Mingran left the door with satisfaction, while the shop owner muttered prayers to various gods as he carefully moved Yusang. What he didn’t know was that during his carelessness, Yusang slowly opened her eyes – eyes that were bright and clear, showing no trace of unconsciousness or confusion whatsoever.

Half an hour later, Mingran was carried into a room by the owner and thrown into a corner. Then the owner, muttering apologies under his breath, hurriedly left, shutting the door with a bang and plunging the entire room into darkness.

Yusang opened her eyes and tried to move her limbs with effort. Just as she was about to find a way to stand up, the door was pulled open again. She quickly closed her eyes again and leaned back against the corner.

“You can stay in here for now, too.” The shop owner’s voice came, followed by another set of approaching footsteps. Though the lighting here made it impossible to see the newcomer’s appearance, from those unhurried footsteps, Yusang still recognized that it was Yan Qige.

“Helping demons cause harm – aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?” It was indeed Yan Qige’s familiar cold voice.

“Divine retribution at least means the heavens are watching, but they just happen not to be looking. Don’t blame me – if I don’t listen to her, I won’t see tomorrow’s sun.” The owner spoke with what seemed like both jest and helplessness, then closed the door behind Yan Qige again. The sounds of a lock and key followed.

The sounds outside the door gradually faded – the owner must have left. Yusang opened her eyes to complete darkness before her, but she knew Yan Qige was standing less than two steps away from her.

“Yusang, are you there?” Yan Qige’s voice came from the darkness, his tone calm, showing neither tension nor concern, but also lacking his usual coldness.

Yusang didn’t make a sound. Facing the darkness before her, his words when facing Mingran’s threats echoed in her ears, making her chest feel stuffy and tight, mixed with anger and disappointment, very uncomfortable.

The soft sound of flames rising broke the silence as a lantern lit up in the darkness. Yan Qige curved his fingers and cast an incantation to summon the Soul Collector lantern. The lantern materialized spiritually from the air, becoming a solid object that fell before Yan Qige. He reached out to catch it from the air, holding it in his hand and raising his wrist slightly to shine it toward the corner where Yusang was.

Yusang sat leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, her head tilted slightly to the side, revealing a section of snow-white neck, pale profile, eyes covered by long lashes, and a delicate upturned nose. All of this was outlined by the lantern’s light into perfect lines cast on the wall, creating a moving shadow.

For the first time, Yan Qige looked at Yusang so seriously, only now discovering that she was so beautiful. It wasn’t that seductive, captivating, city-toppling kind of flamboyant demonic beauty, but rather a very subtle feeling, like wind or flower fragrance. You couldn’t pinpoint what was good about it, but it was more moving than any other beauty.

“Get up, stop pretending,” Yan Qige half-crouched down, bringing the lantern closer as he spoke.

“I want to pretend – so what?” Yusang still leaned against the wall without moving, not opening her eyes, only snorting dismissively.

“How ungrateful. I was worried you’d been harmed by demons, and now you’re putting on airs.” Yan Qige stood up irritably.

“Why worry about me? There are thousands upon thousands of little demons in the world for you to pick and choose from. What does my life or death have to do with you?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Qige understood as clearly as a mirror that Yusang had heard his conversation with Mingran from the beginning and was now harboring anger and resentment toward him. Though he had said those things to prevent Mingran from gaining the upper hand, those words must have been chilling for Yusang to hear. But even though he understood and could comprehend it, he was accustomed to never yielding to anyone. With his stubborn nature, asking him to explain now was still somewhat beneath his dignity.

“There are only two hours until dark. You should know you were chosen by them to be a sacrifice. If you want to waste time sitting here waiting, then that’s up to you.” Yan Qige made as if to turn around, seeming somewhat indifferent.

Yusang opened her eyes and jumped up from the ground. Yan Qige thought he had touched upon her fears and turned to look, only to see her glaring at him angrily.

“You were the one who said I had no value to you, and now you speak as if you care about me so much. Do you take me for a foolish idiot, or just a little demon pet you keep by your side?”

Even that day at the inn when he had been harsh with her in front of Mingran, she had been so delighted she didn’t know north from south just from him showing her kindness afterward. But this time, Yan Qige understood from Yusang’s tone that she was truly taking this to heart.

“Do you care that much about how I see you?” Yan Qige looked at Yusang, softening his gaze and making his voice gentle.

“Who cares? I don’t care at all!” Yusang shouted back loudly in rebuttal, but somehow her eyes began to sting.

Yan Qige hadn’t expected Yusang to have such an intense reaction, but he didn’t seem surprised either. He simply continued to look at her with gentle eyes, letting her shout at him without showing any displeasure.

“You’re a demon hunter, I’m a demon. Your magic is powerful; my cultivation is minimal. We were never meant to be on the same path. I was greedy for convenience, clinging to your side, borrowing your power to collect some demon cores to eat for cultivation. Before, I was too thick-skinned. After we escape this time, I won’t shamelessly pester you anymore.”

“Is there anything else?” After waiting a moment and seeing that Yusang seemed to have no more intention of shouting at him, Yan Qige asked.

Yusang glared fiercely at Yan Qige, then turned her head to the side without speaking, silently indicating there was nothing more.

“If you can’t think of anything more for the moment, then let’s set this matter aside for now. The urgent matter is leaving this place – what do you think?” Yan Qige asked with some teasing.

“Hmph.” Yusang exhaled through her nose.

“If you don’t speak, then you agree.” Yan Qige said while carrying the lantern to the door, placing his hand on it as if testing it, while simultaneously extending the lantern in his hand toward Yusang. Looking at the lantern extended before her, Yusang suddenly forgot about her sulking, standing transfixed in surprise.

“Help me hold the lantern.” At Yan Qige’s urging, Yusang carefully reached out with trembling hands to take the lantern. When her hand grasped the lantern’s handle, various memories flashed before her eyes, catching her off guard. Yusang’s heart beat rapidly, her fingers tightly clenched and gripped, and the flames in the lantern kept swaying and flickering. It seemed as if sparks were making crackling sounds inside the lantern, then several pink little sparks rose from within the lantern, flying close to Yusang like fireflies and moving around her.

“Fortunately, though that owner has a bad heart, he doesn’t have much cunning. This door hasn’t been enhanced with magic spells – I can break through from inside. However…” Yan Qige spoke while turning his head, only to discover that Yusang was completely absorbed in looking at the lantern before her, not listening to him at all.

“However, what?” Realizing that Yan Qige was looking at her, Yusang quickly reached out to grab the little sparks before her, catching them in her palm and gripping them, then looked up at Yan Qige and continued the question to cover her distraction.

Yan Qige looked at Yusang with some suspicion, having doubts in his mind but not showing it on his face, nor pursuing the matter. He simply followed her words: “However, if we escape like this, we’ll inevitably lose the initiative again.”

“Oh,” Yusang responded casually, walked directly past Yan Qige’s side and stood by the door, curved her fingers to her lips and chanted a few incantations, then extended her finger close to the gap between the door frame and door panel. A bamboo branch extended from her index finger, and the bamboo branch attached itself to the door frame like a climbing insect, growing toward the gap. Soon, it squeezed out a small crevice and continued growing toward the outside through that gap.