The calm lake surface rippled with waves surging one after another.

Jing Hengbo was fleeing in a wretched state, and above her head, Feifei was fleeing even more wretchedly—it wasn’t good at swimming.

Er Gouzi cursed from the shore, but unfortunately, the Silver Armor Beast couldn’t understand bird language.

Jing Hengbo couldn’t get ashore—the old immortal’s aura field tightly locked down this lake area. And in the water, she couldn’t teleport.

She had already exchanged blows with the Silver Armor Beast and was completely suppressed. This creature was both massive and agile, its entire body too slippery to grip. Blade and sword weapons couldn’t cause it any harm at all, yet it possessed tremendous strength. With the lightest movement, it would stir up massive waves, pressing her hard underwater. If not for her agile form trained through teleportation practice, if not for Feifei leading the beast away several times, she would have already been pinned down and crunched by this thing.

She couldn’t even defeat it, let alone kill and skin it within a quarter hour.

Even worse, she could hear Pei Shu and Yi Qi’s excited shouting from the forest. The two seemed to be competing to see who could finish their problems first and rush over to see her naked.

Jing Hengbo knew that if they really rushed over, cursing would be useless. These two rebellious characters—when had they ever cared about propriety and rules?

Although being seen wasn’t really a big deal—she wasn’t an ancient person who had to marry if seen naked—deep down, she still didn’t want this situation to occur. She didn’t mind being seen naked, but it had to be someone she was willing to show!

Pei Shu’s voice carried from afar.

“Three more beasts left! Hahaha, I’m going to win! Yi Qi, hurry up and prepare wedding gifts. When I marry Bobo, what are you planning to give us?”

Faint sounds of fist wind, then Yi Qi’s strange laughter.

“I still have two left! Little Pei Pei, you take your time playing. I’m going to accompany Bobo bathing first.”

A muffled “bang,” then screams and pained groans sounded together, followed by Pei Shu’s pained laughter: “One more left! Bobo is mine!…” The laughter suddenly stopped abruptly, turning into angry curses: “Bastard! Ying Bai, why did you sneak attack me!”

A series of chaotic sounds mixed with Pei Shu’s angry curses. Yi Qi laughed heartily: “…Hahaha, I’m almost finished. Ah, antidote, here I come! Ah, Bobo, here I come… Ah! Wu Shan, why did you sneak attack me!”

“Amitabha, feminine beauty is like hell. If I don’t enter hell, should I let you enter?”

“Boss and Fifth want to peek at Bobo bathing!”

“Beat him! Beat him!”

…

Suddenly there was movement at the cliff edge.

Yelu Qi, holding Yelu Xunru, looked up.

The thin clouds and mist at the mountain cliff suddenly churned and swirled, silently condensing, looking as if invisible great sleeves were gathering those floating, uncertain clouds and mist together.

Yelu Qi remained composed, narrowing his eyes. Xunru also said nothing, quietly “watching” the opposite side.

Her gaze was gentle because at this moment, what she saw wasn’t that eerie cloud and mist, but still that person from years ago.

The clouds and mist constantly changed shape, finally condensing into a massive gate.

The gate opened in three sections, majestically reaching heaven and earth. Behind the gate, clouds and mist paved a long road, straight as if extending to the ninth heaven above. Golden sunlight sparkled upon it, the road like the path of immortals.

Nine Heavens Gate.

The heavenly gate formed from clouds, proudly towering above the mountain cliff. Among the clouds and mist, it seemed as if countless immortals would gracefully step on clouds to arrive at any moment.

Ordinary people at this time would surely have their hearts and souls swaying, amazed as if seeing immortals, kneeling in worship, making sacrifices to heaven.

But Yelu Qi didn’t even move. Even if true gods descended, they wouldn’t be worth a glance compared to the beloved person in his arms.

Faintly from behind the clouds and mist, within the heavenly gate, a cold, arrogant voice spoke icily: “Yelu Qi. Yelu Xunru.”

The voice was completely emotionless, as if merely verifying names, and in the next moment, a divine brush would lightly erase them.

Yelu Xunru’s expression seemed too lazy even to show disdain.

Yelu Qi merely smiled and said: “Nine Heavens Gate’s… dog.”

His tone was also completely emotionless, as if he was merely checking a roster.

The clouds and misty heavenly gate on the opposite side trembled, and a golden light suddenly shot forth like lightning.

