Rather than head deeper into the forest, Shi Sheng chose to take a detour with many twists and turns that led them to a cliff.
On the the cliff opposite to them was a bright red plant. It’s stem appeared to be very delicate, and it had only two leaves. At the end of its stalk bloomed a flower, much larger than the rest of the plant, that swayed in the wind so intensely that it provoked thoughts on if the stem would soon break under the strain.
The moment Bu Jingyun saw that plant, his expression changed, and his gaze towards Shi Sheng turned deeper.
Just as Shi Sheng was about to head over there, Bu Jingyun suddenly pulled her back. With his hand placed against her waist, he dragged her into an embrace. The two were very close, so close that they could clearly hear each other’s heartbeats.
“You crazy?” Shi Sheng glared at him. “Let go!”Bu Jingyun pursed his lips, and spoke in a deeper voice than usual, “How... did you find out?”
“Find out what?” Shi Sheng rolled her eyes.
“Geldcloud Flower.”
“None of your business.” Shi Sheng frowned.
“Shen Yaoguang,” Bu Jingyun called in a low voice, his gaze complicated. “You know what I’m talking about.”
‘Can’t she be honest for once?’
The Geldcloud Flower was one of the key ingredients for dispelling Scarlet Yearning. He didn’t believe it was just a coincidence that she was looking for it.Shi Sheng tried to push against Bu Jingyun’s chest with both hands, but only managed to create a slight gap between them. “You’ve long since found the method to dispel the forbidden art, you just didn’t have the materials to do so. I’ve already given you the Medicine King’s Furnace. I’ll just find the rest of the things for you too. All you have to do is marry me once you’ve dispelled the curse.”
Men who had been cursed with Scarlet Yearning could only suppress the symptoms with fresh blood, but they usually wouldn’t live long.
She didn’t know how Bu Jingyun had survived for this long, but the price he had paid for it was definitely not small.
Bu Jingyun stared dazedly at the girl in his arms.
‘She’s always so certain, as if she already has everything in her grasp. Just what the hell gives her this confidence?
But dammit... I like her this way.’
A sudden urge overtook Bu Jingyun. He immediately lowered his head to press his warm lips against Shi Sheng’s.
Shi Sheng’s first reaction was to avoid him, but Bu Jingyun seemed to have eaten Popeye’s spinach all of a sudden, for she was unable to escape his embrace.
He had basically held Shi Sheng down as he kissed her. But just as she was about to draw her sword on him, he very wisely released her.
As soon as she was free, Shi Sheng slapped him on the head. “Bu Jingyun, are you addicted to stealing kisses now?”
‘This fucker just kisses me whenever he goddamn feels like it! Kiss your grandpa!’
“Hmph!”
“Hey, I didn’t even get back at you for kissing me yet, and you have the gall to act proud! Turn your face over— Fuck, you actually dare to run...”
Only after the two were finished with their antics did Shi Sheng head towards the opposite cliff to pick the Geldcloud Flower.
Bu Jingyun hadn’t wanted Shi Sheng to go, but she’d slapped him onto the ground and ended his protest.
The Geldcloud Flower actually wasn’t very valuable, but it was extremely rare. It grew only on cliff walls, and was useless to normal people, so it was nearly impossible to purchase on the market.
However, since it wasn’t valuable, there wouldn’t be any magic beasts guarding it. Thus, Shi Sheng easily plucked the Geldcloud Flower.
But just as she was about to return, several black shadows suddenly shot out from below the cliff.
They had gigantic bodies and were completely covered with black feathers. A simple flap of their wings was enough to cause a gust of wind that nearly knocked Shi Sheng off her sword.
Only after Shi Sheng had steadied herself did she see what these things were: Black eagles.
Black eagles were an eagle-type magic beast, but their bodies were very big. Their wingspan extended more than ten metres, giving the impression that they could block out the sky.
Four black eagles shrieked as they circled above Shi Sheng. Two of them swooped fiercely towards her , while the other two charged at Bu Jingyun.
