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Volume 4 Chapter 21 / Chapter 295: Junior Sister, Still Shaken
The dusk painted the sky crimson.
On the endless expanse of the Gobi Desert, two fine horses galloped along the ancient road.
"Hyah!"
Ye Anping, holding the reins, sat between two girls—one in front, one behind—urging the horse forward at full speed, fleeing eastward.
Ever since they had left the city at dawn, their sweat-blood horse had been running at full tilt. Pei Lengxue, sitting in the front, occasionally fed him bits of candy, while Feng Yudie, seated behind, clung tightly to his waist, afraid of being thrown off by the horse’s jolting movements.
Trailing behind them, Su Wan’er rode a small pony, struggling to keep up. Watching the three ahead galloping as if they were running for their lives, she finally couldn't hold back:
"Hey!! What’s the rush? My— my horse is about to drop dead!"
"… …"
Ye Anping glanced back at her, then at the small white horse—barely taller than Su Wan’er herself—panting heavily from exhaustion. He immediately pulled on the reins, bringing his horse to a sudden stop.
"Whoa~~"
Feng Yudie wasn’t prepared for the abrupt halt and smacked her face directly into Ye Anping’s back.
"Ow~!"
Ye Anping guided the horse into a small circle before coming to a full stop. He then turned his gaze back toward the way they had come.
From here, they could still see Yu Pass City in the distance, nestled against the side of a valley. The vast, desolate Gobi stretched endlessly around them.
Feng Yudie rubbed her reddened nose, full of grievances, and pinched Ye Anping’s waist hard.
"Young Master Ye, what the heck was that for…"
"I'll brake more gently next time," Ye Anping replied nonchalantly, offering a casual apology. "We've come far enough. Let’s rest here for the night and continue in the morning."
By now, Su Wan’er had finally caught up. She reined in her exhausted little white horse, frowning in frustration.
"Young Master Ye, is this how you travel? At this pace, by the time you reach Tian’an City, your horse will have dropped dead from exhaustion!"
"Who said we were just traveling? We’re escaping."
"?!"
Su Wan’er followed Ye Anping’s gaze and looked back at the now-tiny silhouette of Yu Pass City.
"Escaping from what? Beasts?"
Ye Anping dismounted smoothly, then helped Pei Lengxue and Feng Yudie down from the horse. With a slight smile, he said,
"Miss Su, care to make a bet for 500 spirit stones? Let’s see if Yu Pass City can last ten days."
Su Wan’er raised an eyebrow and agreed without hesitation. Crossing her arms, she said confidently,
"What’s there to bet on? Yu Pass City is a border fortress of the Central Region. Sure, the disciples stationed there might not be that strong, but the Emperor himself set up a defensive formation there. Even if a few rank-nine demonic beasts came knocking, they wouldn't be able to break through—"
BOOM!!
Before she could finish her sentence, a dark spiritual light shot into the sky from Yu Pass City. A deafening explosion echoed across the land, shaking the heavens and earth.
In an instant, black clouds rolled in, swallowing the crimson hues of dusk as red lightning crackled through the sky.
The shockwave arrived first, followed by a fierce windstorm.
The two horses—one black, one white—reared up in panic, their terrified neighs piercing the air:
"Neigh~~~!!"
Su Wan’er, stunned, was thrown clean off her little white horse, hitting the ground with a thud.
Ye Anping, on the other hand, quickly grabbed the reins of his sweat-blood horse, soothing it with gentle pats to its neck.
"Easy now… easy—"
Sitting on the ground, Su Wan’er stared in shock at the ominous spiritual light rising from Yu Pass City, her eyes widening.
For a long time, she couldn't utter a single word.
She, too, was seeing it for the first time, but with just one glance, she immediately understood—
—That spiritual light was the Guardian Formation of Yu Pass City.
The Guardian Formation of Yu Pass City had been established a thousand years ago by four Virtual Realm cultivators. Originally, it was meant to defend against demonic cultivators. However, after the demonic cultivators were driven to the Eastern Region by Moon Dan Master and others, the formation had become nothing more than an ornament.