The golden light was like a pestle, shattering half the mountain’s clouds. When it first appeared, it was only the size of a needle tip, but in the blink of an eye it was close, instantly enveloping the entire mountaintop.

This scene’s momentum could swallow clouds. Yelu Qi merely smiled lightly and said: “Break.”

…

Hearing the chaotic sounds from the seven jesters over there, Jing Hengbo couldn’t help but become distracted.

Immediately she heard a heavy sound behind her, water splashing everywhere. Looking again, the Silver Armor Beast had somehow reached behind her and was swatting away Feifei who had flown to intercept it.

In the next instant, the beast was already ghost-like behind her. Its fierce claw tips suddenly extended, growing five inches longer, already reaching her spine!

The blackened claw tips gleamed with the cold light unique to poisonous things.

Jing Hengbo was too late to dodge.

But suddenly a passage flashed through her mind.

“All things and substances share the same source and origin.”

Following this was a section of profound symbols. This was content from the small manual Yelu Qi had given her. She hadn’t understood it at the time, but when she had nothing to do, she would flip through it. Over time, these symbols were all memorized in her mind. At this life-and-death moment, this passage suddenly inexplicably flashed by. Simultaneously, her dantian grew warm, and she vaguely felt a stream of qi flowing upward, breaking through the bright pass, passing the twelve-story tower. Her body instinctively surged forward.

In the next instant, she appeared on shore.

Behind her, the Silver Armor Beast’s claws struck empty water.

Jing Hengbo was stunned for a moment.

How did this happen?

Her teleportation had always only worked in air. She could teleport from ground to water, but couldn’t teleport from water to ground—to get out of water, she had to swim up herself.

Now, it seemed her teleportation ability had changed again at this critical moment?

In the next instant, she noticed a figure flash in the forest, then a gust of wind passed. She felt cold all over. Looking down, she screamed and jumped back into the water with a “plop.”

Damn it, she almost streaked!

Er Gouzi had originally been very happy to see her come up, but seeing her dive back down, he flapped his wings and cursed angrily: “Sunlight on incense burner produces purple smoke—seeking death, people are too mean!”

Jing Hengbo had no time to deal with Er Gouzi now. She had walked into a trap, playing right into the beast’s hands. Behind her, water waves splashed with a “whoosh,” and the Silver Armor Beast finally burst from the water, pouncing down on her head. A massive black shadow covered half the lake. Looking up, she saw the beast’s bloody, fierce tooth tips.

A white shadow flashed—Feifei pounced toward the beast’s head, claws fiercely scratching at the Silver Armor Beast’s protruding red eyeballs.

The beast straightened up, swatting Feifei away. Seeming extremely enraged, it raised its head to the sky and let out an angry roar.

When it raised its head, a snow-white gap was exposed under its neck.

Jing Hengbo suddenly looked up.

…

A snow-white figure was running through the mountains and wilderness, clothes very flowing, but its movements seemed somewhat staggering, as if injured.

As he ran, he kept looking back, as if pursued by enemies.

There were indeed pursuers behind him—a pair of siblings. The younger brother carried his sister, following at a leisurely pace like strolling in a courtyard. The brother would occasionally turn his head to chat and laugh with his sister, describing the mountain scenery in detail.

The white-clothed man looked at the distant figures, hatred showing in his eyes.

It was this pair of siblings who were his mission targets for this distant journey. They had originally been his hunting targets, yet now he was being chased like a stray dog.

A month ago, he had received a mission from the Heavenly Gate. The Gate said this pair of siblings had offended the dignity of the Heavenly Gate, and he was to lead a group of outer disciples to quickly punish them.

He immediately set out with his subordinates. The dignity of the Heavenly Gate was sacred and inviolable—this was every disciple’s principle and operating tenet. And for someone like him, a registered disciple who hadn’t yet received formal recognition, he especially needed this opportunity to defend the Gate’s honor to gain the chance to formally enter Radiant Hall.

He had targeted this pair of siblings within Zhanyu tribe territory but hadn’t acted immediately, because at that time they were surrounded by masters. Although he didn’t take these masters seriously, he hoped his subordinates could return to the Heavenly Gate without any losses, completing this mission perfectly.

Just now on the low mountain, he felt it was a good opportunity. He deployed the Heavenly Gate’s unique “Cloud Gathering Technique” and “Illusion Technique.” Under normal circumstances, ordinary people seeing such a majestic, noble scene filled with immortal energy would have a moment of soul-bewildering dizziness. That one moment would be enough.

