You're Quite Hard to Kill

White long hair, tattered clothes, skinny arms, and a sallow face.

Combined with a pair of eyes that looked like a kitten in a corner, filled with helplessness and pleading.

One look was enough to tell she was a pitiful soul.

She reached out her hand like that, looking weakly at the young man.

Xu Xian looked back at her.

He waited...

And waited...

Seeing that she had no intention of opening her mouth, he furrowed his brows, his patience running out.

"Well? Say what you want!"

She waved her hands, gesturing wildly with her mouth wide open. After a long time of making "aba aba" sounds, not a single word came out.

Xu Xian guessed, "Mute?"

She nodded slowly.

Xu Xian guessed again, "You want food?"

She continued to nod.

Xu Xian frowned. "I don't have any!"

The little girl looked as if she had misheard, unable to believe her own ears. Just as she looked up, the door in front of her was mercilessly slammed shut.

Bang!

The resulting gust of wind blew her hair back.

The little girl was stunned. For a fleeting moment, her eyes were as clear as a stream.

"Hmm?"

Was this some kind of joke? A child of five or six, nothing but skin and bones, and a little mute on top of that.

And he just ignored her? Completely unmoved?

It was confirmed.

Bai Mang was definitely not human. What he did wasn't something a human would do.

Not far away.

The powerhouse from the Crimson Demon Palace who was secretly monitoring them couldn't help but be secretly shocked, muttering, "He really is a ruthless one."

Xu Xian returned to the courtyard and continued his cultivation as if nothing had happened.

The little girl didn't leave either. From the perspective of the little book spirit, she lay down at the entrance like a maggot, face down, completely motionless.

She cursed in her heart, 'Not giving me food? Fine. Then I'll die at your doorstep. That's perfectly reasonable, right?'

The little book spirit sent a telepathic message, teasing, "Good heavens, Master, this little girl has really latched onto you."

Xu Xian's eyelids flickered, but he didn't say a word.

Just like that, Xu Xian cultivated for a night, and that little thing lay there for a night.

The wandering army returned at the break of dawn. Many people passing by the entrance couldn't help but glance sideways.

Some remained cold as ever, some sighed, and there was even a wandering poet who didn't forget to recite a line.

"Behind the vermilion gates, wine and meat rot; upon the roads, demons starve to death. This world is in chaos..."

Yet, not a single person stepped forward to check on her, not even to look closer.

To them, in this place, someone starving to death was as normal as could be.

Especially the elderly and children. They all said Nether Capital was the most prosperous city in the demon abyss, adjacent to the Nether Pool—a paradise that every demon person yearned for.

But paradise and hell were separated by only a single thought.

This place had always been a paradise only for the heavenly demon race, even if there was no grand sunshine.

The little girl's heart grew cold, completely cold.

They said human nature was wicked, affection was thin, and the world was cold, but she truly hadn't expected that among so many people, not one would reach out a hand, even if it was just to bury her.

Was this not the sorrow of the demon abyss?

She had thought more than once that the current demon abyss was already broken beyond repair.

But she had never imagined it was actually this broken.

She couldn't help but ask herself: Is there still hope?

She remained lying there, continuing to lie there, thinking.

Unknowingly, the blue moss at the corner of the wall darkened. On the muddy path outside the door, many figures walked past sporadically, heading in the same direction—toward the Nether Pool.

Night had fallen; it was time to go out and find food.

Inside the courtyard, after a day and night of bitter cultivation, Xu Xian's control over demon qi had become even more proficient.

Although he still couldn't achieve a perfect balance between demon qi and spiritual qi within his dantian, qi manor, meridians, and acupoints.

However, Xu Xian was already able to forcibly drive the demon qi and condense it in his palm.

Even if it was only for an instant, it was a process of creating something from nothing.

To achieve this level in just a few days could be considered massive progress.

Of course, it was mainly due to his extraordinary talent.

He opened his eyes, exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and summoned the little book spirit to ask about the situation. "How is it? Anything unusual?"

The little book spirit shook its head, bored. "Nothing. That guy in the distance hasn't moved from his spot. I wonder if his legs are numb. The little one at the door is even more ruthless; she hasn't moved a finger. She's lying flatter and straighter than a corpse."

Xu Xian couldn't help but curl his lips. He hadn't felt much at first, but once the little book spirit spoke, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to laugh.

Glancing toward the door, he complained, "She really is persistent. I wonder who gave her such a rotten idea."

"What should we do? Let her keep lying there? It'll ruin the fengshui."

Xu Xian was curious. "You even understand fengshui?"

The little book spirit said modestly, "I know a little!"

A little?

That meant its level was actually quite high.

But right now, Xu Xian couldn't muster any interest in fengshui. He rubbed his chin. "Letting her lie there really isn't a solution..."

The little book spirit's eyes rolled as it had a sudden idea. It said excitedly, "How about I take advantage of her lying there and kill her with one sword strike?"

Xu Xian caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. "Are you sure about that?"

The little book spirit was clearly not confident. "As long as she doesn't dodge, I should be fine."

Xu Xian rolled his eyes. "You can shut your mouth now."

The little book spirit stuck out its tongue secretly; it was just saying it casually.

If it really unleashed a sword strike here, even if it luckily managed to kill that filthy thing at the door, the other demon gods in Nether Capital would arrive in an instant.

At that time, it would just fall into a deep sleep and know nothing, while its master would be the one to suffer the consequences.

After a brief thought, Xu Xian stood up and walked toward the door. The little book spirit followed, hovering in the air, curious. "What are you doing?"

"Going out."

"Where to?"

"I'm hungry. To eat."

The little book spirit had a look on its face that suggested it didn't believe a word. He was already at the sixth stage; why would he need to eat? Eating spirit stones was more like it, since there was no spiritual qi in the demon abyss.

However, from the hint of craftiness that had just quietly flashed through Xu Xian's eyes...

The little book spirit knew that someone was about to have very bad luck.

Sure enough.

A moment later, just as the door was pushed open and Xu Xian stepped out, a miserable scream rang out at the entrance.

"Ah!"

It wasn't anyone else but the little girl at the door.

Because Xu Xian hadn't looked where he was going when he stepped out, and he had stepped right on the girl's forehead.

Xu Xian turned around and looked back, saying in a cheeky tone, "Oh? Where did this filthy thing come from?"

The little girl had already sat up, one hand clutching her head, staring fiercely at him without a word.

But in her heart, she had already cursed eighteen generations of Xu Xian's ancestors.

A person this large is lying right here and you can't see? Are you blind?

On purpose. He did it absolutely on purpose.

Xu Xian studied her, pretending to be surprised. "Tsk tsk, you haven't starved to death yet, and you didn't get stepped to death either. You're quite hard to kill, aren't you?"

Listen to that. What kind of monstrous words were those? Was that even human speech?

She glared at him, remaining silent.

Xu Xian asked playfully, "Hungry?"

She was stunned for a moment. Had his conscience finally appeared? She hurriedly nodded.

Xu Xian smiled slightly. "Then take your time being hungry. I'm going to eat."

With that, he walked away without looking back.

The little girl was driven mad with anger. Finally unable to contain herself, she shouted at Xu Xian's retreating back:

"Hey! Are you even human?"

Xu Xian stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head. There wasn't a hint of surprise on his face as he squinted and smiled.

"So, you can speak after all?"