Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Running Into a Weasel Rat Pack

Wei Yun Xi refused to indulge her and immediately lifted her chin. “Sister, you can’t hit us like that. Just because our cultivation is low now doesn’t mean it won’t improve later. With Sister Yun Ting’s cultivation, she can definitely handle an early first-tier spirit beast.”

Wei Yun Xi’s words sounded a bit like she was flattering Wei Yun Ting, but it still hit everyone right in the heart. Wei Zong Jin beside them was even nodding.

Wei Yun Qing regretted her words a little as soon as she said them. She had only snapped back at Wei Yun Xi on instinct, and she didn’t truly mean to belittle their own people.

Wei Yun Ting only smiled. “Yun Xi is right. We’re only low in cultivation right now. That doesn’t mean we can’t hunt spirit beasts. As long as we cooperate, we can definitely do it.”

She added, “And with alchemy, Yun Xi must have received guidance from her mother’s family. We’ll all be waiting to eat your roasted-meat-flavored Fasting Pills in the future.”

Wei Yun Xi immediately nodded with a grin, but inside she sighed that kids in the Cultivation World really matured early. With just those two lines, Wei Yun Ting pulled the Wei Family disciples together, and she even praised Yun Xi’s alchemy talent. It sounded great.

Wei Yun Qing got no fun out of it and stopped talking, pretending she was meditating with her eyes closed.

An hour later, the little kids from Kun Yu City had eaten and drunk their fill, handled their personal needs, and automatically split into squads. They also subtly treated the Wei Family squad as the leader, waiting for the command to set out.

Wei Yun Ting was pleased with everyone’s obedience. With a wave of her hand, she said, “Three squads side by side. When we go down the mountain, watch the movement in the woods on both sides. Move out!”

With that, she led the way, and the Wei Family disciples followed behind her in order.

Wei Yun Xi didn’t want to walk close to Wei Yun Qing. From her experience reading novels, accidents always happened around the protagonist. If she didn’t want to get dragged in, she needed to stay far away. So she walked with Wei Zong Hao, deliberately putting some distance between herself and Wei Yun Qing.

Wei Yun Qing stayed close to Wei Yun Ting and Wei Zong Jin. One had higher cultivation, and one was her training partner, so she was more familiar with them. Little by little, she moved toward the front of the group.

Wei Zong Hao tossed a piece of dried fruit into his mouth and asked Yun Xi, “Why aren’t you walking with your sister?”

Wei Yun Xi didn’t hide it at all. “I’m not walking with her. She always likes to snatch my things.”

Wei Zong Hao asked right away, “What did she snatch from you?”

Wei Yun Xi told him about how, after her mother “fell,” Wei Yun Qing went to Zhuo Hua Courtyard to snatch her mother’s hairpin. She even emphasized that Father knew about it, aiming for a subtle smear of Wei Yun Qing.

Wei Zong Hao was young, but he had still cultivated for a year. He winked at Yun Xi and lowered his voice. “I heard my mother say that Concubine Du has always been jealous of your mother. She must have seen your mother wasn’t around anymore, so she told Yun Qing to grab your things.”

Wei Yun Xi hadn’t expected the chubby kid to love gossip, but she nodded along and even brought up her uncle’s family as support.

The two of them gossiped about Wei Yun Qing as they walked, sharing snacks without slowing down at all. The Feng Family squad behind them also caught a bit of the gossip, and their impression of Wei Yun Qing worsened.

Three hours later, some children couldn’t keep up and wanted to stop to rest. Wei Yun Ting looked at the sun overhead and nodded in agreement.

In the end, the group was just a bunch of children, and some of them were ordinary kids who hadn’t started cultivating yet. Being able to walk for three hours without falling behind was already impressive.

They rested for another quarter of an hour, then continued down the mountain.

After they walked for not quite another hour, trouble broke out at the back of the group, and children screamed.

Wei Yun Xi wanted to know what happened, so she instinctively released her spiritual sense. The instant she saw it, her scalp went numb. A dense swarm of animals that looked like weasels but were about the size of rats was chasing the back of the group, scaring those children into panicked sprinting.

Once everyone started running, the formation fell apart. Those who reacted slowly fell to their knees on the ground and began wailing. Those who reacted quickly grabbed their friends and charged forward.

The children who were pounced on by the weasel rats vanished from the ground in the next instant. That let Wei Yun Xi’s tense heart ease a little. At least no one would die. Someone was clearly watching them in secret and tracking their performance at every moment.

She knew it. There was no way the sect would throw a bunch of little kids on a mountain and just ignore them. This had to be part of the trial, and the children who vanished were likely eliminated.

Wei Yun Ting also noticed something wrong and shouted, “Don’t stop! Run forward! Once we leave the weasel rats’ territory, they won’t chase us anymore!”

Wei Yun Xi withdrew her spiritual sense, then grabbed the chubby kid beside her. Her legs pumped as fast as they could as she ran down the mountain.

And the instant she pulled her spiritual sense back, she noticed Wei Yun Qing’s expression looked unnatural. Wei Yun Qing even edged two steps closer to Wei Yun Ting, as if she felt guilty.

Wei Yun Xi’s eyes turned. During the last rest, Wei Yun Qing had gone to the toilet with an ordinary little girl. Could she have done something then and provoked the weasel rats?

Besides stepping into a beast pack’s territory, another reason they would chase so relentlessly was if someone had taken something they shouldn’t have, like a spirit herb the beasts guarded, their food, or even one of their young.

Wei Yun Xi was only guessing based on common novel tropes. The thought flashed by and didn’t slow her down at all.

At first, Wei Zong Hao could keep up with Yun Xi, but after running for a while, he began panting. As he ran, he asked, “How much longer do we have to run? Why are these weasel rats still following us?”

Wei Yun Ting also sensed something was off. By rights, they had already left the weasel rats’ territory. The weasel rats should have stopped after driving them out, so why were they still chasing? And the pack was clearly after their leading group.

Wei Yun Ting was older, so she shouted, “When we rested just now, did anyone take something they shouldn’t have? Hurry and throw it away, or the weasel rats will keep chasing us! Not a single one of us will get away. We’ll all be eliminated!”

“No!”

“Who would dare pick something up in a place like this!”

“Who is it? Hurry and return it to the weasel rats behind us! Don’t drag everyone down…”

“Hurry up, I can’t run anymore!”

“Whoever makes me get eliminated, I’ll drag them down with me!”

The group fell into chaos, everyone shouting, but no one admitted they took anything.

Wei Yun Ting saw it couldn’t go on like this and raised her voice again. “Each squad, run in separate directions with your leader. Whichever squad the weasel rats follow, that’s the squad with the problem. Once the other squads shake them off, keep going on your own.”

She wasn’t worried about them getting lost. The Hao Ran Sect’s gate was visible with the naked eye. As long as you weren’t blind, you could find the right direction.

Once Wei Yun Ting gave the order, each squad leader reacted immediately, leading their people straight into the woods to the side.