In the sky, more and more golden lights flew over, and outside the alley, the two could hear chaotic footsteps.

Meng Ruji wanted to peek out, but was pulled back by Mu Sui. He stepped forward, blocking in front of Meng Ruji, giving her a look that said, “Stay behind me.”

Meng Ruji raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that even at a time like this, he was still being particular about such things.

Just then, as Mu Sui was about to peek out, several silver lights descended from the sky. Most fell toward the Marriage Tree, but one silver light landed right in front of them.

It was a Zhuliu City soldier in black armor.

The person who landed looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, still a youth. He stood up and directly came face to face with Mu Sui.

The youth froze, clearly recognizing who was before him.

Mu Sui’s expression was grave as he listened to the movement of the people at the Marriage Tree, seemingly considering when to strike.

Meng Ruji had already pried a brick from the wall, preparing to knock out the newcomer.

“Is there anyone on your side?” came a shout from the other end.

Meng Ruji had already raised the stone in her hand.

“No…” The youth stared blankly at Mu Sui and replied, “No one…”

This response made Meng Ruji pause with the stone in her hand. She looked at the youth, seeing his face flushed red as he held back: “There’s no one here!”

This youth was wearing a Zhuliu City soldier’s uniform, so he couldn’t be covering for them for her sake… So Meng Ruji turned to examine Mu Sui.

Mu Sui silently stared at the youth, his eyes seemingly calm and waveless, yet with slight trembling.

“If there’s no one, what are you dawdling there for?” Another silver light shouted as it descended from the sky, landing beside the youth.

Meng Ruji was somewhat stunned, gripping the brick in her hand tightly, while the other black-armored soldier, after landing and standing up, also showed the same shocked expression as the youth.

He too stared blankly at Mu Sui, opened his mouth, then closed it again in a daze.

Then he also stood in front of Mu Sui, just like the youth.

“Go check over there! What exactly are you all delaying for?” Urgent footsteps came from the other end of the alley, as if a team of people were hurrying this way.

Meng Ruji and Mu Sui were standing in a recessed area in the middle of the alley. The approaching people couldn’t see them for the moment, only seeing two black-armored soldiers standing dumbly beside the recess.

This team came quickly, even bumping into the first youth. The newcomer directly slapped the youth’s head, and the youth took the hit without making a sound. But when the soldier who hit him turned around, he too froze.

This time, a team of soldiers, plus the two who had come earlier—altogether seven or eight people, tall and burly—blocked the recess where Meng Ruji and Mu Sui were hiding completely, even making the air feel stuffy.

Everyone stared at Mu Sui, then unanimously chose shock and silence.

“Your team over there!” came a shout from further away, “Any discoveries?”

Seven or eight burly men with more than a dozen eyes stared straight at Mu Sui, then answered in unison: “No!”

Acting like they were blind as bats…

Meng Ruji put down the brick in her hand with a “thud,” which seemed to bring the soldiers across from them to their senses. Some began taking things from their belts, and others glanced toward the distance.

“Seems like people from other cities are coming,” someone said in an extremely low voice. “Let’s not stand here.”

Several silver beads and a handful of copper coins were passed to the youth’s hands. The youth took out his own money, then shoved all the money into Mu Sui’s arms.

He didn’t say a word to Mu Sui, yet seemed to have said countless words of “take care.”

Seven or eight soldiers turned and walked toward the alley exit, as if they had patrolled an uninhabited area, with not one person opening their mouth to discuss anything.

Mu Sui didn’t waste time either. Gripping the money in his hand, he directly deployed a formation. With a flash of light, he took Meng Ruji and escaped underground.

The soldiers hadn’t yet left the alley when they felt a flash of light behind them, but they all unanimously chose silence, then continued forward without anyone looking back.

“Didn’t expect that.” Having flashed out from the ground formation, Meng Ruji had just steadied herself when she said to Mu Sui beside her, “Zhuliu City’s soldiers are quite loyal to you. You must have treated them very well before.”

Mu Sui looked at Zhuliu City in the distant night. Built into the mountain, even from far away, it was visible, and in the night sky, more and more golden and silver techniques were gathering in that direction.

Yet Mu Sui’s voice sounded thin and cold:

“I built Zhuliu City only for a thousand gold pieces.”

“But they don’t seem to think of it that way.” Meng Ruji pointed at the money in Mu Sui’s hand—not much, altogether six silver and eighteen copper coins. “This seems to be the first time I’ve encountered this in the Land of No Refuge—giving money purely, not for profit. They have feelings for you.”

Mu Sui lowered his eyes, and after a moment of silence, separated three silver and nine copper coins: “Yours.”

There was no reason to refuse the money handed to her. Meng Ruji blinked, said “thank you,” and took the money quickly without even thinking.

Only after pocketing the money did she remember: “This is the money your soldiers gave you to save your life. I shouldn’t take it…”

“Why should my wife be so polite with me?” Mu Sui said coldly. “Now you are already half my life. Don’t pocket the money yet—first treat your wounds.”

Meng Ruji was somewhat dazed hearing this, not knowing whether this person who usually spoke sarcastically was truly concerned about her now or mocking her.

