Chapter 014
Chapter 14: I Told You Not to Wander Off
Looking at the two humans still standing firm beneath its deafening tiger roar attack, the Purple-Winged Flame Tiger spread its wings and swung fiercely toward them. Those dark-purple bone wings swept forward like enormous blades, slicing through nearby trees in an instant, felling them cleanly at the trunk.
With Ye He Qi beside her, Shi Zi Chu didn’t recklessly step forward. Instead, she gracefully leaped aside, dodging the strike.
The Purple-Winged Flame Tiger sensed these two humans were no pushovers, yet hunger gnawed at its belly. It yearned for a hearty meal. Finally, it decided to target Shi Zi Chu, believing her to be weaker prey.
Noticing that even a beast like this knew to bully the weak, Shi Zi Chu turned decisively and dashed toward Ye He Qi.
[Thinking of standing aside, using the tiger to test my strength? Impossible!]
Ye He Qi’s smile remained calm, unchanged, as Shi Zi Chu swiftly hid behind him. With a flick of his wrist, a fan appeared in his hand. Infused with spiritual power, the fan instantly transformed into a whip.
A sharp tearing sound split the air.
Shi Zi Chu turned around just in time to see a brilliant purple whip coiling around the left wing of the tiger, violently ripping it off from the root.
The tiger’s continuous howls shook Shi Zi Chu’s ears, making her slightly dizzy. The wounded Purple-Winged Flame Tiger, eyes crimson with fury, lunged directly at Ye He Qi.
Yet Ye He Qi’s movement technique was so swift the tiger could not keep up, causing the beast to quickly shift targets back to Shi Zi Chu.
Shi Zi Chu leaped gracefully away from the foul-smelling tiger’s jaws, her face twisting slightly in disgust.
The whip wrapped around the severed, sharp bone wing, instantly turning it into a deadly spear aimed at the tiger. The bone wing pierced straight through the Purple-Winged Flame Tiger’s skull, the massive beast collapsing heavily and raising a cloud of dust.
Ye He Qi watched Shi Zi Chu standing to the side, covering her nose delicately with her sleeve. With another twist of his wrist, the whip shifted smoothly back into a folding fan. His fingers, slender and clear like flawless white jade, seemed to outshine even the pristine jade fan’s ribs held in his hand.
Seeing Shi Zi Chu’s gaze fixed upon the fan, Ye He Qi lightly tapped its jade ribs with his fingertips and stepped around the fallen beast.
“Do you like it?” Ye He Qi offered the fan to her, saying gently, “If you like, you can take a closer look.”
Shi Zi Chu didn’t reach for it, her eyes briefly scanning over the white jade folding fan. The fan remained closed, hiding whatever image lay on its surface, though the magnolia-shaped end fittingly matched Ye He Qi’s refined bearing.
“And here I thought Clan Chief Ye would generously gift it to me if I liked it,” Shi Zi Chu teased lightly, her gaze shifting back to the Purple-Winged Flame Tiger’s corpse.
The most valuable parts of the tiger were clearly its pair of dark-purple bone wings.
[How should I take half for myself?]
Ye He Qi smiled gently with faint resignation. “This is my life-bound artifact. If Daoist Shi truly likes it, I’ll have an artifact smith forge another one for you.”
Shi Zi Chu glanced sideways at Ye He Qi, responding casually, “I don’t take rewards without merit.”
[Some people’s things, once taken, demand repayment tenfold.]
“Then perhaps as compensation?” Ye He Qi stepped closer, surveying the tiger’s remains. “Shall we split evenly?”
Shi Zi Chu gracefully raised a hand, gesturing for Ye He Qi to begin.
In mere moments, Ye He Qi expertly dismantled the Purple-Winged Flame Tiger. Shi Zi Chu received one wing and a whole tiger hide; she rejected the offered fangs, finding their stench too unpleasant.
Having divided the spoils, Shi Zi Chu continued onward. Ye He Qi casually toyed with his folding fan, quietly following behind her.
The Floating Flower Secret Realm was truly abundant—spirit plants every few steps, demonic beasts every few more.
