"Are you joking, Second Master?" Song Qingchao scoffed. "This young lady has never believed in past lives and rebirth."
She fiercely kicked towards Bai Erye's vital area.
But he lightly pulled her aside, and she rolled back into the cave.
"Even if there were past lives, this young lady has never seen them. Second Master must be mistaken."
She gripped a dagger in her hand again.
The sharp blade sliced through Bai Erye's left arm.
The black patterned fabric tore open, revealing smooth muscle lines and gushing blood.
"Let me go," Song Qingchao said coldly. "I can't guarantee where I'll aim next time. It wouldn't be good to injure Second Master."
Bai Erye gazed at Song Qingchao's striking peach blossom eyes for a long time, lost in thought.
He sighed with a smile, let her go, then lazily sat up, dusting off his clothes and shifting his gaze outside the cave.
Song Qingchao quickly got up and held the dagger to his throat. "Take me out."
"We can't get out."
"Would I believe you?" She pushed the dagger forward slightly. "If there's no way out, why did you cut the rope?"
She nudged Bai Erye's arm with her toe.
The clinking of metal echoed.
Bai Erye finally turned to look at her.
His eyes were filled with something.
"Is this how one asks for favors?" The curve of his lips widened slowly. He pulled out a rolled-up scroll from his懷, "I am your savior."
Song Qingchao's pupils dilated. Her free hand fumbled at her own chest.
Damn it, when had this man swiped her belongings?
She instantly felt her body grow weak and powerless, sweat beading on her forehead. She reached out her hand, insisting, "Give it back to me."
"Do you think I'll give it just because you ask?" Bai Erye raised an eyebrow and unrolled the scroll. "How can such a principle exist in this world?"
"Don't forget, your life is still in my hands!"
"You think I'm really afraid?" He leaned his neck forward, his delicate, fair skin instantly showing red marks. "You wouldn't dare kill me."
Song Qingchao's hand holding the knife trembled.
She wasn't afraid of killing, only of not being able to get out of this sunless valley.
Mumu was waiting for her to live...
"What exactly do you want!"
She gritted her teeth as she uttered the words, her entire body losing its strength.
After a long while, so long that she thought Bai Erye might kill her, she only heard a light, dismissive "Uninteresting."
Her head was lightly tapped.
Song Qingchao lifted her reddened eyes. An unfolded diagram was presented before her.
Bai Erye stood straight, looking towards the cave entrance, still holding a blood-stained hook.
"Wangyou," he turned his head, his eyes empty. "Give me half."
"This is to save my life."
"Mine too." He withdrew his playful smile. "I am protecting you."
"We've only just met. How can I trust you?" Song Qingchao put away the diagram, her eyes full of stubbornness. "I only trust myself."
"Half a piece won't delay you from saving someone."
He swung the hook out again, snagged the man's exposed leg, and then plunged it into his neck, flinging it in front of Song Qingchao.
"If you take it all, will the Fang family let you go?"
"They don't know it was me."
"Is that so?" Bai Erye smiled again, pointing to himself. "But I know."
He reached out and grasped Song Qingchao's dagger, muttering, "Such a lot of knives this little lady hides," before discarding the dagger and moving to touch Song Qingchao's face.
"I'll take you out, send you wherever you wish to go, and then we part ways. I only want half. Is that so hard?"
Song Qingchao, smelling the sweet, cloying scent of blood, her already pale face turned even more ghastly.
"You really want to protect me?"
"Yes."
Song Qingchao stared at him, then burst into laughter, shrugging. "Alright."
After all, it would be foolish not to take advantage.
Bai Erye lowered his hand, his bloody palm facing upwards, reaching towards her. "Give it to me."
"No." Song Qingchao's eyes were full of wariness. "I have conditions too."
She lifted her chin. "I'll give it to you after we're out. Don't even think about killing me. Even if you dissect me, you won't find this herb."
"Interesting." Bai Erye withdrew his hand, rubbing his index finger and thumb together and sniffing them. "Then it's as you wish."
He reached for a handkerchief in his怀.
After a moment's hesitation, he squatted down and wiped the blood from his hands with the corpse's clothing.
"Let's go. I need to get back before dark."
"Get back where?" He smiled, looking up at her. "To the place on the diagram?"
Song Qingchao gave a soft "Mm."
"Then we can only take the shortcut," he stood up and leaned closer, looking at Song Qingchao. "Otherwise, we'll definitely be late."
"I'll do whatever you say."
"Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow, then wrapped an arm around Song Qingchao's slender waist. "Then this little lady should hold on tight."
Song Qingchao was clearly startled by Bai Erye.
Before she could say anything, he scooped her up, her feet leaving the ground.
"What are you doing!"
She instinctively clutched him tighter, which made him tremble with laughter.
"Me?" He turned his face, his phoenix eyes narrowing into crescent moons. "Taking you on a shortcut." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"What?"
Bai Erye, holding her, ran swiftly towards the cave entrance, then leaped off the cliff.
"Second Master!"
"Why do you call me?"
He laughed out loud, causing Song Qingchao to shake with him.
But all she could do was hold him, cling to him. If she let go, all would be lost.
The strong wind and the sensation of falling disappeared in an instant.
She opened her eyes to find Bai Erye swinging from a protruding tree trunk with a grappling hook.
"Hold on tight."
Song Qingchao quickly climbed onto his neck, saying nothing more.
There was no point in talking to a madman.
Bai Erye swung onto the branches, then threw the hook again. In this manner, he carried Song Qingchao through the air, section by section.
"Why did you save me?"
Song Qingchao looked up with bright, glistening eyes but could only see his alluring Adam's apple and smooth jawline.
She now understood clearly that Second Master did not want her life.
The Wangyou grass was likely just an excuse.
When he didn't respond, she asked again.
The repeated "Why?" finally annoyed Bai Erye.
When he stood on the tree trunk again, he bounced the Song Qingchao in his arms upwards, then took a breath before throwing the hook again.
The expression on his face was no longer playful; it was as cold as if he had just emerged from an ice cave.
Why?
Why was there any why...
This little girl's personality really hadn't changed at all.
From a distance, she seemed fragile and delicate, but up close, she could be deadly, like a beautiful carnivorous flower.
Unlike in her past life, where illness had smoothed her sharp edges.
Once a soaring eagle, she had willingly become a caged bird.
His master's dying wish, which he had failed to fulfill in his past life, it was only right to atone for it in this one.
He lowered his head, looking at Song Qingchao in his arms, whose eyebrows resembled his master's.
But then he saw her suddenly tense up, reaching out to turn his face.
"Second Master! We're going to crash!"
He couldn't help but laugh, his previous languid demeanor returning. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Why did he follow, feeling uneasy?
He himself didn't know.
Just a request from an old friend...