Bai Fanlu’s heated face was pressed against the youth’s chest, separated by the slightly cool fabric. He could hear the other’s heartbeat gradually quickening, amplifying endlessly in his ears.

The hand gripping his shoulder trembled slightly, yet seemed to hold on even tighter.

This subtle change jolted Bai Fanlu awake. He half-raised himself and climbed onto the youth’s nape.

This action, akin to throwing oneself into an embrace, caused Xiao Liu’s body to noticeably stiffen.

Bai Fanlu activated his spiritual power between his fingers, and in the next moment, the youth slowly closed his eyes and silently collapsed in front of him.

Even as Xiao Liu was laid down, he still clung tightly to Bai Fanlu’s clothes, refusing to let go.

Bai Fanlu shook his head helplessly, gently prying the boy’s hand away, then adjusted his breathing and softly said, “Come out.”

With his voice, a man in black clothing emerged from behind the trees, kneeling on one knee in front of Bai Fanlu. “I apologize for being late, Young Master. Please punish me.”

Why do all these demons enjoy appearing from the shadows? Is it really true that demons can’t bear the light?

Bai Fanlu examined the man’s attire and the chain knives at his waist. Combined with his earlier words, it was easy to guess who he was—the original owner’s personal guard, Ting Nu, who was the only one other than the Grand Elder of the demons who knew the original owner’s true identity.

“No need for formalities. Just help me break the curse.”

“Yes.”

Ting Nu stepped forward, quickly glanced at Bai Fanlu up close, and then, as if afraid of overstepping, lowered his head swiftly and examined the unconscious thief.

“Young Master, this person isn’t from the Demon City. The curse he used is extremely sinister, something I’ve never seen before. I’m afraid…”

“I understand. You may leave.” Bai Fanlu took a light breath. “I feel much better now. I can handle it.”

“Should I summon the Elder?”

“No need.”

After what had just happened, Bai Fanlu was both physically and mentally exhausted, completely unprepared to deal with a final boss-level character.

“Dispose of that person for me,” Bai Fanlu said, finding the sight annoying.

Ting Nu understood, performing a spell to “clean up” the incapacitated thief, then returned and glanced at the unconscious Xiao Liu beside Bai Fanlu, his right hand resting on his sword hilt.

Noticing Ting Nu’s gaze, Bai Fanlu said, “He’s fine.”

“Yes.” Ting Nu cupped his hands and quickly disappeared.

The books said that Ting Nu was utterly loyal to the original owner, which was true. But Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but feel sorry for such a devoted guard who ultimately perished alongside his master.

If he could change the original owner’s dark path, could Ting Nu also have a better ending?

Lost in thought, Bai Fanlu momentarily forgot that now wasn’t the time to worry about others; he still had a huge problem of his own to solve.

The burning sensation in his lower abdomen started to act up again. Bai Fanlu, determined not to give in, sat up straight and forcibly unblocked several key acupuncture points, shifting from suppression to release, taking the opposite approach.

If his previous sensations were accurate, there was a hidden cold force within his body that could counteract the evil fire. Bai Fanlu intended to use it.

With strong willpower, he released the initial wave of heat, which surged through his body like a flood breaking through a dam, but it still couldn’t completely overwhelm his consciousness.

After a moment, the techniques applied to various meridians and acupuncture points began to take effect. The cold energy within, though weak, was extremely domineering.

The evil heat was gradually forced out bit by bit, causing Bai Fanlu to break out in a sweat, but he did feel much better.

After a round of small and then large circulation of energy, Bai Fanlu was finally exhausted, leaning weakly against the tree trunk.

His clothes were soaked through, and he looked like a fish struggling to breathe after being pulled out of water. Bai Fanlu didn’t care about drying himself off; he just wanted to lie down and sleep, but it seemed the heavens were conspiring against him—his troubles were far from over.

After a long while, Bai Fanlu reluctantly glanced at a certain bulging spot on his lower garments, his pale face slowly flushing.

…The evil energy in other places could be forced out with spiritual energy, but this area’s evil energy… seemed to only have one solution.

Bai Fanlu glanced at the deeply asleep youth beside him, then at a tree not too far away.

His legs were too weak to move again, and if he tried, he might not even be able to crawl halfway. Should he really let this unnatural state persist until morning?

Cursing inwardly, Bai Fanlu clung to the tree trunk and barely moved to the other side, away from the youth, and silently closed his eyes.

He pretended it was like hiding one’s head in the sand. If he couldn’t see anyone, then there wasn’t anyone. Bai Fanlu suppressed his embarrassment and slowly began to move his fingers.

…

When Bai Fanlu awoke again, it was already morning. He didn’t remember how he fell asleep but felt it was rare to have actually slept well.

Sunlight gently streamed through the leaves, warm and bright. Bai Fanlu blinked to adjust to the light and tried to sit up, still feeling a bit weak.

As he sat up, a gray fabric slipped off his shoulder and onto his knees, as if it still retained some warmth.

Bai Fanlu paused, looking up to see a figure sitting motionless on a rock by the river.

Beside him, a little white monkey, ignored by its owner, was picking up stones and tossing them into the river, one after another… The mechanical and unenthusiastic actions made it seem like four large characters were hanging over its furry head—“Bored to death.”

Bai Fanlu shook his head with a smile, tidied his clothes, picked up the outer garment, and walked towards the riverbank.

At first, Xiao Liu didn’t notice anyone approaching, staring blankly at the river. The shimmering water reflected in his clear eyes, lacking the usual lively spirit, and his expression was desolate.

