Chapter Ten: Another Encounter with the Vermilion Fiend

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No one knew how much time had passed before Chen Jiaojiao slowly awoke.

Her first sensation was an all-over ache, as though every bone in her body had been disassembled.

She lifted the unfamiliar man’s coat covering her and saw that she was completely naked. Marks left by their recent intimacy still remained on her snow-white skin. Her pretty face instantly flushed, and she hurriedly pulled the coat tightly around herself, covering her body.

“You’re awake.” Gu Liuyun, who had been sitting nearby in meditation, was resting with his eyes closed.

“It was you… who saved me…” she said hesitantly, the blush on her face deepening.

Earlier, Zhang Jun and the others had ambushed her. After she was poisoned by the Passion Serpent venom, her mind had become muddled, leaving her no time to take a proper look at Gu Liuyun.

After receiving his affirmative reply, she began studying him intently.

Fortunately, he was neither an ugly nor a lecherous man. He could not exactly be called handsome, but he was the sort who grew more pleasing to the eye the longer one looked at him. His bearing was also exceptionally refined.

“Thank you for saving me…” Chen Jiaojiao had completely abandoned her earlier fierceness and now seemed coy and affected. “Since we have already become husband and wife in everything but name, after the secret realm closes, I’ll take you to meet my grandfather. Shall we choose a date and get married?”

Seeing the beautiful woman’s shy expression, Gu Liuyun awkwardly scratched his head.

“Miss Chen, I already have a fiancée. Besides, you were the one who begged me to help you. I hope you can understand.”

Far from being disappointed by his rejection, Chen Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up. “That means you’re not married yet?”

Gu Liuyun nodded.

Chen Jiaojiao smiled happily. “Then it’s simple. Break off your engagement and become engaged to me instead. The influence of my Chen family of Tiansheng is not something an ordinary household can compare with.”

Although the family’s strength was now far weaker than it had once been, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.

Besides, if she could recruit a powerhouse like Gu Liuyun as her husband, would she still need to worry about reviving the Chen family?

Gu Liuyun had never imagined that Chen Jiaojiao would be so open-minded. Her enthusiasm startled him.

When he failed to respond, Chen Jiaojiao frowned slightly. “You and I have already become husband and wife in everything but name. I’m sure your fiancée will be able to understand.”

“Or… do you not intend to take responsibility for me?”

Her beautiful eyes fixed upon Gu Liuyun, waiting for his answer.

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Liuyun said, “I can promise Miss Chen three things. As long as they do not violate morality and are within my ability, I will not refuse.”

Chen Jiaojiao’s eyes brightened, and she was about to speak when Gu Liuyun guessed what she intended to say and hurriedly added, “But I still cannot marry you.”

Chen Jiaojiao was momentarily disappointed, but she quickly composed herself and smiled. “Oh, I was only joking just now. I’m not some delicate little girl who will pester you endlessly over something like this.”

“Since you’ve agreed to do three things for me, then for the first one, please protect me in this secret realm and help me obtain the opportunities here.”

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Gu Liuyun readily agreed. “Of course.”

Chen Jiaojiao carefully rose and reached for her dress.

Only after picking it up did she discover that the pretty dress had long since been reduced to a strip of torn cloth. There was no way she could wear it anymore.

“You can wear my coat for now,” Gu Liuyun said.

“I suppose I have no choice,” Chen Jiaojiao replied awkwardly.

She was petite, and Gu Liuyun’s coat happened to cover her to just above the knees. Beneath the loose garment, her alluring curves remained visible.

“You slept for two hours. Battles are raging throughout the secret realm, so we need to hurry.”

Chen Jiaojiao nodded, then felt somewhat embarrassed.

Every passing second after entering the secret realm was precious, yet she had delayed them for so long.

Thinking of this, she quickly followed behind Gu Liuyun.

The two of them moved rapidly through the jungle, one in front of the other.

Just as Gu Liuyun had said, battles were taking place everywhere within the secret realm.

Some were fighting vicious beasts.

Others were fighting people.

“Hand over the cultivation manual, and we’ll spare your lives!” a furious roar came from not far away.

The voice sounded strangely familiar to Gu Liuyun.

Curious, he looked toward it.

There he saw Zhu Rong and the injured Zhu Yan, accompanied by a group of people, surrounding several others.

“Dare to touch the people of Yushan, and my master will never forgive you!” shouted a handsome young man among those being surrounded.

At the mention of Yushan, the expressions of Zhu Rong and Zhu Yan changed slightly, but soon they returned to normal.

“So what if you’re from Yushan? Once you die here, who will know that the Hexi Zhu family was responsible?” Zhu Yan was as arrogant as ever.

The Yushan disciple’s face turned even paler.

At Zhu Rong’s signal, the scions of the aristocratic families allied with the Zhu family immediately advanced and slaughtered the Yushan disciples.

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“Yushan… will never… let… you… go…”

The last Yushan disciple finally breathed his last.

Zhu Rong stepped forward and picked up the cultivation manual from the pool of blood, wrinkling his brow in disgust. “What rotten luck. After going to all that trouble, it turned out to be only a Profound-grade manual.”

Cultivation manuals were divided into four grades, from highest to lowest: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. The higher the grade, the more formidable the power unleashed when the manual was used.

The Zhu family had made extensive preparations for this secret realm expedition precisely to obtain high-grade manuals. A single Earth-grade manual or higher was enough to drive most factions into a frenzy.

“Qingqing, this manual is for you.” Zhu Yan snatched it from Zhu Rong’s hand and handed it directly to Ye Qingqing.

The Ye family had plenty of Profound-grade manuals, but one could never have too many good things. Ye Qingqing did not refuse and simply put it away.

“Qingqing, the treasures become better the deeper we go into the secret realm. When the time comes, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you,” Zhu Yan said ingratiatingly.

Watching Zhu Yan behave like a lovesick sycophant, Zhu Rong secretly rolled his eyes.

Although he was the eldest brother, his status within the family was inferior to Zhu Yan’s. He could only follow behind him as an ornament. He did not even have the authority to distribute the spoils in the secret realm, and could only watch helplessly as Zhu Yan used everyone’s hard-earned gains to curry favor with a woman.

He glanced around and, sure enough, saw displeasure on the faces of several aristocratic heirs.

But the moment they noticed Zhu Rong looking at them, they immediately concealed it.

“How awful…” Chen Jiaojiao could not help frowning at the sight of their behavior.

Gu Liuyun, however, had long since grown accustomed to such things.

The dangers of a secret realm did not come only from vicious beasts, but also from human greed.

“Who’s there?” Zhu Yan’s subordinate, Wang Quan, possessed keen senses. He was even able to detect Gu Liuyun, who had deliberately concealed his aura.

Everyone immediately grew alert and moved toward Gu Liuyun’s position.

Seeing that there was no longer any way to leave unnoticed, Gu Liuyun stopped hiding and stepped out directly.

“So it’s you?”

Zhu Yan let out a cold laugh. The hatred in his eyes seemed capable of tearing Gu Liuyun apart.

“Well, if it isn’t a case of searching high and low only to find what you’re looking for without any effort at all. We’ve been looking for you for ages, and who would have thought you’d come out on your own!”