"You really overestimate me. I'm just a useless person with low spiritual power—how could I possibly help you?" Ye Lanshan put down her chopsticks.
Mo Ran suddenly turned serious. "You can fool others, but not me. You're the one who just advanced in the northern courtyard."
"Though I was too far away to see your exact cultivation level, judging by the intensity of the lightning tribulation, I know you're formidable."
Ye Lanshan was stunned. How? How could he know?
Her hands slowly clenched, and a flicker of killing intent appeared in her eyes.
Mo Ran: "Don't be so tense. I won't tell anyone."
Ye Lanshan didn't fully relax but said, "I'll go with you to snatch the Twin Fruit, but I want half of what we get."
Mo Ran smirked slyly. "That's easy to arrange."
Ye Lanshan narrowed her eyes. "When do we set out?"
Mo Ran calculated seriously. "By my estimate, the Twin Fruit will bloom in ten days. We'll leave in seven."
Ye Lanshan looked at the crowds outside the city. "Are they all here for the Twin Fruit?"
Mo Ran sighed. "Yes. The news has spread throughout the entire Moon Kingdom. I suspect the Night Kingdom and Star Kingdom know by now too."
Ye Lanshan's eyes remained calm and indifferent. "So our chances are slim, then?"
Mo Ran gave a meaningful smile. "Not necessarily."
Ye Lanshan didn't really care, since she didn't think the Twin Fruit would do much for her.
But that thought shattered the moment she encountered Ye Yu.
Seeing Ye Yu covered in wounds, Ye Lanshan felt a pang of sympathy—probably lingering emotions from the original body. Her voice carried a hint of urgency: "What happened? Who did this to you?"
Ye Yu, staring at this unfamiliar man, didn't catch her words. He just said bitterly, "You're sent by Ye Liuwen, aren't you? Go back and tell him that as long as I live, he'll never kill Lanshan."
"Take a good look at who I am." As she spoke, Ye Lanshan waved her hand, revealing her true face.
Ye Yu stared blankly at her. "Lan... Lanshan?" Suddenly snapping back to reality, he said urgently, "Lanshan, run! The Ye family is coming for you."
Ye Lanshan was perfectly calm. "I already knew they were coming for me."
Now it was Ye Yu's turn to panic. "Then why did you come back? Leave now, before it's too late!"
Just then, Ye Liuwen, Ye Liusi's brother, burst in with a group of people, his tone arrogant: "Leave? None of you are going anywhere. Kill them—I'll use their heads to avenge my dead sister."
Ye Lanshan chuckled lightly. "Dead? I didn't kill your sister."
Ye Liuwen's eyes blazed with fury. "If not you, then who?"
Ye Lanshan's gaze was calm, almost resigned. "If that's what you believe, then so be it. It doesn't matter anymore." With that, she drew a dagger and charged at the group. In an instant, they all fell.
Ye Liuwen was clearly shocked. "This... how is this possible?"
Ye Lanshan rushed toward him. "Why not?"
Ye Liuwen dodged sideways, barely evading the strike, thinking to himself: How did she get so strong? Even if the poison was cured, she shouldn't be this powerful.
In that moment of distraction, the dagger was already at his throat. Terrified, he immediately summoned his contracted beast.
Ye Lanshan quickly withdrew her dagger and stepped back.
Ye Liuwen sneered, "Let's see how you handle this now," and charged at her alongside his spirit beast. Seeing the situation, Ye Yu shoved Ye Lanshan out of the way.
Ye Liuwen's laughter mixed with Ye Yu's screams.
"Ye Yu!" Ye Lanshan roared, then turned to Ye Liuwen. "I'll make you pay a thousand times over today." She summoned the Flame Tiger. "Go, tear that snake apart."
She herself lunged at Ye Liuwen.
After a fierce fight, Ye Liuwen gasped his last words: "Hahaha... the clan head won't let you off."
Ye Lanshan carried Ye Yu to Lan Yexin's mansion and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" a unfamiliar servant asked, opening the door.
"Call Lan Youli over. Tell him Ye Lanshan is looking for him." The servant was stunned by the beauty before him.
He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. He couldn't focus on her words, just stared at Ye Lanshan, swallowing repeatedly.
Ye Lanshan frowned. "Did you hear me?"
Just then, Lan Youli came out. His eyes lit up when he saw Ye Lanshan. "Lanshan, why are you here?" But noticing her condition, his expression turned worried. "Who is he? What happened to you two? How did he get so injured?"
Ye Lanshan said urgently, "Let's talk inside."
Lan Youli quickly agreed. "Alright, alright."
As soon as they laid Ye Yu on the bed, he coughed up blood and fell unconscious.
Ye Lanshan immediately checked his pulse and found his internal organs were shattered, even his meridians were cracked.
Lan Youli: "How is he?"
Ye Lanshan said gravely, "Do you know how to repair meridians?"
Lan Youli: "Repairing meridians requires the Nine-Turn Twin Pill made from the Twin Fruit. What, are his meridians cracked?"
Ye Lanshan: "Yes, they are. Do you know who can refine the Nine-Turn Twin Pill?"
Lan Youli: "The Nine-Turn Twin Pill is extremely hard to make. Only the Medicine Valley's master, Sikong Kuang, can do it. But he's eccentric and rarely in the valley."
Ye Lanshan stuffed a pill into Ye Yu's mouth. "Got it." She turned and headed for the door.
Lan Youli immediately called after her. "Where are you going?"
She looked back. "To prepare. Otherwise, how will I snatch the Twin Fruit in five days? And Ye Yu—leave him in your room for now. I'll repay you handsomely when I return."
Lan Youli opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. He just said quietly, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Ye Yu."
Mo Ran was studying a map when a sudden knock startled him. "Who is it?"
"Mo Ran, it's me, Shan Luo. Open up."
The moment Mo Ran opened the door, Ye Lanshan cut in, "Let's discuss our strategy for getting the Twin Fruit."
Mo Ran sighed lightly. "I thought you weren't interested in this."
Ye Lanshan said coldly, "Do you still want the Twin Fruit or not?"
Mo Ran: "Of course I do."
Ye Lanshan: "Then we wait until they're all fighting blindly, then strike. You draw their attention, and I'll snatch it when they're not looking..."
They talked until dawn, and finally Mo Ran ended the secret meeting: "Alright, that's the plan. Use this time to boost your spiritual power so nothing goes wrong."
Ye Lanshan said flatly, "Got it." She left the room and headed to a small stream.
This stream was one she'd discovered before saving Lan Youli.
But as she approached, she sensed others nearby. Not wanting to draw attention, she hid in the water.
One person said cautiously, "Your Highness, there's a stream here. How about we clean the wounds here?"
"Hmm," a cold voice replied.
After a quarter of an hour, she thought, Why aren't they leaving? I can't hold out much longer. Being underwater was far from comfortable.
"Who's there?" an icy voice rang out.
Just then, Ye Lanshan couldn't take it anymore and burst out of the water.