Chapter 10: So Hungry for Her, Are You?

On the bed, Mu Tong had just woken up and hadn't yet had time to take stock of his situation.

His eyes were fixed shamelessly on Song Ruru's young, innocent face, his breathing heavy and his eyes bloodshot.

Song Ruru, too naive to understand the meaning behind a man's gaze, looked back at him with pure, delighted eyes.

"Big brother, you're finally awake! I'll go call Grandpa over!"

With that, the little girl turned and hopped off the bed.

She had no idea that behind her, Mu Tong's bloodshot eyes were fixed on her as he reached out a hand, trying to touch her.

But the moment his hand rose, before it could reach her, the pain from his wounds forced it back down, limp and powerless.

The pain shooting through his body finally jolted his lust-addled brain back to clarity.

Everything that had happened before he lost consciousness came flooding back.

Mu Tong clenched his jaw and was just about to sit up when a woman's sharp, cold mockery rang in his ear.

"In this state, and the moment you wake up and spot something that catches your eye, you can't help yourself? How very like you, dear brother!"

The woman who had been lying beside Mu Tong had apparently woken up at some point. Her slender yet shapely figure was wrapped in a white inner robe, and her pale face was full of contempt.

Her gaze dropped pointedly below Mu Tong's waist.

She looked at him as though she were staring at something filthy.

Mu Tong turned his head and glanced at her, sneering coldly. "The Ancient God Society couldn't even finish you off? You've got quite the stubborn life, Mu Nan!"

Mu Nan's eyes grew cold, anger and loathing brewing within them.

But she didn't let it erupt. After a deep breath, she skipped straight past the subject.

"Keep that thing between your legs under control. The Ancient God Society's people are troublesome. We're two fish that slipped through the net, and given how much they hate our Tianshan Sect, they may still be tracking us. Right now, the priority is to recover from our injuries and get back as fast as possible!"

Mu Tong let out a derisive snort and rolled over to face the flat-lying Mu Nan.

His gaze swept over her body without restraint.

"In that case, to recover as quickly as possible, the only option is for the two of us to dual cultivate."

Mu Nan immediately felt her stomach turn. She stared at Mu Tong with revulsion.

"I'd love to crack open your skull and see what's inside. Isn't there perfectly usable blood energy right here to refine? You like that little girl from just now, don't you? Just use Blood Refinement on her directly!"

Mu Tong pursed his lips, about to reply, when he heard two sets of footsteps — one light, one heavy — approaching.

The two of them instantly fell silent in tacit agreement.

They turned to see Song Ruru leading Old Doctor Song inside.

Seeing the two on the bed — awake, pale and weak but still alert — Old Doctor Song's eyes flashed with surprise.

When Song Ruru had told him the two had woken up, he hadn't believed her.

Given the state of their wounds, there was no way they should have been able to regain consciousness.

What Old Doctor Song didn't know was that Mu Tong and Mu Nan were no ordinary people.

With injuries like theirs, after soaking in the river for so long, an ordinary person would never have survived.

But for two people with Cultivation, even without the villagers' help, they would have woken up on their own.

After a brief moment of surprise, Old Doctor Song quickly composed himself. He set the large bowl of medicinal broth he was carrying down on the bedside table.

"You're awake? With injuries like these, surviving is truly a stroke of great fortune. But your wounds are severe — it will still take some time to fully recover. Come, drink your medicine first."

Mu Tong and Mu Nan exchanged a subtle glance, then endured the pain and sat up.

"I am Mu Tong, and this is my younger sister Mu Nan. We are deeply grateful for your aid. May I ask how to address our benefactor?"

Mu Tong deliberately forced a kind smile onto his face. Against his pale, weakened complexion, it was enough to make one drop their guard.

Old Doctor Song shook his head. "I don't deserve to be called a benefactor. It was the villagers who saved you. I am the village doctor — I took you in and treated you out of a physician's duty, nothing more."

"And it was not free of charge. I took the liberty of collecting the medical fee from Young Master Mu in advance. I'm letting you know now — the remaining silver is in your outer garments."

Mu Tong still smiled pleasantly. "We are grateful all the same, Doctor. As for the silver, you were right to take it."

