Chapter 065: What on Earth Is Going On?

In the moonlight, a dense horde of fiends blocked their escape, trapping them in this mountain hollow.

“What’s going on? Why are so many fiends gathering here?!”

“This must not be an ordinary cave! Senior Brother must have known there would be this many fiends, that’s why he set up patrols and night watches!”

“Senior Brother! Yes! Quick, contact Senior Brother, have him come save us!”

“I’ve been trying, but he’s not answering!”

“Ah! Look, isn’t that Senior Brother Zhao’s boots?!”

With this scream, everyone turned to look at a particular fiend. Its massive mouth was smeared with blood, chewing on something, a pair of boots dangling from its jaws, swinging with every bite.

At the sight, everyone was instantly chilled to the bone.

Suddenly, someone shrieked and flung a spell into the midst of the fiends. The already restless horde erupted, surging toward them.

“Damn! Fight them! Take down as many as we can! If we can’t hold, shatter the jade token and get out!”

This shout snapped everyone out of their panic. Those with strong wills joined the fray, attacking the fiends, while the more fragile, gripped by terror, crushed their escape tokens and vanished from the secret realm in a flash.

At this point, Dan Zhiqing completely forgot her desire for Yu Wenche to see her in a new light, or to prove herself not a burden. Panic-stricken, she tried to contact Yu Wenche.

From the mountaintop, they couldn’t hear the commotion below, but the flashes of sword light were faintly visible in the darkness.

Yan Shu opened her eyes and glanced at Yu Wenche’s trembling storage pouch, murmuring, “You should answer.”

After all, both the silk cloth and the brocade box were buried at the cave entrance. If something truly happened, with Tai Chu Sect’s usual ways, they would surely put the blame on Yu Wenche. In the end, they might actually be causing trouble for him.

Yan Shu looked down the mountain and softly advised, “Judging by the sword aura below, it seems they’ve run into a fiend horde. You’d better answer and check on the situation.”

Yu Wenche hesitated for a moment, but finally answered the call.

As soon as the Mystic Spirit Mirror connected, Dan Zhiqing’s terrified, ashen face appeared, her voice trembling and on the verge of tears: “Senior Brother! Please save us! There are so many fiends! Senior Brother Zhao and the others have all been eaten!”

Yu Wenche’s brows knitted at these words.

Seeing this, Dan Zhiqing hurriedly raised the mirror so he could see the current situation.

Things below were indeed grim: hundreds of fiends blocked the path, and their group of nearly thirty was now less than twenty.

Yan Shu, witnessing this as well, couldn’t help but be secretly astonished—what was wrong with Tai Chu Sect? Were they really this weak?

Dan Zhiqing’s desperate plea sounded again: “Senior Brother! Please, come back! It was all my fault before. If you don’t return soon, we’ll all be forced out of the realm, and the reputation of Tai Chu Sect will be ruined!”

Though there was nothing incorrect in her words, she had, without saying it outright, placed all the blame for their failure on Yu Wenche.

Especially that line, If you don’t return, we’ll all be forced out—it was more a threat than a plea for help.

Yan Shu couldn’t tell if Dan Zhiqing was simply tactless or if this was her true nature.

If before she’d still entertained the thought that, should she regain her freedom, she might try being with Yu Wenche, now that idea was thoroughly abandoned.

Not to mention the vexing Dan Zhiqing—just the general attitude of Tai Chu Sect reminded her of the kind of men who burdened themselves and their families.

Even though Yu Wenche was a wealthy benefactor, fundamentally he was the same: surrounded by people always needing his care.

As for herself, she was a classic slacker, avoiding trouble at all costs.

Yu Wenche was fine, but she simply wasn’t cut out for this life.

Yan Shu looked over at Yu Wenche and said, “Why don’t you go help them? My spiritual power has recovered to seventy percent, and the Hao Yuan Pill should finish refining soon. Once it does, the fiends here will likely retreat. Xiao Jihan and I can handle things.”

Drawing the fiends’ attention down the mountain was already a great help from Yu Wenche. Even if he left now, he’d done them a big favor.

Yu Wenche stood and looked outside. Sure enough, the fiends at the back, having lost the attraction of spiritual energy, had begun to scatter.

Dan Zhiqing’s voice rang out again: “Senior Brother! Hurry, we can’t hold on much longer!”

The situation at the foot of the mountain was dire, while up here the fiends were thinning.

Yu Wenche hesitated a moment. “I still have quite a few Demon-Binding Talismans left. I should be able to hold out for a while. I’ll be back soon.”

The sash had already recognized its master; once he left, it would return to its original form and lose its effect.

Yu Wenche tossed out four Demon-Binding Talismans to secure the perimeter, then stowed the sash away.

With fiends surrounding them, Yu Wenche could only leap onto a massive boulder and circle around from behind. But as he landed, instead of solid stone, the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way, and his whole body sank down.

The sudden turn startled Yan Shu, and Xiao Jihan snapped open his eyes.

Both stood up and stared at the boulder, but it was as it had always been—solid and undisturbed.

If she hadn’t seen Yu Wenche leap onto the stone and vanish with her own eyes, Yan Shu might have thought she was dreaming.

She stared, dumbfounded, at the boulder, her imagination running wild. With a fearful glance at Xiao Jihan, she muttered, “Do you think this isn’t really a stone, but a fiend, and that’s its mouth up there?!”

Xiao Jihan shot her a look.

It was the look one gives an idiot.

Yan Shu: ...

Suddenly, Xiao Jihan hurled a fireball at the boulder, but just like Yu Wenche, as soon as the fireball reached the top, it was swallowed up.

He withdrew his hand and said to Yan Shu, “There’s probably a teleportation array above. We activated it by accident.”

At this, Yan Shu’s spirits immediately lifted. She knew it—Xiao Jihan’s luck was extraordinary. Even lying down, fortune would come knocking.

Although this part wasn’t mentioned in the original novel, it was easy to guess: anything placed before the male lead was bound to be something good.

Yan Shu grew excited. “Let’s go see too!”

Xiao Jihan turned to regard her, his phoenix eyes cold. “Are you that concerned for him?”

Favorability: 7 (Acquaintance)

Yan Shu’s heart clenched. “Then... then let’s not go!”

“Why not?”

Xiao Jihan’s lips curled in a cold smile as he gazed at the boulder. “If a teleportation array appears in the secret realm, there must be a great opportunity behind it. Are you afraid I’ll take it from him?”

Favorability: 6 (Acquaintance)

Yan Shu: ...

So she couldn’t look, but she couldn’t not look either. What exactly did he want from her?!