And yet, now, the city lord of Yu Pass City had activated it.
Su Wan’er never imagined that in her lifetime, she would witness the glow of this ancient formation. But even as she marveled at it, a chill crept into her heart—
If the city lord had resorted to activating the formation, then the invaders were far more than just mere beasts.
She suddenly regretted betting those 500 spirit stones with Ye Anping.
If Yu Pass City had been forced to activate its Guardian Formation, then it was already teetering on the edge of destruction. And this was only the first day of the beast calamity?
Had she not left the city with Ye Anping, she would now be trapped inside by the very same defensive formation.
Su Wan’er slowly got up, turning to glance at Ye Anping and the other two, who were now setting up camp. A trace of wariness flickered in her eyes, but more than that—curiosity.
—Just who were they?
—Where did they get their information? Even the black market hadn’t caught wind of this beast siege… How did they know? Divination? But no divination technique could predict something this precisely.
Not to mention, when they had set her up and captured her yesterday, she had already felt that something was off. Every move they made had struck precisely at her weaknesses. If those three idiotic Xing Tian Division enforcers hadn’t shown up in the end, she would have actually been caught.
—They knew that the Immortal Thief’s Escape Technique couldn’t carry another person.
—They knew that the Immortal Thief’s Star Plucking Art could only snatch objects within a twenty-zhang radius…
—And now, they knew Yu Pass City would end up like this…
Su Wan’er’s original plan had been to get close to Ye Anping, follow them into the wilderness, and then strip them clean before making her escape—to take revenge for being ganged up on yesterday. Besides, that black-haired girl’s mysterious ice sword looked incredibly valuable.
But now…
She realized she needed to change her plan.
If Yu Pass City fell, the Central Region would inevitably descend into chaos.
And in times of chaos, information was the most valuable asset.
This kid surnamed Ye had intelligence that was ridiculously accurate. Sticking with him would definitely yield benefits.
And even if something went wrong, she could always snatch that clueless-looking girl’s spiritual sword and escape just the same.
"Hmm…"
Su Wan’er felt that her new plan was simply genius. Satisfied with herself, she patted the dust off her clothes, walked over, and asked,
"Young Master Ye, shouldn't we travel a bit farther? Isn’t this place too close?"
"You planning to carry your horse and keep going?"
"—?"
Su Wan’er froze, then turned to look at her little white horse, still panting heavily. With an awkward smile, she replied,
"Well… fair enough. Then, since I'm the strongest among us four, it’s only right that I take care of you all. If you need anything, just say the word."
She then clasped her hands in greeting toward Pei Lengxue and Feng Yudie, who were still setting up the tent, and said with a smile,
"Let’s start over—Fairy Feng, Fairy Pei, my name is Su Wan’er, just a humble rogue cultivator."
"Oh…" "Mhm."
Feng Yudie and Pei Lengxue turned to look at her, nodding slightly—before both of their gazes inevitably drifted toward the two fake melons on her chest.
Ye Anping glanced at Su Wan’er’s face and instantly saw through her little schemes. Smiling slightly, he said,
"Miss Su, could I trouble you with something?"
"Just say it."
Ye Anping pointed toward the withered forest a little ways away and smiled.
"Could you go chop some firewood for us? It gets pretty cold at night in the Gobi Desert."
"… …"
"?!"
Su Wan’er froze for a second, then twitched at the corner of her eye.
Yes, she had said he could ask for her help, but that was just a polite gesture.
She was a Core Formation cultivator, two small realms above this kid, and yet he was really ordering her around like this?
He was actually asking her to chop wood?
No respect at all! His face was as thick as a city wall!
And he looked so proper and well-mannered too…
Su Wan’er grumbled in her heart, but since she still had to play the humble follower and hold onto her golden goose, she forced a smile and agreed.
"Alright."
