Glimpse into the myriad aspects (5)
"Suppressing demonic beasts?" Yun Yanqiu paused in stroking the little bird, looking somewhat bewildered.
"You'll see when you get there." Li Zhoubai smiled mysteriously. The next day, Yun Yanqiu was taken out of Xuanming Mountain by Qin Wenshuang.
This was Yun Yanqiu's first time leaving the mountain since following Li Zhoubai. Upon arriving outside, all that met her eyes was a vast expanse of white, everything was quiet, except for snowflakes fluttering down from above. Yun Yanqiu stared blankly at everything before her, momentarily speechless.
"What, never seen snow before?" Qin Wenshuang smiled as she looked at him.
"I've seen them before, but this is the first time I've seen something this spectacular..." Yun Yanqiu raised his hand, and a snowflake landed in his palm, melting instantly.
"Where are you from?"
"Ganzhou".
“No wonder, snow is a rare thing over there.” Qin Wenshuang raised his hand and patted Yun Yanqiu on the back. “But in the Northern Continent, you can see as much as you want.”
Yun Yanqiu nodded, then suddenly felt a rustling sound from inside his clothes. He looked down and saw a fluffy, jade-like bird peeking out from his collar. Afraid that his collar wouldn't cover it, he quickly reached out to protect the little bird, saying, "It's not even here yet, and you're already in such a hurry to come out."
Seeing this, Qin Wenshuang couldn't help but tease, "You really cherish it, you can't even bear to let it fly a couple of times."
“I won’t stop it if it wants to fly.” Yun Yanqiu affectionately stroked the bird’s downy feathers. “But it doesn’t want to right now, so I have to protect it.”
A cold wind blew in her face, making Ye Yingying shiver and burrow back into her clothes.
Yun Yanqiu smiled helplessly, then asked Qin Wenshuang, "Master's wife, isn't Master coming with us? I don't think he's ever left Xuanming Mountain..."
"Don't worry about him," Qin Wenshuang waved his hand and explained, "He is now at the Nascent Soul stage and cannot move around outside freely."
Why not?
"Because of the restrictions of the Heavenly Dao, if he were to leave the mountain without permission, he would attract heavenly lightning. At that time, not only would he be in danger, but wherever he went, countless lives would be lost."
“Is that so…” Yun Yanqiu murmured, “Then when I reach Master’s level, won’t I also have to find a place to hide?”
"You're thinking pretty far ahead, kid. You haven't even mastered the Golden Core stage yet and you're already thinking about the Nascent Soul stage?" Qin Wenshuang couldn't help but chuckle, poking Yun Yanqiu's head with his index finger. "First, figure out how to condense Qi into a sword."
Yun Yanqiu shrank back, looking at Qin Wenshuang dejectedly. His master's wife was good in every way, except she was too fond of touching him, which he couldn't handle. So he quickly changed the subject: "Master's wife, what kind of demon beast are we going to suppress?"
"Well." Qin Wenshuang thought for a moment, then took out a scroll from her body. She unrolled the scroll, and ink swirled on it, outlining a monster with the shape of an eagle. It had a sharp horn on its head, vertical pupils, and a fierce and menacing look, as if it were staring straight at the person outside the painting.
Ye Yingying peeked out from her collar and took a few glances, discovering that the beast was indeed the Savage Eagle.
“This is a harpy eagle, which likes to eat raw meat. I received news a while ago that these beasts flew into nearby villages and snatched children as food.” Qin Wenshuang’s face was serious, and his eyes were burning with anger. “I have found where they live, and I will kill them all when I go there.”
Qin Wenshuang led Yun Yanqiu to a snow pine forest, where tall and straight pines and cypresses stretched as far as the eye could see. The ferocious eagle loved to rest on the thick trunks during the day, and now, with the sun shining brightly and clear visibility, it was the perfect time to hunt.
She gestured for Yun Yanqiu to tread lightly and keep an eye on the ground, while she looked up to observe the figure hidden among the branches.
The pine forest was quiet; even the sound of falling snow was exceptionally clear. Qin Wenshuang searched for quite a while but couldn't find any trace of the ferocious eagle.
That's strange... She was a little puzzled. The eagles were huge; they should be quite noticeable. Were they not resting in the tree?
Just then, Yun Yanqiu suddenly patted her arm lightly. Qin Wenshuang turned her head and looked in the direction he was pointing, only to find a person lying motionless on the ground, seemingly unconscious.
Qin Wen frowned, hesitating whether to go forward to check. Suddenly, a shrill cry rang out in the sky, and a black lightning bolt swooped down, striking straight at the person on the ground.
Qin Wenshuang had no time to think. She drew her nine-section whip from her waist, flicked her wrist, and lashed it at the dark figure. The whip, like a silver snake emerging from its hole, drew a sharp arc in the air.
The eagle swiftly sidestepped, avoiding the fatal blow. It circled low in the air, its sharp eyes fixed on the human who dared to challenge it.
Qin Wenshuang glared back defiantly, then leaped forward, once again wielding her long whip to engage the ferocious eagle in combat. The two were evenly matched, and for a time it was difficult to determine a victor.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yun Yanqiu ran to the person on the ground and turned her over. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was an adult woman. She had a faint red scar between her eyebrows, her eyes were closed, her breathing was weak, and blood was continuously oozing from the wound on her abdomen.
