Chapter 1181: Misunderstanding

"What!" Yu Yanluo's face turned pale. This ore vein was the foundation of the Yu family. If it truly collapsed, it would be a devastating blow to them.

To clear this rubble and rebuild, it would cost an unknown amount of manpower and resources. The crucial thing was the time it would take.

It would likely be at least a decade before production could resume.

Could the Yu family, already in such a precarious state, even last that long?

Zu An quickly said, "Let's find a safe place as soon as possible. We don't want to be buried alive here."

Rocks were falling everywhere; it was clear this place wouldn't hold much longer.

"This way!" Yu Yanluo quickly composed herself. She was the most familiar with this underground mine.

Zu An followed her for a while but suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked back to see Yan Xuehen hadn't moved. Instead, she was swaying unsteadily before collapsing to the ground.

Zu An was startled. He immediately summoned the Great Wind, teleporting to her side and catching her. "What's wrong?"

Yan Xuehen slowly opened her eyes. Seeing it was him, she pushed him away with a hint of shame and annoyance. "I'm fine, let go of me!"

"You can't even stand steadily, and you say you're fine?" Zu An naturally wouldn't let go at that moment. He held her and quickly ran towards Yu Yanluo, dodging various falling soil and rocks along the way. Several times, debris narrowly missed them, brushing against their clothes. If it had been off by just a little, they might have been buried already.

Yan Xuehen looked up at the man holding her, watching him clumsily dodge the falling debris while carrying her. She suddenly felt a sense of distraction.

She had always possessed formidable cultivation, always protecting others. When had she ever needed someone else to protect her?

This was the first time she was being protected, and by a man at that. The feeling was truly strange.

As she thought about it, her cheeks flushed slightly. She awkwardly turned her face away, no longer looking at him.

They fled for dozens of miles before the tremors in the mine shaft gradually subsided.

Seeing the tunnel behind them completely buried under earth and rocks, everyone felt a lingering fear. If they had been a moment slower, they would have been buried alive.

If they were at their peak, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen might have survived, but in their current state, being buried would mean certain death.

"Ice Stone Woman, how did you become so delicate?" Yun Jianyue noticed their escape route was completely sealed, and she didn't know if they could ever return to the surface, so her mood was naturally sour.

Yan Xuehen was about to reply when, as she opened her mouth, a sweet taste filled her throat, and she suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood to the side.

Yun Jianyue was initially a little gloating, but then she noticed the black color in the blood and her expression changed instantly. "You're poisoned?"

"Just a minor poison, it's nothing..." Yan Xuehen hadn't finished speaking when Yun Jianyue grabbed her wrist.

Normally, Yan Xuehen would never allow her arch-rival to grasp her pulse point, but now, weakened and powerless, she couldn't resist.

Yun Jianyue examined her, and her face immediately darkened. "Nothing? You've already got one foot in the grave!"

Zu An and Yu Yanluo were startled. "What exactly happened?"

At that moment, Zu An felt his hand was somewhat damp. He quickly helped Yan Xuehen sit up and, extending his hand, saw it was covered in blood, which strangely reflected a dark, eerie light.

Yan Xuehen's back, where her originally snow-white clothes were, was soaked through with blood.

Zu An suddenly recalled the scene where she had saved him from the Death Worm earlier. "Were you hit by the dark light shot from the Death Worm's mouth?"

Yan Xuehen's lips were already pale. She said faintly, "I just happened to be injured at the time. Normally, no matter how fast that worm attacked, it wouldn't hit me."

Yun Jianyue, standing by, sneered, "You're almost dead and still trying to put on airs. Are all you people from White Jade Capital so obsessed with saving face that you'd rather suffer?"

Yan Xuehen wanted to retort but no longer had the strength.

"Sigh, it's partly my fault too. You've been acting abnormally several times already, and I didn't notice it in time," Yun Jianyue's tone suddenly softened, and she stopped bickering with her.

Yan Xuehen was a little surprised. "Shouldn't you be happy if I'm about to die?"

