“Why did he insist on seeing our faces?” Yu Tuan’er was very confused. “We wear masks precisely because we don’t look good. He clearly knows this, so why does he still want to see?”

Liu Yan said indifferently, “Because this person likes to show off. The more something normal people wouldn’t do, the more he wants to do it. When everyone thinks he should do things this way, he deliberately does them that way. Just now he acted to save people not because he’s kind, but because he saw Zhong Chunji watching someone die without saving them, so he deliberately had to save them. Do you understand?”

Yu Tuan’er nodded. “He thought you didn’t believe he would keep his word and save people, so he deliberately kept his word and deliberately saved people.”

Liu Yan said coldly, “I indeed don’t believe he would keep his word. Whether he saves people or not, I don’t care either. It’s not me who’s going to die.”

But Yu Tuan’er said, “But if you hadn’t spoken like that, he definitely wouldn’t have been willing to save people!”

Liu Yan closed his eyes and said indifferently, “Think whatever you want. Now quickly leave this place. This isn’t a good place.”

Yu Tuan’er carried him on her back and hurried into the depths of the mountain forest. “Why did that sister in the purple dress kill someone just now? She was clearly traveling with that scholar.”

Liu Yan still said indifferently, “Her? She’s an extremely selfish woman who loves to dream. But that she would kill to silence witnesses truly exceeded my expectations. Remarkable, truly remarkable—what a good disciple Xue Xianzi taught.”

Yu Tuan’er continued asking, “Why did she kill to silence witnesses?”

Liu Yan was unexpectedly patient today and still answered indifferently, “Because she’s a righteous martial world heroine. If today’s incident of watching someone die without saving them were to spread, she would be unable to establish herself in the martial world.”

Yu Tuan’er asked again, “Why didn’t she save you?”

Liu Yan said, “She did something unconscionable. Few people in the world know about it. The others won’t speak of it, but she’s afraid I’ll reveal it.”

Yu Tuan’er said, “That’s also killing to silence witnesses… Exactly how many bad things has she done?”

Liu Yan laughed coldly, “Once a person does one bad thing but doesn’t want to admit it, they have to do tens of thousands of bad things to cover it up…”

While speaking, the two had run deep into Dongting East Mountain. They saw tea trees everywhere growing mixed with various fruit trees. The deeper they went, the more fragrant aromas filled the air, refreshing the heart and lungs. Breathing it into their lungs made their whole bodies feel lighter.

Yu Tuan’er stopped by a mountain spring. “Do the wounds on your body still hurt?”

Liu Yan didn’t answer. Yu Tuan’er gently set him down, removed his black hat covering, and gently wiped the scars on his face with spring water. After so many days of her patient care, the wounds on Liu Yan’s face had gradually healed. The hideous and terrifying scars formed a stark contrast with the snow-white and delicate skin at the scar edges, making them even more shocking to behold.

Looking at his cold expression, Yu Tuan’er’s mood suddenly soured. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

Liu Yan looked at her coldly, still not answering.

She paused. “You… when you were good-looking before, there must have been many people who liked you and cared about you, right?”

After a while, there was still no answer. Yu Tuan’er said angrily, “Why won’t you talk to me? Because I’m ugly, you don’t treasure my care and concern for you?”

“If I had asked you to, and you cared for and looked after me, I would naturally treasure it,” Liu Yan said coldly. “You yourself wanted to care for and look after me, then you get angry that I don’t treasure it. Why should I treasure it? Inexplicable.”

Yu Tuan’er was stunned, stared blankly for a while, then sighed deeply. “Don’t you even treasure your own life?”

Liu Yan said, “No.”

Yu Tuan’er sat silently to one side, resting her chin on her hands as she looked at him. “I really don’t understand. You’re an incredibly wicked villain, yet you have no great ambitions. You don’t even treasure your own life. So what do you treasure? Why did you bring me out of the mountains?”

“I have only one thing in my life—I hate only one person. Apart from that, everything is meaningless,” Liu Yan said wearily. “I brought you out of the mountains to refine medicine.”

Yu Tuan’er asked in a low voice, “Why do you want to refine medicine for me?”

For some reason, a chill suddenly rose in her heart, and she felt an inexplicable fear about what Liu Yan was about to say.

Liu Yan said indifferently, “Because this medicine is a new drug. Although it can save your life, I don’t know what other effects it will have on the body after taking it.”

Yu Tuan’er said angrily, “You’re just using me to test medicine! You, you, you… My mother treasured me like a precious gem, but you’re using me to test medicine!”

Liu Yan looked at her coldly. “You’re going to die soon anyway. If I hadn’t saved you, you wouldn’t live past this time next year.”

Yu Tuan’er was left speechless and discouraged, staring blankly at Liu Yan, truly not knowing what to do with this person. This person was truly bad to the bone, but she always… always… felt… she couldn’t leave him, nor could she kill him.

“Oh my, I’ve disturbed a beautiful scene again. I’ve come at a really bad time, but here I am again.”

A laugh came from the tea forest. Yellow robes fluttered, a red fan swayed gently. The young man who had just left appeared leading a white horse with the unconscious Lin Bu on its back, reappearing behind Liu Yan and Yu Tuan’er. “I’m really very interested in you two. Oh well, oh well. I can’t bear to leave, so I can only boldly approach to make friends. Considering that I just saved both your lives, could you let me sit on that stone beside you for a moment?”

“Fang Pingzhai,” Yu Tuan’er’s eyes widened. “Why are you following us?”

