Facing Lychee's pleading gaze, Xu Jin did not agree directly. Instead, he pushed the elixir toward her once more.
"What, you don't want to be saved?"
"I... am... badly... hurt..."
"Are you looking down on Central Plains, or looking down on me?" Xu Jin interrupted bluntly.
Hearing this, Lychee glanced at the elixir, a newfound desire to live surfacing in her eyes as she reached out with difficulty.
Xu Jin ignored her trembling hand and pressed the elixir directly against her lips. Without waiting for her to open her mouth, he used his spiritual energy to dissolve the medicinal potency and force it down her throat.
"Cough... cough..."
Lychee had clearly never taken an elixir this way before and coughed in extreme discomfort.
The moment the medicine reached her throat, she could feel its effects taking hold immediately, beginning to nourish her body.
Xu Jin raised his hand and removed all the bandages from her body, revealing blackened, festering flesh beneath.
Though he was no physician, his cultivation realm was high enough. When it came to forces from different dimensions, power from a higher dimension could sometimes serve universal purposes.
Xu Jin channeled his spiritual energy into her arm and the other wounds. The subtle flow of spiritual energy was more than enough to annihilate the strange residual force within the wounds without harming Lychee.
Moreover, the elixir she had just taken was originally meant for high-realm cultivators. A single pill was more than enough to fully nourish a small Foundation Establishment cultivator like her.
While it couldn't perform the miracle of restoring flesh to bare bone, replenishing her qi and blood and smoothing out her spiritual energy was well within its power.
Lychee's complexion improved noticeably in just a moment. Her voice was still somewhat hoarse as she spoke.
"Do you know the reason behind the recent rampage of mindless demon beasts?"
Jing Qing's face twisted with disgust upon hearing this. He was about to speak when Xu Jin cut in first.
"Without clear evidence, baseless speculation is meaningless."
Lychee nodded gently, then drew a short dagger from her waist and began slicing away the blackened flesh on her arm.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, doing this would only cause pain but posed no real problem. In fact, it would hasten her recovery.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Lychee asked again.
"Have you come to save Xi Niu He Zhou? Is Central Plains finally extending a hand?"
Xu Jin fell silent for a moment. Rather than comforting her with lies, he told her honestly, "Currently, we are only in the investigation phase. For Central Plains to intervene... would require navigating many entanglements."
"Entanglements of interest?" Lychee wanted to laugh but couldn't. She stood up.
"We people are not the interest. This land is."
Jing Qing stepped forward and spoke directly.
"If it were all about interest, why would my senior brother and I come here? We could have simply waited for Xi Niu He Zhou to collapse entirely before seeking our gain. If you couldn't save Xi Niu He Zhou, what makes you think we can?"
Lychee looked up at Jing Qing, fell silent for a moment, and then spoke softly. "You're right... I spoke out of turn."
To put it coldly, this disaster was not of their making. Even if they had turned a blind eye... the outside world would not have blamed them.
"Is Senior Chu here as well?" Lychee asked instead.
Xu Jin shook his head again. "He has been rather busy lately. He may not even be aware of the situation here."
Disappointment flickered across Lychee's face. After what Jing Qing had said, she naturally understood that the two of them would not linger here for long.
Xi Niu He Zhou was vast, while Huangliang City was small.
Great figures rarely concerned themselves with small things.
Huangliang City had weathered countless demon beast attacks. That she had survived and the city still stood was entirely thanks to the protective Dharma treasure Chu Xingchen had given her.
But no matter how powerful a Dharma treasure was, without the nourishment of spirit stones and spiritual energy, it would quickly grow weak.
And a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators like themselves had absolutely no way to maintain a high-grade treasure.
Lychee pulled out the protective Dharma treasure, now devoid of any spiritual glow, from her spatial ring and asked once more.
"The spiritual energy in the protective treasure Senior Chu gave me has dried up... Without it, I don't know how many times I would have died already. We barbarians of Xi Niu He Zhou truly don't know how to use the fine treasures of Central Plains. I know you two won't stay here for long."
"But could you repair this for me? To live one more day is, after all, one more sliver of hope."
Xu Jin reached out and took it, gently running his fingers over the protective Dharma treasure whose spiritual energy had been completely depleted.
