Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Yang Guo lay on a pile of dry grass in the cave, his Taoist robe pulled down to his waist, revealing his entire back.

Five claw marks ran diagonally from his right shoulder to his left waist, the skin and flesh rolled up, and beads of blood oozed out one by one.

Lu Wushuang knelt beside him and rummaged through her bag to find a small bottle of medicine. She bit off the stopper and spat it aside, then sprinkled the powder onto her wound.

"Hiss...be gentle." Yang Guo pressed his face against the dry grass, inhaling a breath of cold air through his teeth.

"Husband, your back is practically rotting, and you still say 'go easy'?" Lu Wushuang carefully wiped the blood from the edges of the wound with a cotton cloth. "Just who is that ugly bird? You hit it with your One-Finger Divine Skill, and it didn't even utter a sound."

"This beast has lived for far too long; its hide is thicker than a city wall," Yang Guo said in a muffled voice. "Once I've recovered from my injuries, I'll find a way to deal with it."

"What you're saying now is the same as when I was a kid and a big dog from the neighboring village chased me for three blocks. When I got home, I told my mom, 'Tomorrow I'll take a stick and beat it up.'" Lu Wushuang said without holding back.

"Are you comparing me to a child being chased by a dog?"

"I'm comparing you to an adult being chased by an eagle."

After Lu Wushuang finished sprinkling the medicinal powder, she poured some water from the kettle, soaked a cotton cloth, and wiped away the bruises along both sides of the wound.

She was bent over, her clothes loosely open, revealing a snow-white curve underneath when she looked down.

Yang Guo caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he wondered if this girl even knew that he hadn't tied anything.

Despite the pain, the scenery shouldn't be wasted.

There was a saying online from my past life: "The injury is on your body, the benefit is in your eyes; whether it's a loss or not depends entirely on your perspective."

"Cheng Ying!" Yang Guo turned his head and shouted towards the cave entrance.

Cheng Ying leaned against the cave wall, her jade flute resting on her knees.

The light green long gown was crumpled up last night, the belt at the waist was half loose, and the soft fabric clung to her body, clearly outlining her figure.

She heard the shout but didn't even look up.

"Come and help."

"I am not a doctor."

"Your Peach Blossom Island is known for learning everything, right? You should at least know something about pharmacology," Yang Guo said, his voice tinged with impatience. "If this wound isn't treated properly, it'll get infected and fester. Who will keep you warm tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ying's face burned.

She hadn't recovered from what happened last night. She had leaned against that man all night, and she knew perfectly well what she had uttered.

Now that he's bringing this up in front of Lu Wushuang, he's clearly trying to manipulate her.

Lu Wushou paused his movements and looked up at his cousin.

Cheng Ying gritted her teeth, stood up, and walked over.

She squatted on the other side of Yang Guo, about half a foot away from his waist, and only glanced down at the five bloody claw marks.

"No bones or tendons were injured, but this beast has snake venom in its claws, so we need to force the blood clots out first."

"How do you force me?" Lu Wushuang asked.

"Promote internal force." Cheng Ying's gaze swept over Yang Guo's bare back. The muscle texture was clearly defined in the afterglow of the fire, both firm and well-proportioned.

She quickly looked away. "I channeled my inner energy into the acupoints around the wound to force the blood out and bring out the remaining poison as well."

Yang Guo remained lying down, not moving. "Then let's do it."

Cheng Ying bit her lip.

She stretched out her right hand and pressed her fingertips on Yang Guo's Jianjing acupoint on his back.

The Shaoyang Qi enters through the fingertips and pushes along the meridians towards the wound.

Yang Guo's skin was very hot.

As soon as her fingers touched it, she felt the muscles under her palm tighten, and the heat seeped into her fingertips, making her hand tremble involuntarily.

After circulating his inner energy, a layer of dark red blood beads seeped from the wound.

"It's poisonous." Cheng Ying withdrew her hand and wiped it on the hem of her clothes. "The amount isn't large, and it can neutralize itself, but it's slow."

"So I still need your help." Yang Guo turned his head to look at her.

Cheng Ying's fingers were still hovering half an inch above his back, hesitating.

"Cousin, could you massage my husband's back a bit more?" Lu Wushuang said from the side. "There's such a big wound on his back; we can't let the poison stay inside."