The sound of rushing water grew louder as Bai Fanlu got closer, and he noticed a knife and sheath placed in the water in front of Xiao Liu, glistening under the stream, clean as new.

However, no matter how clean the river was, it couldn’t wash away the bloodstains that had once tainted that blade.

Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but think of Xiao Liu’s terrified expression from last night.

In truth, wasn’t he also frightened? Although it wasn’t his first time seeing someone fall in a pool of blood, it was the kind of scene that you could never get used to, no matter how many times you witnessed it.

Moreover, Xiao Liu was only a sixteen-year-old boy. Despite his determination to catch bad guys, the shock of actually stabbing someone was unimaginable.

“Xiao Liu, I’m sorry for scaring you last night,” Bai Fanlu sighed softly.

Startled by the voice, Xiao Liu turned around sharply, nearly falling into the water. Bai Fanlu quickly reached out to catch him, but Xiao Liu leaned back and grabbed Bai Fanlu’s arm, stabilizing himself.

As soon as he regained his balance, Xiao Liu swiftly let go, a flicker of light passing quickly through his eyes, and the tips of his ears subtly reddened.

“Immortal brother, you’re awake?”

“Mm, are you okay?”

Bai Fanlu’s throat suddenly felt uncomfortable, and he couldn’t help but cover his mouth and cough lightly.

Before he could say more, a hand touched his forehead. Bai Fanlu instinctively wanted to pull back, but the hand moved too quickly.

The warm, slightly rough palm pressed against his skin. Bai Fanlu frowned slightly, puzzled, and looked at Xiao Liu.

“What’s wrong?”

Xiao Liu’s hand was very close to his eyes, and Bai Fanlu reflexively blinked.

Perhaps his eyelashes brushed against the other’s wrist, causing the pulse to immediately become irregular, chaotic.

Xiao Liu dared not look at Bai Fanlu, his gaze wandering before pretending to focus on the flowing water nearby.

Yet his hand remained in place.

“Xiao Liu?” Bai Fanlu waited patiently for a moment before realizing the youth was still pressing his forehead, lost in thought.

“Huh? Oh…” Xiao Liu stammered, hesitated, and then abruptly realized something was wrong. He quickly withdrew his hand as if it had been burned and murmured, “Well… the fever seems to have gone down.”

Could it be that this child actually thought his state last night was due to a fever?

Remembering Xiao Liu’s mumbled “fever” last night, Bai Fanlu found it amusing but was also touched by the youth’s obvious concern.

“Thank you for last night. How’s your hand?”

“My hand?”

Xiao Liu seemed to only now realize this matter. He raised his right hand to check—nothing wrong. Then he raised his left hand and saw a hideous knife wound running through the entire palm, extending up to his forearm, the flesh mangled, with pus and scabs stuck to the fabric.

Bai Fanlu only remembered that his left arm was injured but hadn’t expected it to be so severe.

“Sit down. Let me heal you.”

“No, it’s not necessary.”

Bai Fanlu pushed Xiao Liu to sit on the ground, gently pulling up his left hand. Xiao Liu gasped in pain, and Bai Fanlu softened his touch

, carefully examining the wound.

Xiao Liu, his face flushed, sat there while Bai Fanlu held his hand, occasionally stealing glances at him.

They were very close now. Bai Fanlu was focused on healing, his eyelashes partially covering his eyes, his lips looking delicate and slightly moist…

Last night, at a certain moment, those lips were even redder, just revealing the white teeth and soft tongue beneath. When they moved slightly, they made a sound of suppressed pain that…

Xiao Liu shivered. Bai Fanlu noticed and blew lightly on the wound, frowning slightly. “Does it hurt?”

“No… not anymore.”

Xiao Liu’s face turned beet red, grateful that Bai Fanlu was too focused to look up at him.

After that, he remained obediently quiet, listening and focusing, his hand stiff as Bai Fanlu tended to it.

Bai Fanlu had sensed that Xiao Liu had been sneaking glances at him but had no idea about the youth’s hidden thoughts. The knife wound on his hand was so severe that it left Bai Fanlu with little attention for anything else.

The original owner’s healing skills were mediocre, but they were sufficient for treating minor external wounds on ordinary people. However, for a wound as severe as this, after the flesh had healed, it still needed to be bandaged to prevent further tearing.

Unable to find any bandages, Bai Fanlu took out a bundle from his pouch. It only contained some medicinal powder and a few pieces of silver. He then tore a clean strip of cloth from his inner garment, sprinkled the medicinal powder on Xiao Liu’s arm, and carefully wrapped it with the white cloth.

Hearing Xiao Liu occasionally hiss in pain, Bai Fanlu felt uneasy and asked as he finished bandaging, “Do you remember how you got injured?”

“How I got injured…” Xiao Liu thought for a moment. “I think I had a dream after falling asleep, and I dreamed of you…”

He abruptly stopped.

Bai Fanlu looked up at Xiao Liu, puzzled. “Dreamed of me?”

“Mm,” Xiao Liu whispered. “I dreamed that you were in danger, so I wanted to save you, but I couldn’t get up. It was like something was pressing me down.”

It must have been the thief’s hypnotic spell, Bai Fanlu thought.

Xiao Liu frowned, seemingly trying hard to recall the dream, yet reluctant to remember it.

He only remembered that Bai Fanlu was in great danger, and he desperately wanted to reach out and save him but was unable to move. In a moment of panic…

Bai Fanlu observed Xiao Liu’s expression and suddenly realized, “So you injured yourself to wake up?”

Xiao Liu stared at the white cloth on his palm, then lowered his gaze and softly replied, “Mm.”

“…Silly.”