Chapter 174 ：Urgency

Upon hearing these words, Li Nianlong turned to look at her. "Miss, why do you say that?"

"The path northward from this valley has been destroyed by me. In a few days, I'll seal off the southern mountain path as well," Jin Chan Guimu said, standing up.

"What!?" Lin Yueru exclaimed in shock. "Why would you do that?"

"To prevent any more boring men from intruding," Jin Chan Guimu said.

"...," Li Nianlong sighed lightly. "Miss, you're young and beautiful, living alone in such a desolate place, it's inevitable that some men will come to disturb you. But why not settle down in Yangzhou and find a man to marry? It would be good to have someone to rely on."

"Men? Hmph!" Jin Chan Guimu's expression turned fierce. "Men are all heartless and unfaithful. I wish I could kill every man in the world!"

"How can you say that?" Lin Yueru said. "While there are many bad men in the world, there are also many good ones! Like..." Lin Yueru's cheeks reddened as she stole a glance at Li Nianlong. "...like Big Brother Liu. Big Brother Liu is a good person."

Jin Chan Guimu looked coldly at the two. "The initial sweetness, how can it withstand the passage of time? As you grow older, when your beauty fades, men will seek younger, more beautiful women and leave you!"

"That's impossible!" Lin Yueru protested. "Big Brother Liu is not that kind of person."

"You can never truly know someone," Jin Chan Guimu looked at the young and beautiful Lin Yueru, feeling a tinge of sadness. "Once upon a time, I was just like you..."

Li Nianlong knew Jin Chan Guimu's past and understood why she was so extreme. Ultimately, she was just a pitiful woman.

"Miss..." Li Nianlong looked at Jin Chan Guimu. "Judging by your complexion, you must have practiced toxic techniques, which led to your appearance being ruined and men abandoning you, right?"

"You—" Jin Chan Guimu's face changed dramatically. "How do you know!?"

"Just a glance is enough," Li Nianlong smiled faintly, taking out an antidote pill. "I have a detoxifying pill here, capable of neutralizing all poisons. If Miss believes, you can take it. I believe you can restore your beauty."

"Is what you're saying true?" Seeing the emerald green pill, Jin Chan Guimu's heart surged. As a young and beautiful woman, who would want to face the decay of half of their face every day? Now, with the opportunity to restore her normal appearance, Jin Chan Guimu was trembling with excitement.

"You'll know if it's true once you take it," Li Nianlong smiled faintly, handing the pill to Jin Chan Guimu. "I wouldn't want a once-beautiful woman to become an ugly monster."

"Hmph!" Jin Chan Guimu glared at him, then swallowed the pill. As it dissolved in her mouth and entered her throat, she felt a warm, tingling sensation on the left side of her face. "My face... it's so itchy..."

Unable to bear the itching, Jin Chan Guimu reached out to scratch, only to pull off a piece of rotten skin.

"This... this is..."

Li Nianlong smiled faintly, turning to Lin Yueru. "Yueru, help this lady peel off the dead skin from her face."

Lin Yueru was startled for a moment, then quickly said, "Okay."

By now, Jin Chan Guimu had already uncovered half of her face, revealing a horrifying sight. The skin looked uneven, as if it had been scalded by boiling water, and it was tinged with black. But beneath the peeled-off skin, there was white and tender flesh.

Stepping forward, Lin Yueru said, "Miss, let me help you."

Jin Chan Guimu, no longer feeling the itching sensation, nodded gently, allowing Lin Yueru to peel off the skin from half of her face. Li Nianlong watched, feeling like it was akin to removing a face mask.

Soon, the dead skin was removed, revealing a stunningly beautiful and cold face.

"Oh my god! So beautiful!" Lin Yueru couldn't help but marvel, despite being beautiful herself.

Li Nianlong smiled faintly. "Of course."

Seeing the reactions of the two, Jin Chan Guimu touched her face, "I... I'm better?" Overjoyed, she exclaimed, "I'm really better!"

Li Nianlong took out a dressing mirror from his spatial item. "Miss, please have a look."

Jin Chan Guimu was startled by the clear reflection in the mirror. "What is this?"

"Oh my! It's so clear, every detail is visible," Lin Yueru was also amazed. "Big Brother Liu, what kind of mirror is this? Is it a magical treasure?"

Li Nianlong chuckled. "How could it be? It's just an ordinary mirror."

Although "Legend of the Sword" has a chaotic setting, it is based on ancient times, where people still used bronze mirrors or simply looked at their reflections in the river. There's a saying that goes, 'even peeing by the river can show one's reflection.' Perhaps they didn't even bother going to the river, hence the peeing part.