Seeing her agree, Ye Anping glanced at Feng Yudie and casually added,
"Oh, and while you’re at it, could you also catch a wild chicken? Senior Sister Feng likes roast chicken."
"… Hah—" Su Wan’er’s smile was visibly strained. "Sure~ I’ll see if I can find one along the way…"
Ye Anping, now fully committed, pulled three waterskins out of his storage bag and handed them to her.
"And while you’re at it, there’s a small lake about three miles east. Could you bring back some water too?"
"……Fine."
Endure!! Just endure!!
This brat was worth enduring for!!
With a stiff face, Su Wan’er took the waterskins, turned around, and walked off.
Watching her head toward the withered forest to the east, Ye Anping shook his head with a wry smile and murmured,
"Heh, that was easier than expected…"
Feng Yudie, seeing Su Wan’er leave, leaned in and asked,
"Young Master Ye, why is that woman so thick-skinned? She’s insisting on following us even though we don’t even know her."
"She’s that Immortal Thief we ran into yesterday, right?" Pei Lengxue, who was still setting up the tent, turned her head and added, "Senior Brother, am I right?"
Ye Anping was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected his junior sister to figure it out so quickly.
"How did you guess?"
Proud of herself for being correct, Pei Lengxue held up a finger and explained,
"With Senior Brother’s personality, you’d never let a random stranger tag along. If you weren’t interested in her, then she must have some special status. And since there’s no way you’d be interested in her, then it has to be the second reason… Given what happened last night, she’s most likely the Immortal Thief."
Feng Yudie blinked, then asked,
"Why couldn’t he be interested in her?"
"… …" "… …"
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow but ignored Feng Yudie. Instead, he turned back to Pei Lengxue and chuckled.
"When did my junior sister get so sharp?"
"I was never dumb."
"Yes, yes, of course." Ye Anping shrugged, then looked at the clueless Feng Yudie.
"Anyway, just be careful with your belongings from now on. Don’t go pulling things out all the time, or she might snatch them when you’re not looking."
Feng Yudie paused, then seemed to remember something.
"The Immortal Thief… Young Master Ye…"
"What?"
"Then… was her chest real yesterday, or is it real today?"
"…?"
Ye Anping blinked, tilting his head with a frown.
"That’s what you're curious about?"
"Yeah!"
"Don’t be." Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her and swiftly changed the subject. "How’s your Mysterious Yin Art progressing?"
At his words, Feng Yudie immediately put on a goofy grin and laughed awkwardly.
"Ah— I’m practicing, I’m practicing! Hehe~~"
Ye Anping sighed, shaking his head, then pulled a meditation cushion from his storage bag.
"Go circulate your technique. Before we reach Tian’an City, you need to master the first volume of Mysterious Yin Art, got it? Start by completing three full cycles. If you don’t finish, no roast chicken for you later."
"Ah…"
"Ah, what?" Ye Anping frowned, reaching out to pinch Feng Yudie’s cheek as he scolded her. "Get to it!"
"Okay…"
Feng Yudie quickly swatted his hand away, pouting with a pitiful look, then obediently sat down on the cushion he had given her and started meditating to circulate her technique.
Pei Lengxue, watching their interaction from the side, pursed her lips slightly, feeling a little uneasy.
Before they had joined the Shadowmoon Sword Sect, Ye Anping had told her that Feng Yudie didn’t like him—she liked her. Back then, to help Feng Yudie adjust to dressing as a boy, he had asked Pei Lengxue to play along and humor her.
So ever since, Pei Lengxue had never seen Feng Yudie as a romantic rival—just an annoying nuisance.
But…
Ever since they traveled from Profound Star Sect to the Central Region, she had started to notice something.
Her senior brother and Feng Yudie seemed a lot closer than before.
He kept pushing Feng Yudie to train harder. Every time they ate, he always remembered to buy her roast chicken. Sometimes, they would whisper to each other about something called "Xiaotian," making sure she couldn’t hear…
When did this start?
Was it after they returned from Shadowmoon Sword Sect?
Had something happened there between them—something she didn’t know about?
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