Helping Each Other

Only children make choices; adults... have no choice at all.

The battle had already begun.

Li Qingjun's silver spear thrust forward. The Spider Demon seemed not to have expected this breach of their tacit understanding, and its face contorted in anger. It raised its upper arms to block, and with a "clang," a sound of metal striking metal echoed.

The Spider Demon's other arm shot out like a long sword, aiming for Li Qingjun's face. Li Qingjun tilted her head slightly, and the spider arm grazed past her hair, taking a strand with it.

The silver spear snapped back with a burst of energy, sweeping towards the demon's waist. The monster blocked again, and both sides retreated a step.

Around them were seven or eight tightly wrapped human cocoons. Li Qingjun held her spear with one hand, facing the demon directly. Her previous fear had vanished, replaced by a chilling coldness in her eyes.

In the pouring rain, her long hair was scattered, plastered to her cheeks by the water. Her body was even more drenched than when Qin Yi had soaked her, yet her figure stood straight as a spear, unmoving.

"Where are the original Daoists of this temple?"

The Spider Demon cackled strangely, actually speaking in a human voice: "Eaten, of course."

They were definitely eaten. Li Qingjun could already see a pile of white bones in a corner of the backyard, still wearing Daoist robes.

She took a deep breath and coldly shouted, "Your crimes are unforgivable!"

Silver light flared again, cutting through the dark temple. The energy was deflected by the monster, punching a large hole in the mud wall of the courtyard.

Li Qinglin also came out of the courtyard, standing beside his sister with his spear on his back, watching the battle without participating. It was clear he intended to let his sister train.

Liu Su was sighing: "These people clearly offended her, what's there to save? The original Daoists? They're dead, why bother?"

Qin Yi ignored it. He didn't think Li Qingjun was wrong this time; in fact, he felt a faint admiration. He thought for a moment, then quietly stood by the courtyard exit, using the sharp teeth at the tip of his Wolf Tooth Club to simply carve a magic array on the ground.

It was a simplified, small-scale Demon Binding Array, the same kind used against the Demon Tiger. He didn't know if it would work on the Spider Demon, but he would do what he could.

Looking back at the fierce battle, one side had long hair flowing, a silver spear like a dragon, moving like a startled swan. The wind, rain, thunder, and lightning illuminated her jade-like face as she weaved through the countless white threads. Just watching was a pleasure. The other side was terrifying in appearance, roaring like thunder. As their figures intertwined, there was an extreme visual contrast, making Li Qingjun appear even more like a fairy.

"I really didn't think this tomboy was this beautiful before. As expected, a red flower needs green leaves to set it off," Qin Yi muttered softly.

Liu Su chuckled.

Qin Yi looked at the human-shaped white cocoons on the ground, still feeling his stomach churn. He cautiously asked, "Besides binding, does this monster have any special techniques?"

"Poison. Spiders are mostly poisonous," Liu Su said. "I don't see it having cultivated anything else. After all, it's just a small demon. In terms of combat techniques alone, it might not be better than Li Qingjun. But its techniques are troublesome, Li Qingjun might not be able to defeat it alone."

In the center of the battle, Li Qingjun used her spear to deflect several white threads and thrust directly at the Spider Demon's shoulder.

The Spider Demon couldn't dodge and let out a cry of pain. Several of its legs stumbled back a few steps. Its seemingly impenetrable body was actually pierced, and greenish blood flowed out.

But at the same time, the spear tip stuck in its body was quickly covered in spiderwebs, getting tangled and unable to be pulled back. Then, a dark green color spread upwards from the spear tip, rapidly approaching Li Qingjun's hands.

Li Qingjun violently broke free from the spiderwebs, pulled back her spear, and retreated, looking somewhat disheveled.

Qin Yi rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "As expected, this Spider Demon looks terrifying, but it's not very strong... Its strength doesn't seem to be as great as that Demon Tiger?"

