"Stop talking — my mind is made up!" The tall, gaunt Second Brother declared resolutely.
The young woman grew anxious and quickly turned to the young man and the elderly man, her eyes pleading for help.
The two exchanged a glance. The young man remained silent, but the old man sighed and said:
"Fifth Sister, let Second Brother go! He's atoning for what happened before! Only by doing this will he feel at peace!"
"But Second Brother, if you do this—" The woman tried to protest further, but Second Brother had already walked up to Han Li and said calmly:
"Senior, let's begin. Use me for the experiment."
His words carried a note of grim nobility, but what happened next left all four of them stunned, as if doused with cold water.
"Did the four of you misunderstand something? When did I ever agree to remove your Blood Curse!"
Han Li's words cut like ice, leaving the Five Friends of Mount Meng staring at each other in bewilderment.
"If Senior doesn't intend to break our curse, why study it on my eldest brother in the first place?" the Second Brother blurted out in shock.
"Did I say I was studying this Blood Curse to break it for you? I was simply curious!" Han Li replied, his expression flat.
Looking at Han Li's icy face and hearing his heartless words, the group was struck dumb on the spot.
"But Senior, aren't you trying to find out about those people? If you don't remove the Blood Curse from us, how could we possibly answer your questions?" the young man stammered, his face full of anxiety — clearly unwilling to let go of the hope that had just appeared before him.
Han Li glanced sideways at him a few times, let out a cold laugh, then fell silent and tilted his head to gaze at the sky.
Such an obvious question didn't deserve an answer — Han Li wouldn't bother.
"Fourth Brother, don't ask anymore," the black-faced elder interjected. "This Senior feels that the intelligence he can get from us isn't nearly enough to warrant saving our lives — that's why he's reluctant to act." As the eldest and most experienced of the group, he had no trouble cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
"Senior, what exactly are your conditions for taking action? Just say them straight. As long as the Blood Curse can truly be removed, we Five Friends of Mount Meng won't hesitate for a moment," the old man continued calmly.
"Good! If you'd said that earlier, we wouldn't have needed to beat around the bush."
Han Li suddenly clapped his hands and smiled faintly, his face becoming warm and affable.
But to the four of them, this only made Han Li seem all the more capricious and unpredictable, filling them with an involuntary sense of awe.
"The conditions are simple! If I can eliminate your life-threatening problem, you four must tell me everything you know. On top of that, starting today, you will follow my orders for a time and help me deal with an attack from that group. I reckon they won't let me off so easily, and I, for my part, want to deal with them quickly as well."
"But don't worry about being outnumbered — I am a cultivator of the Yellow Maple Valley. I only came to the capital of Yue to handle some sect business. Once we hold out for a while, I'll call for reinforcements. Then there'll be nothing to fear from those rodents."
Han Li laid out his conditions in a genial tone, and shamelessly invoked his sect's banner — only by doing so could he make them commit wholeheartedly.
"Senior is a cultivator of the Yellow Maple Valley!"
Although the old man had already guessed that Han Li's background likely fell within the Seven Sects, hearing it admitted aloud still brought a smile to his face.
"Very well. We'll do everything just as Senior says. We won't stand on the sidelines — once the Blood Curse is removed, we'll certainly become targets of their pursuit too. Staying by Senior's side would actually be safer!" The black-faced elder agreed readily.
The young man and the woman exchanged a look of joy at the old man's words and didn't object. They clearly approved of his decision. For them, the Seven Sects were naturally far more powerful than the force that had been controlling them through the Blood Curse — it only made sense to throw in their lot with them.
The tall, gaunt Second Brother, however, looked torn — as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating.
"If Senior's method for removing the Blood Curse truly works, we have one more request, and we hope Senior will agree to it." The black-faced elder glanced at Second Brother and then addressed Han Li with a solemn request.
Han Li observed this scene, already having a rough idea of what was coming, but said evenly:
"What is it? As long as it's not too outrageous, I'll do my best to accommodate you."
At this moment, Han Li seemed remarkably amenable.