“Cough, cough, cough…” Knocked to the ground by a punch, Li Youxi rolled instinctively across the ground, barely dodging the sword that came chasing after her.
“You ambushed me!” Li Youxi hurriedly pulled out her weapon—a specially made folding fan.
“I didn’t ambush you.
I attacked you right in front of your face, didn’t even go around behind you.
How’s that an ambush?” Because Wen Jiayin’s body was weak, Xin Yun started by training her speed, teaching her quick sword techniques.
Even though it hadn’t been long, she’d made some progress, which was how she caught Li Youxi off guard.
Wen Jiayin thrust her sword forward.
Li Youxi, who hadn’t even had time to open her fan, had to use it to block.
Again and again, after just a few moves, she still hadn’t managed to open her fan.
Li Youxi started to panic.
She formed a spell with her empty left hand, but Wen Jiayin pressed in close, using a close-quarters fighting style.
There was no way to cast a spell unless she wanted to hurt herself as much as her opponent.
The kids watching were all stunned.
Sword energy and gusts of wind raged in the courtyard, and a few unlucky trees were snapped in half.
All the kids except Zhi Chang’an took several steps back.
“Bang!” With a final loud crash, Li Youxi hit the ground hard and couldn’t get up right away.
“You lost.” Wen Jiayin sheathed her sword.
“Cough…” Li Youxi spat out a mouthful of bloody foam.
Wen Jiayin jumped in fright.
She didn’t think she’d hit that hard—internal injuries would be bad! Then she saw Li Youxi spit out a small white thing… Uh, did she accidentally knock out one of her teeth? Li Youxi was actually pretty skilled, and Wen Jiayin hadn’t come out of the fight unscathed either.
Just look at the bleeding cut on her face and the lock of hair that had been sliced off—this win hadn’t come easy.
Well, that’s fair… Wen Jiayin touched her face and found her hand covered in blood.
They’d both messed up each other’s looks, so it was even.
Any guilt she felt about ruining the other girl’s appearance vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Since it’s settled, I’m leaving.
We’ll talk tomorrow if there’s anything else.” With that, Wen Jiayin grabbed Zhi Chang’an’s hand and ran.
“Stop right there—” Halfway through her sentence, Li Youxi, her face bruised and swollen, shut up with a scowl—she was whistling air through her teeth…
“Why are we running?” Zhi Chang’an stumbled as she was pulled along.
“If we stay, we’ll get caught!” Only an idiot would stand still.
Wen Jiayin had a feeling the commotion they’d just caused would attract people.
If someone told her master, her good-girl image would be ruined!
“Li Youxi! You again!” An enraged voice rang out from the courtyard behind Wen Jiayin.
Heh heh~ Wen Jiayin stuck out her tongue at Zhi Chang’an with a grin.
They ran all the way to the other side of the mountain before Zhi Chang’an finally made Wen Jiayin stop.
“You need to take care of that cut on your face.
Stop running, no one’s coming after us.”
“I was just scared we’d get caught.” Wen Jiayin found a rock and sat down, motioning for Zhi Chang’an to sit next to her.
Zhi Chang’an didn’t have a storage pouch; all her things were in a cloth bag she’d sewn herself.
She dug out the most valuable thing inside—a bottle of hemostatic powder.
This medicine wasn’t even as good as the lowest-grade pills, just something a novice made for practice, but it was the best Zhi Chang’an had.
“Ow, ow, ow!” The moment the powder touched her face, Wen Jiayin felt a sharp pain shoot through her nerves, making her eyes water.
“So you know it hurts.
Then why’d you stick your nose in? You’re going to get in trouble all the time if you keep this up.” Zhi Chang’an wiped the blood from Wen Jiayin’s face with a relatively clean sleeve, but some of it had already dried and wouldn’t come off.
“Well… I just felt like I could help, so I did.
And that Li Youxi is really annoying.
She’s already such a bully at her age—who knows what she’ll be like when she grows up.” Wen Jiayin grumbled.