"Strength is limited by its innate talent, but its overall abilities and techniques are much stronger than that Demon Tiger," Liu Su said. "Especially its traps. Li Qingjun just hasn't fallen into one yet. The biggest difference between a demon and a beast isn't strength, it's this."

"Intelligence?"

"Yes. Look, it hasn't dared to provoke Li Qinglin at all, but its eyes keep looking at you. It probably sees you as a soft target and plans to break through towards you if things go badly. How smart."

"..."

In the midst of the battle, Li Qingjun was already at a disadvantage.

As Liu Su said, the Spider Demon didn't have any highlights in terms of combat techniques, but Li Qingjun also lacked experience in dealing with magical arts. Every time it seemed she could win, she would be thrown into disarray by various strange techniques.

Qin Yi was still watching with relish, but Li Qinglin, worried about his sister's safety, finally made his move.

"Whoosh!"

Without even seeing the movement, the silver spear had reached the Spider Demon's face. The chilling killing intent caused the Spider Demon's stiff hairs to stand on end. It subconsciously raised its arm to block, and that sword-like upper arm actually started emitting a sizzling sound of burning. This was the scorching caused by the instantly erupting spiral energy drilling into its incredibly solid arm.

At the same time, some light seemed to ripple from Li Qinglin's body. The Spider Demon let out a terrified shriek and, in a panic, slammed violently towards Li Qingjun, completely disregarding the fact that Li Qingjun's own spear tip had already reached its face.

Liu Su mused, "Li Qinglin has something about him... This isn't something that can be achieved purely through martial arts..."

It seemed the fear Li Qinglin instilled in the Spider Demon was too intense. It didn't even bother to dodge, directly using its shoulder to bump and deflect Li Qingjun's spear tip, then charging straight in with its body. Li Qingjun's left palm chopped down, hitting the Spider Demon's human-like face at the throat. The Spider Demon endured the pain and continued to charge, pushing Li Qingjun back over ten steps.

Li Qingjun didn't panic either. While being pushed back by the Spider Demon, her spear had already been adjusted. Her slender hand gripped the front end of the long spear and thrust it heavily into the human-like mouth. Several fangs shattered, and the spear went straight through the throat.

The Spider Demon let out an earth-shattering cry of pain, but suddenly, red smoke spewed from its mouth, instantly enveloping Li Qingjun, who was at close range.

Poison. Heaven knows what kind of spider this was, and what kind of poison?

Over there, Li Qinglin was startled and was about to help his sister, but suddenly he froze and stopped.

Just as the Spider Demon's upper arm was about to pierce Li Qingjun's throat, there was a "crack," and it cried out in pain again. The upper arm that should have pierced Li Qingjun's throat had actually struck a Wolf Tooth Club that had appeared from nowhere.

The sharp teeth on the Wolf Tooth Club pierced its arm. Even though its arm was as hard as a sword, the pain was unbearable.

It turned out that as they pushed and shoved, they had approached Qin Yi's side.

Qin Yi used one hand with the Wolf Tooth Club to block the spider's arm, and with the other hand, he wrapped around Li Qingjun's waist and retreated three steps. As soon as they stood firm, he immediately took out a pill and put it into Li Qingjun's mouth.

Li Qinglin didn't pursue, seemingly observing Qin Yi's performance with interest.

Li Qingjun was also momentarily stunned.

The pill melted upon entering her mouth. A cool sensation spread into her mind and permeated her limbs. Her head, which had been feeling groggy from the poison, instantly cleared, and strength returned to her hands.

Turning her head, she saw Qin Yi's smiling face.

"This is a True Detoxification pill. I offered it to your brother earlier, but he didn't take it."

Li Qingjun pursed her lips, about to say something, when Qin Yi suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist again and rapidly retreated three feet.

The Spider Demon seized the opportunity, roaring and moving its four legs to chase after them.

