Chapter 37: The Return to Fengling Valley

A thunderous explosion rang out, quickly left behind by Song Zhiyou as she sprinted forward.

She moved with agile strides, running over the rugged mountain terrain as if it were flat ground.

Despite the fact that Song Qingyao was already frozen stiff like an ice sculpture, carrying her on her back didn’t affect Song Zhiyou in the slightest.

It was a bit cold, but the icy Qi that should have eroded her meridians and bones, making it impossible to move, had no effect on her.

For that, she had to thank Long Aotian’s pills.

Song Zhiyou silently recited three times in her heart, then made a vow with utmost sincerity.

She was willing to trade another ten years of her brother’s life for Long Aotian to send her another stroke of luck.

“ROAR!!!”

The movements of the Azure Edge Wolves were sluggish; several of them failed to dodge the exploding artifacts, which only enraged the remaining ones further.

Azure Edge Wolf packs usually numbered around fifty. Song Zhiyou and Song Qingyao had taken down nearly twenty, leaving twenty to thirty still on their tails.

They chased after Song Zhiyou like mad, the distance between them gradually closing—a sight that would make anyone’s heart race.

One of the largest wolves even lunged at Song Zhiyou’s side.

If she hadn’t dodged quickly, its claws would have torn through her throat.

Even so, three deep, bone-exposing gashes appeared on her arm.

Azure Edge Wolves were starting to recover.

Song Zhiyou slammed her palm onto the wolf’s forehead, instantly activating the dizziness scroll within her hand.

Taking advantage of the wolf’s disorientation, she spun around and kicked it away, using the momentum to leap forward.

After that, she hurled three more artifacts behind her.

They exploded, further disrupting the wolves’ pace.

But in the end, the distance between them continued to shrink.

Song Qingyao could clearly see that Song Zhiyou was running out of artifacts.

Her heart tightened. “Song Zhiyou, put me down. You’ve done enough for me.”

“I told you, trust me,” Song Zhiyou said, then suddenly changed direction and charged into a narrow rock crevice in the mountain.

Only then did Song Qingyao realize that Song Zhiyou had led her and the wolves to a tight fissure.

That winding crevice could only accommodate one or two people at a time.

Song Zhiyou moved through it without trouble, while the wolves were squeezed outside, only a few managing to squeeze in after a while.

But the wolves refused to give up, entering one by one, determined to kill both of them.

However,

Just as they entered the cleft, Song Zhiyou threw several artifacts at them.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The crevice exploded, the sounds of blasts and howls intermingling endlessly.

The path back was blocked by shattered rocks, burying several wolves at the entrance.

Song Zhiyou set Song Qingyao aside and collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily.

The wolves couldn’t get through. They were safe. Yet Song Qingyao still felt unreal.

She had actually survived…

Song Zhiyou swallowed a few pills to recover her injuries and spiritual power, then spoke earnestly.

“Xiaoqi, after you join the sect, you really need to brush up on your general knowledge. Being so ignorant won’t do.”

Song Qingyao was stunned.

Out of the blue, why did Song Zhiyou jump to this topic?

She felt a bit indignant. “My general knowledge is excellent. Don’t talk nonsense.”

“If your knowledge were solid, you’d know that Azure Edge Wolves are pack animals, and you wouldn’t have picked a lone wolf to attack.”

Song Qingyao froze.

She never would have guessed that was the reason.

Thinking back, it really was the truth.

At the time, she only focused on finding a lone beast she could handle, never considering if it had companions.

And so many companions at that.

But…

Song Qingyao’s body went rigid as a sudden question occurred to her.

“Wait, Song Xiao Liu, how did you know I picked an Azure Edge Wolf to attack?”

“Of course, I saw it in the water mirror,” Song Zhiyou said with a cheerful grin. “Song Xiao Qi, you were vomiting so much, what an achievement.”

Song Qingyao’s vision darkened repeatedly. She felt utterly terrible.

