Chapter 7

"Zhou Shu, you're awake!"

Yang Hei entered the room, his face full of surprise as he walked to the bedside.

Zhou Shu had already opened his eyes, a smile lingering at the corners of his mouth. "I've been awake the whole time, just unable to move or speak. Yang Hei, you've worked hard for so long."

"Not at all, not at all, hahaha!"

Yang Hei jumped up excitedly, placing his hands on Zhou Shu's shoulders and shaking them a few times. "Now it's better. I don't have to deal with all the trouble alone. I've been racking my brain for days, almost driving myself crazy."

After a month of recuperation and daily doses of medicinal pills, Zhou Shu gradually recovered.

Zhou Shu looked at him calmly. "Old Liu, right?"

About ten days ago, the two of them had fled to Qinghe Village, which was over seven hundred miles away from Wuwang Sect.

As the old hunter had said, the villagers of Qinghe Village held Wuwang Sect in high regard. As soon as they entered the village, they were taken in by a wealthy family and treated well.

However, after just a couple of days, Old Liu, the wealthy man, somehow heard the news that Wuwang Sect had been destroyed by Zhenglei Sect. He immediately changed his attitude, driving them to the woodshed and demanding that Yang Hei hand over Wuwang Sect's immortal techniques. Otherwise, he would inform Zhenglei Sect of their whereabouts.

Yang Hei, with his simple and straightforward nature, would never harm ordinary people and didn't know how to be flexible. He managed to stall for a few days, but with only three days left until the deadline set by Old Liu, he was getting increasingly anxious. Now that Zhou Shu was awake, it felt like he had a mainstay, and he was incredibly excited.

"Right, Zhou Shu, what should we do?"

Yang Hei scratched his head helplessly. "We can't give the cultivation techniques to someone with ill intentions, but we can't leave either, with so many people blocking the door."

Zhou Shu said calmly, "Can't you use a spell?"

Yang Hei looked surprised. "Use a spell? They are just ordinary people, they can't withstand a spell. They might die just from a touch. We cultivators can't violate the sect rules by harming ordinary people, and I promised the villagers before entering the sect that I wouldn't harm them. So, no, absolutely not."

Zhou Shu felt a bit helpless. He understood Yang Hei's character. Yang Hei would never back down in the face of even the most powerful cultivators, but when it came to defenseless ordinary people, he was stubborn and had no way to deal with them.

He had to take matters into his own hands.

He said slowly, "Give me the Spring Spirit Pills, ten of them."

"Ten? Are you crazy? The sect leader said you can only take one a day. Taking too many will make your body unable to handle it, and you'll only get worse."

Spring Spirit Pills were a first-grade medicinal pill for treating injuries. Yang Hei had been giving Zhou Shu one every day. Now that Zhou Shu wanted ten at once, Yang Hei was taken aback.

"It's fine, just give them to me," Zhou Shu said calmly. "We don't have much time left."

Yang Hei stared at Zhou Shu, hesitating for a while.

Zhou Shu smiled. "Yang Hei, have I ever been wrong?"

"Well, no, you've always been right," Yang Hei thought carefully and then placed the pills in Zhou Shu's mouth one by one. "Be very careful."

As the pills entered his stomach, the massive medicinal power began to spread. It felt like ten burning coals had been stuffed into Zhou Shu's belly, making his body extremely hot.

But he wasn't panicked. Instead, he carefully guided the medicinal power, gradually dispersing it into the damaged parts of his body.

He had calculated before that as long as he controlled it properly, ten Spring Spirit Pills, though harmful to his body, were barely manageable.

An hour passed. Watching Zhou Shu's face turn from white to red, then from red to purple, and finally to a blackened state, Yang Hei's heart was in his throat, unable to drop.

Only when Zhou Shu's face returned to a normal pale red did Yang Hei finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Zhou Shu shook his head.

Yang Hei's face lit up with a smile. "You can even shake your head, recovering so quickly! After taking ten Spring Spirit Pills, can you get up soon?"

Zhou Shu smiled. "We can try thirteen tomorrow. If it works, I can stand up."

Yang Hei shook his head, pondering. "If I had known you could eat so much, maybe feeding you more earlier would have woken you up sooner. I'm so stupid."

Zhou Shu shook his head quickly. "That definitely wouldn't have worked. I could only control the medicinal power today. If I had been given more earlier, I would have been finished."

"Oh, I see."

Yang Hei nodded thoughtfully, though he still didn't fully understand.

Bang, bang!

The sound of someone pounding on the door of the woodshed came from outside.

Before Yang Hei could approach to open it, the door panel fell off, sending dust flying.

Several well-dressed servants rushed in, and at the door stood a fat old man, his body like a ball, frowning and pursing his lips at the narrow woodshed door, clearly unwilling to enter.

This was undoubtedly Old Liu.

