Chapter 194: A Surprise Hug

Facing the sharp spear that an ordinary person couldn’t possibly withstand, Shen Xu did not retreat in the slightest.

She gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands and met the attack without fear.

A rookie with mediocre strength and martial arts actually dared to challenge a high-rank spiritual cultivator?

This wasn’t just being reckless; it was suicidal. Was she crazy?

Among the gasping crowd, Qingqiu Zhaoying frowned and subtly formed a seal with his hand hidden beneath his sleeve.

In the blink of an eye, the spear and sword collided, yet it was the seemingly powerful spiritual cultivator who coughed up blood and was sent flying backward.

Most of the onlookers were locals of Yelan City; when faced with this unreasonable troublemaker flying toward them, they naturally cleared the way immediately.

This allowed the spiritual cultivator to have a solid collision with the deep, firm earth.

“Huh?”

Shen Xu, who hadn’t reacted to what had happened, looked at the sword in her hand in a daze and scratched her hair, her eyes filled with disbelief.

‘Am I… actually this strong?’

‘But I didn’t even seem to touch the guy?’

Before Shen Xu could think further, the man stumbled to his feet.

Shen Xu quickly turned serious, tightening her grip on her longsword and pointing it at him.

“What, do you want to try again!?”

Even though she didn’t know what was going on, she had to maintain her momentum.

Seeing Shen Xu again, the spiritual cultivator’s face turned pale and blue; his previous arrogance was gone.

‘What’s with this little brat!? She sent me flying with one strike!’

‘But she doesn’t seem to have any cultivation… Could she be a hidden master!?’

‘There’s actually an expert in Yelan City!?’

‘Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best!’

Shen Xu stared at him with a dark gaze, thinking he was going to fight her tooth and nail, only for him to push through the crowd and flee in the next second.

Shen Xu’s expression changed.

“Hey! No running! You have to pay for the meal and the repairs!”

“I’ll chase him! You guys handle the scene!”

After coordinating with her companions, Shen Xu twirled her sword and gave chase.

“Hey! Shen Xu, I’m going too—”

One of her companions tried to say something, but Shen Xu had already run off into the crowd; he could only let out a sigh.

This new girl followed orders well enough, but she was prone to being a bit simple-headed; he’d have to find a chance to talk to her.

Shen Xu chased the troublemaker through several streets.

Seeing him turn a corner, she was about to accelerate when she saw him being dragged out by a tall man who had him pinned.

Shen Xu slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop.

She looked closely and saw that the one who had caught the spiritual cultivator was Qingqiu Zhaoying.

“Great Philanthropist Shen, we meet again.”

“Your courage this time is truly commendable.”

“Daring to face a Tiny Star Realm spiritual cultivator head-on.”

Qingqiu Zhaoying knocked the spiritual cultivator unconscious with a palm strike and glanced sideways at the red-and-white clad girl with the high ponytail.

Although Qingqiu Zhaoying kept “praising” her, he was clearly mocking her.

Now Shen Xu understood how that spiritual cultivator had been sent flying earlier.

Shen Xu gave a silly smile and brushed back her hair.

“Just now… thank you for the help.”

Qingqiu Zhaoying gave a soft huff, a hint of arrogance radiating from him.

“At least you’re smart enough to realize that.”

Saying that, Qingqiu Zhaoying tossed the troublemaker onto the ground and gave him a kick.

“I’ve temporarily sealed his cultivation. You can take him back and do whatever you want with him. But you only have half a day.”

Hearing this, Shen Xu’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Qingqiu Zhaoying, exactly like the look she gave Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing.

“You spiritual cultivators are quite amazing.”

Shen Xu was still too young; she couldn’t tell at all that Qingqiu Zhaoying wasn’t a spiritual cultivator but a fox demon.

Qingqiu Zhaoying said casually, “Are spiritual cultivators amazing? I think they’re just so-so; some don’t even deserve to be called human.”

He glanced at the unconscious fellow on the ground.

“While some people, though not spiritual cultivators, deserve everyone’s respect.”

“Hehe, are you praising me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself; it’s not you.”

“Oh…”

A moment later, Qingqiu Zhaoying watched as Shen Xu hoisted the burly male cultivator onto her shoulder with one hand.

He couldn’t help but take another look at her.

‘This girl’s martial prowess is a bit lacking, but this strength… is actually quite impressive.’

“Do you patrol Yelan City like this every day?” Qingqiu Zhaoying asked.

Shen Xu nodded.

“Mhm, everyone in Yelan City is very kind, so usually nothing happens.”

“But lately… uh, besides patrolling the city, we occasionally go on night patrols outside the city walls.”

In her simple-mindedness, she had almost blurted out the matter of the demonic beast infestation, but fortunately, her brain caught up, so she didn’t reveal everything to him.

She shouldn’t cause panic among the city’s residents.

But as soon as Qingqiu Zhaoying heard about the extra night patrol duty, he knew what was happening.

