“Doing laundry... So the bet you made about me was just about doing laundry?”
Qi Mei’er tilted her head slightly, a lock of black hair falling over her shoulder from beneath her pinned-up tresses. The gaze she directed at the two was filled with a smile that carried a chilling edge. “It just so happens that I find the two of you quite likable. Why don't you stay and do my laundry instead?”
“Huh? A fox sister as beautiful as you certainly wouldn't lack laundry maids. Besides, we’re from the Beast Taming Sect. It wouldn't be right for us to stay here in the Qisu Kingdom.”
Alarm bells rang in Yao Dai’s heart. She immediately channeled her spiritual energy into her right hand, which was hidden behind her back, summoning her Blood Vine Whip as she gave an awkward smile.
“You’re from the Beast Taming Sect?” Qi Mei’er narrowed her eyes slightly.
Xin Jiuxian let out a light cough, her delicate, pale face adopting an elegant, fragile expression as she imitated Jiang Nianyao’s aura. “I am the Eldest Miss of the Beast Taming Sect, Jiang Nianyao.”
Yao Dai mentally applauded her quick wit. Goodness, she had really learned the art of talking nonsense from Master.
“That’s right! I’m accompanying my junior sister to the Qisu Kingdom to prepare for the Demon Tide Tournament. You must have heard of it, fox sister. It’s getting late now, and my junior sister and I need to regroup with our elders. We’ll take our leave, sister.”
She grabbed Xin Jiuxian and prepared to fly away.
Boom!
A flash of intense light instantly transformed into a wall of energy, blocking their path. Yao Dai and Xin Jiuxian frowned and immediately looked back at Qi Mei’er.
Xin Jiuxian’s expressionless little face turned cold. “What? Are you planning to make an enemy of my Beast Taming Sect?”
“If you claimed to be just anyone from the Beast Taming Sect, I might have believed you. But you say you’re Jiang Nianyao... If you’re her, then who was the person I met just a few days ago?” Qi Mei’er stepped forward with a smile, her eyes fixed on the two.
“?!” Jiang Nianyao was in the Qisu Kingdom?
Yao Dai and Xin Jiuxian felt their minds explode. They were finished; their lie had hit a brick wall.
“Run!”
Without a second thought, the two split up and fled in opposite directions.
“You think you can run?” Qi Mei’er snapped open the fan in her hand, and a wave of milky-white spiritual energy instantly split in two, surging toward them.
“Just who... are you two?!”
Sensing the danger behind her, Yao Dai immediately lashed out with her whip, a crimson spiritual light flaring up.
Boom!
However, a strike from a Late-Stage Golden Core was not something she could resist.
Pfft!
Yao Dai’s back took a heavy hit. Her body trembled as she spat out a mouthful of blood, but she didn't dare stop. She immediately slapped on the Mid-Stage Golden Core Speed-Enhancing Talisman she had looted from Gu Linshu’s storage bag.
Whoosh.
Qi Mei’er’s expression shifted. To think she had a Golden Core speed-enhancing talisman; it seemed that even if she wasn't from the Beast Taming Sect, she wasn't an ordinary rogue cultivator either. Could she be a disciple of another major sect?
She wanted to give chase, but Yao Dai’s figure vanished from sight in less than three seconds, flying toward the distant horizon without a single backward glance at Old Six.
That practiced and rapid escape maneuver caused Xin Jiuxian’s pupils to shrink on the other side. Wait, I'm still here!
She knew without a doubt that Qi Mei’er would now focus all her attention on capturing her. She immediately summoned her Yulan Floating Light Zither, hoisted it up, and swung it toward the incoming attack.
Boom!
Pfft! It was over. Master really would have to come bail her out now.
As it turned out, she also spat out blood with honor and was captured alive by the pursuing Qi Mei’er the very next second.
Thud!
A figure in a white dress, bound by an Immortal-Binding Rope, fell directly onto the ground. Her zither landed nearby. Even in this state, she didn't give up on escaping; she began to wriggle like a white maggot, using her chest and legs to inch forward in loops, attempting to crawl away.
