Su Bai stared at the young woman with a solemn, profoundly grateful expression.

"Thank you for saving my life," Su Bai said earnestly.

The dark-haired woman froze. She sat on the edge of the fur bed, then pulled her frayed robes tight around her shoulders.

Her mind completely blanked. ’Why is he thanking me? I tried to harvest him!’

Then, she remembered the events of the previous night. The terrifying suction and her own Dantian being drained to the absolute bottom.

A sudden dawn of understanding hit her. ’He... he thinks I healed him?!’

She clamped her mouth shut, doing her absolute best not to let her jaw drop. If anything, she was incredibly glad he had completely misinterpreted the crime scene.

Su Bai clearly carried the noble, refined aura of an orthodox cultivator, while she was a Demonic Cultivator.

If they suddenly got into a fight right now, with her Dantian completely empty and her cultivation temporarily reduced to zero, she wouldn’t even know how she died.

Actually, she was incredibly thankful her Dantian was empty. Without any Demonic Qi actively flowing through her meridians, she just felt like a weak mortal. It perfectly masked her identity.

Plus... she really didn’t want to fight someone this handsome.

But Su Bai’s next question almost made her panic all over again.

"Why did you help me?" he asked quietly.

She fell completely silent. She couldn’t exactly say, ’Because I wanted to use you as a Human Cauldron to cure my frostbite, but you accidentally ate my cultivation.’

Su Bai watched her look away, noting the conflicted, nervous tension in her shoulders.

His corporate brain immediately interpreted her silence. ’She’s modest. She gave up everything for a stranger and doesn’t even want the credit. Such terrifying selflessness.’

"I am called Su Bai," his voice softened. "I don’t know how I can properly repay this kindness right now, but I swear I will in the future. May I know your name?"

The woman hesitated, but seeing his genuine gaze, she offered a small, polite smile. "Ning Shuang."

Ning Shuang sighed internally. If she wasn’t a demonic cultivator, she would have loved to get to know him better. But she knew that was a pipe dream. She had lived in this cruel world long enough to know how righteous cultivators viewed her kind.

She genuinely feared that the warm, grateful look in Su Bai’s eyes would instantly curdle into disgust and killing intent the moment he learned her true origin.

She wanted him to leave before her Dantian naturally started regenerating Demonic Qi.

For the next few minutes, Su Bai tried to gently converse with her. He checked on her health and asked if she had a safe place to stay. Ning Shuang gave brief, evasive answers. She kept her head down, desperately trying to keep the conversation short.

Su Bai who was highly attuned to social cues from years of navigating office politics immediately noticed her reluctance.

’She doesn’t want to be burdened by gratitude. Or perhaps she’s afraid I’ll attract trouble to her,’ Su Bai thought as he scratched the back of his head. He really didn’t know how to repay her right now, and she clearly wanted him to go.

Finally, Su Bai reached into his robes and pulled out an embroidered pouch.

He placed it gently on the stone floor near the bed.

"There are fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in there," Su Bai said.

Ning Shuang’s eyes widened. A sudden glow of sheer, desperate desire flashed in her dark irises. Fifty Mid-Grade stones were an absolute fortune to her. But reason quickly overtook greed.

"I... I can’t take that," Ning Shuang declined, shaking her head.

"Consider it severance—I mean, compensation. For your medical supplies and the energy you lost," Su Bai persuaded. He pushed the pouch slightly closer.

Ning Shuang looked at the pouch, then back at Su Bai. ’Well, if taking it makes him leave faster...’

"Thank you, Senior," she murmured.

Su Bai stood up, dusting off his robes. He gave her one last, respectful bow. "If fate allows us to meet again, Ning Shuang, I will compensate you properly. Take care of yourself."

With those parting words, Su Bai turned and walked out of the cavern, then stepped into the freezing morning snow.

When Ning Shuang finally saw him leave, she let out a massive sigh of relief. She slumped back onto the bed.

Yet, as the silence of the cave settled over her, an inexplicable, heavy sense of loss washed over her heart.

She shook her head violently, then slapped her cheeks with both hands to wake herself up. ’Don’t be stupid, Ning Shuang. He is Righteous. You are Demonic. It was a transaction of survival.’

She looked down at the pouch of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

If she brought these back to her Demonic Sect, the higher-ups would immediately confiscate them. It was much safer to use the assets right now.