And in that moment would be the time for Heavenly Gate disciples to gather qi and strike.

However, he couldn’t utilize that moment, instead being preempted by that detestable Yelu Qi.

At that time, he was leading his subordinates, hiding in a recessed cave below the cliff—only from below the cliff, using light assistance with drugs and methods, could they create that effect. He was preparing to step onto the cloud path, after which the cloud path would burst with ten thousand rays of light. That “light” would be the means to kill this pair of siblings. They would be executed under the holy light, like many before them.

Then he heard a tremendous sound, seemingly coming from within the mountain. The ground shook, and he was shaken into a stumble, nearly shaken out of the cave. Looking up, he saw the “Nine Heavens Gate” suspended in mid-air being shaken apart.

Behind him came continuous screams. He suddenly turned back to see that somehow a large hole had opened above the cave, and a huge white stone had fallen down, crushing his subordinates behind him, creating a ground full of severed limbs.

He was shocked but didn’t turn back to check his subordinates’ injuries. His figure leaped to exit the cave—whether the Heavenly Gate was shaken apart or the ambush was exposed early, it merely destroyed his means of shocking people’s hearts. Without these, he still had martial arts!

But he almost couldn’t exit the cave.

Because another large white stone came whistling toward him, viciously smashing toward this cave opening. Its size was enough to completely block the cave entrance. Once hit, he and his injured subordinates would be forever trapped in this mid-mountain cave!

At this critical moment, he deployed his most sophisticated bone-shrinking and vertical leaping techniques. At the instant the boulder was about to seal the cave entrance, he forcibly squeezed through the side of the giant stone. For a moment, his face was scraped bloody against the rough surface of the boulder. He even smelled the forest coldness belonging to stone and the pungent scent of gunpowder.

When he exited the cave, he spat out blood. That forceful squeeze—he had been mere millimeters from becoming a meat pancake. He heard a thunderous sound behind him. Looking back, smoke and dust filled the air, and the entire cave entrance had been sealed. All his subordinates were trapped inside.

The Heavenly Gate had many ingenious techniques. Originally, they could still dig from another end to get up, but those white stones falling from inside completely blocked the way out.

How ruthless.

Having seen the cold indifference of the Heavenly Gate’s punishment of disciples and rebels, he was still heart-shocked by such decisive methods.

Even more shocking was the opponent’s attitude—they seemed completely unafraid of the Heavenly Gate’s reputation, showing a fight-to-the-death attitude from the beginning.

Yelu Qi!

Was he truly unafraid of death? Or did he really think that making him suffer losses meant he could oppose the mighty Heavenly Gate? He should know that he was merely an outer gate registered disciple who hadn’t even gained recognition!

Perhaps it was the fearlessness of the ignorant. Only when he experienced the true methods belonging to the Heavenly Gate would he regret today’s actions.

The white-clothed man flew through the mountains and wilderness. After escaping, he was anxious to find medicine and had no heart to fight with the Yelu siblings. But Yelu Qi followed like a persistent ghost, making him feel irritated.

As the white-clothed man ran, he kept twitching his nose as if sniffing some scent. Suddenly his eyes brightened, and he headed straight in a certain direction.

…

Yelu Qi followed unhurriedly.

He wouldn’t leave any Heavenly Gate disciple alive.

He showed no pleasure. From the earlier display, the Heavenly Gate member who came this time was at most a registered disciple.

This sect was said to be extremely arrogant with strict hierarchy, calling itself the Heavenly Gate and looking down on the world. For someone like him, a “mortal commoner” who appeared to be alone, they wouldn’t possibly deploy large numbers from the start—that would make them feel disgraced. At most, they’d send a few insignificant minions to “handle” the situation.

His brows furrowed slightly—the Heavenly Gate’s strength still exceeded his imagination. A mere registered disciple could actually have such martial arts, create such a grand display, and escape from his premeditated trap.

He had long sent people here in advance and discovered that this cliff had a white stone. This stone was extremely strange—it looked indestructible but had cracks in the middle, as if it had once been penetrated by a master with extremely high martial arts using internal force. No one could understand why a master would use power on this useless white stone, but when he received the report, he thought of using this white stone to make a trap.

