“Your injuries are pretty much healed now.” As usual, the girl stood guard at the side, chattering on.
The youth sank into the medicinal water and closed his eyes, ignoring her. He was probably still upset that she’d stripped him again.
After a while, he opened his eyes and suddenly asked, “Where do you pick these herbs? The area around here is all Medical Poison Valley territory. Aren’t you afraid they’ll come knocking?”
His tone was icy, betraying no hint of concern. Yet the girl leaned over the edge of the bucket and tilted her head. “Are you worried about me? I’m lucky—just keep soaking.”
She was just a mere mortal, speaking so casually, as if she couldn’t care less about this force that teetered between righteous and demonic.
Being ignorant of the cultivation world’s powers, she had no reason to fear them.
They would come eventually…
In the end, either he or they would have to kill the other for any peace.
Ci Yuan closed his eyes once more.
“Who’s worried about you?”
She gave the bucket a kick.
Hmph.
【Favorability +1】
While she was out, he handled her household chores as usual, waiting for her return.
Expressionlessly, he dusted the little courtyard, fed the chickens and ducks, watered the fields, and used spells to wash her clothes. Occasionally, he skipped the drying spell altogether, hanging them up to air-dry instead…
That way, if she returned from afar, she could spot the clothes hanging in the courtyard from a distance.
That was how mortals did things—how ordinary mortals lived.
Gazing up at the hanging garments, he suddenly remembered that he wasn’t a mortal.
He was a cultivator. A hunted cultivator.
She was the mortal, living an ordinary life here. She thought she’d picked up a great bargain, but in truth, she’d invited a massive disaster.
【Favorability -1】
The courtyard’s owner had returned from her outing. Basket on her back, she came running home.
She didn’t know if he had noticed the clothes drying outside, but her expression was somewhat anxious, as if she had run into some trouble.
Seeing her hurry back, the youth stayed silent. His gaze shifted to the area behind her—nothing unusual—before glancing at the knives in the corner to confirm the weapons’ position.
“What’s wrong?” His expression remained normal, though his purple eyes were dim, and his arm was subtly tense.
The mortal girl panted for breath. “I…”
In his silence, she let it all out in one go. “I picked a big mushroom! It’s a variety I’ve never seen before!”
“……”
The youth’s face changed repeatedly before finally settling into an inexplicably cold expression as he stared at the mushroom she held up.
“Just this?” He confirmed once more.
The mortal girl nodded vigorously.
The youth suddenly quirked the corner of his mouth before suppressing it. A faint, mocking smile appeared for no reason.
He tugged at his lips. “It’s poisonous.”
The mortal girl looked at him, then at the unfamiliar new find in her hand.
A moment later, she believed him and tossed the poisonous mushroom away.
【Favorability +1】
“Next time you see it, don’t bring poisonous things like this home,” he said. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll poison your chickens and ducks?”
The mortal girl was unconvinced. “I didn’t know it was poisonous.”
It was probably an issue with their division of labor. He shouldn’t have let a mere mortal girl go out like that. Any of those poisons would be fatal to ordinary people.
She had gotten lucky this time. If she accidentally touched something next time, she might not make it back.
With a cold expression, he fetched some water and a handkerchief. He carefully wiped her hands and still wasn’t reassured. “Don’t go touching things randomly with your hands. If you pick up some poison, who knows who it might kill.”
His tone wasn’t polite at all. The mortal girl glared at him indignantly. “It wouldn’t poison you anyway. You know so much, so you go pick the herbs.”
His wounds were mostly healed by now. Ci Yuan lowered his gaze as he wiped her fingertips and the crevices between her fingers, letting out a light hum. “Fine, if I go out, I go out.”
During their conversation, the mortal girl didn’t notice a small bug appearing out of nowhere. It crawled onto the discarded poisonous mushroom.
The little bug wasn’t much to look at either. It was wrinkled and purplish in color—clearly poisonous at a glance.
The unclaimed poison that the former valley master had implanted in the gu person had been refined by the gu person over these past days into a lifebound gu.
The ugly little bug had an equally ugly master.
The ugly little thing devoured the poisonous mushroom before heading out to hunt alongside its master.
It was no surprise that his methods were poisonous. The mortal girl was stumped by the things he brought back.
He stewed a mountain chicken into soup. The aroma was enticing, but the girl stared at the chicken soup in the pot, hesitating to touch her chopsticks. “It won’t poison me if I eat it, right?”
She finally voiced her belated question. The youth tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Do I look poisoned?”
After all, he—the poisonous one—had made the meal.
Seeing her hesitantly pick up a chopstickful, the youth coldly averted his gaze and turned his face away. “Suit yourself.”
Only mortals needed to eat things like this. He had no intention of eating, so he rose to leave.
But then came a muffled thud. The girl, who had just taken a bite, suddenly slumped over the table, seemingly poisoned.
The youth froze for an instant before immediately supporting her. His mind raced: Where did I mess up? What didn’t I handle properly? Where could he find the antidote…
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in that moment, only for him to meet a pair of eyes curved in a slight smile.
The girl’s complexion had improved nicely. She gazed at him innocently. “…Just kidding.”
“…Boring.”
【Favorability +1】
He released his hold and turned his back to her, unwilling to deal with this boring mortal any longer. But someone tugged at the hem of his clothes.
Looking back, sure enough, it was her.
Her dark eyes gazed up at him, sparkling brightly. “Is this a spirit chicken? Can you catch a live one next time? I want to raise it…”
She ate the chicken he caught and the food he cooked, even scared him like that, and now she wanted his help again.
Ci Yuan let out a cold hum. “Spirit chickens need to be fed spirit valley. They’re temperamental and hard to keep alive.”