Yun Yanqiu immediately took out the medicine his master had given him to help, but suddenly heard a piercing screech behind him. He gripped his sword hilt and turned to block the eagle's sharp claws.
The ferocious eagle lived up to its reputation as a massive demonic beast; the force of its claw strike was so great that it made Yun Yanqiu's sword-wielding arm go numb. It flapped its wings, creating powerful gusts of wind that made it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
Just as Yun Yanqiu's vision was obstructed, the ferocious eagle nodded, attempting to stab the human before it with its sharp horn. At that moment, a cyan figure darted out from Yun Yanqiu's collar, moving so fast that even the ferocious eagle's reaction was a beat too slow.
"Gah!" The ferocious eagle let out a miserable cry.
Yun Yanqiu opened his eyes and found that his little bird was fiercely pecking at the eyes of the ferocious eagle, forcing the beast to release its claws and concentrate on defense.
But the blue-and-white sparrow was extremely fast. It not only skillfully avoided the eagle's attacks, but also pecked precisely around the eagle's eyes with each peck, causing the eagle to cry out in pain.
Yun Yanqiu was stunned by the scene, but the smell of blood in the air immediately reminded him of the injured woman on the ground. So, amidst the mournful cries of the ferocious eagle, Yun Yanqiu successfully stopped the bleeding for the unconscious woman.
By the time he turned to help, the eagle had already collapsed to the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. His little bird, meanwhile, was perched on top of it, proudly raising its head and chirping.
Yun Yanqiu stepped forward with his sword, signaling Ye Yingying to fly back to his shoulder. Then, he swung his sword forcefully, severing the neck of the ferocious eagle.
"Well done." Qin Wenshuang's voice came from above. Yun Yanqiu looked up and saw that her body was covered in blood and there was a thin, long cut on her cheek.
"Master's wife, your injury..."
"It's alright, it's dried already." Qin Wenshuang raised her hand to wipe the congealed blood from her face, then glanced at the woman behind Yun Yanqiu. "How is she?"
"I stopped her bleeding, but she's very weak. I don't know if she'll wake up," Yun Yanqiu explained, then added with concern, "Master's wife, there might be other ferocious eagles around here. Should we take her away and settle her in first, then come back to deal with them?"
"No need for that trouble, I've already killed them all." Qin Wenshuang calmly shook the blood off his whip and walked towards the unconscious woman.
Yun Yanqiu stared blankly at Qin Wenshuang's retreating figure, a sense of awe rising in his heart: in the time it took him and Yingying to deal with one bird, his master's wife had already finished off the rest. No wonder she was covered in blood; she had killed more than one bird...
Qin Wenshuang crouched down to examine the woman's condition. She pressed the woman's wrist, her expression suddenly hardening. As if to confirm something, she lifted the woman's eyelids and immediately noticed a faint dark aura flowing in the woman's eyes.
Qin Wenshuang's expression grew even more solemn. She stood up without saying a word and beckoned Yun Yanqiu to leave.
"Aren't we taking her with us?" Yun Yanqiu felt a little strange. Letting this woman fend for herself might lead to some danger, and besides, helping someone only halfway through wasn't really like his master's wife's style.
To everyone's surprise, the master's wife turned around, her brows furrowed, her face more serious than ever before: "This is a demonic cultivator."
"Demonic cultivator?" Yun Yanqiu blinked, somewhat unfamiliar with the term.
"Those who cultivate by relying on inner demons are ruthless and ungrateful, and they don't deserve any pity." Qin Wenshuang made no attempt to hide her disgust when she mentioned demonic cultivators. "Even if you save her, she will stab you in the back when she wakes up. It's best not to get involved with such people."
Although Yun Yanqiu didn't understand demonic cultivators, he trusted Qin Wenshuang. Since she had said so, it was best to leave this person alone.
They left the valley and set off back to Xuanming Mountain. On the way, Qin Wenshuang asked Yun Yanqiu again how he had subdued the ferocious eagle.
Yun Yanqiu didn't hide anything and recounted Yingying's achievements in detail, which earned him a hearty laugh from Qin Wenshuang: "Your little bird is quite protective of its master! Not bad, it wasn't a waste of time to raise it."
Ye Yingying nestled into Yun Yanqiu's clothes again, only half of her head showing. Her dark eyes blinked innocently, showing no trace of her previous imposing demeanor.
“I never expected Yingying to be so amazing…” Yun Yanqiu said with emotion, “If it weren’t for her, I might have been in danger back then.”
He reached out and stroked the bird's head, and Ye Yingying couldn't help but chirp joyfully.
"But it's also clever. The eagle's weakness is its eyes." Qin Wen put his hands behind his head and explained, "I didn't plan to let you take action, so I forgot to tell you."
"..." Yun Yanqiu was speechless. How could such important information be forgotten so easily?
Ye Yingying also chimed in condemnation.
Qin Wenshuang didn't think it was a big problem. She laughed it off and said that there was nothing to worry about since she was there.
After returning to Xuanming Mountain, the two recounted their experiences to Li Zhoubai, detailing everything from the ferocious eagle to the demonic cultivator.
After listening, Li Zhoubai pondered for a while and told Yun Yanqiu to go back and rest. The next day, he called Yun Yanqiu to his side again and said gently, "You haven't seen your parents for a long time. Would you like to go back and visit them?"
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