He knew the usual methods of Heavenly Gate people. Those who played tricks and ghosts would usually hide elsewhere first, so he chose this cliff, calculating that the opponents would definitely hide below the cliff. After surveying the terrain and calculating the cliff height and the number of opponents, he determined where they might hide. He dug a hole above the cave tail, installed the white stone, suspended it in the cave with thin chains, painted the white stone black so it looked the same as the cave’s cliff wall, and moved the other half of the white stone to the opposite cave.

After all these people entered the cave, people on the opposite shore would ignite gunpowder, using gunpowder crossbow cannons and mechanisms to propel that half of the white stone shooting over. The vibration would cause the thin chains suspending the other half of the white stone in the rear cave to break, immediately falling to crush the people in the cave.

In his calculations, even if these people weren’t all crushed to death, they would be killed by the stone coming head-on. He hadn’t expected one to still escape.

He felt slightly irritated, thinking he had still somewhat underestimated the Heavenly Gate.

He looked back at Yelu Xunru—he didn’t know that white stone carried his sister’s most important memories, and he had directly used it to set up a trap. If his sister knew, she might be heartbroken.

But he didn’t regret it. In the face of life and death, nothing else mattered.

Yelu Xunru didn’t sense his gaze. She clenched her palm, and in her palm was a smooth white stone.

This was a stone that had splashed up from the cliff after the explosion earlier. At that time, her heart stirred and she reached out to grasp it.

When she touched that stone, she knew it was her white stone—the one where she had sat with him for an entire day, watching sunrise and moonset, watching clouds roll and unfurl.

Broken?

Her fingertips gently caressed that slightly warm stone.

Fate in this world was like this too. After pursuing all the way, through thousands of mountains and rivers, what one reached was destiny’s end.

Broken… was also good.

…

The Silver Armor Beast in the lake, after repeated provocation, finally became furious. It stood upright, raising its massive head. Its entire body was silver-skinned, gleaming in the sunlight.

Three parts down the beast’s neck, a white line showed. As the giant beast vocalized, it writhed and undulated, appearing and disappearing.

When Jing Hengbo looked up and saw it, a phrase immediately slid through her mind.

“For all beasts, at their hidden places, if there are colors different from the ordinary, they are mostly vital points.”

That year, deep in the mountains, by the stream, that person had personally demonstrated beast-dissection techniques for her, casually speaking these words.

Places on wild beasts’ hidden areas where fur color was different—those were vital points.

“Feifei, make it open its mouth wide!” she roared.

Feifei’s figure flashed, and it urinated on the beast. The beast became furiously angry and opened its mouth to roar. Under its jaw, the white line showed finger-width.

Now!

She suddenly surged up, cold light flashing in her hand, piercing into that white line, then fiercely slashing horizontally.

Blood splattered, and the giant beast’s roar thundered through the mountain forest. Its palm viciously swung, everything went black before her eyes, and she fell with a “bang,” creating huge splashes.

In the next instant, the Silver Armor Beast crashed down with a rumble, but she momentarily lost strength. She only saw a hazy blood mist before her eyes, and behind the blood mist, a huge black shadow crashed down like a mountain.

Just as she was about to be crushed underwater by the beast’s corpse, figures flashed in the forest. Pei Shu and Yi Qi both stepped out of the forest, rushing straight toward the lake.

Both were half-covered in blood, still running wildly—whether they were eager for antidotes or eager to snatch someone was unclear.

As soon as the two emerged from the forest and looked up, they saw the scene of Jing Hengbo succeeding but about to be crushed to death.

Both were stunned. Yi Qi seemed to hesitate for a moment, but Pei Shu immediately acted.

He struck a palm from afar, the long-distance palm wind shocking the beast corpse that was about to fall, causing it to pause.

Yi Qi immediately understood and followed with a palm strike. The two palm forces connected, and the heavy corpse changed direction, crashing down beside Jing Hengbo with a “bang,” missing her form by mere millimeters.

In that instant, Jing Hengbo herself suddenly moved half a zhang away. It appeared as if she’d been shaken by the vibration, but she stared wide-eyed—that seemed like teleportation just now!

She could move in water now too!

The vibration from the massive object entering the water shook Jing Hengbo’s body to the surface. A flash of her form, white as jade and snow, made those two men in the distance widen their eyes and rush forward to look, but they simultaneously stepped on each other’s feet and covered each other’s eyes, so neither could see clearly.

Pei Shu cursed: “Take away your dirty hands!”

Yi Qi’s voice was extremely annoyed: “If I hadn’t saved her just now and rushed over directly, she would be mine! Ahhhhh…”

“Idiot! If you hadn’t saved her, she might be a corpse or crippled now. Would you marry that?”

