Zhou Yulin is dead.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gu Ling looked at the girl and replied in a distant tone, "Chang'an."
"Chang'an?" Xu Zuiyue's interest was piqued when she heard that the group was going to Chang'an. "The three of you are going to Chang'an? What a coincidence! I'm on my master's orders to go to Qingyun Sect as an exchange disciple. What are you going to Chang'an for?"
Although Gu Ling really wanted to join the Qingyun Sect, the thought of having to call this person "senior sister" made him hesitant to say it. So he looked away and lied, "I'm going... to see the scenery! I've heard so much about the beautiful scenery of Chang'an, so of course I have to go and see it."
Xu Zuiyue smiled and said, "In that case, why don't we travel together?"
Gu Ling had practically smashed Zhou Yulin's hands to pieces, but seeing that the other party remained unmoved, he was utterly disappointed in him. So he chuckled dryly and replied, "Well... maybe we should just forget it, I'm a little scared."
"What are you afraid of? I will naturally protect you."
Gu Ling: What else could I be afraid of? Of course, I'm afraid you'll eat Chen Muyao up.
Although neither of them is married, Xu Zuiyue's eyes are practically glued to the young master. This brings us back to Gu Ling's initial statement: he may be good-looking, but there's no need to stare at him like that.
"What do you think, Sister Yulin?"
Xu Zuiyue looked at Zhou Yulin and pleaded pitifully, "I'm a woman, and it's so lonely traveling alone. Sister Yulin, can you really bear to let me travel alone?"
Zhou Yulin knew she couldn't stop the plot, and the voice the system had just given her reminded her that she had already died once.
"One more person won't make a difference." This was tacit approval, but it was clear to everyone that Zhou Yulin's tone was very reluctant.
Unlike the drama of two women vying for one man playing out in Gu Ling's mind, Zhou Yulin was thinking about the original plot, where Xu Zuiyue and Chen Muyao were ambushed by the Hehuan Sect not long after they started traveling together, and the two of them were thrown into a room where they could not leave without engaging in dual cultivation.
It's strange, really.
If he were to reach the Nascent Soul stage, the number of people in the world who could plot against Chen Muyao could be counted on one hand, unless there was truly a problem with his cultivation.
It wasn't mentioned in the original work, and Zhou Yulin couldn't possibly get any answers from Chen Muyao. Therefore, she could only take it one step at a time.
However, after glancing at Xu Zuiyue's flirtatious glances and expressive gestures towards Chen Muyao, Zhou Yulin covered her mouth and almost burst out laughing.
Of course, this action was not seen in the same way by others.
Staring at Zhou Yulin's back as she covered her mouth and secretly sobbed, Jiang Zanghua clenched his fist at his side.
That night, the mountains and forests were so quiet that not a single extra sound could be heard.
"Are you sick?" Meeting the boy's sharp, mocking gaze, Jiang Zanghua pursed his lips and punched Chen Muyao on the shoulder. Chen Muyao neither dodged nor evaded. He just wanted to see what was wrong with this guy's brain, calling him out to beat him up so late at night.
"Didn't you notice she was crying?"
Hearing Jiang Zanghua's question, Chen Muyao was taken aback. "What?"
"She shed tears for you, how can you still not be satisfied?"
Chen Muyao looked at Jiang Zanghua as if he were a madman. Were the entry requirements for the Xuanling Sect so low these days? Could people who couldn't understand anything be admitted?
"Don't drag me into your late-night tantrums." He glanced at Jiang Zanghua with his dark eyes, then scoffed, "She's cried her eyes out, so what? What does it have to do with me? Am I supposed to be responsible for her feelings? How ridiculous."
Jiang Zanghua's hand seal formation speed is five breaths. In the time it took to utter just one sentence, he was able to complete the first intermediate formation. "Kunlun Ice Technique, First Form: Freezing a Thousand Miles."
In an instant, the water turned to ice and snow. Seeing the ice about to wrap around Chen Muyao's wrist like vines, he drew his sword from his waist. To be honest, this was the first time in Zhou Yulin's life that she had ever seen Chen Muyao draw his sword. As an onlooker, she was innocently caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, Gu Ling reacted quickly and helped her escape. Zhou Yulin sat on a tree and watched the two fighting below.
To be honest, mages are fragile classes, and archers are strong ranged attackers, so they don't have any advantage in close combat. However, one of them can form a formation quickly, and the other is proficient in both sword and bow, so the battle is quite exciting.
Although she didn't understand why the two were fighting, Zhou Yulin, who loved watching a good show, sat on a tree branch, swinging her legs back and forth, watching the battle below with amusement.
"Within five breaths of forming the array, we are evenly matched ten meters apart, but within ten meters I will surely win." The young man stood calmly in place, slowly uttering, "Even if you are a Golden Core cultivator, you might not be able to defeat me by three points."
"Such arrogance."
"You flatter me," the boy replied lazily.
Jiang Zanghua knew he was telling the truth, which only fueled his anger. He raised his staff to strike again when a sharp pain shot through his arm. He looked up and saw a row of silver needles embedded in his arm. Before he could react, he fainted.
Chen Muyao's nonchalant expression faded. He looked towards where the silver needles had come from, raised the Xuanming Lingyue Bow in his hand, and as the arrow was nocked, a young girl's dry laugh came from behind her. "Sorry, sorry, look at my crooked target, it flew off course by accident. I'll just grab my things and leave now."
