Chapter 58 - 51: Perhaps, He Also Had No Choice?

An unknown amount of time passed.

After he’d been knocking for a long time, the door finally opened.

However, the moment he got a clear look at Su Ling’er, he was genuinely startled.

Even in the dim moonlight, he could see her face was drained of all color.

She had heavy, dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were dry and chapped.

The red robes she wore, which should have been a vibrant color, now only made her look like a wisp of ghost fire on the verge of being extinguished.

She looked like she was about to collapse, suffused with a gloomy aura.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Lin Qingfeng’s brows furrowed as he looked at her.

"I... Is there something wrong with me?"

Su Ling’er touched her own cheek, and her heart skipped a beat.

’What’s wrong with me?’

’Has this demon figured something out?’

’Is he about to make his move?’

’Right now? Right here?’

’In the end... in the end, is there still no escape?’

Lin Qingfeng didn’t answer her. Instead, he circled her a few times, his gaze sweeping over her repeatedly.

’Tonight is the start of the Golden Autumn Harvest Festival event!’

’Junior Sister is the sect’s only NPC and the absolute key to our NPC contribution points. She can’t have any problems at this critical juncture!’

’When he logged on, he’d even heard a few people in the guild shouting about red-named mobs appearing all over the place while he was away from the sect.’

’There were bugs, toads, trees, and a bunch of other random stuff. They were probably just warm-up mobs that spawned before the event.’

’Killing one gives you 200 contribution points!’

’As soon as these mobs appeared on the map, everyone treated them like event freebies and casually slaughtered them.’

’If we wait for the event to officially start, there will be even more of these red-named mobs. If we let Junior Sister kill them all herself, we might even get double the contribution points!’

’That’s 400 points per kill!’

Lin Qingfeng’s thoughts began to drift.

’Junior Sister only needs to kill a few thousand bugs, and we’ll blow right past our NPC goal of five hundred thousand contribution points!’

’Well, he didn’t think there would actually be a few thousand bugs—a few hundred would already be great. But a man could dream, right?’

’But Junior Sister, in her current state...’

’If she’s not feeling well and can’t kill those bugs in time when the event officially starts at midnight, what a massive loss that would be!’

At this thought, Lin Qingfeng’s expression instantly became incredibly grave.

’No, absolutely not!’

’The future of the sect cannot be ruined!’

He glanced at the time. It wasn’t during the mission period yet, nor was it in the restricted window after a mission’s completion. She should be able to take recovery-type medicine right now.

The next moment, he made his move.

Without any nonsense, he swiped a hand over his storage pouch, and three medicinal pills appeared in his palm.

One was as black as ink: a Dragon Tiger Elixir for replenishing qi and blood.

Another was also as black as ink: a Qi Replenishing Pill for restoring Spiritual Power.

And the last one was still as black as ink: a Soul Nourishing Elixir for nurturing the soul.

These three pills weren’t high-grade, and his own refining skills weren’t the best. For some reason, they always came out of the furnace looking burnt.

’But they all have unique pill veins!’

’They’re more than enough to treat the minor ailments of someone at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.’

Giving her no room to object, he brought the three pills directly to Su Ling’er’s lips.

"Here, Junior Sister, hurry up and eat these."

His tone left no room for argument.

Su Ling’er stared at the three pitch-black pills, completely dumbfounded.

’What is Senior Brother doing?’

’Poisoning me so I can’t speak?’

’Or is he about to clean house?!’

Seeing that she was still refusing to open her mouth, Lin Qingfeng lost his patience and pinched Su Ling’er’s chin.

The force wasn’t great, but it was enough that she couldn’t break free.

Then, he forcefully shoved the three pills into her mouth!

As the poison pills drew closer and closer to her mouth, a roar filled Su Ling’er’s mind.

’It’s over. It’s all over!’

’He’s going to poison me to death!’

’These three pitch-black lumps, covered in all sorts of bizarre patterns—and he calls them some kind of wondrous Spirit Pills?’

’They look incredibly poisonous at a glance!’

’Am I going to rot to death? Or lose my mind and become a puppet serving the sect for eternity?’

’Or is it some even more miserable way to die?’

’I don’t want to die!’

’I haven’t reached Foundation Establishment yet!’

’I haven’t gone through Washing Marrow yet!’

’I haven’t achieved immortality yet!’

’I haven’t ascended to become an immortal yet!’

’My path to becoming a supreme Sword Immortal has only just begun! How can I fall in a hellhole like this?!’

’Dying at the demon’s hands while fighting back would have been one thing, but to be held down by the chin and force-fed poison...’

The three pills were stuck in her throat, feeling hard and unyielding.

"GACK... GACK... COUGH..."

’Wait a minute.’

’Am I about to suffer an even more humiliating death?’

’Not poisoned to death, but... choked to death by these three poison pills!’

’Senior Brother, if you want to kill me, can’t you just cut me down with your sword?!’

’Is this fun for you?!’

Her Senior Brother seemed to notice his Junior Sister was having trouble swallowing, so he quickly patted her on the back, helping her finally get the three pills down.

’Help me!’

His Junior Sister was screaming internally.

The pills finally went down.

But what met her was not a searing, corrosive pain, but a vast, warm current that exploded within her Dantian.

Su Ling’er closed her eyes, waiting for the moment the poison would attack her heart.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

The anticipated pain never came.

That warm current surged from her Dantian, flowing through her limbs and bones, nourishing everything in its path.

Her depleted qi and blood were rapidly replenished, the splitting headache vanished, and the weakness in her body was swept away.

Even her somewhat scattered soul began to clear up.

All the hidden injuries accumulated from cultivation and hard labor were healed and repaired.

She snapped her eyes open.

The moonlight was no longer wavering, the hole in the roof was still there, and the night wind blowing in from the doorway felt surprisingly comfortable on her face.

She was healed.

’Was her condition better than it had ever been before?’

Su Ling’er looked down at her palms. They had regained their healthy, rosy color, and she could even feel the Spiritual Power flowing joyfully within them.

’What... What was going on?’

’Senior Brother wasn’t feeding her poison?’

’They were miraculous Spirit Pills?!’

She had to work hard for a long time just to exchange her labor for a single, ordinary low-grade Spirit Grass, yet this demon before her had casually taken out three pills she couldn’t afford even in her wildest dreams!

’Ugh... aside from being a little ugly, pitch-black, and looking no different from poison pills or duds, they really were miraculous Spirit Pills!’

’Then... why?’

Su Ling’er’s mind was a mess.

’Could it be that he wasn’t here to kill me?’

’Could it be that he was concerned about my health?’

’Could it be that this bloodthirsty demon, who kills without batting an eye, actually... has a kind heart?’

’Perhaps... he’s just being controlled by the higher-ups of the demonic sect, forced against his will?’

’Maybe he can still be saved?’

The moment this thought popped into her head, Su Ling’er herself shuddered.

’Impossible. Absolutely impossible!’

But the warmth brought by the pills was undeniably real.

Confusion, vigilance, and a trace of emotion she was unwilling to admit to herself—gratitude—all tangled together.

Just then, Lin Qingfeng spoke.

And the smile on his Junior Sister’s face vanished as he began to speak...