Brother, how come you're a witch?

"Junior sister, junior brother, are you... choosing spirit beasts?"

Ji Yi lay on the cage, her robes still stained with large patches of blood, startling the little oriole inside, which flapped its wings and chirped incessantly.

Su Yan and Liu Baishuang squatted side by side on the ground, both looking up and giving each other awkward but polite smiles, nodding in tacit agreement:

"Yeah yeah."

"Senior Sister Ji, you're back so quickly after the delivery?"

Ji Yi grinned and casually showed off the "Advanced Model of Top-Grade Midwifery" armband on her arm.

"Ahem, this time it was actually quite slow. I'm so sorry to have kept you two waiting here for so long."

She coughed lightly twice, ignoring the bloodstains on her hands, and scratched her hair:

"Shall we continue shopping?"

"No, no."

"Senior Sister Ji, let me choose a spirit beast a little longer."

The two shook their heads in unison, indicating their refusal.

"Um?"

Ji Yi narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the two people whose expressions and movements were so similar, their shoulders still tightly pressed together:

"You two seem to have a good relationship."

"Sigh, they're all sword cultivators."

"Yes, all sword cultivators under heaven are one family."

"Was it really that good just now?" Ji Yi asked again.

"It felt like we'd known each other forever."

"I wish we had met sooner."

Both of them were very serious, their expressions as solemn as if they were about to make a vow to Heaven.

Ji Yi paused for a moment, then glanced at the two of them again.

With her mind constantly dealing with spirit beasts and rarely venturing out for months at a time, she really couldn't discern anything, so she could only nod and say:

"Okay, so how long are you planning to stay here?"

"My legs are numb from squatting, let me rest for a while."

"This spirit beast is quite beautiful, let's look at it a little longer."

Their chemistry disappeared again, returning them to their usual level.

Ji Yi looked at them speechlessly and said:

"Okay, but I just realized that what I said before I left was actually a little wrong, and I need to correct myself."

Su Yan and Liu Baishuang were puzzled, and the latter tilted her head even more.

"I just said that Quanfeng has a total of twenty disciples. That's both right and wrong. There are actually only twenty people, but there are actually twenty-one registered disciples."

Ji Yi displayed the neurotic rigor unique to scholars, earnestly stating:

"There was another person, Junior Sister Mo Yu, who was also under Elder Chen Yixing's tutelage, but she... died a year ago."

"Dead?"

Su Yan frowned.

"Yes, during an expedition a year ago, she was killed by a half-demonized beast because she got too close to it."

Ji Yi sighed softly:

"She is a faithful practitioner of her master's theories, but I wish she wasn't so naive. Love and bonds can be used on spirit beasts, but not on demon beasts that cannot be contracted. Half-demonized demon beasts definitely cannot be contracted."

Demonization... Su Yan's eyes flashed as he recalled the large group of demons on Little Bamboo Peak that night.

Are these two things related?

Liu Baishuang blinked, thought for a moment that this matter probably had nothing to do with her, then put on a regretful expression and asked:

"Is Senior Sister Mo Yu really dead? But why is she still registered?"

"It was because Master felt indebted to her that he insisted on including her name when the research was completed and the paper was published."

Ji Yi shrugged and said:

"However, according to the new rules, disciples who are not registered cannot have their names listed in the elders' papers, so Master did not allow the sect to expel Junior Sister Mo Yu from the register despite the pressure."

It turned out to be the case.

Su Yan and Liu Baishuang both nodded in agreement.

I have a feeling that things aren't that simple.

Su Yan hesitated for a moment, while Liu Baishuang lowered her beautiful eyes slightly.

Could it be a fake death? Could she be that person from Guanyu Valley?

The identity and age match.

Regardless, it's worth investigating further.

The two reached almost the same conclusion.

Liu Baishuang pursed her lips. She had six days left on her deadline, and if she went in the wrong direction, she would waste a lot of time.

She thought of her master, Xu Qinglan, and the days she spent in the Xuanqing Sect. Her fingers slowly clenched, and her feet involuntarily tightened.

But at that moment, her left foot was pressed against a very unfortunate spot in Su Yan's arms.

If he simply endured it, that would be one thing. Su Yan considered himself to be half a gentleman after passing Ye Jingqiu's test.

The little demon girl acted in a moment of panic, unintentionally. It's nothing serious to touch each other through the fabric; all that's needed is for peace to be restored.

But Liu Baishuang's exertion was quite different.

Her foot, encased in white silk stockings, was directly above the dangerous spot. As she pressed down, the fabric slid, and the unique, smooth sensation seemed to travel through the fabric along with the little demoness's body temperature.

Su Yan's eyes twitched; as a healthy man, he naturally reacted.

"Um?"

Liu Baishuang was startled and naturally felt something pressing against the soles of her feet.

She had read many storybooks, and almost immediately knew what it was. A blush rose to her cheeks and then to the tips of her ears.

One moment they were full of determination and high spirits, the next they were like a startled fawn, their voices trembling:

"Su, Su, Su Yan, I..."

She couldn't even finish a sentence before she was already trying to pull her foot back.

But at this moment, she had to be careful not to let Ji Yi see through her, and her head was spinning, her thoughts were so chaotic that her eyes were practically spinning in circles. How could she control her body as precisely as she usually did?

As she tried to pull her foot back, she exerted force while her own body caused it to tremble up and down.

"you......"

Su Yan quickly raised his hand and pressed down on Liu Baishuang's foot through the hem of her clothes.

Stop moving. It was fine when you didn't move, and it was fine when you just stepped on me, but who can stand it when you move like this?

But the stimulus has been provided, and the reaction has occurred.

Liu Baishuang's feet were held down and she couldn't move. She could only feel the heat more and more clearly as it seemed to travel to her cheeks, making her face hotter and hotter.

"Why are you two blushing?"

Ji Yi had just been grieving for her junior sister when she came to her senses and saw that the two people squatting in front of her had a new situation.

"Full of energy."

"Ah~ this bird is so, so big, it makes me feel happy."

Su Yan gave a thumbs-up and smiled, while Liu Baishuang pointed to the little oriole in the cage in front of them.

The tacit understanding has not yet been restored.

"what?"

Ji Yi touched her chin, trying to understand:

"Does Junior Sister Liu mean she wants to raise this spirit beast?"

She was convinced that this must be it. The two of them had been looking at the spirit beast for so long that their legs were numb, and they were getting more and more excited. Even with her scientific mind, which was not good at interpersonal relationships, she could tell that Junior Sister Liu really liked it.

"Yes, yes, Senior Sister Ji, that's exactly what I meant, but I was too embarrassed to say it directly."

Liu Baishuang nodded repeatedly as if grasping at a straw, and then stuck out her pink tongue.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? Master said you can choose whatever you want."

Ji Yi waved her hand dismissively, since it wasn't her who was paying for it anyway:

"Are you sure you want this one? I'll go get a small cage."

"Yes, I'll take this little yellow chick. Please ask Senior Sister to fetch a cage and put it in properly."

"Junior sister, this is a little yellow warbler..."

"Oh, senior sister, could you get a smaller cage?"

Liu Baishuang deliberately drew out the sound, sounding somewhat like she was gritting her teeth.

Su Yan's lips trembled slightly.

Feeling Liu Baishuang's toes nimbly move a few times in response to that long sound, one knew that the so-called little yellow chick referred to something else.

He quickly released his grip on the little vixen.