Tonight, the moonlight outside was exceptionally bright, like silver frost, slanting into the cave. The stone cave was cold and damp, reflecting the moonlight; though it was night, there was a cool, thin light.

Water droplets seeped from the cave ceiling above, falling onto the tip of my nose. I remembered before, in this same cave, when I was taking care of Xie Xuanqing, the cave was always kept dry and comfortable with spells. Not like now…

I glanced at Xie Zhuo beside me. He was still regulating his breathing, as cold and rigid as the stones in this cave.

Outside, day and night had changed seven times. For seven days, Xie Zhuo and I had stayed in this cave, either regulating our breathing or staring at each other.

I didn’t know if Xiaxia had sent any messages, because the yin-yang fish had been hidden in Xie Zhuo’s sleeve.

As time passed, I grew increasingly anxious. With each passing day, Xie Zhuo’s wounds visibly improved a little.

I had always known he was a formidable person. Although he still couldn’t stand now, when he could stand would surely be when my death arrived.

I was constantly thinking about how to retrieve my yin-yang fish and reconnect with Xiaxia, but each time, whether Xie Zhuo’s eyes were closed or open, as soon as I started eyeing his left sleeve, he would notice me immediately.

Fortunately, my magic had recovered about fifty to sixty percent, and the rope binding me had been worn halfway through by my daily rubbing. I just needed the right moment…

A soft “sha” sound, the subtle noise of clothing rubbing against the stone wall, caught my attention.

I turned my head, staring at Xie Zhuo, examining him.

In the cool moonlight reflecting off the stone walls, I saw Xie Zhuo’s slightly pale lips, and… a bit of cold sweat on his forehead.

Hmm?

Was he… perhaps telling me that an opportunity…

Had arrived? Just like that?

Wasn’t it a bit sudden?

I tentatively stood up, and Xie Zhuo didn’t react.

I scooted along the wall, standing up, and Xie Zhuo still didn’t react.

But just as my body fully straightened, I suddenly sensed something strange outside the cave. It seemed like an aura had flashed by from outside.

But when I quickly turned my head, frowning and staring carefully outside, I didn’t detect any movement.

Tonight was a bit odd.

But…

I looked at Xie Zhuo, then outside, and finally gritted my teeth, moving a couple of steps closer to him.

And he, facing my approach, had only one reaction: his breathing became more rapid, his cold sweat flowed more profusely, and his face grew increasingly pale…

I glanced at his slightly open collar, where black evil qi seemed to be stirring restlessly. So… it was the wounds left by evil spirits tearing at his body…

I had been wounded by evil spirits before; I knew how unbearable it felt. Seeing Xie Zhuo like this, I hesitated.

But when my gaze fell on his left sleeve, I immediately hardened my slightly softened heart!

A soft heart leads to hesitation! Hesitation leads to defeat!

Miss today, and I might never have another chance! When he had choked me before, he hadn’t spared any strength!

I summoned my anger toward Xie Zhuo, decisively took a deep breath, silently recited a spell formula in my mind, mobilized my soul power, and forcefully struggled against the rope on my body… uh… it didn’t break…

It was a bit embarrassing…

The old fox’s rope was quite sturdy…

I looked around, found a relatively sharp stone, and rubbed the half-broken rope behind me against it. While using magic to pull the rope taut on both sides, I frantically shook my body, making the rope grind against the stone with an unpleasant “creak-creak” sound.

With both approaches, I worked fervently. Had Xie Zhuo been awake as before, I wouldn’t have been able to try such elaborate methods.

However, the noise was indeed quite loud. Before I could wear through the rope, Xie Zhuo’s eyelashes trembled twice, and he regained consciousness.

He slowly raised his head, like a mortal with a high fever, his eye sockets slightly reddened, but his lips frighteningly white.

Opening his eyes, he saw me like a bear scratching itself against a tree, in a strange posture, rubbing against the stone wall. Despite his weakness, his gaze revealed a degree of cold speechlessness.

His expression told me—I didn’t look very intelligent right now.

But heaven always seemed to enjoy slapping both Xie Zhuo and me in the face alternately. His sighing breeze hadn’t even stopped when, with a “snap,” the rope that Lao Qin had bound me with for seven days and nights suddenly broke!

