Chapter 5: Survival

The young man was first surprised, then overjoyed—could it be that he had encountered a senior expert and was saved?

He looked in the direction the voice came from.

The first thing that caught his eye was a woman in a simple dress, wearing a bamboo hat and veil, with a sword at her waist, looking ethereal and otherworldly, the very picture of an immortal.

The young man’s gaze shifted, and he saw a thin and small child next to her.

The child’s face was quite good-looking, but… for some reason, he looked a bit feminine.

It was the kind of femininity that made one subconsciously wonder if he was a girl disguised as a boy.

‘Wait, what am I thinking about my saviors.’

The scholar quickly dispelled the stray thoughts from his mind and cast a hopeful gaze at Yun Qingping and Xun Qiu.

Xun Qiu saw that the stone he had thrown had successfully diverted the monster’s attention and felt that his task was complete.

So, he also cast an expectant, fun-seeking gaze at Yun Qingping.

“Grrr… Woof!”

The monster growled threateningly, its front paws scraping the ground beneath it.

Yun Qingping smiled faintly and placed her right hand on the hilt of the slender sword at her waist.

“It is indeed time to kill this beast… but Xun Qiu, have you forgotten something?”

“…?”

“Today is already the afternoon of the seventh day.

By my calculations, it’s about time for me to leave.”

“Huh?

Mmm…”

Xun Qiu was so shocked he started counting on his fingers.

“Wait, that’s right, but hasn’t it only been six days?”

“It has been seven days.

There was one day in between when you were too tired and slept for a whole day at an inn.

I just didn’t tell you.”

Yun Qingping’s tone was calm.

“I just received a message from the organization.

Something has come up nearby.

I’m leaving first.”

“But…”

Xun Qiu reached out his hand to hold her back, but how could he, with his mortal body, catch someone with Yun Qingping’s Perfected Person realm cultivation?

She took a light step and instantly disappeared into the mountain forest, leaving Xun Qiu with his hand stretched out like a fool.

The young man: “…”

Xun Qiu: “…”

After being stunned for a full half-second, he turned and ran.

“You over there, you’re on your own, I’m leaving first, if anything happens, burn some joss paper for me and send me a dream message from the underworld—”

“Who the f*ck wants to send you a dream message!”

The young man didn’t stand there stunned either.

He let out a furious roar and caught up with swift strides.

The monster, distracted by this interruption, hesitated on the spot for two or three seconds before following, its sharp, piercing roars closely trailing behind the two of them.

Xun Qiu turned his head to look and was instantly scared out of his wits.

“You troublemaker, how do you still have the strength to run?

Hurry up and be my meat shield, let the monster eat you, and stop following me, ahhhh—”

Xun Qiu tried to pull away, but the young scholar quickly caught up with great effort.

The two of them sprinted along the mountain path they had just taken.

Perhaps the pressure of mortal danger was too great, or perhaps there were other special factors, but the monster, after being stunned for a moment, came to its senses and couldn’t catch up to them for a while.

“Hey, don’t just tell others to go die!”

“I just saved your life!

Seeing that you’re a scholar, you should know to repay kindness and give your life back to me to feed the wolf!”

“That would make my new life a bit too short, wouldn’t it!”

Seeing the monster behind them getting closer and closer, its roars shaking the heavens, Xun Qiu turned his head for a glance and found that the young scholar was keeping a certain distance from him, making it impossible for him to carry out his plan of tripping this guy to escape alone.

He quickly shouted:

“Hey, you troublemaker, think of something quick!

If this goes on, we’ll both die!”

The young scholar naturally knew this, but it was also his first time in the mountains, and he was not familiar with the environment.

How would he know a way to escape?

But he was a scholar, after all.

As the two of them ran over a small hill, the sound of water reached their ears.

A sudden inspiration struck the young scholar, and he shouted:

“A river!

Jump into the river!”

“A river…?”

Xun Qiu was stunned.

He hadn’t read any books, but he still had some common sense.

How could there be a big river in this kind of forest that could stop a monster?

But thinking that this also concerned the scholar’s life, he ultimately chose to believe him.

However, when he actually saw the river, he completely lost it.

“What river!

Isn’t this just a f*cking creek and a waterfall?

You troublemaker, if we jump down like this, we’ll die too!”

At the critical moment, the young scholar was more decisive than Xun Qiu.

He said calmly:

“We’ll die if we don’t jump too.”

Xun Qiu was suddenly speechless.

It was true.

If the monster caught up, the two of them would surely die.

Although he didn’t believe that Yun Qingping had really abandoned him, he couldn’t gamble with his life, especially when he was betting on someone else’s ethereal kindness.

He gritted his teeth and, under the scholar’s “what the hell are you doing” gaze, wrapped his arms around his waist.

“What are you looking at?

Even if I die, I’m taking you down with me!”

“Do as you wish… you arrogant little brat.”

The young scholar did not hesitate.

The monster’s roars were already close, and he had no time to push Xun Qiu away.

The two of them leaped and fell into the river.

The icy river water soaked into their clothes.

Xun Qiu immediately started shivering from the cold, clinging tightly to the only source of heat, while the scholar tried to remain calm and swam towards the waterfall.

The creek was not deep, but the current was strong enough.

The two of them inched closer and closer to the waterfall.

“Gurgle gurgle gurgle…”

A strange sound came from the side.

The young scholar nonchalantly hummed in response, and in the next moment, the rushing current sent them over the top of the waterfall.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—!!!”

Xun Qiu screamed in terror due to the feeling of weightlessness.

The young scholar still had the mood to mock him in his heart for being just a child, but in the next second, he couldn’t remain calm either, because Xun Qiu was still hugging him tightly during this free fall.

That was one thing, it was just a matter of pulling someone down as a cushion…

But why are you biting me with your teeth, are you a dog!

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Completely lacking the firm will of Guan Yu enduring bone scraping, the young scholar felt a stinging pain on his shoulder as if he were being devoured by a vicious dog, and his face completely contorted.

The birds in the forest that had just landed back on the treetops were once again startled into flight by the successive screams of the two.

Splash—

The two, falling straight down, finally landed in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.

Xun Qiu was instantly knocked unconscious by the huge force of hitting the water.

But because of his interference, the young scholar’s posture upon entering the water was not bad.

Although his body was inevitably wracked with waves of pain, he managed to stay conscious.

“I knew it was right to get to know the hunters.

If I hadn’t heard someone mention that there was a pool under the waterfall, how would I have dared to jump down…”

The young scholar lowered his head and glanced at the unconscious Xun Qiu.

‘…He is my savior, after all.

Without him and that fairy, I would have died just now.

Logically and emotionally, I shouldn’t abandon Xun Qiu.’

With this thought, the young scholar reached out and grabbed Xun Qiu, who was about to sink to the bottom of the pool.

But to his surprise, the unconscious Xun Qiu subconsciously grabbed his arm.

The young scholar’s swimming skills were just barely enough to keep from sinking.

With this pull, he lost his balance and immediately let out a terrified “wuwuwu” sound.

…

“Hah… hah… you, are you some kind of water monkey…”

The scholar, who had struggled to get ashore, threw Xun Qiu onto a dry spot on the bank and then collapsed to the ground.

“If I die today, when I go to the underworld, I’ll tell King Yama that you’re fully responsible…”

The scholar gasped for breath.

The cold water had soaked through his clothes, and he was shivering as his body heat drained away, but he couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

“Hah… with such a thrilling experience, it’s not too bad to die…”

“Little brat, you… in your next life, you have to be… my ox, my horse…”

He muttered, and then he too fainted on the ground.