Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

Yang Guo, dressed in a green robe, stood at the door, his gaze fixed on Li Mochou, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Brother Yang!" Lu Wushuang cried out as if she had seen a savior, tears welling up in her eyes again. "Master, she... she seems to be..."

"I know."

Yang Guo's voice was calm.

He had actually realized it long ago.

The stone chamber where he lived was not far from Li Mochou's.

The design of the ancient tomb is also quite unique.

The sound will be amplified inside.

This means that even the slightest sound can travel throughout the ancient tomb.

He naturally heard everything Li Mochou and Lu Wushuang said.

Then they sensed a chaotic and violent aura churning within them.

He knew that something must have happened to Li Mochou.

I just didn't expect it to get this serious.

Yang Guo strode to the stone bed and, with lightning speed, pointed a finger at Li Mochou's brow!

A faint golden light shimmered at the fingertips.

A stream of pure and gentle true energy flowed into Li Mochou's meridians, which were on the verge of collapse, through the ancestral aperture between her eyebrows, like a spring breeze and gentle rain.

Li Mochou trembled violently and suddenly opened her eyes!

Yang Guo's internal energy was too strong and too ingenious.

It did not forcibly suppress the rampant poisonous resentment within her body.

Instead, it follows the natural flow of the meridians, peeling away and refining those rampant toxins bit by bit.

Even more remarkably, this true energy contained the essence of the "Nine Yin Manual" in terms of "tendon and bone strengthening" and "harmonizing yin and yang." Wherever it passed, it also cleared and nourished the hidden injuries and blockages that had accumulated in her meridians over the years.

"relax."

Yang Guo's voice rang in her ears, calm and resolute.

"Your 'Five Poisons Secret Technique' has already gone astray, and you have committed too many killings in recent years, so your resentment and venom have seeped into your bones. If you continue to practice like this, you will suffer a backlash within three years, and your meridians will be completely severed, leading to your death."

Li Mochou's pupils contracted.

She actually had a vague premonition about what he was saying.

Each time I practiced my internal energy to a deep level, I would feel a dull pain in my chest, and the flow of internal energy would sometimes be sluggish.

She simply didn't want to think about it deeply, nor did she dare to.

"You..." she began with difficulty, her voice hoarse, "Why did you save me?"

Yang Guo did not answer immediately.

He continued to guide his true energy, forcing the last surge of rampaging poisonous resentment towards her right-hand Lesser Yin Heart Meridian, and then slowly refined it using the "Transforming Evil into Spirit" method from the "Yin Yang Harmony Chapter".

It took the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The bluish-black color around Li Mochou gradually faded, her lips regained their color, and her confused eyes slowly cleared.

Yang Guo retracted his finger.

Such meticulous guidance and resolution takes a lot of mental and physical effort.

"Such a beautiful girl, she hasn't even experienced the beauty of the world yet. It would be such a pity if she died like this, wouldn't it?" He finally spoke, looking directly at Li Mochou.

Upon hearing Yang Guo's address, Li Mochou's face revealed a rare hint of girlishness.

She hadn't heard the term "girl" used for many years.

"You smooth talker, Junior Sister, you were fooled by your sweet words, weren't you? But it was indeed interesting to listen to. I liked it. Thank you for saving me!" Li Mochou replied with a smile.

"Do you hate Lu Zhanyuan?" Yang Guo suddenly changed the subject.

Li Mochou froze.

The smile gradually faded away.

"You hate him for betraying you, you hate him for ruining your life. So you killed his whole family, killed his newlywed wife, and didn't even spare the baby in his swaddling clothes."

Yang Guo's voice remained calm, yet every word was like a knife.

"But what happens after you've killed them all? Are you free? Are you happy?"

Li Mochou bit her lip hard, and blood seeped out.

"No," Yang Guo answered for her. "You've simply transformed yourself from a pitiful betrayed person into a bloodthirsty monster. The martial world fears you, your sect abandons you, and even you despise yourself."

"Shut up..." Li Mochou squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.

