Oh no! My online romance partner is actually a Miao holy maiden!

Xu Yi was shocked and exclaimed, "What?!"

He glared at the three unreliable individuals, his face filled with distrust.

"Are you kidding us? How can you joke about something like this?"

My first reaction was that these three mischievous friends were up to some kind of prank again, given their long history of such behavior.

Zhang Wei tried to speak in his defense, but Chen Yang nudged him hard with his elbow.

Chen Yang glanced ahead, and Zhang Wei saw it too.

Not far away, Bai Ling'er had put her mask back on and was standing there, looking straight in their direction.

Several people shuddered at the same time.

What terrified Zhang Wei and his two companions even more was the instant Bai Ling'er looked over.

He slowly raised his hand and made a throat-slitting motion.

The three of them immediately shut up, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Xu Yi hadn't noticed what was ahead, but seeing the three people's strange expressions, he frowned and asked, "What's wrong, you lot?"

Zhang Wei wanted to give Xu Yi a signal with his eyes.

His eyes darted frantically in Bai Ling'er's direction, and then frantically in Xu Yi's direction.

The message is clear: Run, bro!

Xu Yi realized she was going in the wrong direction and frowned, saying, "What's wrong with you? Are you cross-eyed?"

Zhang Wei was speechless for a moment, then sighed deeply, thinking to himself: Brother, this is all we can save. The rest is all up to fate.

Liu Zheyun and Chen Yang, standing to the side, also had expressions that said, "We've done our best."

He thought to himself: It's not that my brothers are disloyal, it's that they're afraid of dying too.

Xu Yi wanted to ask something more, but Yu Jianyue happened to walk over from the side and called out to him.

"Xu Yi, didn't you sign up? Hurry up and go backstage to get ready. The first group of interactive games is about to start, and you're in the second group. Go on!"

Xu Yi was taken aback. "I signed up? When did that happen?"

Yu Jianyue was also completely confused. "Zhang Wei and the others signed you up. What, you didn't even know?"

Xu Yi slowly turned his head to look for Zhang Wei and the other two.

Under his gaze, the three of them instantly shrank back, lowering their heads like elementary school students who had done something wrong.

Yu Jianyue, oblivious to the subtle tension, continued to urge, "By the way, Zhang Wei, you guys have all signed up too. Hurry up and gather backstage, the host is going to call out numbers in order now."

Zhang Wei and the other two exchanged glances and gave a dry reply, "...Okay."

The four of them followed Yu Jianyue to the back.

Once they were out of Bai Ling'er's sight, the feeling of being constantly watched subsided a little.

As they walked to the corner backstage, the three of them huddled together as if holding a small emergency meeting.

"What should we do?" Liu Zheyun was the first to speak, his voice extremely low, like a thief.

Zhang Wei's expression hadn't improved yet, and he muttered, "Did you guys see what she did just now?"

Chen Yang swallowed hard. "I saw it. The movements were even more professional than those of a professional assassin in a movie."

Liu Zheyun's voice trembled, "Is she trying to release snakes to kill the three of us?"

"We just helped Lao Xu register, it was at most a misunderstanding, Lao Xu did everything else himself, we... we don't deserve to die, do we?"

Zhang Wei smiled wryly, "It's not a capital offense. She wouldn't release snakes; those are two completely different things."

"That's not the point right now," Liu Zheyun slapped his forehead. "The point is, are the three of us considered a thorn in her side?"

Zhang Wei: "Definitely not. They're more than just a thorn in our side; they're probably a thorn in our flesh."

"What the three of us did is laid bare on the table. We signed her fiancé up for a matchmaking game. Any yandere would have hung the three of us on a street lamp to dry out by now."

Chen Yang tentatively suggested, "What if we withdraw from the competition now? We could fake illness, take leave, and just disappear tonight?"

Liu Zheyun pointed to the backstage area, where staff had already begun registering names.

"It's too late. She probably doesn't know yet that we signed up for Lao Xu. But if we back out, we'll seem even more guilty, which will definitely make her suspicious. She'll definitely think we did something wrong and want to run away."

"Isn't that something you'd feel guilty about?" Zhang Wei retorted.

"...But we can't let her know!"

The three of them fell silent again.

A glint of light appeared in Chen Yang's eyes.

"Now that things have come to this, the only way to save my life is to bring Old Xu and that saintess together."

Zhang Wei thought for two seconds and replied, "No, that would be like selling out Lao Xu. Lao Xu would never talk to us again for the rest of his life."

Chen Yang said confidently, "Are you stupid? Think about it, Bai Ling'er definitely likes Lao Xu. Even if Lao Xu falls into her hands, it won't matter. Besides, Lao Xu was able to be with her properly before, which means he can handle her!"

"But we're different. If we fall into her hands, just think about the snakes she has, and what Old Xu mentioned before, the centipedes, the poisonous insects..."

After a moment of silence, they all nodded in unison.

Finally, Chen Yang broke the silence, concluding in a heavy tone, "Alright, things have come to this. Let's prepare for the worst."

The three of them looked at each other again and finally reached a consensus: just grit your teeth and go for it. There's no use being afraid or hiding. What's meant to be will be, and what's not meant to be, don't force it.

Just then, Xu Yicai arrived.

I just chatted with Yu Jianyue for a bit.

"What is it?"

The three of them turned around at the same time, and Zhang Wei spoke first.

"It's about the interactive games. All the guys signed up, so I signed you up too, just in case you get bored."

Chen Yang chimed in, "Yes, that's the matter."

Xu Yi looked at the group suspiciously: "Alright, fine, register then... By the way, besides this, are you guys hiding something from me? What were you talking about earlier? Bai Ling'er is back?!"

The group exchanged glances.

Zhang Wei laughed it off: "That's not true."

"Haha, I was just kidding. You know we just like to talk nonsense."

Xu Yi rolled her eyes at the group but didn't scold them. "Alright, enough with the jokes. Don't come here again, my heart can't take it."

Zhang Wei and the others exchanged glances and gave a wry smile.

Zhang Wei was the first to speak, changing the subject, "I'm in the first group, number three. We'll see how I perform later."

Liu Zheyun: "I am number seven."

Chen Yang: "I am number fifteen."

Xu Yi: "I am number twenty-two."

at the same time.

In western Hunan, thousands of miles away, amidst the misty mountains.

Miao region, Shenyue Village.

Unlike the bustling atmosphere at Jiangcheng University, the atmosphere in the village was somber.

In the central council hall of the village, several elders and Bai Ling'er's family sat on one side.

They all looked unwell.

Several days have passed since the Saintess Ceremony, but the Saintess has run away.

If this gets out, the whole village will lose face.

Bai Que stood in front of the hall, dressed in black Miao attire, his brows furrowed in worry.

He slammed his hand on the table, pointed at Bai Lan beside him, and roared, "I told you to bring my little sister back, and what did you do? You even arranged for her to transfer schools! Now look what happened, she's even less likely to come back! I gave you authority not so you could go against me!"

Bai Lan leaned against a pillar, slowly peeling a fruit, looking so relaxed that it seemed he wasn't the one being scolded.

"Brother, what are you saying? Whether my little sister comes back or not is her own business. What era are we living in now? It's not like decades ago."