Looking at it too much made her feel a pang of pity.
Nan Shan suddenly smiled and sincerely grasped his hand.
Xi Yuan exerted a little force and pulled her into his embrace.
“There’s nothing to be disappointed about,” Nan Shan said softly, leaning against him.
Xi Yuan raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
Nan Shan lifted her gaze and smiled as she looked into his eyes.
“After all, even if he could save me, he wouldn’t be able to lift the heart-piercing poison you planted.”
Xi Yuan met her gaze, the smile on his lips gradually disappearing.
But Nan Shan smiled, gently pulling his hand off hers.
Xi Yuan collapsed to his knees, weakly staring at her.
“What did you do to me?”
“A person as knowledgeable as you doesn’t recognize the Dream-binding Poison?”
Nan Shan exaggerated, widening her eyes.
“Dream-binding…”
Xi Yuan’s breath grew heavier, and the figure in front of him began to blur.
Nan Shan was even happier.
“That’s right, the Dream-binding Poison, which no matter how powerful you are, as long as the wound is infected, you’ll fall victim to it. When Ling Ye gave it to me, he said… Ah, if it’s mild, you go mad; if it’s severe, you remain in a coma for life. What do you think? Which one are you?”
Xi Yuan barely supported himself against the ground, struggling to breathe, his eyes fixed on his hands.
The hand that had grabbed hers now had a petal-like pattern at the wound.
“You planned from the start to have the Young Master of the Underworld hurt me…” he muttered.
Nan Shan sat cross-legged beside him, her hands gently holding her face.
“Not really. I did consider using my own refined weapon to hurt you. I even coated that dagger with Dream-binding Poison early on. But you didn’t come for several days, and I got bored by myself, thinking about this.”
“After much contemplation, I thought I’m just an outsider, so I shouldn’t underestimate you. That’s when I thought of Ling Ye. I can’t complain to him, but I can always ask him for help, right?”
“You’re not afraid… that he’s not as skilled as I am and might die at my hands because of your plan?”
Xi Yuan’s hand, where the pattern was spreading, began turning his pupils into gold.
Nan Shan saw this and silently moved back a little.
She retorted, “Are you brave enough to kill him?”
Xi Yuan paused.
Nan Shan had already seen through his hesitation.
“If you had the courage to go against the entire Underworld, you wouldn’t have been sneaking around all this time. Even though he’s not as skilled as you, you wouldn’t dare harm him.”
Xi Yuan sneered.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to go against the Underworld, but if he chases after me, it means my identity has been exposed. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill him to cover up the situation?”
“You won’t,” Nan Shan replied.
“After all, the Underworld is not something you can easily offend. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have insisted on taking me before the wedding.”
She glanced at him.
“There’s no such thing as a wall that doesn’t let wind through. You have to think about the future. If the secret of kidnapping the Young Master’s fiancée is exposed, there might still be room for negotiation. But if you kill the Young Master, the Underworld will truly be at odds with you.”
Xi Yuan seemed to realize this, his expression darkening as he looked at her.
“…But I did think that perhaps he wouldn’t be able to beat you. But he’s so strong, and you wouldn’t dare kill him. Exhausting your energy might make you lose your guard after you take me away. Then I could use the dagger to stab you.”
“But things went better than I thought. He might not be as cunning as you, but he injured you. I didn’t need to take the risk and stab you; all I had to do was apply the medicine to your wound.”
Nan Shan laughed.
“See? The heavens are on my side. I was just thinking about how to apply the medicine without being noticed when you offered me your hand.”
That hand was so beautiful, covered in scars.
Looking at it too much made one feel pity, yet it also provoked a desire to torture it.
As Nan Shan spoke, Xi Yuan had nearly succumbed to the deep black dream, using all his spiritual energy to keep himself awake.
“You’re really treating your savior like this?”
Xi Yuan lifted his gaze to look at her, his golden eyes both divine and demonic.
Nan Shan was momentarily taken aback by his question.
After a long pause, she confusedly asked, “What else? Do you want me to repay you by dying at your hands?”
“Don’t be silly, brother. How could that be?”
Nan Shan sympathetically patted his shoulder.
“Besides, all you did was give me a little spiritual power when I was still a baby. You didn’t make any great sacrifice to save me. You want me to repay you with my life? That doesn’t happen in this world.”
Xi Yuan’s head was foggy, almost losing his ability to think, but he still found himself laughing angrily.
“Nonsense… Don’t forget, your heart-piercing poison hasn’t been lifted. If I die… you won’t live either!”
