Epoch of Twilight

Without being properly purified and refined, rock salt tasted awful! It was very bitter once the salt melted in the oral cavity. They were excited to try it at first but very soon no one wanted to consume it anymore. In the afternoon, they began to start a fire for cooking. They grounded the rock salt into tiny pieces and cooked it in boiling water.

Most of them in the group had gone to high school before and had acquired basic knowledge on the salt purification process during their​ chemistry experiments. Although some did not remember the exact procedures, everyone contributed their knowledge and memory to get it done. A layer of white salt appeared in front of them after repeated filtration and crystallization. They carefully moved the white salt into a stone bowl.

The group was very excited with their small achievement and continued to cook until the sky turned dark. There was about 20 kg of salt made at the end of the day, which could last for a very long time. Despite all that cooking, there was still a big piece of unprocessed rock salt leftover which could possibly last for 4-5 years if they cooked and processed it into white salt.

The weird giant bird did not appear throughout the day. Everyone felt relieved and they convinced themselves that the giant bird had learned not to mess with them from its dead partner.

After having a simple dinner, Luo Yuan tried to break the curse again and hoped to release his will once more. His will is too vital for him as it plays a very important role in generating his powers. His attacking and defensive abilities would decline if he could not gather his will and that will put them in a more dangerous situation, especially in the jungle.

Luo Yuan woke up before dawn the next day feeling slightly exhausted. He only managed to enter a meditative state once over the entire night. The only positive thing was that the curse was getting weaker and the illusions were slowly fading. Based on his own estimations, the curse would be broken naturally in another three to four days. He then looked at his watch and realized there was about two to three hours to sunrise, however, he did not feel sleepy at all as his 14-points physique was well rested. He then decided to get up.

"Ahh!!! Who is that?" Zhao Yali was frightened as she saw a shadow nearby. She was in a simple outfit with one of her snowy white shoulders exposed. Her small mouth was slightly opened and Luo Yuan was captivated by her juicy pink lips.

"It’s me!" Luo Yuan quickly replied. She could not see him as she could not see much in the dark.

"Why are you still awake?" Luo Yuan asked.

"You scared me! I was wondering who it could be." Zhao Yali felt relieved as she recognized his voice. She then said, "I couldn’t sleep."

She hardly addresses him as "Little Yuan" anymore as she could not interact with him like how she used to.

"Since we can’t sleep, let’s talk then." Luo Yuan said.

"About what?" Zhao Yali asked as she felt a bit uneasy.

"Anything." Luo Yuan thought and continued, "Let’s talk about your life before this."

Zhao Yali remained silent and the atmosphere became a bit awkward, however, she was not a tough person and hence she could not really hate a person. She was happy as she saw Luo Yuan stand awkwardly and shyly - especially since he is such a strong and well-respected person now.

Zhao Yali was trying to reflect on the past but her mind was basically just thinking about a lot of nonsense. She hesitated and said, "Nothing interesting, it’s over. Why don’t you teach me how to properly use a sword? I think there are many steps that I am not doing correctly."

"Sure!" Luo Yuan said and continued, "Let’s go outside then."

"Sure." Zhan Yali did not think too much and followed Luo Yuan out after getting her weapon in the dark. The surrounding outside was dark and she began to feel scared. She asked, "Why do we need to go so far away?"

"Because it won’t be good if we woke the rest up. We will probably be very noisy." Luo Yuan whispered.

"I think it’s far enough. If we lower our voices, I don’t think they can hear us." Zhao Yali whispered softly and suddenly her face turned rosy.

Luo Yuan looked around to make sure they were at least seven to eight meters away from the rest and then said, "Alright, let’s practice here then. Show me all your basic skills first then I’ll correct your mistakes."

As she saw Luo Yuan being very calm about it, she felt relieved and said, "Alright, but please don’t laugh at me."

"I won’t laugh if you don’t do something stupid." He was trying to joke with her.

"You’re awful!" She said. Zhao Yali suddenly realized it has been a long time since they last spoke in such a relaxed manner. It has probably been 2 years, but it felt like a lifetime. She quickly recovered from her realization and began to practice.

She was not as shy as what she had expressed earlier. Since she evolved, her power and speed have already grown stronger and faster than Lin Xiaoji’s. Her strength is still developing and no one knows how strong she could be.

