Near the mouth of the cave, everything—from weeds to towering trees—flourished with untamed vitality, as if bursting with the restless energy of youth, desperate for release.
Standing at the edge of it all, Ye Ping’an guessed that this was probably due to the faint traces of spiritual energy seeping from underground.
With no better options, he slung the bundle of firewood over his shoulder and started walking deeper into the distance.
It had taken him over half an hour of scouring and chopping to gather this much, binding the sticks together with a length of vine.
Luckily, even though his cultivation level wasn’t high, he was still a cultivator. Compared to an average adult, he had no shortage of strength.
Just as he was preparing to head back—
“Ahh!!~~”
A sharp cry suddenly pierced the air from somewhere ahead.
It was loud and panicked, but what struck Ye Ping’an most was that the voice… sounded young. Roughly the same age as him, maybe even younger.
Without hesitation, and driven by the instinct of a proper upstanding young citizen, Ye Ping’an dropped the firewood and sprinted toward the sound.
He didn’t know what kind of danger the kid had run into—was it a wild beast?
A sudden cliff? Or worse?
He also had no clue whether the child was a cultivator or just an ordinary person. But judging by the voice, it was very likely a mortal.
And for mortals in the wilderness, danger could be anything—from a pack of wolves to a venomous snake.
If it was just a regular wild beast, Ye Ping’an had confidence in handling it. After all, in this spiritless land, spiritual beasts were rare. Ordinary animals were far more common.
But if it turned out to be some high-level monster, Ye Ping’an definitely wasn’t going to throw his life away.
He had only just caught hold of his junior sister—the lifeline that could save him and the rest of Xuanxing Sect. It’d be the height of foolishness to die here.
The child’s screams didn’t stop. In fact, as Ye Ping’an got closer, they only got more frantic, their pitch rising to the point of nearly cracking.
Clearly, whatever was happening, it was serious.
Luckily, the sound wasn’t too far. After dashing a few hundred meters, Ye Ping’an finally reached the source.
The sight made his heart clench.
A boy—no more than ten years old—was sprawled on the ground. He had chin-length, fiery red hair and a huge tear in his pants.
Blood soaked the entire hem, dripping steadily to stain the earth beneath him.
On his lower leg, just above the ankle, were two distinct puncture wounds—sharp, gaping, and unmistakably from a snake.
He couldn’t stand. The pain and the venom had rendered him completely helpless.
In his trembling hands, the boy gripped a long, thin stick—nearly a meter in length—and was waving it wildly in front of him, his voice hoarse from screaming.
The sheer terror in his eyes made it clear: this wasn’t just fear. It was phobia.
And no wonder—just a few meters ahead of him, a three-meter-long black snake lay coiled, eyes fixed on the child, tongue flicking in and out.
It was poised to strike, waiting for the perfect moment.
Ye Ping’an exhaled slowly in relief—at least the child was still alive. Judging from his reaction, he wasn’t in mortal danger just yet. Probably just terrified out of his wits.
He studied the snake quickly. Black coloring meant it was likely venomous, but thankfully, the species wasn’t particularly lethal. Its venom was more paralytic than deadly.
Just then, the boy’s strength gave out—whether from fear or the venom spreading through his limbs, Ye Ping’an didn’t know.
His grip loosened, and the stick slipped from his hands, clattering to the ground.
The black snake didn’t waste a second.
With a sudden burst of speed, it lunged forward.
But Ye Ping’an was already in motion. In a single fluid motion, he unsheathed the sword strapped to his back, and with a swift, powerful strike, he slashed downward.
The blade met its mark.
Mid-air, the snake had no time to dodge. Ye Ping’an’s sword landed squarely at its weakest point—seven inches from the head—cleaving the creature clean in two.
Blood sprayed from the split halves as they tumbled to the ground, writhing briefly before going still.
The boy had been just seconds away from being bitten again—maybe even killed.
He flinched backward on instinct, crawling away in terror, his face pale and streaked with sweat and dirt. Clearly, he was utterly terrified of snakes.
Ye Ping’an slid his sword back into its sheath with a dramatic flourish—partly out of habit, and partly because, well… looking cool never hurt.
Especially if there was a chance someone would be impressed.
But before he could say anything, the boy practically lunged at him, clutching his leg.
His eyes were brimming with tears, his voice desperate:
“Big brother, please! I was bitten… I can’t reach it! Can you help suck the venom out for me?!”
Ye Ping’an blinked. For a moment, he found it funny. The boy clearly had no idea this type of snake venom only caused mild paralysis—it wasn’t deadly.
He opened his mouth to explain, “It’s not poisonous, really, you—”
But the boy suddenly dropped to his knees, voice choked with sobs.
“Please! My body’s already going numb. If we wait any longer, it might be too late! I know you probably don’t want to do it, that’s why you’re saying it’s not poisonous, but I’m begging you.”
“I haven’t even found my parents yet… I still need to know what happened to them. I can’t die here. If you save me—I’ll do anything. Just please…”
And with that, he kowtowed right there on the forest floor, tears falling like rain.
Ye Ping’an sighed.
“Alright, alright—I’ll do it!”
The boy’s dramatic outburst had caught him completely off guard. And looking at him now—his tear-streaked face, soft features, and delicate frame—he looked more like a scared little girl than a tough young cultivator.
Ye Ping’an’s heart softened.
He just wanted to calm the kid down.
So he squatted down, tugged the boy’s leg closer. His calf was pale, slender, almost indistinguishable from his junior sister’s or Ning Yue’s. Still just a kid.
No real difference between boys and girls at that age.
Thank the heavens, Ye Ping’an thought. If this had been a grown man with hairy legs the size of tree trunks… I might’ve passed out just from the thought.
Without further hesitation, he leaned in close to the puncture marks and sucked.
A mouthful of warm, iron-rich blood surged in—he spat it out instantly to the side.
Even if the venom was mild, getting paralyzed in the middle of nowhere with a scared kid beside you was a terrible idea. They’d both end up lying there like snacks for the next passing predator.
Better safe than sorry.