Two hours later, Xidu in Changbai Mountain Province.

In this city, known as the "Spring City of North Country", Lu Ran and three others set foot.

Near the high-speed rail station, inside a high-end hotel, in the top-floor suite.

The sound of the shower kept coming from the bathroom inside the bedroom.

In the living room, Deng Yutang sat on the sofa, occasionally glancing at Lu Ran standing by the window.

"Relax a bit, we're in Mountain Lord's territory here," Lu Ran suddenly spoke.

In Da Xia, it's rare for strong gods and their territories to border each other directly.

It somewhat implies a 'king does not see the king' situation.

Generally, between strong gods, there will exist the territories of lesser gods, serving somewhat as a buffer zone.

However, Second-class God·North Wind and Second-class God·Mountain Lord were fiercely territorial!

Though both were divine beings, they stood with Da Xia Province as their border, neither yielding to the other.

North Wind stood in Ice City, his numerous effigies stretching north.

Mountain Lord stood in Xidu, his territory extending south.

The effigies of both gods, mere 300 kilometers apart in a straight line, formed quite the spectacle.

"In any case, Lord Immortal Goat has already negotiated on our behalf, and since North Wind agreed to let us go, he won't easily go back on his word," Lu Ran said softly.

Deng Yutang suddenly stood up and knelt towards the figure not far away.

Lu Ran frowned slightly and turned his head toward Deng Yutang, "Get up!"

"Brother Lu..." Deng Yutang's eyes reddened, his voice choked.

He did not know how much Lu Ran had sacrificed.

He only saw with his own eyes how Lu Ran, drenched in blood, had snatched his sister from the clutches of death.

He also saw how Lu Ran repeatedly invoked divine possession to retrieve his sister from North Wind.

Names like 'First Heavenly Pride of Da Xia', 'incumbent Mountain Master of Luo Xian Mountain of the Immortal Sheep Sect'...

Even the godly entity Lord Immortal Goat himself had to lower his voice and accompany them with a smile to finally resolve the matter.

Did Lu Ran save Deng Yuxiang's life?

No!

Lu Ran saved her time and again, life after life!

Setting aside the derogatory names and stains it would bring upon Lu Ran's life, how would he explain it to Lord Immortal Goat?

What kind of divine fury would Lu Ran face when he returned?

Today, in Beifeng City, Lord Immortal Goat had utterly lost face!

"Brother Lu! I owe you a great debt of gratitude that I can never repay in this lifetime..."

"Stand up!" Lu Ran's voice was firm, interrupting Deng Yutang.

Deng Yutang, with tears streaming down his face, looked up at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran locked eyes with Deng Yutang, "Stand up on your own."

Deng Yutang was silent for a long time but finally chose to follow the order and silently stood up.

Lu Ran turned his head toward the window, his voice low, "We're all brothers here, don't put on such an act with me."

Deng Yutang's nose felt sour, and tears streamed down his face.

Lu Ran looked down at the city below, slightly sighing in his heart.

Well, it would be more convenient to take in Deng Yutang into Ran Sect later.

Though, Lu Ran's initial intention was purely to save Deng Yuxiang.

But objectively, Ran Sect gained another pair of siblings.

Two loyal, deeply grateful companions.

"Ha ha," Lu Ran suddenly laughed, jokingly saying, "I thought you and your sister weren't close."

Deng Yutang plopped back onto the sofa, his head drooping, one hand covering his eyes, "I used to think so too."

This brave and fearless believer of the Red Scarf was especially vulnerable today.

Growing up, Deng Yutang had always lived in his sister's shadow.

It wasn't tragic, just endlessly frustrating.

The "painful" memories of his childhood remained vivid.

But today, as Deng Yuxiang lay at death's door, Deng Yutang recalled many childhood memories he had overlooked.

Like how Deng Yuxiang used to hold his hand on the way to school.

How she protected him from bullies, fiercely fighting with older students.

Or how she had given him his first weapon, a wooden spear with a red tassel.

And the repeated nights of the 15th.

During his childhood years, Deng Yuxiang seemed always to be by his side.

Those nights, which should have filled him with dread, didn't scare Deng Yutang much as he didn't have time to fear.

Because he was too busy being teased by his sister.

Looking back now, was that a kind of unconventional protection and love?

Who knows, maybe it was.

"She is a Jiang Pin," Lu Ran consoled, "Don't worry, she won't die."

"Mm," Deng Yutang nodded firmly.

Lu Ran looked at the snowflakes outside the window, "Book the tickets later. Tonight, I'll take your sister back to Luoxian Mountain."

"Can I come with you?" Deng Yutang asked.

"Sure, she'll need consoling after she wakes up," Lu Ran said, slightly tilting his head as the sound of the shower stopped.

Soon after, the sounds of drying off and clothing rustling followed.

After listening for a while, Lu Ran said, "Let's go see her."

Deng Yutang immediately stood up and followed Lu Ran to the bedroom door, gently knocking.

"Click."

Bai Manni quickly opened the door, then immediately stepped aside.

It was evident that her mind was entirely on Deng Yuxiang; she wore a bathrobe, her long hair still dripping wet, having had no time to dry it.

