At the hour of the Goat, the sun had already tilted westward. Under the slanted sunlight, the Nai River sparkled with waves, actually resembling a mortal world river.

When Mu Sui rushed to the Nai River and saw the thatched inn, he immediately spotted Meng Ruji.

She was leaning against a pillar of the thatched hut, sitting on the ground with her eyes closed, as if sleeping. The only difference from sleep was that there was blood on her head…

Blood flowed from her forehead, down her cheeks to her neck, disappearing into her clothes and staining a large patch of her collar red.

Mu Sui saw this from afar. His steps immediately faltered, and he nearly fell to the ground. His face turned deathly pale, and with each breath, it seemed like ice blades scraped back and forth through his throat and chest, causing unbearable pain beneath his skin.

Mu Sui didn’t know how he managed to walk to Meng Ruji’s side. He knelt on the ground without feeling, looking up at Meng Ruji.

He reached out his hand but didn’t dare touch her. He opened his mouth but didn’t dare call her name.

Until Meng Ruji frowned, coughed twice, and opened her eyes herself.

Seeing his reflection fall into Meng Ruji’s dark pupils, Mu Sui closed his mouth, his lips trembling, even more afraid to make a sound, fearing he might startle her.

And Meng Ruji was indeed startled by the face so close to hers, the moment she opened her eyes. She leaned back a bit.

“Mu Sui?” She cleared her throat, looked at the sky in confusion, and asked: “Did Miaomiao call you over so early?”

Mu Sui didn’t make a sound.

Meng Ruji rubbed her arm. Seeing Mu Sui’s pale face and speechless, dazed appearance, she found it strange: “What’s wrong?”

“What happened to you?” Mu Sui held back for a long time before finally forcing these words from his throat.

After saying these words, he dared to reach out and touch Meng Ruji’s face, using his thumb to wipe the blood traces on her face.

His fingers touched the bright red blood. This wiping made Meng Ruji’s face even more smeared, and the spreading bloody smell made Mu Sui’s lips tighten again.

Meng Ruji herself didn’t take it seriously, carelessly wiping the blood on her face: “Caught a criminal. He sent someone to the marketplace to hook me! Wanted to treat me like a dish and eat me! Good thing I was smart and saw something was wrong, came prepared.”

Mu Sui’s lips tightened, his face darkening as he remained silent.

Meng Ruji continued cursing: “They looked like repeat offenders, but their methods were crude. I could tell something was wrong at the marketplace – who would pay twenty wen to deliver a pile of scrap copper and iron? Coming to this inn too, anyone could see something was off at a glance…”

“How are you?”

Rarely, Mu Sui interrupt her for the first time.

Meng Ruji waved her hand: “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not fine.” Mu Sui’s gaze remained fixed tightly on the injured spot on Meng Ruji’s forehead. “You’re hurt.”

“This little thing?” Meng Ruji touched it carelessly, but just as her finger was about to reach the wound, Mu Sui grabbed her wrist. Seeing his serious and tense expression, after a moment of daze, she laughed: “Just a petty criminal – I’ve seen plenty. It’s just that this bastard fought dirty, gnawing at my forehead. I didn’t notice for a moment… Nothing serious, just broken skin. It’ll heal in two days.”

Mu Sui didn’t smile, and his emotions didn’t ease at all. He said seriously, “You shouldn’t have come.”

Meng Ruji thought he was really scared, so she comforted him gently: “Mu Sui, I have discretion. Don’t worry…”

“You shouldn’t have come alone!”

This was also the first time Mu Sui had scolded Meng Ruji so sternly.

It left Meng Ruji stunned. It seemed even the wind around them stopped for an instant because of him.

Meng Ruji looked at the young man before her, feeling that somehow these days, without her noticing, much of the confusion from when he first awakened had faded from his brow, replaced by an unexpectedly mature bearing. And this maturity… was somewhat like…

That first glance when they met on Xuejing Cliff…

Meng Ruji was silent for a moment. Looking into Mu Sui’s eyes, she no longer chose to deflect him with a “good sister” attitude, but also said seriously: “If I don’t come, they’ll trick other people. By solving them, it’s better than having other girls get tricked later…”

“What about you?”

“I was confident…”

“If you were confident, why did you still get hurt?”

“I…”

Meng Ruji closed her mouth. She discovered that she actually couldn’t out-argue this little wild man!?

She was indeed injured…

It was all that damned thief’s fault for fighting so unexpectedly! Making her fail to catch his move…

While Meng Ruji was still regretting this, Mu Sui reached out during her silence. His fingertips passed around her waist, gently embracing her into his arms.

The movement was decisive but also gentle.

Pressed close to his chest, Meng Ruji finally discovered that Mu Sui’s heartbeat… was so fast and chaotic.

“I’m sorry…” Mu Sui said. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Don’t be afraid of me.”

Hearing this, Meng Ruji’s heart softened immediately: “Mu Sui…”

“You… Meng Ruji… don’t do this again next time.” His voice seemed to carry a hint of crying. “Don’t scare me.”

Meng Ruji was startled and pushed Mu Sui away slightly.

When she pushed him, Mu Sui would never resist. He followed her force and pulled back slightly. But once she stopped applying force, Mu Sui would not move away even the slightest bit more.

Meng Ruji tilted her head, examining Mu Sui.

Mu Sui’s eyes were slightly red, with what seemed like tears in his clear eyes.

