Something's wrong with this demon.

Chapter 74 Night Blossom

Outside the cave, night had fallen.

After setting up the traps outside, Luo Qingchen returned to the cave and continued reading the book "Ghost Shadow Technique".

On the wall next to it hung the bloodstained animal skin.

In the firelight, the animal skin, with its disheveled hair and drooping head, seemed to be grinning eerily.

The little girl huddled in the corner, glancing at him occasionally, then at the animal skin on the wall.

"Crackling..."

In the silent, dark cave, the only sound was the crackling of firewood.

"Aww—"

Just then, a wild beast's roar suddenly came from outside.

Then, another roar of a wild beast rang out.

The two wild animals appear to be fighting.

The little girl turned pale with fright, hurriedly got up, approached him, and peeked at him while timidly squatting down beside him.

Seeing that he wasn't angry, she sat down with peace of mind.

After a moment, she got up again, went to the corner, and took the black robe with the skull on it. She wrapped it around herself, stole another glance at him, and then slowly lay down beside him.

She lay on the ground, her eyes wide open, and suddenly saw the animal skin on the wall.

At first she was very scared and would quickly look away after just one glance, but gradually she became bolder and kept staring at that spot.

"Would you like to turn into skin and hang there too?"

Luo Qingchen, who had been quietly flipping through books, suddenly spoke in a cold voice.

The little girl's face changed, and she said in a trembling voice, "No...I don't want to..."

Luo Qingchen put down the book in her hand, looked at her, and then took out a dagger.

The little girl stared at him with wide eyes, lying there motionless.

Are you afraid of pain?

Luo Qingchen asked again.

Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes. She nodded, but remained lying there motionless.

Luo Qingchen didn't speak again. She extended her dagger, the sharp tip pressed against her cheek, and gently cut a wound.

Fresh blood immediately flowed out.

The little girl trembled, her teeth chattered, and tears streamed down her face.

"Bear with it."

Luo Qingchen said something and then scratched her other cheek.

Then, he made two more cuts on her neck and legs.

The little girl clenched her teeth in pain, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't utter a sound.

Luo Qingchen put away the dagger, took some medicinal powder from her pack, sprinkled it on the wounds, and then gently bandaged them with clean gauze.

The little girl paused, tears streaming down her face, and couldn't help but ask, "Brother...brother, aren't you going to skin me alive?"

Luo Qingchen continued flipping through the book, saying calmly, "Your blood is more valuable than your skin. What I want is your blood."

"Oh……"

The little girl immediately became happy, and a smile even appeared on her bandaged face.

At this moment, the roars of wild beasts outside had stopped.

Luo Qingchen read the book for a while longer before putting it away. She then went over to fiddle with the firewood under the stove, returned to her original spot, lay down, and closed her eyes.

The little girl turned her face to the side, her big eyes peeking at him.

Luo Qingchen said coldly, "Go to sleep."

"oh."

The little girl immediately closed her eyes.

Although the wounds on her cheeks and body were throbbing with pain, she felt at peace at this moment.

She wrapped herself tightly in her black robe, a smile seemingly appearing on her face, and quickly fell asleep.

The next day.

As soon as it was light, Luo Qingchen packed her things and set off with the little girl.

He initially planned to stay here for a few more days, but now it seems unsafe and he needs to leave as soon as possible.

The bodies of Zhang and Gan were no longer in the woods.

He led the little girl over mountains and valleys, heading towards Yaoren Town.

They never stopped along the way.

The little girl fell many times, but each time she immediately got up, panting and sweating profusely, yet she persisted.

After climbing another hillside, Luo Qingchen finally stopped.

He raised his gaze and looked at the mountains and forests ahead, where the color had darkened considerably, a complex expression on his face.

The little girl was far behind.

After a long while, he caught up, panting.

"Sit down and rest for a while."

Luo Qingchen sat down on the rock next to her, took out half a hard, dry steamed bun from her pack, and tossed it to her.

Then, he tossed the kettle to her.

"Thank you... thank you, brother."

