Han Li gave a bitter smile. Although he had dealt with the fellow from the Giant Sword Sect, there was still the biggest problem left to handle!
With a slight sideways glance, Han Li took in the slender and delicate figure of the green-robed girl, her pale and thin face, and the panic in her eyes. It was clear she had been badly frightened.
He did not answer the girl’s question. Instead, he bent down, picked up the storage pouch from the big man’s corpse, and then flicked his finger, sending a small fireball that instantly reduced the body to ashes. Next, he used the Green Condensation Mirror to retract the cyan light that had trapped the silver and golden blades, freeing the giant sword and golden blade before storing them away.
Only then did Han Li turn around and walk expressionlessly toward the girl.
Seeing Han Li actually approaching her, the girl’s already pale face lost all trace of color. She shrank back in fear, retreating a few steps.
“What are you going to do? If you come any closer, I won’t be polite!” The green-robed girl mustered her courage, reaching into her storage pouch to pull out a small black sword and point it at Han Li. But with just a glance, Han Li could tell it was nothing more than a trash mid-grade magical tool. It seemed the yellow silk handkerchief was her only top-grade magical tool!
“Is this how the young lady treats her savior?” Han Li suddenly rubbed his nose and broke into a smile.
“Savior?” The girl was taken aback, confused by the sudden shift in Han Li’s demeanor. She seemed not to have processed it yet.
“The young lady truly has a short memory! If I hadn’t intervened just now to save you from that man’s sword, why would I have gone to the trouble of silencing him?” Han Li said, both amused and exasperated.
“Oh… I’m so sorry, I… I was so scared that I forgot!” The girl finally remembered and blushed deeply, stammering in a flustered manner that evoked pity.
“It’s nothing! But it is rather unbelievable that the two of us, after meeting once at the Tai Nan Fair, would run into each other again here!” Han Li waved his hand and spoke kindly. For some reason, seeing the girl’s shy demeanor made him feel particularly affectionate, as if he were facing his own younger sister.
“I am Han Li. May I ask the young lady’s name?” Han Li asked casually.
“I… I am Han Yunzhi,” the girl hesitated for a moment before blushing and speaking her name, feeling extremely shy about revealing it to a young man.
“Han Yunzhi? A very nice name, and it suits you well,” Han Li repeated her name with a light laugh.
“Really?” Han Yunzhi’s face flushed even redder.
“But, Miss Han, why did you join the Spirit Beast Mountain and come to participate in the Bloody Trial?” Han Li asked with a hint of curiosity.
“This…” Han Yunzhi’s face showed hesitation, and she struggled to find the words.
“Hehe! If it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to tell me. I was just asking casually,” Han Li said understandingly, which made Han Yunzhi greatly grateful.
“By the way, let’s go into the stone house and collect the spirit herbs. Better to avoid complications in case others come here,” Han Li suggested after chatting casually with the girl for a while.
Han Yunzhi nodded repeatedly at first but then spoke softly, somewhat embarrassed, “Brother Han, could you let me have those few Blazing Sun Flowers? I only want these flowers, and I won’t take anything else!”
“Of course, no problem. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I was planning to do just that,” Han Li replied with a smile.
“Thank you, Brother Han!” The girl’s face lit up with joy, and she repeatedly expressed her gratitude, feeling even more indebted to Han Li.
“In that case, why don’t you go ahead and pick the Blazing Sun Flowers first? That way, I won’t accidentally take them,” Han Li suggested calmly with a smile.
“Alright then!” The girl thought it made sense, so she bowed slightly to Han Li before turning to walk toward the stone house.
But just as she turned away, she suddenly heard Han Li sigh. Then, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck, her vision went black, and she collapsed unconscious toward the ground. However, just before she hit the ground, someone caught her from behind.
It turned out that Han Li had taken advantage of her turning away to swiftly move behind Han Yunzhi, gently striking her to render her unconscious before catching her soft, jade-like body in his arms.
Holding the girl’s delicate form and smelling her faint, elegant scent, Han Li felt a stir in his heart. He couldn’t help but lower his head and kiss her fragrant cheek. But then, reason took over. He bit the tip of his tongue slightly, and his mind cleared. Looking at the girl’s beautiful face, he smiled bitterly.
