I have a high-risk profession in the cultivation world.

"Those things are chasing us again, Fellow Daoist Tian. The three of us are too conspicuous. Why don't we split up and run away..." A girl's voice rang out, tinged with a hint of apology.

Upon hearing this, Tian Yige's gaze lingered on the girl who had spoken, but she nodded indifferently without any expression.

She had been awake in this hellish place for eight days. On the third day, she met a man and a woman who told her that they had also been sucked in from Echo Valley that day. They traveled together, but they didn't expect that the direction they chose would be so bad. Over the next five days, they faced constant danger. This was the third wave of demons they had encountered.

Her leg was injured; there were four deep, bone-revealing cuts on the back of her right thigh. She had been responsible for covering the rear while they were escaping and had accidentally gotten hurt.

Now that those things have happened again, it's normal for the other person not to want to be burdened by them and to choose to separate.

Tian Yige stood up, supporting herself with her other intact leg, bowed to the man and woman opposite her in farewell, and left with her back straight.

The girl looked conflicted, opened her mouth as if to call out to someone, but was stopped by another man.

Now that Tian Yige is injured and has a bloody smell, she might attract those things even more. They are just strangers who met by chance, and it's really not worth risking their lives for a stranger.

Even if this stranger was injured while covering for them, they also had their reasons for ending up like this.

Tian Yige randomly chose a direction to escape, not caring whether anything was chasing her behind her. She didn't stop until she was almost exhausted and hid in the gap between several large rocks.

She took out some medicine and poured it haphazardly onto the wound on the back of her leg. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead. She bandaged it up, swallowed a few pills, and was just about to sit down and meditate to recover when the howling came closer again.

Tian Yige emerged from the gap, preparing to slip away, but was spotted by a demon.

In an instant, six demons were summoned, and the extremely imposing Asada Ita approached.

There's no way to escape this distance.

Assessing her own speed, Tian Yige realized with some despair that she might really be doomed this time.

Since that's the case, then let's have a fight! Even if she dies, she wants to be a cultivator who dies in battle!

Drawing her sword, Tian Yige engaged in fierce combat with six demons.

...There are five left.

Four.

Three.

two.

Tian Yige watched the last two demons approaching her, utterly exhausted. She used "Tinghan," which was already tainted with demonic energy, to brace herself against the ground, but still couldn't hold on. Her last thought before collapsing was looking at the wounds all over her body, thinking that the bandage on her thigh earlier had been a waste.

Because of excessive blood loss, Tian Yige's vision was somewhat blurred, so she missed the panicked figure rushing towards her from a distance just as she was about to collapse.

……

"Boom, boom, boom."

The sound of pounding pestles reached Tian Yige's ears, mixed with the sound of the wind, but she couldn't hear it clearly.

She thought she was dreaming. She had never heard of someone whose hearing could remain after death.

She felt something slightly cool placed near her mouth, and upon closer sniffing, she could smell the fragrance of herbs. She swallowed it subconsciously, which made her throat hurt. Then, the pain from all the wounds all over her body swept over her, and only then did Tian Yige realize that she was not dead.

She opened her eyes, her vision blurred, perhaps because she was so badly injured. She couldn't see who had saved her, but she heard a soft murmur of surprise: "Amitabha, you're awake."

It turned out to be him.

Apart from Huaisu, no one else in the world can casually utter "Amitabha" as if they are trying to deliver people from suffering, showing compassion and a desire to save all sentient beings.

Tian Yige closed her eyes and gave a bitter smile, realizing that she always seemed to run into him when she was in such a sorry state.

When she traveled alone before, she encountered a group of cultivators who were willing to become bandits. She was no match for them and was about to be kidnapped when Huaisu rescued her.

But Tian Yige would rather the person who saved her wasn't him.

How can there be such a person, truly like Buddha, saving all things in the world, yet with a heart as pure as grass and trees? Without petty sentiments, only boundless love.

But Tian Yige is an ordinary person; she can fall in love with her savior, with Huaisu, who takes meticulous care of her, a boy as clear as a Bodhi mirror.

Unfortunately, Tian Yige has mocked herself more than once, saying that people only treated her like grass and trees, and wouldn't even exchange a token of communication with her.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was finally much clearer.

It's remarkable that Huaisu was able to find her a cave in such a flat forest.

Huaisu sat just a step away from her, and her gaze immediately fell into those clear and bright eyes, but she couldn't stir up the slightest emotion in him.

"Thank you, Master Huaisu." Her voice was hoarse, and even she felt bad listening to it.

Tian Yige was so polite that she didn't seem like an old acquaintance of Huaisu. Compared to her unreasonable behavior after being rescued a year ago, she was now distant, restrained, and extremely polite.

Huaisu remained silent for a moment, then took out a pot of water. Tian Yige tried to reach out and take it, but she simply didn't have the strength.

"I'm sorry, Benefactor Tian." Huaisu's hand froze in mid-air. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed, put his arms around Tian Yige, helped her up, and fed her some water.

Tian Yige pressed her ear against Huaisu's chest, listening to the unchanging heartbeat, and after a few hurried sips, struggled to lie down.

There was no other way; if she didn't lie down soon, her heart would start racing uncontrollably.

"I was unconscious for several days?"

Today is the third day.

"Thank you for saving me."

"...Monks are compassionate and will save anyone they encounter."

“I know, don’t worry, I won’t say anything childish like ‘offering myself to you’ anymore, and you don’t need to emphasize it to me.”

"Also... I didn't mean to get hurt on your usual route this time."

Thinking back to the absurd things she did a year ago when she didn't know what had gotten into her head, Tian Yige felt a little ashamed.

It's her fault for being so impulsive and desperate at the time, trying to fit herself into the character of a delicate young girl from a storybook, thinking that Huaisu would also be as soft-hearted and easily moved as those men.

After being rescued, she couldn't escape him no matter what she did. Taking advantage of Huaisu's compassion, she deliberately got injured in front of him and said some nonsensical things—

No wonder Huaisu avoided her; if someone pursued him like that, he would probably run far away too.

Tian Yige tried her best to speak frankly, calmly looking at the stunning face opposite her, her expression unchanged and her gaze sincere.

She had been misunderstood. Huaisu wanted to say that she didn't mean it that way, so she lowered her head and met Ueda Ikko's gaze, which was now devoid of any other emotion. Her weak eyes held nothing but gratitude.

Suddenly, I felt incredibly unfamiliar with them, so I instinctively clasped my hands together and turned my back.

Benefactor Tian has truly let go... Amitabha, that's wonderful.

Huaisu turned his back and spoke in a stiff tone: "I'll go take a look around. You heal yourself. It's not convenient for me to be here."