“Right… then hurry up, she doesn’t have time to skin it! You bastard, let go of me!”

“You let go first.”

“You first!”

“Then let go at the same time!”

“One, two, three!”

“Ow! Pei Shu, you bastard, you cheated—”

Hearing those two voices, Jing Hengbo immediately snapped awake—damn it, the two perverts had arrived!

A quarter hour!

She didn’t dare hesitate and immediately dove underwater, seeking the Silver Armor Beast’s corpse. Without another word, she began skinning!

The knife flashed like lightning, dancing and spinning, moving in and out, rising and falling like a dance, cutting tendons and bones all silently.

Never had it been so smooth.

She was so focused, underwater with eyes closed, as if her soul had left her body, returning to that day in the mountain forest. Over a hundred rabbit and roe deer corpses piled like mountains, and he guided her hand, gently inserting the dagger under a leopard’s skin and flesh.

Cool fingertips, cold breath, the rippling water like his cheek, the sound of water like his breathing.

Pick, lift, drop, press, split, separate… skilled as memory.

She closed her eyes, her cheeks wet with what might be water or some other liquid.

In moments, the entire hide spread from her hands like a giant white dress, covering the water surface.

So fast that Yi Qi and Pei Shu didn’t even have time to reach the lakeside.

Yi Qi ran while wailing: “Little Bobo, is this really necessary? Couldn’t you drag the Silver Armor Beast ashore to skin it? Skinning so bloodily underwater—half the lake is stained red! Aren’t you disgusted? It’s just us seeing you once! Seeing you once doesn’t make you lose anything…”

“Splash.” Pei Shu had already leaped into the reddened water, fishing out a black stone-like object and swallowing it—that was the antidote arranged by Purple Micro Sage—while shouting loudly: “Are you okay? Where are you?”

With a “splash” of water, silver light flashed, and Jing Hengbo burst from the water.

Two men in the water looked up at her in a daze.

She spun out of the water surface, and the silver hide spread on the water followed her rotation, wrapping around her graceful body, fitting smoothly inch by inch. In the sunlight on the water surface, she spun out a willow-like waistline and a silver, enormous skirt hem. Countless pale red water drops scattered like crystal mist—she was a goddess born from chaos in the mist, reborn and crowned.

And beneath the goddess’s skirt hem, her snow-white ankles and toes were like pearls and shells, gleaming faintly, adding another touch of enchanting, swaying charm.

Both Pei Shu and Yi Qi couldn’t help but hold their breath. Yi Qi’s usually casual eyes now sparkled, filled entirely with her divinely carved form.

The goddess wore the newest magnificent crown, held a bloody knife in her hand, and under the intoxicated gazes of two men who were captivated by her, she waved her hand to drag out the Silver Armor Beast’s corpse, stabbed a knife into the beast’s throat, then used her snow-white, slender, crystal-clear fingers to probe into that bloody wound, digging and searching inside…

The two men let out disillusioned sighs…

“Aha! Found it!” Jing Hengbo suddenly laughed loudly, withdrawing her hand. In her palm was a pale yellow, pigeon-egg-sized object that trembled slightly.

“Inner core.” Pei Shu pursed his lips, though his eyes showed joy.

Jing Hengbo squinted at this inner core. This was the first treasure she’d personally obtained by killing a beast. Just as she was thinking of admiring it a bit longer, suddenly there was a sinister laugh above, and someone said: “Treasures should belong to the virtuous! I permit you to present the inner core to me!”

A “whoosh” from overhead, a hand reached down, snatching away the inner core.

To prevent her from interfering, the person who took the core used one hand to snatch it while the other sleeve swept up, creating a huge splash that struck Jing Hengbo’s face.

Jing Hengbo was caught off guard, her body swaying backward, her face burning with pain. Pei Shu rushed over to support her.

Jing Hengbo wiped the water from her face. Her face still burned, and the fire in her chest suddenly blazed up.

What the hell! Someone actually dared to rob her things in broad daylight?

Her angry shriek echoed through the mountain forest: “Who the fuck dares steal from me!”

From the opposite shore, someone said coldly: “Presenting the inner core to me is your fortune. You’ll be rewarded later!”

Hearing this affected tone, Jing Hengbo wanted to vomit. She rubbed her painful eyes and saw clearly that standing on the shore was a white-clothed young man. His appearance was passable, but his bearing was arrogant, making him uncomfortable to look at no matter how you viewed him.

