behind him stiffened.

After a moment of silence, the woman in black threatened in a low voice, "Come over. Make any sudden move, and you'll die immediately!"

The corner of Li Yuan's lips curled upward. This woman was already at the end of her tether, but he had not sensed any strong killing intent from her.

Otherwise, he would have made his move long ago.

He slowly turned around. The woman in black retreated two steps, leaning against the wall, cold sweat streaming down her forehead.

The clothing over her left shoulder had been sliced open, revealing a vicious wound. Blood had stained her garments red.

"Sit down."

Li Yuan's tone was even as he walked over and picked up the medicine bottle and linen cloth.

The woman in black stared at him vigilantly. Her eyes struggled for a moment before she finally slid slowly down the wall to sit, though her dagger remained pointed at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan crouched down and examined the wound. It was a blade wound; the flesh had rolled open, deep enough to expose bone. He had seen far too many wounds like this during his previous life in the army. Applying medicine to stop the bleeding alone would have limited effect—it needed to be stitched up as soon as possible.

But he had no intention of meddling further.

Without hesitation, he pinched up a bit of medicinal powder and sprinkled it evenly over the wound.

The instant the powder touched the wound, the woman in black let out a muffled groan of pain, her body contracting violently.

At the same time, Li Yuan's wrist suddenly sank as he pressed down on the swollen area at the edge of the wound.

"Urgh—!"

The woman in black shuddered from head to toe. Her vision went dark, and the dagger in her hand fell to the floor with a clang.

Li Yuan moved. He snatched up the dagger from the ground and retreated at the same time, calmly watching the woman in black curled into a ball.

"Still want to continue?"

His tone was as flat as if he were asking whether she wanted a drink of water.

The woman in black panted, cold sweat soaking through her face covering. Looking at the dagger in Li Yuan's hand, she understood that the tide had turned. Her wound throbbed with agony, and the loss of blood was rapidly draining her strength.

Resigned, she closed her eyes. Her long lashes trembled. "If you want to kill me, then kill me... make it quick..."

Li Yuan said nothing. He took a clean strip of cloth and pressed it above the wound to slow the bleeding, then dumped more than half the bottle of wound medicine onto it in one go.

The searing pain made the woman in black tremble all over, but she clenched her teeth and made no further sound.

Li Yuan quickly wrapped the white linen around her shoulder and back, tying it tightly to apply pressure and stop the bleeding.

His technique was far from gentle—indeed, it was somewhat rough—but it worked well. The bleeding soon slowed by more than half.

After finishing, he stood up, turned the dagger around in his hand so the hilt faced the woman in black, and offered it to her.

The woman in black stared at him in astonishment.

"If you can walk, get out of here."

Li Yuan placed the dagger beside her hand, then turned around and began dealing with the bloodstains on the floor.

After wiping away the blood, he found a dish of cheap incense and lit it to mask the thick smell of blood in the air.

The woman in black leaned against the cold wall, watching his busy back with an incomparably complicated gaze.

She opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing.

Li Yuan quickly finished cleaning up and tossed the bloodstained strips of cloth into a broken earthen basin. Only then did he turn around. Seeing that she was still leaning against the wall without moving, he immediately frowned.

"Why are you still here?" His tone turned cold. "I don't care who you are or what trouble you've gotten into. It has nothing to do with me."

"If you don't leave now, I'll go out into the streets and call the Wuhou to report you."