Lately, demonic beasts had been rampant outside Yelan City, and those beasts… were exactly the same as back then.

Perhaps something was about to happen in Yelan City again.

Qingqiu Zhaoying frowned in thought but quickly snapped out of it and returned to the main topic.

“Since you’ve been patrolling the city lately, have you seen two people?”

“Are you looking for someone? That’s easy; tell me about them, and I’ll help you!”

Shen Xu immediately became energized and patted her chest.

“…A youth, black hair, red eyes, carrying a sword.”

“Beside him is a woman wearing a veil, grey eyes, blackish-red hair, and quite long legs.”

Qingqiu Zhaoying tried his best to recall the characteristics of Meng Yingxing and Xiu Qingcheng, mentioning the most prominent ones to Shen Xu.

After hearing this, Shen Xu ran those traits through her mind a few times, and the more she thought about it, the more familiar they felt.

Then, Shen Xu realized with a start.

‘A woman with very long legs—isn’t that Miss Xiu!’ She immediately thought of it.

“Are you looking for Miss Xiu and Young Hero Meng?” Shen Xu asked.

Qingqiu Zhaoying hadn’t expected that a casual question to Shen Xu would yield the answer immediately.

“Xiu… Meng…? You know them?”

Shen Xu nodded repeatedly. “Mhm! They helped our City Guard out a lot recently!”

“Where are they now?”

“At my house.”

Qingqiu Zhaoying fell silent for a while; he never expected to get such a result from Shen Xu.

“Take me to your house. I have important business with them.”

“Of course I can, but… I don’t take strangers to my house.”

Shen Xu stared at Qingqiu Zhaoying, suddenly finding an opportunity for revenge.

“We are friends.”

Shen Xu was momentarily speechless by Qingqiu Zhaoying’s sudden bluntness, especially since he had been mocking her just this morning.

“I’ll take you once I’ve finished the task at hand.”

Shen Xu adjusted the unconscious cultivator on her shoulder, signaling Qingqiu Zhaoying to wait until she handled the matter.

Qingqiu Zhaoying naturally nodded.

Now that he knew the location of Meng Yingxing and Xiu Qingcheng, there was no need to rush.

It could even be said that this was a case of “searching far and wide, only to find it effortlessly.”

He would still deal with the Demon Sword Duan Li this time.

He would ensure no one got hurt.

When Shen Xu brought Qingqiu Zhaoying back to the Shen residence, Mother Shen told them that Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing had gone out of the city on business.

“Out of the city? Why did they leave the city?”

He frowned and asked Mother Shen somewhat forcefully.

Once they were outside the city, they would be harder to find, and as of now, the foxes he had placed outside hadn’t made a sound; he wondered if they had a special way of hiding their auras.

But having finally found a lead on the Demon Sword Duan Li, Qingqiu Zhaoying wouldn’t allow himself to return empty-handed.

Mother Shen looked at the man with peach-blossom eyes who had come back with her daughter; her heart felt a bit wary, and she didn’t speak immediately.

“Mother, his name is Qingqiu Zhaoying. He’s a friend of Miss Xiu and the others and is looking for them, so just tell him.”

Since both the guests and this man were spiritual cultivators, Shen Xu naively assumed they were friendly acquaintances.

She didn’t know they were in a relationship of victim and perpetrator.

Since Shen Xu had offered an explanation, Mother Shen had no choice but to tell the truth.

“They said they were going outside the city to cultivate or something and would be back soon. I don’t understand the matters of spiritual cultivators very well.”

‘Back soon?’

Qingqiu Zhaoying’s heart suddenly calmed.

Since they said they would return, he would wait here and wait for the rabbit to come to the tree.

Outside Yelan City.

“Master, are we breaking through right now?”

“I didn’t expect it either. Besides repairing your spiritual veins, that pill also happened to replenish your lost spiritual energy. You reached the brink of a breakthrough this morning; the pill can’t wait, so it’s best to find a place to break through as soon as possible.”

Xiu Qingcheng had led Meng Yingxing to a secluded treasure of a spot outside Yelan City, surrounded by forest with a lake nearby, and the spiritual energy in the air was quite active.

It was a good place for a breakthrough.

Xiu Qingcheng drew a large circle with the Ting Tian Sword, setting up a sword intent barrier to hide their auras and prevent them from being disturbed.

Meng Yingxing felt the spiritual energy in his body becoming increasingly active and sat down on the spot.

“My dear disciple, just do exactly as you did during your previous breakthrough later; I will help you suppress any spiritual energy that might go rampant.”

“Yes, Master.”

Though he didn’t know how Xiu Qingcheng intended to do it, Meng Yingxing, who trusted her implicitly, obediently closed his eyes.

In the next second, Meng Yingxing felt Xiu Qingcheng move behind him, and then—

She unexpectedly wrapped her arms around his body from behind.

Meng Yingxing: “!?”

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