Dusk dyed the sky red.
Two horses galloped along the ancient road between the endless dunes.
"Hyah!"
Ye Anping, who was embraced from the front and behind, held the reins and drove the horse with all his might, fleeing full speed along the east road.
Ever since they left the city, their sweaty horse had been running at full speed. Pei Lianxue, who sat in the front, occasionally stuffed sugar cubes into its mouth, while Feng Yu Die, who was in the back, held Ye Anping's waist tightly for fear of being thrown off the bumping horse's butt.Su Waner was chasing behind them on her pony. Seeing the three people in front of her galloping on their horse as if running for their lives, she finally couldn't help it anymore. "Hey!! Why are you in such a hurry? My... horse is almost exhausted."
"..."
Ye Anping glanced back and saw that the little white horse, which was about the same height as Su Waner, was panting from exhaustion, so he tightened the reins and came to a sudden stop.
"Whoa!"
Feng Yu Die wasn't paying attention, and her face was directly planted into Ye Anping's back.
"Ow~"
Ye Anping pulled the reins, turned the horse around, and stopped, then looked in the direction they had come from.After coming out of **Jade Pass City**, everything was endless desert, so they could still see the city on one side of the valley.
Feng Yu Die rubbed her red nose and pinched Ye Anping's waist hard, resentfully grumbling, "Young Master Ye, what are you doing..."
"I'll brake slower next time." Ye Anping lightly apologized to her. "We're almost there. Let's rest here today and continue our journey in the morning."
Su Waner finally caught up with them and stopped her little white horse. She raised her eyebrows, asking, "Master Ye, why are you in such a hurry? Walk slowly. A horse can travel five hundred miles a day. If you run like this, the horse will be exhausted by the time you reach the **Heavenly Gate City**."
"Who said we are in a hurry? We are on the run."
?
Su Waner followed Ye Anping's gaze back to the **Jade Pass City**, which was now only the size of a bean. "On the run from what? Demonic beasts?"
Ye Anping jumped off the horse, helped Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die climb down, then smiled. "Miss Su, how about we bet five hundred spirit stones? Just bet that **Jade Pass City** can't last past ten days?"
Su Waner raised her eyebrows and agreed directly without even thinking. She crossed her arms and nodded. "What's there to bet on? **Jade Pass** is the border of the **Central Region**. Although the cultivation level of the ***Imperial*** Sect's disciples stationed in the city is not high, there is a defensive formation set up by the Emperor of the **Central Region** himself. Even if there are a few ninth-level beasts, they can never break it..."
*Boom---!!*
Before she could finish her words, a dark spiritual light shot out from the **Jade Pass City**, and a loud noise as if the sky was crashing down was heard. In an instant, black clouds pressed down on the city, and the red haze at the horizon was dispersed by scarlet lightning.
The rumble came first, followed by a strong wind.
The two horses, one black and one white, instantly panicked, raising their hooves and neighing.
"*Hiiihiii~~~~*"
Still shocked, Su Waner found herself thrown to the ground.
Ye Anping quickly grabbed the reins of his horse and patted its neck to pacify it. "Shh~~ Shh---"
Su Waner sat on the ground, looking at the spiritual light rising over **Jade Pass City** with wide eyes. She didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
Although it was her first time seeing it, she understood at first glance: ---That light was the *Defense Formation* of the **Jade Pass City**.
The *Defense Formation* of the **Jade Pass City** was set up thousands of years ago through the concerted efforts of four *Void Returning* cultivators. It was originally used to resist demonic cultivators, but after those were driven to the **Eastern Region** by the *Red Moon* Matriarch and others, this formation became a mere decoration.
However, now, the City Lord of the **Jade Pass City** had activated the formation.
Su Waner didn't expect that she would ever see the energy of the ancient formation in her lifetime, but while marveling, she also felt a little worried.
Since **Jade Pass City** had activated this formation, it meant that the invaders on the border were by no means as simple as demonic beasts.
She now regretted betting the five hundred spirit stones with Ye Anping.
If **Jade Pass City** launched the city protection formation, it meant they were almost in a precarious situation, and this was only the first day of the beasts' attack.
If she hadn't followed Ye Anping out, she would have been trapped inside the city by the *Defensive Formation*.
Su Waner slowly stood up and turned her head to look at Ye Anping and his gang who were now pitching their tents. There was a trace of fear in her eyes but also curiosity.
---What were their backgrounds?
---Where did they get their information?
Even on the black market, there was no news about these beasts attacking the city... How did they know about it? Divination? But fortune telling could never be so detailed.
Since yesterday, when these three set up a trap to catch her, she had already felt something was wrong. They all targeted her weak points. If it weren't for the three idiots from the *Justice Division* who came at the end, she would have been caught.
---They knew that the *Immortal Thief*'s *Escaping Technique* could not bring people along, and the *Heavenly Picking Technique* could only snatch things within twenty feet...
---Now, they even knew about the **Jade Pass City**...
Su Waner's original plan was to gain Ye Anping's trust first, then follow them to the wilderness, strip them naked, and then run away to avenge the beating yesterday. And the dark-haired girl's *Black Ice Spirit Sword* looked pretty valuable.
But now...
She felt it necessary to change her plans.
If the **Jade Pass** was defeated, war would surely break out in the **Central Region**.
And if you wanted to make a fortune in a war, intelligence was definitely the most important.
This kid named Ye was so well-informed, that there should be important benefits to be gained from following him.
Moreover, even if there really was a problem, she could just use the sword of that dull-looking girl to run away.
"Right..."
