Magical Beast Mountain Range, a mountain path.
A man and a woman were walking forward, huddled close together.
"Are you scared?"
Ye Shu glanced at Lin Qingxue.
At this moment, she was clinging tightly to his arm, her large eyes darting left and right. At the slightest rustle of the wind or grass, she looked as if she wanted to roll into his arms and hide.
From the moment the explosion sounded, Ye Shu noticed that Lin Qingxue was terrified.
"Th... that..."
Lin Qingxue blushed and whispered, "Can you hold me... I feel like it's very dangerous here. Should we take a different route?"
"Even I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"
Ye Shu was speechless.
He was obviously the one being hunted, alright? Anyone who didn't know better would think Lin Qingxue was the one being chased.
"I'm not scared at all!"
Lin Qingxue stubbornly retorted, but her eyes were fixed on the direction of the explosion, her ears perked high.
Could she really tell Ye Shu?
In her previous life, out of jealousy over the ambiguous relationship between Feng Mengli and Ye Shu, she had secretly slipped some drug into Ye Shu's grilled fish. To her dismay, it turned out to be an aphrodisiac, making her stomp her feet in anger.
Later, when Feng Mengli found out... she almost hacked her to death.
If Ye Shu hadn't stopped her, she definitely would have died.
Really!
Even after that, she and Feng Mengli were at each other's throats, both wishing they could eliminate the other as soon as possible.
In this life, she didn't know if the other party had been reborn as well.
But looking at this situation happening three months early, it was highly likely she had been reborn and was looking for her lover ahead of time.
Then she... was a love rival in Feng Mengli's eyes!
And a love rival who hadn't even fully grown yet!
So, facing the reborn Feng Mengli, there was likely only one outcome for her... and that was being hacked to death.
Therefore, she had to firmly rely on Ye Shu. Only by leveraging her relationship with him could she barely survive when facing Feng Mengli.
At this time, Lin Qingxue hadn't realized something.
Feng Mengli was very likely here to kill Ye Shu. In her eyes, the reborn Feng Mengli was probably still Ye Shu's confidante.
But even if she realized it, it would be useless.
Because after Feng Mengli hacked Ye Shu to death, the second person she would kill would be the culprit who ruined her innocence!
Lin Qingxue's eyes suddenly darted around, and she said, "Let me ask you, did you hear the explosion?"
"I heard it, what's wrong?" Ye Shu nodded.
"Let me tell you, there's a very, very bad woman over there. You absolutely must not go over. She brushes her teeth without washing her face, washes her face without brushing her teeth, eats rice without dishes, eats dishes without rice, and she even likes to steal candy from children. In short, she's a very, very bad woman."
Lin Qingxue bluffed with a straight face.
She had to ruthlessly smear Feng Mengli's image before Ye Shu met her, so as to increase her own chances of survival.
"Also, she has a grudge against me, the kind where she wants to kill me!"
"But she's a sucker for good looks, so she'll definitely fall in love with you at first sight. You have to protect me, you know?"
"Otherwise... otherwise you won't have anyone to be your sparring partner!"
Lin Qingxue waved her small fists, speaking with absolute certainty, making up nonsense with a straight face.
Hearing this, Ye Shu's mouth twitched.
Love at first sight?
A sword sealing the throat was more like it.
However, he didn't say much. Instead, he held his breath, wrapped one arm around Lin Qingxue, and whispered, "Don't speak."
"What's wrong?" Lin Qingxue was stunned.
Ye Shu didn't answer. He just tiptoed forward. Ahead was a patch of low shrubs. Not far away, clearer roars could be heard, sounding like wild beasts expressing fear and trying to intimidate something.
At the same time, there was also a slightly immature beast's roar.
Lin Qingxue also subconsciously held her breath and quietly observed.
Only then did she notice that Ye Shu hadn't followed the route from her previous life to find Feng Mengli at all; instead, he had taken a completely different path.
If he wasn't looking for Feng Mengli, what was he doing here?
Parting the bushes, the view suddenly opened up.
In front of a natural stone cave, several wolf beasts with silver-white fur were tensing their backs, baring their fangs, and letting out low growls toward the inside of the cave.
In front of the cave was a creature that looked like a lion cub.
However, its fur was purple, glossy and shiny, sparkling in the sunlight. At the end of its long tail was a purple crystal resembling a star, emitting a faint fluorescence.
At this moment, it was crouching on all fours, one paw anxiously scratching the ground. Its fur stood on end as it let out fiercely cute low growls at the silver-backed wind wolves.
Even though it was just a cub, it forcefully intimidated the pack of wolves.
"Is this... the Amethyst Lion King's lair?"
Xiaobai suddenly widened her eyes and asked curiously, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for Feng Mengli?"
"Why would I look for her?"
Ye Shu gave her a speechless look.
"Whether Feng Mengli is truly luring me or faking it, she has to use her real body to draw away the Amethyst Lion King, who is at the same level as her."
"So at this very moment, the safest place is actually the Amethyst Lion King's lair. Besides, there probably isn't any fortuitous encounter more valuable than the hoard of a rank-five magical beast, right?"
"You..."
Xiaobai was completely shocked by him.
That... that made so much sense, she couldn't refute it.
Ye Shu's gaze deepened. After confirming that there were only that small beast and the few silver-backed wind wolves around, and no other threats, he flipped his right hand, and the Male Mandarin Duck Sword, which had been gathering power for a long time, instantly slashed out.
Swish!
Three moon-white sword lights pierced through the air.
Without even letting out a single miserable cry, the heads of the three silver-backed wind wolves flew high into the air, blood spurting like pillars.
"Good thing I broke through to the ninth level in three days, otherwise dealing with these beasts would have been a bit troublesome," Ye Shu muttered softly as he walked out from the bushes.
A rank-two magical beast was comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If he hadn't reached the ninth level in three days, if he hadn't gained experience fighting Lin Qingxue, and if he hadn't obtained the Male Mandarin Duck Sword.
Even with a sneak attack, it wouldn't have been this easy and effortless.
"Awoo?"
Seeing the wolf demons fall, the purple-furred small beast first tilted its head in confusion, then saw Ye Shu walking out from the bushes, and a flash of wariness instantly crossed its eyes.
"Awoo..."
The small beast let out a warning low growl.
"This is... the Amethyst Lion King's lair?"
Lin Qingxue also crawled out of the bushes. She curiously glanced at the small beast baring its two canine teeth, and her heart immediately melted at its fiercely cute appearance.
"So cute!" Lin Qingxue exclaimed.
She subconsciously wanted to reach out and pet the small beast's head, but someone beat her to it.
"What is this thing? Male or female?"
Ye Shu was seen lifting the purple-furred small beast high up by the scruff of its neck with one hand, curiously examining it up and down.
The small beast's four limbs kicked helplessly in the air.
Despicable human!
Just wait until Papa comes back, I'll definitely show him!
"Eek???!!!!"
Suddenly, the small beast's body stiffened.
Because Ye Shu was curiously spreading its hind legs, seemingly studying the little guy's gender.
"Awoo woo woo!"
The small beast covered its vital parts with its two small paws in shame and indignation, but it still couldn't block Ye Shu's curiosity.
Today, he really had to see if this thing was male or female.
Sliiiip~
"Eek!!!!"
"Ohohohohohohoho!!!"
The little beast suddenly let out a sharp shriek, rolled its eyes straight back into its head, stuck out half its tongue, and collapsed limply to the ground.
Ye Shu smacked his lips. Under the shocked gazes of Lin Qingxue and Xiaobai, he said nonchalantly,
"Based on my experience, this is a female beast."