Su Lingâer stared expressionlessly at the cauldron of bubbling green concoction before her.
âHere we go again.â
âThis bunch of demons are starting their evil human sacrifice rituals again.â
âWhat in the world is going on in their heads?â
A sense of powerlessness, mixed with disgust and numbness, rose in her heart. She subconsciously tried to use her Divine Sense to warn Wang Xiedi behind her, telling him to keep his composure at all costs.
âThis is what I told you about beforeâtempering bodies with living people! Theyâre even volunteering! This demonic sect has probably used some evil art to control their minds...â
However, her mental message was like a stone sinking into the oceanâthere was no response.
âWhatâs going on?â
Su Lingâerâs heart tightened as a foreboding premonition washed over her.
Just as she was feeling puzzled, she heard a dull THUD from behind.
She whipped her head around.
She saw Wang Xiedi with his eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, lying stiffly on the ground. His body was still twitching uncontrollably.
Su Lingâer: "..."
âYouâve got to be kidding me, Junior Brother?â
âYou fainted just like that?â
âWith a mental fortitude like this, how in the world did the Sect Leader ever send you to be an undercover agent?!â
She was roaring frantically inside, but on second thought, she felt it was somewhat understandable.
She remembered how the first time she saw such a crazy scene, if she hadnât forced herself to endure it with do-or-die determination, her fate probably wouldnât have been much better than his.
Her junior brother was still young, after all. It was normal for him to be unable to accept such a crazy Demonic Evil Skill on his first encounter.
âOh well...â
Just then, she felt the gaze from behind her turn sharp.
Lin Qingfeng was frowning. He had, at some point, walked over to her side and was now sizing up Wang Xiedi on the ground.
âWait, NPC, you fainted just like that?â
âMy junior sister didnât even faint when she saw this. Whatâs up with you?â
He couldnât help but wonder if this new NPCâs "Willpower" stat was particularly low.
âDoesnât that mean he might not be prime material for cultivating the Sword Refining Skill?â
âHe could still cultivate it, but I feel like he wouldnât last long.â
Lin Qingfeng muttered to himself in a low voice:
"This new junior brother is a bit useless..."
Su Lingâer subconsciously nodded in agreement.
Immediately after, Lin Qingfengâs gaze shifted to her, his eyes holding a hint of pity that she couldnât comprehend.
"Sigh, heâs not even as good as you were back then. I see no future for him."
Su Lingâer froze, her mind instantly in an uproar.
âTalk about him if you want, but what does it have to do with me?!â
âWhat do you mean, "not even as good as I was back then"?â
âI didnât faint!â
âAnd when did you get so close?!â
âYou donât make a single sound when you walk, are you a ghost?!â
Before she could even process this frustration, Lin Qingfeng had already walked straight to Wang Xiedi and crouched down beside him.
âThe sectâs introductory quest isnât even finished yet. I canât just let my junior brother sleep through it.â
So, he walked straight over to Wang Xiedi and crouched down beside him.
The next second, under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the first senior brother raised his hand and began slapping Wang Xiediâs rather handsome face from left to right.
"SLAP!"
"SLAP! SLAP!"
"SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!"
The surrounding clamor seemed to freeze in that instant. Su Lingâer stared blankly at her decisive first senior brother.
âWh-what is he doing?â
âUsing such a primitive method to "wake up" a fainted new disciple?â
âThis is just messing with him!!!â
Finally, after an unknown number of slaps, Wang Xiediâs body jolted. His eyelids fluttered, and he slowly regained consciousness.
After waking up, Wang Xiedi felt the whole world spinning.
His cheeks burned with a fiery pain, as if they didnât belong to him anymore.
He subconsciously reached up to touch his face, feeling a large, raised swelling.
Pouting with lips that had swollen up like a pigâs snout, he asked indistinctly:
"My... what happened to my face? Why does it hurt so much?"
Just then, Lin Qingfengâs figure instantly flashed behind Su Lingâer. He gave her a push forward, then pointed in her direction without a change in expression.
"Your Miss Su hit you."
Su Lingâerâs eyes instantly went wide.
Lin Qingfeng continued to fabricate his lie in a calm tone, as if stating a fact:
"Seeing you were so deeply unconscious, I wanted to let you rest more, but your Miss Su was impatient and insisted on waking you up this way.
Sigh, it was too tragic to watch.
I did my best to stop her, but alas... It was all for your own good, a sign of her concern. You mustnât blame her!"
Those words nearly made Su Lingâerâs eyes pop out of their sockets!
She stared intently at her first senior brother, a monstrous wave crashing through her mind.
âMe???â
âFirst Senior Brother, have you no shame?!â
âYou were the one slapping him so loudly, how did it become my doing?!â
âHow can you twist the truth so brazenly?â
âShameless! Despicable! Vile!â
âIâm so mad, I could just die! As expected of a fiend from the demonic path!â
âIn the blink of an eye, you pin the blame for your own actions on me!â
HUFFâ! HUFFâ!
Su Lingâer took deep breaths, trying desperately to calm down. She was afraid that if she looked at Lin Qingfeng for one more second, she would throw all caution to the wind and lunge at him.
However, Wang Xiediâs anticipated questioning never came.
Instead, Wang Xiedi, his face swollen like a pigâs head, spoke in a tone of sudden realization:
"Oh, so it was Miss Su who hit me?!"
"It wasnât..." Su Lingâer began to deny.
"Miss Su would never harm me! In that case, itâs all good!"
Su Lingâer: "????"
âHe believed it?â
âHe actually believed it again?!â
âIt really wasnât me who hit you, ahhhhh!!!â
âWhere is your brain?!â
âHas it been corroded by Demonic Qi?!â
Wang Xiedi struggled to his feet, still trying to remember why he had fainted.
"Oh, right, what was it that made me faint just now?"
He began to rack his brain, trying to recall the scene before he blacked out...
"Alright."
Seeing the matter perfectly resolved, the first senior brother quickly came over to change the subject!
He was worried that if his junior brother recalled the scene and fainted again, heâd have to resort to another physical awakening!
So he spoke up immediately, interrupting his recollection.
"Stop dawdling. We shouldnât linger here. Itâs time to go to the next area."
"Your Miss Su must be getting impatient too, right, Junior Sister?"
Su Lingâer could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger, forcing a single word out through clenched teeth: "...Right."
âCould I possibly say no?â
âThis first senior brother is utterly devoid of conscience!â
âSigh, being undercover here is truly bitter work.â
She glanced at her junior brother and saw him still rubbing his highly swollen cheeks, a pained look on his face.
However, she was afraid that if she sent him a mental message with the truth and he acted strangely, the first senior brother would fly into a rage out of shame, and this somewhat scatterbrained junior brother of hers might not be able to keep his life.
And so, just like that, the three of them set off for the next location.
The Spirit Beast Garden.