My name is Ye Yiyi

Once Lin Yuan calmed down, he no longer dared to search openly for Gu Yi.

He could only search in secret.

Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng worried something might happen to him if he went alone, so they joined his search.

But in that vast sea of people, Lin Yuan did not know what Gu Yi looked like. With only Lin Ning's album depicting him in a mask and his own early Foundation Establishment cultivation, finding Gu Yi was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Lin Hai repeatedly urged Lin Yuan to give up. Although what Lin Yuan had fed Gu Yi had extended his life somewhat, Gu Yi had detonated himself before. Sooner or later, his life would burn out.

But Lin Yuan did not think so. He redrew Gu Yi's portrait on a larger sheet and hung it in his bedroom, imagining what Gu Yi looked like.

Lin Yuan still remembered how soft Gu Yi felt. He could never tire of hearing his voice, and there was that unique, fresh scent of grass and trees on him. As Lin Yuan gazed at the portrait, an uncontrollable madness filled his eyes.

"Gu Yi... where are you? Wherever you are, even at the ends of the earth, I'll find you..."

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Gu Yi could not help sneezing.

He rubbed his nose and sniffed hard, muttering to himself, "I've been dead for a year. Surely no one's still cursing me?"

At that moment, Gu Yi wore an understated, elegant dress, his long hair loosely pinned up. He had a distinctive charm like this.

His already gentle features looked a little more alluring beneath the exquisite makeup. The hem of his dress swayed softly with his steps, like a flower blooming in the wind. A sash lightly cinched his slender waist, outlining a graceful curve.

Yet this beauty, so lovely he inspired tenderness, was sitting in a rather inelegant position. He had casually propped up a leg as he sat on a rock, holding a freshly roasted chicken leg and blowing on it between bites.

Although he had attained bigu and no longer needed food, he had eaten quite well as the Demon Venerable back in the Illusory Demon Sect.

He had eaten nothing during his year in the cave. He had not been hungry, but he had really craved food.

Now that he had escaped, the first thing he had done was catch a chicken for a good meal and give his taste buds a treat...

As for why he wore women's clothes, it was naturally to conceal his identity.

Although he had always worn a mask before and no one had seen his face, and Lin Yuan was blind and did not know what he looked like either.

His cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment now, so it was better to be careful.

After He Yan had schemed against him once, he had become a frightened bird, startled at the slightest thing.

Just as Gu Yi was happily gnawing on his chicken leg, a clamor of footsteps and shouts shattered the peace.

He pricked up his ears and heard a group of people shouting as they chased someone.

Gu Yi wiped his mouth. After a moment's hesitation, he put the chicken leg into his storage ring.

Looking up, he saw a young girl running in panic nearby, her long hair streaming in the wind and her eyes full of fear.

Watching the girl run toward him, Gu Yi could not help hesitating.

He did not want to meddle. After all, it could bring him unnecessary trouble.

Yet when the girl turned her pleading eyes toward him, he became even more determined to run at once. Why meddle? Don't you know your own limits?

At that thought, Gu Yi took to his heels.

The girl's eyes lit up when she saw Gu Yi. "Miss... save... me???"

Gu Yi did not even look back. Save you, my ass! With that many people chasing you, do you think I'm an idiot?

The girl gritted her teeth and ran close behind Gu Yi.

Gu Yi inwardly cursed his luck. He had meant to escape on his own amid the chaos, but this girl kept running right beside him.

He looked anxiously at her and said, "Don't follow me. I don't want trouble."

The girl blinked and reached out to grab the hem of his clothes, her eyes full of calculation. "Big sister, don't leave me behind."

Gu Yi glanced at her in surprise. He was at Foundation Establishment, yet this girl could keep up with him and even grab him. That meant she had to be at Foundation Establishment or above as well.

Gu Yi sighed helplessly, but his steps did not stop. "Follow me!"

Since he could not shake her off, he could only escape first and deal with the rest later. As he spoke, he grabbed the girl's wrist and led her through the woods.

With his agility and familiarity with the terrain, he successfully shook off their pursuers.

When the two stopped, they gasped for breath, their clothes soaked with sweat.

Gu Yi sat down against a tree, immensely relieved. The girl leaned beside him and patted his shoulder. "Big sister, you're amazing! You run so fast!"

Still panting, Gu Yi glanced at her. "Who are they? Why were they chasing you?"

"They're bad people, that's all." Looking at Gu Yi, the girl rolled her eyes thoughtfully and said with a grin, "Big sister, you're so pretty. Why are you here alone?"

Gu Yi pressed his lips together and said casually, "I'm going to stay with relatives."

"Oh," the girl drawled.

Both knew the other was lying, but neither exposed it.

Gu Yi took out the chicken leg from earlier and bit hard into it. Damn it, it's gone a little cold.

Using spiritual energy to heat it would be a bit wasteful, but lighting a fire might draw those people back.

"Do you want to heat it up, big sister? How about I help?" As she spoke, the girl moved to light a fire, but Gu Yi hurriedly stopped her. "Don't... you'll lure them here!"

"Big sister, what's your name?" The girl swallowed as she stared at the chicken leg in Gu Yi's hand.

Seeing how badly she craved it, Gu Yi sighed helplessly and pulled the remaining half of the chicken from his storage ring. "My name is... uh, Ye Yiyi."

Taking half of each character in Gu Yi gave him "Ye Yi," but that did not sound good as a name, so he simply went with Ye Yiyi.

Gu Yi had come up with this name back inside the barrier, specifically to use if he ever escaped.

The girl's eyes shone as she stared at the half chicken in Gu Yi's hand. She snatched it from him and mumbled between bites, "Thank you, Sister Ye. My surname is Ye too. My name's Yezi."

Gu Yi lowered his chicken leg. Yezi? Why does that sound familiar...?

But it did not matter. He had no intention of staying with this girl, Yezi, forever. Once they reached somewhere safe, he would part ways with her.

After they finished the chicken, Gu Yi closed his eyes and rested against the roots of a nearby tree. Yezi stared at him with her big, blinking eyes, thinking about something he could not discern.

"Sister Yiyi, I need to relieve myself. Could you come with me?" Yezi suddenly asked in a quiet voice.

Gu Yi's expression stiffened. He was a man. How could he go to the toilet with a young girl?

"I'm not going with you. Go by yourself," Gu Yi said coldly.

"Oh, all right, then." Yezi discreetly stuck her tongue out at Gu Yi.

Listening to the rustling as she left, Gu Yi pulled his clothes closer around himself and went back to sleep.

After a while, Gu Yi frowned. Why hasn't she come back yet? Could those people from earlier have caught her again?