Bai Qinghan

An Jing had known Bai Qinghan for a long time.

The reason was quite amusing: like many other children, Bai Qinghan had never attended school. She was illiterate, which made it difficult for her to learn martial arts or comprehend the Huangtian Sutra.

An Jing had worried himself sick over this, even using his private time to tutor these little illiterates one-on-one, helping them master reading and martial arts as quickly as possible.

Bai Qinghan was the fastest learner among them, frequently receiving individual praise from An Jing and being held up as a model student.

Back then, he and Bai Qinghan had already formed an impression of each other, but they rarely spoke. Even when An Jing praised her, Bai Qinghan would only offer a soft "mm," appearing incredibly shy.

As for their formal acquaintance, it stemmed from a sparring session.

As the senior disciple, An Jing occasionally acted as an assistant to the instructors, helping those who were less skilled in battle formations or combat techniques to spar, guiding their movements and force-exertion postures.

This was especially true now that the sparring had become closer to "real sword practice," requiring them to actually knock the opponent down rather than stopping at a touch as they had in the past, which necessitated An Jing's supervision and guidance.

Bai Qinghan was one of these students, but she was a bit more special.

It wasn't that she didn't understand force-exertion or martial arts; rather, her martial arts were so lethal that she constantly injured others, even coming close to killing them.

Some techniques simply could not be used during sparring.

Gouging eyes, elbow strikes, groin attacks, heel stomps, striking the temples, slamming into the heart... once these techniques were employed, they easily caused disability or even death.

Yet, Bai Qinghan could never hold back; she would use these techniques subconsciously.

On the surface, she was just a delicate young girl with beautiful features who was usually silent, appearing like an ordinary, shy, and introverted child—she was even illiterate at first, possessing a kind of natural, pure beauty.

But this was merely a facade, a disguise.

Her pitch-black eyes, usually devoid of luster, would erupt with astonishing brilliance during practice.

At those moments, Bai Qinghan was less like a human and more like some sort of ferocious beast, such as a starving winter wolf or a hunting leopard.

When that fierce and savage aura manifested, even the boys and girls who had experienced disasters could not react in time and would subconsciously shrink back—and this retreat gave Bai Qinghan an instinctive cue, causing her to charge forward with even greater momentum.

Although Bai Qinghan would eventually come to her senses, realizing she was not in her bandit-ridden hometown but in the relatively safe Xuanming Manor, and would pull her punches in time to avoid severely injuring her companions.

But clearly, after a few times, no one dared to spar with her anymore.

With things having reached this point, An Jing had no choice but to follow the instructor's request and face this clever yet dangerous individual.

Then, An Jing knocked her down with three punches, curing her instinct for excessive violence.

Bai Qinghan's situation was simple: she had lived in an environment where she faced death every day since childhood. Whenever she came into conflict with others, it was a life-or-death struggle. As a young girl, if she wasn't ruthless, how could she have survived in the Hanhai Great Wilderness?

And her parents... they might have had some issues too, leaving her without any sense of security.

In short, this extreme lack of security had caused her to suffer from a severe mental block; once she reached the point where she had to fight, she would inevitably go for the kill.

The fact that she could hold back at all showed that Bai Qinghan was trying very hard to restrain herself, but after only a few months, she couldn't overcome years of habit.

But for An Jing, none of this was a problem.

Enemies who didn't know specific martial arts and relied only on instinct to kill were actually easier to deal with.

Because this meant they could only strike at vital points.

Facing Bai Qinghan's eye-gouging strike, An Jing, who had been prepared, lifted his left hand to parry, while his right hand delivered a punch to her throat, leaving her wide open and struggling to breathe.

As Bai Qinghan retreated, she used the momentum to kick toward An Jing's heart, but he dodged sideways and struck her right leg, forcing her to roll to dissipate the force.

When Bai Qinghan stood up again, preparing to pounce on An Jing once more, he stepped forward and punched her in the jaw, knocking her out completely.

After waking up, Bai Qinghan was dazed for a while.

Just as An Jing was wondering if he had knocked her silly, she suddenly stood up and apologized and thanked him.

"I'm sorry... thank you, Senior Brother."

Bai Qinghan's voice was completely different from her actions, soft and sweet, like some kind of sugary pastry: "I feel like I've woken up from a dream..."

"Mm." An Jing didn't know what to say. Should he say he was glad he had knocked her down?

"I'm going to apologize to the others I've injured."

Bai Qinghan didn't care about An Jing's reaction; she lowered her head, looked at the ground, and said softly: "I keep telling myself that I'm safe now, that there's no need to be so afraid... even in the Demonic Cult's manor, they won't kill indiscriminately..."

"Wait?"

An Jing caught the keyword. He interrupted in astonishment, lowering his voice: "Demonic Cult?"

--You actually know about the Demonic Cult too?!

"Yes." Bai Qinghan looked at An Jing with a strange but clear gaze, faint, ghostly blue flickers dancing deep within her pitch-black eyes: "Senior Brother... don't you know this too?"

"In order to live a little longer, we all sold our lives to the Demonic Cult, didn't we?"

In the time that followed, An Jing often conversed with Bai Qinghan.

Unlike her soft and cute appearance, Bai Qinghan was a girl with an extraordinary perspective on various matters. She had known from the beginning that she had been bought by the Demonic Cult, and she didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

Bai Qinghan's hometown had once suffered a demonic disaster. Ten years ago, a Hanhai Mist True Chi suddenly migrated away from her home, and the many demons and monsters it had suppressed escaped, ravaging the surroundings of the Hanhai and causing countless casualties.

She was born in such chaotic times, having to snatch food from the mouths of others, wild beasts, and demons since she was a child.

She had never learned to hold back. Once a fight started, she had to draw blood and kill; if she didn't, she would be the one to die.

Bai Qinghan's parents were dead, and she had sold herself because no one was willing to adopt a wild girl from the Hanhai Great Wilderness. People feared her ferocity, afraid that if they got too close, this little beast would tear their throats out.

"Compared to Dahuang and Da Chen, the Demonic Cult only eats people, and they do so quite sparingly. Look, in these past six months, they haven't eaten all of us yet."

"They are still quite full."

This was the thought of Bai Qinghan. She possessed eyes that could see through the human heart, a talent of hers, and she had long since discerned the vigilance An Jing held toward the various instructors and lecturers, knowing the true nature of the Demonic Cult.

"No." An Jing was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "They aren't full. They are waiting."

"If you pull up the green shoots too early, you won't get any rice. If you kill the small beasts, there will be no large beasts. The Demonic Cult has always been hungry, always eating; they are simply restraining themselves, waiting for a grand, gluttonous feast."

"...So that's how it is."

Bai Qinghan nodded slightly, looking down at her own toes, and said softly, "But at least for this period of time, they won't eat all of us."

An Jing did not answer; he recalled those medicine vats.

A moment later, when An Jing, having realized the situation, asked her not to speak of this point casually, Bai Qinghan looked at him with a strange expression.

"Senior Brother, I just haven't read many books," she said. "I'm not stupid."