Fang Yuan gritted his teeth and forced himself back onto his feet.

His entire body ached violently from the backlash of Spatial Cut, his meridians feeling as though they had been scraped apart from the inside.

Yet the first thing he noticed was the little girl clinging tightly to him, Zhu Huan.

Even after the explosion, her arms remained wrapped around his body like glue, refusing to let go.

Fang Yuan blinked slightly before letting out a quiet breath.

"Huh..."

A faintly amused look crossed his exhausted face.

"So I was protected by this little kid..."

Despite his words, his movements became noticeably gentler.

Carefully, he adjusted her trembling body and carried her properly into his arms.

The destruction around them was horrifying. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Three Hollow Spirit cultivators self-destructing simultaneously was no small matter.

The mountain had practically collapsed.

Spiritual energy was still raging wildly through the surroundings, and Fang Yuan could already sense countless presences rapidly approaching from every direction.

Hundreds, if not thousands rushing over to investigate.

Fang Yuan gave a tired sigh as he swallowed a Hollow Spirit Pill directly.

The violent medicinal energy exploded inside his body instantly, forcibly recovering portions of his depleted qi.

His face paled slightly from the strain, but he still endured it and moved toward the city.

The moment they entered, Fang Yuan immediately found an inn.

After tossing over spirit stones without even negotiating the price, he secured a room and headed upstairs without delay.

The wooden door shut quietly behind him.

Only then did Fang Yuan finally relax slightly.

"Master..." he muttered softly to himself while walking toward the bed, "I’m sure you’ll handle yourself well."

Carefully, he laid Zhu Huan down onto the bed.

Her face was frighteningly pale now, almost devoid of color.

"System," Fang Yuan spoke inwardly, "Can you check her condition?"

The system replied immediately.

[1000 System Points required for diagnosis.]

Fang Yuan’s eyelid twitched.

"1000?! What kind of robbery is—"

He stopped midway before sighing heavily.

"...Forget it. Do it."

His gaze fell toward Zhu Huan.

"If not for her... I’d truly be dead."

[-1000 System Points]

[Gathering information on Zhu Huan...]

[Information]

Name: Zhu Huan

Realm: High Nascent Soul

Talent: Heavenly Root

Physique: Vermilion Fire Primordial Physique (Awakened)

[She forcefully awakened her physique and is currently in an extremely weakened state.]

[Her body requires an enormous amount of qi to recover.]

[Recommended Remedy: Chewed Hollow Spirit Pill]

"Junior... brother?"

A weak voice suddenly called out.

Fang Yuan turned toward the bed.

Zhu Huan had barely managed to open her eyes.

Seeing that, Fang Yuan raised a brow slightly.

"Huh..." he said calmly. "You’re still alive."

Zhu Huan stared at him weakly.

"How evil..."

Her voice sounded so faint it was almost swallowed by the silence.

Fang Yuan chuckled softly.

"Looks like the heaven didn’t want us dead yet, we were fortunate," he said while sitting beside the bed. "But did you ever consider what would’ve happened if your physique hadn’t awakened?"

Zhu Huan blinked weakly.

"...Awakened?"

She looked genuinely confused.

"What do you—"

Cough! Cough!

Before she could finish, she began coughing violently, her fragile body trembling from the strain.

Fang Yuan stared at her for a moment.

Wait...

Was she actually being suicidal back then?

The thought left him speechless for a second.

But he remained silent.

Since the system specifically mentioned a chewed Hollow Spirit Pill, he took out one pill and tossed it into his mouth.

Crunch.

The medicinal pill shattered between his teeth as rich spiritual qi immediately spread through his mouth.

Across from him, Zhu Huan stared blankly at him.

She was far too exhausted to even ask what he was doing anymore before she suddenly noticed that Fang Yuan had stopped chewing.

And then he began starting to walk towards her.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Wait...

Seeing him approach closer and closer, her exhausted mind instantly began running wild.

Don’t tell me...

He’s going to feed me directly?

Mouth to mouth?!

A faint blush immediately spread across her pale face.

Even her heartbeat quickened slightly despite her weakened condition.

Fang Yuan stopped right in front of the bed and leaned down slightly.

Zhu Huan’s breathing unconsciously halted.

Then she felt his fingers gently brush against her lips.

And slowly pulling her lower lip down slightly.

Her mind exploded instantly.

Is this how I lose my first kiss?!

For that one particular second, her brain worked like a machine, churning out countless dramatic thoughts through her head.

And then...

"Phtui."

Something warm and horribly unpleasant landed directly inside her mouth.

Zhu Huan froze as she realised what had happened, her pupils slowly trembled upward.

Staring at the guy who had just spit into her mouth.

"...Swallow it," Fang Yuan said calmly and before she could complain, he pinched her cheeks together and forced her mouth shut.

Zhu Huan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

YOU MONSTER!

HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO A FRAGILE MAIDEN?!

She wanted to scream. She truly did.

But under Fang Yuan’s completely indifferent gaze, all she could do in the end was swallow the medicinal paste with tears nearly forming in the corners of her eyes.

Gulp.

The instant the medicine entered her stomach, an enormous wave of pure qi spread through her body.

Warmth rapidly flowed through her damaged meridians as her previously exhausted physique began greedily absorbing the energy.

Meanwhile, Fang Yuan calmly wiped his hand with a cloth nearby.

"Good," he said casually. "I won’t have to chew the next one for you now."

Zhu Huan stared at him blankly, then slowly pulled the blanket over half her face in silent grievance.

After making sure Zhu Huan had finally stabilized, Fang Yuan slowly walked toward the corner of the room and sat down quietly.

The room gradually fell silent.

Only the faint flicker of candlelight and the soft sound of breathing remained.

Fang Yuan closed his eyes and slowly began circulating the strands of faith energy within his body.

Golden streams of power moved gently through his damaged meridians, soothing the violent pain left behind by Spatial Cut.

Every circulation felt like cooling water washing over burning cracks.

His meridians trembled faintly each time faith qi passed through them.

Fang Yuan exhaled slowly.

"Huff..."

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

"This is weird..."

For some reason, after surviving the battle and standing at death’s door, the thought of Lin Zhaoyue suddenly became unbearably strong.

Fang Yuan let out a quiet chuckle to himself.

"Why am I suddenly missing her this much..."