Wang Kang snapped back to reality, staring at the blood-stained sword. He couldn't utter a single "no," but his heart was gripped with dread.

Should he report this to the authorities?

Just as he hesitated, he heard a voice:

"I have money."

.........

After Wang Kang left, Chen Yi, who had been on high alert for nearly the entire night, finally could endure no longer.

His eyelids grew heavy, and he closed them. The blood on his body had crusted and dried.

...

Uncertain how much time had passed, when Chen Yi opened his eyes again, he found the old woman scrutinizing him, her eyelids drooping.

His head felt heavy and swollen. Chen Yi opened his mouth and asked:

"How long did I sleep?"

"I don't know..." The old woman counted on her fingers, "Perhaps two or three kezhong."

The time wasn't long. Chen Yi breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes were bloodshot, and he squinted against the sunlight for a moment.

The old woman spoke: "While you were sleeping, official, you called out many names. They were all girls' names, weren't they?"

Chen Yi froze for a moment, then smiled and said: "Yes."

How had he managed to hold on through last night?

After destroying the incarnation of the Bodhisattva in the cursed medicine, he had opened his eyes, retrieved the little paper boat back into his chest, and forced himself to stand. He gasped heavily, gripping his palms tightly and calling out name after name to keep his consciousness from fading.

"Yin Tingxue, Zhou Yitang, Yin Weiyin,"

He murmured the names of his wives, chanting their names over and over,

"Min Ning, Zhu E, Qin Qingluo…"

Fiercely holding onto the remnants of his will...

Bloodshot eyes, Chen Yi moved his body through the night, yanking himself forward step by step. He dragged himself down the slope, to Huishou Cliff, and into this old man's cavern.

Eventually, he spotted a large tiger sleeping within. With one sword he ended its life.

He reclined against the stone wall and fell asleep, applying golden sore medicine to his wounds before resigning himself to fate.

Each time sleep threatened to take him and life felt as faint as a flickering lamp, he recited their names once more.

It was as if those names formed a string of pearls, tethering him to his last breath.

Afterward, the night passed, and Chen Yi regained some strength. He retrieved a porcelain bowl and water bag from Square Land and drank talisman-infused water for healing.

Now his life was barely hanging on.

But he had run out of water. Chen Yi dared not leave this old man's cavern near Huishou Cliff. He was like a candle in the wind; if he encountered agents of Xique Pavilion, his life would surely be at risk.

Chen Yi couldn't help but let out a wry smile. He had just entered the Third Grade Realm not long ago, only to destroy the "concept" refined from transforming his spirit back to emptiness. Now, he had returned to Fourth Rank.

"The Third Grade Experience Card." Chen Yi, however, felt no sense of loss. Clenching his fist, he said: "It was worth it."

As long as there was a breath in his chest, he wouldn't die, couldn't die. And since he wouldn't die, why worry about so much?

No worries—only freedom.

Stepping into Jianghu, the heavens and earth are boundless for me to traverse.

"Drink more wine," he murmured to himself with laughter.

Chen Yi took a deep breath, pulled out a silk cloth, and began wiping the blood from Hou Kang Sword. Last night, it was this very sword that enabled him to cut through the siege.

In an environment like the dense forest, a straight-thrusting sword was undoubtedly far more effective than a blade.

After some time had passed, Wang Kang hobbled back, carrying a water bag in his hands.

Chen Yi took the water bag, inspected it for poison, then retrieved some broken silver from his chest.

Wang Geng accepted it but hadn't had time to weigh it before Chen Yi remarked: "Don't flaunt wealth. Don't rush to show it to others; wait half a year before you use it."

The honest woodcutter didn't ask why. He turned and hoisted the elderly woman onto his back, glanced at the tiger inside the cavern, and thanked Chen Yi several times before leaving.

The old woman lay against the woodcutter's back. When Wang Geng walked far away, she turned her head for one last glance at the old man's cavern.

Chen Yi, leaning against the stone wall, pulled out his porcelain bowl, poured clean water into it, and took out a talisman from his chest. The talisman paper ignited by itself, and the ashes fell into the water.

Chen Yi muttered under his breath and drank the talisman water in one gulp.

The talisman water entered his stomach, and a warm current surged upward, flowing throughout his body.

He slightly closed his eyes. Four days had now passed; Zhou Yitang and the others should be safe by now. He only needed to recover some strength before leaving this place.

..................…

Wang Geng carried his old mother back to Da Qiwei Village, letting out a deep breath.

He closed the doors and windows tightly, pulled out the broken silver from his chest, and weighed it with his hands.

"Three or four qian, three or four qian!"

Wang Geng muttered continuously, but when he turned his head, he saw his old mother staring at him.

The old mother said: "Kang Zi, keep it down. Walls have ears..."

Wang Kang slapped his forehead, remembering how the man had kindly warned him against flaunting wealth.

But his heart felt restless. It was New Year's Eve—shouldn't he spend some Copper Coin to buy a string of cured meat, honor his mother, and treat himself to something nice?

As he thought about it, Wang Kang rummaged through the bottom of a large vat and took out a string of Copper Coin.

"What are you doing, Kang Zi?" the old mother asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I... wanted to honor you a little," Wang Kang responded honestly.

The old mother said: "You fool, you rarely buy meat. Even if it's New Year's Eve and you buy a string, it won't keep people from gossiping. If someone with intentions hears, won't they realize you've come by money?"

Wang Kang thought for a moment, and realization dawned on him. He slapped his forehead and realized his mother's caution was prudent.

That night, Wang Kang didn't buy cured meat. He stuck to his usual routine, lighting a fire to cook some salted vegetables with a bowl of bran porridge to share with his mother.

After eating, Wang Kang lay down to sleep, his dreams occupied by thoughts of those three or four qian of broken silver.

Knock, knock!

Knock, knock!

The sudden sound of knocking startled Wang Kang awake from his dream.

He opened the door, only to be met with row after row of imposing figures, countless blade handles glimmering. Among the group, deeper within, stood a woman he could never have imagined encountering in his lifetime.

In the dark of night, Wang Kang couldn't clearly see her. He only felt that she was someone of great importance, and the mere sweep of her gaze made his knees grow weak, forcing him to kneel.

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