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

Chai Xiaomi wanted to cry but had no tears.

How could she possibly compare to someone who grew up in the mountains and possesses an amazing physique with incredible strength and endurance?

The boy looked thin, but his muscles were definitely well-developed.

Unlike her.

Throughout her life, she spent long periods in a modern cage made of reinforced concrete, with piles of test papers and textbooks on her desk that made it hard for her to breathe.

After enduring three years of high school, the college life that followed was not as easy as I had imagined.

All sorts of real-world pressures and anxieties are coming at you.

So, before the start of the new semester, let's take a spontaneous trip.

Her parents mentioned during a conversation that her family had some connection with the Miao region, which is why Chai Xiaomi chose this place as her destination. Little did she expect that she would lose her life here. It was as if her ancestors had poisoned her, directly killing her.

Chai Xiaomi took a few deep breaths, pursed her dry lips, her mouth and throat were extremely parched.

"I'll definitely work out harder from now on and try my best to catch up with you. Um, do you have any water? I'm dying of thirst..."

Wu Li sat on the wooden stake, picked a dog's tail and played with it by twirling it around his finger, casually gesturing with his chin towards her.

"Are you blind?"

Chai Xiaomi turned her head to look at the stinking ditch beside her. It was indeed water, but...

"Are you sure this is drinking water for humans?" She felt like it was made up of animal excrement and domestic wastewater, and she could smell a faint stench even before she got close.

Surely we're not so backward that we don't even know to boil water before drinking it?

"Weren't you about to die of thirst? If you're about to die, what can't you swallow?" The boy tilted his head, scrutinizing her with a wicked, half-smiling expression. "Drink."

Wu Li was very curious about the extent to which she could obey him under the so-called control of love.

However, to his surprise, the girl refused without hesitation: "I choose to die of thirst."

"You'd rather die of thirst than drink? But I've drunk before."

The boy's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, his tone serious, and a hint of regret appeared in his pupils.

Tsk.

It seems that not all the scorpions burrowed in, so the control power was not as strong as expected.

Only a complete scorpion can exert its maximum effect; the one on the back of her hand must be returned to its original form.

This scorpion has been raised for so long; it has a greater purpose.

Chai Xiaomi endured her parched, burning throat as she heard the dull thuds of hard objects hitting the ground one after another.

A cacophony of voices and footsteps approached from afar.

An aged yet authoritative voice rang out, shrouded in anger, its deep Miao language resounding: "Wuli, why did you bring an outsider to the witch village?"

Chai Xiaomi looked up and saw an elderly man with white hair and beard surrounded by people in the center of the crowd. He was dressed in heavy Miao clothing with intricate totems and wore a silver crown.

He appeared to be of high rank and great power, holding a wooden scepter, his sharp, hawk-like eyes fixed on her with a keen glint in them.

Before Chai Xiaomi could even look for two more seconds, an old woman carrying a wooden bucket came forward.

"Splash—"

She was soaked to the bone from head to toe, and her heart soared.

Water droplets slid down her forehead, and Chai Xiaomi smacked her lips twice, taking a little water into her mouth.

Oh my god, this is wonderful! It's clear, clean water, and it even has a slightly sweet taste.

Wu Li's serious tone just now made her think for a moment that the locals really only had stinky water to drink.

It's a pity that it only hit twice before it was gone. The old woman didn't even give a warning before splashing it. If she had known, she would have opened her mouth beforehand to take a sip of water.

Under the clan chief's reprimand, Wu Li slowly moved and straightened up from the wooden stake.

The foxtail grass in his hand instantly turned from bright green to withered black. The boy gently kneaded it with his dark fingernails, crushing it into tiny fragments that drifted to his feet.

His beautiful, bright eyes swept across the girl's face the instant he turned his head.

She was staring at the empty bucket with a mournful expression, pouting as if she hadn't had enough.

The girl's face was covered in dust, and her hair, mixed with sweat, clung to her skin, making her look disheveled and filthy.

After the basin of water was poured down, her delicate and pretty face was revealed, like a lotus emerging from the water.

Wu Li was slightly taken aback for a moment.

He was... younger than he had imagined.

No wonder they call him "brother".

Upon hearing this form of address, Wu Li's gaze seemed to be burned, and he quickly looked away from her.

He walked a few steps to the clan chief, bowed and knelt down with practiced ease, and then, with a "thud," his head slammed heavily onto the ground.

Chai Xiaomi was startled. Wasn't he afraid of hitting himself stupid with such force?

"I found her in the cave, and I'm raising her as a medicine doll to test my Gu poison," Wu Li explained calmly.

"Nonsense!" the young man standing beside the clan chief retorted. "The area around Chi Mountain is filled with a hallucinogenic miasma. How could this Central Plains person have possibly ventured deep into the mountains? Someone must have led her in. Tell me, was it you?!"

"Chieftain, this bastard has half-outsider blood. He is not of our kind, so his heart must be different!" Menglu chimed in.