Of course, there were flaws in her movements and postures, as well as the ways she uses her muscles. However, she was not the only one who had these issues. It was a breakthrough for her to transform from a weak lady to a strong person. She had put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

Luo Yuan felt grateful to see her improvements. She began to evolve since the death of Lao Huang. However, Luo Yuan did not realize it then and he knew he did not really show her enough care and concern.

"Alright, it’s the end of your warm up. Now, show me the first posture for the first action and then remain stationary. I’ll point out your flaws." Luo Yuan said after seeing her practice a few times. She was even gasping a bit at that point.

The first action was the most powerful one. It was the ‘chopping’ action. Zhao Yali lifted both of her hands with the knife and remained still.

"Your arms must be lifted as high as possible... Higher! Only then can you fully utilize your strength to make a powerful attack!" Luo Yuan walked towards her and corrected the position of her arms while explaining.

The contact he made on her arms caused her to tremble slightly and her face turned hot. However, she just ignored those emotions as they used to have that kind of close contact before.

"And then the waist. Your waist is too stiff and unnatural." Luo Yuan naturally touched her waist by inserting his hand into her shirt and his palm was busy exploring the surface of her skin to find the spot of muscles that she had to use.

Her skin was so much smoother after she evolved which made Luo Yuan enjoy this lesson a lot. Zhao Yali began to feel hot and her face became even more rosy. She was a bit angry and ready to scold him but hesitated.

Luo Yuan tried to be serious again when he realized she was about to scold him, "Yes! This part of your muscles... feel it... and then check mine."

She bit her lip and remained silent. She looked at Luo Yuan suspiciously but he acted very seriously.

"Your legs! You have not mastered the right standing position! That’s the first step! It’s so important to get the right footing and it will depend on the speed of your attack." Luo Yuan explained.

He then squatted down and touched her thighs, "You didn’t use these muscles just now, practice this again later."

He seemed to have touched a sensitive spot and it caused her to gasp! She felt her body turning numb and said, "I’m feeling tired, I’m going back to rest."

"It’s not done yet." Luo Yuan replied instantly.

At this point, Zhao Yali understood his true intentions and pushed him away. She then said, "Another day then. I’m not... I’m not ready today."

Luo Yuan quickly grabbed her into his arms and said gently, "I’ve already been captivated by you the first time I met you, but you were someone else’s fiancé so I could not pursue you. Finally, I had the chance to spend a night with you after the apocalypse which was unforgettable. Believe it or not, you occupy a special place in my life."

"What’s so good about me? I’m just a weak abandoned woman." Zhao Yali bit her lip and asked.

"I have no idea, but you just make me want to protect you so badly." Luo Yuan continued, "You don’t know how charming you are."

"I don’t believe you." Zhao Yali said.

"I mean it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have killed so many people that day just to save you." Luo Yuan said.

Zhao Yali was being courted and she suddenly felt that her chest was cold. She did not even realize that her shirt was already removed.

Her face became even more rosy and she quickly grabbed her shirt which was going to fall and said, "Are you crazy? They will find out!"

"Don’t worry, we are far enough." Luo Yuan was holding his excitement and said.

"It’s embarrassing to do it here! How am I going to face them if they find out?" Zhao Yali whispered.

"They won’t hear us as long as we lower our voices." Luo Yuan tried to persuade her as he whispered into her ear. At the same time, his hand already impatiently lifted her snowy thigh up and locked it on his waist.

Zhao Yali realized the familiarity of his words as she just said the exact thing to him earlier. However, she had no time to figure out what to do in the next second. She moaned as he began to explore her body. Her mind went blank and her soul was following the rhythm of his actions.

The very last bit of her rationale made her cover her mouth and what was left were deep moans in the dark.

...

Zhao Yali was lying on the ground with rosy skin and she felt as though she had just finished a free combat battle.

"Are you alright?" Luo Yuan asked.

She glared at Luo Yuan for a second and quickly put on her clothes. She noticed that there was a wet puddle on the ground with a nasty scent. She felt embarrassed and repeatedly stomped on the puddle to try to hide it.

Luo Yuan smiled as he looked at her shy expression. He then said, "Leave it to me, the sun is coming up."

"It’s all your fault! I’m leaving now." Zhao Yali was mad at him for making her feel embarrassed. She quickly ran away.