After Xu Mu finished urinating, he screwed the bottle cap tightly and placed it into a separate pocket in his backpack.
He continued walking, but now even he began to feel aimless.
Logically speaking, Xu Ningbing should most likely appear in this area.
The trees here were sparser, and without a thick canopy blocking sunlight, it was easier for spiritual plants to grow and be spotted.
Unknowingly, dusk had arrived.
The sun had set, but the temperature around him remained scorching hot.
Xu Mu frowned. Searching aimlessly through such a vast forest, trying to find a single person, was nearly impossible.
After some thought, he decided to take the initiative.
"Xu Ningbing! Bingzi! Lao Bing! Where are you?"
He shouted as he walked, calling in every direction.
He hadn't done this earlier because he didn't want to expose himself. Clearly, this ruin contained far more people than just Xu Ningbing.
Calling out like this would definitely attract unwanted attention—
but there was no choice now. He feared she might not last much longer.
If he couldn't find her, then maybe she could find him by following his voice.
Xu Mu shouted every twenty seconds or so. Before long, his throat was dry and scratchy.
He took out his last bottle of water, drank a few big gulps, then continued calling her name.
Just then, he noticed a Blue Sunflower blooming in a crack between two stones nearby.
He immediately went over, plucked it, and stored it in his spatial pouch. A rare treasure like this couldn't be wasted.
"Xu Ningbing!"
He shouted again—
Suddenly, a rustling came from the forest ahead.
Xu Mu focused his senses and found a thin middle-aged man approaching.
He quietly slipped the half-bottle of remaining water into his storage space.
The man stepped onto a branch above, glaring down at Xu Mu.
"Kid, hand over your water, and I might let you live!"
He drew a dagger from his backpack and leapt down.
"I don't have any left," Xu Mu said calmly. "There was only a little, and I already drank it."
"Bullshit! Open your bag!" the man snapped.
"Alright."
Xu Mu opened his backpack and tipped it over. Two plastic bottles fell to the ground—
one empty, the other half-filled with liquid.
There were also some snacks and instant noodles.
"What's that?"
The man pointed at the bottle with his dagger. His throat was parched—he didn't care about food, only water.
"My urine," Xu Mu said casually. "Water's scarce here, so I've been saving it—just in case. You want it? Here. I have diabetes, so it should be a little sweet."
"Damn it!"
The man cursed angrily.
He was at the peak of Hidden Force, yet now reduced to being offered… this?
If it were a beautiful woman's, maybe. But a man's? Absolutely not.
Just then, another voice rang out from the woods—
"If you dare touch him, I'll kill you!"
Xu Mu turned to see a tall woman in jeans and a white blouse, her ponytail swaying behind her.
It was Fan Shiyu.
The thin man saw her coming—her speed was astonishing, her strength clearly above his own.
He was dying of thirst; he had no strength left for a fight.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and fled.
Fan Shiyu slowed down once he disappeared and walked toward Xu Mu.
"You crazy woman! You're looking for death!"
A sharp female voice came from the opposite direction.
Xu Mu turned sharply—and was stunned.
It was Dai Xingluo.
What the hell is she doing here?
Fan Shiyu's expression turned icy cold the instant she saw Dai Xingluo. "You still dare show yourself!"
Without another word, she charged forward.
Boom!
The surge of Qi between them made the air itself tremble.
Dai Xingluo gripped her dagger tightly and slashed.
A crescent-shaped blade of Qi, over a meter long, shot forward.
Fan Shiyu dodged swiftly. The blade hit a massive tree behind her—splitting the trunk with a deafening crack, scattering wood chips everywhere.
Fan Shiyu darted forward, closing the gap in an instant. Her hand curled into a claw and slashed downward—
five streaks of Qi forming the shape of talons.
Dai Xingluo dodged left, but one claw mark grazed past her, slicing off a lock of her hair.
Xu Mu took another sip of his remaining water and said helplessly, "Enough! If you want to fight, go to my room and fight there!"
Both women froze.
They turned toward him—and toward the water bottle in his hand. Their throats felt drier just looking at it.
"Brother, give me a little water," Dai Xingluo said first, stepping closer.
Fan Shiyu blinked in surprise. They knew each other?
"You still have water?" Fan Shiyu asked quickly. "Can I have some too?"
The heat here was unbearable, and after that battle, both women were exhausted and dehydrated.
"I only have this much left," Xu Mu said, holding up the bottle—it was less than a third full.
"I don't mind," Dai Xingluo said with a smile.
"Is she your sister?" Fan Shiyu asked curiously.
"No." Xu Mu shook his head.
Fan Shiyu immediately stepped in front of Dai Xingluo. "What, not your sister but you don't mind sharing? Whose water is it, huh?"
"Stop arguing. Half each," Xu Mu said evenly. "Give me your dagger."
Fan Shiyu handed it over.
Xu Mu sliced the bottle cleanly in half and poured the water evenly into the two halves, then handed them to the women.
They tilted their heads back and drank eagerly.
Though it didn't quench their thirst completely, it was enough to soothe them.
"Brother, do you have any more? Your little sister's dying of thirst," Dai Xingluo asked, glancing at his backpack.
"No more water," Xu Mu replied, "but I do have some urine."
He flipped his bag over—revealing half a bottle of yellow liquid.
Both women's expressions darkened instantly.
They were parched, yes—but not that desperate.
"Brother, that's disgusting," Dai Xingluo muttered, wrinkling her nose.
"Better to have it and not need it," Xu Mu said, shrugging. "If we can't get out of here, I don't plan on dying of thirst."
He grabbed another empty bottle from his bag. "Actually… feels like I need to go again."
He hurried behind a tree and filled it halfway.
"This one's fresh. If either of you needs it later, say so early."
He walked back holding the bottle.
"I'll pass," Fan Shiyu said with a pout.
"I'll pass too," Dai Xingluo said, frowning.
Xu Mu shrugged and packed everything back into his bag.
Then he suddenly pointed at Fan Shiyu's face. "Hey—what's wrong with your face?"
Fan Shiyu touched her cheek and felt several soft blisters forming under the skin.
"It's too hot," she said. "The adhesive on my mask melted."
With that, she peeled off her human-skin mask.