The teenager smiled.
"By the way, little sister… I need you to take this."
He pulled out a white pill and shoved it into Lin Wuyue's mouth before she could protest. Just by looking at it, she knew it was a laxative. She couldn't understand why on earth he would give her a laxative.
"It's a tracking pill," the boy explained seriously. "If you betray us, it will explode from the inside, and you'll die a horrible death."
Of course, he would never give something so dangerous to a little girl. Especially not one so pretty who, when she grew up, would surely be the most beautiful girl on the continent. If only she had spiritual energy, tsk tsk…
Lin Wuyue was baffled. Did he really think he could fool her with a laxative? How stupid did he think she was? He'd seen her know about medicine. How could he not have guessed she knew what a simple herbal pill was?
Seeing her confused and resigned expression, the teenager thought she was scared.
"Don't worry. As long as you don't betray me, it won't explode."
Wuyue nodded. Pretending to be an idiot was easier and less troublesome.
"My name is Chen Xi. Do a good job, okay?" he winked at her.
Years later, Chen Xi would vividly recall the first time he met Lin Wuyue.
Just as he was about to put her back in the bag, an explosion rocked the forest. A massive fireball engulfed half the area. Lin Wuyue and Chen Xi frowned in unison.
"They're looking for you," he said. "You'd better run from here."
"What if they wake up quickly even with this liquid?" Lin Wuyue asked. The plan wasn't bad, but it had loopholes. And half-baked plans irritated her.
That liquid is called "Deep Sleep." It's an improved version of the gas in the bag. The gas will knock them unconscious for at least fifteen minutes. With the liquid, they'll sleep for an hour. We'll have time to escape far away, so don't worry about them.
Lin Wuyue pondered for a moment.
"Where shall we meet?"
"At White Fish Lake. I'll wait for you there so you can give me the liquid and we can leave as quickly as possible."
"That sounds good," she agreed. She knew the plan would fall apart if she let them suspect her.
"I'll be going. Take care. I'll be waiting at the lake... I hope you don't disappoint me."
And she left.
Lin Wuyue got mud all over her face and knees, as if she'd run so hard she'd tripped. Then she ran toward the explosion site. Her legs were short, and sure enough, she did end up falling for real. If I'd known I was really going to fall, I wouldn't have gotten myself all muddy before, she thought indignantly.
He got up, brushed himself off some of the mud, and kept running.
When he arrived, the first thing he saw was Feng Wu. He was breathing heavily as he stared up at the sky. The cold forest air made his breath vaporize. There were several corpses on the ground. His eyes were red, and his gaze shone with hatred.
"Big Brother Wu!" Lin Wuyue shouted.
Her hair was disheveled, her beautiful face smeared with mud and covered in scratches. She really did look like she'd been through a fierce chase. Just as she'd wanted.
Feng Wu looked at her, and his heart grew heavy. They had fought a brutal battle; they had saved the girl twice and shared so much with her. Of course they had feelings for her. They weren't emotionless beings… they were terrified.
Feng Wu staggered over. When he was close enough, he fell to his knees. He swallowed hard; his red eyes trembled as if he were about to cry. He took the girl's shoulders in shaking hands.
Lin Wuyue felt uneasy; she almost felt guilty. Her lips parted to speak, but Feng Wu interrupted her.
"Little Xia Yue… tell me, are you a ghost?"
Lin Wuyue was stunned. All guilt vanished instantly.
These brats… each one more idiotic than the last. Tsk. Fine. Whatever. I just need that resurrection fluid from the poison worms. With that, I can cultivate and ascend; I won't need anything else.
After a few seconds of staring blankly, he put on an innocent, frightened expression.
"Big Brother Wu… Xia Yue is fine. We're still alive…"
Feng Wu sighed, as if he'd thought he'd been dead for hours. Then he frowned.
"Where were you? When we turned around, you were gone. You scared us half to death."
"Big Brother Wu…" she said, her voice trembling, "a wolf was chasing me. I ran so fast I forgot to scream. I just ran… so fast…"
The tears in her eyes looked completely real.
Feng Wu's heart ached to see her like this. Just as he was about to say something else, the clash of swords rang out. Spiritual energy flooded the air, making it difficult for Lin Wuyue to breathe. Explosions of fire shook the area.
It was Linyuan, Feng Wu's brother, fighting a man dressed in black, his face covered. Just like Chen Xi.
Their fight was fierce; each clash of swords devastated the surroundings.
Feng Wu hugged the little girl tightly to protect her from the spiritual energy.
Even so, Lin Wuyue vomited a mouthful of blood. Seeing her like this, Feng Wu held her tighter and scooped her up in his arms. The battle was too much for a child to bear.
What none of them knew was that, in the midst of the fight, the man in black glanced at the little girl for a moment.
When he saw her, a smile appeared on his face.
Chen Xi must have done his job well. I suppose there's no need to keep fighting…
"Little brother, you're too fierce for me to handle. Let's call it a draw for today."
Linyuan frowned, something wasn't right
But she couldn't understand what it was that didn't feel right. She went blank for a few seconds, and when she came to, the man was gone.