Brother, how come you're a witch?

The cabin in the woods still smells warm and inviting.

It has a hint of refreshing sweetness mixed in.

Su Yan and Ye Jingqiu sat back to back on the floor in the center of the room, their expressions serious.

"Classmate Ye Jingqiu."

"Fellow Daoist Su Yan?"

"Imagine two sword cultivators entering a secret realm together. If one of them finds themselves in danger, what should the other do?"

"Of course, we should save him."

"That's right, but the dangers in the secret realm are varied and bizarre. There are traps and hidden weapons, Taoist puppets and poisons, rooms where you can't get out without doing something, illusions that can only be broken by pretending to be father and daughter, and challenges that don't involve laughing within two hours."

Su Yan listed them one by one, his tone serious:

"In the process of overcoming these dangers, some unexpected things can easily happen, and both the rescuer and the rescued may find themselves unable to control their own destiny."

"Um."

Ye Jingqiu nodded in agreement:

"Since the two of them teamed up, they naturally knew that these special circumstances would occur, and they accepted it by default."

"Yes, so do you think the friendship between these two sword cultivators will change because of what happened there after they returned from the secret realm, having gone through so many hardships?"

"meeting."

Ye Jingqiu paused, his lips moved, and his eyes lowered slightly:

"The bond between the two will become even stronger."

"That's so true, Xiao Ye! I knew your little head held so much wisdom!"

Su Yan turned his head and gave Ye Jingqiu a thumbs up. Just then, the girl who was back to him seemed to sense something and also turned her eyes. Their eyes met.

Ye Jingqiu's long eyelashes trembled, and she immediately looked away.

"So, what happened just now..."

"I understand, let's pretend it never happened."

Su Yan was as sensible as ever.

"oh."

Ye Jingqiu's lips twitched almost imperceptibly:

"Good to know."

But almost instantly, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, as if she were in a good mood.

Her delicate nose twitched slightly; she pretended to touch it, but actually sniffed her right hand.

Su Yan had his back to her, and even when he turned around, he didn't notice her subtle movements. He simply stroked his chin and said:

"Shall we change our clothes first?"

"it is good."

Ye Jingqiu's newly bought clothes, which he had stored in a storage bag, came in handy very quickly.

The two remained back to back, listening to the rustling sounds behind them, trying to quickly change out of their wet old clothes and put on clean new ones.

Su Yan's clothes were easier to change. After he finished dressing, he still heard the sound of fabric rubbing behind him, so he didn't turn around but walked forward.

He had only read one file before Ye Jingqiu interrupted him, and he was still very curious about the contents of the other files.

He then walked to the table and picked up the second file, which was neatly folded.

The date marked on it is earlier than the previous one.

It appears that this stack of files is arranged chronologically, with the newest files on top and the oldest on the bottom.

Su Yan simply laid out several files on the table and glanced at them in chronological order.

"On the first day after I moved Zero Nine here, I never imagined that the hut I secretly built to study the Bloodfang White Wolf would come in handy at this time. I can't let Master and the others find Zero Nine; they'll kill her."

Why can't anyone understand me? Even demonic beasts that cannot be bound by contracts can form bonds with humans.

"The pollution on Zero Nine's body is getting worse, and the intervals between bouts of blurred consciousness are getting shorter. It's already incredible that this child has managed to hold on until now without completely turning into a demon. It's hard to determine the reason."

"The plan to falsely report signs of a beast tide at Yan Mountain, prompting the sect to send people to investigate, was successful, but the investigators found nothing unusual at Yan Mountain—I got a scolding; the source of the demonic contamination on Ling Jiu's body was also not found, perhaps I have to go and see for myself."

"The antiseptic incense is working! Am I really a genius?"

"From today onwards, Zero Nine has a name. I've named her Ning Jiu, but in formal writing, it's more accurate to call her Zero Nine, since she's the ninth demon beast I've raised that couldn't be contracted as a spirit beast."

"A half-demon, taking human form in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage... Master, once I've thoroughly researched 'Zero Nine,' I'll definitely be able to publish in a top-tier journal!"

"Lingjiu got into a fight with the wolves again. Why is he so fierce when he's just a rabbit? Can't they just get along?"

"I tentatively asked my master, and he said that demonic beasts corrupted by the Heavenly Demon must be killed... It seems I won't be able to introduce Zero Nine to them for quite some time."

"..."

The file contained both research progress and Mo Yu's rambling thoughts.

Su Yan read through it all, piecing together the deceased's past, as if he could see her in this little wooden house, experiencing moments of joy, worry, or scratching her head in frustration.

"I see."

Clues began to connect in Su Yan's mind. Although some things were still unclear, he had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

This spirit beast master named Mo Yu is indeed a genius, as he was able to invent something like the Foul-Suppressing Incense, which can suppress the pollution of the Heavenly Demon.

However, this incense did not appear in the Great War between Heaven and Demon a thousand years later. It is unknown whether the level of pollution by the Heavenly Demons increased and the incense became ineffective, or whether Mo Yu died in the original history and did not complete the research and spread it.

"Now, the clues have fallen on this rabbit named Ning Jiu."

Su Yan pressed his fingers against the dossier, talking to himself.

She was corrupted by the Heavenly Demon on Mount Yan and became a half-demon. Although it is unknown how she escaped, she must have seen the Heavenly Demon who corrupted her.

A celestial demon within the Xuanqing Sect—this was precisely the target Su Yan was searching for.

"Did you figure it out?"

A slightly cold voice rang out beside Su Yan.

He turned to look at Ye Jingqiu, who had already changed his clothes and was walking over, and his eyes narrowed.

The dress Xiao Jianzu was wearing was quite different from her usual style.

She always liked to wear a long skirt that was easy to move in, paired with short boots, only revealing a section of her calves.

But what she changed into was a green robe and short skirt, with thin gauze on the cuffs and hem, and the skirt only reached mid-thigh, making her look exceptionally fresh and elegant.

It feels a bit like Liu Baishuang's style of dressing.

"What kind of outfit is that?"

Su Yan's lips twitched.

"Isn't it nice to look at? It's brand new." Ye Jingqiu glanced at him sideways.

"It looks good, but it's a bit too revealing. There are always a lot of people staring at us when you're following behind me. I don't even want to think about what will happen if you keep dressing like this."

Su Yan offered a sharp critique of Ye Jingqiu's outfit:

"Besides, it doesn't really suit your style. Although I love seeing long, white legs, I still think your original outfit was prettier. You can wear this one in your personal life."

"oh."

Ye Jingqiu responded with a muffled sound.

The corners of his mouth turned down, but his eyebrows and eyes were slightly raised.

I don't know whether to be happy or unhappy, but since I've been criticized, I guess I'm unhappy.

Su Yan frowned, suddenly realizing that after spending so much time with this girl, he could actually notice some extremely subtle changes in her expressions.

"But if you like it, it's none of my business."

He shook his head and patted Ye Jingqiu's head:

"Freedom of dress."

"Um."

Ye Jingqiu nodded slightly, then suddenly twitched her nose and turned her gaze to the window.

"Awooo—"

The howling of wolves came from not far away, followed by responses from all directions of the forest.

"Su Yan, I smell something strange, the wolves are all moving." She tugged at Su Yan's sleeve.