Even more uncomfortable were his clothes.

He was actually wearing white!

People who wore white were never good!

No one was allowed to wear it!

She propped her chin, wiped her hands on Pei Shu, stared at that guy for a long while, then suddenly smiled.

Her smile made both men shiver.

Then she stepped out of the water in one stride, reaching the shore in another step.

The white-clothed man was proudly playing with the inner core, thinking about where to digest it properly. Looking up to see Jing Hengbo already in front of him, he was startled by her lightness skills, then his eyes brightened with amazement.

Jing Hengbo was currently wrapped in the Silver Armor Beast’s hide. In the rush, she naturally couldn’t make it into proper clothing, so she had to cut off a square piece to wrap around her chest. Fortunately, the Silver Armor Beast’s hide was naturally soft and conforming. Once worn, it immediately adhered like a second skin, making her appear to wear a silver, gleaming, off-shoulder evening gown. Her shoulders were snow-white, her collarbones delicate, her curves both full and exquisite. Water drops fell from the silver, soft armor, creating countless romantic scenes on her waist.

The white-clothed man immediately forgot what he wanted to say, pointing at Jing Hengbo: “You presented this inner core. I’ll request a reward for you later.”

His face was full of “come thank me” arrogance. Jing Hengbo smiled sweetly at him, stepped on Pei Shu’s foot to prevent his rage, and smoothed her hair: “Where does the young master plan to request a reward for me?”

Seeing this person’s expression and dress, he didn’t seem like someone from the Great Wilderness sects. She felt it necessary to clarify his origins before dealing with him through pickling, sun-drying, steaming, and stir-frying.

The man was cautious, saying arrogantly: “You’re not qualified to ask yet.” After speaking, he tilted his head back and swallowed the inner core.

All three were stunned.

Jing Hengbo let out a “wa ya” of fury.

Her hard-won inner core!

“No one move—” she shrieked, stopping Yi Qi and Pei Shu from acting.

The white-clothed man had been slightly wary, but hearing this, he laughed, about to praise her sensibility when suddenly his vision blurred. The next instant he heard a heavy “slap,” his cheek burning with severe pain, and his mouth filled with a fishy, salty taste. Opening his mouth, he spat out three teeth with a “wa.”

The white-clothed man looked shocked—he hadn’t even seen her shadow!

He hurriedly retreated, but his back hit something elastic. Then a sharp shriek nearly pierced his eardrums: “You dare molest me!”

“Slap.” Another strike, this time on the other cheek. Peach blossoms bloomed and teeth flew as his head tilted to one side and wouldn’t come back.

“Give back what you took from me! Spit out what you ate!” Jing Hengbo viciously kicked his stomach with all her strength—her first inner core obtained through life-and-death struggle, and she hadn’t even had time to warm it up!

The kick bent his body backward like a shrimp, bouncing him back several steps. He looked up in horror, his expression toward Jing Hengbo no longer showing the previous pride and contemptuous amazement, but complete shock.

What kind of lightness skill was this?

Even ghosts could be caught by their shadows, but her appearances and disappearances left no trace to follow.

He wasn’t originally weak, but he’d never seen this kind of “lightness skill” that was worse than ghosts. In his shock, seeing Pei Shu and Yi Qi both grinning menacingly as they closed in, he immediately knew today was his unlucky day—he’d hit an iron plate. Not daring to make a sound, he turned and fled.

Just as his body took flight, he fell back down. A person descended from the sky, smiling as he grabbed his collar, pressing him all the way to the ground with violent movements but gentle voice: “Honored envoy, where are you planning to go?”

“Yelu Qi!” Jing Hengbo, who had been chasing angrily, screamed with delight.

“Sister-in-law!” From Yelu Qi’s back, Yelu Xunru also let out a delighted scream.

Pei Shu narrowed his eyes.

Jing Hengbo made an “uh” sound.

Before she could react, she heard Yelu Xunru’s urgent next words: “Quick! Quick! Sister-in-law, while I’m not dead yet, you two hurry up and get married. At least someone can officiate!”

“Nonsense!” Pei Shu couldn’t bear it anymore. “What crazy woman is spouting gibberish? I give you a quarter hour to get lost!”

But Jing Hengbo’s attention was on the phrase “while I’m not dead yet.” She stepped forward to look at Yelu Xunru’s complexion: “What’s wrong with you?” She looked questioningly at Yelu Qi.