The little girl plopped down on the ground, panting for a long time before picking up the water bottle and gulping it down.

Then he began to wolf down the steamed buns.

Luo Qingchen stared at her for a while before asking, "Do you know what Medicine Man Town is?"

The little girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head blankly.

Luo Qingchen said, "This is where the medicine people live. I'll take you there to stay."

The little girl asked cautiously, "Are there...bread buns to eat there?"

Luo Qingchen said, "Yes."

The little girl immediately perked up and said, "Then I'll definitely like it there!"

Luo Qingchen shifted her gaze to the distant shadows and said coldly, "From now on, I will go to Medicine Man Town to collect blood every month. If you can't hold on and die, I will skin you alive and sell your entire body."

The little girl immediately said, "Brother, I will definitely hold on! I will definitely not let you down!"

Luo Qingchen did not speak again.

After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze to her again and asked, "What's your name?"

The little girl immediately called out in a clear voice, "Ayao! Brother, my name is Ayao! Brother, what's your name?"

"A-Yao?"

Luo Qingchen's expression shifted slightly. Yaoren Town, Ayao.

"Don't call me brother."

His expression immediately turned stern again.

He paused, then added, "In front of others, you must call me master, understand?"

The little girl nodded immediately: "Yes, yes, yes! Ah Yao remembers! Master! Master!"

She was overjoyed.

What my brother meant was that she could still call him brother in the future, as long as no one else was present!

"My name is Luo Qingchen."

After a moment of silence, Luo Qingchen finally answered.

"Luo Qingchen..."

The little girl said, "Brother's name is so nice."

A look of disbelief crossed Luo Qingchen's face.

"Luo Qingchen, Luo Xiaoyu..."

He stared blankly at the dirty little girl in front of him, whose face was scarred but whose smile was full of innocence. The image of that innocent and carefree face could not help but reappear in his mind.

"Let's go."

But in an instant, his face returned to its previous coldness and indifference, and he got up and walked down the hillside.

The little girl quickly followed behind.

It was evening.

The two walked into a dark and gloomy forest.

Soon, a wooden bridge appeared.

Inside the small wooden house by the bridge, the thin, white-haired Uncle Wang had been replaced by another gray-haired old man.

As Luo Qingchen approached with the little girl, the old man had already come out of the small wooden house.

Luo Qingchen took out his waist token and stepped forward, saying, "Disciple Luo Qingchen, take the medicine man back to Medicine Man Town."

The gray-haired old man took the waist token from him, examined it carefully, then suddenly paused, looked up at him and said, "You're the disciple who came from Medicine Man Town a couple of days ago?"

Luo Qingchen respectfully replied, "Yes."

The gray-haired old man looked surprised, stared at him carefully for a moment, and nodded in praise: "Indeed very young, rare indeed."

After saying that, she returned the waist tag to him.

Only then did he turn his gaze to the little girl huddled behind him, his brows furrowing slightly: "Junior Nephew Luo, outer sect disciples only have one chance a year, and you chose such a frail little girl?"

Luo Qingchen said, "I just happened to run into it on the road, so I brought it back."

The gray-haired old man shook his head, said nothing more, took out the Demon-Detecting Stone, walked up to the little girl, gently rubbed it on her forehead a few times, and asked her if she had been sick these past few days.

"There is no disease."

Luo Qingchen replied.

"Alright, let's go in."

The gray-haired old man put away the demon-detecting stone, waved his hand, and seemed unwilling to say anything more.

"Thank you, Uncle-Master."

After thanking her, Luo Qingchen led the little girl onto the wooden bridge.

At this moment, the gray-haired old man suddenly asked, "By the way, Junior Nephew Luo, do you know that girl named Ye Fu?"

Luo Qingchen stopped and shook her head.

The gray-haired old man sighed, "Our Medicine Man Town is really something this year! Two disciples have advanced. Besides you, there's a girl. She looks even younger than you, and she advanced a day after you. I bet her talent is even stronger than yours."

"Nightbloom..."

Luo Qingchen secretly memorized the name.