HPLFK 08

Chapter – 08

Oh No, Your Wife Plans to Save Herself

“I was originally going to spare your life, but it seems you ungrateful little wretch don’t know when to quit.”

The next second, He Zong summoned his lifebound sword and viciously stabbed it toward the back of A Shang’s leg.

Agonizing pain shot through her hind leg, and A Shang crashed heavily to the ground. The moment the sword was pulled out, a spray of blood splattered everywhere.

Clutching her leg, A Shang glared death at the two men approaching her.

“Run! Go on, run!” He Zong’s face was dark with fury. “Watch me *fuck* you to death today, you bitch!”

With that, He Zong lunged forward to grab her. The girl suddenly rolled aside, causing his grasp at her sleeve to miss. He watched in shock as she threw herself straight into the abyss behind her.

At some point during the chase, they had reached the edge of a cliff. Eerie winds howled all around, thick fog rose in layers, and the precipice before them plunged into unfathomable depths.

Lu Si watched the girl’s figure disappear and finally felt terror surge within him. “She… she jumped! She’s dead!”

Not only was she dead—Zhong Hua had also had his throat slit by her.

“Wh-what do we do?” Lu Si asked He Zong in sheer panic. “If the sect finds out what happened today, we’re both finished!”

Meanwhile, on the other side—

Yujie Peak.

Zuo Zihe, sitting across from the man, was just about to sneak a sip of wine when his hand hadn’t even touched the flagon yet. He saw Xie Hengyu, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly snap them open, startling him so much that he yanked his hand back.

“I wasn’t trying to steal your wine,” Zuo Zihe had barely finished speaking when he saw Xie Hengyu rise abruptly, his gaze fixed intently into the distance.

“What’s wrong?” Zuo Zihe asked.

Xie Hengyu said nothing. He turned and flew out of Yujie Peak without another word.

—

At the sect’s front peak, several disciples had just helped the severely injured He Zong and Lu Si through the gate when they saw Xie Hengyu suddenly appear at the entrance.

The disciples greeted him respectfully, “Senior Brother Xie.”

Hearing the words “Senior Brother Xie,” He Zong and Lu Si beside them both involuntarily trembled, fear rising in their hearts.

Xie Hengyu’s gaze fell upon He Zong and Lu Si, and his brow furrowed slightly. He could smell it—the scent of A Shang’s blood on them.

Feeling that piercing gaze upon them, He Zong couldn’t stop his body from shaking. But to avoid arousing suspicion, he suppressed his fear and spoke up:

“We were gathering herbs with Junior Sister A Shang, but then she suddenly went berserk with demonic transformation. Not only did she injure me and Lu Si, but she also killed Zhong—”

“Where?” Xie Hengyu cut him off.

Startled by the man’s voice, He Zong met his icy gaze and stammered, “At… at Wanling Valley.”

The next second, Xie Hengyu was gone.

Watching the man’s disappearing figure, He Zong had barely recovered from the fear instilled by that overwhelming aura when he heard Lu Si ask in terror, “Are… are we going to get caught?”

He Zong snapped, “Shut your mouth! If you don’t talk and I don’t talk, who would ever know?!”

What kind of place was Wanling Valley? Though it nourished countless spiritual herbs, it was also a place that devoured people without spitting out their bones. It was said that an ancient man-eating demon was imprisoned in the abyss there. Falling into such a bottomless chasm—A Shang was surely dead.

The surroundings were dark and damp.

From above, the intermittent drip of water falling to the ground echoed in her ears, each drop striking against her eardrums.

A Shang lay on the ground, unsure how long she had been unconscious, until a voice roused her:

“Sister… sister, wake up…”

She felt someone patting her face. The person’s hand was very cold.

“Sister… wake up.”

Under his repeated calls, she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing that came into view was a young boy with delicate, handsome features, around eleven or twelve years old.

Seeing A Shang awake, the boy’s eyes immediately lit up with joy. “Sister, you’re finally awake~”

Looking at the boy’s unfamiliar face and realizing she was cradled in his arms, A Shang instinctively tried to move and break free—but the moment she stirred, excruciating pain shot through her entire body.

Seeing this, the boy quickly held her down. “Sister, don’t move! You’re badly injured, and your leg has lost a lot of blood. I just finished bandaging it.”

Following the boy’s gaze, A Shang saw that her right leg had been wrapped in white cloth.

“Judging by your clothes, sister, you must be a cultivator, right? How did you get so badly hurt? And how did you end up here?”

Hearing the concern in the boy’s voice, A Shang looked at him. Sensing no demonic aura from him, she asked in return, “What about you? How did you end up here?”

“Me?” The boy paused, then scratched his hair in feigned distress. “I’m a villager from nearby. I came up the mountain with my parents to gather herbs, but I got lost. Before I knew it, I’d wandered here, and then I found you, sister.

Oh, my name is A Wu. What’s your name, sister?” The boy looked at her with an innocent, pure expression.

“A Shang,” she said, forcing out the two words. Bracing through the pain, she sat up and surveyed her surroundings.

It was dark and damp all around, with slippery, moss-covered stone walls. Having fallen from the cliff above, A Shang guessed she was now at the bottom of the ravine.

“I wonder where the exit is,” the boy muttered to himself as he stood up. “I’ve been walking around here for a long time, but I just can’t seem to find my way out. But it’s okay now that you’re here, sister—you’re a cultivator, so you must be able to find the exit, right?”

A Shang didn’t answer. Her gaze swept across the area. If she wasn’t mistaken, this place had been sealed with a formation.

But right now, she was severely injured, her leg was damaged—climbing out on her own would be difficult enough, let alone bringing someone else along.

“Sister, are you in a lot of pain? I have some herbs here. See if there’s anything you need.”

The boy named A Wu was quite generous. He dumped all the herbs from his basket in front of A Shang.

A Shang sifted through the herbs before her and shook her head.

“Ah? Nothing you need, sister?” A Wu looked disappointed.

A Shang studied his face for a moment. Meeting someone in a place like this, she couldn’t help but remain on guard.

He had no demonic aura. Either he was truly an ordinary person, or he was a demon more powerful than herself.

A Shang hoped he was the former.

She had already taken a sword wound to her leg, and on top of that, she had fallen off a cliff. Her condition was dire.

She couldn’t count on anyone to save her—she had to save herself.

After sitting still for a while longer, A Shang finally stood up, determined to find a way out.

Seeing her rise, the boy quickly followed.

Along the way, the boy was very attentive, clearly afraid she might abandon him. He initiated conversation, offered to support her, and constantly looked out for her.

They walked for about an hour, only to end up right back where they started.

A flicker of fear appeared on A Wu’s face. “Sister… it looks like we’re… back where we began.”