Just as Qin Buan was hesitating over whether she should take the little fox with her, the little fox, which had still carried a hint of sinister intent moments ago, suddenly seemed to have all its strength drained away. Its entire body went limp, and it fell heavily from the bamboo couch.
Qin Buan did not have time to worry about anything else. She bent down and picked it up from the floor, carefully examining it from head to toe. Only after confirming that its life was not in danger did she finally relax.
【Bad news. The female protagonist’s life is in critical danger. Host, hurry and make progress with the mission!】 The system urged her urgently in its calm voice.
“What happened to Shen Yihuan again?”
Qin Buan was already anxious on both fronts. She had not even found the missing male protagonist yet, and now she was being told that the female protagonist was on the verge of death.
However, the system had no intention of letting her off and deliberately added fuel to the fire.
【Host, please do not forget the original storyline or the original character setting.】
Qin Buan: …
Forget?
How could she possibly forget?
She was practically ready to grab a loudspeaker and announce to the entire world that she, Qin Buan, had dug a pit and tricked them into coming to the Demon Realm, only to become a victim of her own cleverness and fall into this predicament.
Oh, right. Even if everyone condemned her, Qin Buan still had to curl her lips and imitate the original Qin Buan, spitting out three contemptuous words.
“None of your business?”
“Yingyingying…”
At that moment, the little fox let out a soft whimper. It curled up in Qin Buan’s arms, its snow white fox ears drooping weakly as they trembled in pain.
People said that foxes had the most delicate and endearing voices. Qin Buan finally understood what they meant today. The sound stirred up enormous waves in her normally calm heart.
Even if it was not for herself, but for the little fox, she had to hurry and rescue the male and female protagonists and return to the sect.
The system immediately saw that the person who had been utterly dejected moments ago was now full of energy, her eyes fixed straight ahead.
“Let us save the male protagonist first. Where is he?” Qin Buan asked.
The system was speechless.
【Fifty meters away in a straight line.】
This was the rear palace of the Golden Hall. Fifty meters ahead was a towering cliff that seemed to reach into the clouds, while behind her stretched a vast and boundless garden.
Qin Buan searched around and finally narrowed down the male protagonist’s location to the flower field.
The flower field here was different from those in other places, where hundreds of flowers bloomed in a riot of colors. This one was extremely monotonous. As far as the eye could see, purple spirit fragrance grass covered the entire field like stars in the night. It swayed gently in the breeze, producing a soft rustling sound that created a tranquil atmosphere.
Qin Buan muttered, “Xie Mucheng actually has pretty good taste.”
In a place she did not notice, the little fox’s drooping ears slowly perked up.
The spirit fragrance grass covering the entire field also created a problem for her.
The densely packed flowers reached waist height in some places. If someone had entered the field or was hiding inside it, finding them in the deep night would be extremely difficult.
What was more, Qin Buan was worried that when Ye Que saw that the person approaching was her, he might immediately draw his sword and kill her.
Her concern was not unfounded. The original Qin Buan had offended far too many people. She had bullied both the male and female protagonists equally. If not for the fact that she was the only daughter of the Second Elder, she would have died countless times already.
Qin Buan asked, “System, can you pinpoint him more precisely?”
The system fell silent for a moment before answering.
【Host, walk ten steps toward the northeast.】
Qin Buan did as instructed and sure enough, she saw Ye Que lying in the flower field, barely clinging to life.
When Ye Que saw that it was her, he immediately picked up the sword lying beside him and viciously swung it toward Qin Buan without saying a word.
Unfortunately, he had suffered severe injuries and his body could no longer keep up with his intentions. The sword merely grazed the edge of Qin Buan’s clothes before falling.
He still wanted to repeat the same attack. Qin Buan held the little fox with one arm and grabbed his wrist with the other. She exerted force with her palm and twisted downward.
Ye Que cried out in pain and released his grip. The sword slipped from his hand.
Ye Que glared at her indignantly.
“You have already harmed me to this extent. What more do you want?”
Qin Buan did not want to explain too much to him. After all, they were still on Xie Mucheng’s territory. If they were discovered, there would be no way for them to escape.
“Just consider it this young lady showing a rare moment of kindness. What else can I say?” Qin Buan imitated the original character’s tone and expression, speaking lazily and carelessly. “If you want to stay here and wait for death, I will not force you. In any case, if you do not leave soon, I am afraid Shen Yihuan’s life will also end up in Xie Mucheng’s hands.”