“That’s why,” Nan Shan said, as if performing a magic trick, pulling out a small vial from her sleeve, “this is the antidote to Dream-binding Poison.”
Xi Yuan immediately reached out to snatch it, but Nan Shan sidestepped and kicked him to the ground.
Snowflakes fell heavily, and the beautiful woman, covered in blood, lay in the mud, gritting her teeth in a vivid yet beautiful manner.
“If you want me to remove all the things you’ve done to me, then I’ll give you the antidote.”
Nan Shan got straight to the point.
Xi Yuan sneered.
“Dream on…”
Nan Shan turned to leave.
“Come back!”
Xi Yuan, seeing she was about to leave, immediately gritted his teeth.
Nan Shan returned with a smile.
“Deal?”
“Deal!”
Xi Yuan took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the poison spreading inside him.
“Give me the antidote.”
“Be reasonable, Xi Yuan. If you don’t help me lift the poison first, how could I dare give you the antidote?”
Nan Shan replied with a mischievous smile.
“Now that you’re weak and I’m strong, don’t you think it’s fair?”
Xi Yuan fixed his eyes on her, and his rounded, white ears slowly began to sprout red fur, quickly transforming into pointed animal ears.
Nan Shan curiously reached out to touch them, but Xi Yuan immediately pulled his ears back in annoyance.
“Stop!” he snapped, embarrassed.
Nan Shan ignored him, touching them as much as she liked before pulling her hand back and tucking it into her sleeve.
“So, will you lift the poison for me now?”
Xi Yuan was at his limit, but he still refused to relent.
“How do I know you won’t go back on your word after I lift the poison?”
“Brother…”
“Don’t call me brother!”
Xi Yuan was angry, his beautiful features becoming even more expressive.
“How cold-hearted, brother,” Nan Shan said, pouting in mock frustration.
Xi Yuan realized she was intentionally provoking him, and closed his eyes to calm himself.
“Anyway, I don’t trust you.”
“I don’t trust you either, so how about we swear an oath?”
Nan Shan proposed, trying to negotiate.
“I now have spiritual power to use, and if I break the oath, I will suffer backlash. This way, it’s fair to both of us… Ah, I can swear first.”
She awkwardly made a gesture and said, “I, Sun Nan Shan, swear that as long as Xi Yuan lifts the heart-piercing poison and…”
“Guiding the soul,” Xi Yuan coldly reminded.
Nan Shan quickly corrected, “And the soul-guiding technique, I will give him the antidote. If I break this oath, may the heavens strike me down.”
“Die young,” Xi Yuan added.
Nan Shan made a face.
“How cruel… You know I, being naturally weak, fear nothing more than dying young, and yet you force me to swear such an oath.”
“Are you going to say it or not?”
Xi Yuan pressed, his frown deepening.
Nan Shan clicked her tongue.
“Alright, alright, die young.”
As soon as she finished, a circle of light appeared in her palm, quickly dissipating as the oath was formed.
Xi Yuan stared at her for a long time before finally summoning the spiritual energy to swear:
“I, Xi Yuan, swear that I will lift the heart-piercing poison and the soul-guiding technique for Sun Na Shan…”
“And never poison her again,” Nan Shan interrupted.
Xi Yuan: “I will never poison her again. If I break this oath, may the heavens strike me down.”
“And I’ll grow old and ugly,” Nan Shan added.
Xi Yuan gritted his teeth.
“And I’ll grow old and ugly…”
The oath was complete.
Nan Shan made a gesture as if inviting him.
Xi Yuan focused his energy, making a gesture to channel his spiritual power into her forehead.
Nan Shan felt a rush of clarity in her head and quickly rolled up her sleeve.
“Xi Yuan stole the Ten Thousand Life Cauldron and wants to steal me too!” she shouted into the air, but the black line did not appear again.
After many days, the hidden danger was finally resolved.
Nan Shan was in a good mood when a hand, full of scars, suddenly grasped her wrist.
“…”
“What’s the rush? I’ll give it to you right now,” Nan Shan said, tossing the porcelain bottle to the ground.
As Xi Yuan reached to pick it up, she turned and ran.
She should be able to break out soon, she just needed to find the exit and wait…
Nan Shan was frantically searching for their way back when, out of nowhere, she remembered they came from this direction, and there seemed to be an exit.
Although blocked by Xi Yuan, Ling Ye’s abilities should be able to…
Suddenly, a gritting voice reached her ears:
“Sun… Nan Shan!”
Had he caught up so quickly?
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