Brother, how come you're a witch?

Su Yan was so angry he laughed.

Are there any normal people here besides him?

The tense scene of being besieged by monsters was completely ruined.

"Well."

Ye Jingqiu's eyes stiffened for a moment, as if he had just realized that he had done something wrong.

But you can't entirely blame her. Seeing the sword energy she had been longing for being launched on Little Bamboo Peak, but not being able to observe it up close, she was so anxious that she almost cried. In a moment of rage, she forgot all about her feelings and didn't care about anything else.

The fact that she was able to respond to Liu Baishuang's chuunibyou (delusional) remarks about sword cultivation shows that she has a sincere heart for swordsmanship.

"I...I rushed in to save you."

Ye Jingqiu remained calm, released Su Yan's hand, turned around, and raised his sword again.

"I'll lead you out of here; just follow behind me."

"you......"

Su Yan felt a tightness in his chest, and a flood of beautiful words came to mind, but before he could utter them, he saw Ye Jingqiu rush out.

"Eh!"

He quickly reached out to stop him, but couldn't.

Liu Baishuang silently watched the two's familiar and "intimate" conversation, her fingers gripping the sword hilt slowly tightening.

She was the one who arrived first, whether it was saying strange things or discussing how to break out of the encirclement together, she was the one who came first! But this woman who suddenly appeared instantly stole all of Su Yan's attention.

How could this happen? Aren't I your target? Aren't I the one you want to be close to?

Liu Baishuang's eyes flickered as she stared at Ye Jingqiu's back as he charged straight towards the horde of demons. Through the blood of the Heavenly Demon, she issued another command.

"Run, and slap that woman a few times while you're at it."

Huh?

The second question mark of the night appeared above the heads of all the monsters.

What does this mean?

The first part of the command is easy to understand.

With the monsters' lineup facing two peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, the battle was still considered evenly matched. They could put on an act with Liu Baishuang, pretending to be defeated.

However, if they were to face three peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, the situation would turn in their favor. Unless Liu Baishuang stopped pretending and went straight to the fight, the demon horde would suffer losses beyond what was expected.

Therefore, running away was a wise move. After all, the previous order had already dampened the fighting spirit of the usually warlike monsters, and everyone had wanted to run away for a long time.

But the second half of the command was quite strange.

Monsters cannot understand human speech or emotions, and they have no idea what special meaning slapping someone has for humans.

In their view, turning around and slapping the pursuers while fleeing for their lives is pure provocation.

Provoking at this time will only hasten your demise.

They couldn't help but wonder if they had offended the boss at some point, which was why the boss had deliberately sent them away with such an absurd order.

However, no matter what, they were unable to disobey Liu Baishuang's orders because they were tainted by the blood of the Heavenly Demon. Moreover, Ye Jingqiu had already killed his way up to them and had no time to think.

The peak Foundation Establishment stage demon slapped its claws and turned to flee into the darkness of the forest.

The other monsters either climb trees or burrow into the grass.

The twenty-odd demons vanished without a trace in an instant, leaving only the slightly swaying leaves and Ye Jingqiu, who had rushed in with his sword raised, standing there stunned in front of the forest.

The encirclement was broken just like that, inexplicably.

Su Yan hadn't even had a chance to come and help.

Ye Jingqiu stared in the direction where the peak Foundation Establishment stage demon had disappeared, unsure whether to chase it or not.

She was hoping to fight the monsters and make a good impression on Su Yan, to cover up her strange move of rushing in earlier, and to increase her chances of getting more sword energy later.

She hasn't exerted any effort yet; how is she going to explain this to Su Yan later? She can't exactly say the demons were scared away by her fierce sword energy...

Or we could chase them down, kill two of them, and bring them back—that would at least give us an explanation.

Ye Jingqiu pursed his lips and took a few steps to chase after her, when he heard Liu Baishuang call out from behind:

"Ye Jingqiu, we mustn't be reckless. Demons are inherently ferocious. If they retreat without a fight, something must be amiss. We should leave quickly."

