On a sparsely populated old street, under dim, yellowish streetlights, Luo Xiu walked ahead, pushing his electric scooter and regretting, not for the first time, that he had forgotten to charge it last night.

Lin Xiyue followed quietly behind him, clutching her Chanel bag. Occasionally, she would playfully step on his shadow with her high heels—on his head, his butt, his waist…

She had wanted to say something to him tonight, but the mood at dinner had been ruined by Xiang Lanxin, so she had held her tongue.

"Luo Xiu, should we give it a try?"

Finally, she mustered her courage. She didn't want any regrets in her life, especially not regrets born from silence.

Luo Xiu asked, "Try what?"

Lin Xiyue countered, "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

"No."

"I haven't either… So, should we give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Xiu fell silent. He couldn't help but recall the words Ai Hongye had told him that night: either hold Lin Xiyue tightly without reservation or return her to the sea of people and stay far away from her. But Luo Xiu had already made his choice even before Ai Hongye had said those words. He hadn't drawn his sword for Lin Xiyue; he drew his sword only for himself.

Luo Xiu chuckled. "I remember asking you if sleeping together every day would lead to real feelings. You said it wouldn't, that you could have feelings for anyone but me."

Lin Xiyue bit her lower lip. After a moment of silence, she said, "If saying this makes you feel like you've put me in my place, or if it makes you happy… then I concede."

"Luo Xiu, I think… I've really fallen for you."

"But I don't like you," Luo Xiu replied without a second thought.

His firm and direct rejection sent a shiver through Lin Xiyue's delicate frame. Her heart suddenly ached with disappointment, a deep sense of defeat.

"Do you like Sun Li? Or Xu Qianqing? Or maybe Su Shanyue?" she asked, unwilling to accept it.

Luo Xiu smiled. "I'm fond of all three of them. Xiao Li is playful and cute, Qian Qing is understanding, and Yueyue is gentle and thoughtful… but I only like them as friends."

He glanced at Lin Xiyue. "It's the same with you. Lin Xiyue, we can't become what you want us to be."

Clutching the hem of her clothes, she stared at him and asked, "Is it because I don't have long to live? But you said… you said you could help me live for many more years if we found all the herbs."

"That's why I'm working so hard every day. I want to make Shen Luo Company grow so I can earn enough money to find all the medicinal ingredients you need."

Luo Xiu just shook his head with a smile. "Lin Xiyue, I'm not as good a person as you think. Really. Sometimes, even I think I'm a terrible person. I don't deserve this."

"But I just like…"

"Lin Xiyue."

Luo Xiu suddenly cut her off, his tone serious. "Let's leave things as they are. Neither of us should take another step forward."

"Your goal was to have a child, and now you do. Our cooperation ends here. At most, we are now colleagues or simply doctor and patient."

Lin Xiyue lowered her head and whispered, "I understand."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, one behind the other, not reaching home until very late.

…

「The next morning.」

Luo Xiu was up early, fiddling with the animal-hide bundle in the courtyard.

Lin Xiyue had changed into her professional attire: a tailored pantsuit and black high heels. With her long hair pinned up, she exuded the cold, noble aura of a corporate queen. It was as if she'd completely forgotten everything she said to Luo Xiu the previous night. She would no longer humble herself for love; she was her own Queen again.

"What are you doing? I can smell the stench all the way from upstairs."

She walked up behind Luo Xiu, her bright eyes carrying a chill that warned others to keep their distance.

Luo Xiu glanced back at her, his face a mask of mystery. "Something good."

Curious, Lin Xiyue leaned in for a look, but her eyes immediately rolled back in her head. She scrambled to the side, clapping a hand over her mouth as she began to retch.

"What is this?"

"It's disgusting!"

By now, Luo Xiu had sliced open the animal-hide bundle, revealing a bloody mass of rotting animal entrails. The stench was so overpowering it made one's head ache.

Lin Xiyue said through gritted teeth, "It's a good thing you rejected me last night… I would never want to date someone as unhygienic as you!"

Luo Xiu stood up. Without a word, he held out his blood-streaked hand to her.

As he opened his palm, she saw an egg-sized, glowing orb resting in it.

"What is this?"

"This is an inner core," Luo Xiu explained. "However, right after I killed the monster, this treasure hadn't fully formed yet. So I removed its innards, used its hide to wrap them up, and simply waited for this inner core to finish developing."

"You can think of it as a kind of secret technique."

Lin Xiyue didn't understand a word, but she was impressed nonetheless.

She frowned and asked, "So what's this thing for?"

"Eating it will improve your constitution and allow you to step onto the Martial Way," Luo Xiu said.

Lin Xiyue pouted. "No, thanks. I'm not interested in martial arts."

Luo Xiu's expression turned serious. "It will also help with your illness. Later, after I've refined the elixir for you, if your body isn't strong enough to handle its medicinal power, all my efforts will have been for nothing."

Lin Xiyue looked troubled. "Do I have to eat this? It's so disgusting…"

"For the child's sake, and for your own protection, I believe this is necessary," Luo Xiu said.

Then he added teasingly, "Surely you're not going to just give up on life because I rejected you last night?"

"If you're that fragile, why have a child in the first place? You'd only be bringing him into this world to suffer. It would be better if he were never born."

Lin Xiyue fell silent for a moment before nodding gently.

"Just go to the company for now. We can talk about this tomorrow," Luo Xiu said.

"…"

After Lin Xiyue left, Luo Xiu found a spot in the courtyard, dug a hole, and buried the useless, rotting organs. He then washed the inner core until it was clean, using more than half a bar of soap in the process.

After traveling through a number of small desert nations and crossing Qiliang Mountain, Luo Xiu returned to Hua Country and found himself in a primeval forest.

He remembered it well. It was a stormy night, the sky torn by lightning and thunder. He had been resting in a cave when he suddenly heard a strange commotion outside. When he went to look, he was astounded to see a massive snake coiled around a tree, undergoing a draconic transformation!

Draconic transformation is a folk term used by the elderly. In the words of Martial Artists, the process is called undergoing tribulation.

In the end, however, the great snake failed. The ninth bolt of lightning struck it in two, just one step short of success.

Luo Xiu had stumbled upon a great opportunity. He quickly put the massive snake out of its misery and prepared to harvest its inner core. He had read about inner cores long ago in his master's ancient texts and knew they were priceless, exceedingly rare treasures.

However, because the snake had failed its tribulation, the inner core had not yet fully formed. Luo Xiu then conceived a plan: he would use the Thunder Law to call down heavenly lightning to continue the snake's ordeal, and then use the creature's own innards to nurture the inner core to full maturity.

…

After dealing with the inner core, Luo Xiu cleaned himself up and was about to grab his fishing gear and head out when, unexpectedly, Sun Li returned.

She seemed to be in a bad mood, lacking her usual vivacity and cuteness.

"What's wrong?"

"Xiu… I'm moving out. I came to get my things today."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu froze. The words to ask her to stay died in his throat. He didn't know on what grounds he could ask her to stay. Why should he, anyway? He was nobody to her. Besides, everyone had their own path to walk. Since they were just friends, they should keep their distance. So be it.

So, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss, he asked, "Do you need help moving?"

"Mister Luo, there's no need to trouble you. I'll help Xiao Li," a man's voice called from the doorway.

Luo Xiu turned to look, his eyelids drooping slightly.

The newcomer was Duan Feibai!

…

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