Volume 1 (Human World): Chapter 16

“Alright!” Wu Yong retracted his long knife without hesitation.

“Miss Bai is righteous; we will keep our word and ensure this young brother gets down the mountain for treatment.”

“Xiao Bai…” Mu Fan struggled to get up but was stopped by Wu Yong’s knife again.

“Don’t touch him!” Bai Shuo shouted, stepping forward and pushing Wu Yong’s knife away from Mu Fan.

“I’ll give you what you want!”

Bai Shuo reached into her sleeve, and the forest fell silent. All eyes, including those of the donkey, were fixed on her.

Clang! A flash of gold streaked through the forest, and everyone instinctively closed their eyes.

When they opened them again, they couldn’t take their eyes off the ground, where a pile of golden leaves glistened brightly, forming a small mound.

Zhang Chao swallowed greedily.

“Just these?” Wu Yong’s expression turned strange as he stared at the pile of gold leaves in a daze.

“What do you mean, ‘just these’! This is all I have to save his life!” Bai Shuo stood protectively in front of Mu Fan and looked at Zhang Chao.

“Chief, these gold leaves are enough to feed the entire Mu family village for ten years!” She turned to Wu Yong, staring intently.

“I know you won’t let me leave Muxiao Mountain, but he is not from the capital. If you send him back to the border, he won’t reveal anything about today!”

Zhang Chao hadn’t expected Bai Shuo to guess his intentions so early. He squinted, scrutinizing Mu Fan on the ground with some hesitation in his eyes.

“The chief is a person of character. Bai Shuo has already given what the chief wanted. I only ask the chief to spare my brother Mu’s life.”

Behind Bai Shuo, Mu Fan quietly watched her, his gaze heavy.

Could he have been mistaken last night? Was Bai Shuo just an ordinary person? Did she not awaken Long Yi, and was Long Er not with her?

At the hidden mountain gate of Muxiao Mountain, Fu Ling, Chong Zhao, and the guards had been standing silently for a while.

Chong Zhao stared intently at Fu Ling, seemingly waiting for her command. The guard beside him finally sensed something was wrong and called out softly.

“Young master? Should we enter the mountain?”

“It’s not the time yet.”

The one who answered was not Chong Zhao, but Fu Ling.

The guards looked up to see Fu Ling slowly turn around, her eyes filled with an eerie red light, and a flower-shaped mark appearing on her forehead.

“You…”

The guards’ faces changed, and Fu Ling waved her hand. A red aura swept over them, and the branches hanging on the trees suddenly came to life, transforming into sharp wooden spikes.

“Demon! Demon!” The guards were filled with fear, retreating slowly.

“Demon?” Fu Ling snorted coldly, turning around with a smirk.

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

As she turned, the wooden spikes suspended in mid-air shot forward, piercing the guards’ chests.

With screams, blood sprayed out.

Fu Ling formed a seal with her hands, staining it with blood, and a giant talisman flew into the sky.

Simultaneously, a purple light flashed among the Chong Mansion guards waiting for news throughout the mountain. The light cut across their necks, killing them instantly and sending blood spraying into the air. The purple light turned into several masked figures in purple robes, forming the same blood-stained seal, which flew into the sky.

At that moment, Zhang Chao looked at Bai Shuo and shouted, “Fine! As you wish!”

Zhang Chao, as the leader, couldn’t go back on his word in front of his brothers. Besides, he had intended to keep Bai Shuo, not Mu Fan. With these gold leaves, the Mu family village could stop being bandits and leave the mountain!

“Brother!” Wu Yong didn’t expect a bag of gold leaves to make Zhang Chao decide.

“Enough! When I say something, I mean it! Someone, send this young brother down the mountain!”

Wu Yong wanted to object, but suddenly stopped and stepped back without saying a word.

A bandit came forward, lifting Mu Fan from both sides and dragging him down the mountain. Zhang Chao eagerly grabbed the gold leaves and stuffed them into his arms.

Bai Shuo quietly stepped back, hugging the donkey, curled up on the ground, looking somewhat pitiful.

