Upon receiving Chen Qing’s command, the cultivators who had been eyeing Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao with hostility left two behind to tend to the severely injured Chen Qing, while the rest drew their weapons and pointed them at Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao.
“Don’t worry about me later—if you can escape, run!” Faced with the hostile forces of Chen Qing, Yun Qingxue urgently whispered to Xiao Xiaoxiao beside her.
Xiao Xiaoxiao, however, pouted and lifted her chin proudly. “Do you think I’m the kind of person who abandons my friends? I won’t leave you behind to save myself!”
After saying this, Xiao Xiaoxiao suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of nobility, as if her character had instantly leveled up several times… She imagined herself as a chivalrous hero from a martial arts novel, righteous and loyal.
A hero—just the thought of it made her a little excited, a little thrilled. (≧▽≦)
Yun Qingxue looked at her helplessly, moved but still scolding, “You fool!”
“So what!” Xiao Xiaoxiao retorted defiantly.
Yun Qingxue was truly at a loss. She genuinely didn’t want Xiao Xiaoxiao to die with her. Unable to persuade her to leave, she could only pin her hopes on the unseen Underworld King, Ming Di.
She took a deep breath and shouted into the void, “Underworld King, take care of your own people!”
“Attack!” someone roared, and Chen Qing’s forces charged at Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao.
Yun Qingxue was never skilled in magic, and Xiao Xiaoxiao was only half-competent. Against the onslaught, the two had no chance to fight back.
Xiao Xiaoxiao barely managed to pull Yun Qingxue aside, dodging narrowly.
Her Soul-Binding Chain let out another hum, as if it had a will of its own. Without Xiao Xiaoxiao’s command, it lashed out at the cultivators.
The formidable chain significantly lightened the burden on Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao.
At that moment, a fierce wind rose, and dark clouds gathered in the sky.
Though some cultivators were entangled by the Soul-Binding Chain, Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao were still struggling, increasingly at a disadvantage.
“Screech!”
A thunderous bird cry erupted, accompanied by the howling wind and dark clouds. A massive silver-gray bird appeared in the sky. Its body stretched over ten meters long, with a striking crimson beak and flawless silver-gray plumage.
The bird descended like lightning, diving straight toward the beleaguered Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao.
“All of you, attack! Kill those two demonesses!” Seeing another anomaly, Chen Qing urgently ordered the two cultivators by his side.
“But, Grand State Preceptor, we can’t ignore your safety!” The two hesitated.
“Never mind me! Go now!” Chen Qing roared angrily.
The two exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and flew into the fray. Meanwhile, Chen Qing dispatched another group to deal with the sudden appearance of the giant bird.
The eerie bird cast a disdainful glance at the cultivators rushing to intercept it. With a single flap of its wings, a powerful gale blasted the overconfident attackers. The once-proud cultivators were tossed aside like paper, wailing in pain.
Everything happened in an instant. As the obstacles were swept away, the bird’s talons seized Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao by their shoulders.
With a mighty beat of its wings, the bird soared into the sky, carrying them swiftly toward the southeast.
Watching the bird disappear into the distance with Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao in its grasp, Chen Qing’s fury and frustration made him spit out another mouthful of blood.
The aftermath of the fierce battle was a scene of chaos. With his targets gone, Chen Qing suddenly remembered the mortal Prince Ning—what had become of him?
Scanning the area, he found no trace of the prince amidst the wreckage.
Whether Prince Ning was alive or dead, Chen Qing couldn’t say. But he knew that if the prince had died, he’d need a convincing explanation for the emperor. And if the prince had survived, his attempt to sacrifice him to eliminate the Flower King would have surely earned him the prince’s enmity…
The silver-gray bird had vanished without a trace. The wind died down to a gentle breeze, and the dark clouds dispersed, allowing sunlight to shine once more.
“Um, Miss Bird… may I ask where we’re going?”
Hanging mid-air, held by the bird’s talons alongside Yun Qingxue, Xiao Xiaoxiao couldn’t stay calm.
First wolves, now a giant bird—could the animal-related shocks ever end?
Given how effortlessly the bird had swatted those cultivators away, it was definitely not a friendly creature!
Was this bird evil? Did it eat humans? Or flowers? Or ghosts? (╥﹏╥)
“Miss Bird, please let us go! We’ve never wronged you—don’t eat us! If you spare me and my friend, I’ll give you special treatment in the underworld when you die, okay?”
Yun Qingxue: “…”
The bird: “…”
Xiao Xiaoxiao’s uniquely disastrous negotiation tactics left them equally speechless.
Especially the bird, whose mind was now flooded with mental alpacas.
*Seriously, ghost girl? You curse me to die, and before you even open your mouth, could you at least confirm—where did you get the idea I’m a ‘Miss Bird’?!* (→_→)
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage