Chapter 45: Both Mother and Daughter (Part 1): You Clearly Enjoyed It Part 3

Qin He called softly, “Shan Shan? Are you feeling unwell?”

The call finally snapped her back to reality with a jolt. Shang Shan shuddered. “Huh?”

Qin He smiled gently and repeated the two questions. Shang Shan shook her head. “N-no, I’m fine. Right, it hadn’t started when I called you.”

With the answer confirming her memory was accurate, Qin He still couldn’t figure out the Spotted Cicada King’s cause of death.

Candy Banyan Forest should only have had spotted cicadas, their vast numbers concentrated to devour any intruders. When invaders first appeared, all the spotted cicadas would erupt in frenzy as a warning.

But when they first saw them, the spotted cicadas had been completely calm, with no aggressive intent, meaning nothing had entered. Yet soon after, the Spotted Cicada King died. How did that contradiction make sense?

Unable to puzzle it out, Qin He set it aside for later. But another question arose. She said, “Earlier, I kept looking back, worried Ye Jiejie couldn’t keep up, but it turned out to be needless concern. Ye Jiejie moved with such grace, handling two sword-tier demon beasts with composure. She claims her spiritual power is low, but that’s too modest.”

The kid was overly vigilant, questioning anything off. After a moment’s silence, Mu Qian Tan said, “It’s precisely because my spiritual power is low and my strength insufficient that I’ve honed my escape skills. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare come here alone.”

That explanation made sense. Qin He nodded slightly. “I see.”

Her wound was bleeding profusely again. Fu Li glanced at it, unconcerned as usual. She reached into her robes, pulled out a storage pouch, shook it by the bottom, and a jumble of bottles, jars, and odds and ends tumbled out with a clatter.

She rummaged out some wound medicine and tended to it simply.

The pile on the ground contained all sorts of shapes—strange and shiny. Curious what they were for, Shang Shan couldn’t help sneaking glances.

Fu Li noticed and laughed. “These are all treasures from the Fu Clan. Take a good look, country bumpkin. No chance later.”

Rumor had it that the Fu Clan was indeed renowned for its exotic techniques. Shang Shan had seen this mentioned while memorizing immortal sect history and admired clever people for it in her heart, but she really couldn’t stand this person. She cut in, “You’ve got a whole basket of treasures, yet I don’t see you driving those demons away.”

Fu Li said, “I just wasn’t prepared.”

Shang Shan said, “In the end, you provoked them first, and you even used that method.”

Fu Li said, “How strange. Killing the big ones is killing, and killing the little ones is killing too. So why is it not okay to use the little ones to threaten the big ones? Besides, we came here to catch demons in the first place. If we’re not provoking demons, what are we provoking?”

Shang Shan said, “You’re too arrogant for your own good! Even if you want to catch them, you should consider if you have the ability to do so. If you’d thought a bit more, we wouldn’t have entered this cave.”

Her words sounded exceptionally calm. Mu Qian Tan knew she was rarely this clear-headed—it must have been the cold water. She pondered in her mind whether she should splash some on her next time she acted foolish.

Qin He helplessly rubbed her forehead. “Sigh, you all… forget it. Young Fu Clan Head, did you send their child back?”

Fu Li said, “I sent it back, but they’re still going berserk.”

Qin He said, “Their child was nearly stolen away—they must be furious and want to vent.”

Fu Li said, “Just wait it out. They don’t dare enter the water anyway. Are they going to guard outside forever?”

Qin He said, “Don’t underestimate a demon’s patience.”

They had originally found the water source intending to kill those two mantises here. After all, once in the water, many insects lost most of their combat power and even exposed weaknesses.

But the two outside had clearly figured this out too. They didn’t take the bait and instead used the terrain to trap them, waiting to catch them like turtles in a jar. Their move to the waterfall had turned into drinking poison to quench thirst.

Finally finishing treating the various wounds on her body, Fu Li put away the ointment and picked up the things on the ground one by one back into her storage pouch. As her gaze swept forward, she paused in slight daze. She lifted her eyes and looked across the campfire at the woman opposite her.

Recalling the scene in the deep pool earlier, Fu Li asked, “May I ask what origins this immortal has?”

Mu Qian Tan met her gaze calmly and reported her fake identity.

Fu Li murmured it a few times, as if unable to believe that someone with such bearing was just a nobody. Her gaze swept over the low-grade spirit sword at the woman’s waist—it had little spiritual energy, wasn’t valuable at all, and was common everywhere. Thus, she trusted the identity a bit more.

She had originally thought it was some hidden expert, but turned out to be from an obscure little sect that didn’t even rank. Thinking of how she’d been snapped at earlier, she felt annoyed, and her words turned particularly harsh. “Little sect, nameless loose immortal—never heard of it. Who knows!”

Shang Shan furrowed her brows and leaned forward slightly. “That’s your lack of knowledge.”

Fu Li said disdainfully, “So you know? Hmph, what’s the use? Knowing a lot doesn’t mean you have broad experience. You have to consider if what you know is valuable. Don’t count every random worldly sight as experience.”

Speaking so harshly right to someone’s face—all because she relied on her clan background where no one dared touch her. If the one opposite really was from a little sect, she naturally wouldn’t dare speak up, but that wasn’t the case.

Mu Qian Tan said, “People from great clans are indeed different. Your knowledge and ability must be top-notch, right? Hurry and guide us—how should we break through this dead-end situation? And the demons you provoked, shouldn’t you clean them up yourself?”

“I will naturally subdue them. Do I need you to tell me?” Fu Li’s tone turned icy. “Who do you think you are to talk to me? Tianyu Sect’s standards are too low, letting trash like you in.”