Meng Ruji didn’t respond, but still followed his words. She took out the money again, looked around, found a reasonably flat stone, sat on it, then cast a healing technique on her hand and placed it over her wound: “You should also regulate your breathing.” Meng Ruji glanced at Mu Sui. “I don’t know how you use this malevolent energy, so I can’t help you.”

Mu Sui said nothing more and also sat down, right beside Meng Ruji.

The two each tended to their injuries. In the night, only the sound of chirping insects could be heard—very quiet. And because the cloud layer in the sky had completely disappeared, tonight’s moonlight was especially bright, illuminating thousands of li, stretching out their shadows as if the two were leaning against each other.

Meng Ruji now only had flesh wounds on her body. All the malevolent energy that had entered her bloodstream had been drawn away by Mu Sui. After regulating her breathing for a while and feeling her body improve, she began paying attention to Mu Sui beside her.

Mu Sui seemed much worse off than her.

When he regulated his breathing, beads of sweat as large as beans formed on his forehead, dripping down one by one. This usually so self-controlled person now had his brows furrowed tightly, and more terrifyingly, sounds like bones being compressed seemed to come from his body—”creaking” sounds that made one’s teeth ache to hear.

Meng Ruji had originally planned to tend to her wounds and not pay much attention to him, but he looked too unwell. So, Meng Ruji stopped her healing technique and focused on watching Mu Sui.

And as her healing technique stopped, Mu Sui also opened his eyes.

Their eyes met.

“How is your malevolent energy?”

“How is your wound?”

The two almost simultaneously asked each other this question.

If before, Meng Ruji had still somewhat suspected whether Mu Sui was being sarcastic with her, now she was very certain—this guy was truly concerned about her wound…

“Flesh wounds.” Meng Ruji answered. “You look worse off than I.”

Mu Sui raised his hand and pressed his chest: “As you said, destroying a Heaven-Falling Formation isn’t that easy.”

“I heard your bones creaking…”

“Zhan Ye’s malevolent energy conflicts slightly with my original malevolent energy. I can’t regulate it well in a short time, but given more time, it’ll be fine.”

Mu Sui answered frankly, and Meng Ruji tilted her head to look at him.

Her eyes stared straight at him until Mu Sui took the initiative to speak: “Whatever you want to ask, just ask.”

“So… are you truly a deity who controls malevolent energy?”

“Deities have no fate patterns.” Mu Sui said. “Right now, I am human.”

“Right now you’re human, but what about before?”

Mu Sui was silent for a moment—this time, only a moment: “Didn’t you already guess? A heavenly god.”

Though she had already guessed, hearing Mu Sui personally admit it, Meng Ruji still drew in a breath.

“Really…” She continued examining Mu Sui. “Then why did you change from god to human?”

“Five thousand years ago, in the war between immortals and gods, the heavenly gods were defeated. To protect my life, the gods stripped away my divine status, making me mortal and causing me to fall to the lower realm.” Mu Sui spoke very lightly, making the stripping of divine status sound like a dog having its fur plucked by a child.

If Zhan Ye hadn’t mentioned earlier that “the heavenly gods pierced my flesh with ice picks and scraped my bones,” hearing Mu Sui speak this way, Meng Ruji really would have thought stripping away divine status was just that simple…

Meng Ruji lowered her eyes, looking at the back of Mu Sui’s hand, where bones created beautiful lines beneath his skin.

And Meng Ruji knew that a heavenly god’s divine status was like a cultivator’s inner breath, existing in every inch of bone and blood. To strip away divine status, every inch of his flesh must have been cut open.

He must have endured an unimaginably inhuman torture.

Meng Ruji’s fingertips moved, and for some reason, an irrepressible itch arose in her heart. This itch didn’t make her scratch her skin, but rather prompted her to raise her hand and cover the back of Mu Sui’s hand.

Under the bright moonlight, she watched her hand cover the back of Mu Sui’s hand, stroking the lines his bones traced beneath his skin: “It sounds… like it must have been very painful…”

Meng Ruji said this as if possessed by ghosts. She looked at Mu Sui, and thus saw herself reflected in his eyes, showing heartache.

As if burned, Mu Sui started, his fingers drawing back. The movement wasn’t large, but he pulled his hand out from under Meng Ruji’s.

“It was alright.” He maintained his coldness. “I can’t remember clearly anymore. However, there is one coincidental matter. I never told you before because I was concealing the malevolent energy matter.”

“What?”

“After my divine status was stripped away, I fell into a frozen lake in the human world and slept. To avoid being discovered by immortals and killed completely, I slept for thousands of years. Over a thousand years ago, I finally awakened at the bottom of the lake.”

“Frozen lake… over a thousand years…” Meng Ruji murmured, as if thinking of something.

Mu Sui nodded: “It was the day you saved Zhan Ye.” He looked at Meng Ruji, his pitch-black pupils containing no calculation, no depth, clean as the most transparent crystal. He told Meng Ruji, “The residual light when you saved him awakened me, who had been sleeping at the bottom of the lake.”

“Meng Ruji, I should be the one thanking you.”

Will update another Ben Ru Ji – Chapter tomorrow! If I don’t update, I’m a dog!