The person who emerged was none other than Yu Tao'er from earlier in the day. She jumped out of the haystack, smiled obsequiously, and stepped forward, lifting Jiang Zanghua's leg and dragging it across the ice as she prepared to leave. "Wait!"
It was a sound coming from the treetop valley. He glared and yelled, "Give me the needle! Give me the needle! Why did you take the person away?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I just happened to use it casually," Yu Tao'er said with a smile, her tone exceptionally sincere. "This needle of mine contains a little poison, and if I don't take it back, it won't heal properly. Besides, are you sure you don't want to come with me?"
"Sister Yulin!"
Hearing the shout, Chen Muyao suddenly turned his head and saw Zhou Yulin, pale-faced, leaning against a tree, her life hanging in the balance.
"Do you still intend to attack me now?" Yu Tao'er smiled gently. Just as her hand was about to touch the Xuanming Lingyue Bow, Chen Muyao withdrew the magic weapon and mocked, "You really have the heart to attack innocent people. When did the Hehuan Sect produce such scum?"
"Young master is mistaken. I am not one of the likes of the Joyful Union Sect." The woman smiled faintly, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "There are far more scoundrels among us."
—
In a small courtyard in the Qingchuan forest, before even entering, Yu Tao'er stood with her hands on her hips and shouted, "Grandma, I'm back!"
Behind her, Gu Ling carried Zhou Yulin on his back, Chen Muyao carried Jiang Zanghua like a sack, and Xu Zuiyue followed at the very back. Unlike the former, this person was calm and composed, as if visiting his own backyard. He looked around and touched everything along the way. When he arrived at the place, his eyes lit up. "This must be the young lady's home."
Yu Tao'er ignored Xu Zuiyue and turned to Gu Ling and Chen Muyao, "You two come with me."
Only Xu Zuiyue was left standing at the door. Yu Tao'er seemed to belatedly realize that there was someone else there, and said with a smile, "Miss Xu, please wait at the door for a while. My grandma will come out to greet you in a little while."
"Okay." Hearing Yu Tao'er call her Miss Xu instead of Miss, Xu Zuiyue's goodwill towards her increased dramatically. So much so that she didn't bother to investigate how Yu Tao'er knew that her surname was Xu.
Gu Ling turned and exchanged a glance with Young Master Chen, a look of caution in this place.
The two silently erected a spiritual energy shield.
Yu Tao'er pushed open the door, indicating that the two could put the people they were carrying on their backs and shoulders on the bed first. There was only one small bed in the room, so without thinking, Gu Ling carefully put Zhou Yulin on the bed, while Chen Muyao threw Jiang Zanghua on the ground like he was throwing away trash.
"To be honest, I don't have much to offer you, young master." Seeing that Yu Tao'er was about to pour tea for the two of them, Gu Ling spoke first, "I don't drink tea, I'm allergic to water."
“Then…” Yu Tao’er was about to change her mind when Gu Ling interrupted, “He doesn’t drink either. As the saying goes, a true man travels far and wide. He never drinks alcohol, never tea!”
Yu Tao'er put down the teapot with some regret. "These are fresh tea leaves that I picked from the mountain this morning. I originally wanted the two young masters to have a taste."
Gu Ling was not easily swayed by women, and upon hearing this, he said without a care in the world, "Since you went to so much trouble to pick it, you can drink it yourself. You hurt our friend, and we haven't even asked you for compensation for emotional distress yet!"
Yu Tao'er understood and nodded, saying apologetically, "Okay, I'll go get my medicine right away for you two."
Underneath the bed, where no one paid attention, the incense in the censer began to burn.
As the door closed, Yu Tao'er smiled brightly, "Young master, remember to drink tea. It's dry these days, so it's always good to stay hydrated."
Gu Ling didn't think much of it, only that this person didn't seem as bad as he had imagined.
"Young Master."
Gu Ling was about to bump Chen Muyao with his shoulder when he saw the other's serious expression. "Something's not right."
The two of them were fine as long as they erected their spiritual energy shields, but the people on the bed and the floor were not so lucky.
Seeing Jiang Zanghua tear his shirt in one rip, Gu Ling slapped him across the face, yelling, "Male virtue! Male virtue!"
Gu Ling's face was filled with the words "heartbroken and indignant" as if he had gone to a brothel to work as a male prostitute with his good brother.
Chen Muyao directly manipulated her spiritual power to wrap Zhou Yulin up in the blanket like a dumpling. However, perhaps because Zhou Yulin lacked spiritual power, she was much quieter than Jiang Zanghua, sleeping soundly with her eyes closed, so soundly that it seemed she had already...
Realizing something was wrong, Chen Mu stepped forward to check Zhou Yulin's breathing, but the woman was no longer breathing.
Seeing Chen Muyao's actions, Gu Ling couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong, young master?"
Seeing the young man's brows furrow slightly, Gu Ling's heart tightened, and a bad premonition welled up in his heart.
He said in a casual tone, "Don't be so serious all of a sudden, it's kind of scary, it makes me feel uncomfortable."
"She's dead."
It goes without saying who she is.
Instantly, the ringing in my ears filled the air, and the area around the valley fell into a deathly silence.
Yu Tao'er, standing outside the door, listened to the conversation inside, looked at the rising sun outside, twirled the key in her hand, and her pretty, sweet face was devoid of any smile.
Since they were her enemy's men, she couldn't possibly let this opportunity slip by.
I suppose the old woman has already succeeded.
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