Pursuers Draw Near

It was finally over.

Ye Qiu let out a long breath. It was early morning, when yang energy was naturally rising, and after all that, he was practically on fire!

"Gulp, gulp!" He poured several mouthfuls of cold water into his mouth before finally feeling a little better.

"Do you really not need any water?" He held the canteen out to her in question.

"I want some." Her voice was crisp and pleasant, yet distant.

Seeing Ye Qiu bring the spout straight to her lips, Zhu Yeqing could not help stopping him. "What are you doing?! You already drank from that!"

Ye Qiu rolled his eyes. "It's fine. You drank from that canteen too."

"You—urk! Gulp, gulp!"

Seeing that she was about to keep arguing, Ye Qiu did not want to hear it. He directly stuffed the spout into her mouth, thoughtfully wiping it with his sleeve beforehand.

"Cough, cough." Caught off guard, Zhu Yeqing choked on the water and kept coughing. "Cough, cough. You bastard!"

She glared at him furiously.

He could not care less. If she wanted to glare, let her glare. Ye Qiu expressionlessly wiped the spout clean and put the canteen away.

Then he picked up the towel from the basin again.

"What else are you going to do?! I've already been wiped clean!" Panic appeared on Zhu Yeqing's face, as though she had fallen into the hands of the wrong person.

"You stand—mmph~"

Before she could finish, Ye Qiu held the towel in both hands and pressed it against her cheeks. Her mouth was squeezed into an O-shape; he could only see her soft tongue moving, but could not hear a sound.

"Looks like those medicines of yours worked pretty well. In such a short time, you're already speaking much more smoothly!"

Ye Qiu sat cross-legged above her head, cupped her face, and rested it on his knee before slowly lowering his head to meet her eyes.

"But... you should talk less for now. Be good and wash your face!"

After he released her cheeks, she did not make another sound. She could feel his breath brushing against her face, and that faint warmth made her skin burn.

Yet unwilling to show weakness, she stared at Ye Qiu stubbornly until he became embarrassed and closed his eyes.

"Hey, could you breathe a little less heavily? Don't let the wound on your chest split open again."

"You!" Her dark eyes were filled with shame and anger.

"Alright, just put your clothes back on and we're done!"

"Put on clothes?!"

"What, do you want to stay naked forever? I don't mind."

"Go die! Help me put them on later—and keep your eyes where they belong, or I really will kill you!"

"Just don't start crying again. Girls crying and all that—it's the most troublesome thing!"

"You bastard, th-this thing is on backward!" Zhu Yeqing cried out in humiliation. There were clearly contours on her chest, yet he had somehow put it on backward. The killing intent in her eyes was enough to kill Ye Qiu several times over.

Not far from the cave,

Scarred Leopard and his group were slowly approaching.

A Spirit Master capable of flight descended from the air. He was in charge of scouting at low altitude. "Big Brother, there's a cave ahead. There are bloodstains at the entrance!"

"We're going over!" At Scarred Leopard's command, he led his remaining dozen or so men toward it.

Before long, miserable screams rang out from that direction.

Where Ye Qiu and Zhu Yeqing were,

After struggling for quite a while, Ye Qiu finally pulled up her pants. The task was at last complete.

It was nearly noon already.

"Grrr~"

"Hm? Zhu Yeqing, did you hear something?" Ye Qiu shook his head. It could not possibly be auditory hallucinations again, right?

"No, I didn't hear anything!" One hand rested on her lower abdomen, her cheeks flushed red.

"Really not?" He had definitely heard something.

"N-No!" Zhu Yeqing denied it again.

Seeing her bright-red face, Ye Qiu was utterly confused.

He was certain that this was not an auditory hallucination! The Sharingan appeared in his eyes, his pupils turning purple as his gaze pierced through the rock wall and saw the miserable scene in the distance.

"A group of Shadow Spiders! And a Soul Ancestor?" Scarred Leopard's group had appeared in Ye Qiu's sight.

"What are you talking about?" Zhu Yeqing looked at him strangely.

Ye Qiu withdrew his gaze and explained, "Not far from us, a group of unlucky fools stumbled into a Shadow Spider nest. They're running this way."

Zhu Yeqing's heart jolted. Could it be them?

"But how do you know that?" Zhu Yeqing was only half convinced.

"My Martial Soul, the Sharingan!" Ye Qiu pointed at his eyes and introduced it to her.

"It can see through things?"

"Yeah!"

"Pah~ You really are a filthy pervert!" Zhu Yeqing spat lightly, bluntly calling Ye Qiu shameless.

Ye Qiu covered his face. He should not have blurted out that ability.

"I don't have time to bicker with you. We should leave quickly. Then we can catch some game and fill our stomachs!"

"Grrr~" The moment Ye Qiu finished speaking, a sound came from Zhu Yeqing's stomach.

He looked at her in surprise. Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment, and Ye Qiu finally understood why she had acted so awkwardly when he asked whether she had heard a sound earlier.

Her stomach had been growling.

"Since you're hungry already, let's leave sooner!" Ye Qiu lifted her into his arms. Zhu Yeqing wrapped her arms around his neck, her gaze darting away.

A red glow flashed through his eyes as he stored everything he had taken out back into the Divine Might Space.

Zhu Yeqing stared blankly as those things vanished before her eyes, looking at him oddly. She truly had no idea how large this guy's Soul Tool was—he even carried a bed around with him!

Ye Qiu did not want to explain anything. He would not be foolish enough to explain his Soul Skills to others. Kamui might be overpowered, but it was not without a counter. Better safe than sorry.

With a girl in his arms, he entered the forest once more.

"Mountain Carving! You bastard, this is the cave you told us about?!" Scarred Leopard's furious voice became a roar!

Because of the bad intelligence, they had poked a spider nest and were already surrounded by several Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts.

At least nearly half the men they had brought had died here.

"Big Brother, Mountain Carving has already been eaten clean."

"Damn it!"

"Everyone, follow behind me and break out with me! Escape if you can!"

At Scarred Leopard's order, the remaining eight or nine people immediately clustered tightly behind him.

His gloomy eyes continuously searched for a breakthrough. Finally, a Shadow Spider nearing a thousand years of age leaped into view.

"Everyone! Stay close! Sato, attack with me!"

"Got it, Big Brother! Third Spirit Ability, Death Coil!"

The third Spirit Ring beneath Sato's feet flashed as several thick vines covered in barbs tightly bound the Spirit Beast.

"Third and Fourth Spirit Abilities, Blood Slash, Soul Hooking Ghost Claw!"

Scarred Leopard sprang forward. A yellow and a purple Spirit Ring beneath him lit up in succession as an enhancement-type Soul Skill and a single-target attack Soul Skill activated instantly!

His sharp claws pierced through the Shadow Spider's carapace and penetrated its brain.

"Shriek~" After letting out a mournful cry, the Shadow Spider collapsed with a crash!

"Everyone, move!"

Second Spirit Ability, Dash! Enhanced by his speed-type Soul Skill, Scarred Leopard took the lead and charged out of the encirclement first!

Behind him, Sato and the others followed close behind.

"Argh~" "Big Brother, save me!"

In the end, after leaving behind another two corpses, the remaining seven managed to escape safely.

Their retreat route happened to coincide with Ye Qiu's direction of travel!

A Soul Elder team led by a Soul Ancestor had lost three quarters of its members since entering this place. The danger of the Star Dou Great Forest was plain to see!