Shi Zi Chu easily dispatched the lower-ranked beasts, leaving the more difficult ones for Ye He Qi. Ye He Qi didn’t act out of kindness but because Shi Zi Chu was slippery as an eel, constantly darting behind him and using him as a shield. Each time this happened, Ye He Qi could only sigh helplessly, appearing endlessly patient.
As for whatever schemes might lie beneath his gentle demeanor, only Ye He Qi himself knew.
Nightfall.
They settled near a riverside clearing. Ye He Qi gathered branches and expertly started a fire. Shi Zi Chu sat aside, observing his practiced movements for a short while before looking away again.
The dense forest shrouded in darkness echoed occasionally with the roars of distant demonic beasts. Ye He Qi’s gaze drifted over the crackling flames to Shi Zi Chu, who was quietly meditating with closed eyes.
The moment he saw Shi Zi Chu in the Celestial Grace Mountain Range, he had sensed something familiar in her aura—someone similar to himself. He wondered why the previous Shi Zi Chu had suffered so terribly at Chu Zhi Rou’s hands. But now, this Shi Zi Chu was not someone Chu Zhi Rou could easily manage.
Yet Chu Zhi Rou was crucial, a bridge between Ye Clan and Venerable Xing Lan, tied directly to their clan’s interests.
Chu Zhi Rou couldn’t be harmed.
However, Venerable Xing Lan’s stance was clear; between Shi Zi Chu and Chu Zhi Rou, he favored Shi Zi Chu. If Shi Zi Chu lived, Chu Zhi Rou would inevitably be crushed, possibly dragging down Ye Clan as well.
“Daoist Shi,” Ye He Qi’s gentle voice suddenly broke the silence.
Shi Zi Chu opened her eyes. Firelight illuminated Ye He Qi’s handsome face, now serious in expression.
“I sense something strange over there,” Ye He Qi explained softly, “I’ll go take a look. The secret realm is dangerous—don’t wander off.”
Shi Zi Chu stared intently at him for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
Ye He Qi stood and vanished into the darkness.
Watching him disappear, Shi Zi Chu immediately rose and departed in the opposite direction.
Soon, from the shadows stepped a tall, slender figure, gazing helplessly toward where Shi Zi Chu had gone. He murmured softly, “I told you not to wander off. What would happen if you ran into danger?”
…
Shi Zi Chu headed purposefully toward a certain destination.
The Cold Jade Cup.
A beautifully named object, and her true goal on this journey.
The Cold Jade Cup continuously generated spiritual water, boosting cultivation and neutralizing hundreds of poisons. Placed within her spatial storage ring’s spirit spring, it would eventually nurture a spiritual vein.
Inside the spatial storage ring, Xue Gu stood atop the dog’s head, its heterochromatic eyes gleaming eagerly with anticipation for the Cold Jade Cup. If the spirit spring truly birthed a spiritual vein, the ring’s spiritual energy would grow richer, greatly enhancing Xue Gu’s strength as an artifact spirit.
After traveling all night, Shi Zi Chu finally found the correct path. If nothing went wrong, she would locate the Cold Jade Cup in about three days.
But trouble lurked everywhere!
“Shi Zi Chu?”
Seeing the group of Ye Clan disciples suddenly appearing ahead, Shi Zi Chu couldn’t help but grimace slightly.
The vast Floating Flower Secret Realm, yet immediately after shaking off Ye He Qi, she encountered hostile Ye Clan disciples.
Could she please have another little chat with the Heavenly Dao?
A burly man in battle attire strode forward aggressively, fierce hostility in his eyes.
“So this is Shi Zi Chu, who bullies our Eldest Miss every day?”
As he spoke, a large iron hammer appeared in his hands, swung fiercely with both arms, cutting sharply through the air. The spiked hammer flew straight toward Shi Zi Chu’s delicate, lovely face.
A gentle, helpless sigh sounded suddenly.
The hammer stopped an inch from Shi Zi Chu’s face as threads of watery-blue silk pierced through the man’s arm. Instantly dyed crimson with blood, the silk twisted his arm grotesquely backward.
“AHHHHH—”
The man’s piercing scream filled the air.
“You’re using demonic arts!”
“Wicked woman!”
Amid angry shouts, the others quickly drew weapons and charged at Shi Zi Chu.