"Hmph, if I had killed you fair and square, I would naturally be happy. What's there to be happy about this kind of death?" Yun Jianyue pulled out a pill and put it by Yan Xuehen's mouth. "This is an antidote pill, but the Death Worm's venom has already invaded all your meridians and internal organs. This pill can only buy you a little more time."

Yan Xuehen shook her head. "What joy is there in life, what fear in death? I've long since come to terms with life and death. Why should I owe you a favor right before I die?"

"Ice Stone Woman, why are you so stubborn?" Yun Jianyue felt an itching in her teeth, feeling an urge to push Yan Xuehen's head to the ground.

At that moment, Zu An's weak voice came from the side. "Actually... I can cure it."

Hearing this, Yan Xuehen found a sudden burst of strength and immediately refused, "No!"

Yun Jianyue was startled at first, then clapped her hands and burst out laughing. "Excellent! This is truly excellent!"

Didn't this Ice Stone Woman usually pretend to be an ice queen, showing no interest in men? And the key thing was, all the men in the world fell for it.

If they found out their goddess, their ice queen, had been defiled by another man, and that a master and disciple were sharing a husband!

Once word got out, her reputation would be utterly ruined, and White Jade Capital's thousand-year legacy would be destroyed.

Just thinking about the scenario, Yun Jianyue almost burst into laughter.

"This Ice Stone Woman and I have fought for so many years, and finally, I've won!"

Huh, but why wasn't she suddenly as happy as she thought she'd be?

Seeing Yun Jianyue's strange expression, Yan Xuehen immediately guessed her thoughts. She felt so ashamed and indignant that she wished she could die. If Zu An really saved her using "that method," she truly would rather be dead than alive.

"I don't want you to save me! Let go of me!" Yan Xuehen panicked and struggled desperately. Unfortunately, her limbs were weak, and her struggles only made it look more like playful bickering between lovers.

Zu An quickly said, "Don't get agitated, be careful the poison doesn't attack your heart."

"It'd be better if the poison attacked my heart!" Yan Xuehen now only wished to die immediately. Otherwise, if Zu An saved her using "that method," she wouldn't have the face to live on.

Zu An: "..."

At this moment, Yu Yanluo's expression was strange. "A'Zu, can you... can you still manage?"

They had been together for so long just now; she was truly a bit worried about his body.

She kept feeling that the whole situation was strange, as if her man was about to be shared with another woman.

Yet, she found no reason to object. After all, it was to save someone, and Yan Xuehen had suffered such severe injuries precisely because she was saving Zu An.

"No problem at all," Zu An replied, a little confused as to why she would ask such a question.

Hearing their conversation, Yan Xuehen wished she could find a crack in the ground and disappear into it.

Yun Jianyue patted his shoulder. "You lucky brat. Make sure you serve our beautiful Yan well."

Normally, she should have been enjoying the spectacle, but for some reason, she found she wasn't as happy as she thought she would be.

Yan Xuehen's face was beet red; she felt like smoke was about to pour from her head. Unfortunately, her blood was churning, blurring her vision, and she couldn't even speak to refuse.

Her heart was icy cold. Was she truly unable to escape this fate?

At this point, Yun Jianyue said, quite displeased, "Ice Stone Woman, do you need to make such a face? Weren't you willing just now?"

This woman was acting as if she was getting a great deal and still complaining about it.

Yan Xuehen felt bitter. Just now, she had assumed she was going to die anyway, and she wanted to save Zu An before her death, to prevent the man who had saved her and the common people from dying silently.

But the problem now was that Zu An knew a 'demonic' cultivation method, and after "it" was done, he could also heal her.

Her willingness stemmed from the belief that she would die soon anyway, putting an end to everything.

But now, thinking about having to face societal scrutiny afterward, she shivered with dread.

At that moment, Zu An's puzzled voice rang out: "Are you perhaps misunderstanding something? The method I use to save someone doesn't require physical intimacy."