Chapter 295: Junior Sister, Lingering Fear
The sky was dyed red by the setting sun. Beside them flowed a serene river, and two horses raced along the ancient road.
“Drive!” said Ye Anping, gripping the reins tightly as he urged the horse forward, fleeing eastward along the road.
Since leaving the city at dawn, their steed had maintained its full speed. Pei Lianxue, seated in front, occasionally fed him sugar cubes, while Feng Yudie, behind, clung tightly to Ye Anping’s waist, fearing the bumpy ride might throw her off.
Su Wan’er chased after them on a small horse, finally voicing her frustration at their frantic pace—”Hey!! Why the rush? My horse is nearly spent.”
Ye Anping glanced back, seeing Su Wan’er’s horse panting from exhaustion. He reined in, coming to an abrupt stop.
Feng Yudie, not paying attention, buried her face behind Ye Anping.
“Awww~” She exclaimed, rubbing her reddened nose, then pinched Ye Anping’s waist hard in complaint.
“Sorry, will slow down next time,” Ye Anping apologized casually. “We’re almost there. Let’s rest here tonight and continue tomorrow morning.”
Su Wan’er caught up, halting her horse and raising her eyebrows in inquiry, “Master Ye, why the rush? Horses can cover five hundred miles in a day. At this pace, they’ll be spent before reaching Tainan City.”
“Who said we’re in a hurry? We’re on the run.”
Su Wan’er was confused and looked back at the distant Yu Guan City and asked, “Running from what? Monsters!”
Ye Anping dismounted, helping Pei Lianxue and Feng Yudie off the horse before smiling and saying, “Miss Su, care for a bet! Let’s bet five hundred spirit stones on whether Yu Guan City can hold out for ten days.”
Su Wan’er raised an eyebrow, agreeing without hesitation. “What’s to bet? Yu Guan is a frontier city of the Central Domain. Despite the low cultivation levels of the disciples there, they have defensive formations set up by the Central Domain Emperor Sect. Even if ninth-level monsters attack, they won’t break through…”
Boom–!
Before she could finish her words, a dim spiritual light shot up from within Yu Guan City, accompanied by a thunderous roar that seemed to split the heavens. In an instant, black clouds descended upon the city, dispersing the red clouds on the horizon with flashes of crimson lightning.
The sound came first, followed closely by the fierce wind. Two horses, one black and one white, immediately became agitated, rearing up and whinnying,
“Neigh~~~~”
Su Wan’er was stunned, and was thrown to the ground along with her horse.
Ye Anping quickly grabbed hold of his steed’s reins, soothing it with gentle pats on the neck,
“Whoa~~Whoa——”
Sitting on the ground, Su Wan’er stared at the spiritual light rising in Yu Guan City, her eyes widening in disbelief, unable to snap out of it for quite some time. Though it was her first sighting, she grasped its significance at once, that spiritual light was none other than the city’s defensive formation.
The city’s defensive formation, crafted by four virtuous monks a millennium ago, was originally meant to fend off demonic cultivators. However, after Immortal Danyue and her allies drove away these cultivators, the formation had become little more than a relic.
Yet, now, the city lord of Yu Guan had activated it. Su Wan’er hadn’t anticipated witnessing the activation of this ancient formation in her lifetime. Amidst her wonder, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow—If the city lord had resorted to such measures, it meant the invaders were no ordinary threat, certainly not mere beasts. She instantly regretted her bet with Ye Anping over those five hundred spirit stones.
With the city activating its defense formation, it was teetering on the brink. This was only the first day of the beast calamity!
Had she not accompanied Ye Anping, she would have been trapped inside by the protective formation.
Su Wan’er rose slowly, glancing at Ye Anping and his companions setting up camp. Fear mingled with curiosity in her gaze.
Who were they?
Where had they obtained their information? News of the beasts attacking the city wasn’t even circulating on the black market… How had they come by this knowledge? Divination! But divination couldn’t possibly provide such detailed insights.
And what about yesterday, when they set a trap for her? It had felt all wrong, every move aimed precisely at her vulnerabilities. If not for the three fools from the Heavenly Execution Court intervening, she would have been caught.
They knew the Thief Immortal’s escape technique couldn’t carry others. They knew the limits of his star-picking ability…
And now, they knew what was happening in Yu Guan…
The questions swirled in Su Wan’er’s mind as she watched, torn between fear and intrigue.
Su Wan’er’s original plan had been to cozy up to Ye Anping first, then follow them into the wilderness, strip them naked, and make her escape to avenge yesterday’s beating. Plus, that black-haired girl had the Snow Spirit Sword, which looked very valuable.
But now…
She felt it was necessary to change her plans.
If Yu Guan fell, it would surely spark turmoil in the Central Domain. And when it came to profiting in times of war, intelligence was paramount. This Ye fellow seemed well-informed, so there must be benefits in tagging along with him.
And even if there were any issues, she could just grab that seemingly clueless girl’s spirit sword and make her escape.
“Hmm…”
Su Wan’er thought her plan was pure genius. With that in mind, she stood up, dusted herself off, and approached them, asking,
“Master Ye, shouldn’t we move a bit further away? It might be too close here.”