Fang Pingzhai smiled. “Because I’m very bored, you two are very interesting, and—although I saved this person’s life, I don’t want to take care of him.”

Yu Tuan’er glanced over and saw that Lin Bu’s chest wound had been bandaged. The white bandage was covered with some bright yellow powder. She didn’t know what medicine Fang Pingzhai had used, but Lin Bu’s complexion had turned rosy, his breathing was even, and his injury had stabilized.

Liu Yan glanced indifferently at Fang Pingzhai. Fang Pingzhai’s mouth showed a slight smile as his red fan swayed. “What’s your name?”

Liu Yan said indifferently, “Why should I tell you?”

Fang Pingzhai sat properly on another large stone in front of him. “Aiya! A name is for addressing someone. If you don’t tell me, do you want me to call you Little Cat or Little Dog, Little Red or Little Blue?”

Liu Yan said, “That’s your business.”

“Hmm—your voice is very pleasant, the most pleasant man’s voice I’ve ever heard. The one beside you has the most unpleasant woman’s voice I’ve ever heard. My ears are very sharp.” Fang Pingzhai tapped his own ear with his red fan. “Since you won’t tell me your name, and you’re wearing black clothes, I’ll call you Little Black. And the one beside you, I’ll call Little White.”

Yu Tuan’er was still concerned about Lin Bu on the horse’s back. Hearing this, she said, “My name is Yu Tuan’er.”

Fang Pingzhai turned a deaf ear and continued talking cheerfully. “Little White, take that gentleman down from the horse’s back. If he continues being jostled on horseback with his severe injuries, he’ll die soon.”

Yu Tuan’er gently lifted Lin Bu down and let him lie flat on the ground. “My name is Yu Tuan’er.”

“Brother Black, may I presumptuously ask what unconscionable and utterly heinous thing you did, and what person was so creative and patient as to make you look like this? Oh my, my heart is truly curious—very curious—so curious I absolutely can’t sleep!” Fang Pingzhai shook his head. “I truly admire whoever made you look like this.”

Liu Yan ignored him completely, but Yu Tuan’er said, “It’s not even dark yet. How can you be so curious you can’t sleep?”

Fang Pingzhai said, “Uh—is there a rule that you can only sleep when it’s dark?”

Yu Tuan’er was stunned. “That’s true too.”

Fang Pingzhai turned to Liu Yan. “I just heard you say you have only one thing in your life and hate only one person. If you tell me an interesting story to add a little fun to my boring life, I’ll go kill the person you resent for you. This trade is very profitable—how about it?”

Liu Yan said indifferently, “Oh? Can you kill someone from a thousand li away?”

Fang Pingzhai waved his red fan and laughed heartily. “I can’t, but it’s close enough. In this world, there are probably no things that Fang Pingzhai can’t accomplish.”

Liu Yan said, “The person who made me like this is called Shen Langhun.”

Fang Pingzhai was stunned. “That’s it?”

Liu Yan said indifferently, “That’s it.”

Fang Pingzhai said, “Why did he injure you like this? What kind of person were you originally? Telling stories should have a beginning and end. Taking things out of context is the most unprincipled and immoral thing.”

Liu Yan closed his eyes. “After you’ve killed the person, I’ll tell you the rest.”

Fang Pingzhai shook his head and fanned gently with his red fan behind him. “Stubborn, cold, prejudiced, resentful, selfish, distrustful of people—you truly are perfect in every way.”

Hearing this, Yu Tuan’er, who had originally quite disliked this yellow-robed man, suddenly burst out laughing.

Fang Pingzhai laughed with a “ha” sound. “My words are always incisive—no need to be too moved. Since Brother Black won’t talk to me, Little White, tell me what you two came to Ling Yuan Temple on Dongting East Mountain to do? Maybe I’ll be in such a good mood that I’ll help you.”

“We came to East Mountain to pick tea and refine medicine,” Yu Tuan’er said truthfully. “I have a strange illness, and he says he can refine a medicine from tea leaves to cure my disease.”

Fang Pingzhai exclaimed with great interest. “Using tea leaves to refine medicine—this is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. Interesting, interesting. You two are indeed very interesting. Then let’s immediately build a thatched hut to avoid the cold wind and water at night.”

He acted as soon as he spoke. After finishing his sentence, he had already darted into the forest. Only the sound of branches and leaves could be heard as he began breaking tree branches to build the thatched hut.

Yu Tuan’er and Liu Yan looked at each other. Liu Yan’s expression was indifferent—no matter how strange Fang Pingzhai was, he seemed unconcerned. But Yu Tuan’er was extremely puzzled—how could such a person exist in the world? When others wanted to refine medicine, he was happier building a thatched hut than anyone else?

Dusk passed quickly. Before nightfall arrived, Fang Pingzhai had already skillfully built a simple thatched hut with nimble hands and feet. His movements were extremely practiced, as if he had built hundreds of identical thatched huts before. While Yu Tuan’er helped, she asked questions, but Fang Pingzhai said he had never built a thatched hut in his entire life.

Whether he had built them before or not, by the time the stars and moon filled the sky, Liu Yan, Yu Tuan’er, Lin Bu, and Fang Pingzhai were already lying in that thatched hut sleeping. With the elegant fragrance of the tea forest in their nostrils and the murmuring sound of water in their ears, the four closed their eyes and slept. Though they were in the wilderness, they actually felt peaceful and tranquil, all sleeping very soundly.