Chapter Fifteen: The Shy Young Man

  In a nameless mountain valley, Zhi Yan Huali held a small wooden box and wandered aimlessly in the valley. She didn't know how to find the monster, nor did she know how to get them to help her, and even more so, where to find the ancient treasure that Yuan Kong had spoken of. But for Le Er, no matter how difficult it was, she had to give it a try.

  She thought, perhaps, she could make a deal with them using her only skill. But now the primary problem was to find a demon, and one that would trade with her rather than making her his food.

  "Oni, come out! I want to make a deal with you!"

  She shouted loudly in the valley, but the only response was the scattering of birds flying away.

  These days, she has been living in the wilderness, and keeping Le'er alive has become her only motivation to keep going. Every time she opens that box and sees him stretching out his petals, she feels happy and satisfied. She feels as if Le'er is a part of her own body, and without him, she wouldn't be happy.

  "Le Er, let's sunbathe together. Keeping you in a box all the time must have suffocated you. Fortunately, you don't need soil, or else I really wouldn't know how to keep you by my side."

  "Le Er, I haven't found the demon and the ancient treasure yet, but believe me, I definitely can. Sister will definitely save you."

  Every moonlit night, she would think of Shen Yuqing, Zeran, Liu Biwu, Yun Jing, Yun Tian and those who had traded with her. She slowly felt that she didn't hate Zeran as much anymore, but would often recall his kindness and the days they spent on Wuwang Mountain. Although those days could never be returned, being able to reminisce about them now was a kind of happiness. At this moment, she also wondered if her trade had been too cruel, knowing how precious memories were yet still heartlessly depriving others of theirs.

  "Luo Er, you said I've been trying to find back my past self, does it really make sense?"

  She walked in the midst of the heavy mountains, calling out as she always did, hoping that a monster would emerge. This time, apart from flying birds, there was finally some other movement. A white tiger came upon hearing the sound and appeared before Zhi Yan, opening its bloody mouth wide and letting out a thunderous roar that shook the clouds.

  Zhi Yan listened to the roar of the white tiger, her whole body trembling with fear, but she still ran forward desperately. She tightly protected the box containing Le Er, even if she was eaten, she couldn't let it harm Le Er in the slightest. But if possible, she still wanted to live, Le Er had said that he would always be by her side, and she also wanted to be with Le Er forever.

  Zhi Yan was just a little girl, how could she outrun these fierce beasts? Before long, she was knocked to the ground by the white tiger. Enduring the intense pain in her back and smelling the bloody smell, Zhi Yan already knew that she couldn't escape this disaster. She felt a warm liquid flowing down from her head, while the white tiger behind her suddenly pressed heavily on her body, let out a low cry, and then fell silent.

  "Hey, hey, are you still alive?"

  "Should...not dead yet..."

  "Give me your hand and I'll pull you out."

  A pair of slender hands with thin gloves stretched out towards Zhiyan, carrying warm sunlight.

  "Are you okay? Ah? You...you're a...a girl!"

  Zi Yan didn't even look up to thank him, hastily sat down beside him and opened her own box to check if Le Er was okay. The young man looked at her actions and felt a bit puzzled, "You... this box, and this flower are very important to you? No, it's demonic energy!"

  The young man suddenly jumped out several feet away, drew the long sword on his back, knocked over the box, and pointed the icy long sword at Le Er, shining with a cold light in the sunlight.

  "Halt! Don't hurt him!" Xing Yan used his hand to brush aside the long sword, carefully picking up Le Er and gently placing her back in the wooden box. "Sorry, Le Er, did you get hurt from the fall just now?"

  The young man scratched his head, a look of entanglement and confusion on his face. "Why are you with the demon, and he's heavily injured? Is he your friend?"

  "He is my brother..."

  The young man's expression on his face became even more perplexed, "Why would someone have a demon as a younger brother, and one that is a flower demon at that?" He dryly chuckled, "No wonder you were so tense about this box earlier, it turns out he's your younger brother...this demon...no, I mean your younger brother, his aura is very strange, having both demonic energy and divine energy...forget it, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

  "He's called Le Er, he looks very handsome and is also very innocent and kind. Sometimes he can be a bit mischievous, but he has never harmed anyone. I'm Zhi Yan, thank you for saving me."

  The young man's face suddenly turned red, "I... I'm Tian Mo, a disciple of Lingyang Palace. Ah, you're injured, I have medicine here, hurry up and apply it, it's so hot today, your wound will get infected if you don't."

  "Thank you, Tian Mo." Zhi Yan lifted her head and smiled sweetly at the easily embarrassed boy, whose face turned even redder, like a ripe apple.

  "Can you walk? I...I'll carry you on my back, there's a small stream ahead, we can rest there."

  "Brother Tianmo, you're really great."

  “……”

  "Tiān Mò big brother, can you help me apply some medicine?"

  "No... no way... men and women should keep a distance." Tian Mo hastily refused, if Master were to find out, he would probably break his own legs.

  "But...," Yan looked at him with some helplessness, "I really can't reach it myself."

  "What... what should I do?"

  "Otherwise, I'll wear a mask, or you wear a mask? That way, we can't tell our sexes apart."

  “…………”

  The two of them were deadlocked for half a day and finally reached an agreement, which was to let Tian Mo wear a mask and blindfold.

  Tian Mo endured the intense inner turmoil, thinking about the moral etiquette he had learned while imagining what would happen if his master found out, lamenting his own miserable situation, and finally managed to treat Xing Yue's wound with great effort.

  "This... this is... my clothes, if you don't mind... just... just put them on, I think... you'd better change into these... the previous ones are already very tattered..." Tian Mo said, his face red as he walked away. He wanted to go to a quiet place to silently reflect on his life and most importantly, whether or not to confess this matter to his master, and if he accidentally slipped up, what excuse could he use to escape punishment.

  "Le Er, Tian Mo Gege is a very good person, can he help us?"

  "Brother Tianmo, I've changed my clothes." After washing away the dirt on her body, Zhiyan finally revealed her true appearance. Wearing Tianmo's white Taoist robe, although she was dressed as a man, it didn't affect her beauty at all. Tianmo stood there in a daze, he really couldn't have imagined that this robe could be worn to create such a beautiful feeling. He came back to his senses, inwardly despising his own thoughts repeatedly, and finally calmed down, "Miss Zhiyan, where are you going? As a young lady traveling alone, it's bound to be fraught with danger. I can protect you, escort you back."

  "I don't know where to go either, Tianmo big brother, do you know where there are treasures and monsters? I want to save Le'er, he's heavily injured, only this way can I save him..."

  "Don't you have a home?"

  "I don't know, I don't remember things from the past."

  "Poor thing, I also don't have parents. When I was young, my home was flooded and both of my parents died. My master saved me and I grew up in Lingyang Palace. Since you don't know where to go, why not let me take you back to Lingyang Palace? My junior uncle is very powerful, he can catch demons and has lived for 200 years, so he must know where there are treasures." Tianmo said with embarrassment, as he had grown up in Lingyang Palace since childhood. The place was so strict that even the cooks were all men, and when they went down the mountain to exorcise demons, they would usually just complete their task and return without lingering. This was also the first time he had spoken so much to a woman.

  "Tianmo big brother, thank you, you're such a good person, Le'er will definitely like you too."

  "Haha ~ Let's hurry up and get going, we're still far from Lingyang Palace."

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