He first gently placed the girl against the stone wall of the house, then slipped inside. Moments later, after collecting all the spirit herbs in the room, Han Li came out, picked up the girl again, and with a few swift movements, disappeared into a nearby pile of rocks.
In a natural cave near the top of the circular mountain, Han Li laid the girl flat on the ground and sat cross-legged nearby, closing his eyes to rest.
Finally, Han Li opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashing within them. After using his extreme speed movement technique, his body had recovered some strength. He then took out a palm-sized exquisite silver box from his storage pouch.
Han Li stared at the silver box, lost in thought.
After a while, he silently opened the lid, revealing a neat row of silver needles inside—the very acupuncture tools he had often used back in the Seven Mysteries Sect.
Han Li raised his fingers and gently traced the silver needles of various sizes. Memories of Doctor Mo, Li Feiyu, and others surfaced vividly in his mind. Life on Rainbow Mountain and in God Hand Valley seemed like it had happened just yesterday. He couldn’t help but feel deeply emotional.
After his thoughts wandered for a while, Han Li finally refocused. Steadying his mind, he deftly plucked a long, thin silver needle with two fingers, holding it expertly.
Then, he looked at the girl and then at the silver needle in his hand, a helpless expression appearing between his brows.
“Miss Han, if not for this set of Carefree Needle Techniques that can erase short-term memories, I really wouldn’t know how to handle the issue of secrecy. Although I believe you would sincerely keep my secret, there are too many unexpected things in this world. You might accidentally let it slip or be tricked into revealing it without even realizing it. I have to take precautions,” Han Li murmured to himself.
He then took out a red porcelain bottle from his storage pouch, poured out a fragrant, fiery-red pill, and without hesitation, placed it into the girl’s mouth.
“Fortunately, I brought along the Dust Forget Pill that I casually concocted before. This way, I can use the Carefree Needle Techniques without worry. Although there might still be some risk, it shouldn’t be a major problem. You’ll just forget everything that happened in the past half day. I never thought that this needle technique I learned from Doctor Mo’s belongings would one day be used in the world of immortal cultivation,” Han Li said affectionately, stroking the girl’s hair.
Several hours later, Han Li emerged from the cave, his face pale. He quickly hid in a nearby large tree and focused intently on the cave entrance.
A quarter of an hour later, Han Yunzhi walked out, holding a few Blazing Sun Flowers, her expression dazed. She glanced around the cave entrance, placed a hand on her forehead, and gradually showed a puzzled look.
Suddenly, as if remembering something important, she hurriedly stored the Blazing Sun Flowers in her storage pouch and quickly left the area, heading down the mountain.
Not long after she left, Han Li jumped down from the tree. He gazed in the direction where the girl had disappeared, let out a long sigh, and slowly made his way into the dense forest on the other side.
The third day of the forbidden area finally passed, and the arrival of the fourth day was far less smooth for Han Li than the previous one.
Either he encountered other powerful demon beasts blocking his path, or the information was incorrect, and the locations where spirit herbs were supposed to grow had none of the herbs he needed. As for the demon beasts guarding the spirit herbs, their numbers had suddenly increased. In just over half a day, Han Li had successively killed three mid-level demon beasts and two high-level demon beasts, leaving him physically and magically exhausted.
Now, standing under a giant rock, Han Li assessed his gains. Although the quantity of the three types of spirit herbs had not fully met his expectations, it was barely sufficient. Even if he left the forbidden area now, it would be acceptable.
Moreover, according to the Yellow Maple Valley records, there were no more locations with immature spirit herbs. The remaining places he could find were all from the ugly man Zhong Wu’s information, and there were several of them!
However, Han Li had initially been afraid that the information might be unreliable and hadn’t dared to go to these places, fearing he would waste time on a wild goose chase. But now, as he reviewed this external information, he immediately noticed that not far from his current location, there was indeed a hidden place with many spirit herbs.
Not only were there immature spirit herbs there, but there should also be many mature ones. This tempted Han Li. According to his calculations, even if Zhong Wu hadn’t already picked the mature spirit herbs, someone else should have gotten to them first. But the immature spirit herbs should still be there!
Since there was still time and he had no other specific locations in mind, it wouldn’t hurt to make a trip there. Even if the information turned out to be false, he wouldn’t lose anything.
Once this thought occurred to Han Li, he could no longer suppress it. After resting for a moment, he set off.
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