Old Liu puffed out his belly. "Boy, tomorrow is the deadline! The fast horse is ready. If you don't give me the immortal techniques by tomorrow, I'll send people to Zhenglei Sect! I'll make sure you two have no place to bury your bodies!"

Though his voice was loud, his breath was weak, making him sound somewhat ridiculous.

Yang Hei asked, puzzled, "Tomorrow? But there are still three days left, right?"

"The master says tomorrow, so it's tomorrow! What are you babbling about!" The servants clenched their fists and stepped forward. "Keep talking, and we'll cripple you!"

Yang Hei stood like a spear, coldly watching them, his hands slightly raised, but he didn't cast any spells.

The servants, clearly just putting on a show, didn't dare to really attack a cultivator. They shouted a few times and then retreated.

Lying down, Zhou Shu closed his eyes slightly. "Come back at this time tomorrow, and I'll give you an answer."

Old Liu, who hadn't expected the bedridden Zhou Shu to speak, was taken aback.

Then, he snorted heavily. "At least one of you is reasonable. If you don't give it to me by tomorrow, you're both dead! Go!"

The group left, grumbling.

As their footsteps faded away, Zhou Shu looked at Yang Hei. "Yang Hei, are you still not planning to use spells?"

Yang Hei's expression was complex. He thought for a while. "If they attack us, I will use them."

Zhou Shu smiled lightly. "What if they don't attack us but just surround us with dozens of people? We're only at the first level of the Qi Condensation stage, can't fly, and can't jump high. Won't we just be waiting for Zhenglei Sect to capture us?"

Yang Hei's body stiffened. "Ah? If that happens, I'll..."

The woodshed fell silent, with no movement for a long time.

Zhou Shu sighed. "Rest now. Remember to give me fifteen Spring Spirit Pills tomorrow."

The next day, Old Liu returned with his servants to the woodshed.

"Come out quickly! The ink and paper are ready, write down the immortal techniques for the master!"

Dozens of servants carried a table and shouted at the door.

Old Liu wore a shameless smile, rubbing his hands, dreaming of becoming a cultivator. "Brat, where's the answer you promised? Hurry up, hurry up!"

Bang!

An invisible gale swept out from the woodshed!

Old Liu, who was at the forefront, was immediately blown over, rolling on the ground like a ball for several dozen feet before crashing into the mud wall.

Not only was he bleeding and bruised, but a foul-smelling liquid flowed down his pants.

"You... you, you actually hit me?"

Old Liu, who had wet himself, turned pale and trembled as he looked at the woodshed.

Zhou Shu, dressed in blue, stood at the door, saying calmly, "Who else should I hit? You've been protected by Wuwang Sect, and as soon as they were destroyed, you turned against them. It's despicable and laughable."

His gaze swept around, cold and sharp like a blade. The surrounding servants were terrified and fell to the ground, begging for mercy.

A few of the bolder ones pointed at Zhou Shu and shouted, "Cultivators can't harm ordinary people. You're violating the sect rules. Aren't you afraid of being hunted down?"

"I have violated them, so what?"

Zhou Shu sneered. "Who will you complain to? Wuwang Sect? But does Wuwang Sect still exist? Zhenglei Sect? They'll hunt me down anyway, so what's the difference? Besides, you won't leave here today."

"You, what do you plan to do?" Old Liu sensed something was wrong and struggled to get up.

Zhou Shu's eyes turned cold, and he waved his sleeve, lifting Old Liu's body and then dropping him heavily to the ground.

It was clear he wouldn't survive.

The surrounding servants were horrified, never expecting Zhou Shu to kill directly. Even the bolder ones quickly knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing. "Spare us, Master, spare us!"

Yang Hei walked out of the woodshed, his face showing some reluctance. "Zhou Shu, should we let them go?"

Zhou Shu said calmly, "They aren't the main culprits, and I don't plan to kill them. But I have to keep my word. They can only crawl out."

A strong wind blew, lifting the servants into the air several yards and then dropping them suddenly.

His spiritual power was precise, and each servant landed on their feet, breaking them instantly, leaving them to crawl out.

"Let's go, the people from Zhenglei Sect are coming soon."

Zhou Shu took out a divine travel talisman and handed it to Yang Hei. "Carry me, I have no spiritual power left."

Now, his spiritual power was less than one-tenth of what it used to be. Even with perfect control, he couldn't afford to use it many times.

Yang Hei was still a bit dazed. "Ah, Zhenglei Sect is coming soon?"

Zhou Shu nodded. "Last night, Old Liu sent a fast horse to notify Zhenglei Sect."

"Ah! How could he break his word!"

Yang Hei's eyes flashed with anger, then he fell silent.

Zhou Shu smiled. "You keep your word, but others might not. You don't want to harm others, but others want to harm you. Let's go."

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