Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1020 Kunlun Mountain

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, nearly shattering her ribs. Three hundred years of peaceful life had almost made her forget that she was, after all, a "demon," and that this uninvited guest might be here to "eliminate" her. The man suddenly coughed violently, his body curled up like a shrimp, and the bloodstain on his left shoulder widened. He seemed to raise his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, but just halfway up, his hand gave out and fell, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Su Yue's nose twitched. Besides the scent of blood, she could also detect a faint scent of medicinal herbs mingling with the man's clothing—a healing elixir, suppressed by a more overbearing, cold aura, like a candle in the wind. She saw several dark blue lines on the man's exposed wrist, slowly moving like living snakes, his body trembling slightly with every inch he moved. "Ugh..." A suppressed groan of pain escaped the man's throat, his fingers scratching the ground, leaving a few shallow bloody marks. Su Yue's ears trembled slightly. She had seen injured little animals making such wailing sounds in the grass, and she would always secretly deliver herbs to them. But the one in front of her was not a little animal, but a disciple of Kunlun, an "enemy" who might draw his sword and chop her. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting mottled shadows on the man's pale cheeks. His eyelashes were long, but now they looked like dew-soaked butterfly wings, so fragile that they seemed as if they would break at the slightest touch. Su Yue suddenly noticed that he seemed to be holding something in his clenched left hand, and the exposed corners shone with golden light, like the corner of a talisman paper. The night wind suddenly rose, rustling the leaves of the old locust tree. The smell of blood on the man drifted into the tree hole with the wind. Su Yue shuddered, but for some reason she did not turn around and run away. She saw the jade pendant gleaming in the moonlight, which faintly matched a certain rhythm in the moonlight in the valley, as if silently calling out to her. Three hundred years ago, when she had just developed her spiritual intelligence, she was struck by thunder. It was the spiritual power of the moonlight grass that saved her. Twenty years earlier, when she failed to transform, it was the essence of the old locust tree that stabilized her soul. Lingyun Valley had taught her not to be wary or avoid danger, but rather that all things are spiritual and equal. The man's breathing grew fainter, and dark blue lines had spread to his neck. Su Yue watched his lips gradually losing their color, and suddenly remembered what the old turtle had said: "Even Kunlun disciples are divided into good and evil; not all are bloodthirsty." She tentatively moved forward, her front paws tapping the cloud velvet grass with a subtle sound. The man remained motionless, seemingly unconscious. Su Yue's heart was still pounding, but her ears slowly perked up. She cautiously poked half of her head out, her ruby-red eyes moving in the moonlight as she took in the man's features—the pale face, the furrowed brow, the blood-stained white robe, and the jade pendant radiating a warm glow. The night breeze carried the scent of tuberose, and the man's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Su Yue jerked her head back, her heart nearly leaping. Crouching deep in the tree hollow, she listened to the gradually steadying breathing outside, and suddenly felt that this night might become very, very long. The moonlight within the tree hollow was still cool, but it seemed to have acquired an indefinable warmth, seeping into every strand of her hair, bit by bit, as her heartbeat did. What caught Su Yue's attention most was the jade pendant dangling from his waist. It was about half the size of a palm, a brilliant white, and its shimmering warmth shone in the dappled moonlight, even purer than the moonlight grass she treasured. The jade pendant was intricately carved with cloud patterns, and streams of light seemed to flow between the lines, emanating a faint aura of integrity and uprightness, a strange counterbalance to the man's bloody aura. As the moonlight passed over the jade pendant, Su Yue even heard a faint humming sound, like some ancient spell being awakened. She suddenly remembered what the old turtle in the valley had said: "Disciples of the Kunlun Immortal Sect wear spiritual stones around their waists, which can ward off evil and identify demons and monsters." Kunlun... that immortal sect that existed only in legends, whose mission was to slay demons and monsters. Su Yue's ears drooped instantly, and her fur lost its luster. She instinctively shrank back, her tail tucked tightly between her legs.

On the first morning after the uninvited man fell unconscious, Su Yue was awakened by the chill of the tree hollow. She shook the condensed dew from her ears. The moonlight had not yet faded, and the shadows of the trees wove a mottled web across the ground. The figure in white clothes, bloodstained from the previous night, still leaned against the old locust tree, shoulders rising and falling slightly, proving that they were still breathing. Su Yue hesitated for a full half-cup of tea before finally making up her mind—she could not watch a life disappear in Lingyun Valley, even if the victim might be a Kunlun disciple. When she transformed back into human form, the fluff of cloud velvet grass still clung to the hem of her skirt. Su Yue wore her usual light green skirt, embroidered with a few tender shoots of moonlight grass, a technique she had spent a full decade mastering. She walked to the stream and scooped up the first handful of morning dew with a bamboo tube. The ripples in the water reflected her twin buns, the velvet behind her ears shimmering faintly silver in the morning light, like a layer of falling snow. "We have to go pick some hemostatic herbs." Su Yue stuck out her tongue at the water, her fingertips tracing the cool stream. The hemostatic herbs of Lingyun Valley grow in the shade of Yunwu Cliff, where the rocks are perennially moist. The edges of the leaves are covered in golden hairs, specializing in treating external injuries. She walked toward the cliff, carrying a bamboo basket. Her skirt swept across the moss-covered stone steps, startling a stream of fireflies. Their pale green lights swirled around her feet like scattered stars. The man's breathing was weak. As Su Yue squatted beside him, she could smell the lingering scent of gunpowder on his clothes, mixed with a crisp sandalwood incense, the scent of the Kunlun Immortal Sect. She carefully lifted his bloodstained sleeve and gasped—three wounds deep enough to see the bone ran across his left arm, the flesh turned outward, the edges a strange bluish-black color, as if wounded by some sinister entity. "It's indeed the work of a demon." Morning light pierced the mist, casting a golden glow on the man's pale face. Su Yue suddenly noticed that his earlobes were thin and sharply defined, as if carved from mutton-fat jade. Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened, and the hair behind her ears began to feel hot again. Just then, the man's eyelashes trembled. "Cough cough—" A violent cough shattered the morning tranquility. Su Yue's grip loosened in fear, and the man's head slid from her lap to the ground with a dull thud. She hurried to support him, but saw him slowly open his eyes. What eyes were they? They seemed to contain the ice and snow from the peaks of Mount Kunlun, or the starlight hidden in the deep sea. At first, they were confused, then gradually became clear, finally resting on Su Yue's face. His gaze swept across her twin buns, the moongrass embroidery on her skirt, and finally settled on the slightly red corners of her eyes—the result of crouching for too long, causing poor blood circulation.