Master had said to never give up an opportunity to escape, no matter the circumstances.
Of course, Wen Li had never imagined she would try to escape in such a posture at such a time, or she certainly would have died of laughter.
“Don't waste your energy, you can't escape.” Qi Mei’er was amused by her actions. She walked forward while swaying her feather-white fan, her long legs stepping past her slit skirt as she stopped and crouched down in front of Xin Jiuxian.
“You’ve been abandoned, little one.”
The fourteen-year-old Xin Jiuxian was indeed a child in her eyes, posing no threat, so she hadn't dealt a lethal blow.
Having grown a bit tired from her wriggling, Xin Jiuxian stopped and lay flat on the ground. She lifted her expressionless face and spoke in a flat, machine-like tone, “I wouldn't call it being abandoned. I just didn't run as fast as her. Next time, I'll try to find a talisman to boost my speed too.”
Qi Mei’er was puzzled. “Isn't she your fellow disciple? Do you really not feel any resentment that she left you behind and ran without even a word of warning?”
Xin Jiuxian took it as a matter of course. “What's there to resent? If I could have run that fast, I would have left too.”
She was very clear that she would have done the exact same thing. Xin Jiuxian felt that Yao Dai not pushing her out to distract Qi Mei’er at the critical moment was already quite good of her—mainly because she had been planning to do that herself, but unfortunately, they had split up to the left and right while fleeing, so she hadn't had the chance.
“The two of you really are interesting. A pity one got away, but no matter, I'm sure you won't have to worry about no one coming to save you.” Qi Mei’er was entertained by her words.
She picked up the Immortal-Binding Rope around Xin Jiuxian’s waist, carrying her toward the pavilion like one would carry a little chick. She also picked up the Yulan Floating Light Zither. “In the meantime, think about how you're going to lie to me—lie to get me to spare your life.”
Bound like a maggot, Xin Jiuxian said flatly, “Oh. I’ll think about it.”
What a nice person, even giving her a heads-up and time to think.
“...” Qi Mei’er paused in her tracks, unsure if this child was genuinely foolish or intentionally trying to provoke her. She lifted the girl to eye level and asked, “What is your name?”
Xin Jiuxian: “Hua Cishu.”
Qi Mei’er curled her lips into a smirk. “Your real name?”
Xin Jiuxian: “A fake name.”
“Hahaha!” Qi Mei’er laughed so hard she trembled. With quite a bit of patience, she asked once more, “What exactly is your name? Tell the truth, and I’ll let you live a few days longer.”
“Really?”
“Truly.”
“Well, alright then.” Xin Jiuxian sighed softly. “My name is Xie Tinglan.”
When Master had told her the sect rules, one was that if she got into trouble outside, she wasn't allowed to use Master’s name. But Master hadn't said she couldn't use her fellow disciples’ names; Master must have been trying to hint at something.
Qi Mei’er smirked, though it was unclear if she believed her. She carried her into the pavilion. “Fine.”
As the door opened, the pupils of Xin Jiuxian’s expressionless face visibly dilated, and her eyes shook slightly.
The room was full of male foxes!
Wait, she was still just a child!
Master, help!
...
Deep in the forest late at night, Yao Dai, who had escaped from Qi Mei’er, clutched her chest. She had no choice but to haphazardly swallow some pills, not even having time to regulate her breathing before fleeing fifty li in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, her spiritual energy ran dry. Her feet faltered, and she rapidly descended from the sky.
Thud!
She collapsed directly onto the ground, the blood at the corner of her mouth having mostly dried.
As expected, the difference in cultivation levels was crushing.
Yao Dai gripped the ground, slowly pushing herself up. She didn't have the luxury of caring about the discomfort of her blood-soaked, damp collar. Forcing herself to stay conscious, she prepared to find a cave to nurse her heavy injuries.
The bright moon hung high in the sky. Beneath the curtain of night, a figure suddenly appeared.
“Benefactor, do you require assistance?”
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