C8 Meeting in the Forest

The young woman relentlessly swung her long sword, each motion sending a blade of sword energy slicing towards the old man. Curiously, he managed to dodge each attack with uncanny precision.

"Stay put, you old coot!"

After a lengthy pursuit, the young woman appeared fatigued, hands on her hips as she stood her ground and called out, her voice tinged with the sharpness of exhaustion.

"Why put yourself through this, young lady?" the old man asked, turning to face her with a look of resignation.

"You, old thief! Stealing is one thing, but to lay a hand on my senior sister? Had she not been injured earlier, she wouldn't have been entangled with you for so long. I swear, I'll castrate you and give your head to my senior sister as a footstool!" The girl's breath came in gasps as she spoke with fury, suggesting the old man had indeed committed some heinous act.

"What are you talking about? I never laid a finger on her! I just took a couple of glances!" The old man protested, stepping back with a look of innocence.

Ye Qinghui perched silently on a tree branch, observing the skirmish unfolding below. If not for the occasional blink, no one would have noticed his presence.

Soon, the confrontation between the young woman and the old man drew to a close. The woman approached with a cold sneer, while the old man's face was etched with terror, as if envisioning a gruesome fate. Even Ye Qinghui found the scene difficult to watch.

But Ye Qinghui remained still, choosing not to intervene.

"I was wrong, please, don't come any closer!" the old man pleaded, his hands flailing in defense.

"Too late!" the young woman declared, her sword descending swiftly towards the old man.

In that instant, the old man's fear vanished. With a swift motion, he revealed two daggers and thrust them viciously at the young woman.

Puff!

Caught off guard by the old man's feigned terror, the young woman was slow to react, and the daggers plunged deep into her abdomen. Her snow-white dress quickly became saturated with blood.

"Ha ha ha, my dear, you have much to learn before you can contend with me!"

The elder abruptly drew the dagger from his grasp, and fresh blood spurted out once more as the young woman collapsed to the ground.

"Interesting!"

Ye Qinghui let out a light chuckle. He had been ready to lend the old man a hand, but it appeared he had overthought the situation.

"With your looks, you'd fetch a pretty penny on the market. But tonight, I shall have my fill first!"

The old man approached the girl, kicked aside the long sword she held, and with a sneer, reached out to tear at her clothes.

Despite her grave injuries, the girl's ability to channel her spiritual energy remained unimpeded. With swift hand gestures, she silently directed a surge of spiritual energy toward the long sword.

Whoosh!

As the spiritual energy touched the long sword, it seemed to come alive, swiftly lunging at the old man.

Caught up in ogling the girl's chest, the old man was oblivious to the sword's movement.

Regrettably for him, before he could act further, the sword plunged deep into his left chest. It didn't stop there; the sword withdrew and stabbed him again, repeatedly, until the old man, his mouth gushing blood and eyes bulging with resentment, toppled to the ground.

"The girl's got some tricks up her sleeve!"

Having observed the skirmish, Ye Qinghui gained a rough understanding—it was merely the old man attempting to deceive and overpower, but he had been outsmarted and slain.

Still, Ye Qinghui couldn't fathom why the old man had lured them to this particular spot.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

While Ye Qinghui pondered, the sound of rustling tree branches echoed from a distance.

"That explains it—a team!"

Ye Qinghui focused intently on the distance. Once he confirmed they were still a ways off, he swiftly leapt from the tree branch and dashed toward the girl.

The girl, already severely wounded, panicked at the sight of Ye Qinghui charging toward her. She harnessed the last of her spiritual energy to command the long sword to strike at Ye Qinghui.

Clang!

The sword, however, never reached Ye Qinghui, deflected by the spine of the Three-clawed White Wolf.

In an instant, Ye Qinghui was at the girl's side, seizing her right hand mid-seal, and said urgently, "Conceal your aura. We've got company! Looks like they're his accomplices!"

Ye Qinghui, disregarding the traditional boundaries between men and women, embraced the girl and snatched the storage ring from the elder's hand. With swift agility, he leaped onto a nearby large tree.

"Mixed Energy Supreme, Conceal the Sky and Hide the Sun! Mixed Energy Escape Technique!"

Once in the tree, Ye Qinghui quickly formed hand seals, holding the girl close, pressing her against the tree's trunk.

In moments, their presence vanished, their figures blending seamlessly into the tree's hue.

As Ye Qinghui concealed himself, four individuals emerged at the tree's base. One, upon discovering the elder's body, expressed his rage, "Third brother! Damn it, who's responsible for this?"

"Stay calm, he can't have gone far. Let's chase him down! He will pay for this with his blood!"

Amidst the tragedy, another middle-aged man maintained his composure, scanning the surroundings before charging off.

The other three exchanged glances and dispersed in the remaining directions.

"Release me!"

The girl's weak protest came after the men had departed.

Her upper garments had been partially removed by the elder, and Ye Qinghui's haste had further disheveled her attire, leaving her without any clothes on her upper body. Pressed against the tree by Ye Qinghui, her cheeks burned with shame.

"Stay quiet!"

Ye Qinghui, paying her no mind, summoned his spiritual energy and whispered to her.

"Let me go!"

The girl, growing desperate, tried to wriggle free from Ye Qinghui's grasp, but her weakness only allowed her to squirm helplessly in his embrace.

Her movements inadvertently tore open what remained of Ye Qinghui's shredded shirt, leaving them both bare-chested and pressed together.

Her face, already flushed, grew hotter. As she was about to struggle, a man appeared below.

It was the man who had taken the lead earlier. He gazed up at the tree and demanded coldly, "Sir, you've slain my brother; show yourself!"

Realizing she had been spotted, the girl was about to respond when Ye Qinghui quickly tightened his embrace, hoping to silence her. However, she was oblivious to the fact that she was being deceived.

In a frantic moment, Ye Qinghui seized the opportunity presented by the girl's slightly parted lips and kissed her fiercely.

"Big brother, we haven't found anything!"

Just then, the rest of the group returned, quietly reporting to the man.

After a short pause and no response, the man concluded he had been overly anxious. He then took the body of the elder and walked away.