By the campfire, after hearing this past story, everyone fell into silence.
After a long while, Ye Chuan finally asked, “From the current clues, he should have come to the Land of No Return after being slain by you, but for some unknown reason, he fell into slumber until recently awakening?”
Meng Ruji nodded: “Otherwise, with his abilities, plus the fact that malevolent qi isn’t affected by the Land of No Return’s rules, he would have long ago earned a thousand gold and bought his way back to life.”
Tuzi was also confused: “Why did he fall asleep, and why did he awaken?”
No one knew the answer; after all, calculating the time, he had arrived even earlier than Mu Sui.
Meng Ruji sighed: “Today, he merely used malevolent qi to condense a puppet, yet it was already difficult to deal with. If his true body moves, I’m afraid the four of us tied together wouldn’t be enough for him to beat.”
“I think City Lord Brother fought him pretty well,” Tuzi chimed in. “Right, City Lord Brother!”
Following Tuzi’s words, Meng Ruji cast a sidelong glance at Mu Sui, her gaze circling his chest area, catching sight of his skin through his slightly open clothing.
Mu Sui poked at the firewood in the campfire, not responding.
“The risk is great,” Meng Ruji said softly. “It’s not worth risking one’s life to fight.”
Hearing this, Mu Sui finally glanced at Meng Ruji. Seeing her calm expression, Mu Sui only said: “Finding a way to make him fall back into slumber would be best.”
Once he spoke, Tuzi immediately changed her tune: “Right! To subdue the enemy without fighting is best! City Lord Brother is truly far-sighted!”
Meng Ruji rolled her eyes at Tuzi, then took out the gray stone from her embrace again.
“This person is the strangest. After being injured by that Luo Yingfeng, he’s been sleeping ever since. Even with all today’s commotion, I couldn’t knock him awake. Logically, he died earliest and has been in the Land of No Return the longest, so he might know some clues…”
“Let me see,” Mu Sui extended his hand.
“Keep your promise. Don’t make a move—he’s currently the only breakthrough we can grasp,” Meng Ruji instructed, handing the stone to Mu Sui.
Mu Sui took it in his hands, examined it carefully, and frowned slightly: “You said earlier he was a nightmare demon, so why is his true form a stone?”
Meng Ruji shook her head: “Indeed, it shouldn’t be a stone. Perhaps this is his life-sustaining object.”
“That’s impossible,” Tuzi interjected. “Life-sustaining objects exist independently of half-dead people. I’ve never heard of anyone being able to hide inside their life-sustaining object for so long.”
“We can only wait for him to wake up and ask him,” Meng Ruji sighed. “Do you have any way to wake him up?”
Mu Sui pondered for a while, then took out silver coins from his chest, drew a formation, placed the stone on top of the formation, and activated it. But after the light circulated, the stone showed no changes whatsoever.
However, seeing Mu Sui’s formation, Ye Chuan looked up at him with some surprise: “This medical formation is extremely ancient yet exquisitely refined. How did you learn it?”
“Saw it in a book,” Mu Sui answered indifferently. After the formation’s light completely faded, he picked up the stone again and weighed it a couple of times. “Is he truly unconscious due to severe injuries?”
Meng Ruji thought about Mo Li’s previous behavior and shook her head.
“I can hardly distinguish how much truth there was in his words. It seems we can only wait for him to wake up on his own.”
“Sigh…” Tuzi sighed. “So there’s no result…”
“Forget it. Let’s rest early today and think of a solution tomorrow,” Meng Ruji put away the stone, ending the discussion, and gave Mu Sui a meaningful look. “Everyone, go rest.”
Night deepened, and the campfire burned until the latter half of the night, much dimmer than before.
When rustling sounds appeared by her ears, Meng Ruji immediately opened her eyes. She sat up and looked toward where the sounds came from, indeed seeing a figure with somewhat staggering steps walking into the distance.
Ye Chuan and Tuzi were both sleeping soundly. Meng Ruji didn’t wake them and followed Mu Sui toward a secluded place.
After walking for a while, Mu Sui stopped, but Meng Ruji didn’t stop, slowly walking up to him.
“Qianshan Jun, where exactly did you develop this habit of neither crying out in pain nor asking for help?”
Mu Sui’s body leaned slightly to one side, slowly sitting down against a tree, only then looking up at Meng Ruji.
Meng Ruji had guessed he was unwell, but seeing his face so deathly pale still startled her. She hurried forward, crouched beside Mu Sui, and naturally and familiarly grasped his hand.
“Does this feel better?”
Mu Sui glanced at her hand—her palm was warm, just as before: “You followed again.”
His voice was hoarse, but he still had the strength to speak. Meng Ruji steadied her mind and asked: “What exactly is wrong with your body?” She examined him. “The injuries on your body were from long ago. Your healing ability is good—I’ve witnessed it. But these two times… once was coming out of Ye Chuan’s illusion realm, and once was today…”
Mu Sui lifted his eyes slightly, staring into Meng Ruji’s eyes. Even though his body was weak, his gaze was still compelling.
Meng Ruji didn’t back down either, speaking directly: “Mu Sui, does using your Inner Core power cause backlash against you?”
The night was tranquil, a cool breeze gently caressing.
After a long silence, Mu Sui slightly lowered his eyes and answered softly: “Indeed. Perhaps your Inner Core hasn’t yet fused with my body.”
Meng Ruji raised an eyebrow slightly: “Is that so?”
“What else?” Mu Sui countered with a sharp question.
“Oh.” Meng Ruji seemed to nod in understanding, then, after a while, asked seemingly casually: “I’ve always forgotten to ask you—how do you know that malevolent qi is a divine object?”
Their clasped hands maintained the same temperature, but the air between them somehow became subtly tense.
Mu Sui looked up at Meng Ruji again.
Meng Ruji smiled without warmth, pulling the corners of her mouth. “I know malevolent qi is a divine object because Zhan Ye told me. What about you? How do you know?”
“Books…”
“Books again?” Meng Ruji directly cut off his words. “Husband is truly learned, having read so many books. When we enter Zhuliu City later, you must show me your study.”
Faced with Meng Ruji’s sarcasm, Mu Sui smiled: “Alright…” Before finishing the word, Mu Sui gritted his teeth, seeming to endure a new wave of pain sweeping through his body.