168: get lost

After sensing Zhou Xiuyuan's Qi, though weak, had not dissipated, Yun Qingsi slightly relaxed.

She circulated the remaining little magical power in her body and pulled Zhou Xiuyuan out of the pool of blood.

Then, she tidied Zhou Xiuyuan's body a little, took out several Medicinal Pills from her Storage Pouch, gave them to Zhou Xiuyuan, and then used her magical power to warm his Meridians, allowing the medicine to take effect.

Yun Qingsi wiped the sweat from her forehead, then retrieved the two long swords stuck in the ground, carefully cleaned them, sheathed them, and fastened them to Zhou Xiuyuan's waist.

After doing all this, Yun Qingsi finally saw Shen Xuanzhao, who was unconscious not far away.

Magical power overflowed, and after carefully checking Shen Xuanzhao's body, Yun Qingsi followed suit, placing the unconscious Shen Xuanzhao next to Zhou Xiuyuan.

"We can't stay here any longer."

Yun Qingsi stood up, surveying the ground all around, covered in blood and the corpses of Iron-backed Silver Hounds, feeling a sense of vigilance.

The bloody Qi here was so dense that it would probably attract Yao Beasts before long.

Yun Qingsi felt the stinging pain inside her body and her magical power that was about to dry up, but she couldn't afford to worry about so much.

Gritting her teeth, she came before Zhou Xiuyuan and Shen Xuanzhao.

Enduring the stinging pain, she circulated her magical power, one hand on each, and dragged the two of them outwards.

Passing by the snake scale embedded in the ground, Yun Qingsi paused; the faint scale contained the Qi of all three of them.

Yun Qingsi did not hesitate, took out the scale, and put it into her Storage Pouch.

Taking the two unconscious people, she spread her consciousness, probed the surroundings, and at the same time used her magical power to erase their Qi, moving far away from the place.

"Hoo~"

In a hidden cave, Yun Qingsi let out a long breath and set the two down.

"Hiss~"

Only then, after her mind relaxed, did Yun Qingsi perceive the injuries and pain within her body.

Cold sweat broke out on Yun Qingsi's forehead.

But she did not immediately treat her own injuries.

Instead, she went to Zhou Xiuyuan and Shen Xuanzhao again, carefully re-examined their bodies, gave them Medicinal Pills again, and used her magical power to help them absorb the medicine.

Only then did she sit down cross-legged not far in front of them, took out a Medicinal Pill, swallowed it, and began to circulate her Qi to heal her injuries.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Xiuyuan struggled to open his eyes, feeling the emptiness of magical power within his body, but his physical injuries had improved quite a bit.

"It must have been Fellow Daoist Shen who saved me," Zhou Xiuyuan thought to himself.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're awake?"

At this moment, a voice came.

Zhou Xiuyuan looked in the direction of the voice; a man and a woman rose from another part of the cave and walked towards Zhou Xiuyuan.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, Fellow Daoist Yun, thank you both for your care."

Zhou Xiuyuan barely managed to stand up and cupped his fists in salute to the two.

"Don't!"

Shen Xuanzhao pulled Yun Qingsi, quickly avoiding the bow, and spoke earnestly to Zhou Xiuyuan.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, if it weren't for you, I and Junior Sister would probably have been devoured by beasts. It is I and Junior Sister who should be thanking you."

After Shen Xuanzhao finished speaking, he was about to bow to Zhou Xiuyuan.

Clearly, he had already learned everything that had happened from Yun Qingsi.

Yun Qingsi, following behind Shen Xuanzhao, looked at Zhou Xiuyuan and nodded repeatedly.

"There's no need for you two to be like this. If you two had woken up before me, I'm sure you wouldn't have abandoned me either."

Zhou Xiuyuan extended both hands, supporting Shen Xuanzhao.

Shen Xuanzhao nodded and exchanged a look with Zhou Xiuyuan.

"Hahaha~"

Suddenly, the two looked at each other and smiled. Unconsciously, their hearts grew a little closer to each other.

"Eh?"

Looking at the two, who seemed like good brothers, Yun Qingsi stroked her chin, lost in thought.

"Did they forget about me?"

"Darn it, it was this old lady who painstakingly took care of you two..."

Yun Qingsi felt Life Qi in her heart and secretly stomped her foot.

"Brother Zhou, during the time you were injured, Junior Sister has been taking care of you."

Shen Xuanzhao said calmly.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Xiuyuan met Shen Xuanzhao's gaze and saw him nod slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Yun, thank you for your care."

Zhou Xiuyuan thanked Yun Qingsi, who was lowering her head, secretly feeling Life Qi.

"Ah, it's nothing, just a small matter, no need to be polite, it's alright..."

Yun Qingsi suddenly heard Zhou Xiuyuan's voice.

She waved her hands repeatedly, a smile on her face, her tone gentle.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, this world is probably no longer the world we originally came from."

"What are your plans for the future?"

Zhou Xiuyuan no longer looked at Yun Qingsi and began discussing with Shen Xuanzhao.

This was something he had guessed from the Sword Spirit's exclamation at the time.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xiuyuan felt a little downhearted.

"Brother Zhou, where there's a way in, there's a way out. As long as our strength is sufficient, nothing will be a problem."

Shen Xuanzhao was well-informed; he had known about the teleportation array back then, and while Zhou Xiuyuan was unconscious, he had gone out to investigate.

Hearing Zhou Xiuyuan say this further confirmed his suspicions.

But Shen Xuanzhao was not disheartened.

"Brother Shen speaks the truth."

"Then we will seek a way back while increasing our strength."

Shen Xuanzhao spoke, setting their goal.

He had gone back to look at the dilapidated altar.

But the patterns on it had long since crumbled. Although he could guess it was an ancient teleportation array, he did not have the ability to set one up.

Yun Qingsi watched the two talking to themselves again, without asking for her opinion, and hummed softly, turning her head to the side.

"Junior Sister, what do you think?"

At this moment, Shen Xuanzhao asked Yun Qingsi.

"It's all up to Senior Brother to decide."

Yun Qingsi turned her head back, poker-faced, her voice sweet.

"Brother Zhou, once your magical power recovers, we will leave this place."

Seeing that Yun Qingsi had no other opinions, Shen Xuanzhao spoke softly to Zhou Xiuyuan.

Zhou Xiuyuan nodded.

He sat down cross-legged, opened his Storage Pouch, and was about to take out a Medicinal Pill to restore his magical power when his expression suddenly changed.

"Old Ancestor's scale..."

Seeing Zhou Xiuyuan's sudden change in expression, Yun Qingsi seemed to remember something. She swept her right hand across the Storage Pouch at her waist, and a dull scale appeared in her hand, which she handed to Zhou Xiuyuan.

"Brother, Big Brother Zhou, are you looking for this?"

Yun Qingsi's face flushed slightly. The three of them had gone through life and death together; it felt too distant to keep calling each other Fellow Daoist.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Yun."

Zhou Xiuyuan felt a joy of having recovered something lost. He took the scale and thanked Yun Qingsi earnestly.

"Hmph~"

Yun Qingsi snorted softly when she heard Zhou Xiuyuan's address, then turned and left.

Zhou Xiuyuan's eyes showed confusion.

But after a moment, he no longer cared. He carefully examined the scale; although there were obvious marks on it, it was still mostly intact.

Zhou Xiuyuan put the scale into his Storage Pouch, took out a Medicinal Pill, and swallowed it.

Ten-odd days later.

Somewhere on the outskirts of Chenyuan Forbidden Land.

An eight or nine-year-old boy wrapped in animal skin showed confusion in his eyes.

"I'm lost..."