Who knew how long she had been asleep?
When Xiu Xiang opened her eyes again, she found herself in a trench covered with broken tree branches and leaves. She couldn't move as moving was extremely painful. She was sure she broke some bones in several places. She didn't get to inspect her own body as she heard multiple voices in the distance.
"Did you find her body?" came a familiar voice. Xiu Xiang froze and tried not to breathe heavily. She heard Wang Yue clicked his tongue out of frustration.
"That wench couldn't possibly get up and walk away. The drop was at least twenty feet," he snapped.
"Senior Brother, calm down. Like you said, it was at least twenty foot drop. If we can't find her body, it could only mean that demon beasts had gotten to her body first," Song Yi Yan explained.
"I agree with Shimei. That waste is most likely dead. Let's get back to the competition and let master know as soon as possible," Ren Wu Ji suggested.
"Fine. Where's Liu Li?" Wang Yue asked. Ren Wu Ji sighed heavily as replied, "She didn't believe that Master wanted that waste dead and left for the meeting point."
"Argh. I'm going to let Master know about this. She's becoming more and more impudent by the day!" Wang Yue hissed. The three voices slowly faded into the distance and then there was complete silence. Xiu Xiang thanked her lucky stars that it was dark where she had fallen if not, she would be dead for sure.
Morning arrived and Xiu Xiang finally made an attempt to get up. Every movement made her wince in pain, but she clenched her teeth and forced herself into a sitting position. She examined and herself and found multiple gashes all over her body but felt no broken bones.
Weird, she thought. She was so sure she had broken bones in several places. Shrugging off the thought, she pulled out some medicine in her bag and swallowed it down while smearing paste on her injuries. A few hours later, the pain lessened but didn't subside. What replaced it was an aching soreness.
She spent all day trying to find a way out of the mountains when she came upon a familiar figure. Wei Xing was fighting alone with a demon beast. He easily slaughtered the beast but the moment he won, he tumbled to his knees. She slowly approached him only to have him spin around and aim his sword at her.
"You!" he started to say only to spit out blood.
"You're poisoned!" Xiu Xiang exclaimed. She recognized the symptoms. She easily got bitten by demon beast snakes but knew the antidote to their poison. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out some premade antidote. "Here, take this."
He eyed the medicine in her palm and reluctantly took it. The moment he swallowed it, his eyes bulged and he choked back on blood. Xiu Xiang gently patted his back as she told him, the pain would slowly subside, and it did.
"Why are you out here alone? Where's your group?" he asked. She wondered if she should tell him the truth.
"I... I got lost," she lied. Wei Xing eyed her suspiciously for a long time, but he didn't say anything. His palm suddenly went to her abdomen and she felt spiritual energy course through her body for a few seconds only to stop. His brows furrowed as he looked at her.
"Did you not take the pill I gave you?" he asked. Why was he asking her so many questions?
"I did," she replied.
"And your power core was sealed again," he added.
She bit her lower lip but didn't say anything. His eyes traveled to her shoulder and his face darkened.
"You're injured by an arrow," he said suddenly. Xiu Xiang quickly turned her shoulder away but it was too late. He grabbed her harshly and turned her back so that he could examine her shoulder. "You were hunted by your own team?"
He looked quite furious and Xiu Xiang could only understand why. He was someone who stood on the side of justice and was extremely loyal to his own sect. He didn't think for a second that someone in his own sect would kill another. It was as if his eyes were opened to the evil inside a human's heart.
"Why do you keep silent about this? Why do you let them treat you like this?" he said angrily. Xiu Xiang sighed as she said, "I'm not strong. Even if I put up a fight, the punishment will only get worse. It's best to keep quiet."
"They tried to kill you!" he exclaimed.
Xiu Xiang cocked her head to the side as she stared at him.
"Why do you care? We don't even know each other," she said. He went quiet as if he was struggling to find an answer.
"Then tell me. Why did you save me in that cave? You didn't know me either," he said.
"Do I need a reason to help someone? I just move automatically when I see someone in need of help," she said.
Wei Xing looked like he wanted to throw back a retort but the two of them heard something move nearby.
"It's probably best if we get moving and hide somewhere safe for now," Xiu Xiang suggested. She didn't even ask if he needed help and instantly grabbed one of his arms and threw it around her shoulders.
"W-what are you doing?!" Wei Xing exclaimed. His cheeks flushed red as he struggled to free himself.
"Relax. You've just taken an antidote. If you move around too much, the poison will act up," she said then pulled him closer still. His body tensed up as he gritted his teeth. Unable to refute her words, he let her half carry her through the forest.
