As they fell, Mo Yan pulled her into his arms, quickly switching their positions. He then transformed into his beast form. When he hit the ground, the massive black serpent made a dull thud.
"HISSS…"
The fall itself wasn't so bad. Mo Yan was tough, and the scales of his snake form were incredibly hard. But the ground was covered in sharpened wooden spikes, and one plunged right into his back!
Yu An smelled blood and quickly scrambled off him. "Mo Yan, you're hurt…"
Mo Yan's snake body was ten meters long and covered in ink-black scales. Bright red blood flowed from the gaps between his scales onto the ground, staining it crimson. He struggled, trying to pull the wooden spike out.
"Don't move," Yu An stopped him. "It has barbs. Listen to me. The moment you pull it out, I'll stop the bleeding."
The black snake nodded, and they counted to three together.
Without the spike plugging the wound, blood instantly gushed out. Yu An immediately used her Wood Element Ability to heal him.
Beastmen recovered quickly and had high endurance. Combined with her superpower, the wound healed at a visible rate until it closed completely.
Overusing her superpower left Yu An dizzy. Seeing Mo Yan's expression relax, she stopped the treatment at the right moment. After carefully helping Mo Yan sit down, she staggered and sat on the ground herself.
"Hah," Yu An gasped for breath. "Mo Yan, let's rest for a bit."
This was the first time she'd completely exhausted her superpower since arriving in this world. She felt awful.
Mo Yan's expression was complicated. "Just stopping the bleeding would have been enough. Why push yourself until you're this miserable?"
"It was nothing," Yu An waved a hand, forcing a smile. "You just risked your life to save me. It's only right that I do my best to repay you."
"Risked my life to save you? I was just afraid that if you died, you'd drag me down with you."
Mo Yan muttered under his breath.
Yu An stared into his eyes with great interest. "Is that really true? Mo Yan, can you honestly say you weren't the least bit worried about me when we were falling…?"
"I wasn't!"
Mo Yan, flustered and annoyed, cut her off. He got up, picked up the nearby lunch box, and took out the food inside.
The lunch box was surprisingly good quality. It was only slightly dented from the fall, and none of the food had spilled.
"Here, eat. You need to get your strength back."
'Eating should shut her up, right?'
"But I have no strength," Yu An suddenly wanted to tease him. "My hands are so weak, I can't even pick up a steamed bun."
She demonstrated her pathetic state, then looked at Mo Yan pitifully.
Mo Yan's brows furrowed as if he were facing some impossible puzzle. An internal battle raged in his mind.
"I'll feed you," he said in a low voice. "Behave. No funny business."
Yu An looked innocent. "What kind of funny business could I possibly get up to?"
Being spoon-fed, she now had time to observe their surroundings.
It was a cavern, empty and showing signs of being deliberately excavated. With the wooden spikes, it was clearly a trap set by a Beastman.
Judging by the marks, the cavern was quite old, but there was no telling who had dug it.
'It doesn't seem like a trap for hunting.'
The crack above had closed. Mo Yan tried to force it open; while brute force might work, the falling rocks would bury them before they could get out. They had no choice but to look for another exit.
"Get on."
Mo Yan proactively crouched in front of Yu An. "I'll carry you. It'll be faster."
"Don't get the wrong idea," he added. "I'm just worried that if we're late getting back, Da Hu and the others will worry."
Yu An grinned. "Mm, I won't get the wrong idea."
She'd figured it out before: this snake was all talk, with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Pressed tightly together, Lu Lu took the opportunity to try and connect with the Origin Core.
"An'an, a little more surface contact! The fragment is almost within reach!"
Yu An did as she was told, clinging to Mo Yan's entire back like an octopus.
On the way, bored, she asked, "Mo Yan, can you tell me what's been going on with you lately?"
"We're just walking anyway. If something's bothering you, tell me about it. Maybe I can help you solve it."
Mo Yan's steps faltered for a moment, then he said sarcastically, "You can't solve it."
Yu An retorted, unconvinced, "You haven't even told me what it is, and you're already saying I can't solve it. What, are you a fortune-teller?"
She chattered on relentlessly. Perhaps he wanted to shut her up, or perhaps he just wanted someone to talk to.
After a long moment, he said in a low voice, "My spiritual power is declining."
Yu An's voice died in her throat. She hesitated for a few seconds before asking uncertainly, "Your spiritual power is declining?"
Mo Yan hadn't been seriously injured or encountered anything strange, so how could his spiritual power be declining?
'No wonder that time with the Wild Bull, his punch didn't even scratch it.'
After getting a confirmation, she thought for a moment and muttered to herself, "Is it poison? Have you ever heard of another male having these symptoms?"
"If it is poison, maybe I can cure it once my superpower has recovered."
Mo Yan shook his head blankly. "Aside from injury, I've never heard of spiritual power declining… I never considered the possibility of poison."
"Well, I'll check you out in a few days. Let's not talk about it anymore. I still need to rest."
The man's back was broad and solid, giving her a great sense of security. Yu An rubbed her eyes, about to find a comfortable position to take a nap.
"Stop, stop, stop! Look, what's that thing up ahead!"
Catching a sudden glimpse of it, Yu An's sleepiness vanished instantly. She threw her arms around Mo Yan's neck, and he, completely unprepared, was nearly choked!
Mo Yan coughed violently a few times, then looked in the direction she was pointing and was instantly speechless.
"It's just a Beastman skeleton! Can you not make such a big fuss!"
Yu An took a closer look and let out a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death! I thought it was a monster."
'But a Beastman skeleton is still plenty scary, okay!'
As they got closer, they saw the skeleton was completely intact. Based on the residual aura, Mo Yan deduced that he had been a Snow Wolf Beastman in life.
Yu An guessed, "He probably fell from up there, just like us. But he couldn't find an exit and died here?"
But there was light up ahead, which was probably the exit. 'How badly must the Snow Wolf Beastman have been injured to not even be able to walk those last few steps?'
She hesitated for a moment, then stored the Snow Wolf skeleton in her space. "I guess it was fate we found him. Let's find a nice place with a good view to bury him after we get out."
The light ahead was indeed the exit. Mo Yan looked around. "This is the foot of Yeji Mountain. If we follow that path to the left, we'll reach Han Ling City."
Yu An thought for a moment. "It's getting late. Let's go to the Giant Stone Tribe to pick up Da Hu and the others. We can come back in a couple of days."
Yu An hadn't hidden the existence of her space and her superpower from them. After spending so much time together, it would have been impossible to keep it a secret anyway.
Seeing that she had some energy back, Mo Yan made a move to put her down. Yu An wouldn't have it and hugged his neck tightly.
"Carry me back. I'll rest a little more. Otherwise, Da Hu and Xiao Yu will worry if they see me like this."
Yu An's voice was soft, sweet, and light. Her loose strands of hair kept brushing against his neck, and her unique, feminine scent wafted over to him.
Mo Yan's breath hitched. He gritted his teeth and agreed.
'I must really owe her.'
After all the commotion, both of them had completely forgotten about the Snow Wolf skeleton.
In the City Lord Mansion of Han Ling City, a Wolf Tooth Ornament displayed on a shelf suddenly cracked.
A subordinate who was in a meeting with the City Lord froze, instinctively looking toward him.
The City Lord, seated in the place of honor, said with a dark gaze, "It seems someone has moved that skeleton."
'Who could it be?'
'Could it be my most beloved "son," the one I entrusted with the position of Young City Lord?'
'All those years of affection, and in the end, it still couldn't overcome the bonds of blood.'