Changed it, changed it, really changed it (revised)

"Gu Yi!"

Lin Yuan jolted awake. He sat up, somewhat dazed, his arms long since empty.

"Gu Yi... Gu Yi..."

At first, he was still somewhat disoriented and thought he had seen his inner demon again because he missed him too much.

But the marks on his body and the lingering aura all reminded him that the real Gu Yi had saved him.

Not only had he saved him, but they had also cultivated together.

His cultivation had risen from the early Golden Core stage to Golden Core peak. Gu Yi had also removed his inner demon...

"Gu Yi..."

Lin Yuan murmured softly. His sight had recovered by now, and he curled his lips in a somewhat self-mocking smile as he looked at the unfamiliar beast lair.

"Did you leave me behind and run away again... Do you really not want me to see you that badly..."

He knew that Gu Yi would never have shown himself to help him if the situation had not been critical.

But Gu Yi's willingness to reveal himself and save him meant that he still had a place in Gu Yi's heart.

He recalled what Gu Yi had often said back in the secret realm:

"Little immortal, I'm not a good person anyway. Once we're out, let's just go our separate ways!"

At the time, Lin Yuan had not realized there was more to Gu Yi's words. "Gu Yi! Are you asking for it again?"

Gu Yi said, "Little immortal... Be gentler, or girls won't like you..."

Lin Yuan said, "What do I need girls to like me for? Tell me you like me..."

Gu Yi said, "Little immortal... Are you asking me to lie through my teeth?"

Lin Yuan said, "Say it once... Just once... If you don't, I won't go easy on you..."

Gu Yi said, "Mm, ah... I like you..."

"Gu Yi... When you said we should go our separate ways back then, you really meant to cut all ties with me..."

Lin Yuan knew that Gu Yi had to be among this group of disciples who had entered the secret realm.

As long as he was still here, he would definitely be able to find him.

"Mu Yang... Yezi... Something's wrong!" Lin Ning hurried back to the disciples' camp, shouting before she even reached them. "Something happened!"

Gu Yi heard the shouting and came out with the others.

Lin Ning froze when she saw Gu Yi, then could not help bursting into tears again. "Miss Ye, you're back..."

Seeing that she had returned alone, Gu Yi knew that something must have happened to Jiang Lingzhou and Xie Wenyun. He hurriedly asked, "Lin Ning! Did something happen to those two?"

Lin Ning was crying so hard she could barely breathe. She nodded vigorously.

She had always been pampered in the Qingling Sword Sect, and she had been through too much these past few days. First Xiao Cheng had been injured, then Lin Yuan had gone missing, and now she had watched Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou fall off a sheer cliff.

She had already fallen apart long ago. If the thought of saving them had not kept her running back, she felt she would have died of grief.

"Where are they?" Gu Yi gripped her shoulders with both hands. "Don't panic. Take your time..."

"At... at a cliff covered in vines... Young Master Jiang... and Young Master Xie fell together... I didn't dare go over. I called from above... but no one answered... I'm so scared they'll..." Lin Ning stammered between sobs.

Mu Yang, Yezi, and several other disciples had already gathered around, all talking at once.

"Then they probably won't survive..." one disciple said, looking worried.

"Are we going to rescue them?" another disciple asked.

"But there might still be people in black out there..." someone said worriedly.

"They've already fallen. How could they still be alive..." Everyone shook their heads and sighed.

Then Mu Yang spoke. "We still don't know whether they're alive. We can't give up."

Yezi nodded as well. "Wooden Head is right. We need to find out whether they're still alive first. If they are, we have to bring them back."

Gu Yi nodded too. "Lin Ning, thank you for your efforts. Stay here and look after Xiao Cheng. We'll go save them."

"All right..." Lin Ning nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Miss Ye, you're back, but where's Xiao Yuan?"

Gu Yi blushed and repeated his earlier story, answering with feigned composure, "I didn't find him... He was already gone when I got there."

A trace of disappointment flashed through Lin Ning's eyes at his answer. But she quickly composed herself and looked at Gu Yi. "Miss Ye, you did your best. It's not your fault you couldn't find him..."

They decided that Mu Yang and Gu Yi would go together, while Yezi, Lin Ning, and the other disciples would stay here and wait. Just as the two were about to leave.

Lin Yuan, however, had arrived nearby at some point. With a few nimble bounds, he landed in front of them.

His sharp gaze swept over every person there.

Gu Yi must be among them.

Gu Yi unconsciously clenched his hands at the sight of Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan woke up so soon...

So once again, I'm the only one who ended up hurting...

At the sight of Lin Yuan, Lin Ning could barely contain her excitement. She rushed straight into his arms and hugged him tightly, her voice trembling. "Xiao Yuan, you scared your big sister to death! I thought that Chu Jing had... Thank goodness you're all right. This is wonderful..." Tears slid down her cheeks and soaked Lin Yuan's clothes.

Lin Yuan smiled helplessly and gently patted Lin Ning's back, comforting her. "Sis, I'm fine. Don't cry..." Then, caught between laughter and tears, he pulled her off him and asked with concern, "Is senior brother all right?"

Yezi came over then and answered, "Brother Xiao's condition has stabilized."

She looked at Lin Yuan, a trace of confusion in her gaze.

She had heard Lin Ning say that Lin Yuan seemed to have succumbed to demonic corruption and had been badly injured, yet the man before her showed no sign of anything wrong. Instead, his aura seemed even stronger.

She asked cautiously, "Big Brother Lin, do you have any wounds? Do you need me to examine you?"

Lin Yuan hurriedly waved his hands and declined. "No need. I'm no longer injured."

Lin Ning looked at Lin Yuan in confusion, frowning as she asked, "Right, Xiao Yuan, just how did you escape death? Miss Ye wanted to save you, but when she got there, you had already vanished. What exactly happened?" Her eyes were full of worry.

Lin Yuan gently wiped the tears from the corners of Lin Ning's eyes with his sleeve and answered, "Sis, he saved me..."

"Who is he?" Lin Ning asked, slow to catch on.

"He's... my..." The corners of Lin Yuan's lips lifted slightly as he mentioned Gu Yi.

As Gu Yi listened to their conversation, his face grew redder and redder. He hurriedly spoke up. "Mu Yang and I will go rescue them first."