Cheng Ying closed her eyes and placed her palm back on the paper.

This time she pressed her entire palm down.

Yang Guo had a broad back, and her hands were small, with hot, hard skin and muscles beneath her palms.

Wherever her true energy went, her hand followed.

As he moved, his hand slid from his shoulder blade to the middle of his back.

Yang Guo had a shallow groove on his back. Her fingers were embedded in that groove, and as her inner energy flowed downwards, her fingertips also slowly traced his back.

"Go down a little," Yang Guo said.

Cheng Ying moved her hand down two inches.

"Down again."

She moved it another two inches. It reached her waist. The two indentations at her lower back trapped the base of her thumb.

"Download a little more."

Cheng Ying's hand stopped. Next was the belt. The Taoist robe was pulled down to her waist; the fabric beneath the belt clung to her waistline, and the V-shaped muscle lines could be vaguely seen disappearing into her trousers.

"Yang Guo, your injuries are on your shoulder and back, there are no claw marks below your waist."

"But I also got a swipe on the butt." Yang Guo said seriously, "That swipe hurt even more than these five marks on my back. You didn't see it, it slapped me so hard I couldn't get up from the ground."

Lu Wushuang burst out laughing, covering her mouth and her shoulders shaking.

Cheng Ying's face turned bright red, and she quickly withdrew her hand, her palms covered in sweat.

"Let Wushuang massage you."

"Wushuang's internal strength is too weak. What if he forces the poison into his meridians?" Yang Guo turned over and lay on his side looking at Cheng Ying. "Miss Cheng's hands are still light and her strength is just right."

When he turned over, his Taoist robe only covered the lower half of his body.

The muscles on his chest and abdomen were fully exposed, and the line from his lower abdomen extended all the way down to below his belt.

Cheng Ying caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye and quickly turned her head away.

"Don't push your luck." Cheng Ying stood up and was about to leave.

Yang Guo reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Cheng Ying's body stiffened.

The moment his wrist was grasped, the yang energy imprint within his body jerked.

It wasn't a big commotion, but the tingling sensation shot from my wrist all the way to my forearm, making my arm feel limp.

She stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay. Her legs ached, and her knees nearly buckled.

"Let go." She lowered her voice.

Yang Guo didn't let go. He pressed his thumb on the pulse on the inside of her wrist twice.

"Your pulse is a bit rapid, and your face is flushed." Yang Guo said seriously, "Miss Cheng, do you have a fever?"

"I don't."

"Then why are you blushing?"

Cheng Ying tried to pull twice, but couldn't budge it.

That hand was so strong that it gripped her wrist so tightly that the bones were cracking.

But the yang energy mark is still acting up; a tingling sensation creeps up from my wrist to my shoulder and then down, making me feel weak wherever it goes.

She broke free, turned around and walked to the farthest corner of the cave wall, sitting down with her back to the two people.

Yang Guo watched her retreating figure, his lips twitched, and he rolled back to lie down.

"Wushuang, continue applying the medicine."

"Husband, could you please tone it down a bit when you're teasing my cousin?" Lu Wushuang muttered as she applied medicine powder to her wound. "She didn't sleep well all night; her face is all blue."

"She insisted on sticking to me; it wasn't me who pulled her."

Lu Wushuang stopped abruptly. "What?"

Yang Guo realized he'd let something slip and coughed. "It's nothing, I was just saying your cousin kept talking in her sleep last night."

Lu Wushuang glanced at him, then at Cheng Ying's stiff back.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't ask any more questions. He stuffed the medicine bottle back into his bag.

After applying the medicine, Yang Guo sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Nine Yin Manual to heal his injuries.

The pure Yang internal energy circulated through the meridians for several cycles, and the burning pain in his back lessened considerably. The claw marks formed a thin scab and stopped bleeding.

He opened his eyes and looked out of the cave entrance.

The fog outside had mostly dissipated.

The divine eagle was perched on the boulder, preening its few pitiful feathers with its iron beak.

Yang Guo stared at it for a while.

"Wushuang, come here."

Lu Wushuang came closer and squatted down beside him.

Her squatting posture was not very stable; her knees were against the outside of his thighs, and when she leaned forward, her shoulders touched his arm.