Yelu Qi continued smiling, though his complexion was somewhat dark, saying gently: “Don’t listen to my sister’s nonsense.”

“Jing Hengbo.” Yelu Xunru grabbed her hand, panting: “I’m dying soon. Seeing you before death is pretty good luck. How about it? I’ll give you my little brother from now on. You don’t need to take care of him—I’ve arranged for him to take care of you. I’ve trained my brother very well. Literarily he can be a top scholar, martially he can hunt lions and tigers. He cooks, washes clothes, cleans house, and does all manual labor beautifully. He’s absolutely suitable for home, government, and martial arts circles—a peerless good man. Whoever marries him profits. Won’t you consider it?”

Her voice was low but still continuous. This woman had extraordinary toughness, unwilling to show weakness even at death.

“Can you please shut up?” Jing Hengbo impatiently interrupted her rambling, looking her up and down, then shouting upward: “Old immortal! Old immortal!”

Not a sound from above.

Jing Hengbo made a surprised “eh,” feeling very strange. Purple Micro Sage, that old immortal, whenever she completed tasks before, would immediately come out to give scores. What was wrong today?

“Old guy! Old guy!” Jing Hengbo continued calling, needing to get the old guy out to save Xunru’s life.

The entire mountain was silently quiet.

“Sage! Sage!”

No one responded.

“Master! Master!” Jing Hengbo even used respectful titles.

But today Purple Micro Sage seemed to have taken mute medicine, refusing to respond no matter what.

“Go find him.” Jing Hengbo quickly urged Pei Shu and the seven jesters: “Hurry up and find the old immortal to save her.”

“What’s in it for us?” The seven jesters wouldn’t move: “Save her to officiate your wedding?”

“Little darlings, be good,” Jing Hengbo coaxed them: “Find the old witch and bring him back, and I promise to definitely destroy him later.”

“We can consider it.” The seven jesters left satisfied, incidentally dragging away the firmly opposed Yi Qi.

Pei Shu angrily walked past Jing Hengbo. The next moment, Jing Hengbo heard the Nine Heavens Gate disciple’s heart-rending screams. Turning back, she was startled by the bloody scene.

“Pei Shu! Why are you doing this for no reason?”

That poor Nine Heavens Gate disciple had been disemboweled by Demon King Pei, who was now with a fierce expression, fishing the Silver Armor Beast’s inner core from his abdomen.

“I feel like it!” Pei Shu’s answer was always full of Pei Shu style.

He tossed the inner core over. Jing Hengbo originally didn’t want to catch the bloody, disgusting thing, but seeing Xunru, she still caught it, washed the inner core in the lake water, and handed it to Yelu Qi.

“Don’t tell her where it was dug out from…” she whispered to Yelu Qi.

Yelu Qi gazed at her, his eyes crystalline. After a long while, he took the inner core and turned to tell Yelu Xunru on his back: “Sister, this is from Hengbo.”

“Pretty smelly.” Yelu Xunru smiled: “Dug out from a person’s belly, right?”

Jing Hengbo helplessly shrugged. Blind people just had such good hearing.

“Aren’t inner cores supposed to be dug from beast bellies? It just went through one more person’s belly. What’s the difference?” Her expression was frank.

Yelu Xunru “looked” at her, then said to Yelu Qi: “I like her frankness and transparency. Your taste is good.”

Yelu Qi smiled: “My taste has always been good, like choosing you as my sister.”

Yelu Xunru chuckled, touching his face with emotion: “Yes, back then when I was walking with my sisters and saw you crying by the roadside, such a beautiful little face crying so messily, all the sisters liked you. Big cousin offered you candy but you didn’t want it, second cousin tried to wipe your face but you wouldn’t let her. You just ran to me. I brought you home, and you didn’t make a sound the whole way. Little rascal, tell sister—did you fall for sister’s beauty then?”

“Yes,” Yelu Qi said seriously: “Back then, that group of sisters were all ugly. The candy they offered was leftover, and the handkerchiefs for wiping faces were so fragrant they could kill people. Only my sister was noble, cold, and aloof, standing apart from the world. At first sight, I immediately prostrated myself, feeling yearning. Even if you didn’t want me, I had to have you. Especially the hot, steamed meat buns you secretly beckoned to me from behind—snow-white and tender, truly beautiful and irresistible.”

“Hahaha, my silly sisters with their candy and handkerchiefs—didn’t they know that for a starving little child, meat buns were most tempting?” Yelu Xunru laughed heartily.