This item had been given to Lychee by Chu Xingchen. Originally, it was meant to protect her when she investigated the secrets of the Buddhist faith.
It hadn't been needed then, but now it had saved her life.
Xu Jin handed the protective Dharma treasure to Jing Qing.
Jing Qing took it and naturally walked to the side, beginning to infuse it with spiritual energy.
"Thank you." Lychee spoke from the bottom of her heart, a faint smile reminiscent of the past surfacing on her face. "It's a good thing I met you and Senior Chu, two great figures of Central Plains, back then."
Xu Jin did not respond to such pleasantries. Instead, he spoke plainly.
"That protective treasure alone won't hold for long."
"I know."
"You are a Foundation Establishment cultivator. With that treasure, or if I take you away, either would work."
"I know that too. But there are memories here, and friends—though many have died. And there are promises I made."
"The people of Xi Niu He Zhou may not understand rules or etiquette, and their ways may be rough, but they understand that a promise must be fulfilled with one's life."
Listening to Lychee's calm expression and words, Xu Jin could only nod gently. But suddenly recalling something, he asked a follow-up question.
"Have you ever eaten a lychee?"
Lychee froze at the question. The smile faded from her face, her lips curving slightly downward as she replied in that same hoarse voice.
"No..."
At that moment, Jing Qing walked over with the now-restored protective Dharma treasure.
Lychee hurriedly thanked him and accepted it.
Xu Jin retrieved a bottle of elixirs from his spatial storage and placed it in Lychee's hands.
"I have a few questions. Where did these demon beasts first appear? Are there any reports of the Buddhist faith taking action?"
"The first news came from southern merchants, followed by refugees fleeing from the south. The southernmost refugee... I think there was only one from Pusa Man, but he's already dead. As for the Buddhist faith... at first, we didn't know... but now, there should be none left."
"It's all rogue cultivators and sect cultivators organizing defenses. The larger settlements are managing alright, but for towns like Huangliang City with many mortals, conditions must be dire."
Xu Jin asked again, "What about the Heaven Patrol Division here?"
"Most of them are dead. The highest cultivation in a small branch division is Golden Core, and Foundation Establishment cultivators serve as squad leaders."
Lychee shook her head gently, her tone strained.
"Other than the main headquarters, which is staffed by people from Central Plains, most of the division members are locals of Xi Niu He Zhou. Their cultivation naturally can't compare."
Xu Jin nodded slightly. "I understand."
Lychee looked at Xu Jin, hesitated for a moment, and then asked.
"Is it the Buddhist faith's doing? Isn't this the Buddhist faith's territory?"
"Aren't so many of them followers of the Buddhist faith? Why would they do this?"
Xu Jin shook his head gently.
"There's not enough intelligence. I can't just give you a casual answer. But if the Buddhist faith truly is responsible, justice will naturally be demanded from them."
With that, Xu Jin glanced out the window.
"It's getting late. I'm here conducting a covert investigation."
"If someone with ill intent traces my presence, it won't be a good thing for you. I have a mission and can't stay long."
Lychee's heart was heavy, but she still nodded in response.
"I understand."
"Be careful in all things." Xu Jin turned to leave, tossing out one last remark. "There will still be a chance to eat lychees."
Jing Qing glanced at Lychee, gave her a slight nod, and then followed his senior brother.
The two figures headed out of Huangliang City.
On the road, Xu Jin suddenly spoke.
"Jing Qing, I don't need you to follow me for now. Return to the Tianyan Sect in Central Plains and find Chu Xingchen."
"Tell him everything about the situation here. Whether he acts or not is entirely up to him."
Jing Qing slowed his pace and asked, "Then where does senior brother plan to go? This is Buddhist faith territory."
Xu Jin replied, "I'm going to Pusa Man. If Chu Xingchen comes, finish what needs to be done with him first, then come find me at Pusa Man."
"Senior brother is doing this because of that woman?" Jing Qing asked, puzzled.
"Not entirely."
"Then why?"
"Because someone once said that Lychee's life is also a life. She still wants to eat lychees. She is a good person—it's just that I can't help her for now."
Xu Jin's gaze turned toward Central Plains.
"In the past, he was always the one troubling me. Now it's my turn to trouble him a little."
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