Guan Fusha’s hand stroked Taohua’s cheek, gently rubbing as a sharp pain twisted in her chest.
They’d only been apart a few days.
How had she gotten this thin…
“I’m sorry. I came late.”
She set Taohua carefully down on the ground, eyes running up and down her body.
“Junior Sister, where are you hurt? Is it serious?”
Leaning back against the tree trunk, Taohua shook her head.
“I’m fine. It’s all just superficial wounds.”
“Superficial wounds?!”
Guan Fusha’s expression changed, a flash of cruelty gleaming in her eyes.
“They tortured you?”
“No, I just… I hurt myself by accident…”
Taohua hadn’t even finished before An Xianli’s roar cut her off.
“Demon woman! Let her go!”
He drew the long sword at his waist. The tip pointed straight at Guan Fusha, his face livid with anger.
“What are you trying to do to Miss Cui!”
She had finally gotten the rare chance to speak to her junior sister again, only to be rudely interrupted. Guan Fusha’s expression darkened. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes, looking An Xianli up and down.
Taohua’s heart trembled. She held her breath without realizing it, staring at the two of them facing off.
The mo… moment was finally here.
An Xianli and Guan Fusha’s fated encounter!
“Who are you?”
Guan Fusha was the first to break the silence, her gaze fixed on the sword in his hand, ready for him to strike at any time.
Honest men did not skulk in the shadows. An Xianli announced himself upright and proper.
“First disciple of Tianlun Sect, An Xianli.”
“Hmph. A so-called Tianlun disciple doesn’t even know the difference between men and women? You actually dared hold my junior sister’s hand just now.”
Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
If she hadn’t been afraid of hurting her junior sister, she would’ve already drawn her sword and hacked this man to death.
Who did he think he was, daring to keep clutching her junior sister’s hand like that? Not a shred of propriety or shame, and he still dared to call himself a righteous cultivator!
“Th–that… just now, I truly had no other choice. Th–that’s why I offended Miss Cui.”
Thinking back to what had happened and the lingering warmth in his palm, An Xianli’s handsome face flared red. He couldn’t even get his words out smoothly.
To be fair, he had entered Tianlun Sect as a child and devoted himself to martial cultivation. He had almost no contact with women, let alone physical contact.
Seeing him actually blush only made Guan Fusha angrier.
“And you dare claim to be a righteous man. Did your master never teach you the separation between men and women? You’re utterly shameless!”
He hadn’t expected to be accused like this. Terrified that Taohua would misunderstand him, An Xianli hurried to explain.
“Miss Cui, I am absolutely not that sort of despicable man.”
“Whether you are or not is not for you to decide with your own mouth.”
Guan Fusha looked at him coldly, her tone ice-cold.
An Xianli was struck speechless. After a long moment of silence, as though making some great decision, he fixed his bright gaze on Taohua.
“In that case, I am willing to take responsibility for you, Miss Cui.”
“You…!”
Guan Fusha was about to explode.
This man actually dared to propose to her junior sister right in front of her?!
“You can forget it!”
As soon as the words fell, Guan Fusha drew the longsword at her waist, stepped lightly forward, and lashed the blade viciously toward An Xianli.
The moment her sword aura erupted, a gust of wind swept out. Dry leaves and gravel on the ground were blasted into the air, all flying toward An Xianli.
He slipped past her attack without panic, leaping up and borrowing strength from a tree trunk. His sword tip thrust straight at Guan Fusha.
Guan Fusha didn’t dodge. She raised her own sword and blocked.
Steel collided. Sparks sprayed as the two sharp blades screeched against each other.
“Tianlun Sect is only at this level?”
Guan Fusha pushed him away with a burst of strength, then hopped back a step to open the distance between them.
The sudden fight left Taohua, still sitting on the ground, completely stupefied.
What was going on?
So the male and female leads finally met, and instead of falling in love at first sight, they were suddenly trying to kill each other?
And that thing An Xianli just said…
He couldn’t have been proposing to her, right?!
What the hell kind of insane plot twist was this!
You couldn’t just derail the storyline like that!
Forced back again and again by Guan Fusha, An Xianli only stopped when his back hit a tree. His expression grew heavy.
He hadn’t expected her sword aura to be this sharp. The Right Guardian of the Night God Cult truly lived up to her name—she was even stronger than he’d imagined.
“Hmph, don’t get arrogant!”
Adjusting his stance, An Xianli launched another attack at Guan Fusha.
Guan Fusha had already seen through his movements. She feinted aside to avoid his strike, then immediately thrust back at him.
An Xianli dodged, flipped his wrist, and switched to another technique, pressing in once more.
“Watch my sword!”
“Parlor tricks.”
Guan Fusha bent low, letting his blade pass over her, then rolled forward. Her legs snapped out and slammed hard into his back.
Hit squarely, An Xianli let out a muffled groan and staggered forward, nearly falling. He had to jab his sword into the ground like a cane just to steady himself.
Watching him sway on his feet, about to topple, Guan Fusha gave a cold snort. She drew in a breath of qi, leaped back to Taohua’s side, and scooped her up into her arms.
“Junior Sister, we’re leaving.”
Taohua was still completely dumbfounded.
Was Tianlun Sect the kind of sect you could just pop into and out of like visiting a grocery store?
And the two of them had kicked up such a commotion back here on the rear mountain—how was it that not a single other Tianlun disciple had come to check it out?
This was so quiet it was downright creepy!
She had just opened her mouth to ask when Guan Fusha suddenly gathered her strength and vaulted upward, feet tapping lightly on branches as she climbed. In no time, they were at the canopy.
The feeling of height and empty air rushed over her. Taohua’s mind went blank. She forgot entirely what she’d wanted to ask and, on instinct, clung tightly to Guan Fusha’s neck.
“Wait!”
Seeing this, An Xianli immediately tried to give chase.
But the moment he tried to circulate his internal qi, he felt as if his body had been hollowed out. He didn’t even have the strength to stand. His knees buckled, and he crashed to the ground, a thread of fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, but even kneeling was becoming difficult. In the end, he simply couldn’t hold on and collapsed flat on the ground.
Before his eyes closed, he slowly replayed every move from his battle with Guan Fusha.
It must have been then.
She’d poisoned him while he was distracted.
Watching the two figures rapidly disappearing from his sight, An Xianli was filled with boundless regret and humiliation. At the same time, he hardened his resolve.
He could not allow the kind-hearted Miss Cui to remain in that demonic cult.
One day, he would personally rescue her from their clutches!
Only after she got used to the wind howling past her ears and the sensation of soaring through the air did Taohua dare crack her eyes open.
She caught sight of An Xianli collapsed on the ground and couldn’t help feeling startled. From what she’d seen of their exchange earlier, Guan Fusha had only kicked him in the back once. That alone shouldn’t have left him in such a state, right?
Noticing Taohua’s distraction, Guan Fusha asked,
“Junior Sister, what are you looking at?”
“…Nothing.”
Taohua silently pulled her gaze back.
If Guan Fusha and An Xianli weren’t going to end up as a couple, she had no desire to get too entangled with that man either.
“By the way, Senior Sister, is it really okay for you to barge into Tianlun Sect all by yourself?”