Su Waner felt that her plan was simply genius. After thinking about it, she stood up from the ground, patted her butt, and walked up to him, asking, "Master Ye, why don't we walk a little further? Isn't it too close here?"
"Do you want to carry your horse on your back?"
?
Su Waner paused and turned to look at her little white pony, which was still panting. She smiled awkwardly and replied, "Yes, you're right. Well, among the four of us, I have the highest cultivation level, so I should be the one taking care of you. If you need help with anything, just ask."
And then, she smiled and cupped her hands to Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die, who were in the process of setting up their tents. "Let's get to know each other again. Immortal Feng, Immortal Pei, I am Su Waner, a rogue cultivator."
"Oh..." "Mhmm."
Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue turned to look and nodded, but they both glanced at her two fake watermelons.
Glancing at Su Waner's face, Ye Anping instantly understood the little plan in her heart and smiled slightly. "Miss Su, then can I trouble you with something now?"
"Just say it."
Ye Anping pointed to the dry forest a little further away with a smile. "Miss Su, please go to that forest and help us cut some firewood to make a fire. It's quite cold in the desert at night."
"..."
?
Su Waner listened, and her eyes twitched.
Yes, she said to ask for her help, but those were just polite words.
After all, she was still a cultivator in the early stage of *Core Formation*. She was two levels higher than this kid. How could he simply order her around so casually?
He actually asked her to chop wood?!
No respect for his Seniors! What a thick-skinned bastard!
And he seemed so gentle and respectful on the outside.
Su Waner complained in her heart, but she still had to pretend to be a magnanimous person, so she replied with a smile. "Okay."
Seeing that she agreed, Ye Anping looked at Feng Yu Die and added, "Oh, by the way, can I ask you to hunt down a pheasant? Sister Feng likes to eat roasted chicken."
"Hiss---" Su Waner forced a smile on her face. "Sure~ I'll look for one along the way..."
But Ye Anping didn't stop there. He simply took out three water bags from the storage bag and handed them to her.
"Oh, and also, there is a small lake three miles east. I would like to ask Miss Su to help fetch some water."
"...OK."
Tolerate!! Endure it for a while, and the world will be brighter!!
The benefits this kid would bring her were worth putting up with this shit!!
Su Waner stiffly accepted the water bags, then turned and walked away.
Seeing her walking toward the dry forest in the east, Ye Anping smiled wryly and shook his head. "Heh, you delivered yourself to my door.."
Once Feng Yu Die noticed Su Waner leaving, she came over and asked, "Young Master Ye, why is that person so shameless? She insists on following us, but we don't know her."
"She should be the *Immortal Thief* we met yesterday." Pei Lianxue, who was setting up a tent, turned around and interjected. "Brother, am I right?"
Ye Anping was a little surprised. Not expecting his sister to guess, he asked, "How did you guess?"
Seeing that she had guessed correctly, Pei Lianxue felt a little proud and raised her finger. "With Brother's character, he definitely wouldn't allow a random passerby to follow us. It's either that he likes her, or that she has a special identity. Brother definitely won't like her, so it must be the latter... Combined with what happened last night, it's more than likely that she's the *Immortal Thief*."
Feng Yu Die was stunned. "Why can't he like her?"
"..."
"..."
Ye Anping raised his eyebrows. He answered with a smile while ignoring Feng Yu Die. "When did you become so clever?"
"I've never been stupid."
"Sure, sure." Ye Anping shrugged and then looked at the dumbfounded Feng Yu Die. "So you should be careful in the future. Don't expose your stuff unnecessarily, and don't give her an opportunity to take it away."
Feng Yu Die remembered something and asked, "But this *Immortal Thief*... Young Master Ye..."
"What?"
"Well, are her boobs from yesterday real, or her boobs from today?"
?
Ye Anping blinked, and tilted his head, frowning. "You're curious about this?"
"I am!"
"Well, don't be." Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her and changed the subject. "How is your '*Black Moon Routine*' training going?"
Feng Yu Die put on a goofy smile and giggled. "Ah... I've been practicing. Yes, I've been practicing, hehehe-"
Ye Anping shook his head in resignation, then took out the cushion from his storage bag. "Start reviewing the technique by yourself. Before arriving at the **Heavenly Gate City**, you must master the first volume of the *Black Moon Routine*. Got it? Practice for three weeks first. If you don't finish practicing, you won't be allowed to eat roasted chicken for a while."
"Ah..."
"Ah, what?" Ye Anping frowned, grabbed Feng Yu Die's face, and scolded sternly. "Start practicing!"
"Oh..."
Feng Yu Die pried open Ye Anping's hand, pouted in frustration, and then sat on the cushion that Ye Anping took out, starting to meditate on the *Black Moon Routine*.
On the side, Pei Lianxue looked at the interaction between the two and pouted, feeling a little uncomfortable in her heart.
Before going to Sword Sect, Ye Anping told her that Feng Yu Die didn't like him, but liked her. At that time, he even asked her to coax Feng Yu Die to let her adapt to men's clothing.
Since then, she no longer regarded Feng Yu Die as a love rival and just thought that she was quite annoying.
But...
On the way from the ***Black Star*** Sect to the **Central Region**, she vaguely felt that her brother and Feng Yu Die were much closer than before...
Brother would supervise Feng Yu Die's cultivation practice and would remember to buy roasted chicken for her every time he ate. Sometimes he would whisper to her about a 'Xiao Tian' as if fearing that she would hear it...
When did it start?
After returning from the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect?
Did something happen between her brother and Feng Yu Die in the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect without her knowing?