Ning Shuang sat cross-legged on the bed, then pulled out two glowing Spirit Stones. She closed her eyes, formed a hand seal, and began circulating her Demonic manual to absorb the neutral, pure Qi within the stones.

The moment she drew the Qi into her body, her eyes snapped open in absolute shock.

Whoosh!

Because Su Bai’s black-hole extraction last night had violently ripped out all the toxic frostbite and cleared her internal bottlenecks, her meridians were now wide open and spotlessly clean.

The neutral Qi from the Spirit Stones didn’t face a single ounce of resistance. It flooded her system like a bursting dam. Her Dantian refilled at a terrifying, euphoric speed.

Within minutes, her cultivation surged back to her original level: Stage 3 Foundation Establishment.

But it didn’t stop there. Furthermore, because her foundation was now flawlessly pure, the massive influx of premium Spirit Stone energy slammed against her cultivation ceiling and shattered it effortlessly.

BOOM.

A wave of powerful Demonic Qi violently exploded from her body.

Stage 4 Foundation Establishment!

Ning Shuang gasped in delight. She closed her eyes to quickly stabilize her newly ascended realm. The dark, shadowy aura of Demonic Qi swirled around her body like a thick mist.

Just then, footsteps crunched on the snow at the cave entrance.

"Ah, Ning Shuang, I actually forgot to warn you about the Demonic Cultivato—"

Su Bai had returned. He had realized he forgot to warn his savior about the Demonic Cultivators in the area.

But as he stepped into the cave, the words died in his throat.

He felt the heavy, undeniable pressure radiating from the woman on the bed.

Demonic Qi.

Ning Shuang’s eyes snapped open. The dark mist was still swirling around her. She finally noticed the gaze locked onto her. When she saw Su Bai standing in the entrance, she froze instantly. The joy of her breakthrough evaporated into sheer, icy terror.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She was caught red-handed. The pure righteous cultivator had returned and caught her actively cultivating a demonic art.

She didn’t even try to raise her hands to defend herself. She knew how this story ended. She smiled bitterly. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stared at Su Bai. She was mentally preparing for the blazing golden sword of righteous execution.

But the strike never came.

Su Bai didn’t summon his flying sword. He didn’t radiate an ounce of killing intent. He didn’t even show a disgusted expression.

He just stood there, staring at the woman calmly.

Ning Shuang felt as if his dark, bottomless eyes were peering directly into her soul. She froze on the spot as her heart poundrf so loud she thought it would burst from her chest. ’Why isn’t he attacking?’

Meanwhile, Su Bai’s mind was racing.

’The world of cultivation is infinitely more complicated than the employee handbook says,’ Su Bai realized.

He had thought all demonic cultivators were inherently evil, like the gaunt man he had liquidated yesterday. But no.

He had just escaped a Righteous Bureau that was farming humans and selling them for profit. Inspector Zhao was a righteous cultivator, yet he was evil.

So why couldn’t a Demonic Cultivator be good?

Su Bai swept his Spiritual Sense over Ning Shuang. Yes, her Qi was shadowy and dark, aligned with the Demonic path. But unlike the gaunt demon or the Blood Pills in his storage ring, her Qi didn’t reek of innocent blood, rotting corpses, or harvested babies. It was incredibly clean, pure, and untainted by atrocities.

’She just uses a different operating system,’ Su Bai concluded. He completely abandoned his previous prejudices. ’She isn’t corrupted. She’s just a freelancer working in a highly stigmatized industry.’

Su Bai let out a long sigh. The world was truly twisted.

He had fought a Demonic Cultivator. A Righteous Cultivator had colluded with demons. A Golden Core Righteous Elder had nearly murdered him without asking a single question.

And a Demonic Cultivator had saved his life.

Instead of drawing a weapon, Su Bai slowly walked toward the trembling woman.

Ning Shuang’s heart raced. She squeezed her eyes shut.

But when she opened them, Su Bai was sitting down on the stone floor right in front of her. The warm, gentle smile had returned to his pale face.

She knew immediately. He meant absolutely no harm.

He didn’t judge her immediately. That was how a good corporate slave did their job.

He wanted to learn about this girl. He needed to understand the local Demonic operations, and she was the perfect insider consultant.

"Ning Shuang," Su Bai’s tone was completely devoid of accusation or disgust. "Can you tell me your story?"

At those incredibly warm, accepting words, the tough, independent demonic woman almost broke into tears right then and there.