The young man quickly vanished from her mind, but the predicament before her remained inescapable.
She felt a surge of frustration, her head growing increasingly heavy and her body swaying precariously!
She slowly found a bluestone slab and sat down, her headache intensifying until she could no longer control herself.
Just then, another figure emerged from the miasma and dense smoke. It was a woman, her face wreathed in smiles. She walked directly to Shui Han's side and sat down on the same bluestone slab.
Shui Han shifted away slightly. The woman looked at her and asked, "Are you from outside the Demon Realm, girl?"
Seeing it was a woman, Shui Han lowered her guard considerably and replied, "Yes, how did you know?"
"When traveling through this miasma and dense smoke, if one is from the Demon Realm, we know to use these spirit stones." The woman took a spirit stone from her storage bag and placed one hand on it. wisps of black energy rose and seeped into her body from her palm.
"These spirit stones can refresh our minds and resist the miasma and dense smoke here," the woman continued.
As she spoke, the woman took out another spirit stone and offered it to Shui Han. Shui Han's head was about to explode, and she was on the verge of screaming. Seeing the other party proactively offering help, even with a hint of suspicion, she couldn't afford to hesitate.
She took the spirit stone and, mimicking the woman, began to absorb its energy.
Strangely, as a peculiar spiritual energy flowed into her body, she felt the pain gradually subside.
Just as the woman had said, she gradually felt refreshed and invigorated.
With the pain gone, Shui Han felt a sense of relief and returned the spirit stone to the woman. "Excuse me, how do I get to Spirit Realm Mountain?"
"Spirit Realm Mountain," the woman frowned slightly, then her expression brightened. "It's very far from here. I can't explain it clearly, and even if I did, you wouldn't understand. Why don't I take you there?"
"This..." Shui Han hesitated.
Why would this stranger, met by chance without any prior connection, be so kind to her?
"It's alright," the woman smiled charmingly. "I have nothing else to do, so I'll take you."
With that, she stood up and walked ahead. After a few steps, she looked back, beckoned, and continued forward.
Shui Han reluctantly followed.
They turned left and right, winding through countless paths, walking for a very long time.
The miasma and dense smoke gradually dissipated. There were still trees before them, but this forest was distinctly different from the previous one.
The earlier forest had been like a maze, with all trees identical in shape. The scenery around her never changed, monotonous and repetitive.
The current forest, however, was clear and bright, with trees of varying heights and diverse forms. Each step felt like genuine progress, unlike before, where no matter how she walked, she felt like she was going in circles.
She felt immensely grateful to the woman and was about to express her thanks when she suddenly felt an inexplicable wave of weakness wash over her, as if her very essence, spirit, and energy had been drained away by something.
Furthermore, it felt as though countless insects and ants had burrowed into her body, gnawing ferociously at her bones and flesh, greedily sucking her vital blood.
Sweat poured down her face, and her body felt excruciatingly uncomfortable, as if she wanted to reach into her bones and pull them out.
It was also as if she had a deep, profound craving for something.
She could bear it no longer and collapsed to the ground, writhing and struggling.
The woman casually turned her head, a cold smile on her face. "There's no one Qiu Li Niang can't handle."
She then looked up at the void and said, "You bastard, Cen bastard, come out! I've avenged you."
At that moment, a figure squeezed out from the void. His face was ashen, and his right arm was severed at the shoulder. It was the handsome young man whose arm Shui Han had cut off.
The young man glared at Shui Han on the ground, wishing he could hack her into a thousand pieces. However, his eyes were filled with a mixture of greed and countless other emotions, causing him to struggle.
Qiu Li Niang glanced contemptuously at Cen Wan Tu. "Make your move! Kill her. Are you still reluctant? She crippled your arm!"
Shui Han writhed in pain on the ground. She realized she had fallen into the trap set by this pair of scoundrels, and she also understood that she was likely doomed, utterly finished.
Yet, at this moment, deep within her heart, there was another profound craving, a blind yearning that disregarded life and death. What exactly she craved, however, she could not articulate.
Just then, Cen Wan Tu produced a spirit stone and sneered, "Do you need this?"
Upon seeing the object, Shui Han's eyes turned red, and she let out a low growl, lunging towards Cen Wan Tu. More accurately, she lunged towards the spirit stone in Cen Wan Tu's hand.
However, her body was utterly devoid of strength. Cen Wan Tu merely sidestepped lightly, and Shui Han stumbled, falling to the ground.
"Alright, hurry up and kill her," Qiu Li Niang said impatiently.
Cen Wan Tu's eyes darted around as he put away the spirit stone. "Killing her is too easy. Don't forget what we used to do. I want to sell her to the North Gully Mine. We can get more sparrow-wing spirit stones that way, for our own use. I think Magistrate Zhou will really like this kind of merchandise. We can extort a hefty sum from him this time."
