After the main character who took the blame retired, the female lead quit.

She walked in, her bright eyes sweeping around before landing on Long Wanyan's face. A chilling glint flashed in her silver eyes, causing Long Wanyan to tremble and quickly lower her head.

"I'm...sorry! I went to the wrong place."

After saying that, he turned around and rushed out without looking back.

Just then, a yellow-scaled merman carrying a basin of water passed by.

Bang! The two collided. The girl's sudden movement caused them to lose their balance, and the basin of water in their hands tilted, spilling all over her.

Fortunately, this was clean water meant for washing and cleaning the patient's body, not dirty water from when she changed clothes; otherwise, the girl would have been in serious trouble.

Even so, after being splashed with water, the girl's clothes were indeed soaked. The wet clothes clung to her skin, revealing her immature and undeveloped figure. Her feet were on the cold frozen ground, and when the wind blew, she immediately hugged herself and shivered.

Through the tent, Xiao Yu looked silently at the yellow-scaled merman who was at a loss because the water basin had been spilled on the girl.

I thought to myself, "This circle is so small, what a coincidence!"

Chapter 53, Yam and Goji Berry Soup Again

It's not entirely fate, after all, the circle of fire is only so big, you can't get in or out.

Only a few healers and cultivators come and go within the fire circle. If they are injured, they will mostly tend to seek out the renowned Xuan Ding Pharmacist.

The burly warrior they had encountered earlier had already been burned by the flames from the ring of fire, then subjected to Long Wanyan's iron fist, and finally struck by Xiao Yu's ice sword. Even with an iron body, after all this ordeal, his skin should have been torn open and his bones exposed.

The man was seriously injured. Although the injury did not damage his body, it was not something that could be cured by the body's own healing process alone. Therefore, he came to a doctor to treat his body.

The one who rushed into Xiao Yu and Long Wanyan's tent just now was his sister, whom he would protect even at the cost of his life.

At this moment, she was curled up in a ball, keeping warm by the fire where something was cooking.

Even though her clothes were soaked, she still wore them, whether because she hadn't brought a change of clothes or because Xiao Yu was in the tent.

She sat timidly, feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles. Every now and then, she would peek out with her bright eyes, like a turtle peeking out of its shell, to glance at Xiao Yu and Long Wanyan who were talking. She would look away as if she was afraid of displeasing Long Wanyan.

The atmosphere inside the tent immediately turned cold. Seeing the girl's wary and frightened appearance, Xiao Yu knew that it would be useless to go forward and talk to her. It might even make the atmosphere more tense and scare the fawn-like girl away.

After all, not long ago, he and Long Wanyan ganged up on her brother and beat him up. Long Wanyan, in particular, delivered brutal punches with murderous intent, and almost stabbed her with a gun as well.

Beating up a girl's beloved brother in front of her—Xiao Yu and his gang are truly villains. No wonder she was so terrified in this tent.

The tent where Xiao Yu and Long Wanyan are resting is the one belonging to the Xuan Ding Pharmacist, probably reserved for the patients' families to rest in, and the ownership is not in Xiao Yu's hands.

"Cough cough..."

Having figured this out, Xiao Yu cleared his throat, his cough sounding like a startled bird, which made the girl tremble again.

Um...okay.

Xiao Yu shifted his position, giving the frightened girl some personal space.

"Did you find those people from your Moon Shadow Sect on this trip?"

With an extra person in the tent, the previous actions could no longer continue. Long Wanyan had no choice but to abandon her desire for revenge—to kiss Xiao Yu in front of Li Yunshang—and instead inquired about other matters.

Because of the dragon essence she paid Xiao Yulong, her dragon veins were somewhat depleted, so Long Wanyan's body was naturally weak for a while. Also, in her current state, it was not advisable for her to walk around in this densely populated fire circle area.

"No, I haven't found out any information about them within the circle. However, I did hear some other things that concern the Qingyun Floating Sect, so I think it would be better to tell you."

Xiao Yu swallowed hard. "This time, only some disciples from the Qingyun Fu Sect were present during the encirclement of the fire circle. The senior sister of the Qingyun Fu Sect, who was acting as the leading elder, is nowhere to be found, as is your newly accepted disciple, Luo Yunqi..."

"..."

These words caused the already quiet tent to fall even more silent. Sensing the atmosphere, the girl lowered her head uneasily, her eyes fixed on the flickering flames.

"I see... It's alright. I know Fu Xian. She knows what she's doing. The fire ring is no problem for her. She must have been delayed by something. As her senior sister, she will protect her junior sister. They will be fine."

Long Wanyan showed no panic, but slowly explained that cultivators who have reached this level of cultivation have an almost precognitive spiritual sense. They will be alert when something happens, and what they subconsciously realize is generally not wrong.

She trusted Fu Xian just as Xiao Yu trusted Tie Yanran and the others.

Moreover, the golden talisman the child gave her on her birthday was still intact, so it seemed that nothing would go wrong for the time being.

Gulu gulu~

Just then, the soup in the pot started bubbling and boiling, indicating that it was almost ready.

A faint fragrance wafted up, and the girl sniffed it, thinking it smelled like yam stewed with goji berries.

Xiao Yu also smelled the aroma, and Long Wanyan, who was standing next to him, stood up and looked at the pot with a slight gleam in her eyes:

"It looks like it's cooked."

"What is this?" Xiao Yu knew perfectly well, but still subconsciously asked to confirm.

"Yam and wolfberry soup, you've had it before, it's to help you nourish your body. The pharmacist gave me some instructions and added a few more ingredients."