The moment Ye Que heard Shen Yihuan’s name, his gaze became sharp.
“What do you mean?”
Qin Buan curled her lips, her almond shaped eyes filled with amusement as she casually replied, “Exactly what I said.”
Ye Que gritted his teeth angrily.
“What have you done to her? Whatever anger or hatred you have, you can take it all out on me. Why would you do anything to her?”
Qin Buan almost laughed from anger.
“If I wanted to kill her, why would I come all the way here to tell you? Besides, how much do you think your life is worth? You are seriously injured and probably cannot even hold a sword right now. How much effort do you think it would take me to kill you?”
Her tone suddenly softened slightly.
“Fellow Disciple Ye, why bother? Cannot we just let bygones be bygones?”
It seemed like an offhand remark, but Qin Buan was actually using it to test Ye Que’s attitude.
She had to know how badly the relationship between them had deteriorated in the male protagonist’s eyes.
After hearing her words, Ye Que indeed stopped struggling to pick up his sword and kill her. His face remained cold, and his disgust was written plainly across it as he said coldly, “I will temporarily believe your honeyed words. Once we return to the sect, the elders will deal with you.”
Qin Buan: …
Why did that sound so familiar? She was not sure, but she felt as though she had heard it somewhere before.
Perhaps this was why they were the male and female protagonists. The first stable thing they could agree on was always reporting her to the elders.
Qin Buan narrowed her eyes with tears of frustration and refused to back down.
“None of your business?”
She then stroked the little fox’s head and turned around to leave.
After walking several meters without hearing any footsteps behind her, Qin Buan’s thoughts shifted. She turned around and saw a handsome man over six feet tall slowly moving through the flower field with the support of his sword.
Qin Buan took a deep breath, hurried over to Ye Que, planted her hands on her hips, and asked, “Fellow Disciple Ye, how old are you this year?”
Ye Que choked and pretended not to hear her.
Ye Que had just gone through a fierce battle and was covered in wounds.
His white sect robes were stained red with blood, while his black hair was tied behind his head. The collar of his robe had been torn terribly by the sword. Looking closely, even his lower leg, which was supporting him on the ground, was trembling.
Qin Buan could not bear to see it. She instinctively stepped forward and supported him, speaking before her brain could catch up.
“I will help you.”
As soon as the words fell, both of them froze.
There was no sarcasm or mockery hidden in those words. Her concern sounded calm and natural, just like that of an ordinary person.
Ye Que looked at her suspiciously, unable to understand how Qin Buan could suddenly speak like a normal person. In that brief instant, he accurately caught the lingering regret in her eyes.
Qin Buan also knew that she had almost exposed herself. Under Ye Que’s suspicious gaze, she stubbornly lifted her chin and quickly added, “I just do not want to wait until you reach Shen Yihuan and all the blood has drained from her body.”
Qin Buan added another sentence.
“Of course, I am not worried about her life. She is my father’s disciple, and if she dies, my father will be saddened. I simply do not want my father to be sad.”
Ye Que stared deeply at her, seemingly scrutinizing every word she had said.
Afraid that he would discover something, Qin Buan hurriedly brought Shen Yihuan into the conversation to divert his attention.
“She is over there.”
Following the direction of Qin Buan’s finger, they saw a white figure moving among the trees in the dense forest atop the cliff.
The system offered a friendly reminder.
【Host, the original character’s combat ability has not been weakened. You can still use it.】
Qin Buan naturally understood what it meant. Without hesitation, she wrapped her right arm around Ye Que, held the little fox with her left arm, and leaped onto the cliff, landing steadily behind Shen Yihuan.
Shen Yihuan was still fighting with Xie Mucheng. Xie Mucheng truly deserved to be called one of the top bosses in the novel. Even though this was only a tiny strand of his puppet consciousness, he was still overwhelming Shen Yihuan, forcing her into an obvious disadvantage.
Seeing this, Ye Que became anxious. He struggled to raise his sword and rush forward to help.
Qin Buan put aside her desire to help and did not stop him.
Ye Que did not disappoint her either. He had barely taken a few steps before collapsing to the ground. The injuries covering his entire body made even the slightest movement feel as though his bones were being eaten away.
Qin Buan chose a secluded corner and placed the little fox down. She carefully used grass and plants as cover and hid it there.
Before leaving, the little fox seemed to sense something and somehow found enough strength to open its eyes. In the pitch black night, its golden pupils shimmered with an unusual light.