"Senior Sister Liu is right."

Su Yan nodded; that was what he thought too. Based on his years of experience surviving in the cultivation world, he knew to slip away quickly if anything seemed amiss.

He didn't know why the monster ran away, nor did he want to know for the time being. He just wanted to take Liu Baishuang back to a safe area before the "real man" time was over.

"......Um."

Hearing that Su Yan had said so, Ye Jingqiu reluctantly lowered his sword and slowly turned around.

Just then, a black-haired claw swiftly emerged from the tall grass beside them, quickly slapped Ye Jingqiu, and then withdrew in a flash.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound of the slap was so clear in the now quiet mountain forest.

Ye Jingqiu was stunned, and raised his hand to touch his face in disbelief.

That slap just now was completely devoid of any killing intent or hostility; it even carried a hint of forced misery. It was delivered by a Foundation Establishment demon, who was adept at hiding in the shadows, without any spiritual power. Such an attack was extremely difficult to detect, which is why she was hit squarely.

She couldn't understand what was going on with this monster, but instinctively she gripped her sword and aimed at the bushes to fight back.

But then I heard:

"Ye Jingqiu, the demons were indeed lying; they didn't go far at all! Although they didn't hurt you this time, their intentions are unclear. Don't fall for their trick; retreat quickly."

"Senior Sister Liu is right."

Liu Baishuang said this, and Su Yan praised it.

The little vixen seems to have a knack for survival, which coincides with my thoughts.

Yes, right?

Ye Jingqiu blinked hesitantly. Since Su Yan had said so, then...

"......oh."

She held her sword half-raised, remaining extremely vigilant around the bushes. After giving a soft reply, she headed towards Su Yan.

Sudden--

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, a black-haired tail drooped down from a tree on the other side, whipped across her other cheek like a whip, and then quickly retracted.

Immediately afterwards, the branches and grass shook violently, and the two monsters that caused the trouble seemed to be fleeing the scene quickly.

"..."

Ye Jingqiu fell silent.

Her pupils, which were usually as clear as an ancient well, had completely lost their luster, and both sides of her face were slightly flushed.

The attack that just now, which was completely devoid of killing intent and did not involve any spiritual power, could not possibly have caused any harm to Ye Jingqiu, nor could it have caused his skin to become red and swollen.

Therefore, Su Yan was certain that the blush on the girl's face was neither from pain nor shyness, but rather from a warm flush.

"Tsk."

Ye Jingqiu gritted his teeth, his chest heaving violently, and immediately turned to chase after him.

But then he heard Liu Baishuang's 'concerned' voice from behind:

"So this is the monster's purpose. They must have thought the three of us were too difficult to deal with, so they wanted to provoke you into pursuing us further, then divide and defeat us. Ye Jingqiu, stay calm!"

"Senior Sister Liu is right."

Right? Right about what!

Ye Jingqiu's black hair stood on end. This Su Yan was clearly closer to her and had a better relationship with her, but he not only lied to her and secretly came out to meet with Liu Baishuang, who was her rival, to practice swordsmanship, but also agreed with the latter in every word. He really didn't care at all about their friendship as classmates who chatted together in class every day!

What are these monsters? If she and Su Yan attacked together, how could they possibly stand a chance?

We're going to chase it!

Ye Jingqiu stubbornly rushed deeper into the forest.

Then, Liu Baishuang's urgent voice drifted from behind again:

"Oh no! Ye Jingqiu is so embarrassed and angry that she can't be persuaded anymore. We need to go up and hold her down quickly! Otherwise, things might get out of hand."

"Everything Senior Sister Liu said is correct."

Su Yan was full of praise. The little vixen really understood the essence of the art of survival. She didn't get angry when provoked, and she would quickly pull her teammates back when they got carried away. She always managed to say what he wanted to say before he could. Could this be the story of finding a kindred spirit?