Seeing Yun Miao approaching with her sword, the Azure-Tusked Beast remained as indifferent as it had been before.It even opened its mouth wide in advance, as if waiting for Yun Miao to get close so it could swallow her whole in one gulp.Although the Azure-Tusked Beast appeared clumsy, Yun Miao remained cautious.She feigned an attack elsewhere with her sword, waiting until the beast was in a position from which it could hardly maneuver. Then, with a quick flick of her wrist, she lunged with the tip of her blade, thrusting it forcefully into the area beneath the beast’s neck.No matter how slow-witted it was, the Azure-Tusked Beast realized Yun Miao’s intent. It hurriedly shifted its massive body to the side to dodge.However, its movements were constrained by its sheer size. Unable to dodge in time, the tip of Yun Miao's sword pierced a small section beneath its neck.Almost simultaneously, the Azure-Tusked Beast’s high-pitched scream echoed through the night.Its body twisted violently, attempting to throw off the long sword that had pierced its skin.Fortunately for the beast, its earlier attempt to dodge had caused the sword tip to miss its mark slightly, making its current thrashing somewhat effective.As the Azure-Tusked Beast recoiled in a distorted manner, the long sword in Yun Miao's hand was pulled out from the flesh beneath its neck, and green mucus dripped from the tip of the blade.Yun Miao looked down at the mucus dripping onto the ground and frowned slightly.From the beast’s reaction just now, her guess had been correct.Yun Miao leaped toward the Azure-Tusked Beast again. But having learned its lesson, the beast was much more cautious than before. Facing Yun Miao's attack this time, it kept its weakness hidden.Clang— Clang—The blade struck the Azure-Tusked Beast's soft armor, letting out a series of metallic clangs. Frost-colored sword energy sliced through the night, the interplay of light and shadow looking like falling fireworks.During the exchange, Yun Miao noticed that the Azure-Tusked Beast’s movements seemed to have slowed down slightly.However, if she continued at this pace, trying to force an opening through a sustained offensive, they would likely be locked in a stalemate for quite a while. It would be much faster if someone were there to distract it.But at this moment, there was clearly no suitable candidate.If only Senior Brother hadn’t met with an accident.Yun Miao lamented inwardly while continuing to strike at the Azure-Tusked Beast.But in the next second, as if someone had heard her heart's cry, a figure in black appeared from the darkness, sword in hand.Yun Miao hadn't expected the person coming to her aid to be Xie Jue.In her astonishment, Yun Miao landed behind the Azure-Tusked Beast and met Xie Jue's eyes.In that brief glance, he seemed to read her intent with perfect unspoken understanding.Yun Miao swung her sword to make the next move, but Xie Jue spoke first."Miss Yun, my sword is not sharp enough."Yun Miao caught his meaning instantly.They would swap roles: Xie Jue would be responsible for distracting the Azure-Tusked Beast, while she would strike its vital spot.Yun Miao nodded to Xie Jue, who was a few paces away. She followed up with her movements but inconspicuously shifted her direction.Xie Jue also cooperated seamlessly, raising his sword and swinging at the Azure-Tusked Beast, continuing what Yun Miao had originally intended to do.Yun Miao stepped back to the side, no longer focusing on the main assault. Instead, she looked for an opportunity while executing perfunctory sword moves.She watched Xie Jue attack the Azure-Tusked Beast with ease, feeling somewhat surprised.Beyond the surprise, Xie Jue's sword techniques felt strangely familiar to her.Yun Miao deliberately ignored this intense sense of familiarity and focused all her energy on the Azure-Tusked Beast.It wasn't long before she found the right moment. Catching the beast off guard, she rushed forward with lightning speed and plunged the Unbound Boat into the skin beneath its neck without hesitation.Unlike the previous time where only the tip pierced the skin, Yun Miao drove nearly half the length of the Unbound Boat into the beast.If not for the Azure-Tusked Beast’s massive frame, this strike would have likely pierced right through it.The beast's reaction to this strike was even more violent.A shrill, agonizing scream erupted into the night almost instantly. The Azure-Tusked Beast's massive body began to deflate rapidly like a punctured ball. It spun several times in the air and bounced on the ground before finally coming to rest.The body, which had been larger than a bear, shrank to the size of a chick in the blink of an eye. This seemed to be a survival mechanism, much like a lizard shedding its tail to escape danger."Follow it! Don't let it escape!"Yun Miao acted decisively and took flight to give chase. Upon hearing her, Xie Jue followed suit.Under the hazy moonlight, the two closely pursued the miniature Azure-Tusked Beast."Catch!"Yun Miao pulled the Immortal-Binding Net from her sleeve and tossed a corner toward Xie Jue. Understanding her intent, Xie Jue reached out to catch it and threw the net toward the frantically fleeing Azure-Tusked Beast.Just as it seemed the beast was about to be caught in the Immortal-Binding Net, a thick, choking white smoke appeared out of thin air before them.Yun Miao quickly covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve, but the smoke still stung her eyes