Old Doctor Song nodded. "My surname is Song. You may call me Doctor Song. Can the two of you drink the medicine yourselves, or shall I help?"

Mu Tong and Mu Nan naturally chose to drink it themselves.

They each picked up their bowls from the bedside, sniffed the contents first, and only after confirming it was nothing more than qi-replenishing, blood-nourishing herbs did they down it in one go.

After finishing the medicine, Mu Tong asked, "Doctor Song, would it be convenient to tell us where we are? And how exactly were we rescued?"

These were perfectly reasonable questions, and Old Doctor Song had no reason to refuse. He recounted the whole sequence of events for them.

Only then did Mu Tong and Mu Nan piece it together.

The previous day, after being gravely wounded by the Ancient God Society, they had fallen into the water and lost consciousness. By some twist of fate, they had drifted along the river all the way to Song Family Village, where several village men had found them and brought them to Old Doctor Song for treatment.

Through Old Doctor Song's account, the two also gained a basic understanding of Song Family Village's situation.

Mu Tong and Mu Nan exchanged a glance, their eyes dark and unreadable.

Old Doctor Song had no idea what the two were thinking. His gaze lingered on the sword and blade wounds covering their bodies, and he hesitated, wanting to speak.

He wanted to ask about their origins — including how they had come by those wounds.

Mu Tong and Mu Nan clearly weren't simple people, and he worried that taking them in might bring trouble down on him.

But he also feared that asking might stir up trouble instead.

In the end, Old Doctor Song said nothing more, deciding he would send them on their way once they could walk freely.

He collected the medicine bowls and said, "The two of you are still weak. I'll bring some food over later. Rest early, and don't get out of bed and move around — you don't want to aggravate your injuries. If you need anything, call out loudly; I'll hear you."

With that, Old Doctor Song took his granddaughter Song Ruru by the hand and walked out.

But the moment he turned away, Mu Tong's eyes followed Song Ruru's retreating figure with undisguised hunger, only reluctantly pulling his gaze away once the two had disappeared from view.

Mu Nan had watched his expression the entire time. She let out a cold laugh. "My dear brother, so hungry for her, are you? Shall we leave that little girl behind when we do the Blood Refinement, and bring her back to the Sect for you to play with?"

Mu Tong had been mocked by her so many times that he was long immune to it.

Thinking of the sweet, well-behaved little girl standing beside Old Doctor Song, Mu Tong licked his lips, his eyes full of malice.

"Why go to all that trouble? I'll enjoy her first, then use Blood Refinement on her afterward. Same result!"

Mu Nan let out a scornful laugh. "I thought you'd gotten excited about the hunt again and wanted to bring her back to the Tianshan Sect. Seems you're still the same cold-blooded, heartless Mu Tong."

Mu Tong raised an eyebrow, unbothered, but had no desire to continue the topic.

He shifted the subject with a casual air. "This Song Family Village is near that Liu Family Village we visited a few days ago — quite the coincidence. First we smash the idol in Liu Family Village and get chased down by the Ancient God Society, then by some twist of fate we end up in Song Family Village right next door. Ha — I doubt even the Ancient God Society expected that."

"Song Family Village has about a hundred people. After Blood Refinement, our injuries should recover to around seventy or eighty percent."

"Oh, right — Song Family Village is on the Sect's target list too, isn't it? They've got an idol here as well, one that's been worshipped for quite a while. What was it called… Lord Xuanqing?"

"If it weren't for those troublesome Ancient God Society dogs, the Sect would have already claimed this village's idol long ago."

Mu Nan raised an eyebrow at that. "So we've actually turned misfortune into fortune? We use the hundred-odd villagers for Blood Refinement to recover, and we can take the idol from Song Family Village at the same time?"

Mu Tong nodded. "According to the records I read back at the Sect, the idol in Song Family Village has been worshipped for quite some time — it should have already manifested a divine anomaly. With no superior here to split the credit, it'll be just the two of us sharing the reward. When we bring it back to the Sect, we'll earn a handsome bounty. Ha — we really have turned misfortune into fortune!"

Believing their voices were low enough that Old Doctor Song couldn't hear, the two spoke without restraint.

What they didn't know was that perched on top of the courtyard wall was a black cat with glowing green eyes, watching everything unfold.