Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Not Necessarily a Loss

After hearing Yun Xi, Hua Xuan Zi and Senior Brother Zhao both twitched their eyelids at the same time. Why did Junior Sister Wei’s smile feel kind of creepy?

Wei Zong Hao could not help asking, “Yun Xi, how did you think of stuffing a talisman in that place?”

Yun Xi said casually, “A Second Rank sand rat is thick-skinned. After being blasted by talismans for so long, it was mostly surface wounds. I don’t believe its heart, liver, spleen, and lungs are just as tough. When it whipped me with its tail, I happened to see its little butthole, so I got an idea and struck while I could.”

Senior Brother Zhao curled his lips slightly. “Good thing Junior Sister Wei was clever. Otherwise, we’d have been dragged into a bitter fight. Who knows who would have benefited in the end.”

Hua Xuan Zi sighed. “Senior Brother Zhao is right. This time, Junior Sister Wei deserves the top credit. If we hadn’t gone through Senior Sister Zhang and the others’ betrayal earlier, maybe we could have slowly ground that Second Rank sand rat down even if we got hurt. But right after that big fight, and then facing a sand rat pack, our odds really weren’t good. We truly have to thank Junior Sister Wei.”

After speaking, she solemnly clasped her hands toward Yun Xi and Zong Hao, clearly acknowledging she owed them her life.

Yun Xi smiled and returned the salute, accepting the debt. After all, their effort had been real. If she had not noticed early, she really would have become a sacrifice in the team’s internal backstabbing.

“Senior Sister Hua, aside from that Senior Sister Zhang, the other three in the team are all dead. We’d better prepare an explanation, or it’ll be hard to answer at the Mission Hall after we return,” Yun Xi said, putting the cleanup issue on the table.

Senior Brother Zhao and Hua Xuan Zi exchanged a look. Then Senior Brother Zhao said, “We’ll say that when we were picking Golden Sand Grass, we alarmed a Second Rank sand rat that was advancing. The team fell into a hard fight, and those three were swallowed by the Second Rank sand rat.”

The excuse was simple, direct, and brutal, and the reason was solid.

Wei Yun Xi nodded to show she understood. With the Second Rank sand rat’s corpse as proof, no one would dig too deeply. After all, no one present would sell themselves out.

After they unified their story, it was time to split the rewards. As usual, Senior Brother Zhao spoke first. “After we hand in the Golden Sand Grass and the first-rank sand rats, the sect points will be split evenly among the four of us. We’ll sell this Second Rank sand rat to the Mission Hall. Since its incisors are intact, it should sell for about six mid-grade spirit stones. Xuan Zi and I will each take one, and you and Junior Brother Wei will each take two…”

Yun Xi immediately waved her hands. “Senior Brother Zhao, that’s not appropriate. That Second Rank sand rat wasn’t killed by Brother and me-”

Before she could finish, Senior Brother Zhao cut her off. “It’s settled. This time, if you and Junior Brother Wei hadn’t acted, the two of us would have been trapped by their scheme. Even if you acted for self-protection, to us it was help, and it proves Xuan Zi didn’t misjudge you. You are trustworthy.

“Also, without your formation plate, after we beat the ones who tried to ambush us, we might have fallen straight into the sand rat pack. The result would have been a dead end. So these two mid-grade spirit stones are what you deserve.

“Xuan Zi and I are shamelessly taking one each because we’re saving spirit stones to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill. You don’t need to feel bad about it.”

After hearing that, Yun Xi smiled and clasped her hands. “Since Senior Brother Zhao says so, then Brother and I won’t refuse.”

As for the storage pouches they took from opponents they personally killed, those were individual gains and did not get split. That was the unspoken rule.

After settling the division, the four of them each began meditating to recover.

Yun Xi had taken a top-grade Nourishing Spirit Pill earlier, and she had not fully absorbed its power. After meditating and absorbing the remaining medicinal power in her meridians, her dantian was basically full again.

The night passed without incident. All four used meditation instead of sleep. After the sun rose on the second day, Hua Xuan Zi withdrew the formation plate at the cave entrance and prepared to head back.

No one objected. First, they had lost too many people. Second, they feared the three they killed might have some hidden backup, and getting caught again would be disastrous.

Yun Xi and Zong Hao were not too affected. When they ran into low-tier spirit plants, they still picked one or two, since that would save a lot of spirit stones later.

The four moved quickly, stopping only now and then. They also killed a few Snow-Ear Rabbits and Red Chickens, mainly because Zong Hao was a bit greedy and kept thinking about Yun Xi’s stew.

Before sunset, they finally reached the exit. Then, as if by agreement, the four adjusted their expressions. They did not change their sect robes, leaving the signs of battle on them, making themselves look miserable, like they had barely escaped with their lives.

After the disciple on duty checked their identity jade tokens, he let them out.

The four said nothing and went straight to the Mission Hall. After turning in the mission and having the points credited to their identity jade tokens, they left the Mission Hall first, leaving Senior Brother Zhao alone to handle the Second Rank sand rat.

They did not wait long. Senior Brother Zhao came out, split the spirit stones, and then the four left in pairs.

Yun Xi and Zong Hao returned together to the Outer Peak disciples’ courtyard. On the way, the two did not say much, only that this mission had been too dangerous.

“It was dangerous, but it really trains you. I feel the spiritual energy in my body has become two parts more solid,” Yun Xi said.

“Yeah. The cultivation I just broke through to also feels steadier,” Zong Hao nodded.

“It looks like we should take one or two missions like this in the future. We can’t always take missions inside the sect. They’re safe, but the points are low, and they don’t help us much,” Yun Xi said matter-of-factly.

Zong Hao agreed. “Yun Xi is right. The key is that we have to be careful when teaming up. If you weren’t sharp this time, we might have become cannon fodder for their internal fighting. Otherwise, why would those two have yielded benefits to us?”

“It’s not really yielding. We took what we deserved,” Yun Xi said. “Did you forget? They seized the storage pouches from the teammates they killed. They probably know exactly what was inside those pouches. So they might not have lost out.”

On the way back, Wei Yun Xi had figured it out. Even though everyone pooled mid-grade spirit stones to fuel the formation plate, and they did search those storage pouches, only the people involved knew exactly how many mid-grade spirit stones were inside. Just like how she did not take out every mid-grade spirit stone she found in her own seized pouch.

The reason she said what she did earlier was to leave Senior Brother Zhao and Hua Xuan Zi with the impression that they were not greedy. Of course, if those two truly wanted to make a move on her and Brother, she would not mind taking all of their gains for herself.

But Senior Brother Zhao was not greedy, and he also understood reality. When he controlled the talisman treasure, he definitely suffered internal injuries, so he did not dare to tear things open with Yun Xi and Zong Hao. Whether he could take them down was one thing, but without the two of them, what if they ran into another ambush? Then what?

After hearing that, Wei Zong Hao nodded again and again. “Yun Xi is right. I’ll tell you a secret – the storage pouch I seized also had two more mid-grade spirit stones, and I didn’t take them out either!”

He looked like he was waiting to be praised.

Yun Xi smiled, dimples appearing. “Brother Zong Hao is amazing.”

Wei Zong Hao was so pleased his eyes nearly disappeared from smiling.

Just as the two of them were about to enter their own courtyards, someone called out to them.