and made her cough twice.Beside her, Xie Jue seemed to be in a similar state.By the time they passed through the thick fog, there was no trace of the Azure-Tusked Beast.The situation was now clear: the Azure-Tusked Beast was not alone.It had companions.But this point had never been mentioned, neither in the records sent back by her Senior Brother nor in the accounts of the villagers.The situation seemed to have become even more troublesome.Yun Miao looked at the faint "fish-belly white" light appearing on the horizon and the empty surroundings.It seemed the clues for tonight would end here…"Miss Yun?"Xie Jue called out tentatively, seeing Yun Miao lost in thought.Yun Miao turned her head at the sound and met Xie Jue’s questioning gaze, remembering that he was still supposedly ill."Let's go back first."Xie Jue didn't ask further, nor did he say anything else; he simply nodded in agreement.The two turned around and walked back toward where they had come from.After their earlier coordination, the two seemed to have returned to their initial state of awkward distance."There’s no need to be so formal from now on. You can just call me Yun Miao," Yun Miao said as she walked, recalling the man's distant form of address."Alright," Xie Jue replied readily.Suddenly thinking of something, Yun Miao stopped. "Which sect did you learn your sword techniques from?""Hmm?" In the darkness, the man paused almost imperceptibly. "Why do you ask?""It's nothing," Yun Miao looked away and began walking again. "I just felt they looked a bit familiar.""Is that so? I don't have a sect. It was just taught to me by an old friend."Yun Miao intended to end the conversation there, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a particular shade of vermilion that stood out in the night—it was a vermilion plaque adorned with gold characters.It was the village's ancestral hall.Almost instinctively, or rather, her intuition acted before her reason, Yun Miao turned and walked toward the hall.Seeing this, Xie Jue followed her.The simple yet solemn building soon appeared before them. Yun Miao studied the ancestral hall and took a step forward to push open the black wooden doors.Xie Jue frowned ever so slightly because, beneath the heavy scent of incense in this hall, there was a faint, lingering evil energy.As soon as the doors were pushed open, they saw a statue in the center—it was a figure that was half-fox and half-human.It was a statue Yun Miao had never seen before.Yun Miao turned her head to look at Xie Jue. Xie Jue shook his head but stepped forward, took the door knocker from Yun Miao's hand, and closed the wooden doors."We must not disturb the deity."His warm palm brushed against the back of Yun Miao’s hand. Stunned, Yun Miao let go of the door knocker, allowing the man to take over.Just as the man was about to close the door, Yun Miao snapped back to her senses. She grabbed the door knocker again, intending to continue pushing the door open to enter.However, she met clear resistance. Yun Miao frowned and turned her head to look at the person behind her in confusion.Xie Jue’s gaze happened to meet hers. His hand, still over hers on the knocker, tightened slightly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as if silently conveying a message.Yun Miao blinked. Seeing his feigned expression of piety, she nodded in response."I was being inconsiderate," Yun Miao said, closing the doors she had pushed open. "Let's go back.""Alright."The two closed the wooden doors and headed back along their original path."Xie Jue, did you discover something just now?"After walking for a while and confirming no one was around, Yun Miao stopped and asked the question she hadn't asked at the ancestral hall.Initially, she had been puzzled and suspicious of Xie Jue's "must not disturb the deity" comment, but she wasn't sure if he had discovered something or if he was truly that reverent.It wasn't until she tried to push the door again and he squeezed her hand that she became certain he had noticed something and was signaling her to leave to avoid alerting the enemy.Thus, she had cooperated by closing the door and pretending to walk away."There's something wrong with that ancestral hall. There's likely something inside," Xie Jue gave his answer directly."How do you know?""Beneath the scent of incense, there is evil energy.""Evil energy?"Yun Miao frowned slightly. She hadn't sensed it just now; how did this man know?Was his cultivation base far superior to hers?Or perhaps…Yun Miao couldn't help but begin to scrutinize the man before her.Xie Jue seemed to notice her scrutiny. Fearing a misunderstanding, he quickly added, "I have demon blood in me, so my senses regarding demons are a bit stronger than yours."Before Yun Miao could think further, Xie Jue had already provided a reasonable explanation."Oh, so that’s why."As they spoke, the sky began to brighten, and a ray of morning light broke through the "fish-belly white" horizon.Suddenly, a person ran out of a nearby house toward them, clutching a crudely drawn yellow talisman.An old man with disheveled hair, looking almost frenzied, ran toward the ancestral hall while muttering to himself."I told you that Evil Spirit shouldn't be kept, but you wouldn't listen! This is all retribution!"The two standing nearby naturally heard the old man's words and exchanged a glance.Yun Miao immediately gave him a look."Let's go take a look."
Chapter 7
Mistakenly Believing I Was Given the Substitute Lover Script