Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

A torch was lit on the rock face, its eerie light flickering.

Wu Li lowered his head slightly, his expression indistinct. Half of his face was hidden in the shadows, and only the lower half of his face could be seen.

His lips were deathly pale, devoid of any color, and trembled uncontrollably from the excruciating pain. Despite this, he weakly scoffed, "Using my blood to nourish these poisonous creatures...aren't you afraid that in the future, they'll only obey my commands and be used by me?"

The high priest, completely concealed in his cloak, calmly extended a hand, pointing it at Wu Li's heart. "I only need to command you. If you disobey me, I have my own ways to make you wish you were dead... Child, I don't want to do that to you either."

"As long as you behave and take good care of the treasures in this cave, I'll allow you to raise a few of your own Gu worms. Don't you still want to avenge your mother on that heartless man?"

"Mother?" Wu Li slowly ground the two words between his teeth, as if chewing on something difficult.

"She was blind to have entrusted herself to the wrong person. Whatever grudges or resentments she may have, it's all her own doing... What does it have to do with me?" His lips were pale, a mocking sneer playing on them. "A woman I've never even met, what makes you think I'd avenge her?"

"You will." The high priest slowly took two steps forward, his tone resolute. "Otherwise, what was the point of your painstaking study of Chinese characters? Don't think I don't know that you disappeared the other day to secretly see your biological father. You probably hate him even more than Wu Ying does."

Wu Li clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot: "Why should I hate him? He's just a stranger."

"Because he has love, but he has never given you even a little bit."

"I don't care about love at all!"

"All things in the world yearn for love; if one is on the verge of death, wouldn't one hope that someone will shed a tear for you?"

As he spoke, the high priest suddenly waved his hand, and the two nails on Wu Li's shoulder blades fell off, leaving only the one nail in the middle of his body, which was about to fall off.

Blood flowed down the rock wall into the pool.

The Gu worms in the pool began to boil, and the water surface surged incessantly.

"Tch! Tears are the cheapest thing, rainwater is precious." Wu Li's arms hung limply at his sides, his forehead already covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, yet he still managed to squeeze out a disdainful snort through his teeth. "Besides, I'm not going to die."

"Still being stubborn, you have no idea what real death is."

The last nail flew out.

In an instant, Wu Li fell into the pond with a "plop" like a withered leaf.

The water quickly engulfed his thin body, and murky pool water rushed into his mouth and nose.

The pool wasn't very deep, but he was still shorter than an adult, and his body was covered in blood and gore from being gnawed. He was already exhausted and powerless, and was swallowed up in no time.

A dark red hue spread across the deep blue surface of the pool, gradually expanding and blurring until it finally swallowed up all traces.

He was like a broken puppet, numb and stiff, showing no expression until the very last second he was submerged underwater.

"Wu Li—!"

Chai Xiaomi felt a sudden, sharp pain in her heart.

It felt like being gripped tightly, and suddenly I couldn't breathe.

Her body reacted before her mind could process it; she rushed to the edge of the pool and plunged into the icy water.

In that instant, she completely forgot that she was merely a void in the current scene, unable to touch anyone, and she also forgot that Wu Li possessed an immortal body.

All she remembered was the small, thin figure drinking from the stinking ditch, the focused gaze counting raindrops on lotus leaves in the drizzle, the gentle fingertips picking wild daisies to decorate the treehouse, and that gradually clearer, heart-stirring profile in the afterglow of the setting sun...

The images flashed rapidly through my mind.

She frantically groped around in the murky pool, ignoring the wriggling black worms all around her, only wanting to find him.

She hadn't expected the pool to be so deep. As she continued to sink, the light dimmed inch by inch, and the bottom of the pool seemed to lead to an endless abyss.

As it sank to the bottom, the last glimmer of light shone through the water's surface, illuminating the broken body lying quietly in the darkness.

In the still darkness, Wu Li lay peacefully at the bottom of the pool with his eyes closed.

Chai Xiaomi reached out her hand, the moment it touched her body.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot out from the scorpion tattoo on the back of her hand. In the blinding light, her slender hand grabbed her battered wrist.

She was stunned.

She actually... ran into him.

However, the touch from my fingertips was cold, stiff, and lifeless.

Without a second thought, Chai Xiaomi gripped his wrist tightly and swam upwards with all her might. She had no other special talents besides swimming since childhood; at the age of eight, she even stood out in a city-wide preschool competition.

He secretly touched the gold medal, and was pulled off the podium by his coach. He then received a "Keep it up" certificate, which belonged to the last-place finisher.

Therefore, dragging Wu Li ashore almost cost her half her life.

On the damp ground, the young boy lay there peacefully, his face unusually pale, motionless.

Chai Xiaomi trembled as she brought her finger close to his nose; he wasn't breathing.

"Hey! Wu Li, wake up... don't die!" She grabbed his thin shoulders and shook him frantically, her voice trembling with tears, "No... this isn't right..."

Wasn't he destined to be the ultimate villain who would overturn the world? Wasn't he destined to become the King of Gu and rewrite the ending? How could such a powerful being fall at the tender age of twelve?

However, no matter how she called out to him, he remained completely unresponsive.

Chai Xiaomi's eyes welled up with tears, and large tears fell one by one onto her pale face, landing precisely on the sleeping boy's long eyelashes, making them look as if they were his tears.

"Aren't you immortal?! You can't be killed by whips, you can't be killed by poisonous insects, how could you drown..." She cried and cursed, tears mingling with the pool water and soaking her face. "What kind of villain dies so pathetically... If word gets out, even the readers will laugh at us!"

She used to be proud of her swimming skills, but at this moment Chai Xiaomi was a little annoyed that she was swimming too slowly.

If only it were faster, even faster.

Wu Li wouldn't have stayed in the water for so long.

Chai Xiaomi knelt down blankly, gently resting her forehead on his cold shoulder. A profound sense of powerlessness washed over her like a tide, completely engulfing her.

She wasn't this sad when she learned she had been stung to death by a scorpion.

Chai Xiaomi is the apple of her family's eye, the darling of her parents and elders. She grows up freely surrounded by the love of her family, and her life is happy and fulfilling, without any regrets.

But has this boy ever tasted sweetness?

A wave of sorrow surged through Chai Xiaomi's heart. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. She hugged Wu Li's body and burst into tears.

"Host, I know you're sad, but don't be. Villains don't die that easily. The current situation is a bit strange. My initial assessment is..."

The sound of fried dough sticks rang out abruptly, but was abruptly interrupted by Chai Xiaomi.

"That's right!"

She looked up with tearful eyes as if grasping at a straw. Yes, he was the villain, the future King of Gu, how could he die so easily in the pool?

Although she's already as white as dough, perhaps there's still a chance to save her?

Chai Xiaomi wiped her face haphazardly with the back of her hand, her wet almond-shaped eyes staring at the boy's bloodless lips.

Amitabha Buddha, I have sinned.

This is not disrespecting a minor, it's just artificial respiration. She tried to convince herself, took a deep breath with trembling hands, and bent down.