The donkey turned its big eyes, glaring at the pile in front of it. If it could speak, it would ask Bai Shuo: What grudge do we have? I just ate two pounds of your hay, Is it worth it? Even if you want to die, find a young man to accompany you, Why drag me, a donkey, with you?

Bai Shuo blinks without a word.

Mu Fan lowered his head, barely conscious, as he was dragged to the edge of the small forest.

Without warning, the sky suddenly darkened.

Everyone looked up in surprise to see the clear sky suddenly covered by a blood-red talisman appearing on the canopy. As the talisman filled the sky, it grew darker.

“What is that?” The bandits looked terrified, instinctively retreating.

Zhang Chao’s hand, grabbing the gold leaves, paused.

Wu Yong’s expression changed, looking towards Mu Fan, who raised his head to the sky, frowning, his eyes cold and deep.

Bai Shuo stared at the sudden change, her face strange, and sighed, glancing at the donkey.

Even if Bai Shuo had a heart full of wisdom and skill, she couldn’t compete with the heavens’ black heart.

“Break!” A cold shout echoed in the sky, and the blood-red talisman finally covered the entire canopy. With a crack, a red light flashed, and the canopy shattered.

As the light faded, a red-clothed girl leading a dozen masked figures in purple robes appeared before everyone. Not far away lay the unconscious Chong Zhao.

“Ah Zhao!” Bai Shuo’s face changed dramatically. She couldn’t help but want to go forward but held back, her eyes full of anxiety.

“You…!” Zhang Chao stepped forward, feigning bravado, raising his axe towards Fu Ling. Fu Ling waved her hand, and an arrow made of demonic flowers flew from her palm towards the bandits.

“Poof!” Blood splattered the ground.

Zhang Chao looked at the demonic flower piercing his chest, the gold leaves slipping from his hand as he fell to the ground, eyes wide open.

In an instant, everyone in the forest, except Bai Shuo, fell. Wu Yong and Mu Fan were no exception.

The last arrow flew toward Bai Shuo’s forehead. Fu Ling recognized her face, hesitated, and the arrow vanished.

The donkey, seeing the bloodshed, gasped and feigned death.

The blood from the dead stained Bai Shuo’s body. She paled, hugging the donkey, her hands trembling slightly. In a moment, only she and the unconscious Chong Zhao were left alive in the forest.

Fu Ling stared at Bai Shuo with a surprised and contemptuous smile.

“Didn’t expect this fool to find the right person here.”

Bai Shuo dared not speak, cowering beside the donkey.

Fu Ling sneered at her timid look, walking towards Chong Zhao.

A masked person behind her reminded her in a low voice.

“Second Palace Master, the task is urgent. Since we are in this mountain, the Lord of Haoyue Palace must know. If we delay any longer, I’m afraid…”

“How I handle things is not for you to question.”

Fu Ling’s cold glance made the masked person’s pupils tremble. He dared not speak again, retreating half a step.

Bai Shuo watched as Fu Ling approached Chong Zhao, reaching for his forehead.

“You want to know where Long Er is? Help me save him!” Bai Shuo suddenly stood up, shouting behind her.

“Or you’ll never know where it is!”

The forest fell silent.

Fu Ling looked at Bai Shuo in surprise.

The masked people looked around, thinking this human must be speaking nonsense. But soon, they heard a low, cold laugh.

The laugh was tinged with anger, surprise, and mostly cold amusement.

From the bandits’ bodies, the supposedly dead Mu Fan slowly stood up. His blood-soaked clothes faded away, replaced by a pure white ancient robe with flowing clouds and a crescent moon on the wide sleeves. Despite his youthful face, his eyes were exceptionally cold.

The masked men saw the cloud and moon on his sleeve and stepped back in terror, drawing their long swords and saying, “Lord of Haoyue Palace!”

Fu Ling’s expression turned serious, with a mocking smile on her lips.

“Didn’t expect the mighty Lord of Haoyue Palace to stoop so low as to play dead in front of me!”

Fan Yue ignored Fu Ling, walking straight to Bai Shuo, stopping three steps away, and raising an eyebrow.

“After all this time, even I almost believed it. I’ve never met such a cunning human.”

Bai Shuo shivered, stammering.