Before Mu Qian Tan could retort, Shang Shan suddenly fumed, “You fail to recognize Mount Tai!”

Fu Li laughed mockingly. “Oh? Who’s Mount Tai? You? Or her?”

One remark after another, they started arguing again. Qin He sat in the midst of the noise, composed as ever, as if she’d given up stopping the two.

That “fail to recognize Mount Tai” also made Mu Qian Tan fall into thought. Her gaze swept back and forth over the girl’s face until even she noticed and rubbed her cheek, turning away without looking, her voice gradually weakening.

An argument needed both sides to have energy. Once one side weakened, the other wouldn’t feel satisfied either, so Fu Li stopped too. The afterechoes of their earlier dispute lingered in the cave before fading, and then utter silence fell.

They waited who knew how long, ate two meals, and when they checked again, it was almost dark. The two mantises showed no sign of leaving, still patrolling the deep pool full of vigor.

Qin He sat back down and thought for a moment before saying, “Forgive my bluntness, but if they don’t leave and we can’t find a way out, we might have to call for help.”

They were all at an age where they cared about face—who wanted to be mocked for returning empty-handed? Shang Shan racked her brains and raised a finger. “I got it. Look, the waterfall pours straight into the water, but the pool isn’t overflowing. That means it’s very deep below and connects elsewhere. If we go down to check, there might be a path.”

Fu Li said, “What kind of lousy idea is that? Underground currents are scarier than demons. You might have the life to go down but not to find the way out.”

Shang Shan ignored her, her gaze sweeping somewhere as she sighed. “If only my master were here. She’d just use an immortal crane to fly us out.”

Mu Qian Tan, who had been resting with her eyes closed, said upon hearing this, “Mantises can fly too.”

Shang Shan lifted her robe hem to warm it by the fire and went, “Oh.”

Her Solitary Goose was no longer at hand, and she only had a low-rank spirit sword she wasn’t good at using. Dealing with those two mantises wouldn’t be easy. Besides, she didn’t plan to expose her identity and slap her own face by acting, but she did need to do something to break the stalemate. She couldn’t let the situation worsen.

Otherwise, if they really called for help and this was her examination area, she wouldn’t be able to slip away under three pairs of eyes. If it wasn’t and another hall master came and found her here, that would be tricky too.

Reviewing the situation, Mu Qian Tan said, “Neither above nor in the water works, but there’s actually another path.”

Qin He said, “What brilliant idea does Ye Jiejie have?”

Mu Qian Tan pointed toward the depths of the cave. “This way.”

Fu Li said, “Who knows if it’s a dead end inside.”

“Whether it’s a dead end or not, we have to try to find out. Besides,” Mu Qian Tan raised her palm, her sleeve fluttering slightly, “haven’t you felt the wind?”

At her words, they focused and indeed sensed faint wisps of wind blowing from the cave.

She continued, “The waterfall is outside, but the wind blows from inside. That means the cave connects at least at both ends, and the wind from the other side is strong—probably an open area.”

This discovery excited them, but the cave was too dark and quiet, even more unnerving than the deep pool.

“As the saying goes, greater ability, greater responsibility…” Mu Qian Tan’s voice softened a touch, like coaxing, “Among us, the most noble and bold is only the Young Fu Clan Head. Why don’t you scout the way?”

Shang Shan scratched her ear and blinked.

Seeing her expression, Fu Li knew she was deliberately getting revenge for those earlier words. She clenched her fist, glanced toward the cave depths, and couldn’t help shuddering a few times.

Fear of the dark was innate and hard to overcome. Even without signs of demons living in the cave, one couldn’t help imagining if something hid in the darkness, gathering strength to suddenly attack when someone approached.

Fu Li swallowed, her gaze sweeping over the other two. Shang Shan stared at the cave ceiling, Qin He at the fire—neither objected. And that nobody even had a smile on her face.

Though fearful inside, she couldn’t show it on her face. Plus, she’d already lost face being seen fleeing earlier today. Fu Li pondered briefly—using this chance to mock the others wasn’t bad. She flicked her sleeve lightly and stood. “A bunch of cowards. Fine, I’ll go. Watch closely.”

She walked forward a few steps, beyond the firelight, leaving only a hazy silhouette.

She couldn’t see anything ahead, as if blind, and couldn’t take another step. Fu Li pursed her lips and took a night-luminous pearl from her bosom that emitted a soft glow. She bent and rolled it out.

The night-luminous pearl rolled into the darkness, a point of light going far without hitting obstacles. Still uneasy, she rolled out a few more until the sixth collided with the first five, still no reaction. Only then did she relax.

“Tch, nothing at all.” Fu Li walked toward the six night-luminous pearls. The deeper she went, the colder it got, and the wind stronger. Her footsteps were the only sound in her ears.

She finally reached the six pearls and picked them up one by one into her bosom, planning to throw more later.

Just as she reached for the last one, she suddenly saw another hand pressing on that night-luminous pearl.

It was a bony, bark-rough hand—clearly not human!

As if struck hard in the brain, Fu Li’s eyes widened. She screamed, and the five pearls in her bosom all dropped, bouncing and rolling on the ground.

Shocked and furious, her mind in chaos, she turned and bolted toward the distant firelight.

The fire grew nearer, but in her panic, she tripped and fell flat, rolling a few times. When she stopped, her hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes dazed, utterly wretched in a somewhat comical kneeling pose as she looked toward the woman opposite.

Mu Qian Tan hooked her lips in a rare gentle smile. “I’m just a nobody from a little sect. Young Fu Clan Head, I can’t accept such a grand salute from you.”

Qin He and Shang Shan exchanged a glance, both inwardly remarking: You clearly enjoyed it so much…