"This... this is...""The Bridefire Elixir."Vice Preceptor Vale spoke lightly. "After taking this pill, if you don't engage in the sacred communion with someone within 3 hours, your meridians will reverse, your blood and energy will boil, and in the end your body will burst apart and you'll die. Evelyn, I'm giving you one last chance. Are you willing?"Evelyn trembled from head to toe. Tears blurred her vision.She looked at Jared. Her eyes were full of despair and pleading.Jared looked back at her in silence and said nothing.Little by little, Evelyn's heart sank.She knew Jared and Vice Preceptor Vale were on the same side.How could Jared possibly help her?Vice Preceptor Vale rose to his feet, walked over to Evelyn, and held that elixir up toher lips."Evelyn, be good. Swallow it, and you'll become the cultivation partner of a Sovereign Bloodline. Your future will be limitless. But if you refuse... then don't blame me for being ruthless."Evelyn clamped her mouth shut and shook her head with all her strength. Tears flew from her face.Vice Preceptor Vale paid no attention to her resistance at all. He lifted a hand, caught her by the chin, and forced the elixir into her mouth.A muffled sound broke from Evelyn. The moment the elixir went down, it turned into a surge of heat that rushed through her whole body.Vice Preceptor Vale let go, stepped back, and watched her collapse limp onto the floor. Then he gave a satisfied nod."Jared, I'll leave Evelyn to you. She's taken the Bridefire Elixir. If she doesn't dual cultivate within 3 hours, she'll die without question.You can rest easy. Her bloodline may be top grade, but compared to your Sovereign Bloodline, it still falls a little short. You're not the one taking a loss here."He turned and looked at Jared, smiling from ear to ear. "Jared, I'll have someone prepare a quiet room at once. Take her there and let her rest."Jared looked at him in silence, and then he suddenly smiled.The smile was faint, but there was something buried in it that made it hard to read."Vice Preceptor, are you sure... you want me to take her away to rest?"Vice Preceptor Vale froze for a beat, then smiled again. "What are you saying, Jared? Since I've promised her to you, naturally she's yours to handle as you see fit."Jared nodded.He rose and walked over to Evelyn, then lowered his eyes to her.Evelyn lay limp on the ground. Her face was streaked with tears, and her eyes were filled with despair.She looked at Jared, her lips trembling. She wanted to say something, but found that no words would come out.Jared reached out and helped her up.Her body kept shaking, but she had no strength left to resist.Jared looked at her and said softly, "Don't be afraid."Evelyn froze.Jared didn't say anything else. He supported her and headed out of the hall.Vice Preceptor Vale watched their backs as they left, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.After they left Hallowmere Hall, Jared supported Evelyn and headed down the mountain.Her body grew hotter and hotter. An unnatural flush spread across her face, and even her breathing turned quick and uneven.Clinging to the last thread of clarity, she murmured under her breath, "You... let go of me... I don't want this..."Jared said nothing. He only kept hold of her and quickened his pace.A short while later, the two of them reached the foot of the mountain.Jared stopped there and glanced back in the direction of Hallowmere Hall. A chill flashed through his eyes."Let's go."He said it flatly, then supported Evelyn as the two of them turned into a streak of light and shot toward the distant woods.Deep in the woods.Jared lowered Evelyn beneath a large tree and looked at her. She had curled into herself, trembling all over. The red on her face kept deepening, and her breathing came faster by the moment. He crouched down in front of her, looked at her, and said evenly, "What's your name?"Evelyn lifted her head. Her gaze hadalready gone a little unfocused, butshe still bit down on her lip andforced the words out. Eve...Evelyn..." Jared nodded, took an elixir from his Storage Ring, and held it to her lips."Take it."Evelyn looked at the elixir in his hand, and a flicker of doubt passed through hereyes.Jared's tone stayed calm. "Anantidote draught. It can't theBridefire Elixir's poison, but it can suppress it for half an hour Evelyn only stared at him. Then tears spilled out again.She didn't hesitate. She opened her mouth and swallowed the elixir.A moment later, some of the flush faded from her face, and her breathing steadied anoveldramalittle.She lifted her head and looked at Jared, her eyes tangled with too many things to sort through."You... why are you saving me?"Jared answered flatly, "Couldn't stand it."Evelyn went still.Couldn't stand it?Just because of that?She bit her lip and said in a low voice, "But you... you're one of the HallowmereOrder too...""I'm not."Jared cut her off. "I was just passing through. I only wanted to ask around for some information."Evelyn froze.A moment later, she suddenly laughed.That smile carried a trace of release, and a trace of bitterness.