Chu Zilan and Xiao Wenjing both looked over.
Chu Zilan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Ding Li showed a pained expression, “I twisted my ankle, it hurts so much. Senior Sister, can you carry me, please?”
Xiao Wenjing said nothing, his expression unchanged.
Chu Zilan twitched slightly, seeming hesitant.
Ding Li made a pitiful face, “You used to carry me before…”
Only then did Chu Zilan reluctantly step forward.
But as she reached Ding Li and bent down, Ding Li’s eyes sharpened. She grabbed Chu Zilan’s arm with one hand and quickly drew the sword at her waist with the other, pressing the blade to Chu Zilan’s neck in a flash.
Chu Zilan’s expression changed, “Junior Sister, what are you doing?”
Ding Li ignored her, “Junior Sister nothing! I’m not your junior sister!” She pressed the blade closer and demanded, “Who are you really?”
Xiao Wenjing’s expression was equally cold as he stared at Chu Zilan.
Chu Zilan realized she had been seen through from the very beginning. She had nothing left to pretend with.
Her face showed no fear, only a strange smile.
Ding Li, standing to the side, could not see it.
Xiao Wenjing’s face darkened, and in an instant he lunged forward, stabbing at Chu Zilan’s chest.
Chu Zilan moved swiftly, leaning back and raising her elbow to strike Ding Li’s jaw. As Ding Li dodged, Chu Zilan slipped under her sword and also avoided Xiao Wenjing’s attack.
Now the sides were set. Xiao Wenjing and Ding Li on one side, Chu Zilan on the other.
Something was wrong. She wasn’t a miasma demon.
By the plot, the creature appearing now should be a barrier demon, but this person clearly wasn’t.
“Who exactly is she?” Ding Li asked.
Before anyone could respond, the figure transformed. The disguise of Chu Zilan was torn away, revealing a black-clad figure with a black cloth covering their face.
Before Ding Li could react, the figure shifted several more times and charged at them at lightning speed.
Damn!
This is a powerful opponent!
Ding Li, although stronger than three years ago, was still no match for someone this skilled. She had to rely on Xiao Wenjing to handle the person in front of them.
Xiao Wenjing blocked the attack with his sword, spun, and pierced the throat of the black-clad figure.
The figure instantly vanished.
It was only an illusion.
At that moment, another person attacked Xiao Wenjing from behind. Their sword was wrapped in black mist, their strikes fierce.
Xiao Wenjing leaned aside to dodge but couldn’t free his sword to strike the attacker behind him.
Ding Li’s eyes turned cold. As the sword shifted, she blocked the attack.
The attacker pressed the blade downward with their right hand and struck Ding Li’s shoulder with the left.
Ding Li was unafraid. She moved forward, twisted her sword, and pierced the person’s chest.
The figure vanished instantly, just like the previous one.
Xiao Wenjing stabbed the remaining attacker’s heart without hesitation, rotated his sword, and struck from above, piercing them through.
The shadows disappeared, leaving only a black-clad body.
When Ding Li moved to uncover the figure’s face, the body also vanished.
“They are from the demon clan,” Xiao Wenjing said coldly as he sheathed his sword.
Demon clan?
Ding Li was stunned. In the original story, the demon clan appeared only briefly at the start, burning and looting the city, which caused her severe injury and led to Chu Zilan taking her back.
After that, the demon clan did not appear again until much later, if at all.
Even if mentioned in the novel synopsis, their role was minor.
Why were they appearing now?
And this wasn’t just a matter of minor adjustments or inserting demon clan scenes.
Ding Li suddenly realized that if the demon clan appeared so early, they would likely continue to appear later.
This meant the plot could undergo major changes, and under the butterfly effect, the entire story might be rewritten.
So how did this relate to the original book?
Previously, the system said it would modify the story based on the final goal. Ding Li thought it was only minor adjustments, but now she was confused.
If she couldn’t go on adventures like the characters, she could end up dying like the cannon fodder in absurd plot twists.
Ridiculous.
The system could not be trusted.
Ding Li could not accept it and felt extremely discouraged. She let out a sound and turned to move forward.
Xiao Wenjing lifted his sword, blocking her path.
“You’re sick?” Ding Li looked up at him.
That phrase could easily be returned to him.
“You’re sick, stopping me?” Ding Li said again, feeling some satisfaction.
Xiao Wenjing said nothing, only furrowing his brow and looking at her shoulder.
“Are you…” He stopped mid-sentence. “You’ve been poisoned.”
“What??!!!” Ding Li shouted.
Xiao Wenjing frowned, found the only signal flare in Ding Li’s pack, and prepared to open it.
“You’re sick?” Ding Li hurriedly tried to snatch it away. She couldn’t stop him completely but managed to prevent him from using it.
“What are you doing?!” Ding Li panicked. If the flare was set off, her trial would be over. She hadn’t even killed a single demon and would become the laughingstock of the Cangshan Sect.
Though she hadn’t expected a high rank, ending up last was not her intention.
Too embarrassing.
Ding Li grabbed the signal flare from him, quickly closed it, and said, “Poisoned? I’m not. You’re mistaken.”
Xiao Wenjing said, “You were poisoned by the demon sect’s Entangling Silk Palm. Only the Dichen Powder from Medicine King Valley can cure it. But Medicine King Valley never participates in disciples’ trials. I cannot get the antidote now. I must take you out.”