53: Red Gold Phoenix Hairpin

The night was deep, and demonic creatures screeched. Li Sirou huddled on Fang Huai's bed, trembling uncontrollably.

"That bad person, why hasn't he come back after being gone for so long?"

She gripped the edge of the quilt with her fingers, trying her best to cover her entire body.

When Fang Huai first left, she still dared to dig up some wild vegetables near the residence.

Later, the Disciples of Skinning Peak noticed that the master of this Female Slave was absent and began to eye her greedily.

Thus, she could only stay in the house, not daring to step out.

During this time, if it weren't for a good person named Luo Heng, who often dropped wild vegetables at the door, she might have starved until she fainted.

"Can't he just loosen the Spirit Binding Curse a little for me? It's not like I'd run away."

Li Sirou thought fiercely, but then she was startled by her own thought.

Run! She absolutely had to run! Why stay in this demonic Sect if she didn't run?

Bang—

Bang—

Just as her mind was wandering, a heavy knocking sounded at the door.

Li Sirou's heart instantly leaped into her throat.

A few days ago, some calculating Cultivators had also knocked tentatively. If she hadn't asked who it was, she would have almost let them in.

"Not here, not here, Fang Huai isn't here!"

Li Sirou muttered softly while shrinking under the quilt, her voice so quiet she could barely hear it herself.

Creak—

The door opened, and heavy footsteps gradually approached her. She didn't dare move, even her breathing seemed to stop... Fang Huai knocked on the door a few times, and seeing no response, he felt strange.

In the middle of the night, could Li Sirou have actually gone out?

Was she not afraid of being eaten by the Patrol Monsters of the Outer Sect, or did she take advantage of the time he was on a mission to sneak away?

He pushed hard, but the door didn't move; it was clearly locked from the inside, yet there seemed to be someone muttering softly within.

Was Li Sirou fast asleep? Talking in her sleep?

Thinking of this, he stopped knocking and instead used his Qi to easily remove the door bolt and strode inside.

After scanning the room, he didn't see Li Sirou, only a bulging ball under the quilt on the bed.

Fang Huai walked forward and lifted the quilt, only to see Li Sirou with her head buried in her knees, looking exactly like a curled-up hedgehog.

"Hey, what are you playing at?" Fang Huai said. "I'm back. Get off my bed!"

Hearing Fang Huai's voice, Li Sirou raised her head in disbelief: "I thought a bad person had broken in."

"What bad person? This house has a small-scale formation. Besides me, who else could get in?"

Fang Huai was speechless.

The daughter of a Grand Elder of the Profound Sword Sect, who had been so formidable when she was hunting him down back then, now looked like a frightened little chick.

"Aren't you a Disciple of the Righteous Path's Profound Sword Sect? How can you be this cowardly?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Sirou's eyes turned red. She glared at him stubbornly, and as she glared, her eyes filled with tears.

Looking at her, Fang Huai inexplicably thought of Lin Yu.

Lin Yu was a stubborn person; for the lives of Mortals, he was willing to give up even his own life.

Li Sirou was also a stubborn person; to slay him, the Devil Head, she had entered the territory of the Corpse Fiend Sect, where she had never set foot, and ended up in such a state.

These Disciples of the Profound Sword Sect!

With a soft sigh, he tapped his Storage Pouch, and a crimson gold phoenix hairpin inlaid with a red gemstone landed in his hand:

"Stop glaring at me. I brought you a gift."

Li Sirou's gaze locked onto the phoenix hairpin, then she looked up at Fang Huai, her face full of disbelief.

Suddenly, she let out a "waa" and burst into tears, standing up to throw herself into Fang Huai's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

After crying for a while, she felt a slight coolness in her hair. Looking up, she saw that Fang Huai had inserted the phoenix hairpin into her black hair.

"bad person, it won't stay like this. You have to put my hair up in a bun first!" Li Sirou muttered softly.

Seeing her mood improve, Fang Huai chuckled: "Fine, then I'll ask our Favored Daughter of Heaven from the Profound Sword Sect to leave my bed and go put up her hair herself."

After saying that, he pointed his finger toward the floor mat in the corner.

Li Sirou gave a cold snort, nimbly left the bed, and sat cross-legged on the floor mat, staring straight at him.

Fang Huai didn't bother with her. He took out his skinning knife and pierced it beneath his skin.

There were still remnants of the woodified flesh from the herb; he had to dig them out as soon as possible to avoid affecting his cultivation.

Gritting his teeth, he removed the woodified flesh piece by piece. By the time he had cleared it all, his body was riddled with holes, and sweat had soaked his clothes.

"My cultivation level is still too low!"

Fang Huai sighed with emotion; the past few days on the mission had left a deep impression on him.

The feeling of powerlessness before the Green Scabies Spider and the wanton arrogance of Li Feng's trio all warned him that he must improve his cultivation.

In this world, fists are the ultimate truth.

He took out the crimson heavens cry, gently stroked the blade, and injected Qi into it, causing it to emit a fierce blue-red light.

Seeing this spirit sword he had luckily obtained, his mood finally improved a bit.

When Li Sirou saw the crimson heavens cry, a strange look appeared on her face: "bad person, why do you have Lin Yu's sword?"

"You know Lin Yu?" Fang Huai's interest was piqued. "Tell me, what is the origin of this sword?"

Li Sirou shook her head: "If you don't tell me how you got this sword, I won't say a word even if I die."

Fang Huai originally wanted to bring up the eight rules, but seeing her stubborn gaze, he sighed:

"I can't tell you the specific origin, but what I can tell you is that I had no conflict with him; he gave it to me voluntarily."

"bad person, you really are different," Li Sirou said softly.

"Why do you say that?"

"This sword is named crimson heavens cry. It was made by a Sect Elder by Fusion of ancient Magic Treasure fragments, but after the Elder made it, he couldn't make the sword recognize him as its master."

Li Sirou's expression suddenly became serious: "This sword sat in the Spirit Sword Pavilion for a hundred years until Lin Yu appeared—the man known as the one with the most Pure Heart in the Profound Sword Sect in a hundred years. Only then did crimson heavens cry recognize a master for the first time.

And you, a Disciple of a demonic Sect, were actually given the sword by Lin Yu and could even make crimson heavens cry recognize you as its master. I truly cannot imagine it."

Hearing this, Fang Huai shook his head.

He didn't think he had any Pure Heart; he just wanted to survive in this chaotic world of immortals and demons and have a place of his own.

"Li Sirou, you're praising Lin Yu so much; you don't happen to have an engagement with him, or secretly like him, do you?"

Li Sirou's serious expression vanished instantly, and her eyes went wide: "You are insulting me!"

Fang Huai couldn't help but laugh. It seemed Lin Yu's image in the hearts of the female Cultivators of the Profound Sword Sect wasn't very good.

He couldn't help but ask: "If you don't like someone like Lin Yu, do you mean you like a demonic Sect Disciple like me?"

A moment of silence.

Fang Huai glanced at Li Sirou and saw her face was flushed red, her eyes starting to well up again. He sighed:

"Go to sleep. No need for a massage tonight. Remember to cook and warm some water tomorrow morning!"

...The next morning, when Fang Huai woke up, he smelled the familiar scent of burning.

Glancing at the table, the porridge was still burnt and raw.

The warm water was placed by the bed; he tested it, and it was already slightly cool.

Li Sirou was leaning against the stove, having fallen back asleep. The smoke from the stove drifted over her face, and black soot had blackened her skin.

His gaze paused for a moment, landing on her hair bun, where he found that crimson gold phoenix hairpin.