SWNOVELXO Chapter 14
The first night passed safely.
Morning sunlight filtered through the treetops, spilling into the forest.
“It’s finally daytime…” Wang Zilin, who hadn’t slept well, plagued by fear all night, relaxed. He turned to Li An. “You go eat first. I’ll keep watch.”
They couldn’t light a fire at night, so they had to take turns returning to their huts for meals during the day.
Starving since last night, Wang Zilin was famished but offered to stay until Li An ate.
Despite hating “Bloodsucker Li,” he knew their status difference and instinctively tried to please him.
Li An shook his head. “You go first.”
Usually, if Fan Jie stayed at Zhang Susu’s, he wouldn’t head up the mountain until noon.
Wang Zilin lit up. “Alright, I’ll eat and come right back. Won’t take long!”
He limped off.
Li An watched him go, frowning.
Keeping this guy alive wouldn’t be easy.
He stood and scouted the area again.
Near the shelter, a hidden cave in a pile of rocks stretched seven or eight meters deep.
From the shelter, a safe escape route led straight to it for hiding.
To the right, a small stream had a pond deep enough to crouch in. With a straw for breathing, it was nearly undetectable.
Further back, a massive old tree with thick branches offered a safe perch.
But those plans assumed he was alone. Now, with a limping Wang Zilin, he retraced the routes, calculating the best option for both.
He’d brought Wang Zilin along because keeping him alive was useful.
With a plan in mind, Li An went to the Spirit Bells Fan Jie had set up. Carefully, he untied some ropes, collected a few bells, and darted deep into the forest.
Thanks to his earlier explorations, he moved fast, reaching eight miles out. He tied the bells at key spots.
The bells’ alarm carried ten miles, but trees reduced it to about eight.
If something happened, he’d know eight miles in advance.
That distance gave him plenty of time to act.
Plus, his calculations suggested the bells here would spook enemies, slowing them as they grew cautious…
Giving Li An more time.
…
Near noon, Wang Zilin hurried back, apologetic. “Immortal Fan made me empty chamber pots and wash sheets. Took a bit. Sorry.”
For two years, besides casting rain, Wang Zilin handled all sorts of chores for Fan Jie and Zhang Susu—pots, laundry, everything.
“Mm.” Li An said nothing and left.
…
Back at the base of Spirit Plant Mountain, Li An was surprised to find Fan Jie still there.
From next door, Zhang Susu’s voice was hoarse!
Was Fan Jie, thinking Zhang Susu might die in this crisis, using her to the fullest?
The absurd thought passed quickly. Li An realized the truth: Fan Jie was frantically purging poison.
Though he’d found a way to suppress his fire poison, it was still a risk. All he could do was dump as much as possible into Zhang Susu.
Li An washed his pot, cooked, and ate. Then he started brewing “pest-killing soup.”
The thick stench soon spread.
“What the hell are you cooking again?!” Fan Jie kicked open Li An’s door, pants barely tied, fuming.
“Immortal, the forest’s full of mosquitoes. I can’t sleep at night… I’m brewing soup to kill them,” Li An said. “Sorry, sorry.”
Fan Jie was livid but helpless. “Hurry up!” He stormed back up the mountain.
He couldn’t stay here—not with that smell!
Soon after, Zhang Susu slipped into Li An’s hut, eyes teary, her flushed face turning splotchy.
“Li An, I’m dying. He’s killing me…” she said miserably. “He came down this morning, like a madman, eight times, eight times!
My body feels like it’s burning, so painful… Save me, please!”
Li An’s mind stirred. “He didn’t come last night?”
“No, only during the day…”
Li An thought it over. Fan Jie likely figured enemy attacks would happen at night, so he stayed on the mountain then, only coming down to Zhang Susu during the day to purge poison.
He hesitated. “Sister Susu, I’m not really sure about your condition…”
Zhang Susu caught his hint and knelt before him. “Li An, use whatever method you have. I won’t blame you, I won’t!”