“You saw it? You saw everything?”

“Yep.”

Song Qingyao hadn’t fainted earlier, but hearing those two words nearly made her pass out.

She thought no one had seen!

Wait, water mirror?

Song Qingyao suddenly realized something.

“You… were already eliminated?”

“No, how could I, your sister, be eliminated?” Song Zhiyou said indignantly. “The elders insisted on letting me pass early and taking me out of the valley to stop me from making more money.”

“Huh?” QAQ?

She understood every word, but together, they made no sense.

Song Qingyao stared blankly at Song Zhiyou, though she understood at least one thing.

Song Zhiyou had passed the assessment early and already left the valley.

But… she came back for her.

She hadn’t just charged into the wolf pack for her sake.

She had specifically fought her way back into Fengling Valley for her.

Song Zhiyou didn’t know what Song Qingyao was thinking. She lay on the ground, plotting how to continue her path to wealth.

Now that it was dark and she was disguised, the elders probably wouldn’t recognize her.

Especially after she had caused such a commotion.

It seemed Senior Sister Lu was right: as long as she didn’t activate her token, the elders outside wouldn’t interfere with what happened in the valley.

Song Zhiyou couldn’t show herself, but Song Qingyao could.

She’d sneak around in the dark to stir up some Hidden Wing Bee nests, brew a batch of Void-Shadow Water, and have Song Qingyao secretly sell it tomorrow.

Then, she’d find a blind spot from the water mirrors to slip out of Fengling Valley—perfect.

As she mused, her spiritual power had mostly recovered.

She turned to look at Song Xiao Qi, only to find the girl’s face pale white…

No, not just pale—her face was covered in a thin layer of frost.

She was alive, but looked like she’d been dead for a while.

Song Zhiyou jumped up and rushed to Song Qingyao, pinching her philtrum.

“Song Xiao Qi, what’s wrong? Wake up!”

Song Qingyao slowly opened her frost-laden eyelashes. “Song… Song Zhiyou, let go!”

She was about to be pinched unconscious by Song Zhiyou.

Song Zhiyou let go but still looked at her anxiously.

“Song Xiao Liu, why are you pinching me?”

It was a statement.

Song Qingyao seemed completely fine, which was especially eerie.

Song Zhiyou wanted to pull a mirror out of her storage bag to show Song Qingyao her current state.

But then she remembered she had thrown away all the worthless stuff to make room for more spirit stones and magic artifacts.

“Song Xiao Qi, don’t you feel cold?”

Song Qingyao thought carefully. “It was cold just now, but now… I seem to have gotten used to it. It’s not cold anymore.”

Song Zhiyou’s expression grew even stranger. “How’s your spiritual power recovery?”

“Great,” Song Qingyao said, getting excited. “Strangely enough, today I’ve been recovering incredibly fast, and I even feel a slight improvement.”

“Song Xiao Liu, you recover quickly. I’ll watch your back.”

Song Zhiyou patted her shoulder, which felt icy cold. “No need. I’ve recovered too. Since you’re also fine, let’s get moving.”

Song Zhiyou suspected Song Qingyao had mutated, or maybe frozen stupid, but she had no evidence.

When she patted her shoulder just now, she had discreetly probed with spiritual power and found no issues, so she set the matter aside.

Except for being a little cold.

“Huh? We’re not resting now? Where are we going?”

“Do you want to earn spirit stones? Get rich?”

Seeing Song Qingyao’s bewildered expression, Song Zhiyou changed tack. “Maybe you don’t want those, but do you want to get stronger?”

Song Qingyao’s eyes immediately shone with determination. “I do!”

An incense stick later, Song Qingyao was completely bundled up, standing under a tree with a bewildered look.

Song Zhiyou was up in the tree, sneaking around to steal a beehive.

And she had Song Qingyao hold out a cloth to catch it below.

Song Qingyao felt her scalp crawl.

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