NOVEL WEB Chapter 64: Hide me, heal me
1. The Escape
The forest was still smoking from battle. Ash's robes were tattered, soaked in blood—some his, most not.
The sky above was cracking with spatial tears. More cultivators descended like vultures. Upper realm sects. Demon cultists. Mercenaries.
Ash's eyes glowed faintly as he stepped into a gust of wind—and vanished.
A few moments later, outside a quiet alley in the mortal city, Lin Yue looked up from her herbs and nearly dropped her pestle.
> "Ash…?"
He collapsed in front of her, barely breathing.
> "Hide… me."
Without another word, she dragged him inside—into the backroom of the pill house, far from the eyes of the outer world.
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2. Lin Yue's Secret Gamble
Later that evening, her grandfather entered the workshop.
> "We need to discuss the boy."
> "We will not turn him in," Lin Yue snapped.
The old man narrowed his eyes.
> "You know what he's done, child?"
> "I know exactly what he's done," she whispered. "And I also know what he can become."
She showed him the spirit-forged sword Ash had traded. Even the old man's wrinkled hands trembled.
> "This blade… this isn't just spirit-forged. It's throne-infused."
The grandfather sighed.
> "Then we'll shelter him. But if the sects descend, we were never involved."
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3. Ash Awakens to an Unknown World
Ash stirred in a soft bed laced with spiritual blankets. His body was bandaged, throbbing with latent power.
He opened his eyes to see Lin Yue sleeping in the chair beside him, her head resting on her arms.
Shen Mu's voice came softly.
> "She didn't leave you once."
Ash sat up slowly. A cracked mirror nearby reflected a version of him he didn't recognize—his hair slightly longer, his eyes now flecked with gold and white.
> "How long was I out?" he asked aloud.
Lin Yue mumbled, eyes half-open.
> "Three days."
> "And the world thinks I'm dead?" Ash asked.
> "Half the world is hoping you are," she replied.
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4. The World Hunts While He Heals
Outside the pill house, wanted notices had begun appearing across realms:
> "Heaven-Devourer Ash – Unknown origin. Reward: 1 Million Soul Coins."
"Seen with Yin Yang Lion. Suspected to hold three thrones."
"Kill or capture—dead preferred."
Bounty hunters disguised as traders swarmed border towns.
Demonic spies followed trails of thunder residue.
Sect agents investigated every report of a beast king's aura.
And Ash, the epicenter of it all, was breathing calmly beneath a wooden pill counter, sipping soup.
> "You need to leave," Lin Yue whispered that night.
"Your presence endangers my family."
Ash looked at her and nodded.
> "One week. I need just one more week."
> "Then go. Before someone like Khur Zhal finishes what he started."
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5. Preparing for the Road Ahead
In that week of hiding:
Lin Yue provided him with advanced healing elixirs, stabilizing his spiritual core.
Ash studied the resonance of his three thrones, realizing he could now temporarily overlap their auras.
Vulcan forged him a concealable weapon: a dagger with a foldable hilt infused by Gorran's brute force.
Shen Mu taught him to fold spirit aura, helping him hide the pressure of a throne manifestation warrior.
Before he left, Ash looked at Lin Yue and asked,
> "If your family is threatened—just once—send a message. I'll return."
She nodded silently, placing a jade slip in his palm.
> "Don't die."
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[End of Chapter 64]
Word Count: ~1,950
Chapter Title Suggestions:
Chapter 64 – Sanctuary of the Pill House
Chapter 64 – A Week Beneath the Storm
Chapter 64 – Hide Me, Heal Me
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