Qin Buan thought it was looking at her, so she raised her hand and gently stroked its fur.
“I will be back soon. Do not be afraid.”
Although she had already touched it several times, that strange sensation still caused its body to curl up instinctively, while the nine tails behind it began swaying uncontrollably.
Yet it continued staring behind Qin Buan at Xie Mucheng’s puppet.
The puppet seemed to sense its summons. Its sword stopped in mid movement, and it suddenly raised its head.
At the same time, Shen Yihuan escaped from beneath its attack in a sorry state and ran toward Ye Que while gasping for breath.
Just then, dark clouds covered the moon. The blood moon slowly disappeared beneath the black clouds, and the night grew increasingly heavy, as though it could swallow every living creature.
The fox tail mark on Xie Mucheng’s forehead suddenly appeared. A flash of golden light passed through it, as though some kind of spiritual power had been injected into the puppet. Those originally vacant phoenix eyes suddenly became deep and unfathomable.
In an instant, the puppet seemed to have gained intelligence.
The way Xie Mucheng looked at her sent a chill down Qin Buan’s back.
Worried about the little fox’s safety, she prepared to move it somewhere else.
When she took the little fox out of the pile of grass, she found that the little fox, which had been awake moments earlier, had somehow closed its eyes and fallen asleep.
She did not think much of it and assumed that it had fainted again from its injuries. Wanting it to receive treatment as soon as possible, Qin Buan decided to deal with the matter at hand first.
She placed its fox tails beneath its body and moved it to another place to hide.
But no one could have expected that such a tiny action would cause Xie Mucheng’s puppet to unleash a powerful surge of spiritual energy toward her.
Qin Buan could not dodge in time and was struck against a tree. She barely managed to steady herself.
When she looked up, she saw Xie Mucheng’s puppet already flashing toward her. Its expression was complicated, seeming both angry and resentful.
Seeing this, Shen Yihuan shouted, “Move out of the way! Do you want to die?”
At this moment, Xie Mucheng’s puppet was exactly like the person Shen Yihuan had seen in the main hall earlier. The intimidating killing intent surrounding him had reached its peak in the darkness.
Xie Mucheng hated Qin Buan to the point of madness. He was determined to repay the humiliation she had inflicted upon him tonight.
This was merely his puppet, so it could only possess thirty percent of his spiritual power. Fortunately, the blood moon was obscured, allowing his divine consciousness to possess it. Those thirty percent had therefore increased to fifty percent.
Fifty percent of his spiritual power was more than enough to take the lives of these insignificant ants. When that happened, he would cut off Qin Buan’s hands and watch her bleed to death.
Qin Buan summoned her personal sword using the original character’s memories. With sword intent forming the edge, she barely managed to block his attacks.
“Strange.” Shen Yihuan frowned thoughtfully. “When I was fighting the puppet just now, I never saw it draw its sword to meet my attacks. Why is it different when facing her? It is almost as though the puppet has become a different person. Even Xie Mucheng’s sword spirit has appeared.”
Hearing this, Ye Que suddenly understood. His expression changed as he exclaimed, “Not good. It is Xie Mucheng!”
Shen Yihuan was puzzled.
“Senior Brother, you said that when Xie Mucheng injured you, he was seriously wounded himself. Why does he seem completely fine now?”
Ye Que lowered his brows, his expression filled with worry.
“I do not know either. But if it really is him, I am afraid Qin Buan is no match for him.”
At this moment, Qin Buan was beginning to feel powerless.
She barely blocked another attack, and the tip of her sword plunged into the ground. Leaning against it, she gasped heavily. When she tried to raise her sword again, she discovered that both arms were aching, and the sword in her hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Xie Mucheng, however, showed no sign of exhaustion. His sword brows were slightly raised, his red lips pressed together, and his fair face remained calm and composed. He was like a ghost in the darkness, or a cold and venomous snake, terrifying beyond words.
Qin Buan knew that she could not defeat him, so she immediately changed her expression.
“Demon Lord, actually, I would like to surrender.”
【Host, please restore the original character setting!】
The system’s warning quickly flashed through her mind.
Qin Buan felt as though her heart were being cut by a knife. She looked Xie Mucheng up and down before letting out a cold laugh.
“Just kidding. Someone like you is beneath this young lady.”
Xie Mucheng merely glanced at her indifferently. His phoenix eyes were deep and dark, revealing nothing of his emotions.