As women, both Lin Yueru and Jin Chan Guimu naturally liked such a good thing. Looking at their reflections in the mirror, they found that their hair was a bit messy and hurriedly tidied it up.

Li Nianlong chuckled. "We're in the wilderness here. Even if you tidy up, it'll get messy again. It's better to wait until we reach the inn later to groom yourselves."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yueru blushed and said, "Big Brother Liu is right. We martial artists don't need to fuss over these trivial matters."

Jin Chan Guimu, however, ignored those words and continued to look at her reflection in the mirror, stroking her cheeks. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

Li Nianlong smiled faintly. "Congratulations on escaping from your suffering, Miss."

Jin Chan Guimu looked up at Li Nianlong, took a deep breath, and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Li Nianlong smiled faintly. "But we still need to continue on our journey. Can we use the path from your home?"

Jin Chan Guimu nodded. "I've restored my appearance, and I won't need to stay here anymore. You may go ahead."

"Thank you, Miss," Li Nianlong nodded, putting away the dressing mirror and bidding farewell with a gesture. "Goodbye, and take care."

"You..." Jin Chan Guimu hurriedly stopped Li Nianlong.

Li Nianlong turned around. "Is there anything else, Miss?"

Blushing, Jin Chan Guimu tucked her black hair behind her ear and said, "The mirror you just showed me... um, can I buy it from you?"

Li Nianlong saw the look of resentment on Lin Yueru's face and chuckled, "Come on! It's just a mirror, not worth much." As the words fell, Li Nianlong took out a full-body mirror and said, "Look, the good stuff is right here!"

"Wow!" Lin Yueru exclaimed, covering her mouth, her eyes filled with delight as she saw her entire self reflected in the mirror.

Li Nianlong laughed, "Don't get jealous so easily. Big brother has plenty of these things, and of course, good things should be kept for one's own people."

Blushing, Lin Yueru snorted, "Who... who's jealous? I'm just... ignoring you."

Though she said so, she sneakily glanced at Li Nianlong with a smile. Li Nianlong chuckled and put away the full-body mirror, saying, "Alright, big brother was wrong. Once we find Ling'er and return home, I'll take out all the good stuff I have on me, and let Yueru pick, alright?"

"Really?" Lin Yueru's face lit up with joy at Li Nianlong's seemingly smiling eyes. She snorted softly, "A... a true man's word is as good as a mountain, don't forget when we get back home..."

"Don't worry!" Li Nianlong held Lin Yueru's hand, his gaze gentle, "I won't forget."

Unable to bear such tender eyes, Lin Yueru melted.

Soon after, Jin Chan Guimu came out holding a sparkling pearl and handed it to Li Nianlong. "This is the Five Poison Pearl, my only valuable possession. I give it to you."

"The Five Poison Pearl?" Li Nianlong was taken aback. The Five Poison Pearl was an elixir formed inside the body of a toad. Wasn't Jin Chan Guimu treating the toad as her own son? How could...

Seeing Li Nianlong in a daze, Jin Chan Guimu snorted coldly, "It's all in the past. I should leave now. Please, you two, carry on!"

With that, Jin Chan Guimu left the place, and Li Nianlong snapped out of his reverie, looking at the Five Poison Pearl with a smile as he tossed it in his hand. "Yueru, shall we go?"

"Yeah."

As they walked into the toad cave and took a few turns, they were about to leave when they saw a huge toad lying on the ground, its belly split open, long dead.

"...!"

"Such a big toad!" Lin Yueru exclaimed in astonishment. "It's even bigger than a person. Is it a monster?"

Li Nianlong sighed softly. He hadn't expected Jin Chan Guimu to kill her "son". Indeed, once a woman returned to normal, she would be unwilling to associate with demons and monsters. Jin Chan Guimu had no choice before, but now that she had returned to normal, she naturally wanted to sever ties with the past and start a new life.

"Whether it's a monster or not, it's already dead," Li Nianlong remarked with emotion. "Let's go!"

Moving forward, they would arrive at the small inn run by Gairo Jiao and the Bai Miao tribe female warriors. System! Don't mess with me anymore!

"Mission completed, reward 23,000 experience points."

Standing in the training ground, Li Nianlong stared fiercely at Qingting, "If you dare to set the next level as Ling'er being captured by the Sword Saint, see how I'll deal with you!"

Qingting immediately replied weakly, "I... I'm just guiding the little spirits..."

Damn it!

Li Nianlong's face darkened. It seemed that Ling'er being captured into the Demon Lock Tower was an unchangeable outcome. Ignoring Qingting, he dove into the alchemy room. He needed more improvement in his strength, more...

Only this way could he protect Ling'er and Yueru from harm, and only this way could he successfully clear the game and obtain the final piece of the Divine Walk Set equipment.