On the large bedroom bed, Deng Yuxiang was still unconscious.

She too was in a white bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a large white towel, several 'moon' characters floating above her.

The pearly light, like gentle moonlight, fell on Deng Yuxiang's pale face.

"Thank you," Lu Ran nodded.

Bai Manni lowered her eyelids, "It's only right."

On the high-speed train coming here, Bai Manni's Moonlight Spell had never ceased, continuously replenishing life force to Deng Yuxiang.

Because of this, several of their Divine Power Pearls were drained.

The trio came to the window and quietly observed the unconscious woman on the bed.

After such a long time of healing, her face remained colorless, her lips white, which was enough to imagine how severe her injuries were.

This also implied another aspect: the body of Jiang Realm is truly tenacious!

Hard to die.

And hard to fully recover.

Her health bar is just too long...

"You guys go to the living room and rest," Lu Ran said.

"Huh?" Bai Manni, puzzled, looked at Lu Ran.

She was the only one among them with a healing technique.

What does that mean?

Are we not healing anymore?

Deng Yutang was equally puzzled and turned to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran looked at Bai Manni, "Pamper your boyfriend a bit; he's nearly shattered."

Bai Manni: "..."

Deng Yutang: "..."

Is it really important if I'm shattered or not?

The urgent matter is to continue feeding my sister life force!

"Go on then, leave this to me," Lu Ran urged.

Deng Yutang and Bai Manni exchanged a look.

Swallowing all their questions, they left.

For Lu Ran, they naturally had absolute trust.

Since Lu Ran wanted to stay here alone, there must be his reasons!

Reluctantly glancing at Deng Yuxiang one last time, Deng Yutang finally let Bai Manni lead him away by the arm.

"Book the tickets and text me, don't come over and interrupt," Lu Ran said as he saw them to the door, then closed and locked it.

On the other side of the door, they looked at each other, reading the same thought in each other's eyes: Since Ran Shen wants us not to look, then we won't.

Uh... adult matters, best not to meddle.

The young couple obediently listened and stayed in the living room.

Inside the bedroom, however, Lu Ran turned off the lights and drew the curtains.

The room was instantly plunged into darkness.

Lu Ran activated Evil Technique·Evil Recognition, carefully inspecting the bedroom.

In a proper hotel, there was nothing disorderly or messy.

Then, Lu Ran grabbed a chair and sat by the bed, observing the woman who looked sickly and asleep.

"Sigh..."

Lu Ran's eyes brimmed with pity as he slowly reached out and held her cold hand.

"Hu~"

A streak of Black Fire ignited from the warmth of Lu Ran's palm and also on hers.

Black Lamp Evil Technique·Caged Fire (Bath)!

The warm and gentle black flames could heal the target's injuries.

This fire had no destructive properties, there was no possibility of burning down the house, and the caster could control the extent of the flames.

Otherwise, Lu Ran wouldn't have initially used it on a small marten, lighting its little head on fire...

At River Grade, this method could infuse life force into the target.

But now, the Caged Fire (Bath) that Lu Ran deployed was genuinely a Jiang Grade Evil Technique!

"Hu~"

The gentle black fire spread from Deng Yuxiang's palm, along her arms, body, face, legs...

In no time, her entire body was bathed in black fire.

Lu Ran controlled the fire well, burning only her body with the black fire without igniting the entire bed.

With each passing second, Deng Yuxiang's physical condition visibly improved!

Jiang Grade·Caged Fire was much more effective than River Grade·Moonlight Spell.

Lu Ran also basked in the black fire, nourishing his mind and body.

The burning continued for nearly two hours.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."

Lu Ran sat by the bed, holding the Blazing Phoenix Pattern Gourd, gulping down Divine Power.

The liquid Divine Power continuously flowed from the gourd's spout into someone's belly.

Technically, Lu Ran could directly absorb Divine Power, but he still preferred to drink it voraciously.

Suddenly, Lu Ran felt the woman's hand move.

Quickly setting down the gourd, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, catching sight of the sleeping beauty on the bed opening her eyes.

"What is... this?" The woman's voice was hoarse as she struggled to raise her hand.

She observed the black fire burning on her hand, illuminated by the golden phoenix pattern glow on the gourd.

"Sister, you're awake."

Lu Ran's voice, unexpectedly, trembled a bit.

In front of gods, in front of the North Wind Sect, in front of Deng Yutang and Bai Manni, Lu Ran had always shown another façade.

Composed and unflappable.

But now, as Deng Yuxiang genuinely opened her eyes, Lu Ran almost followed Deng Yutang's earlier emotional response.

Deng Yuxiang's hoarse voice was accompanied by a slight cough:

"Black... Black Lamp Evil Technique... cough cough, Caged... Fire?"

Lu Ran increased the intensity of his casting, transferring more black fire into her hands.

His voice became increasingly gentle, "I call it Caged Fire."

Deng Yuxiang's eyes still looked somewhat unfocused as she observed the golden phoenix pattern glow, looking into Lu Ran's eyes, which were a mix of light and shadow:

"Evil... Evil Technique?"

"Yes, Evil Technique."

...

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