"Look at that ugly bird. It's been sitting on the rock the whole time, not moving an inch," Yang Guo said in a low voice, his breath hot against her earlobe. Lu Wushuang's ears turned red, but she didn't flinch.

"I noticed it in the pond. After it ate the snake, it went to find herbs to detoxify itself. After it detoxified itself, it squatted down and didn't move."

"you mean?"

"This beast is just like a tiger; it gets lazy once it's full," Yang Guo said. "It can't stay at the bottom of the valley all day. When it gets hungry again and goes out to find food, the valley will be empty."

"Should we wait for it to leave?"

"It's not just waiting." Yang Guo drew a few lines on the ground. "When it was gnawing on that golden snake, it only ate half of it and then threw it away. This means there are plenty of Bodhi snakes in the valley, so it doesn't lack food. Where there are many snakes, there are snake nests. And since the snake nests aren't on the ground, they must be in deeper caves."

Lu Wushuang nodded. "While it's out, shall we sneak deeper in and find the snake's nest?"

"Yes." Yang Guo patted her head. "Smart."

Lu Wushuang tilted her head slightly as he patted her, a smile playing on her lips. She leaned closer and whispered, "What about my cousin? Is she coming too?"

Yang Guo glanced in Cheng Ying's direction. She was still huddled in the corner of the cave wall, her back ramrod straight.

"Her divination skills are useful underground. There are many hidden passages and forks in the road; without her to guide us, we might have gone the wrong way."

"But she..."

"Don't worry, your cousin is very obedient."

The voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to carry to the other side of the cave wall. Cheng Ying's back visibly trembled.

Just then, the sound of flapping wings came from above the distant canyon.

The divine eagle raised its head, jumped off the boulder, and took alternating steps on its two thick legs, heading towards the depths of the valley.

Yang Guo narrowed his eyes.

The divine eagle walked about twenty feet and stopped in front of a moss-covered stone wall. It lowered its head and probed a large hole at the base of the stone wall with its iron beak.

A moment later, it brought out a live creature. It was another Bosphorus serpent. Slightly smaller than the previous one, but golden all over, with clearly visible fleshy horns on its head.

With the snake in its mouth, the eagle flapped its wings twice, took off, and flew directly out of the canyon towards the other side of the mountain ridge.

Yang Guo stared in the direction it disappeared, then looked at the large hole at the base of the stone wall. That was the entrance to the snake's nest. He remembered the location.

"Peerless".

Lu Wushuang ran over, munching on a dry biscuit. "What's wrong, husband?"

"Did you see that? The ugly bird brought another snake out of that hole over there and flew away."

Lu Wushuang nodded, "It flies very fast."

"It's gone, the snake's nest is empty." Yang Guo stood up and stretched his shoulders. The claw marks on his back still throbbed slightly, but they didn't affect his movement.

"Shall we go now?"

"No rush. Let's see how long it takes to come back, figure out the pattern, and then we'll take action tomorrow."

He turned to look at Cheng Ying. "Miss Cheng, come here for a moment."

Cheng Ying leaned against the cave wall and didn't move.

"I'm talking to you," Yang Guo emphasized.

Cheng Ying, holding the jade flute, slowly stood up and walked to the cave entrance. She kept three steps away from Yang Guo, refusing to come any closer.

"There's a large hole at the base of the opposite rock wall; that's a snake's nest."

Yang Guo pointed and said, "After the ugly bird leaves, we'll go in from there to get the snake gall. It's dark inside, there are lots of snakes, and the paths are complicated. Your Qimen Dunjia skills can help you find your way underground and locate the core area where the snakes are gathered."

Cheng Ying glanced in the direction he was pointing. "You want me to lead the way?"

"right."

"On what grounds?"

Yang Guo laughed. "Because of the time you called me master last night."

Cheng Ying's whole body stiffened, and all the color drained from her face.

Lu Wushuang stopped chewing her biscuit. She looked at Yang Guo, then at Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying gripped the jade flute tightly, her teeth aching from clenching them. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Yang Guo stopped looking at her and turned back to sit down beside the haystack.

"Have something to eat, and rest well this afternoon. We'll get started first thing tomorrow morning."

Outside the cave, it was bright daylight.

On the distant mountain ridge, the eagle's figure had completely disappeared.

The direction of the snake's nest was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.