By the way, I also put your Crimson Blood Phoenix Fruit in. This fruit is about the same age as the previous Dragon Blood Mystic Fruit, so I estimate its medicinal power is stronger than the previous one.

"The body develops a tolerance to similar medications if used too often, so I didn't add Dragon Blood Mystic Fruit this time."

As she spoke, Long Wanyan picked up the spoon and stirred it. At this moment, her long, black hair was loose and tied into a bun, draped over her chest. The soft firelight shone on her fair face, giving it a warm hue and revealing her gentle temperament, making her look like a virtuous wife and loving mother.

Hmm... a virtuous wife and loving mother who only knows how to cook yam and goji berry soup.

Xiao Yu forced a stiff smile, finally understanding why Long Wanyan had taken his sword-nurturing gourd before he left. It seemed he would have to drink herbal medicine for a while longer.

The girl in front of the fire covered her nose, feeling a slight soreness in the tip of her nose, especially after hearing that terrifying woman say that the soup in front of her contained Crimson Blood Phoenix Fruit.

Those were the ones she and her older brother had painstakingly collected from the burning pile of mummified corpses.

They said back then that after leaving the secret realm, they would brew it into a medicinal soup to strengthen her body, but now...

Now this fruit is no longer hers, along with all the things she acquired along the way. A life for a life, money to avert disaster.

It's already quite an achievement to survive in this extremely dangerous secret realm. Her elder brother did such a thing for her sake, so what else is there for her to be sad about?

The secret realm is terrifying...

So depressing...

Is it still possible to go out?

"I hope I don't die here. I want to go home."

The girl hugged her knees, curling up even more in grievance. The hazy firelight before her eyes was scattered with shards of light, and she felt that the commotion around her had nothing to do with her.

She squinted, trying her best not to drop anything, as that would make her look even more embarrassed in front of the two of them.

However, the more I try to suppress this idea, the more it wants to burst forth.

Just as the girl felt utterly silent and overwhelmed with sorrow, a surge of hot air rushed over and poked her in the process.

"Hmm..." She looked up, and sure enough, her delicate little face was all wrinkled.

The woman who had beaten her brother until he was covered in blood stood in front of her, holding a bowl of steaming soup.

"Have some water to warm you up. You've been soaked in cold water. This place is different from outside the circle. Although there's a fire circle around us, the soil under our feet can block it. There's a reason for that. The cold wind is bone-chilling. Even cultivators can easily catch a cold after a while."

She paused, her gaze falling on the girl's soaked clothes, and then continued:

"After you drink this soup, you should change your clothes. I kicked that guy out, so you don't have to worry about him peeking around."

The gentle woman said this, her hair tied up, the pair of prominent coral dragon horns had long since disappeared, and all the ferocious features on her body were gone. She looked... not as fierce and menacing as she remembered.

……

Outside the tent, Xiao Yu carried the sword-nurturing gourd, listened to the sounds inside, a smile playing on his lips, then took a sip, savoring the sweet aftertaste—it was still the same taste.

He clicked his tongue and strained his eyes to look into the distance. In just a short time, he noticed that the ring of fire in the distance had slowly moved forward quite a bit.

Like a frog being slowly boiled in water, it shrinks smaller and smaller!

Unable to find any trace of Ziyun and the others, Xiao Yu felt uneasy, especially about the Three Flower Goddess, who was specially given to him by Bu Suantian. If something really happened to her and they left the secret realm, it would be difficult to explain to Little Rice Dumpling.

After a few sips of the herbal soup, my stomach started to feel hot; this stuff works much faster than alcohol.

I've seen everything inside the fire circle, but that's the only place I haven't been to.

A towering, frozen ancient tree...

It seems like that's the only place left.

Wow~

The curtain was lifted, and a strong, muscular man stepped out of a nearby tent.

Xiao Yu's thoughts were interrupted, and he turned to look. It was the girl's older brother, the martial artist who had framed him when the flames shrank.

This martial arts master stepped out of the tent, his injuries mostly healed. After all, he was a Xuan Ding Pharmacist, and his treatment methods were superb. As long as it wasn't a difficult or complicated illness, even minor external injuries, like a broken hand, could be easily reattached.

His bulging tiger eyes darted around, and when he saw it was Xiao Yu, his eyes lowered for a moment, then looked up again. Finally, he hesitated before walking over, thinking of greeting him:

"Hello?"

Chapter 54, thankfully it wasn't some golden tree.

"I'm not good."

Xiao Yu was lost in thought when he glanced at the reserved man and replied without thinking.

In an instant, the burly man's raised hand, which he had raised in greeting, froze in mid-air. The iron-willed man instantly softened like a soaked sponge and slumped to the ground.

"Ahem... Just kidding, I'm fine. I remember you're from the Xia Yun Sect, right? How's it going? Did you find your sect?!"

Why are you so easily amused...?

Looking at the man with a depressed expression, who seemed to still be bothered by what had just happened, Xiao Yu quickly said...

"Yes, I am Yue Chong, from the Xiayun Sect... The Xiayun Sect is completely gone except for me and my sister. It seems that the matter of apologizing will have to be postponed."

Xiao Yu's expression froze. Had he really brought up the very thing he shouldn't have? He could only say, "Please accept my condolences."

"It's alright, I expected it. After all, the ring of fire came suddenly, if I hadn't..." He paused here, looking at Xiao Yu.

"If it weren't for you, my sister and I would have died in the fire. What happened before..." The warrior named Yue Zhong's thick lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something about what had happened before.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu quickly reached out his hand to stop him: