Chapter 220

Yuan Yao carried him to the side, then set him on the ground, letting his back rest against the tree trunk.

She crouched, staring intently at the youth before her; his eyes were shut, long slightly upturned lashes casting a shadow on his lids, his thin lips pressed together turned pale, showing a hint of fragility and weakness.

"Xie Yan, can you hear me?" Yuan Yao looked at him with a complicated expression.

The youth gave no response.

When Yuan Yao reached out to feel his pulse, even though he was unconscious, he reflexively tried to pull back Yuan Yao's hand.

Fortunately Yuan Yao had anticipated; not only did she successfully feel his pulse, but she also tightly grasped the youth's five long, well‑jointed fingers with her other hand.

He instinctively struggled.

Yuan Yao felt him trying to break free and tightened her grip on his five fingers.

She saw his picture‑perfect brows and eyes frown slightly, and her heart instantly felt a little relieved.

Yuan Yao found his pulse erratic, alternating weak and strong, very strange.

Yuan Yao intended to probe his body with spiritual sense, but an invisible force barrier blocked her.

She quietly stared at him.

Why does he have two identities? What secret does he hide within himself?

The youth's lips grew increasingly pale, brows and eyes tightly furrowed, his whole being exuded weakness, and a few fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples.

Yuan Yao is not a medical cultivator nor has she studied alchemy, so she truly does not understand what causes Xie Yan's condition at this moment.

Seeing his distress, she hesitated briefly, then retrieved a fifth‑grade Healing Wound Pill from storage, pinched his cheek, and forced the pill into his mouth.

Afterward, she reached into storage again and took out something.

…

The next morning.

When Xie Yan slowly opened his eyes, he vaguely saw a familiar silhouette.

"You're awake?" Yuan Yao keenly sensed his gaze, quickly moved in front of him, crouched, and said with a bright smile.

Xie Yan met her cunning eyes, expressionless, shifted his gaze downward, and indeed found his hands bound by a Bind.

Yuan Yao smiled and said, "From today onward, your surname is Yuan, given name is Zixu. I am your…"

She reached out and touched Xie Yan's crown.

"Master."

When those two words were spoken, Xie Yan's complexion instantly turned cold, his gaze sharpened as he stared at her, thin lips slightly parting: "Yuan Yao, loosen the Bind."

"No." Yuan Yao replied with a forced smile.

Xie Yan tried to break free of the Bind, but found that with his current weak body, he could not escape at all.

Xie Yan gave her a sidelong glance, then closed his eyes to rest, ignoring her.

"Now that I'm the only one in this world who knows your secret, would you kill me to silence yourself?" Yuan Yao looked at his overly handsome face, and couldn't help picturing him wearing a ghost mask.

Xie Yan gave no response.

Somehow, Yuan Yao felt that after removing the mask, Xie Yan seemed even more cold and distant.

Yuan Yao stood, grabbed the other end of the Bind that bound Xie Yan's hands, gave it a tug, and said, "Get up, come with me out of here."

Finally, she added, "This place is not safe."

Last night, some demon‑clan soldiers actually searched this spot; had she not used a formation barrier to evade them, she and Xie Yan would surely have been discovered.

Xie Yan lifted his eyelids, his gaze indifferent, and slowly rose to his feet.

Yuan Yao, seeing his obedience, said nothing further.

The white‑clad girl led ahead, pulling one end of the Bind in her hand, the other end attached to the youth's hands.

Xie Yan's hands were tightly bound, even his ten fingers wrapped as if in gauze, as if fearing he might break the Bind.

Xie Yan followed behind her, his ink‑black eyes fixed on Yuan Yao's nape, then involuntarily shifted to her delicate, pale neck.

Yuan Yao's steps faltered; she quickly turned to look at Xie Yan.

She caught a trace of murderous intent flickering in his eyes.

"Do you want to kill me?" Yuan Yao felt an indescribable feeling inside, stepped toward Xie Yan, gazing into his eyes, "Just because I know your identity?"

Xie Yan frowned, averted his gaze, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

"You want to kill me, right?"

Yuan Yao gritted her teeth; she shouldn't have been soft toward him.

The losses she had suffered at Xie Yan's hands now resurfaced in her mind.

She gathered spiritual energy in her hand and, without hesitation, blasted it toward him!

Xie Yan was instantly thrust a great distance backward, his back slamming heavily against the tree trunk, and he let out a muffled groan.

Yuan Yao struck again with a palm.

Xie Yan and the broken tree were flung onto the ground; the youth's complexion grew even paler, and threads of blood spread from his mouth corner.

Yuan Yao darted forward, stood before him, and coldly looked down at Xie Yan.

She raised her foot without hesitation and kicked his chest hard.

In an instant—

The sound of ribs cracking rang out.

He winced in pain, a muffled groan, and more bright red spread from his mouth corner.

"Why aren't you speaking?" Yuan Yao crouched, reached out, clamped his neck, and squeezed hard.

Yuan Yao pressed so hard it was almost crushing his throat bone; more blood surged from his mouth, like a flower about to wither.

He kept his eyes closed, preventing Yuan Yao from seeing his emotions.

Just as Xie Yan was about to suffocate from it, Yuan Yao released her grip.

His chest finally rose and fell slightly.

The boy finally opened his eyes, those pitch‑black, chilling pupils carrying a dim emotion, his voice tinged with a hint of hoarseness.

"Why… not kill me?"

His lips were stained red with blood, the corners of his eyes slightly flushed from the recent suffocation.

Yuan Yao heard that and instantly leapt onto him, pounding his cheek with a fist.

One fist after another.

He suddenly laughed.

"If you don't kill me, you'll regret it."

Because I—

will definitely kill you!

Yuan Yao's face was as cold as frost; she struck Xie Yan's recently broken rib with a fist.

Xie Yan broke out in cold sweat, the pain nearly causing him to faint several times.

"Regret?" Yuan Yao also laughed. "I won't. If you have the skill, kill me; if not, you'll spend your whole life being trampled and beaten by me."

She leaned down, her lips pressed to his ear, and said contemptuously, "Xie Yan, you are a dog, and I am your master."

Xie Yan's throat rasped, his eyes clouded and unreadable; as he turned his head to say something to her, he was knocked out by Yuan Yao's fist.

Before losing consciousness, in a blur he saw the girl already standing, her hairband fallen, her dark hair scattering, fluttering lightly in the wind.

She looked at him with eyes that held no warmth.

Xie Yan felt a slight pressure in his chest.

Everything went dark.

Yuan Yao watched the unconscious boy on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, blood staining his lips and chin.

He looked utterly disheveled, nearly on the brink of death.

She expressionlessly caught the colorful hairband and re‑Bind the high ponytail.

She bent down, lifted the back of Xie Yan's coat collar, and headed toward some direction in the forest.