Black eagles had high defence as well as flight, so they were much harder to deal with than ordinary magic beasts.
The Sentinel, who’d been trailing behind the two this whole time, immediately jumped out to protect Bu Jingyun the moment the black eagles appeared.
By flapping their wings, black eagles could generate a strong gust of wind to disorientate their prey, after which they would swoop in for the attack. They were even cunning enough to work in groups.
Even Shi Sheng had been thrown off her rhythm. For a period of time, she could only dodge with no way to counterattack.
The Sentinel had to protect Bu Jingyun, so it was natural that he soon started to receive damage.
Now, burdened by his new injuries, one of the black eagles easily batted him aside while the other suddenly swooped towards Bu Jingyun. Its sharp talons tore into his shoulders, and with a flap of its wings, it brought Bu Jingyun with it into the air.
“Hallmaster!”
The Sentinel’s shout caused Shi Sheng to look over.
Next to the clifftop, Bu Jingyun was dangling in the air from the talons of a black eagle.
Shi Sheng frowned. ‘This fellow’s always appeared very useless. But even now, he’s still not retaliating...?’
The Sentinel slapped away the black eagle that was keeping him busy before flying over and catching the eagle that was holding onto Bu Jingyun, rescuing him.
“Hallmaster!” Sentinel’s expression was full of anxiety.
Bu Jingyun’s face was pale, and he looked as if he was about to faint at any moment.
The Sentinel discovered this, and his gaze fell onto Bu Jingyun’s back. It was a bloody mess.
“Hallmaster...” ‘...how’d you get injured so badly?!’
The Sentinel didn’t have time to think too much on this topic though, because the black eagles had started attacking again. He carefully picked up Bu Jingyun and rushed towards the distant forest.
The area they were in was too open, the black eagles would have an easy time attacking from the air. But once they were obscured in the woods, the eagles wouldn’t be able to attack them as easily.
Shi Sheng followed the Sentinel closely from behind. ‘Those fuckers fly too quickly. I can’t even toss my lightning balls at them; won’t hit at all!
Absolutely infuriating!’
Once they’d entered the woods, even if the black eagles could still fly after them, the forest canopy was too thick, so the eagles soon lost sight of their target. They continued to fly around for a bit longer, rustling the leaves in the forest, before leaving.
The Sentinel had brought Bu Jingyun to hide under a large tree while Shi Sheng was standing a little ways away from them.
“They’ve left.” Only when she saw the black eagles leave did Shi Sheng stride over to Bu Jingyun. “What’s with him?”
The Sentinel glared fiercely at Shi Sheng. “You still have the gall to ask! If it wasn’t for you, would Hallmaster have been injured in the first place?!”
Shi Sheng, “...”
‘Really now... who would’ve known he was this shit! He’s the villain, okay?!
...Wasn’t he injured before? Has he not healed yet?’
“Anyway, it’s all your fault!” Sentinel didn’t stop speaking, “Ever since he met you, Hallmaster has been cursed with bad luck! Shen Yaoguang, you’re a jinx!”
Sentinel’s anger had truly gotten the better of him. ‘Hallmaster never left Nine Silences Hall before, so how could these sorts of things suddenly start happening to him? Even if Hallmaster is useless in combat, he’s still our most valued and noble Hallmaster! The Hallmaster who we’re all more than willing to serve!’
Later on, Shi Sheng found out that if Bu Jingyun didn’t absorb a human’s soul essence, he was practically useless. Soul essence was that white mist he had extracted from those two corpses the first time they’d met.
But every time he absorbed soul essence, he would suffer even more pain. As a result, the people from Nine Silences Hall were always on guard to make sure he didn’t sneak out to absorb soul essence.
His ‘injury’ from before was merely the consequences of absorbing soul essence.
Shi Sheng had the urge to give two dry ‘ha’s before questioning the author’s entire family tree.
‘Come on! He’s the villain! What’s with this bullshit setting, eh? Such a weak and fragile villain is really... enough!’