The witchcraft clan lives in seclusion; their blood possesses divinity, a gift from heaven, and must be kept absolutely pure.

The clan has passed down a strict rule against intermarriage with other clans. Anyone who betrays the clan's ancient precepts will be executed. However, although Wu Li's mother died, this bastard survived.

Wu Li was an anomaly; in their eyes, he was less than livestock and was considered an ominous sign by his tribe.

Everyone was indignant, but since it was the unanimous decision of the clan chief, the high priest, and the sorceress, no one dared to object anymore.

Wu Li sneered, "I've been raising the larvae in the Gu Cave without leaving for even a moment. Aren't you all guarding outside? Don't you know whether I've gone out or not?"

He lazily raised his eyelids and glanced at the four men guarding the cave entrance.

Chi Lie's face stiffened.

The clan chief ordered that the four of them be sent to guard and monitor the Gu Cave.

The clan chief said that Wu Li's blood is the purest blood that is only seen once in a thousand years, so it is the most suitable for raising larvae. The Gu Cave is the most important place for their entire Wu Gu clan, where all the Gu seedlings are cultivated.

Therefore, the chieftain ordered them to guard the entrance of the burrow while feeding to prevent the larvae from getting too excited while feeding and crawling out of the burrow.

However, the group of them had taken a break today and went to the waterfall for a refreshing shower. They played around for too long and when they returned to the cave, they found that Wu Li had not yet come out. It wasn't until they saw a woman from the Central Plains following him out of the cave that they rushed back to tell the clan leader.

The group looked at each other, not daring to tell the truth.

If the clan chief finds out that the four of them have neglected their duties, they will certainly be punished.

"Every word I said is true. If the clan leader doesn't believe me, he can use the Bamboo Gentleman to test me." Wu Li raised his wrist, looking calm and composed.

The clan chief's doubts subsided somewhat, and he looked at the girl again, suddenly noticing the scorpion tattoo on the back of her hand.

It seems that Wu Li's words were indeed confirmed, as they were using her to test the Gu poison.

The clan chief's expression softened somewhat. It was true that many sorcerers throughout history had captured people from the Central Plains and turned them into medicine figures, which had greatly enhanced their mastery of sorcery. He would not interfere too much.

Moreover, the girl seemed to be a little mentally unstable.

Whenever a foreigner comes here, they are regarded as evil spirits and bad luck. The sorceress will pour a bucket of holy water to exorcise the evil spirits. In all his years, this is the first time he has seen someone so happy to lick and drink the water after being splashed with it.

Fools don't follow the usual path, so they probably stumbled into the mountains by accident.

The clan chief slowly spoke: "You may raise people who practice medicine, but according to the rules, anyone who brings outsiders into the village must be punished."

As he spoke, he opened one hand, and someone behind him handed him a thorny whip.

"Take thirty lashes and take off your clothes."

"Let me do it, hit me!" The girl squatting in the pool suddenly raised her hand.

She ripped off her soaking wet hiking jacket, crumpled it into a ball, and knelt down beside Wu Li.

Although those around her couldn't understand what she was saying, they understood what she meant.

This drug-using person actually volunteered to take the whipping for Wu Li. Could it be that he's been poisoned with a puppet-like curse?

There is an unwritten rule in the tribe that, except for execution, any punishment can be taken by someone else on one's behalf.

In every instance of torture, members of the clan would have family or friends stand up for them, except for Wu Li.

Wu Li glanced sideways, his deep gaze falling on the girl's resolute profile.

So this is what it feels like to be protected...

From the age of three, when he broke the sacrificial bowl, he endured all punishments alone, and people around him would even applaud and cheer because of his torn and bleeding skin.

A cold smile crept across Wu Li's face. Unfortunately, all of this was thanks to the venomous scorpion.

If it's fake concern manipulated by him, then let him enjoy it with a clear conscience.

"Chieftain, someone is willing to take the punishment for me. Please grant her these thirty lashes."

Chai Xiaomi's lips twitched; he really didn't hold back at all.

You heartless villain! You don't even know how to cherish a beautiful woman, no wonder the female lead doesn't fall in love with you!

She cursed inwardly, but outwardly appeared willing.

Her slender fingers gently tugged at the hem of his shirt, and she said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Darling, I told you, I'm willing to do anything for you."

At crucial moments, she has to put on another act, otherwise how can she justify the physical pain she has endured?

The flogging is about to begin.

Wu Li stepped aside with a cold face, her brows furrowing for no apparent reason.

Honey?

What is this?

He pondered for a few seconds, then his heart suddenly leaped into his throat.

Damn it, is this idiot trying to repay him by kissing him after taking the whipping for him?

Wu Li remembered one time when a man in the clan took punishment in place of his beloved sister, and the woman rushed up to him crying and kissed him.

Thinking of this, his face inexplicably began to burn, and a strange heat suddenly shot up to the tips of his ears.

His sinister gaze glared at Chai Xiaomi.

If that woman dares to touch him, she's dead.