“I really owe you one,” Wang Hao muttered, activating his Wooden Shield Technique. He tossed a handful of talismans in front of himself, leaped forward to scoop up Li Derong, turned, and shielded her with his body.

A tremendous force slammed into him, nearly knocking him unconscious. He spat out a mouthful of blood but didn’t dare look back. Clutching Li Derong, he burrowed into the ground using the Earth Escape Technique.

As a water-dwelling demonic beast, the fish demon couldn’t stay out of water for long before reaching its transformation stage. Watching the two vanish underground, it could only roar in frustration. Its awakened supernatural abilities were all water-based attacks; what could it possibly do against Wang Hao who had fled underground?

Wang Hao didn’t dare surface until he had used his Earth Escape Technique to travel a full hundred li. Emerging from the ground, he checked on Li Derong and found she had long since passed out. However, her breathing was steady—she was still alive.

Hah, such an injury-prone woman.

The area was too dangerous to linger. Wang Hao fed Li Derong a few pills, took some himself, hoisted her onto his back, and hurried on his way.

The next day, Li Derong awoke to find herself being carried by Wang Hao, their bodies pressed close. Flustered and annoyed, she instinctively struggled. “Put me down!”

“Woman, don’t test my patience. If you want to die, I can oblige!” Wang Hao was furious. He’d saved her twice now—what kind of attitude was this? He jostled her roughly to reposition her securely on his back.

Severely injured and utterly drained of strength, Li Derong was no match for Wang Hao. Besides, she wasn’t the type to make unreasonable fusses. Remembering how Wang Hao had thrown himself in harm’s way to block an attack for her, and recalling their earlier battle against the Tier 2 giant serpent in the underground cavern, she couldn’t help but be moved. She quieted down.

Truth be told, she had already reasoned it out. That day, Wang Hao had merely been helping bandage her wounds. Even if he had seen something, it was due to the circumstances. Her harboring resentment over it was somewhat unreasonable. She had actually planned to find an exit as a way to apologize to him. Who could have guessed the result would be getting saved by him yet again!

The two traveled in silence for over a thousand li before stopping.

Wang Hao found a relatively spacious spot and carefully set Li Derong down. As he straightened up, his vision went black and he collapsed to the ground.

“Damn it, even a cultivator like me can get low blood sugar!” It finally dawned on him that he had been traveling non-stop for three days without eating a single meal.

“Are you alright?” Li Derong asked with concern upon seeing him faint.

“Not dead yet. And you?” He replied, thinking inwardly, This woman finally sounds somewhat normal. Looks like saving her again had an effect!

“Just depleted Spiritual Power and some superficial wounds. It’s nothing,” Li Derong shook her head dismissively.

“Hah, stop pretending. I took one hit from that fish demon and got internal injuries. You fought it for so long and call yours ‘superficial’?” Wang Hao shook his head; this woman was too proud.

Li Derong shot him a fierce glare. She wasn’t an ungrateful person, but she couldn’t stand Wang Hao’s flippant attitude. However, given their shared predicament, she saw no point in hiding it. “There are indeed some internal injuries. It will probably take a year or two to recover.”

She then asked, “You’ve been trapped here for two years. Have you found any other way out?”

“If there was an exit, would I have stayed here for over two years?” Wang Hao retorted irritably. But seeing Li Derong’s face darken with impending anger, he added, “Once you recover from your injuries, there might be a chance.”

With Li Derong—a highly combat-capable ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator—joining forces with his Eighth Uncle, the three of them stood a good chance of defeating the demonic beast at the Jasper Pool. Even if they couldn’t kill it outright, stealing the Condensing Essence Fruits should be possible. “You saw it yourself; that place has Condensing Essence Fruits. If the three of us work together, stealing a few shouldn’t be impossible. Once one of us reaches Foundation Establishment, we can leave this place!”

“Doesn’t that mean waiting several years?” Li Derong’s expression shifted slightly; she had also noticed the fruits weren’t ripe yet.

“What else? Picking them now would be useless!” Wang Hao spread his hands helplessly. “Once you’re healed and my Eighth Uncle reaches the ninth layer of Qi Refining as well, the two of you can hold off the fish demon briefly while I steal the fruits.”

“By the way,” Wang Hao continued with a self-deprecating smile, “last time I asked how you ended up here, you didn’t say. Can you tell me now? My reputation in the past wasn’t great, I admit that much. But shouldn’t a person be allowed to change? Let me ask you this: both times you fainted, did I take advantage of you? On the contrary, I saved you twice in your time of need! We’re sharing hardship now; we need to trust each other.”

Li Derong’s face flushed slightly red. Wang Hao had indeed been relatively proper. As for physical contact… it was unavoidable given the circumstances. So she told him about her own ordeal—nothing particularly novel: she got separated from her clansmen while searching for spirit herbs and accidentally fell off a cliff during a fight with a demonic beast.

She also shared some news about Wang Hao: over the past two years, the Wang family had sent many people searching for him and his uncle; Wang Yanzhao had ventured deep into the Duan Yuan Mountain Range several times and once returned severely injured—truly a devoted father.

“Actually,” she said hesitantly, “I do have something that might work against that Tier 2 fish demon. I came into these mountains prepared to deal with demonic beasts this time and brought along a Three Talents Demon Trapping Formation Array; it should be able to restrain that beast for a short while.” Her expression dimmed. “It’s just… at that moment I was too focused on the Condensing Essence Fruits and got ambushed by it.”

“A Tier 2 Low-Grade formation array combined with our strength as three individuals… shouldn’t pose too big a problem,” Wang Hao said seriously upon seeing hope of escape. “You focus on recovering first; my Eighth Uncle is also in seclusion right now; let’s wait for him awhile longer anyway since this place has abundant spiritual energy which won’t hinder our cultivation.”

Three days later, when most of Wang Hao’s minor internal injuries were mostly healed (the rest would require slow recuperation), he looked up to see Li Derong sitting cross-legged by the streamside. She was still wearing her tattered robes, likely lacking spares. Some tears were mended, but the hemline was shortened, exposing a small section of her lotus-root-like calf, shimmering indistinctly under the rippling water. Her skin seemed more radiant than the surface itself.

Her current gentle, serene demeanor made him hesitant to disturb the peace momentarily before shaking his head to dispel his thoughts. He coughed awkwardly. “We should head back to reunite with Eighth Uncle first since the alchemy furnace is there, making staying here long inconvenient.”

Li Derong hesitated slightly, whispering, “Perhaps… you go ahead first? I still need time to heal further.”

“Without medicinal pills aiding recovery, how long will that take?” Realization dawning, he couldn’t resist glancing again at her calf teasingly. “Or perhaps you are unable to walk yet? I can carry you again!”

Under his intense gaze, she flustered, shrinking back. “You… just go ahead yourself! I don’t want to!” She pulled at her shortened skirt, attempting to cover her calf!

“What is there to fear? Haven’t I carried you before? Not only carried but also held—!”

Her face turned cold, cutting him off sharply. “If you continue speaking recklessly, even risking my life, I will fight you!”

“Alright, alright, my fault. But you know I meant no harm. Though the area lacks demonic beasts, poisonous creatures abound. Given your current state, how could I leave you alone here safely?” His expression turned earnest, solemnly continuing, “We cultivators prioritize the Great Dao; we shouldn’t fuss over trivialities! As long as one’s conscience is clear, moreover, nobody is around to see anyway!”

“Besides, strictly speaking, we belong to different generations. I should call you Aunt.”