Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Under the moonlight, Sheng Di leaned against the opposite wall, his eyes wide open, staring at Di Yun. His gaze didn't seem to be that of someone looking at an escaped prisoner, but rather like that of someone looking at a disobedient child.

"Do you think I don't know your plans?" Shengdi said.

"The Blood Sabre Sect's martial arts techniques are unfathomable."

"It is said that this was once a blood-soaked Asura's Path, where great killing intent was tempered with great compassion."

"This is what it means to sacrifice oneself for a noble cause."

"You're just a greenhorn who's barely started practicing internal energy. You're delusional if you think you can neutralize my internal force."

Di Yun remained silent.

"Behave yourself," Sheng Di said, sitting up and stretching his stiff neck. "Just behave yourself and focus on cooking for me and finding medicine."

"When the time comes, I will release you."

He stood up, walked to Di Yun, and squatted down.

"Don't try." His voice suddenly lowered, as if he were talking to himself. "If you run again, I really will cripple you. I don't want to do that, but don't force me."

Di Yun looked at him, the moonlight shining on his face, and Di Yun suddenly realized that this person was not actually old.

His face was wrinkle-free, and his eyes still looked relatively young. It was just that weariness, that weariness that emanated from his very bones, made him look much older than his actual age.

"Why...why didn't you kill me?" Di Yun asked.

Shengdi was taken aback for a moment.

"You had many opportunities to kill me," Di Yun said. "You could have killed me in the city, but you only tied me up. You had many opportunities to kill me on the road, but you didn't. You didn't even hit me, didn't curse me."

He looked into Shengdi's eyes: "What exactly do you want?"

Shengdi remained silent for a long time.

The moonlight shone into the dilapidated temple, casting long, long shadows of the two people.

"I want something to eat," Shengdi finally spoke, his voice very soft. "Once I've recovered from my injuries, I'll go back."

"Go back where?"

"Blood Recovery Blade Sect"

"So, are we heading to the Blood Sabre Sect now?"

Shengdi did not answer.

He stood up, walked to the temple entrance, and looked at the moon outside.

He couldn't explain it to Di Yun.

The cruelty of the Blood Blade Sect was beyond his imagination.

Even as one of the most outstanding second-generation disciples, he wouldn't dare go back covered in injuries.

Shengdi did not speak again.

He walked back, sat down against the wall, and closed his eyes.

"Go to sleep," he said. "We have a long journey ahead tomorrow."

Di Yun did not sleep.

Di Yun couldn't understand it, but he was stubborn.

He still wanted to find an opportunity to use the Divine Illumination Scripture to dissolve that internal force.

After daybreak, the two continued south.

Shengdi's condition worsened. The swelling and pain in his left shoulder did not subside; instead, it spread to his left chest. He began to cough when he walked, and the phlegm he coughed up contained traces of blood.

On the evening of the fifth day, Shengdi stopped by a stream, squatted down, and scooped up some water to drink. When he stood up, he swayed and almost fell.

They rested by a stream. Sheng Di sat down against an old pine tree, eyes closed, his face sallow, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Di Yun squatted by the stream washing his hands when he suddenly heard Sheng Di groan—that internal energy had surged up again.

"I'll go find something to eat." Di Yun stood up and glanced at Sheng Di.

Shengdi didn't open his eyes, he just waved his hand.

Di Yun turned and walked into the woods.

This was the first time he had ever left Shengdi's sight on his own. The forest was quiet, with only birdsong and the rustling of leaves in the wind. Di Yun walked a long way, making sure Shengdi could no longer see him, before sitting down behind a large tree, crossing his legs, closing his eyes, and beginning to circulate his internal energy.

The inner force of the Divine Illumination Scripture surged from his heart, warm and clear, like a spring, slowly flowing into his limbs and bones. The insidious Blood Blade Sect's inner force still lingered near his dantian, like a venomous snake, occasionally flicking its tongue. He had tried many times before; each time the Divine Illumination Scripture's inner force approached, that insidious force would shrink into a ball, pricking like a hedgehog, and he dared not confront it head-on.

But today is different.

He noticed that the internal energy that Shengdi had left in his body was also weakening as Shengdi himself grew weaker. It was like a vine; when the roots withered, the vine naturally withered as well.

Di Yun carefully guided the internal energy of the Divine Illumination Scripture, slowly approaching the sinister power. This time, the power didn't shrink back, but merely moved lazily. Di Yun tried to envelop it with the internal energy of the Divine Illumination Scripture, like warm water melting ice, slowly and patiently grinding it down.

An hour has passed.

Two hours have passed.

As the last rays of the setting sun filtered through the leaves and fell upon his face, the last trace of malevolent power finally dissipated. Di Yun opened his eyes, exhaled a long breath, and felt lighter than ever before. The warm internal energy in his chest seemed stronger than before, and its circulation was smoother.

He stood up and stretched his limbs. It was time to go back. But before he went back, he needed to find something to eat, otherwise Shengdi would become suspicious.

He wandered around the woods, picked some wild fruit, and caught two fish by the stream. Just as he was about to head back, his hand suddenly touched something hard in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was a small paper packet containing a grayish-white powder.

The sleeping powder given by Mu Xue'er.

Sun Fan had told him to carry it with him for self-defense, but he had almost forgotten about it.

Di Yun stood by the stream, holding the packet of sleeping powder, lost in thought for a long time. Brother Ding had said, "Eliminate evil completely." Brother Sun had also said, "To be merciful to the wicked is to be cruel to the good."

He recalled what Shengdi had done to him these past few days—he hadn't hit him, hadn't scolded him, and even when he tried to escape, he had only chased after him and hadn't laid a single serious hand on him. But Shengdi was a member of the Blood Blade Sect. How many manors had the Blood Blade Sect burned down and how many people had they killed along the way?

He tucked the sleeping powder into his pocket, then took it out again. He did this several times. Finally, he gritted his teeth and poured all the powder from the packet into the belly of one of the fish.

By the time we got back to our resting place, it was almost dark.

Shengdi was still leaning against the old pine tree, his complexion even worse than during the day. When he saw Di Yun return, his eyes lit up.

"Why did it take so long?"

"Fish are hard to catch." Di Yun squatted down, built a simple stove with stones, gathered some dry firewood, and began to grill the fish.

The firelight cast flickering shadows on their faces. Sheng Di leaned against a tree, watching Di Yun work without saying a word.

The fish was grilled. Di Yun handed the plain fish to Sheng Di. Sheng Di took it and was about to put it in his mouth when he suddenly stopped. He looked at Di Yun, and Di Yun was looking at him too.

"Why aren't you eating?" Shengdi asked.

"I'll eat this one." Di Yun picked up another fish and took a bite.

Sheng Di stared at him for a long time, then brought the fish in his hand to his nose and sniffed it. The people of the Blood Blade Sect dealt with poisons all year round, and their noses were more sensitive than a dog's.

His expression changed.

"you--"

Di Yun's heart leaped into his throat.