I long to return home!

Looking at himself, the clothes he had worn when he arrived were gone, and a thin white robe was draped over his body.

Startled, she clutched her lower abdomen as if remembering something, and the wound pierced by the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Blade miraculously healed. Huai Zhen took a deep breath, knowing without a doubt that Xue Wu had healed her.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, clearly frightened. His hands were withered and lifeless, and when he tugged at a tuft of hair, it was shockingly white.

He pondered deeply, unable to calm down for a long time. He never expected that his momentary act of kindness would come at such a heavy price.

squeak~

The door was pushed open, and Lei Mengying walked in. When she saw Huaizhen awake, her face first showed joy, but quickly became extremely solemn.

Sitting on the wooden chair, looking at Huai Zhen, who was white-haired and short of life, he felt very uncomfortable. He remained silent for a long time, only pursing his lips and not saying a word.

"Your Highness..."

Huai Zhen broke the silence. When her feet touched the ground, she felt a momentary disorientation and almost fell, as if her feet didn't belong to her.

"Cough, it's nothing." He coughed lightly, and Lei Mengying helped him sit down.

"Take the pill first." Lei Mengying poured out a pill from the jade bottle. The pill was light red and looked like it could replenish blood and vitality.

After taking the medicine, Huai Zhen coughed lightly again and felt better. He looked at Lei Mengying and thought for a moment before saying, "Thank you for your help, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Lei Mengying was taken aback. She had originally come to ask for clarification, but seeing Huaizhen's appearance, she felt a deep sense of guilt. After a long while, she asked with concern, "How are you feeling now? If you feel unwell, this is the capital city, and there are medicines available to help you recover."

"No need, Your Highness, I'm much better now. Your Highness's visit has already been enough for me. I'm sure Your Highness still has some doubts in your heart." Huai Zhen's voice was as weak as if she were about to breathe her last, and she couldn't help but cough with every sentence.

Lei Mengying pursed her lips, sighed deeply, and asked, "I want to know what exactly happened back then, that my consciousness went out of control when I entered the cave."

"Your Highness was corrupted by the evil energy that the ghost cultivator had placed in the prison back then. It was because the evil energy controlled Your Highness that you are in this state," Huai Zhen said weakly.

Lei Mengying was startled. "You mean there was a ghost cultivator present back then?"

Huai Zhen nodded slightly, "No, there was only one ghost cultivator from beginning to end, but what was killed earlier was his puppet."

These words further confirmed everything that had happened. After thinking for a long time, Lei Mengying's voice suddenly turned deep as she asked, "Before you fell into a coma, Second Grandfather took me to Ailao Mountain to investigate. The battle stretched for hundreds of miles, and at least one of the participants was a Nascent Soul cultivator."

Huai Zhen remained silent. He didn't know what had happened at the time. From the moment the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Blade pierced his body, his own consciousness dimmed, and another consciousness quickly took control of his body. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in ruins.

Looking at Huai Zhen's expression, Lei Mengying pursed her lips and said in a deep voice, "I want to know what happened while I was unconscious? The ravines that stretch for hundreds of miles and the several bottomless, huge knife marks, although the residual aura has dissipated, still retain a trace of purple lightning."

"Then Zi Lei is my sword."

As she spoke, Lei Mengying took out the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Blade. The lightning element on the hilt had never dimmed since then, and the power of lightning on the entire blade had been eternal, with the purple light never extinguished.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "If it weren't for you, who else would have picked up this knife? Why would the entire mountain have turned into ruins? And how did we manage to escape?"

In Lei Mengying's eyes, Huai Zhen at this moment vaguely resembled that person's shadow, and it could be said that there was a moment of overlap, as only that person had ever used this knife in the past.

Huai Zhen avoided eye contact, seemingly unwilling to answer these questions. He was still not over Xue Wu's dissipated soul, so how could he reveal the truth?

Upon noticing this, Lei Mengying smiled faintly. "If you don't want to talk about it and let it go, I still want to thank you for saving me. But how did you remove the evil energy from my body?"

Upon hearing this, Huai Zhen quickly turned her head away, fearing that speaking out might cause a misunderstanding. When she turned back, Lei Mengying's face was already close to hers, and she smiled faintly: "Don't worry, I'm not blind to right and wrong, and I certainly won't repay kindness with enmity..." She paused, then said somewhat shyly, "Although the way you helped me exorcise the evil spirit was... I still have to say thank you."

Huai Zhen smiled and said lightly, "It's alright, I only offended Your Highness because of the urgency of the matter."

Upon hearing this, Lei Mengying blushed, a rare occurrence for her. She turned around and said, "Your injuries are quite severe, and it will probably take a long time to recover. You will stay in the palace for the time being. If you want to go out for a walk, someone will show you around."

He stopped in front of the door and after a long pause said, "Remember, your life is mine. You cannot die without my instructions."

Huai Zhen's pale face broke into a brighter smile, but it soon faded. Things were far more complicated than Lei Mengying had imagined.

He can now clearly feel the erosion within his body and the decline in his lifespan. Taking high-level pills is merely a temporary fix, barely keeping him alive.

Even though he was in the Foundation Establishment stage and had a lifespan of several hundred years, the feeling of old age and impending death still lingered in his body. If he did not break through the Foundation Establishment stage and reach the Golden Core stage, he would only have ten years to live at most.

He barely managed to stand up by supporting himself on the table with both hands. He raised his left palm, and a trace of blood energy suddenly surged from his palm. His memory had loosened somewhat, though it was just a tiny bit, but something was better than nothing.

Half a month later.

Every day, fourth- or fifth-grade pills would be delivered, and Lei Mengying would often come to visit.

Under the care of miraculous medicines, his weak body regained its vitality. Several days later, apart from occasional coughing and a sickly appearance, he was completely recovered.

After putting on his Taoist robe and tying up his hair, Huai Zhen finally stepped out of the house after several days of recuperation. Magnificent palaces appeared before him, and the spiritual energy here was far superior to that of any sect.

Looking at the spacious courtyard, he couldn't help but sigh that this was hardly a place for a guard to live. Looking out to the farthest high wall, he realized that this was already inside the imperial city.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, he happened to bump into Lei Mengying. He cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Your Highness."

“You still look sickly. People bring you blood-nourishing pills every day. This spiritual dwelling should be full of spiritual energy, so you shouldn’t be like this. How are you feeling? Do you need me to check on you again?” Lei Mengying asked Huai Zhen with surprise, looking at his still pale face.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I'm much better now. It's just that I've been recuperating for a while and I'm a little out of sorts," Huaizhen coughed lightly and replied calmly.

"Alright, if you feel unwell, you can have someone notify me. I'll take you around the palace to familiarize yourself with the place." Lei Mengying looked Huai Zhen up and down. Although he looked sickly, she was relieved to find no other hidden dangers and led him on a leisurely stroll through the palace.