Li An nodded reluctantly. “Alright.”
He pulled a small packet of black powder from his robe—two ground-up Mixed Spirit Pills.
“While he’s gone, mix this with water and rub it on the most painful spot.”
“Most painful spot?” Zhang Susu froze, then blushed harder, understanding. She nodded. “Okay.”
She took the powder, grateful. “Li An, thank you! You’re saving my life. I’ll treat you like a brother. My extra harvests are yours!”
She turned to leave.
“No, do it here! Quick!” Li An said calmly.
He had to ensure she applied it.
Zhang Susu’s face showed humiliation, but she gritted her teeth, starting to undo her pants. “Hurry, Fan Jie will come down soon…”
Li An stopped her, shocked, pointing to the bathing tub. “Over there, do it yourself!”
Zhang Susu froze, her face redder, realizing she’d misunderstood. She grabbed a bowl of water and ducked behind the tub.
Li An didn’t look, calmly brewing his soup.
“This medicine’s colorless, odorless, no feeling at all. Li An, will it work?” Zhang Susu emerged, pants on, uneasy.
Li An said, “I don’t know. Sister Susu, you should go.”
“Remember, don’t tell him about this. You don’t want him knowing you were here, right?”
Zhang Susu nodded firmly. “I understand.”
After she left, Li An rinsed her bowl several times, ensuring no traces remained. He poured the brewed soup into a bucket and headed out.
“Oh,” he called after her. “Sister Susu, when you’re free, gather more Green Lotus Leaves. They’re good for you. Just be careful—the mud’s deep. If you fall in, no one’ll find you.”
Zhang Susu, puzzled, nodded absently and left.
…
Evening came quickly.
Li An and Wang Zilin spread the soup around the forest.
Cooled, the soup’s stench faded, but it was still sharp to beasts and spirit beasts, limiting their paths.
…
Three days passed in a blink.
…
“Li An, you think there’s really danger here?” Wang Zilin asked as night fell. After days with Li An, his fear eased slightly. “What if a tiger or something comes…”
Li An sat, eyes closed, using Super Sense Technique to its fullest, ears picking up faint sounds, ignoring him.
“I really regret coming to the Clear Sun Sect. Should’ve stayed home. I have a little sister, only seven, so cute. I could’ve helped my parents care for her. Farming was tough, but not like this…” Wang Zilin rambled. “Now my leg’s broken, still First Layer after two years. If my parents knew how bad I’ve got it, they’d be heartbroken…”
He started sobbing.
“Shut up!” Li An’s eyes snapped open.
“What? What’s wrong…” Wang Zilin panicked. “Don’t scare me… The bells didn’t ring.”
The bells Li An placed eight miles out made faint, bug-like sounds here. Wang Zilin couldn’t hear them!
“I think I heard a strange beast…” Li An said urgently. “Run, now!”
Without hesitation, he grabbed Wang Zilin, yanked him from the shelter, and bolted toward the rock pile.
A few dozen steps in, Li An “stumbled,” pulling Wang Zilin into the cave.
They crashed against the cave’s stone walls, hitting the bottom. Li An passed out instantly.
“Li An…” Wang Zilin, dazed and battered, tried to stand but felt a rock hit his head. His vision darkened, and he fainted.
Once he was out, Li An’s eyes shot open. He leaped out of the cave.
“Eight miles, one quarter-hour, enough!”
Enemies were coming, likely led by lower-tier spirit beasts. With dense thorns, trees, and rugged terrain, Li An had calculated it’d take about this long from the bells to their hideout.
The bells’ ringing would likely spook enemies, slowing them to scout, giving Li An more time.
But he gave himself only a quarter-hour!
He had to act within that window!
Li An sprinted toward Spirit Plant Mountain, moving like a leopard through the forest, vanishing in a blink!
…
(Chapter End)