Chapter 50: Max Out His Favorability!

The thunder whip in her hand transformed into a flood dragon, which in an instant lunged toward Xiao Jihan. Out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Jihan saw the dragon coming for him, and suddenly a sense of resignation settled in his heart—it was just as he’d expected.

He should never have placed any hope in her.

Xiao Jihan abruptly withdrew his sword, no longer wishing to make a futile struggle. His spiritual energy was exhausted; even if he did not die by her hand, he would perish beneath the claws of these fiends. He closed his eyes and waited for the dragon to pierce through his heart.

But nothing happened.

There was nothing at all—only the roar of a dragon and the anguished cries of the fiends.

Xiao Jihan opened his eyes to see a massive thunder dragon coiling around him protectively, standing guard with an overwhelming presence that intimidated the beasts and fiends surrounding him.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the dragon, the magical beasts and fiends halted their attacks, baring their fangs and growling at the dragon. The dragon, undaunted, responded with a thunderous roar, forcing them back several steps.

This was utterly different from what he had anticipated.

Stunned, Xiao Jihan turned to look at Yan Shu.

Yan Shu did not spare him a glance. Her hands formed a seal as she shouted, “Rise!”

Xiao Jihan felt his body constrict. Just as he thought she had decided not to let him die so swiftly, preferring instead to strangle him, he found himself suddenly lifted into the air, carried straight outward.

In midair, their gazes met.

He had expected to see hatred, murderous intent, or calculation in her eyes. Yet in those beautiful eyes, sparkling with fragments of starlight, there was nothing at all.

The flood dragon did not abandon him after breaking through the encirclement. Instead, it carried him farther out, never pausing.

A flicker of doubt crossed Xiao Jihan’s mind. Could it be that she truly hadn’t meant any harm? Was she really unaware of everything?

But the thought was quickly dismissed as he glanced at the fiends below, surging after him. Xiao Jihan sneered. Even now, this woman was still putting on an act.

The commotion among the fiends surprised Yan Shu as well.

What on earth was going on? Did Xiao Jihan have some magical elixir with him?

Why were all these beasts and fiends chasing after him so desperately? She was standing right there—how could she be completely ignored?

Was it possible that, even as a delicate and beautiful woman, she was less tempting than Xiao Jihan, that rough brute? So what if he was a bit more handsome? He was still a burly man—surely she, as a dainty young lady, would be more appetizing!

What kind of taste did these beasts and fiends have, anyway?

As her mind raced with such complaints, Yan Shu knew the most important thing now was to stop these fiends from chasing after him. Otherwise, with Xiao Jihan’s penchant for wild assumptions, he might pin some new crime on her head.

What could she do to draw the beasts and fiends to herself?

Suddenly, inspiration struck—blood!

Unlike Xiao Jihan, whose pure yang constitution repelled all evil, she was born with a pure yin body, making her not only prone to attracting fiends, but also rendering her blood an irresistible temptation for them!

The male lead was a master of overthinking, and had already considered killing her thrice. Yan Shu understood that if she could not dispel his doubts today, his favorability toward her would forever remain in the negatives. Even if she managed to move it from -99 to -1, as long as it was negative, the slightest incident could drop it right back down by ninety-eight points in a day.

She had seen through it all—whether murderous intent, deep hatred, loathing, or indifference—as long as the favorability was negative, it was all the same, making no difference whatsoever.

Rather than living in constant fear, never knowing when he might silently turn against her, she might as well go all in and take a gamble!

She would see for herself if Xiao Jihan’s heart was truly made of stone!

She swore that if she survived today, she would do everything in her power to max out his favorability—turning it positive once and for all!

Lifting her right hand, Yan Shu condensed spiritual energy into a blade and, with a swift motion, slashed across the palm of her left hand.

She clenched her hand, and warm blood dripped steadily to the ground.

The magical beasts and fiends, who had been chasing madly after Xiao Jihan, suddenly halted as if they had caught the scent of the most exquisite delicacy. They opened their mouths, saliva dripping as they turned their gazes toward Yan Shu.

Standing her ground, Yan Shu watched as the scent of her blood drove the fiends wild, their eyes reddening as they drooled in frenzy. She raised her lips in a faint smile.

With a beckoning gesture, she called, “Come here, all of you!”

Dawn broke, illuminating the entire valley.

Scarlet drops of blood fell one after another, seeping into the earth, staining it brown, yet reflecting a red glow in Xiao Jihan’s eyes.

Now, in the eyes of the hundreds of fiends and beasts, only that beautiful figure remained. Yet he felt not the slightest sense of deliverance.

The golden-furred dragon, sensing its master’s peril, set Xiao Jihan down at the valley entrance before lifting its head with a dragon’s roar, transforming into a bolt of lightning that instantly appeared at Yan Shu’s side, ready to stand guard with her.

Xiao Jihan’s gaze fell on her bleeding left hand. He looked at her striking figure and that exquisite, cold face, pressing his thin lips together.

At last, the fiends and magical beasts moved.

A sudden howl arose among them, and then all the fiends and beasts surged toward Yan Shu.

The flood dragon rose into the air, plunging into their midst. It rolled and thrashed among the horde, its four claws like sharp blades, quickly engaging the beasts and fiends in fierce battle.

At the same time, Yan Shu sprang into action, forming seals with both hands as lightning flared intensely around her.

“Fall!”

Countless streaks of lightning rained down, as if a storm of thunder had descended or a net of electricity had been woven. Amidst the flashes and thunderclaps, fiends and beasts fell in droves.

Yet the lightning was still too weak, and these foes were not the low-level beasts of the previous forest. As soon as the thunderstorm stopped, those struck down quickly rose again, surging toward Yan Shu in relentless waves.

Yan Shu did not retreat, for there was nowhere to retreat.

Her pure yin blood was an overwhelming lure, drawing the fiends to throw themselves at her, wave after wave.

“Fall!”

Lightning descended again, more violent than before. This time, most of the fiends and beasts struck by the thunder failed to rise.

However, there were simply too many of them. They knew neither fear nor hesitation. Knocked down, they scrambled to their feet once more. Even with parts of their bodies scorched away, as long as they could move, they lunged at her.

Thunder net after thunder net fell, draining Yan Shu’s spiritual power. The golden-furred dragon also began to slow, its body shrinking until it was only half its former size.

Xiao Jihan stood at the entrance of the valley, silently watching Yan Shu surrounded by fiends and beasts, watching the sweat beading on her brow, the corpses strewn across the ground.

It was only then that he realized—though she had suppressed her cultivation at late Foundation Establishment, her core was utterly different from his own.