Baili An dragged him out from the pile of scattered stones, and the eager little deer shared Baili An's burden by carrying the man on its back to a place that was well-ventilated and cool.
Looking at the man's tattered black and crimson robe, his disheveled appearance was akin to that of a fierce ghost.
But the faint rise and fall of his chest told Baili An that this man was still alive.
Baili An's gaze shifted slightly as he noticed the man's right hand, its sinews completely severed, fearing that even if he were to survive, he might never wield a sword again.
He sighed softly, pulling out the spirit fruit from his bosom and examining it in his palm for a moment.
"Little deer, the people from the Holy Beast Palace spoke so highly of this fruit. Do you think it would help this man?"
The little deer became anxious.
What?
You idiot, you're not eating it yourself but giving it to someone else?
The simple-minded little deer pitied the bloodied and wounded Baili An, vigorously shaking its head.
Innocently, it conveyed to him that this little spirit fruit was not so powerful after all, it wouldn't help this man; it would be better if you just ate it yourself.
Baili An's eyes returned to the longsword lying beside the man and murmured to himself, "This person's swordsmanship is so remarkable; he must be an extraordinary figure…"
Saying this, he slowly squatted down, without a trace of reluctance, he crushed the spirit fruit and stuffed it into the man's cracked lips.
Quickly, the man's vital energy stabilized, his external injuries rapidly healing. The sinews in his wrist were also restored to their original state amid strands of white light.
The man groaned softly, his eyelids fluttered, and he awakened just like that.
Judging by his condition, he seemed even better off than before he had drawn his sword the previous night.
Still, his breath was weak.
Upon opening his eyes, he was met with a bloody and terrifying face, which made him twitch at the corners of his mouth and instinctively reach for the sword by his side.
To his surprise, it was still there—it hadn't been taken?
With some of his alertness and hostility dissipating, he braced himself and sat up to take a look around.
Seeing Baili An's familiar clothes, as well as the snow-white fur of the deer, he immediately guessed the identity of the person before him.
He looked at Baili An, frowning and said, "How did you end up looking like a ghost?"
Though his manner of speaking was quite rude, it bore no malice.
Baili An pulled at the corner of his mouth, paired with that burnt and bloodied face, his smile appeared particularly hideous.
The young man smacked his lips, seeming to ponder the taste, and with a flicker in his eyes, said, "You fed me that wondrous fruit?"
Baili An sat down exhaustedly, his voice sounding extremely hoarse due to the five deep gouges on his neck causing a misalignment in his bones.
"You were close to death, and your hand was broken. It would be regrettable if you couldn't hold a sword in the future. I thought that this fruit could help you, and now it seems it has helped quite a bit."
Hearing this, the man narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you an idiot? That is a wondrous fruit, a spirit fruit that only bears once every five hundred years. It's more than just a little help. If you had consumed it, not only would your potential significantly increase, but your cultivation path would also have far fewer twists and turns.
There were only two of these fruits. You gave one to your deer, that was foolish of you, and the last remaining one to a stranger who has nothing to do with you; you truly are an idiot beyond measure."
Baili An was stunned and asked, "How do you know I fed a fruit to the deer?"
The man tapped the ground impatiently with his sword-hand, "Are you blind? But that's beside the point!"
Baili An uttered an "Oh" and fell silent.
The man gave Baili An another glance, turned his attention to the Glazed Umbrella, and frowned,
"Let's not discuss whether you're an idiot for the moment. It turns out you're not even human. From earlier up to now, you haven't made a single breath... How did you die? And how many years have you been dead?"
Baili An was stunned yet again.
This person had seen through his identity in just one glance.
But such a dialogue was so bizarre.
What kind of person, when facing a corpse, could remain so indifferent?
As casually as if he were making small talk, he asked how he died and for how long he had been dead.
Baili An blinked slightly, attempting to express his astonishment.
However, the sunlight-burned eye throbbed with pain, and a scarlet line of blood streamed down instantly.
It looked quite eerie and frightening.
The man's face once again contorted severely as he frantically raked his hair.
He exclaimed in exasperation, "What a nuisance, such a hassle! Troubled by a little corpse demon is troublesome, being saved by one is even more so! In short, it's troublesome! So troublesome! AAAAAAH!"
Baili An made a puzzled sound, then said, "It doesn't have to be this troublesome. You can just pretend you never saw me. I don't harm people or drain their blood. In a while, I'll find an uninhabited wilderness to hide in and cultivate properly."
The man freaked out even more, like a lion with ruffled fur, and scolded, "Who cares if you harm people! Even fools can see that you, this idiotically harmless little corpse demon, won't harm anyone."
Wild animals never approach humans on their own initiative.
Only those born with inherent goodness and transparent thoughts can attract these creatures to approach willingly.
Not to mention demon spirits and malevolent creatures.
These timid, easily spooked animals with spiritual wisdom always keep their distance.
Like him, to have a little deer come so close without any guard, treating him akin to family, was a first throughout the ages.
Such a corpse demon, harmful to humans?
That would be as ludicrous as saying the Sect Master of the Tianxi Sword Sect could become a demon.
Laughable.
However, as his words fell, a pair of eyes under the umbrella suddenly turned a vivid crimson.
Baili An held up the umbrella with one hand, kneeling heavily on one knee while clutching his own throat with the other, turning away from the man and gasping breathlessly.
The little deer, anxious, trotted up to him, offering its hefty backside.
Seeing this, the man's mouth twitched vehemently, thinking that in his three hundred years of cultivation, this was the first time he had seen a young beast willingly offer its blood for a corpse demon to drink.
Baili An drew out the Autumnwater Sword from the jade-green scabbard, ready to cut open the little deer's backside for blood.
The fierce battle of the previous night had left him gravely injured. Even after absorbing the Essence Blood of Brother Li Jiujiu, he was struggling to maintain his sanity.
To avoid losing control, he had no choice but to drink blood.
Yet before the sword could fall, it was snatched away by the man.
He silently looked at Baili An, sliced open his own left arm, and let the deep red blood flow.
He extended his arm toward Baili An and said, "My blood is far more useful than that of a young spirit beast. Drink mine instead."
Baili An's eyes, blood-red and trembling, smelled the fresh blood and felt his brain boiling.
Yet he retained the last shred of clarity and did not recklessly lunge to drink the blood.
Instead, he shakily stretched out his hand to catch his blood.
If his saliva were to touch the man's wound directly, the corpse poison could cause him significant harm.