"You took Wushuang as your disciple not out of pity, but to force the Lu family bloodline to acknowledge their enemy as their master, to make her live a life of suffering—isn't that part of your revenge?"

"I told you to shut up!" Li Mochou hissed, bloodshot eyes returning.

Yang Guo remained unmoved.

He stood up and looked down at her.

"But have you ever thought about who has suffered the most over the past ten years or so?"

He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

It's yourself.

"Just now, you saw Miss Long and me practicing the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, and you were insanely jealous. But were you really jealous of that technique?"

"No. What you're jealous of is that some people can escape the past, some can start over, and some can live openly and honestly, unlike you, who are forever trapped in that betrayal and become the very thing you hate most."

That's a harsh statement, but also incredibly accurate.

It strikes directly at the most vulnerable and untouchable corner of Li Mochou's heart.

She stared blankly at Yang Guo, at this boy who was only seventeen or eighteen years old.

How could he... how could he see so clearly?

She thought she had concealed it well, believing that her resentment and obsession had long been ingrained in her bones and blood, becoming a part of her, Li Mochou.

But in front of this man, she felt as if all her pretense had been stripped away, leaving her naked and exposed to the moonlight.

Ugly, pitiful, and tragic.

"I didn't..." she murmured, her voice broken, "I wasn't trapped... I was just... just unwilling to accept it..."

"What are you resentful of?" Yang Guo countered. "Are you resentful that Lu Zhanyuan betrayed you? Resentful that your sect expelled you? Or are you resentful of...?"

He suddenly leaned down to look her in the eye.

"Are you unwilling to waste your whole life on a man who isn't worth it?"

boom!!

Li Mochou's mind went blank.

That last sentence was like a heavy hammer, shattering the wall she had built around her heart over the past decade.

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute, to scream, to curse this all-seeing boy with the most vicious words.

But it felt like there was cotton stuck in my throat, and I couldn't utter a single word.

Uncontrollable tears welled up in my eyes without warning and slid down my cheeks.

One drop, two drops.

The water fell onto the apricot-yellow Taoist robe, spreading out as dark stains.

Li Mochou cried.

This was the first time in many years that she had shed tears in front of others since Lu Zhanyuan had wronged her.

She herself had forgotten that she could cry.

Lu Wushuang huddled in the corner of the bed, staring wide-eyed at the scene, forgetting even to breathe.

She had never seen her master cry.

That Red Serpent Fairy who always had a cold face, was ruthless, and seemed to have no emotions... actually cried?

Yang Guo watched quietly.

He neither offered comfort nor left.

Just wait.

After Li Mochou had cried enough and was exhausted, her sobs gradually turned into suppressed sobs.

He then sat down again and handed her a clean, plain handkerchief.

Li Mochou did not answer.

She simply lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, letting her tears soak her clothes.

At this moment, she was not the fearsome Crimson Fairy.

She was just a woman tormented by the past, her body covered in wounds.

"I have already cleared most of the hidden injuries in your meridians today."

Yang Guo spoke, his voice gentler than before, "But you must overcome your inner demons yourself. If you are willing, I can teach you the 'Cleansing the Mind and Calming the Spirit' method from the Nine Yin Manual to help you resolve the remaining poison and resentment in your body."

Li Mochou suddenly looked up.

Through her teary eyes, she looked at Yang Guo with an extremely complex expression.

"Why...why?" her voice was hoarse. "Am I...worth it?"

Yang Guo smiled.

Whether it's worth it or not isn't up to me to decide, nor is it up to the world to decide.

He paused.

"It's up to you to decide."

Li Mochou was stunned.

After a long while, she slowly reached out and took the plain handkerchief.

My fingertips trembled slightly when they touched the soft fabric of the handkerchief.

She wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, although there were still bloodshot eyes, her vision had cleared somewhat.

"Young Master Yang," she addressed him with such formality for the first time, "I will remember your kindness today."

Yang Guo waved his hand.

"No need to remember my kindness. If you choose to repay me with your body, that's fine too. I don't mind."