Yelu Qi also laughed, the siblings’ smiles each blooming like flowers.

Jing Hengbo also smiled, but smiling, she turned to look at the rippling lake water.

She had to work hard to keep certain emotions that were about to leak out blocked in her eye sockets.

Zirui and Yong Xue had originally wanted to come over but now squatted by the lakeside—one staring desperately at the lake water, the other splashing water playfully. On the calm water surface, drops of liquid fell, creating tiny ripples.

There was a kind of feeling that from beginning to end remained bright and beautiful. Even the gray of death couldn’t dim it by the slightest bit.

“Sister-in-law,” after laughing for a while, Yelu Xunru turned to Jing Hengbo: “This inner core—I’m not afraid to eat it because it’s disgusting. I just don’t need to eat it anymore. Wasting one core to live three to five more days—why bother? You keep it and eat it yourself. The more dangerous beasts in the Great Wilderness Marsh, the better their inner cores. If eating it could make you a bit more beautiful, wouldn’t my brother find you more pleasing to look at? Even if not for pleasing him, shouldn’t we treat ourselves well?”

“Sometimes I really think you’re a time traveler…” Jing Hengbo muttered, knowing that someone like Xunru, when she said no, meant no. Smiling, she put away the inner core, planning to save it for whoever needed it.

In the distance, the seven jesters’ voices carried far, all shouting loudly to find Purple Micro Sage.

“Old immortal, come quick, there’s something delicious here!”

“Old witch, a beauty a hundred times more beautiful than you has come. Come out and compare!”

“Old immortal, we dug a pit on the seventh peak with a ten-thousand-year zombie buried inside. Come sleep with him!”

Er Lu’s voice came, and Yelu Xunru’s body suddenly trembled, looking up sharply.

She seemed to be carefully distinguishing some sound, her expression slightly tense. Jing Hengbo couldn’t help asking: “What’s wrong?”

Yelu Xunru suddenly asked: “Who was that just now?”

“The seven jesters. Purple Micro Sage’s seven disciples.”

Jing Hengbo looked at Yelu Qi in confusion. Xunru wasn’t someone who got startled easily. What was this about? She shouldn’t have met the seven jesters, and when they spoke earlier, she hadn’t reacted.

But Yelu Qi’s eyes showed understanding, smiling slightly with a touch of melancholy.

“Digging pits… digging pits…” Yelu Xunru muttered twice: “That year, I was in a pit, and those bastards also talked about digging pits. Their voices—I remember now!”

She suddenly reached out to Jing Hengbo: “Quick, the inner core!”

Jing Hengbo dazedly took out the inner core again and handed it to her. She gulped it down with a “glug.”

Jing Hengbo indicated that this sister’s thought process was something she could never follow.

After swallowing the inner core, Yelu Qi immediately put her down to help her circulate qi. Shortly after, her deathly pale complexion gained a bit of color, and she exhaled a long breath.

Then she stood up, looked up and shouted: “Purple Micro Sage! Come out! No need to hide from me—I’m too lazy to look for you! But my dignity won’t allow you to trample it. I’ll count to three. If you don’t come out, I’ll announce to the world that eleven years ago, you swindled me of money and love, then abandoned me…”

Jing Hengbo stared at her in amazement—was this woman Taishi Lan’s lost sister? Or her previous life?

“One, two, three!” Yelu Xunru began counting, and very quickly too.

Just as the “three” finished, a purple-clothed figure had already landed by the lake, urgently saying: “Jing Hengbo, you get negative points for this test! Negative points!” while quickly throwing out a medicine pill: “This old man suddenly remembered there are urgent matters unfinished. I must immediately go wandering the world. I leave this Seven Peaks Mountain to you all. Farewell!”

“If you dare leave, I’ll tell the foxes’ story!” Jing Hengbo shouted loudly.

The rapidly fleeing purple shadow stopped. The next moment, Yelu Xunru pounced on him, sitting on his trailing purple robe hem, grabbing his ankle-length hair.

His hair was too slippery for Yelu Xunru to hold, so she simply hung her entire body on him, saying with a grin: “Ah, Purple Micro, long time no see. Your hair has grown so long.” She touched her own somewhat dry hair, very dissatisfied: “How can it be better than my hair?” Her hand extended, producing scissors like magic, grabbing his hair and smiling: “Where should I cut from?”

“No!”