“Do you want to carry your horse on your back?”
Su Wan’er paused, glanced at her still panting little white horse, and smiled embarrassedly.
“Right. Well, among the four of us, I have the highest cultivation level, so I should be the one taking care of you. If you need help with anything, just ask.”
With that, she smiled and bowed to Pei Lianxue and Feng Yudie, who set up the tent.
“Let’s reintroduce ourselves. I’m Su Wan’er, just a casual cultivator.”
“Oh…” “Yeah.”
Feng Yudie and Pei Lianxue turned to acknowledge her, but couldn’t help glancing at her chest.
Ye Anping glanced at Su Wan’er’s face, almost instantly understanding her intentions, and smiled faintly.
“Miss Su, can I trouble you with something now?”
“Just say it.”
Ye Anping pointed to a dry forest nearby and smiled.
“Would you mind going to the forest to help us gather some firewood? It gets quite cold in the desert at night.”
“…”
Su Wan’er listened for a moment, and then her eye twitched.
Sure, she did say to call her if they needed anything, but that was just politeness. She was a cultivator in the early stage of core formation, a couple of realms higher than this boy. How dare he order her around like this?
Chop wood! Seriously!
She thought, enduring the urge to retort. After all, she had to play along for now.
“Sure.”
Seeing that she agreed, Ye Anping glanced at Feng Yudie and added, “Then Miss Su, please hunt down a chicken. Senior Sister Feng likes to eat roasted chicken.”
“Hiss—,” Su Wan’er smiled, “That’s okay~ I’ll look for it along the way…”
Ye Anping, not one to hold back, took out three water bags from the storage bag and handed them to her, saying, “Also, there’s a small lake three miles east. Could you also help us fetch some water, Miss Su?”
“…OK.”
Endure!! Endure for now, and brighter days will come!
The benefits from this boy were worth the trouble!
With a stiff face, Su Wan’er took the water bags and walked away. Watching Su Wan’er head towards the dead forest to the east, Ye Anping smiled bitterly, shook his head, and murmured, “Well, it takes no effort at all…”
Feng Yudie approached Ye Anping after Su Wan’er left and asked, “Young Master Ye, why is that person so shameless? She insists on following us. We are not familiar with her.”
“It must be the Thief Immortal we met yesterday,” Pei Lianxue, who was setting up a tent, interjected, “Brother, am I right?”
Ye Anping was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected his junior sister to figure it out and asked, “How did you guess, junior sister?”
Pei Lianxue felt a bit proud of her accurate guess and explained, “Considering your personality, Senior Brother, you would never agree to let a stranger tag along. If it’s not because you like her, it must be because of her special identity. Since it’s impossible for you to like her, it must be the latter… combined with what happened last night, it’s likely to be the Thief Immortal.”
Feng Yudie paused, then asked, “Why is it impossible for you to like her?”
“…”
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow, ignoring Feng Yudie’s question, and smiled as he continued, “When did you become so clever, junior sister?”
“I’ve always been clever,” Pei Lianxue retorted.
“Yes, yes,” Ye Anping shrugged, then turned to the dumbfounded Feng Yudie. “So, you should be careful in the future. Don’t take out anything unnecessarily, or you might lose it to her.”
Feng Yudie paused, then asked, “Thief Immortal… Young Master Ye…”
“What?” Ye Anping raised an eyebrow.
“So, were her breasts real yesterday, or are they real today?”
Ye Anping blinked, tilted his head, and frowned. “Are you curious about this?”
“I am curious!”
“Stop being curious,” Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her and changed the subject. “How is your training going with the Mysterious Yin Technique?”
Feng Yudie’s face lit up with a silly smile. “Ah… I’m practicing what I’ve been practicing, hehe -”
Ye Anping shook his head helplessly, removed a cushion from his storage bag, and said, “Go and practice the technique yourself. Before we reach Tainan City, you must master the first volume of the Mysterious Yin Technique. Got it! Practice it for three weeks first. If you don’t finish it, you won’t be allowed to eat roast chicken for a while.”
“Ah…”
“What’s with the ah?” Ye Anping frowned, grabbed Feng Yudie’s face, and scolded sternly, “Practice quickly!”
“Oh…”
Feng Yudie quickly opened Ye Anping’s hand, feeling somewhat dejected, and then sat on the cushion, meditating and practicing the Mysterious Yin Technique. Pei Lianxue watched the interaction between the two and pursed her lips slightly, feeling uneasy in her heart.
When they were heading to the Sword Sect, Ye Anping told her that Feng Yudie didn’t like him but liked her. So, since then, she hadn’t seen Feng Yudie as a love rival, just found her quite annoying.
But on the way from the Xuanxing Sect to the Central Domain, she had noticed that her senior brother and Feng Yudie seemed much closer than before…
Her senior brother would encourage Feng Yudie to practice, always remembered to buy her roast chicken, and sometimes whispered to her about something called Xiao Tian, afraid she might overhear…
When did it start? After returning from the Moon Shadow Sword Sect?
Did something happen between the senior brother and Feng Yudie in the Moon Shadow Sword Sect without her knowledge?
…