After hearing Wen Jiayin, Zhi Chang’an was silent for a while before saying, “It’s because I’m a half-demon.”
“So what? Is she racist?”
“No, it’s just that her whole family was slaughtered, and the killer was a demon.
That’s why she hates demons so much.
A few hundred years ago, the last demon emperor declared war on the human race.
The war lasted nearly a century, and a lot of people and demons died—including people from this sect.
So a lot of the older disciples here really hate demons.
I’m just saying this for your own good—keep your distance from me.” Zhi Chang’an tried to sound calm as she finished.
“I hadn’t heard about that.
I mean, what happened to her family is tragic, but that’s no excuse for her to hurt innocent people! Kids like her need to be taught properly while they’re still young, or they’ll end up going down a dark path.” Wen Jiayin complained.
Zhi Chang’an didn’t really understand some of Wen Jiayin’s odd phrases, but it was clear she’d missed the point.
“Did you hear what I said? You’re a prodigy, the direct disciple of the peak master.
You don’t need to get yourself dirty because of me.”
“So that’s what you’re worried about? Don’t worry about it! You know who my master is, right?” Wen Jiayin grinned and patted Zhi Chang’an on the shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s True Lord Xin Yun.” She rarely left the mountain, but her reputation was known throughout the cultivation world—who didn’t know her?
“My master is the number one sword cultivator.
I won’t say she’s unbeatable in the whole cultivation world, but at least in our sect, she can take on anyone… except for that mysterious grand-uncle.
And I’m her only disciple.
Who would dare gossip about me? Even if they talk behind my back, they’d never say it to my face.
As long as I don’t hear it, who cares?” Wen Jiayin was totally relaxed.
That’s what it feels like to have someone powerful backing you up—so spoiled!
Speaking of her master… Wen Jiayin touched her forehead, feeling like she’d forgotten something.
Meanwhile, a certain forgotten crane was searching all over the school for its little master.
Not finding her, it flapped its wings anxiously and flew back to Xin Yun.
Wen Jiayin, completely unaware that her master was on her way, was still comforting Zhi Chang’an.
“Relax, it’ll be fine~”
Just then, a powerful divine sense swept over the entire main peak.
Wen Jiayin and the other kids didn’t notice, but the peak master did—and recognized whose divine sense it was.
He was looking at his own bruised and battered disciple and sighing, when his junior sister’s divine sense descended, as if searching for something.
Putting two and two together, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
“You little brat… who did you mess with this time?”
“It was… the new disciple little master just took in.” Li Youxi, her mouth whistling air, answered as her master glared at her.
The sect leader nearly choked.
He pointed at Li Youxi for a long time, speechless.
His junior sister’s disciple had just started school today, and his own troublemaker had already picked a fight.
How was he supposed to explain this? As for who was in the wrong, he looked at his own disciple—who even dogs avoided—and then thought of his junior sister’s obedient little disciple.
He didn’t even need to ask.
“Sigh, is your junior sister okay? I’m telling you, if your little master comes to spank you, I won’t stop her!”
“Tch, she’s fine.
Just a cut on her face.” Li Youxi grumbled.
True, it was just a cut—much better than Li Youxi’s injuries.
But when Xin Yun saw Wen Jiayin’s bloodied face, her heart nearly broke.
She hugged Wen Jiayin and checked her all over, afraid she’d missed an injury.
“M-master! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fight!” Wen Jiayin, who’d just been thinking about not getting caught, was suddenly caught red-handed by her master and immediately apologized.
“I know, Jiayin is a good girl.” Xin Yun touched the wound on Wen Jiayin’s face and frowned when she saw the cheap medicine on it.
Only then did she notice the little kid standing nearby.
Even though the child looked messy and odd, there was no mistaking that aura—it was that molting phoenix!
Xin Yun immediately picked Wen Jiayin up, a possessive feeling making her extra wary of the not-yet-grown half-demon.
She hadn’t expected Ah Yin to know this molting bird so soon…
