"How is Taiping?"
"I don't know. He hasn't opened the door yet."
"Eating Dragon Fang Fruit raw... that Junior Brother from Seven Peaks is even harder on himself than Senior Brother Qingxiao."
In the small courtyard at Rain and Dew Garden, several female disciples from Sixth Peak were discussing Xu Taiping in hushed voices, their eyes occasionally turning toward the rear courtyard.
"If it hadn't been for Junior Brother Taiping this time, we would all have died here."
Zhou Ao, who had remained silent all this while, spoke up.
The others nodded at his words.
"Seventh Junior Brother, go take a look."
"Yes, go and see how Taiping's injuries are."
"Senior Sister Ziyan wouldn't let us go over earlier, but you're a male disciple like him. It should be fine."
The senior sisters spoke to Zhou Ao.
"Mm."
Zhou Ao nodded, then headed toward the rear courtyard.
At the entrance to the rear courtyard.
"Senior Sister Ziyan, Junior Sister Buyu."
Zhou Ao greeted the two standing at the entrance.
Xu Ziyan inclined her head slightly.
Lin Buyu seemed not to have heard him, her gaze still fixed on a stone room in the rear courtyard.
The stone room had probably originally been a place for discussing confidential matters. Once its stone door was shut, no sound from inside could escape.
"Seventh Junior Brother, how are your injuries?"
Xu Ziyan asked Zhou Ao.
Zhou Ao had taken a direct hit from that demon cultivator today and had been badly injured.
"I'm mostly fine now. I'm half a martial artist, after all. These superficial injuries are nothing."
Zhou Ao shook his head.
Yet his deathly pale face and weak voice both revealed that he was forcing himself to hold on.
Xu Ziyan said nothing, merely patting Zhou Ao lightly on the