Bai Muyao did not possess much combat experience. Thirteen years ago, she had been but a lowly cultivator in the Qi Refining stage. Although her cultivation level had skyrocketed since then, her lack of practical battle experience had become her literal Achilles’ heel.
“Bai Muyao, watch out!”
As the monster beast was on the verge of defeat, it unleashed a final, desperate shockwave. Most of the experienced cultivators had already sensed the danger and retreated rapidly. Bai Muyao, however, was caught off guard. Compounded by the difficulty of communicating amidst the heat of battle, she was struck directly by the aftershock and slammed heavily into the ground.
Shi Shuyan rushed over immediately, her voice laced with concern. “Are you alright? I should have warned you sooner.” As the team leader, she felt a pang of self-reproach.
Bai Muyao shook her head and managed a strained smile. “It was my own carelessness. I don’t blame you.”
With Shi Shuyan’s support, Bai Muyao sat up and began to meditate to regulate her breathing. The team required a period of rest, and the others sat down one after another to recover their spiritual energy.
Bai Muyao noticed “Senior” the fox approaching. The creature stared at her with a detached expression. Whenever she was gazed at like this, Bai Muyao couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. It reminded her of the sessions she used to have with Xu Qing; back then, she had been just as tense.
The little fox merely cast a glance at her before sauntering over to a nearby tree to rest in the shade. Bai Muyao then focused entirely on her meditation.
Xu Qing, meanwhile, had identified the problem. While Bai Muyao was clever in certain respects, her combat experience was far too meager. As a cultivator in the late Golden Core stage, she shouldn’t have been in such a pathetic state. Whether it was the man’s sneak attack earlier or the monster beast’s offensive just now, Bai Muyao seemed out of her depth.
However, Xu Qing made a firm resolution yet again! She would not intervene to help as easily as she had before. She had accompanied Bai Muyao to the Monster Beast Mountains to clarify her own feelings to understand why the girl’s departure had caused her such distress that it affected her own cultivation. But that was where she drew the line.
Gazing at Bai Muyao, Xu Qing calculated that she would finish this leg of the journey through the mountains before deciding whether to stay or leave.
As Bai Muyao meditated, Xu Qing began to feel bored. At that moment, someone walked up to her. It was Shi Shuyan, the team leader.
Shi Shuyan was in the middle Soul Transformation (Yuan Ying) stage. There were only two Soul Transformation cultivators in the group: Shi Shuyan and Shi Hua, the latter of whom was in the late stage.
Shi Shuyan was brimming with curiosity regarding the little fox. A creature that could sever the arm of a Golden Core cultivator in a single strike was clearly no ordinary spirit beast. Yet, no matter how she probed with her spiritual energy, she couldn’t detect anything unusual about the fox.
Such a situation meant only one of two things: either the fox was truly ordinary, or its cultivation was far superior to hers perhaps even reaching the late Great Awakening (Da Cheng) stage. But such powerhouses were few and far beneath the heavens, and the ones Shi Shuyan knew were all prominent figures of great sects. Why would such a person appear here? An individual of that caliber could not only kill her in one hit but could likely wipe out the entire team without breaking a sweat.
Shi Shuyan crouched down and asked the little fox, “Can you… understand my words?”
Some spirit beasts endowed with natural intelligence could understand human speech. However, the little fox remained completely unmoved.
Shi Shuyan asked again, “Are you following Bai Muyao because she attracts you?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed the fox’s pointed ears twitch ever so slightly. She couldn’t tell if it was a natural reaction or a sign that the creature actually understood her.
Shi Shuyan sighed. “Forget it. How silly of me to talk to a spirit beast.”
Suddenly, Shi Hua came running over in a hurry, shouting, “Captain Shi! Quick, go check on Bai Muyao! She looks like something is wrong!”
Xu Qing’s brow furrowed, and she immediately stood up, ready to move. Shi Shuyan had already surged her spiritual energy and vanished in a flash. Xu Qing felt helpless; unable to use her spiritual energy, she had to follow on foot and was naturally a step behind.
When she arrived at Bai Muyao’s side, she saw Shi Shuyan supporting her.
“Are you okay?” Shi Shuyan asked with concern.
Bai Muyao opened her eyes, looking a bit surprised. “I’m fine, I was just adjusting my breathing.”
Shi Shuyan frowned slightly. “Are you sure? Do you need help?”
Bai Muyao shook her head. “No need.”
The little fox jumped lightly onto Bai Muyao and sniffed her nose gently. Bai Muyao wasn’t in serious trouble; the internal injury would heal after a period of rest. Seeing that she was safe, Shi Shuyan stood up. “As long as you’re okay.”
She turned toward Shi Hua, who had arrived late and was hurriedly hiding a piece of white paper.
Shi Hua said urgently, “Fellow Daoist Bai must be careful. I saw how worried Captain Shi was she was frantic the moment she heard you were in trouble!”
Hearing this, Bai Muyao hurried to offer her thanks. “Thank you, Senior Shi!”
Shi Shuyan waved it off. “It’s nothing. As the leader, I am responsible for everyone.”