Qiu Li Niang sighed. "We don't do that anymore. I know you're reluctant to kill her, but I can't refute your idea. Fine, let's do it this way."
As she spoke, Qiu Li Niang took out a bag and unfurled it in the air. The opening of the bag suddenly spewed a beam of multicolored light that enveloped Shui Han's body, dragging her into the bag.
Qiu Li Niang retracted the bag and said, "Let's go to the North Gully Mine!"
Cen Wan Tu handed the spirit stone in his hand to Qiu Li Niang. "Give it to her first, otherwise, I'm afraid she'll die of exhaustion later, and we won't be able to sell her."
Qiu Li Niang glared at him. "You've thought of everything."
She then took the spirit stone, carefully tossed it into the bag through the opening, and immediately tightened the bag's closure.
Initially, the bag inside kept undulating, as if Shui Han within was struggling incessantly. After a moment, it gradually calmed down.
The two walked side by side. Qiu Li Niang, unable to hold back any longer, said, "This time, I'm letting it slide because you lost an arm. But if you ever mess around with other women again, I'll cripple your other arm."
Cen Wan Tu retorted, "I wasn't messing around. I just saw her walking alone in the forest, looking so helpless, and I wanted to help her. But unexpectedly, she repaid my kindness with malice..."
"Enough, stop making excuses. I know you well. You lose your composure the moment you see a beautiful woman, especially this time, she's a peerless beauty. However, this should serve as a lesson for you. Let's see if you dare to be so forward next time." Qiu Li Niang glanced at him sideways.
Cen Wan Tu thought to himself, Mind your own business. If it weren't for your continued usefulness, I would have killed you long ago.
However, his expression remained unchanged. He simply said calmly, "I will be more careful in the future."
"This girl is so spirited. With just sparrow-wing spirit stones, I'm afraid Magistrate Zhou won't be able to control her. Let's place a soul-binding蛊 on her later before handing her over to Magistrate Zhou." Qiu Li Niang said.
"Good idea!"
The young girl led Mo Qi along the foot of the mountain, winding through numerous paths. Soon, they entered a mountain hollow where a simple mountain gate stood. The walls on both sides extended infinitely into the distance, like a fortification, but there were no guards. It seemed to have been built to defend against demonic beasts.
Xin'er led Mo Qi through the mountain gate and walked all the way to a cave entrance.
Looking up, she saw many similar caves nearby. Some were lined up at the foot of the mountain, while others were scattered like stars on the mountainside.
At this moment, many people quietly poked their heads out from their respective caves, all directing hostile gazes at Mo Qi in unison.
Mo Qi felt as if he were being pierced through a thousand holes, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"Er Gou, Er Gou, come out for a moment," Xin'er called out towards the cave.
A short, thin figure ran out from within, his voice filled with surprise. "Xin'er, my wife, you've come! You've finally come looking for me?"
Mo Qi looked and saw a child even younger than Xin'er, about seven or eight years old.
"Little brat, if you dare to tease me again, I'll spank your bottom," Xin'er said, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised.
Mo Qi's thoughts churned. He suddenly recalled his own "teasing" of Lu Xiaoyue back then, which seemed similar to the scene before him.
Er Gou said with a cheeky grin, "Xin'er, my wife, you called me out, not because you need something from me, right? If you don't agree to call me 'wife' a couple of times, then there's nothing to discuss!"
Mo Qi gasped. These children, one by one, were not to be trifled with!
Xin'er indeed looked troubled, her face flushing red, unsure how to respond.
Seeing Mo Qi staring at her, as if urging her on, she had no choice but to brace herself and say, "Er Gou, this is a distant relative of mine. He wants to stay at your place for a while."
Er Gou glanced at Mo Qi, who looked like a graceful jade tree, and immediately became hostile. He looked at Xin'er and asked, "Your relative, why doesn't he stay at your place? Why stay at mine?"
Xin'er lowered her voice and said, "There are many girls in my home, it's inconvenient! Your home is all boys, so adding one more person shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Er Gou shook his head. "No, I can't stand having a stranger in my home."
Xin'er thought for a moment, took a few steps forward, and lowered her voice further. "To be honest, this is a potential suitor arranged by my father. I'm inwardly resistant to it, but if I let him stay at my place, my father will try to matchmake us relentlessly..."
"Then I'll agree to let him stay at my place," Er Gou said, looking at Mo Qi.
He then added, "However, I still need to ask my father about this. If he disagrees, then I can't do anything about it."
With that, he went inside.
Mo Qi looked at Xin'er, while Xin'er dared not meet his eyes, turning her gaze to look in other directions.
"You're quite good at arranging things!" Mo Qi said.
With a single glance, he had already realized that Er Gou's family was not of the Wu tribe at all.
He couldn't quite pinpoint the difference between them and the Wu tribe, but it was a strong intuition!
He couldn't help but inwardly praise how cunning this child was!
"Thank you for the compliment," Xin'er said, lowering her head.