His fingers were slender, yet their strength was astonishing. Feng Miaojun did not struggle to break free and calmly said: “If you die, I cannot survive alone.”

At this moment, she seemed unafraid of him again. Yun Ya’s head was now spinning, and even keeping his eyes open required great effort. He didn’t carefully consider what was wrong with her statement: “Good that you understand.”

Only then did Feng Miaojun turn her attention to his back, and with one glance, she drew in a sharp breath.

His back truly was a bloody mess! The skin and flesh were either charred black or red and swollen, twisted like centipedes. Several tendons were visible, and bones could be seen in multiple places. She recalled the last thing she saw before falling into the small bottle—the fire spirit rushing at him from behind while Yun Ya was intent on retrieving the bottle that had fallen into the magma. Had he endured that attack head-on?

That penetrating wound that went through his chest and back had been inflicted from behind, and even now, the most fire marks remained around the circular hole.

With such severe injuries, it was a miracle he hadn’t fallen unconscious on the brink of death!

Feng Miaojun remembered how she had felt like dying when her ten fingers were injured. This man’s wounds were at least ten times worse than hers, yet he had somehow endured until now with such composure.

His nerves must be as thick as steel wire.

No wonder Yun Ya had spared her life; he couldn’t treat wounds in this area by himself.

“First, extract the fire poison.” The power of the fire spirits still stubbornly remained in his wounds. If not thoroughly treated, his injuries could not heal on their own.

Following his instructions, she first put on deerskin gloves before taking out a pure white pearl from the box. This pearl was about the size of a quail egg. As soon as she took it out, it emitted wisps of white smoke—the surrounding moisture condensed into misty frost, and the temperature in the entire cave dropped by at least ten degrees, indicating how extremely cold it was.

Even wearing gloves, she felt bone-deep cold. Seeing the fine deerskin gloves quickly frosting over and hardening, she hastily placed the pearl on Yun Ya’s wound before the gloves could freeze and shatter.

As soon as the pearl made contact, his flesh suddenly tightened, clearly showing the sensation was intensely painful. Fortunately, the red traces that had been wreaking havoc nearby rushed toward it like sharks smelling blood, quickly swimming over and pouncing onto the pearl. Feng Miaojun watched as red threads continuously appeared on the pearl’s surface, then dissipated like ink dripping into the water.

Once the fire poison was extracted from one area, she quickly moved to the next wound.

Thus, by the time all the wounds were treated, the pearl’s temperature had risen considerably and was no longer so bitterly cold. Otherwise, the next thing to freeze would have been Yun Ya himself.

“What treasure is this?” She was very curious but, seeing that Yun Ya had his eyes closed to rest, didn’t expect an answer.

Unexpectedly, without even lifting his eyelids, he replied: “Ya-Kun Dan.”

Feng Miaojun choked in surprise and exclaimed: “Kun?!”

She had also read that famous legend, “In the Northern Sea there is a fish, called the Kun.” It was a divine fish of enormous size beyond human imagiKingdom, the former self of the Great Peng bird.

It was a divine creature that stirred one’s heart with just the imagiKingdom of it.

In Yun Ya’s possession was the core stone of a Kun?

Despite her surprise, her hands continued methodically wiping away the blood from his wounds. Yun Ya said softly: “Not a Kun, but a Ya-Kun. The true Kun has long vanished. What I obtained is merely the core stone of a monster with Kun’s bloodline. It lives at the bottom of the sea, tens of thousands of zhang deep, and its core has extremely cold properties.” That’s why it had the prefix “Ya.”

Feng Miaojun looked at the pearl in the box. Even so, the fact that it could extract the fire poison from the earth’s core fire spirits showed the strength of Ya-Kun. It certainly wasn’t as insignificant as Yun Ya made it sound.

Speaking of which, this man had so many treasures. Worthy indeed of being the Imperial Preceptor armed with the resources of an entire Kingdom. How enviable and frustrating!

With the fire poison extracted, Yun Ya’s wounds still looked horrifically savage and urgently needed treatment. But she noticed that the edges of the wounds were slightly contracting, and even the blood blisters had reduced somewhat—his body was already working hard to recover.

This man’s powerful life force both amazed and impressed Feng Miaojun. However, if his vital energy was so abundant, indicating his strong foundation, why did he often appear sickly?

Next, she prepared medicine under Yun Ya’s guidance.

Feng Miaojun had spent three years at Smoke Sea Tower, reading many medical classics and becoming familiar with numerous medicinal properties. Moreover, her family ran an herbal medicine shop, giving her plenty of practical experience. The medicines Yun Ya prescribed were basically in line with her expectations but with one additional ingredient—an eyeball-like plant taken from the greenhouse in a small bottle.

When she crushed this thing, it even made crackling sounds that sent chills down one’s spine. Yun Ya, though his eyes were closed, seemed to see her expression and chuckled lightly: “It’s merely an herb. What are you afraid of?”

Indeed, no matter how much it resembled an eyeball, it was just an herb.

After preparing the medicinal powder, she poured it all onto his back in one go.

“Hmm—” How stimulating this substance was, she had already experienced when bandaging herself earlier. Feng Miaojun eagerly waited for him to cry out in agony, but he merely let out a muffled groan which, accentuated by his magnetic voice, sounded thoroughly sensual.

How disappointing! She had wanted to get some revenge. Princess Hanyue had no grudge against him, yet this man had schemed to bury the entire team on Cliff Mountain, along with countless other beings in that underground palace.

Not to mention, he had also put her in danger.

Yun Ya suddenly seized her wrist and said harshly: “You did that deliberately!”

That burst of pain made him bite his lips until they bled, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

Feng Miaojun let out a small cry, feeling as if her wrist was caught in a vise, the bones about to shatter. She quickly yielded: “My hand trembled. I wasn’t careful and poured too much!” His palm was burning hot.

Yun Ya stared at her steadily, not bothering to conceal the killing intent in his gaze. Feng Miaojun lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes, but in her heart, she knew he still needed her help and wouldn’t kill her.

At least not yet.

The young girl’s face paled, her gaze timid, with tears welling in her eyes—truly the appearance of someone terrified. Yun Ya slowly released her hand, his anger subsiding as he said calmly: “Continue.”

This time, without his reminder, she carefully treated his remaining wounds. Getting that small bit of revenge was enough; she knew when to stop. Judging from the last time when he killed her substitute without hesitation, this man had no sentiment for cherishing beauty.

After tending to the wounds, Yun Ya put on clean clothes and said to her: “Fetch some water. Exit the cave, walk six hundred steps east, and you’ll find a small stream.”

Feng Miaojun looked around but couldn’t find suitable tools, and she didn’t have a carpenter’s skilled hands. She had no choice but to return to the small bottle and bring out the wooden bucket from the house.

Should she take this opportunity to sneak away while fetching water?

Yun Ya seemed to see through her thoughts: “If you’re not afraid of the poison insect acting up, you’re welcome to slip away.” This little girl seemed particularly concerned about her life, without any of the backbone expected of the Imperial Preceptor’s disciple. Although even ants cling to life, the noble integrity so valued in this era seemed completely absent in her.