Qin Yi retreated with Li Qingjun to the door. As soon as the Spider Demon reached them, it suddenly stopped moving.

It seemed to have stepped on something under its feet, as if it were stuck to the ground. It couldn't lift its legs no matter how hard it tried. It reached out to attack Qin Yi and Li Qingjun, but it was a foot short and couldn't reach them.

Looking up, Qin Yi grinned, revealing his teeth, and showed the Wolf Tooth Club.

"Thinking I'm a pushover? The club will teach you how to ascend."

"Thank you for saving us, benefactor." The Jianghu people released from the white cocoons expressed their heartfelt gratitude. "When we return this time, we will definitely go to Longevity Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings for you, benefactor."

"Hey!" Li Qingjun said, displeased. "We're the ones who saved you, why are you going to Longevity Temple to burn incense?"

"Although we should thank our benefactors, now that we've seen a real demon, we should naturally show more reverence to the immortals and gods..."

Li Qingjun didn't know how to refute this and watched them leave with countless thanks in silence.

The three of them didn't stay in the Daoist temple either and came to a pavilion outside the mountain. The pavilion in the rain was fresh and clean, making the three of them, who had just left the foul smell of the Daoist temple, feel much more comfortable.

Li Qingjun's gloomy mood also quickly improved. Stretching her arms, she said, "We actually killed a man-eating monster. Can this be considered being a fairy?"

Qin Yi found her very interesting. Actually, he really wanted to ask, You've been holding it in for so long, do you really not need to relieve yourself?

He looked at Li Qingjun with interest, while Li Qinglin looked at him with interest. "I really have to thank Brother Qin for your help just now."

Li Qingjun pouted, turned her head, and looked at the distant mountains without speaking.

Qin Yi said, "It's nothing. It was just an emergency. Thinking about it now, even if I hadn't acted, Brother Li wouldn't have let your sister get hurt. That monster was no match for you at all."

"Brother Qin still helped," Li Qinglin said with a smile. "And Brother Qin was able to sense the presence of a demon here beforehand. You have quite the skill."

Qin Yi felt a little embarrassed.

Li Qinglin looked at Qin Yi's Wolf Tooth Club and smiled, "But I couldn't tell. Brother Qin's Wolf Tooth Club looks unremarkable, yet it could smash that monster's head."

"Ahahaha, its head was a human head, not tough enough, right?" Qin Yi didn't want them to inquire about the Wolf Tooth Club and directly changed the subject. "Earlier, listening to Brother Li's words, it seemed you didn't believe there were immortals in the world. A tiger growing wings can be considered a mutation, but with this kind of demon living right in front of you, why aren't you surprised, Brother Li?"

Li Qinglin explained, "Brother Qin misunderstood. What I don't believe in is the exaggerated idea of eternal life. I don't doubt demons, ghosts, or the Daoist arts of subduing demons. This is because the former has no empirical evidence, while the latter has many facts. Actually, I haven't killed a demon before."

"So that's how it is..." If that's the case, the "immortals" in Li Qinglin's eyes are different from those in others' eyes. In the eyes of mortals, having some Daoist techniques makes you an immortal, but in Li Qinglin's eyes, they are just people who have mastered some special methods, and they might not even be able to defeat him.

Without eternal life, they essentially haven't gone beyond the scope of humans.

No wonder he had no interest in his sister's "seeking immortals." Perhaps there were many "immortal traces" and quite a few "demons," but none of them were enough to surprise him.

Li Qinglin added, "Actually, dealing with demons is very simple, but dealing with people is much harder."

Qin Yi was startled. "Why is that?"

"Because demons are nothing special. You can still put a hole in them with one spear, and there's no burden in killing them. Even if you kill a demon that doesn't do evil, everyone will still praise you when the news spreads. But if you want to kill a person, there will be all sorts of trouble, and it's hard to do whatever you want regardless of your status."

Qin Yi fell silent.