Chapter 125: The Bifang Bird Released, Suspicions Cleared

Could it be that the reason the Bi Fang was chasing her so relentlessly was because of Bai Mu?

Having realized this, Chunyu Ji immediately threw Bai Mu, whom she was holding, behind her. She then employed an avatar technique to fly away and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The Bi Fang had originally intended to incinerate this malevolent enchantress with its primordial karmic fire, but seeing that she had discarded Bai Mu, it did not pursue her further. Otherwise, given the Bi Fang’s speed, even with Chunyu Ji’s flying and escaping techniques, she would never have been able to escape its clutches.

After all, the Bi Fang was a sentient spiritual creature. Since it had promised to take Bai Mu to the Southern Wilderness to collect red lotuses to save its master, it would not let him perish so easily in the wilderness.

Upon seeing Chunyu Ji cast Bai Mu aside, the Bi Fang hurriedly performed a mid-air maneuver, steadily catching Bai Mu’s heavy frame on its back. It cast a lingering glance in the direction of Chunyu Ji’s escape before turning back to fly toward the eastern side of the village, near the entrance road.

The bonfire at the edge of the village was still flickering. Several villagers had been standing on the outskirts to scout for the enemy, and upon seeing a giant, single-legged bird wreathed in flames descending upon them, they fled in terror toward the village’s Eight Trigrams Labyrinth Array.

The Bi Fang gently deposited Bai Mu by the campfire and opened its beak, exhaling a stream of ghostly blue flames that completely enveloped the unconscious youth. Surprisingly, these blue flames seemed to lack the ability to burn; although one could feel an intense heat, they did not even singe the corners of Bai Mu’s clothes.

The ghostly blue fire burned around Bai Mu for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. As the light swirled around him, a hint of color began to return to his previously pale face. Furthermore, the wound on his wrist from the green snake’s bite began to heal on its own; the black poison was steamed out of his body by the blue flames and extinguished one by one.

"Ugh..."

A pained groan escaped Bai Mu’s lips. His long eyelashes fluttered, but to everyone’s surprise, he did not wake up.

Whoosh...

Seeing this, the Bi Fang opened its mouth and inhaled, drawing the ghostly blue flames back into its belly. The treated Bai Mu had regained his usual vigor; although he remained unconscious, his handsome face appeared to be out of danger.

"Immortal Master..."

A trembling, elderly voice came from behind.

Hearing this, the Bi Fang turned around in haste to see an old man of over seventy years standing at the village entrance, looking timidly at the unconscious Bai Mu on the ground.

"Who are you?" the Bi Fang inquired cautiously through telepathy.

"I am the patriarch of this village."

The old man stared at the Bi Fang, responding with trepidation. Unexpectedly, he did not seem surprised by the bird’s telepathic communication, nor did he appear uneasy that a bird covered in flames could speak human language—a composure that clearly indicated someone who had seen much of the world.

"Is there a physician in your village?"

"He has been poisoned!" the Bi Fang asked, looking down at the patriarch with a haughty gaze.

"Yes, yes, we have one."

The old man quickly replied, "I am the physician. All the difficult and strange illnesses in the village are treated by me. If you can trust this old man, Divine Bird, allow me to treat the Immortal Master. How about that?"

"Very well. I will come to collect him tomorrow morning. If he is missing even a single strand of hair, your village shall be buried along with him!"

The Bi Fang issued the threat without reservation, then beat its wings and soared toward a nearby mountain, vanishing in an instant.

Knowing that the fierce Bi Fang was not making idle threats, the patriarch hurriedly summoned the few remaining young men in the village to carry Bai Mu inside for treatment. As for the fire outside the village, it continued to burn on its own, but the catastrophe that had threatened Fuxi Village had finally been averted.

The next morning, as the first rays of the sun shone into the high forest, Bai Mu woke up on the bed in the guest room.

He looked around, puzzled to find himself in the same room where he had rested the previous day. In his memory, he had clearly been captured by Chunyu Ji—how could he have suddenly appeared in the patriarch’s home? Could the patriarch have led someone to rescue him from Chunyu Ji and Gui Ge? That seemed unlikely, as the few remaining elders and children in Fuxi Village were no match for such a wicked enchantress.

After pondering for a while, Bai Mu struggled to sit up. The moment he opened the door, a ray of sunlight fell joyfully onto his weary frame, highlighting his handsome features. In the grove in front of the house, several morning birds were chirping and flying about, their clear, pleasant songs instantly lifting his spirits.

"Immortal Master, you are finally awake!"

The patriarch approached from the garden with trembling steps.

"Huh..."

"Patriarch, did you save me?" Bai Mu asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Hahaha."

The patriarch let out three hearty laughs, stroked his white beard, and replied slowly, "This old man lacks the ability to do such a thing. It was a giant bird wreathed in flames that saved you. It even said it would come to the village entrance this morning to collect you!"

"Oh..."

Bai Mu felt a surge of joy; so it was the Bi Fang that had saved him in his moment of peril. That made sense. Yet, recalling how he and Ling Yan had once nearly killed the Bi Fang, and how the creature had saved him time and again, he felt a deep sense of guilt. He resolved that when he saw the Bi Fang later, he must thank it properly.

"Immortal Master, you must be hungry. Please follow me to the main hall for a meal," the patriarch reminded him with a gentle smile, his wrinkled face full of kindness.

"Very well."

Bai Mu replied cordially, and the two walked together toward the main hall. During the meal, Bai Mu recalled Gui Ge’s words about the Demon-Converting Bottle from the previous night and asked curiously, "If I may be so bold, is the Fuxi Tooth truly no longer in your village?"

"Sigh..."

The patriarch set down his bowl and chopsticks, shaking his head with a sigh. "That is a long story. I wonder if you are interested in hearing it, Immortal Master?"

"Of course, of course."

Bai Mu responded delightedly, staring at the patriarch with an expectant gaze. After the battle yesterday between Bai Mu and Gui Ge’s group, the patriarch had become convinced that Bai Mu was an immortal sent from the heavens to save Fuxi Village, and thus, he harbored no reservations toward him at all.