Mortal: Junior Sister Song Yu

On the outskirts of the Yunmeng Mountains, the official road winds like a snake, traversing through the hills and dense forests.

Song Yu rode a streak of blue light, flying slowly close to the treetops.

She was dressed in a smart blue outfit, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, and a veil under her hat concealed her stunning beauty, revealing only a pair of clear, autumn-water-like eyes that were vigilantly observing her surroundings.

The journey to the Black Stone Mine wasn't far, but she kept Li Xiao's extremely solemn instructions before he left firmly in her heart.

The more ordinary a task may seem, the more deadly the hidden crisis may be.

Just as they were pondering, a chaotic and disordered surge of magical energy suddenly came from the forest ahead, mixed with the sounds of clashing weapons and extremely arrogant laughter and curses.

"You little bastard, stop running! Your parents were both short-lived, what do you think you're doing? Hand over the 'Universe Mirror' your father hid, and I'll give you a quick death!"

"Hey, this little thing's pretty good at dodging thanks to its magical artifact! Let's see how many more times you can activate your pitiful magic power!"

Song Yu frowned slightly, her figure like a wisp of green smoke, silently concealing all her presence, and landed on the canopy of a towering ancient tree that required several people to encircle.

She parted the dense foliage and looked out coldly.

On the open ground beside the official road, five fierce-looking, menacing cultivators were surrounding and playfully attacking a boy who looked about seven or eight years old.

The boy was dressed in rags, covered in mud and blood. His tender face was ashen white from extreme fear and exhaustion of his magical power, revealing that he was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

He gripped a rusty, ancient bronze mirror tightly in his hand, and whenever swords or spells were about to strike, he would desperately pour the last bit of magical power from his dantian into it.

The bronze mirror vibrated and emitted a dim yellow halo, which barely protected him, and his figure instantly teleported several feet away.

But this is clearly a case of drinking poison to quench thirst.

Each time the bronze mirror was activated, the color drained from the little boy's face, and his figure became increasingly unsteady, like a candle flickering in the wind.

The five cultivators, the lowest of whom was at least at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and the burly man with a full beard who was the leader, had one foot in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Like vicious cats toying with mice, they wore cruel and bloodthirsty smiles as they slowly tightened their encirclement, enjoying the prey's struggle before its death.

"Brother, stop playing around, things could get complicated!" A skinny, monkey-like cultivator licked his lips and reminded him impatiently.

"What are you afraid of?" The burly man with a thick beard spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground and sneered, "Do you think a Core Formation cultivator would pop out of this godforsaken place? This brat is slippery. Cripple his limbs first, then let's see how he runs!"

At his command, the five men's eyes flashed with ferocity as they attacked simultaneously!

Five spells of different colors and blades coated with poisonous light blocked all of the little boy's escape routes from all directions, weaving a web of death!

A chilling despair filled the little boy's eyes. He squeezed out all the magic power in his dantian one last time and roared as he poured it into the bronze mirror.

hum!

The yellow light shone, but it was several times dimmer than before. The light flickered and only teleported him two zhang away, landing right in front of the burly man with the thick beard.

"Haha! They've delivered themselves right into my hands!"

The burly man laughed wildly, raising his large, fan-like hand high with a thick-backed broadsword. The blade flashed with spiritual light, imbued with his full magical power, and he brought it down on the little boy's head!

Before the blade even arrived, the sharp wind from it had already carved a shallow trench in the ground.

The little boy slumped to the ground, his pupils reflecting the approaching blade of death, forgetting even to scream.

At this critical moment.

A blue shadow fell silently from the high treetop.

She made no sound, her figure was as light as a feather, yet her speed was as fast as lightning tearing through the night sky.

The burly man with the thick beard only felt a blur before his eyes, and a cold, moonlit sword light, like the ripples of autumn water, flashed past in his ferocious pupils.

There was no loud clang of metal clashing as expected, not even a scream.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at this moment.