Shi Hua chimed in smoothly, “Fellow Daoist Bai is still new to the world and doesn’t know much. Why doesn’t Captain Shi teach her a bit? It would make her worthy of being called ‘Senior’.”
Bai Muyao wanted to decline the offer, but Shi Shuyan spoke first. “You’re right. Bai Muyao has just entered the world of cultivation and needs to be more cautious.” She then turned to Bai Muyao. “Tonight during rest, I’ll come find you and tell you about the beasts you need to watch out for in the valley.”
Since things had reached this point, Bai Muyao found it hard to refuse. She had struggled even against a low-level beast today. If she encountered a high-level one later and got injured, her mission to find the fragments in the deep mountains would be jeopardized. To obtain the fragments, she had to be careful.
“Thank you, Senior Shi,” Bai Muyao said gratefully.
Shi Shuyan nodded in satisfaction and left.
Xu Qing was extremely displeased. To her, these monster beasts were no different from tiny insects. Why did Bai Muyao need someone else to teach her? If teaching was required, she could do it! Unfortunately, she was currently a fox and couldn’t communicate with Bai Muyao, let alone instruct her.
“Senior…”
Bai Muyao’s voice interrupted Xu Qing’s thoughts. Xu Qing looked up to see Bai Muyao looking a bit embarrassed. “I want to stand up.”
Only then did Xu Qing realize she was still standing on Bai Muyao’s body. She hopped off. By the time Bai Muyao stood up, the little fox had already disappeared.
“Does Senior have something to do…?” Bai Muyao wondered before continuing her meditation.
Xu Qing concealed her presence and crept to a secluded corner. There she found Shi Hua hiding, clutching her paper and pen, sketching rapidly. Xu Qing leaped up and caught a glimpse of the paper. It depicted two people in an intimate, ambiguous pose.
The two people were Bai Muyao and Shi Shuyan.
Xu Qing was baffled. She couldn’t understand what Shi Hua was up to.
Shi Hua was muttering to herself. “Hehe, yes, just like that. Should I add some dialogue?”
“Ah~ Senior Shi, a bit lighter there…” “Bai Muyao, I won’t let you die!”
Shi Hua giggled. “Yes, exactly!”
Xu Qing frowned. Seeing Shi Hua in this dark corner, acting so strangely, she looked nothing like a normal person. Once Shi Hua finished her drawing, she laughed toward the sky. “Once I give this ‘evidence’ to Senior Sister Xu Qing, Bai Muyao won’t be able to explain herself even if she has a hundred mouths!”
So that’s it.
Xu Qing understood Shi Hua’s intention. She wanted to fabricate evidence of Bai Muyao being intimate with someone else and report it to her, attempting to drive a wedge between them. Xu Qing thought to herself that she and Bai Muyao weren’t even close, so Shi Hua’s efforts were in vain.
At the same time, she realized that the time she had saved Bai Muyao must have been witnessed by Shi Hua. In her anger at the time, she hadn’t considered that possibility—it was a careless oversight. Shi Hua had evidently deduced there was a connection between them.
Hmph, boring.
Xu Qing was about to leave but stopped, staring at Shi Hua’s back thoughtfully.
As night fell, Shi Shuyan ordered the team to rest in place. Monster beasts were active at night, and a single mistake could endanger everyone. She set up a barrier around the camp to ensure no surprise attacks.
Bai Muyao went to see Shi Shuyan as agreed. However, Shi Shuyan still had matters to attend to and asked her to wait a moment. Bai Muyao sat down and started to daze out.
The little fox came to her side. Seeing her staring blankly, Xu Qing was suddenly reminded of their past. Whenever she had been reading scrolls, Bai Muyao would be dazing out beside her. It seemed she had often left the girl hanging like this.
Xu Qing felt a slight tightness in her chest, but she had work to do. She walked to the girl’s feet.
“Senior, you’re back!” Bai Muyao said.
The little fox looked left and right before biting down on the corner of Bai Muyao’s robe.
“Hmm?” Bai Muyao was confused. “Senior, are you trying to take me somewhere?”
“But… I have to wait for Senior Shi to return.”
The little fox’s expression immediately became resentful, and her tugging became more determined. Bai Muyao looked toward Shi Shuyan, saw she was still busy, and sighed. “Then… we have to be quick!”
Bai Muyao followed the fox. Xu Qing had secretly hidden both of their auras, something Bai Muyao didn’t even notice.
She was led to a hidden corner. There she saw a person crouching, seemingly observing something in the dark. Upon closer inspection, it was Shi Hua. Bai Muyao followed Shi Hua’s line of sight it was the spot where she and Shi Shuyan were supposed to have their talk.
Was this a coincidence?
She didn’t have time to think. The little fox suddenly lunged at Shi Hua and snatched several pages of paper right out of her pocket!
Caught by surprise, Shi Hua was horrified. “My drawings! What’s happening?”
Before she could gather her spiritual energy to strike back, the little fox had already dashed back to Bai Muyao’s side with the papers in her mouth.