Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Senior Sister, You’re So Cool!

***

The more she thought about it, the more promising the future seemed. Lin Muyu couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile again, and even the arm wrapped around Su Wanqing’s waist unconsciously tightened a few degrees.

But this subtle movement was like a stone thrown into still water, immediately drawing Su Wanqing’s attention.

“You… what are you smiling about?”

She asked somewhat hesitantly, a faint blush quietly spreading across her earlobes.

“Nothing, nothing.”

Lin Muyu quickly restrained her smile, but her cheek pressed even closer, carrying a few degrees of muffled warmth.

“Just thought of something happy…”

After saying this, she simply buried her head against Su Wanqing’s back, her hair brushing against the other’s robes, pretending to focus intently on watching the churning clouds and mist beneath their feet.

Su Wanqing: “…”

She suddenly felt that perhaps she really did need that voice’s help.

When it came to these roundabout thoughts of young women, she truly couldn’t understand them at all.

Although she was also a woman, before meeting Lin Muyu, her eyes only held swords.

“Now you need my help?”

That voice carried a few degrees of smug, sinister laughter, like a mischievous child who had caught someone’s weakness, timely echoing in her mind.

“Get lost.”

Though this was what she thought in her heart, Su Wanqing didn’t want to give this heart demon half a chance to exploit, only coldly replying in her mind.

“…?”

Just moments ago asking for help, and now telling her to get lost?

The voice within Su Wanqing’s body immediately became angry too, carrying a few degrees of spite:

“Fine, fine, fine! Consider it my meddling! When she really gets stolen away by someone else in the future, I won’t say half a word more!”

As the words fell, the voice within Su Wanqing’s body completely fell silent, with no more movement.

And Su Wanqing continued to remain silent.

The completely oblivious Lin Muyu just poked her head out from Su Wanqing’s shoulder, curiously observing the high-altitude scenery outside Qinglan Sect.

But this peace didn’t last long. The flying sword beneath Su Wanqing’s feet suddenly dove, beginning to descend at extreme speed, with wind howling past their ears.

“We’ll have to proceed on foot from here.”

Su Wanqing steadily landed the flying sword on the ground, recalled her sword, and said in a flat tone.

“Huh? Wouldn’t flying directly over be faster?”

Lin Muyu straightened up from behind her, looking completely puzzled.

“We’ve already completely left Qinglan Sect’s controlled territory. In the outside sky, there are still many flying demons.”

Su Wanqing patiently explained, her gaze sweeping over the distant continuous mountain ranges.

“There’s no need to pointlessly conflict with them.”

Lin Muyu nodded with seeming understanding.

Indeed, if they encountered a malicious Golden Core stage bird demon in the sky, they would probably be trapped with no escape.

Although Su Wanqing already had preliminary strength to contend with Golden Core stage cultivators, she wasn’t skilled at aerial combat.

After all, Su Wanqing’s flying sword had to carry both of them.

This also meant that Su Wanqing currently had no way to engage in high-altitude combat.

For safety’s sake, Su Wanqing deliberately chose a road with more pedestrian traffic.

After all, when ordinary people traveled, they would always pick relatively safe routes, and the probability of being attacked by demonic beasts would be much lower.

But they had barely walked for a while when Lin Muyu noticed something was wrong.

The pedestrians they encountered on the road were almost all young and middle-aged men, each one gaunt and sallow, with high cheekbones and sunken eye sockets.

Only their gazes when looking at the two of them were frighteningly bright, like starving wolves eyeing their prey.

They just didn’t dare approach rashly due to the long sword at Su Wanqing’s waist that flashed with cold light.

Lin Muyu quietly poked Su Wanqing, who was lowering her head to check the mission jade slip for directions, and asked in a lowered voice:

“Have you noticed anything strange?”

Hearing this, Su Wanqing raised her eyes to survey the surroundings. Though she saw the undisguised greed in those people’s eyes, she didn’t find anything unusual.

When going down the mountain for missions before, she often encountered these types with ulterior motives, but they were all deterred by her sword.

“What’s strange?”

She withdrew her gaze, her tone calm.

“These are just ordinary people. With your cultivation level, dealing with them should be more than sufficient.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Lin Muyu raised her hand to touch her smooth chin, her expression gradually becoming grave.

When it came to matters of cultivation and seeking the Dao, she naturally couldn’t compare to Su Wanqing, who had trained in Qinglan Sect since childhood.

But when it came to understanding the ways of the mortal world, her experience accumulated across two lifetimes made her far more perceptive than the other.

“Look at them, they’re all young and strong, yet starved to this emaciated state.”

“What’s even stranger is that we’ve walked for so long, and forget about old people and women, we haven’t even seen the shadow of a few children.”

Listening to Lin Muyu’s analysis, Su Wanqing’s expression also became grave, though she still didn’t quite understand:

“You mean…?”

“There must have been a major disaster in this area recently! It’s possible that demonic beasts are causing trouble.”

Lin Muyu voiced her speculation.

“I’m afraid only these strong young men barely managed to escape.”

“Is that so?”

Su Wanqing looked at Lin Muyu with some surprise. She had previously thought she was a kind-hearted but naive fool, but now it seemed she had some wit.

“If there really are powerful demonic beasts causing trouble, perhaps we should take a different route.”

“So we’d better find someone to ask about the situation first.”

Lin Muyu said thoughtfully.

But while she was still pondering whom to approach for conversation, Su Wanqing had already walked directly up to a shifty-eyed man who was closest to them.

With a “swoosh,” she drew her long sword and placed the blade directly against the other’s neck, saying coldly:

“You. Tell me. What has happened here recently?”

“?”

Lin Muyu was stunned watching this.

This was too… violent and decisive, wasn’t it?

“I… I’ll tell! Immortal fairy, spare my life! Spare my life!”

The man was scared out of his wits by this sudden threat.

With a “thud,” he fell to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly.

The surrounding men who had originally been greedily staring at the two saw this and were also frightened into lowering their heads, quickly walking away without looking back.

“Speak quickly.”

Su Wanqing was too lazy to waste time with him, her tone carrying unquestionable urgency.

“Recently Great Xia and Great Qi went to war, with constant warfare, and those demonic beasts also took the opportunity to come out and hunt civilians… I, I’m just a poor person who barely escaped!”

The man cried and complained while squeezing out a few tears, with snot and tears flowing together, looking quite miserable indeed.

“Poor person?”

Su Wanqing snorted coldly, her gaze sharp as a blade.

“Next time remember to hide that little knife you’re carrying to harm people properly.”

As she spoke, she flicked her wrist slightly, and the long sword gently slid across the man’s tattered clothes.

With a “clang,” a curved knife stained with dark red bloodstains fell from his chest, hitting the ground with a harsh sound.

“Im-immortal fairy spare my life! This humble one will never dare again! Spare my life!”

Seeing this, the man’s face instantly turned pale as paper, and a puddle of yellow liquid actually seeped out from beneath him, immediately spreading a fishy stench.

“Get lost.”

Su Wanqing frowned with disgust and waved her hand.

The man couldn’t even be bothered to pick up the curved knife that had fallen to the ground, fleeing in panic by rolling and crawling, even losing one of his shoes in his escape.

“Senior Sister…”

Lin Muyu silently approached, her eyes carrying an unclear expression.

Su Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat, thinking she was going to blame her for acting ruthlessly.

Just as she was about to explain a few words, she was interrupted by Lin Muyu’s words.

“Senior Sister, you’re so cool!”

Lin Muyu even gave her an appreciative thumbs up.