Xie Zhuo’s gaze froze.

With my hands freed, I quickly stripped off the rope, threw it fiercely to the ground, and even stepped on it before striding to Xie Zhuo.

I looked down at him from above: “Let’s see how you can stop me today?”

He didn’t move, as if opening his eyes had taken his last strength.

Those abyss-like eyes reflected the cool moonlight in the cave, constantly gazing at me.

I directly grabbed his left hand, rummaging through his sleeve. Unlike the Pangu Fu that I could never touch, I quickly found the yin-yang fish.

But now I rationally knew that I couldn’t contact Xiaxia first, as I was unclear about her situation.

What if contacting her rashly made Xie Xuanqing suspicious? So I just held the yin-yang fish in my palm.

I tossed aside Xie Zhuo’s powerless hand, glanced at him, and then told him:

“I’m leaving. I’ll hide until Xiaxia and Xie Xuanqing establish a blood oath.”

I stood up, looking toward the cave entrance, tilting my head slightly as I put the yin-yang fish on my ear. As I put it on, I said:

“Xie Zhuo, we met, then divorced. Between us, the happiness was real, and falling out of love is also real.”

I secured the yin-yang fish and walked toward the cave exit, trying my best to make my voice sound calm and cold, “Many things, even if they’re wrong, you can’t erase them. Learning to accept is good for both of us.”

I didn’t look back, didn’t look at him.

But after taking two steps, I suddenly felt a weak yet undeniable pulling force from behind.

I turned my head slightly. Xie Zhuo had grabbed the hem of my clothes.

Following his weakened hand, I saw his face.

Except for our first meeting, Xie Zhuo had rarely shown such weakness before me.

“Outside… dangerous…”

He said thus.

I was somewhat surprised, frozen in place.

I thought he was holding me back for a final struggle, a mutual destruction. At worst, he should have said something harsh like “you can’t escape.” Instead, unexpectedly, in this situation, at this moment, what came from his mouth was still…

Outside is dangerous?

If not for these days of genuinely fighting with him for my life, I would almost believe that between us, there had been no divorce, no splitting of time and space, no life-and-death struggle…

We seemed to still be husband and wife, maintaining a strange marriage bond. My husband was reticent, stubborn, wouldn’t consummate our marriage, and never said he loved me, but he would often remind me to smile, that the ground was cold, that outside was dangerous.

After a silence, I pried open Xie Zhuo’s fingers.

“I’ll face it myself.”

After all, no one is obligated to protect someone else for a lifetime. Especially for an immortal’s life, which is so long, in the days ahead without Xie Zhuo, I would still have to rely on myself.

I stepped away. Xie Zhuo, indeed exhausted, couldn’t stand to pursue me.

I followed the cave until I reached the entrance. The moonlight at the entrance was even brighter. This crisis caused by Xie Zhuo, I had finally managed to overcome by luck…

With a “bang,” I crashed into an invisible barrier.

Startled, I immediately reached out to feel it. When my hand touched the barrier, it still had no tangible form, but it solidly blocked me inside. I gritted my teeth, concentrated my magic, and struck the barrier with all my might.

An even louder sound echoed back and forth in the cave, dissipating into nothing after a moment.

The barrier didn’t budge at all, and I retreated three steps.

“A… barrier?” I turned my head, looking at that shadow already somewhat blurred in the darkness of the cave, asking in disbelief, “You still had the strength to create a barrier?!”

That shadow turned its head. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but I could see the cold light in those eyes distinctly.

Like a hungry wolf, glowing dimly.

His weak, hoarse voice also sounded in the cave: “You can create barriers, so can Lao Qin.”

I suddenly realized: “Lao Qin set up a barrier the day he left?!” After this realization, I became furiously angry, “Then what the hell was the point of tying me up for so many days?!

My arms are swollen from the ropes!”

His breathing in the cave rose and fell several times: “A difficult puzzle, can’t let you see all of it at once.”

Yes! Had I known there was a barrier here, I would have made more preparations!

This Xie Zhuo…

I gritted my teeth: “You truly are a dog.”