Chapter Forty-One: The Unexpected

That day, after falling from the cliff into the abyss and passing through the barrier, Silver Yao landed heavily beneath a locust tree. She lost consciousness, her entire being succumbing to a deep faint; there was no strength left in her to support herself.

When the villagers of the manor passed by the locust tree, they discovered Silver Yao seriously wounded. They carried her home, washed the blood from her face, and changed her into clean, dry clothes. Only then did they realize how grievously injured she was—her body was covered in wounds, and several prominent scars marred her once-fair face, ruining her delicate features. Black blood oozed from her injuries—a cruel poison left by Yin Su.

These simple yet kind-hearted villagers did not recognize the poison, nor had they ever seen Silver Yao before. Seeing that her life hung by a thread, they hurriedly sent someone to fetch the master of the manor.

Li Suo, who was just about to collect a message left for him under the locust tree, noticed several villagers rushing toward the manor house.

“Young Master, come quickly! We just found a young woman gravely wounded—she’s on the verge of death, please save her!” One sharp-eyed villager spotted Li Suo, ran up to him, and pleaded anxiously.

Li Suo glanced at the locust tree and smiled reassuringly at the villagers. “Don’t worry, take me to her first.”

When Li Suo opened the door and saw the woman lying on the bed, his heart gave an involuntary lurch, as if it skipped a beat. What kind of woman was this? Gravely injured, pale as death, her breath barely clinging to life—yet there was a quiet strength about her, a will that refused to let her die. Was that a faint smile still lingering on her lips?

He strode forward, gently gathered Silver Yao into his arms, and carried her back to his own quarters—this place was far too humble to care for someone so close to death. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by an unusual seriousness and deep concern.

He checked her pulse, made his diagnosis, and immediately began channeling his inner energy to expel the poison. Li Suo wasted not a single moment. He realized this mysterious woman had been struck by a rare and vicious toxin. He couldn’t fathom who could be so ruthless to inflict such harm upon her, nor did he understand why she had fallen from the cliff or how she ended up in Li Yin Manor.

Li Yin Manor was far from ordinary—without his father’s permission, outsiders could not enter. And yet, she had survived a fall from such a height; she must be a skilled practitioner herself.

By the time the old master, Li Jin, hurried over and questioned the servants about the situation, Li Suo emerged from the room, his brow beaded with sweat. The old master quickly handed him a towel, then entered the room himself.

Even before he saw Silver Yao fully, Li Jin sensed a strangely familiar aura emanating from her. His breath quickened, and as he reached the bedside and gazed upon her face, he was struck by how familiar yet different it seemed from his memories.

Pushing aside his stray thoughts, Li Jin set about examining Silver Yao. After a while, he called a servant to fetch medicine. Observing the extent to which the poison had spread, he couldn’t help but inwardly praise Li Suo: to control such a fierce poison so quickly was no small feat!

When his gaze fell upon the shocking scars on Silver Yao’s face, a wave of pity overcame him. He gently placed his right hand on her cheek, channeling his energy. The Li Yin family’s greatest strength lay in their powers of restoration and regeneration. Their stamina and inner energy might defy the heavens, but what truly set them apart was their ability to regrow even severed limbs.

A faint white mist rose into the air as Li Jin’s expression grew even more solemn. Lifting both hands, he circulated his energy rapidly. A light breeze stirred, lifting his silvery hair.

Half an hour later, Li Suo returned to the room to find his father had already left. The woman on the bed—her wounds had completely vanished, her skin restored to a flawless smoothness, as soft as a newborn’s. Li Suo knew at once it was his father’s doing. In this manor, only his father possessed such miraculous power; even he himself could not have achieved such perfection.

His hand drifted unconsciously across Silver Yao’s cheek. Crouching by her side, he leaned in close, feeling her every breath against his own face.

Silver Yao’s head throbbed with pain, as if it might split open. She snapped awake in a cold sweat, only to see a face looming above hers. Startled, she jerked back.

Seeing her awake, Li Suo regarded her with an innocent expression. “You’re awake! You were badly injured, you know.”

“Who are you?” Silver Yao looked at the man before her in confusion. He was unusually handsome, even bewitching, yet his eyes held a childlike purity—the two contrasting qualities blended together perfectly.

“My name is Li Suo, and I’m the one who saved you. Who are you? How did you get so badly hurt?” He smiled with childlike simplicity, concealing the difficulty of her rescue.

“You saved me? My injuries aren’t so easily healed! I was wounded by a force of the Illusion Rank!” Silver Yao, sensing no malice, let down her guard and replied with a smile.

Li Suo understood at once. “Illusion Rank—the mystery is solved.”

Silver Yao was surprised he recognized the term. She realized she truly had arrived in a remarkable place—just as her mother had told her.

“Where am I?” she asked, determined to glean answers from the man before her.

Li Suo, reading her reaction and feeling a touch of admiration, replied with his usual cheerful demeanor, “This is Li Yin Manor. But you still haven’t answered my question!”

“Oh, my name is Silver Yao.”

“Silver Yao, is it?” Hearing her name, Li Suo’s heart skipped a beat. He knew the special significance of the surname “Silver.”

Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, Silver Yao felt a twinge of annoyance. “What, you don’t believe me?”

“No, no, it’s not that—I’m just surprised. What relation is Silver Fox to you?” He quickly explained himself, not wanting her to become suspicious.

“Silver Fox was my mother. How do you know her?” A note of sorrow crept into Silver Yao’s voice; her mother’s death was a wound she rarely spoke of.

Li Suo suddenly understood. “So that’s it. No wonder.”

Silver Yao looked at him, puzzled. “No wonder what?”

“Silver Fox was a friend of my father’s. She chose not to remain in Li Yin Manor and returned above. To allow her free entry in the future, my father cast a small spell upon her blood, so that anyone carrying her bloodline could pass into the manor.”

Li Suo recounted this with an air of recollection, though his mind was racing: So she’s Silver Fox’s descendant—no wonder she could bypass the natural barrier and enter the manor!

“That explains it. No wonder my mother once told me there was a hidden paradise beneath the cliffs,” Silver Yao murmured, finally understanding what her mother had meant.

“Rest a little longer. Your wounds have only just begun to heal; don’t overexert yourself,” Li Suo said gently, smiling with the care of an attentive child.

As Silver Yao watched him prepare to leave, she called out hastily, “You’re going to tell your father about me, aren’t you?”