As the two of them walked away, Wang Yue's group hid in the distance.
"Damn. Why is that waste so damn hard to kill?" Wang Yue hissed. He couldn't believe that Xiu Xiang escaped without only minor injuries from that fall. Either she was extremely lucky or there really was something off about her.
Song Yi Yan gently caressed his back as she assured him. "Senior Brother, we'll get her. We just need to bide our time. She'll come crawling out by herself eventually."
Wang Yue whipped around to glare at her.
"You all don't understand!" he snapped angrily. The faces of his members contorted in confusion. They all couldn't understand why they needed to kill the waste so badly. She was a stain on their peak and a weakling but did they need to go all out just to kill her?
Wang Yue wanted badly to tell them what Master Feng Mian had told him but he had sworn to secrecy to not tell his members the truth.
After Master Feng Mian came out of seclusion, he had advanced to immortal stage and could sneak a peek into the future. He had seen that every single person in North Peak would die at the hands of Xiu Xiang. The ones who died the worst death was Master Feng Mian, Wang Yue, and Song Yi Yan.
Wang Yue didn't want to believe it at first but seeing how she had survived that cliff drop, he wasn't sure what to think anymore. Either ways, he wasn't going to die by the hands of a stupid girl like Xiu Xiang.
"We need to get rid of her and her body. We can't leave any evidence behind," Wang Yue said as he bit his thumb nervously.
"...then why don't we throw her off the Cliff of Abyss?" Song Yi Yan suggested.
"Cliff of Abyss...?" Wang Yue grinned and grabbed her by the hand. "Song Yi Yan, you're not just beautiful. You're also smart."
Cliff of Abyss!
That cliff side would be the perfect place to cultivate as it was a place filled with spiritual energy. The only problem is that it was too dangerous. First of all, it's full of strong demon beasts. Secondly, you had to cultivate at the edge of the cliffside in order to draw in the spiritual energy. Even if you were able to fend off demon beasts, the draft from the cliffside was extremely strong. One wrong move and you'll fall over.
Anyone who fell over the cliffside would instantly be shredded to pieces as the updraft and downdraft of the wind weren't normal. It was mixed with spiritual energy making it ten times stronger and sharper. Even if you fell and survived the sharp winds, you'd still fall to your death as it was hundreds of meters high.
"We'll secretly follow them. They'll have to separate eventually. Once they do, we'll lure her to Cliff of Abyss and throw her down," Wang Yue said.
It was getting dark when Xiu Xiang and Wei Xing found a cave to settle in for the night. They went a little bit deeper in and Xiu Xiang noticed a pile of old, dry wood, an old fire pit, and small animal bones. She figured that it was safe enough to stay here if someone was able to cook up a small animal.
"Let's stay here until your poison subsides," she said and lowered him down to the ground. Wei Xing stifled a groan as he sat down
"Strange... the antidote should've kicked in by now..." she thought out loud. Her brows furrowed as she examined his body.
"You... this antidote, is it an all-purpose antidote for common snake poison?" Wei Xing asked.
"Yea. Normally when I take it, I'd feel better before night," she said. He scoffed at her reply only to let out a sharp intake of breath. His hand shot up to clutch his chest, his brows knitted tightly together. Seconds ticked by and his breathing calmed down. He was drenched in sweat as he looked up at her.
"What is it?" she asked feeling annoyed at the way he stared at her. It was as if she had suddenly grown horns or something. He eyed her for a long time before he said, "Obviously your body isn't normal. Humans can't ingest magical herbs without suffering some sort of side effect. It's the reason why we turn them into pills. It's faster and safer that way."
"Is that so...?"
How was she supposed to know? She's not even of this world!
The antidote she made was quite strong. If there are side effects to ingesting magical herbs then what side effects would he suffer from? She's never felt any side effects before. Was it because her body is part demon?
"So... the antidote I gave you... you might suffer from some side effects...?" she managed to say. She looked quite guilty. The two of them had spent most of the day searching for a safe place to hide out and she was only able to get a good look at Wei Xing's condition now.
Normally, his face was pale but right now, his face was deathly white. His lips had turned a purplish and his body was shivering.
"...cold..." he managed to say.
"I'm so sorry! I'll start a fire right away!" she quickly rushed over to the stack of dry wood and tossed it into the old fire pit. Nearby was a few flintstones and she picked it up to make sparks. A fire ignited almost instantly, making it a bit warmer.
She turned around with a smile on her face only to find that Wei Xing had fallen to the ground with his eyes closed.
Uh-oh...