Chapter 23
They traveled for several more days.
The closer they came to the boundary of the secret realm, the more high-ranked demon beasts they encountered.
As though aware that the world they had inhabited for so long was about to perish, the beasts had completely lost their minds and slaughtered every living thing that crossed their paths.
Whatever luck the Qingshan Sword Sect disciples possessed had probably vanished the moment they set off for the boundary in search of a chance to survive.
It was as though they were finally paying for the easy days they had enjoyed since entering the secret realm. Now they suffered every hardship imaginable.
Yu Tai was probably the most comfortable person among them.
Rampaging demon beasts?
Sorry, but none of them could compare to the killing machine at her side.
Yu Tai watched Xia Mo expertly tear in half a crocodile-like demon beast that had burst from the water. When it rolled the remains into a ball and prepared to throw them back, she stopped it. “Don’t. You’ll contaminate the water.”
At her words, Xia Mo halted and used one paw to sweep aside the crocodile demon, whose bones it had already crushed beyond recognition.
The Qingshan Sword Sect disciples looked at Yu Tai enviously.
Throughout their journey, they had gained a profound understanding of this demon beast’s absolute strength as it annihilated everything in its path. Yu Tai claimed that she had contracted it by accident, but they had to admit that cultivators were not all blessed with the same fortune.
“Junior Sister, we’re a little short-handed. Can you send this demon beast over to help?” a carefree voice asked.
Yu Tai looked up. It was the cultivator who had sent Jiang Yibai the voice transmission that day.
“Sorry, Senior Brother. Ugly is clumsy and will only make things worse. Why don’t I help instead?” Yu Tai made as if to rise.
The man hastily waved his hands. “Never mind, then. There’s no need to trouble you, Junior Sister.”
If he made her work, Senior Brother Jiang would probably kill him.
As Yu Tai watched him leave, Shu Li, who was sitting beside her, turned his gaze her way. She glared at him. “What are you staring at?”
Shu Li chuckled softly. “I’m merely surprised.”
Judging from the way Yu Tai had deliberately used him to provoke Jiang Yibai a few days ago, he had assumed she would send him along.
Yu Tai pretended not to understand. Her emotions had been unstable in the cave a few days earlier, prompting her to use Shu Li to bring out the maliciousness in Jiang Yibai’s heart.
In hindsight, she must have lost her mind. What did Jiang Yibai’s maliciousness have to do with her? Besides, if something truly happened to Shu Li, how long could she keep her identity as a demonic cultivator hidden?
Finding a high-ranked Demon-Concealing Pearl could not wait. The instant she got out, she would search for information about one.
Several female cultivators suddenly approached. Yu Tai recognized the one in front as the Senior Sister who had tried and failed to pet Xia Mo earlier.
Xia Mo, which had been lying atop Shu Li with its eyes closed, opened them abruptly. It had not forgotten her either and immediately prepared to bare its teeth and drive the women away. But Shu Li stroked it several times, forcibly smoothing its fur back down.
“Junior Sister, we really don’t have enough hands. Can you come help? Junior Sister Li read the sky last night and predicted a torrential downpour today. It’s almost dark.”
These favored prodigies, who could command crowds back in the sect, had gradually adapted to the harsh environment after days of suffering and many casualties. Each evening, they now used spells to construct simple shelters against the dangers lurking in the night.
Yu Tai nodded. “Of course.”
She looked back at Shu Li, intending to have him come along, but when she saw Xia Mo purring comfortably in his arms as it was petted, she kept silent.
In full view of everyone, Yu Tai took Shu Li’s wrist and wound a strand of her spiritual qi around it. Only then did she relax.
The women teased her. “Junior Sister Yu is normally so aloof. Who knew you could be so possessive of your demon beast? If you ever take a Dao partner and he does something wrong, he’ll be in for a miserable time.”
Yu Tai nodded in agreement. “Senior Sister is right. Being my Dao partner would indeed be rather difficult.”
If her Dao partner dared betray her, she would break his limbs, tear out his meridians, and lock him in a lightless cavern to torment him day and night.
The storm inside the secret realm would undoubtedly be no ordinary downpour. Since no one knew how long it would last or how high the water might rise, they built their shelter in a tree. Several cultivators with wood-aligned spiritual roots used spiritual qi to force an ordinary sapling into a towering tree with a dense, clustered crown.
Looking at the simple artificial treehouse, Yu Tai once again marveled at the wonders of the cultivation world.
While she stood lost in thought, she suddenly sensed a disturbance. There was no time to consider anything else.
Everyone watched as Junior Sister Yu Tai abruptly shot away, moving so quickly that they could only catch her afterimage.
“What happened?” someone murmured.
When Yu Tai rushed back, she saw a figure standing with his side to her.
It was Jiang Yibai, who had always disliked Shu Li.
Jiang Yibai stood there with a dazed expression, while the familiar figure of Shu Li knelt on the ground beside an anxious Xia Mo.
Yu Tai charged over at once. “Ugly?!”
At the sound of her voice, Jiang Yibai froze. When he saw the unconcealed worry on her face, he hurriedly tried to explain. “Junior Sister, I-”
But he had barely begun when Yu Tai’s sharp, scrutinizing gaze swept toward him, cutting him deeply.
“Senior Brother Jiang, could you leave us alone for a moment?” Her frosty voice chilled his heart completely. He nodded despondently, turned, and left.
Only after he was gone did Yu Tai’s expression ease.
Truthfully, she did not care whether Jiang Yibai had done it. This merely offered her a convenient excuse to make him keep his distance for a few days.
Yu Tai was not a natural actress. Jiang Yibai knew the original character extremely well, and constantly dealing with his enthusiasm was genuinely exhausting.
“Let me see.”
She gently took Shu Li’s visibly injured hand and lifted it.
His limp fingers and red, swollen wrist made it clear that the bones were probably broken.
Yu Tai frowned. Irritation rose within her, as though someone else had damaged something that belonged to her. “How did this happen?”
Without his Dao foundation, Shu Li’s body was even more sensitive to pain than an ordinary mortal’s. His voice was a little hoarse, but his tone remained as gentle and reassuring as ever. “It was my own carelessness. I won’t become a burden to you.”
Then he added, “It wasn’t Jiang Yibai’s fault. I was careless.”
The System and Yu Tai: […]
Honestly, that last line reeked of manipulative innocence.
Xia Mo pointed in the direction Jiang Yibai had left and chirped repeatedly.
It seemed to be saying that bastard was the one who did it.
When it finished, it found a piece of fruit from somewhere and nudged it toward Shu Li’s hand.
Yu Tai’s expression darkened visibly. Shu Li stroked the indignant Xia Mo’s head. “I’m fine. Eat it yourself.”
The moment he claimed he was fine, Yu Tai squeezed his fractured hand viciously, forcing a muffled groan from him. Pain rang unmistakably in the tail end of the sound.
She sneered. “You call this fine? You’re not a cultivator anymore. If it doesn’t heal properly, you could truly lose the hand.”
Shu Li said nothing. He lowered his eyes and let her scold him, wearing an expression that said everything she said was right. The sight only made Yu Tai angrier.
She stuffed a pill into his mouth, lifted the veil of his hat, and pressed her lips to his, ensuring he had enough moisture to swallow it.
As their lips and tongues entwined, she helped herself to some righteous qi as well.
“What did Jiang Yibai do to you?” Yu Tai demanded before her breathing had even settled.
Subconsciously, she had already decided that Jiang Yibai must have done something terrible to Shu Li.