A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

Summer rains always come quickly and are short-lived.

For several days in a row, the torrential rain came suddenly and then stopped abruptly.

The air felt as if it had been washed clean, carrying a refreshing coolness, and every pore on my body opened up, as if trying to grasp this hard-won ease.

The large army corps, stretching for hundreds of meters, is taking advantage of the good weather to speed up its journey.

However, Ye Qingxue and Lu Chuci were nowhere to be seen in the army.

"Commander!" someone in the group called out to Mu Ying.

Mu Ying glanced sideways at the person who had shouted, giving him a cold look.

Because that person is a member of the demon race.

If it weren't for the need to keep sending false information back to the Ghost Clan, Mu Ying would have killed them long ago.

"It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen the Lu family couple."

Mu Ying raised an eyebrow and said with a stern face, "I already said, they are with the main force following behind. If you don't mind the trouble, you can go find them one by one."

The ghost's expression turned somewhat ugly. Mu Ying's tone carried a warning: as a subordinate, he might be punished for abandoning his post.

But... he really felt something was wrong.

Normally, when he walked ahead, he would occasionally see Lu Chuci being brought up to Mu Ying to give him some pointers or requests, but he hadn't seen her for five days in a row.

Seeing his persistent look, Mu Ying thought to himself, "This is troublesome! Everyone, hurry up and get going! Don't dawdle, or it'll start raining!"

After saying that, he didn't look at the ghost again and quickened his pace to walk forward.

Out of the corner of his eye, he didn't see the ghost clan member chasing after him again, and he breathed a sigh of relief, cursing under his breath.

The two of them didn't know why they said they wanted to leave early, which meant he had to deal with these stupid ghosts every now and then.

So annoying!

Sigh, I hope they come back soon, otherwise he won't be able to hide it anymore when it rains next time.

—

A dilapidated house in a bamboo grove outside the capital.

It was the dilapidated house that was once used to interrogate Xu and Chen Mu.

Lu Chuci checked all the doors and windows, closed them tightly, and walked to Ye Qingxue's side: "How is it? Did it work?"

Ye Qingxue opened her eyes, spread her hands, and three medicine bottles appeared in her hands.

One red, one blue, and one black.

"That's fine. According to Elder Qu, there's no problem."

Lu Chuci sat down in front of Ye Qingxue, taking the medicine bottle and her hand in his: "Are you really okay here?"

Ye Qingxue looked up at him, her memory returning to half a month ago when Elder Qu suddenly contacted them using a token.

"Mrs. Lu, I found improved methods for using the Ice-Fire Spirit Fruit and Warm Firefly Grass in ancient books. Would you like them?"

The token glowed, and Ye Qingxue glanced at Lu Chuci: "Yes, I need it."

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the token before a sigh came from behind: "So you really did have to use this method."

Taking medication when you are on the verge of death is like breaking your bones and then rebuilding them, which is extremely dangerous.

However, to ensure everything goes perfectly, Lu Chuci must break through the bottleneck and reach the Nascent Soul stage, or even higher.

The Martial Emperor is already at the Nascent Soul stage, and may even be about to break through to an even higher realm. Even with the anti-spirit potion at hand, Lu Chuci still has to do this.

He cannot gamble with everyone's lives.

"Using these two medicinal herbs together can indeed eliminate toxicity, but it also suppresses some of their medicinal properties, making it difficult for them to fully exert their effects." The token kept flashing, and Qu Cheng's voice was steady and slow. "To maximize the medicinal effects, you can supplement it with..."

Ye Qingxue carefully wrote them down one by one.

After Qu Cheng finished speaking, he immediately added, "But be aware that this method has side effects."

Ye Qingxue naturally knew this; there's no such thing as a free lunch, and such a simple improvement plan wouldn't have been hidden for so long before being discovered.

"I wonder if General Lu felt anything when he used it before, like having nowhere to release his spiritual energy and feeling hot all over... cough." Qu Cheng finished the last few words quickly, and then continued, "This side effect was originally present in the Ice and Fire Spirit Fruit, but it was weakened by the suppression of the Warm Firefly Grass."

"To unleash the full medicinal power... you can probably guess the side effects. Let me explain the solution." Qu Cheng skipped this part and went straight to the point. "The Ice-Fire Spirit Fruit, which fully activates the medicinal power, cannot be endured by one person alone. We use a special method to divide the medicine into two portions, one for ice and one for fire, and have two people drink it. When the side effects take effect, the ice and fire combine, and the pain can be relieved."

Qu Cheng's words were very tactful, but Ye Qingxue hadn't expected them to be so comprehensible. Her face flushed red, and when she looked up, Lu Chuci wasn't much better off.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Qu Cheng's voice came again. "Do you need me to explain it more clearly?"

Lu Chuci turned his head to look at Ye Qingxue, who immediately lowered her head to look at the token in her hand.

"I understand, I understand... Mr. Qu, could you please explain that special method?"

Qu Cheng then explained the method of separating the properties of ice and fire medicine in detail, and finally said, "This method can allow both of you to break through, but this method is still too dangerous, so please be very careful."

"Understood," Ye Qingxue replied, and the token's light went out.

Let's bring our attention back to the present.

Lu Chuci had already drawn the knife from her waist—it was Mu Ying's knife, very sharp, capable of killing instantly.

Ye Qingxue was actually a little nervous, after all, such an action could be irreversible if not handled carefully.

Lu Chuci held her hand and slowly slid it between her fingers, their fingers intertwined.

"Don't be afraid, I'll help you first." He had to ensure Ye Qingxue's safety.

Ye Qingxue nodded, her lips pressed tightly together: "You must be careful too."

"Don't worry, my hand is very steady." After saying this, Lu Chuci chopped Ye Qingxue unconscious with a chop to the neck, quickly pulled her into his arms, and picked up the knife with his other hand, aiming it at Ye Qingxue's neck.

Cutting the carotid artery can quickly induce a near-death state, which is the fastest and least painful method for the unconscious Ye Qingxue.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the tears welling in his eyes. A flash of light, and red instantly stained his entire body.

Ye Qingxue in his arms was obedient, only twitching slightly.

Lu Chuci counted for a few seconds, watching the life on Ye Qingxue's face quickly fade away. At a certain moment, without the slightest hesitation, he immediately poured the medicine, which had been opened, into Ye Qingxue's mouth.

The moment the medicine entered her mouth, the wound on Ye Qingxue's neck began to show signs of healing.

Lu Chuci let out a long breath, gently placed Ye Qingxue in the haystack, went to get the black medicine bottle, opened the cap, and tilted his head back to drink it.

This is a bottle of poison, highly toxic; the moment it takes effect, excruciating pain will instantly spread throughout the body.

Lu Chuci was afraid that she would not be able to control her trembling body after cutting her own throat, so she chose a more painful method of dying.

But it doesn't matter, as long as Ye Qingxue isn't in pain, it's all worth it.

As excruciating pain spread throughout his body, he turned his head and smiled at Ye Qingxue.

A person's memories will flash before their eyes like a revolving lantern. He never told Ye Qingxue that every time he was on the verge of death, all he could see was Ye Qingxue.

It was the same last time and it is the same this time.

In the short span of his life of only twenty years, Ye Qingxue was the brightest color in his memory, filling his entire world.

Lu Chuci felt his strength gradually draining away. With a red medicine bottle in his mouth, he tilted his head back and poured the medicine into his body as he collapsed, then fell into boundless darkness.