Brother, how come you're a witch?

Liu Baishuang was caught completely off guard.

She was stunned at first, then felt annoyed and struggled to lift her hand to tear open the robe, but Su Yan's holding position made it difficult for her to exert any strength, and she could only twist in vain.

"Ye Jingqiu!"

Liu Baishuang's voice came out muffledly from under the black robe, carrying suppressed anger.

Su Yan was taken aback by Ye Jingqiu's sudden display of concern. He looked down at the dark-skinned boy in his arms, who was completely covered except for a few strands of hair peeking out, and then at Ye Jingqiu, who looked innocent and calm. He felt utterly overwhelmed.

We have just suffered a major disaster.

But when these two are together, the atmosphere just can't be serious.

"Cough cough."

Su Yan cleared his throat, attempting to mediate:

"It's good that Xiao Ye cares about fellow Daoists, but he's being a bit too enthusiastic."

As he spoke, he carefully used the hand that was supporting the little demoness's shoulder to try to pull down the black robe covering Liu Baishuang's face, at least to let her head show.

The moment her fingertips touched the fabric, the black dumpling in her arms jerked violently, tearing off its black robe to reveal a stunningly beautiful face, dusty and slightly flushed.

Su Yan's finger happened to poke this face, deforming the soft cheeks. The little vixen didn't care and just waited angrily for Ye Jingqiu.

Ye Jingqiu returned the gaze without any change in expression, showing neither guilt nor remorse.

Liu Baishuang took a deep breath and decided not to lower herself to the level of this ice-cold swordswoman. She stuck out her tongue at Little Sword Ancestor from an angle where Su Yan couldn't see her. Instead of throwing away the black robe, she pulled it over herself, covering most of her body.

Then, she buried her head even deeper into Su Yan's shoulder, leaving only Ye Jingqiu with her jet-black head.

"..."

Su Yan was touched by the little demon girl's reliance on him, but he didn't dare to move much right now.

The air temperature around Ye Jingqiu had clearly dropped several degrees!

This can't go on any longer—

Su Yan quickly changed the subject: "Master Ye, I think I heard someone's voice. Are they almost catching up with the main group?"

Ye Jingqiu withdrew her gaze from Liu Baishuang's head, her delicate nose twitched slightly, and she nodded, saying:

"It's very close."

No sooner had she finished speaking than faint lights appeared in the dust and mist, and after a short while, the shouts of sword cultivators searching for their companions could be heard.

Su Yan immediately shouted.

Soon, the Core Formation disciple emerged from the dust and mist with several sword cultivators who had sustained minor injuries. His gaze swept over Su Yan and Liu Baishuang in his arms, and he breathed a sigh of relief. When his gaze fell on Ye Jingqiu, it suddenly became complicated.

Immediately, he bowed deeply with utmost sincerity:

"Thank you, Junior Sister Ye."

Ye Jingqiu's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she hadn't expected to receive such a solemn thank you from the Xuanqing Sect disciple.

Several sword cultivators had already unfurled a makeshift stretcher made of tree branches and outer robes, and forcibly lifted the group onto it. They jogged through the dust and smoke, arriving at a clearing that had been cleared from the ruins.

The vast majority of sword cultivators are here; only a few were scattered during the landslide.

"Quick, there's an empty seat here!"

The Core Formation disciple directed the laying of a mat on a flat ground.

Su Yan lifted Liu Baishuang off the stretcher and let her sit half-upright against a large rock on the edge of the mat. Immediately, a sword cultivator with some medical knowledge stepped forward to check her injuries.

Ye Jingqiu silently jumped off the stretcher, walked to the side, sat down cross-legged, and began to regulate his breathing.

Although her injuries were severe, what was even more critical was her lack of spiritual energy. She had just formed her core and immediately exhausted all her spiritual energy, leaving her meridians and dantian feeling empty and aching in waves. Clearly, she was experiencing a backlash, and she would be unable to mobilize her spiritual energy for the time being.