Meng Ruji’s heart felt like it was pierced by a warm arrow formed from spring water: “Oh my…” Meng Ruji’s voice also softened. “How did our little Sui start crying…”

Hearing this, Mu Sui awkwardly turned his head away.

He didn’t answer Meng Ruji directly. His Adam’s apple moved, and after a long while, he forced out a low: “Don’t do this anymore.”

“Okay, okay, okay. Next time I definitely won’t act alone!” Meng Ruji extended her pinky finger. “Pinky promise.”

Mu Sui looked for a while, then also naively extended his hand, copying Meng Ruji’s gesture and extending his little finger.

Meng Ruji immediately hooked her pinky with Mu Sui’s pinky.

Their fingertips touched as Meng Ruji smiled: “We’ve agreed.”

Mu Sui blinked, dispersing the moisture in his eyes: “Mm.”

Meng Ruji smiled, thinking that when they returned to the mortal world and it was time to retrieve her Inner Core, regardless of why Mu Sui had originally come to “dig up the coffin and take the core,” she would preserve his life.

Even if…

Just for this moment…

“Meng Ruji.” Mu Sui spoke. His voice had already calmed down, and even, to Meng Ruji’s ears, his emotions had shifted too quickly to killing intent.

“Where’s the thief?” Mu Sui asked.

Meng Ruji was stunned for a moment. She instinctively answered: “Caught him. He’s inside…”

Mu Sui stood up with a “whoosh” and walked toward the house.

“Perfect timing that you’re here. You can escort him back to the government office to claim the reward.” Meng Ruji also stood up, talking while walking into the house. “This time was quite rewarding, too. Through him, I figured out how to use spiritual power here…”

Meng Ruji was only two steps behind Mu Sui as she followed him into the house.

Then she froze…

When Meng Ruji had fought with that giant earlier, the giant’s head and body had separated directly, using his head to ambush Meng Ruji.

After fighting for so many years and battling magic for so long, Meng Ruji had never seen this kind of fighting style and was momentarily stunned.

When the giant bit at her, she instinctively dodged. The head chased up and bit her forehead, immediately drawing blood that flowed down her face.

Meng Ruji was furious and picked up a rock to bat that head down like a ball.

Anyone else would have been scared to death, but not Meng Ruji. She chased that head and beat it thoroughly. The head was initially shouting crazily, then later crying out pitifully from the beating.

When Meng Ruji got tired of chasing, she dragged the giant’s body over to examine it. With one glance, she saw that the giant had a Placeless Realm copper coin around his neck-or rather, only half of one.

The copper coin emitted a faint blue light. When touched with spiritual power, she could see the blue light gathering into the pattern of a formation.

Meng Ruji immediately understood. The copper coins of the Placeless Realm were indeed not simple. There was spiritual power inside, and the reason spiritual power could remain was because there were formations inside the coins.

By borrowing the formation power of the copper coins, one could drive spiritual power and use techniques in the Placeless Realm.

This giant must have learned this method from somewhere, but he used it crudely, only knowing how to separate his head and body, then continuing to attack her with physical force.

Stupidly simple.

But among a bunch of people without spiritual power techniques, his attack method was indeed quite novel and unexpected…

After Meng Ruji figured out the situation, she quickly used his neck coin to drive spiritual power, making his head fly back directly. Then she took the copper coin from his neck and, using this coin, pressed it against his chest, performed some hand seals, and cast a binding spell to pin him down in the house.

The copper coin was small and couldn’t store much spiritual power, but binding a two-hundred-pound person was still no problem.

After subduing the giant, Meng Ruji was tired and sat at the door to rest. She didn’t expect that during this rest, she’d wait for Mu Sui to arrive.

She thought it must be Miaomiao worrying about her and going to the little wooden house early to call Mu Sui over.

When Meng Ruji first woke up, she thought it was good that Mu Sui had come. He could escort this giant to the government office, and they could claim the reward together. This person had confessed to eating seventeen people!

Major crime! Major criminal! Deserved death!

But now, following Mu Sui into the house, Meng Ruji immediately felt something was wrong.

Wrong.

Because the thief she had subdued with the copper coin technique now had bulging eyes, an expression of shock, blue-purple lips, lying on the table, but… completely breathless…

“What happened to him!?” Meng Ruji was bewildered, looking at the thief, then anxiously at Mu Sui. “Did you kill him!? So fast!? How could you be so impulsive!”

Mu Sui’s face was dark: “I didn’t touch him.”

“Then how did he die?” Meng Ruji found it absurd. “Did seeing you scare him to death!?”

Mu Sui looked at Meng Ruji, opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped, finally nodding in silent agreement.

Seeing this, Meng Ruji felt suffocated.

She looked at the thief again – no wounds on his body, only a terrified expression. His eyeballs were staring fixedly in the direction of Mu Sui’s face.

He seemed to have been… scared to death by Mu Sui…

Meng Ruji rubbed her temples with a headache: “He ate seventeen innocent people – death isn’t enough punishment!…”

Mu Sui nodded, then added darkly: “Too easy for him.”

“…But!” Meng Ruji pivoted, staring at Mu Sui and asking: “If he’s dead, can we still claim the reward?”

Mu Sui responded with silence.

Of course, he didn’t know.

He even remembered that earlier at the stronghold, he hadn’t been able to control himself and had killed two. One bandit had attacked with a blade and looked used to running rampant, while the other had helped this criminal trick people at the marketplace. Both were evil people who deserved to die, but…

Meng Ruji’s question was also very important.

If they were dead…

Did they still count for money?