Chapter 13
Song Si was the five-foot-seven cultivator whose height Yu Tai had mocked.
He made a small commotion to attract the lethally powerful demon beast. Unfortunately, it did not take the bait. It did not even raise its head.
Song Si sneered.
Idiot. Your master is about to die, and you still think she’s asleep. Once you fall into my hands, I’ll train you properly with a whip.
He imagined the prestige this demon beast would bring him and broke into a grin.
Taking a small bottle from his spatial pouch, Song Si removed the stopper. The scent within immediately drifted downwind.
At last, the demon beast moved. Its great head swayed as it turned in Song Si’s direction.
He had commissioned the substance before entering the secret realm. It was a special oil refined from countless ingredients beloved by demon beasts, making it excellent bait.
Not a single demon beast they had encountered could resist the temptation of that little bottle.
Song Si retreated slowly with the bottle. He had no intention of confronting this demon beast head-on. In one hand, he held the beast-catching net he had prepared long ago.
The net was an artifact refined by his master. No matter a demon beast’s rank, once the net was cast, capture was guaranteed.
When the demon beast beside Yu Tai appeared to notice something and wandered toward the depths of the undergrowth, the others knew Junior Brother Song’s bait had worked.
Passerby signaled to Mo Xiaowei, only to find that his Junior Sister was already walking toward the clearing. They followed close behind.
After tailing Yu Tai for so long, they had observed that the humanoid demon beast did not seem particularly strong. He had never attacked. In fact, the other demon beast and Yu Tai both protected him whenever danger appeared.
Shu Li made no attempt to stop Xia Mo from leaving. He remained where he was, lost in some unknown thought.
“Hey.”
At the sound, he turned. Mo Xiaowei stood behind him with a flushed face, staring as though possessed.
An instant later, a palm-sized net shot toward Shu Li. He recognized it as a beast-catching net of respectable quality.
Unfortunately, when the net neared him, it did not expand and draw him inside as everyone expected. It simply dropped to the ground at his feet.
Mo Xiaowei cried out, “How is that possible!?”
Had the beast-catching net broken?
The others abruptly halted their advance toward Yu Tai and watched Shu Li warily.
Junior Sister’s beast-catching net, like Song Si’s, had been personally refined by their master. Even a Nascent Soul demon beast could not resist it.
Yet the net had failed.
That could only mean-
This demon beast’s cultivation surpassed Nascent Soul.
They were only Foundation Establishment disciples. They would turn and flee the instant they encountered a Golden Core opponent, never mind something beyond Nascent Soul.
“Tsk.”
Just as every nerve tightened and they prepared to escape, a sudden sound of disdain broke the silence.
Everyone turned.
Yu Tai, who had looked deathly pale and ready to expire, had opened her eyes at some point. She was watching them with open amusement.
Mo Xiaowei exclaimed, “You were pretending!”
Yu Tai blinked. “Whatever gave you that idea? I was merely taking an afternoon nap.”
Her gaze traveled over the people before her, and her lips curled.
“The question is, Fellow Cultivators-”
She rose, her voice puzzled while her expression remained playful.
“What are all of you doing?”
“We…” Passerby faltered.
“Senior Brother! I caught it! I caught it! Have you dealt with Yu Tai yet!?”
Song Si ran over excitedly, holding up the shrunken beast-catching net.
Inside, the vague outline of a giant panda could be seen clutching the bottle in one paw and sniffing it.
Yu Tai stared.
Could something this stupid truly be the heroine?
[Officially certified,] the System replied.
The moment Song Si saw Yu Tai standing there unharmed and looking at him, his smile froze.
Passerby and the others looked as though they had swallowed shit.
Yu Tai nodded. She glanced at Song Si, then at the strange beast-catching net lying uselessly at Shu Li’s feet while he stood there as calmly as if nothing had happened. Understanding dawned across her face.
“I see. Murder for treasure.”
Mo Xiaowei snapped, “Surely you understand that possessing treasure is itself a crime! Hand over the demon beasts beside you and your spatial pouch!”
Yu Tai could not help applauding her shamelessness. “You truly embody the phrase *ungrateful, treacherous wolves* to perfection.”
“I suppose one hand can’t clap on its own. This must be my fault for being so tolerant and kind, right?”
When she said the words *tolerant* and *kind*, Shu Li tilted his head and glanced at her.
Yu Tai answered with a smile that said, *What? Do you have a problem with that?*
They might have traded spirit stones, but Yu Tai had still generously given them meat and allowed them to trail behind her, collecting whatever she left behind.
Any other cultivator would have lost patience with these parasites long ago.
And how had they repaid her?
Yu Tai clapped several times, each crisp crack sounding like a slap across their faces. Unspeakable humiliation filled them.
But the more ashamed they felt, the less willing they were to admit their mistake.
Passerby glanced at the person beside Yu Tai, who still showed no reaction. Recalling Junior Sister’s claim that the demon beast was willing to leave with her, he hesitated.
Such a powerful demon beast had been chained by Yu Tai. Perhaps he secretly supported their plan to kill her.
“Senior… Demon Beast, if Yu Tai has imprisoned you because of some difficulty you cannot speak about, please do not interfere. We promise to restore your freedom after we kill her.”
Yu Tai’s lips curved despite herself.
What would these people think if they discovered that he was merely an ordinary human without a Dao foundation, wearing a Spirit Transformation demon-beast core she had found inside the ring to disguise his aura?
At Passerby’s words, Shu Li truly stepped aside. The chain joining him to Yu Tai stretched on, holding them securely together no matter the distance. The sight made Mo Xiaowei’s eyes redden with jealousy.
Shu Li’s actions seemed to tell everyone, *Do as you please. This has nothing to do with me.*
Yu Tai’s eyes widened.
What the fuck!?
The others fell silent.
Why did she look even more shocked than they were?
Had Shu Li finally come to his senses? Was he at last abandoning the saintly script?
While Yu Tai stood distracted, Passerby summoned his lifebound artifact and sent it hurtling toward her.
It was a sword the color of water, named the Righteous Path Sword. The others wasted no time either. Every weapon and artifact they possessed rained down upon Yu Tai.
Mo Xiaowei moved closer to her Senior Brothers. Her dress was expensive. She did not want Yu Tai’s blood staining it.
She was utterly convinced that Yu Tai was merely a decorative vase with a pretty face, and she had complete confidence in her Senior Brothers’ strength. Her gaze naturally drifted toward Shu Li.
She was imagining what would happen after she brought him back to the Chengtian Sect when a spray of warm liquid struck her face.
Mo Xiaowei was about to angrily order her Senior Brothers not to drag Yu Tai over before killing her. Then she saw that the Senior Brothers who had stood before her had been reduced to headless torsos.
Bright red blood gushed from the clean cuts at their necks.
One body after another, each dressed in the robes of a Chengtian Sect disciple, crashed to the ground.
Mo Xiaowei’s legs gave way, and she collapsed.
“Senior Brother…” she whispered, unable to believe what she was seeing.