Chapter 221: Keeping Secrets

Meanwhile.

Ten Thousand Li Plain, Mysterious Feather City.

In the City Lord's Mansion, a tall black silhouette flashed past.

Inside the main house, two silhouettes appeared faintly on the bed, one tall and mighty, the other graceful and curvaceous.

A lascivious sound kept coming, carrying a hint of soul-stirring allure.

"My lord, you're so bad~"

"Is that bad? It's still far from enough! Hahaha..." the man's rough voice came.

Both were indulging in sexual intercourse.

But the next moment, the man seemed to realize something, his face suddenly changed, and just as he tried to pull away, a sword light flashed.

Blood spattered, and the man's head rolled off.

The woman stared wide-eyed in terror, and before she could cry out, a blood line appeared on her neck.

Both perished.

The black-clad youth stood at the bedside, sheathed his sword, and his phoenix eyes glanced at the two dead demon tribe members on the bed—the Eagle King and his concubine.

He bent down and took off the Eagle King's storage ring.

Since the Eagle King was dead, the spiritual power contract seal on his storage ring had vanished; he first cast a Dust-Clearing Art on the ring, then easily took out what was inside.

He took out a bottle of pills and swallowed one.

Soon, his appearance began to change.

At that moment, the Eagle Tribe guards stationed outside heard no sound from inside and exchanged puzzled glances.

Usually, when the Eagle King and his concubine made love, they would produce extremely extravagant sounds, but now it was silent.

The Eagle Tribe guards felt a rising sense of unease.

Faintly, they also smelled a bloody odor.

After several Eagle Tribe guards looked at each other, they had one of the Eagle Tribe guards knock on the door to inquire about the situation——

The door was opened.

The Eagle Tribe guards, upon seeing the visitor, hastily performed a respectful salute.

The man with a hooked eagle nose, thick brows and big eyes, and a beard was none other than the Eagle King; he was tall and mighty, with a murderous air between his brows and eyes, and a hint of displeasure on his face: "Bury Madame Wu."

Upon hearing this, the Eagle Tribe guards' faces changed in shock.

It turned out the sudden silence inside was because the Eagle King had killed Madame Wu.

No wonder……

There would be a bloody smell.

But isn't the Eagle King supposed to dote on his tribe lady the most? This time, stationed in human territory, the Eagle King only brought Madame Wu alone……

Madame Wu was fine; why did she provoke the Eagle King?

They were just lowly guards, naturally not daring to overstep, and could only respectfully reply: "Yes, my lord!"

The Eagle King seemed to recall something, stood with his hands behind his back, and then said to one of the guards: "Let Cang Ming wait in the main hall for me."

Cang Ming is an Eagle Tribe commander.

"Yes, my lord!" the guard replied, lowered his head, performed a salute, and then headed toward another courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion.

The Eagle King raised his head, gazing in an unfathomable direction toward the horizon.

He withdrew his gaze and headed toward the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

…

Night gradually fell.

Deep in the forest lay a concealed cave.

At the cave entrance, a huge, mighty tiger lay there. Yet at this moment, the beast looked somewhat disheveled: one eye was swollen shut, and its originally smooth, beautiful fur was covered with wounds big and small, bleeding profusely.

Its low, stifled whimper seemed to recount the injustice and humiliation it had suffered.

Every so often, the giant tiger would difficulty turn its head, gazing into the deep darkness of the cave interior, its eyes filled with wariness, fear, and resentment.

Damn humans, they actually occupied its cave!

They also forced it to stand guard outside the cave for her.

Meanwhile, inside the dark cave.

Faintly visible were two figures.

Both wore white, one female and one male.

The girl sat cross-legged, eyes closed, cultivating.

The other, with hands bound, leaned weakly against the wall, face ashen as paper, breathing faint.

The boy's gaze was fixed on her.

And Yuan Yao seemed unaware, focusing on restoring her internal spiritual power and healing her injuries.

Xie Yan lowered his lashes, his thin lips already chapped, and he unconsciously pressed them together.

With each breath, his broken ribs inside his chest sent waves of intense pain.

He had wanted to struggle to his feet, but his weak, powerless body could not support him standing.

He collapsed sideways onto the ground.

He knew his illness was about to flare; his whole body trembled uncontrollably, like falling into an ice cellar, bone-chilling cold.

He clenched his lips tightly, gradually turning into him biting his lips hard.

He began trying to break free from the Immortal-Binding Rope tying his hands.

The Immortal-Binding Rope was tied very tight.

There was fundamentally no gap to exploit.

"Yuan Yao… Yuan Yao…" He lifted his head, raising his reddened eyes and stared fixedly at Yuan Yao, calling her name over and over.

Yuan Yao opened her eyes, her gaze calm as she looked at him.

Only to see his hands rubbed raw by the Binding Immortal Rope, fresh blood soaking the rope, his long, fair finger bones bleeding profusely.

He lifted his head, voice strained with unbearable pain, calling out: "Yuan Yao, quickly untie me!"

Yuan Yao pretended not to hear, having no interest in speaking to him at all.

She closed her eyes, intending to immerse herself in cultivation once more, but he, enduring the pain radiating from his body, forcibly moved his body to her side; his immaculate white robes, like snow, were already stained with dirt, and the stray hairs at his temples hung in disarray.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he were about to fall into demonhood, and he shouted in a hoarse voice:

"Yuan Yao… Yuan Yao… untie me!"

Seeing her so ruthless, the superior line of his neck tensed slightly as he lifted his head and opened his mouth to bite into Yuan Yao's thigh.

Yuan Yao winced in pain, furrowing her brow.

She reached out and gripped the back of his neck, coldly threatening: "Loosen your mouth!"

His ink-black eyes, like a venomous snake, stared fixedly at her, yet his eye sockets glistened with tears; his voice, broken by the pain radiating from his body, uttered: "Yuan Yao… help me…"

Yuan Yao thought of knocking him out outright, but before she could act, she noticed his body alternating between feeling like ice and like a furnace.

She forcibly grabbed his hair, forcing him to lift his head.

The youth's exquisite visage twisted gradually from pain, his brows knit tightly, threads of blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, his chapped lips trembling uncontrollably.

"Xie Yan, if you are willing to call me 'Master' once, I will save you." Yuan Yao stared at him with a calm expression.

Xie Yan pressed his lips together, unwilling to speak.

The two remained locked in a silent standoff.

"Do you still want to kill me?"

He did not respond.

Yuan Yao could no longer tell whether she kept Xie Yan by her side to torment him or to protect him.

Tormenting him, yet fearing he would die.

Protecting him, yet feeling unwilling in her heart.

She lowered her head, gazing at his brows and eyes, her voice soft yet tinged with bewilderment and entanglement: "Can't I keep your secret for you? Why must you insist on killing me?"

Xie Yan could barely hear her voice anymore; he looked at her and understood her emotions.

She loosened her own hair, then reached out to undo the Binding Immortal Rope that bound him.

"Xie Yan, let's pretend we never knew each other."

"I will always keep your secret."

Her hand paused slightly, and she smiled at him.

"No, I, Yuan Yao, have never known Xie Yan."

The youth's pupils constricted slightly.