Encountering a Weasel Rat Swarm

Wei Yunxi refused to indulge her and immediately lifted her chin. "Sister, you can't discourage us like this. Just because our cultivation is low now doesn't mean it won't improve later. With Sister Yunting's current cultivation, dealing with an early first-tier spirit beast would definitely be no problem."

Although Wei Yunxi's words carried a hint of flattering Wei Yunting, she had also spoken everyone's mind. Wasn't Wei Zongjin beside them nodding along?

Wei Yunqing regretted her words as soon as she said them. She had merely refuted Wei Yunxi on instinct; she had not truly wanted to belittle their own people.

Wei Yunting merely smiled and said, "Yunxi is right. Our cultivation is only low for now; that does not mean we cannot hunt spirit beasts. As long as we work together, we can certainly do it. Yunxi must have received guidance in alchemy from her maternal family. From now on, we'll be waiting to eat your Bigu pills that taste like roasted meat."

Wei Yunxi immediately nodded with a beaming smile, though inwardly she marveled at how precocious children in the Cultivation Realm were. With just two sentences, Wei Yunting had united the Wei Family disciples and even praised her talent for alchemy. It certainly felt pleasant to hear.

After meeting with no response, Wei Yunqing stopped talking and pretended to meditate with her eyes closed.

Half an hour later, the little sprouts from Kunyu City had eaten and drunk their fill, taken care of their personal needs, and even divided themselves into teams. They faintly regarded the Wei Family team as their lead, waiting for the order to depart.

Wei Yunting was quite satisfied with everyone's obedience. With a wave of her hand, she said, "The three teams will proceed side by side. Keep an eye on the woods on both sides as we go down the mountain. Move out!"

With that, she took the lead, followed in order by the Wei Family disciples.

Wei Yunxi did not want to be near Wei Yunqing. Based on her experience reading novels, the area around a protagonist was a place where accidents happened one after another. If she did not want to get caught in the blast, she had to stay far away. Thus, she walked with Wei Zonghao, deliberately putting distance between herself and Wei Yunqing.

Wei Yunqing, meanwhile, stuck close to Wei Yunting and Wei Zongjin. One had higher cultivation, while the other was her cultivation partner and more familiar with her, so she gradually made her way toward the front of the group.

Wei Zonghao tossed a piece of dried fruit into his mouth, then asked Yunxi beside him, "Yunxi, why aren't you walking with your sister?"

Wei Yunxi answered without hiding anything, "I refuse to walk with her. She always likes stealing my things."

Wei Zonghao immediately asked, "What did she steal from you?"

Wei Yunxi told him about how, after her mother had "fallen," Wei Yunqing went to Zhuohua Courtyard to snatch her mother's hairpin. She even stressed that their father knew about it too, subtly smearing Wei Yunqing at every turn.

Though Wei Zonghao was young, he had cultivated for a full year after all. He winked at Yunxi and lowered his voice. "I heard from my mother that Concubine Du has always been terribly jealous of your mother. She must have seen that your mother was gone, so she ordered Sister Yunqing to steal your things."

Wei Yunxi had not expected the little fatty to enjoy gossip too, but she nodded along and even brought up her maternal family to support the story.

The two gossiped about Wei Yunqing all the way while sharing snacks, without delaying their journey in the slightest. The Feng Family team following behind also caught snippets of the gossip, and their impression of Wei Yunqing worsened.

An hour and a half later, some children could no longer keep up and wanted to stop for a rest. Wei Yunting looked at the sun overhead and nodded in agreement.

To put it plainly, the group was full of children, including ordinary children who had not yet begun cultivating. The fact that they had persisted for an hour and a half without anyone falling behind was already quite impressive.

They still rested for a quarter of an hour before continuing down the mountain.

After they had walked for less than half an hour this time, a disturbance erupted at the back of the group, accompanied by children's screams.

Wanting to know what had happened, Wei Yunxi instinctively released her divine sense. The sight made her scalp go numb. A dense swarm of creatures resembling weasels but the size of rats was chasing after the rear of the group, terrifying those children into frantically sprinting forward.

Once they began running, the formation fell apart. Those slow to react dropped to their knees and sprawled on the ground, bawling their eyes out, while the quicker ones grabbed their companions and charged ahead.

The children pounced on by the weasels vanished from the ground in the next instant. That eased Wei Yunxi's tight heart. At least no one would die. It seemed someone was watching over them in secret and observing their performance at every moment.

She had known it. There was no way the sect would simply toss a group of little sprouts onto the mountain and leave them to fend for themselves. This was probably part of the test too. The children who vanished had likely been eliminated.

Wei Yunting also noticed that something was wrong and immediately shouted, "Don't stop! Run forward! Once we leave these Weasel Rat Beasts' territory, they won't chase us anymore!"

Wei Yunxi withdrew her divine sense, grabbed the little fatty beside her, and pumped her short legs as fast as she could toward the foot of the mountain.

At the instant she withdrew her divine sense, she noticed that Wei Yunqing's expression was somewhat unnatural. She had also clearly moved two steps closer to Wei Yunting. At a glance, she looked guilty.

Wei Yunxi's eyes turned, and she recalled that during their last rest, Wei Yunqing had gone to relieve herself with an ordinary little girl. Could she have done something then that provoked this group of Weasel Rat Beasts?

Aside from entering a beast swarm's territory, the other reason they might pursue someone relentlessly was that someone in the group had taken something they should not have—such as spirit herbs guarded by the Weasel Rat Beasts, their food stores, or even their young.

Wei Yunxi was merely making deductions based on the tropes from novels she had read. The thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant and did not hinder her escape.

Wei Zonghao could initially keep up with Yunxi's pace, but after running for a while, he began panting. As he ran, he asked, "How much longer do we have to run? Why are these Weasel Rat Beasts still following us?"

Wei Yunting also sensed that something was off. By all rights, they had already left the Weasel Rat Beasts' territory. After driving them away, the beasts should not have continued pursuing them so relentlessly. Why were they still clinging to them? Moreover, the Weasel Rat Swarm was clearly targeting their lead team.

Being older, Wei Yunting shouted, "During the last rest, did anyone take something they shouldn't have? Throw it away at once! Otherwise, the Weasel Rat Beasts will keep following us. None of us will be able to escape; we'll all be eliminated."

"I didn't!"

"Who would dare pick things up in a place like this?"

"Who was it? Hurry up and return it to the Weasel Rat Beasts behind us! Don't drag everyone down!"

"Hurry up, I can't run anymore!"

"If anyone gets me eliminated, I'll drag them down with me!"

The group had become a complete mess, everyone shouting at the top of their lungs.

Yet no one stepped forward to admit they had taken anything.

Seeing that this could not continue, Wei Yunting raised her voice again. "Everyone, split up by team. The team leaders, take your teams and scatter! Whichever team the weasels follow is the team with the problem. Once the remaining teams shake off the Weasel Rat Beasts, continue onward on your own."

She was not worried that they would get lost. The Haoran Sect could be seen with the naked eye. As long as they were not blind, they would definitely be able to find the right direction.

Upon receiving Wei Yunting's order, the leaders of each team immediately reacted, leading their own people headlong into the forest beside them.

Dear ones, it's the beginning of the month, and Feng Ling is shamelessly here to ask for recommendations, bookmarks, subscriptions, good reviews, tips, and monthly votes. I hope the new book can make the rankings. I guarantee two chapters a day. Thank you all for your support! (づ￣3￣)づ╭~