The girl released his clothes. “Okay then.”
Why did she believe everything he said? What if he was lying to her?
The youth coldly tugged his clothes back.
【Favorability +1】
Next time, it was his turn to go out.
Catching live spirit chickens wasn’t easy, especially since his go-to method was poison. The toxicity was too strong—one touch and the spirit chicken dropped dead.
This time, he didn’t use poison. Relying on his agility, he caught a live one, tied it up, and brought it back.
By the time he neared the small courtyard, he realized visitors had arrived. They wore purple robes—undoubtedly people from Medical Poison Valley here to track down the escaped gu person. They appeared to be questioning her.
He should have dropped what he was holding and left right then.
This was the perfect opportunity to slip away.
Yet he held down the spirit chicken in his arms. He flipped in through the back window and eavesdropped on the conversation in the yard.
“…This is a Longevity Pill. A mortal’s lifespan is only about a hundred years, but eat this pill and you’ll gain two hundred more years. On top of this pill, there’s a thousand in gold and hundreds of spirit stones. Since you’re a girl, I’ll throw in a Beauty Retaining Pill too. It’ll keep you young forever, so why not…”
“Just be honest with us. Have you seen anything strange lately? Run into any odd people?”
“Odd people? What do you mean by that, Immortal Masters?” The girl’s voice rang out clear and bright.
“A man. Disfigured face, purple pupils. Have you seen him?”
The youth, hidden in the shadows, waited for her response.
If there was one thing untrustworthy, it was the word of Medical Poison Valley cultivators. They wouldn’t necessarily give her the promised reward even if she handed him over.
“The kind of person you’re describing… I think I’ve seen someone like that,” the girl said slowly, as if recalling. “And some strange things too…”
Suddenly, everything lately felt utterly pointless to him. The spirit chicken in his arms stirred. Ci Yuan abruptly cast a spell, poisoning it dead on the spot. He gripped a dagger coated in toxin instead.
His movements were silent, his aura fully concealed. The people outside didn’t notice him at all. They were focused on listening to the girl.
“There’s a stream to the west. Earlier, all the fish in the water died for no reason. I was standing downstream looking upstream and vaguely saw a figure in the water. Not sure if that’s the person you’re after…”
The commotion outside suddenly grew louder. She said a few more words, and they actually bought it. They turned and headed off to search the stream.
She hadn’t given away his location.
【Favorability +1】
She suddenly turned her head, as if sensing his return.
The youth didn’t show himself until a moment later. The dead spirit chicken was nowhere to be seen.
Ci Yuan pursed his lips. “Why?”
The girl looked puzzled. It took her half a day to realize what he was asking. “Do you want to go with them? Then I’ll call them back.”
She made as if to turn and shout for them, but he stopped her. “Stop. Don’t go.”
The girl slowly turned back around. “Mm, okay. I won’t.”
She changed course and walked over to his side. She circled around him but noticed nothing. She looked at him eagerly. “Didn’t you catch anything?”
“Catch what? Not afraid I’ll poison you now?” Ci Yuan said coldly.
He had stashed the dead spirit chicken somewhere random.
The girl blinked. “Are you the boring type?”
“Hmph.”
The girl counted on her fingers. “You owe me one spirit chicken.”
Faced with her accounting, the youth unusually fell silent. He stared at her raised finger for several breaths. “…I’ll catch one for you next time.”
【Favorability +8】
Next time, he brought back two live spirit chickens.
Unfortunately, just as he had said before, the spirit chickens didn’t survive.
After that…
There was no after that. His wounds fully healed, his Poison Dao reached great completion, and his lifebound gu formed a cocoon and began to transform. This affected him as well, forcing him to reshape his bones and meridians. Before the lifebound gu could break free from its cocoon, he lost the ability to move once more.
The mortal girl didn’t understand cultivation matters. She simply stayed by his side as always, gripping his ice-cold fingers. “Do you need me to do anything?”
His fingers gripped hers in return. The curled-up youth suppressed his pained breaths, squeezing two words out through clenched teeth.
“Wait for me.”
It was probably about as long as it took for a butterfly to emerge from its cocoon. She held his hand, waiting patiently just as he had asked.
【Favorability 70】
A faint cracking sound emanated from inside his body—likely the process of breaking down and recasting. The scars that had ruined his face gradually healed, revealing a beautiful countenance. The only pity was that it had only recovered about halfway.
The mortal girl was mildly surprised at first, then stared without blinking.
She kept watch by his bedside, waiting for him to awaken from the cocoon. The first thing he saw upon stirring was her.
His long lashes fluttered. He opened his eyes, his purple eyes shifting until they found her.
She had truly waited for him.
“You’re so pretty. Your face is better now.” She smiled faintly, her fingertip gently touching his cheek—like caressing the fragile wings of a butterfly.
Her unmoving pupils reflected a stunningly beautiful face.
In her eyes, he saw what he looked like now. His appearance had mostly been restored.
The girl didn’t release his hand. Her other hand gently cupped his cheek with unusual tenderness. Suddenly, she asked an abrupt question. “Will… you marry me? How about we become husband and wife?”
【Favorability 70】
After a long silence, Ci Yuan saw a hint of panic flicker across her face—as if she had just realized the absurdity of her impulsive request, or perhaps she feared his rejection.
A few more breaths passed. Then he heard his own voice.
“…Okay.” Ci Yuan agreed.
He accepted her hasty and abrupt marriage proposal.
In the shadows, the lifebound gu that had successfully transformed into a butterfly remained still.
The Purple Butterfly seemed to sense the ever-shifting emotions of its master. It abruptly stilled its wings.
【Favorability 70】