Liu Baishuang allowed her fellow disciples to examine her wounds, but her gaze was somewhat unfocused.

She looked around at her fellow disciples, some sitting, some lying down, most of them wounded, and listened to their hushed conversations about the harrowing experience, their relief at surviving, and their grief over the deaths and injuries of their fellow disciples...

The sounds buzzed into my ears, yet seemed to be separated by a layer of something.

All of this was caused by her in the future.

"Senior Sister Liu? Senior Sister Liu?"

The disciple in charge of healing called her several times before pulling her out of her reverie.

Liu Baishuang lowered her eyes, concealing the turbulent emotions within them:

"Um?"

"Senior Sister was badly injured, but she also benefited from the battle and broke through. However, her meridians were depleted again as soon as they were expanded, so she can't use much spiritual power for a while."

The disciple gave instructions.

"Okay, I understand, thank you."

Liu Baishuang said politely, her gaze secretly following Su Yan.

The latter was clutching his back and walking slowly through the camp.

His external injuries weren't serious; the demoness's sword was mainly aimed at Ye Jingqiu.

Su Yan was mainly suffering from depletion of vital essence and blood, and severe loss of lifespan, but this did not prevent him from walking. So he went around checking on everyone's condition.

The original team of over a hundred people has now dwindled to just over a hundred, and everyone is injured.

But the atmosphere in the camp was not oppressive; the sword cultivators gathered in twos and threes, their tone still spirited.

"What are the virtues of a swordsman? Joining a group instantly upon starting a fight, understand?"

With his face covered in bruises, Lu Jing applied medicine to a deep, bone-revealing wound on his arm while simultaneously talking:

"I saw Ye Jingqiu rush out, and I immediately followed. My spiritual power is abundant, and I can unleash my ultimate technique at any time. I wasn't afraid at all. If it weren't for that demon's lack of martial ethics in ambushing me..."

"Awesome, awesome!"

"Great sword, brother, awesome!"

The burly male team member scoffed, "Come on, if I hadn't given you a hand, would you still be here bragging?"

"Tsk, no doubt about it, that wave was indeed easy to save."

Lu Jing had no choice but to admit it.

Su Yan listened from the side and chuckled, but did not approach.

The Xuanqing Sect was built on the very edge of the human territory, close to the demon race. The most endearing thing about the cultivators here is that they are prepared for death when they join the sect, and they are not afraid at all.

So, Su Yan silently circled back to Ye Jingqiu's side, took out a pill from his storage bag, bent down and stuffed it into her hand.

"This is?"

Ye Jingqiu opened her closed eyes and looked up in confusion.

"Eat it; it will heal your internal injuries," Su Yan said.

"Your internal injuries are also very serious."

Ye Jingqiu shook his head.

The most pressing need right now is for medicinal pills. The sword cultivators are traveling light for the competition, and they haven't brought many medicines for external injuries.

"This thing is useless against the injuries inside my body."

Su Yan smiled and patted Ye Jingqiu's head:

"Thanks to you today."

Ye Jingqiu held the pill, his breathing slowing down a few times:

"So, is this a reward?"

"This is what you deserve." Su Yan was taken aback.

"Is that part of the reward?"

"Of course not. Even if you did nothing wrong, as long as you suffered internal injuries, I would still give you this pill."

Su Yan frowned, feeling that he couldn't quite make sense of the Little Sword Ancestor.

Fortunately, Ye Jingqiu didn't ask any more questions. She stared at the pill for a while, then gently put it into her mouth and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Liu Baishuang watched silently.

She lowered her eyes, feeling somewhat dejected.

I actually did pretty well tonight, you could say I saved the world.

But she couldn't tell anyone about these things, and no one would praise her.

Just then, a figure suddenly squatted down in front of her.

She looked up blankly and found that it was Su Yan.