“Well said, I apologize for the poor performance. Brother Mu… no, Lord… how should I address you?”

Bai Shuo blinked; suddenly, her pupils shrank, and a demonic cloud arrow flew at her!

“Watch out!” Bai Shuo shouted.

Fan Yue didn’t move, and Wu Yong, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly jumped up, breaking the cloud arrow in two with a stick, but was knocked back several steps by its force.

“Master,” With a flash of demon light, Wu Yong transformed into his Cangshan form, shielding Fan Yue.

Fan Yue turned, glaring coldly at Fu Ling.

Seeing the standoff, Bai Shuo quickly moved to the unconscious Chong Zhao’s side and checked his breathing.
Thank heavens, he was still alive! Bai Shuo was almost moved to tears.

“The Severing Mountain Staff?” Fuling sneered at Cangshan.

“A mere protector of the Haoyue Palace.”

“Enough to deal with you!” Cangshan roared, his staff instantly covered in a layer of icy frost.

“Fan Yue! Since you dare to leave the Extreme North, today will be your last day on Mount Muxiao!” Fuling drew her Cloud Fire Bow to full draw, releasing three arrows towards Fan Yue.

“Cloud Fire Arrows! Master, be careful!”

Cangshan shouted, stepping forward to block, but a figure was faster. Fan Yue leapt in front of Cangshan, his palm forming a protective barrier of cold ice that intercepted the arrows.

Although Fan Yue was injured, Fu Ling was only slightly stronger than him. As they clashed with all their might, the resulting demonic light grew larger and shot towards the sky.

No one noticed Bai Shuo quietly dragging Chong Zhao towards the resting donkey.

Don’t notice me, don’t notice me… Bai Shuo chanted in her mind, a thin layer of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

Just then, a radiant burst of divine light appeared in the sky, descending towards Mount Muxiao.

This was bad. Using five hundred souls to activate the formation had indeed alerted the immortal realm! The Cold Spring Palace couldn’t afford to be caught by the immortals.

Fuling’s expression shifted. “Wenzhu!”

“Form the array!”

A purple-clad man behind Fu Ling commanded. He and the other purple-clad guards leapt into the air, injecting their demon energy into the Cloud Fire Arrows. Instantly, the arrows’ power surged, and the cold ice shield in front of Fan Yue began to crack.

“Master!” Cangshan swung his staff, but Fu Ling deflected it with a single hand, sending him spitting blood to the ground.

Bai Shuo, dragging Chong Zhao, reached the Donkey, panting heavily. Hearing Cangshan’s shout, she hesitated.

I didn’t hear anything… Bai Shuo bit her lip, hefting Chong Zhao onto her back. The donkey, startled, sprang up, glaring at Bai Shuo. It was about to kick Chong Zhao off when Bai Shuo quickly grabbed its ear and whispered something. The donkey instantly became docile, not daring to make a sound, lowering its head and breathing heavily.

On the other side of the clearing, Fu Ling glanced disdainfully at Cangshan.

“Overestimating yourself!”

Fu Ling tossed the Cloud Fire Bow into the air, then leapt up, her hands forming seals. She and the purple-clad guards merged their demonic energies. The three Cloud Fire Arrows combined and shot towards Fan Yue’s forehead.

A muffled groan came from behind her. Bai Shuo, about to climb onto the donkey, hesitated and turned back.

In the distance, Fan Yue spat blood, his face pale. The ice shield in front of him was cracking inch by inch. Just as the Cloud Fire Arrows were about to pierce through the ice and strike Fan Yue, Bai Shuo felt a sudden tremor in her heart. She remembered something she carried, pulling out a wooden pig token from her bosom. Drawing a dagger from Chong Zhao’s waist, she slashed her palm.

Blood splattered onto the pig token, and it instantly lit up. As the Cloud Fire Arrows broke through the ice shield, about to strike Fan Yue, Bai Shuo held her breath.

“Go! Long Yi Pig!” Using all her strength, Bai Shuo hurled the pig token towards the arrows.

With a deafening explosion and a burst of radiant light, Bai Shuo didn’t wait to see the result. She kicked the donkey’s rump and sprinted towards the forest’s edge.