Chapter 827: You’re My Only Friend

Even if Ye Mo could see her then, he might not recognize Nie Shuangshuang. Gone was the seductive, frail girl from Beijing; in her place stood a village maiden, her hair in a braid, her killing aura replaced by a serene temperament reminiscent of a truth cultivator.

Years earlier, she had journeyed to Nan Jiang, searching for Ye Mo in vain. Instead, she discovered a spirit well and settled nearby. Had Ye Mo been there, he would have seen Nie Shuangshuang at the chi gathering peak.

Years of cultivating by the spirit well had preserved her youthful appearance, perhaps even making her seem younger. In five short years, she'd progressed from stage four to peak, a testament to her exceptional talent. With proper tutelage in foundation establishment cultivation, she likely would have reached its peak as well.

Nie Shuangshuang witnessed the explosion and immediately investigated. Years of mountain living identified it as Wan Qu Mountain—a place rarely visited even by the Miao Jiang people. Why the explosions?

She swiftly reached Ye Mo, finding a collapsed cave. Her spirit sense, though not as extensive as Ye Mo's, still reached nearly five kilometers. It wasn't until she probed underground that she discovered an unconscious Ye Mo.

Her expression changed drastically. Despite over a decade's absence, she instantly recognized him. Though aware of Ye Mo's disdain, she had never forgotten him, having left the Nine Moon Sect for his sake.

Initially drawn to his pure chi, she was twice saved by him—experiences indelibly etched in her memory, particularly his rescue at the Yan River. Beyond Ye Mo, she had no friends.

She felt no resentment over his administering a pill and leaving. She was profoundly grateful for the precious medicine that saved her life.

During the Nine Moon Sect's destruction, she didn't see her savior, but knew it was Ye Mo. Nie Pi lacked the means to bestow the Nine Moon Evergreen Chant and save her life.

Who else but Ye Mo?

Upon receiving the chant, she immediately began cultivating. The initial stages were arduous, yet her talent shone through. On her first day, she sensed chi; within years, she reached the chi gathering middle stage, entirely self-taught in this chi-deprived land.

After learning of Ye Mo's disappearance, she searched relentlessly, visiting Luo Yue countless times before finding the spirit well in Nan Jiang and reaching chi gathering peak.

Seeing Ye Mo, she immediately set down her herb basket and began clearing the rubble with her curved sword. The task was simple, quickly leading her to him.

A bone-chilling coldness caused her to shiver. Ye Mo was encased in ice, his hair white, lips purple. Nie Shuangshuang instantly recognized his mortal peril, the threat emanating from two large eggs clutched in his hand.

She took his wrist, channeling cultivation essence into his body. He felt warmth return, but sensed imminent danger.

"Leave!" Ye Mo yelled.

Dazed, Nie Shuangshuang thought he was cultivating and she'd disturbed him. However, her expression quickly shifted as she realized she wasn't merely disrupting him; she was now in peril, her cultivation essence also being drawn into the eggs.

Ye Mo sighed, "It's over."

"Brother Ye, what is this? Why is it absorbing my inner qi?" Nie Shuangshuang asked in shock.

"I'm sorry, Shuangshuang. I got you into this," Ye Mo admitted, understanding that if he couldn't escape, neither could she. He noted her chi gathering peak cultivation, but her essence was far weaker than his—indeed, barely more than cultivation chi. She'd need foundation establishment before it could be considered true essence; not all cultivation methods were the Three Birth Chant.

"Brother Ye, why are you here?" Nie Shuangshuang calmed, accepting their shared predicament.

Ye Mo spat out ice, "I went to a bar in Beijing looking for you. They said you weren't there, so I came to Nan Jiang. I had business here, planning to search for you afterward. But you found me instead, and you're at chi gathering peak. Sigh…"

"Brother Ye, you really came looking for me?" Sparkles filled her eyes; his search was the happiest thing imaginable.

"Yes. But Shuangshuang, how did you reach chi gathering peak?"

Her lips were turning purple, but she seemed oblivious to the danger. "Brother Ye, just call me Shuangshuang. I came to Nan Jiang looking for you and found a well that accelerated cultivation. I've been cultivating there."

"A spirit well?" Ye Mo was stunned. A spirit well on this planet? But remembering their plight, dejection set in; there was nothing he could do.

Nie Shuangshuang quickly reassured him, "Brother Ye, don't feel guilty! You've saved me several times; this time, I couldn't save you. I'm happy to have even helped a little."

Had she not been there, he wouldn't be able to speak. But then he remembered he'd never told her about the times he'd saved her. How did she know?

"How do you know I saved you?" he asked.

Nie Shuangshuang smiled, "Because I've been so lonely, with no friends. You were my only friend. No one else would save me," she shivered.

Friend? Ye Mo felt a pang of guilt. He was her only friend, yet he'd never considered her as such.