The little boy saw the fierce-looking man holding the knife suddenly freeze in mid-air.

A very thin, bright red line of blood slowly appeared on his neck.

Immediately afterwards, the enormous head slid off the neck and rolled into the dust, its face still frozen with the last moments of arrogance and ferocity.

It wasn't until the headless cavity crashed to the ground, and warm blood gushed into the sky like a fountain, staining the surrounding grass red, that the other four cultivators finally reacted to this extreme turn of events.

"Big...Big Brother!"

They looked at the scene in utter horror, only to see that in front of the little boy who should have been split in two, there had been a tall woman in a blue outfit.

She held a long sword that was entirely blue and had a blade as smooth as water. A drop of bright red blood was slowly sliding down the tip of the sword, making a small blood flower on the ground with a "drip".

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling the ponytail behind her head and the hem of her dress at her waist. The light veil of her bamboo hat swayed slightly, concealing her face, but unable to hide her eyes, which were as cold as an ancient, deep pool.

"Who goes there?!"

"Who the hell are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of the Black Wind Five Ghosts? You're asking for death!" The remaining four cultivators shouted fiercely, but involuntarily retreated, their hands trembling as they held their magical artifacts.

With a single sword strike, he silently and instantly killed a quasi-Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Such strength indicates a powerhouse at least in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, or even the late-Foundation Establishment stage!

Song Yu did not answer any of their questions.

To her, these people were no different from the ants disturbed beneath her feet.

"Not good! This is a tough one! We're out of here! Retreat!" The skinny monkey Jie Xiu was the most quick-witted. He screamed, turned around, and transformed into a streak of earthy yellow light to escape.

Song Yu made a hand seal with his left hand, and a flash of water light appeared at his fingertips. Two solid, crystal-clear water arrows appeared out of thin air, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, arriving before the other side.

puff!puff!

The skinny monkey cultivator and another cultivator who was trying to escape had only taken two steps when they were instantly pierced through the back by icy water arrows, drawing out two handfuls of flamboyant blood.

The two looked down at the bowl-sized, transparent hole in their chests, their eyes filled with disbelief, and then fell straight down.

The last two remaining were terrified upon seeing this. One used his tortoise-shell shield magic weapon to desperately defend himself, while the other, as if driven mad, roared and charged towards Song Yu, wanting to fight to the death to buy time for his companion.

Song Yu didn't even glance at the one holding the shield; he simply raised his eyes and calmly looked at the charging cultivator.

In the depths of her clear eyes, it seemed as if a cool crescent moon was quietly rising, a fleeting glimmer of deep blue light.

The moon reflects in the sky!

"ah--!"

The charging cultivator suddenly clutched his head, letting out a shrill scream that sounded inhuman, as if his soul was being crushed by an invisible force.

Black blood flowed from his seven orifices, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight backward, his life force instantly extinguished, his soul instantly obliterated.

The last Jie Xiu, holding a shield, watched helplessly as his companions died one after another in bizarre ways within a single breath. His mental defenses completely collapsed, and he was so frightened that he dropped his shield with a "clang," knelt down, and kowtowed desperately until his forehead bled.

"Fairy, spare me! Fairy, spare me! We were blind to your greatness, please spare our lives..."

Song Yu ignored his pleas for mercy, and with a flick of his Bibo Sword, a slender sword aura flew out like a swimming fish, precisely slicing across his neck.

In the blink of an eye, the five celestial masters who had been so arrogant and domineering in the eyes of mortals had all turned into cold corpses.

Song Yu twirled his sword, and the bloodstains on the Azure Wave Sword were dispersed by spiritual energy, leaving it as clean as new.

She sheathed her sword, then turned around, squatted down, and looked at the little boy who was standing there, his face covered in mud and tears, his eyes vacant.

Her voice was soft, as if it could dispel the thick smell of blood in the air.

Are you alright?

The little boy snapped out of his daze and looked at the fairy sister who had saved his life, who seemed like a goddess descended from heaven. The fear and grievances he had suppressed for so long finally burst out, and he burst into tears.

"Don't be afraid, it's all over now." Song Yu took out a healing and mana-restoring pill from his storage bag and held it to his lips. "Open your mouth."

The elixir melted upon entering his mouth, transforming into a warm current that rapidly repaired his damaged meridians, and his parched dantian was replenished.

Feeling his strength return, the little boy struggled to kneel down and kowtow, saying, "Thank you so much, fairy sister, for saving my life! Little Stone kowtows to you!"

Get up.

Song Yu helped him up and asked, "What's your name? Why are they chasing you?"

The little boy sobbed, wiping his tears with his sleeve, and answered haltingly, "I... my name is Little Stone. My parents were wandering cultivators in Blackstone Town. A few days ago, they went out to find medicine and never came back... These bad guys broke into my house, saying my parents had found some treasure and forcing me to hand it over. They... they killed everyone in my family. I... I barely escaped thanks to this protective mirror my father left me..."

As he spoke, he handed over the dull bronze mirror, his eyes filled with filial piety and sorrow, large tears rolling down his cheeks.

This is a story that sounds plausible and is enough to evoke pity in even the most hard-hearted person.

Song Yu listened quietly, looking into his clear, innocent eyes, which were still glistening with tears, but her heart was not stirred by much.

Li Xiao's warning still echoed in her ears, and she instinctively became more wary.

Without making a sound, she silently recited the "Water Moon Heaven Heart Sutra" in her mind.

The divine connection was quietly activated.

In an instant, a strange connection formed between her mind and the little boy's.

She didn't "see" any specific images, but a pure, undisguised emotion, like a bucket of ice water, was poured into her heart with crystal clarity.

That's not the kind of grief, fear, and dependence a child who has survived a tragedy and lost their family should feel.

Instead, it was a... cold malice, tinged with greed and morbid excitement!

This malice is like a venomous viper lurking beneath a clear stream; unless one possesses "insightful perception" that directly addresses one's true nature, it would be impossible to detect.

It was disguised so well that it was perfectly concealed by the boy's innocent yet heartbroken expression.

Song Yu's heart sank.

This child... has a problem.

His story is fake.

This undisguised malice was directed at him.

Why?

Countless thoughts flashed through Song Yu's mind.

Is it a coincidence, or... a trap set for myself?

"Fairy sister..."

Seeing that Song Yu remained silent for a long time, Little Stone cautiously tugged at her sleeve and pleaded in a voice trembling with tears and a hint of timidity, "I...I have nowhere else to go. Can...can you take me with you? Little Stone will do anything for you, like a slave!"

He raised his head and looked at Song Yu with his clear, bright eyes, full of hope and admiration.

That cold, greedy malice became clearer and more intense.

It's as if it's saying: You've taken the bait!

A chilling glint flashed in the depths of Song Yu's eyes.

She suddenly understood.

Will count.

Whatever the conspiracy behind this, letting this little venomous snake go and hide in the shadows is far more dangerous than keeping him under our noses.

She wanted to see what this little boy and the people behind him were up to.

Thinking of this, Song Yu's expression softened instantly. She reached out and gently patted Little Stone's head.

"Okay, you'll be working with me from now on."

"Really?! That's great!"

Little Stone's face immediately lit up with immense, almost unbelievable joy. He grabbed Song Yu's leg, laughing and crying at the same time, "Thank you, Fairy Sister! Thank you, Fairy Sister! Little Stone will definitely repay you in the future!"

Song Yu looked down at him, her eyes calm and undisturbed.

However, the face hidden by the straw hat and veil revealed an unprecedented solemnity.

She helped the little stone up, her gaze fixed on the direction of Blackstone Town, her mind clear.

It seems that this mission is much more complicated than described in the sect's intelligence.