Alluring Moonlight

"Meow."

Beneath a large tree ahead, a tiny cat head pushed out from between the blades of grass.

Its round pupils reflected the shimmering sunset, gleaming with seven colors.

From somewhere far behind came a muddle of shouts and footsteps, faint and indistinct.

"Follow Mao Mao."

Lu Wu-bing's heart stirred. Riding on Senior Sister Xiaolan's back, he gave the order.

He knew the little creature's nature all too well.

Seeking fortune and avoiding disaster was an instinct carved into its bones.

It was brimming with spiritual intelligence; it truly could not be treated as an ordinary little cat.

On the original owner's tenth birthday, his grandfather, far away in Weijing, had sent a trusted aide to deliver this Dark Cloud Treading on Snow kitten as a gift. He had even solemnly instructed that Lu Wu-bing must raise it with his own hands.

When they had first heard that, no one in the Lu family had taken it seriously. They had even found it rather amusing.

Later events proved that every one of them had been utterly mistaken.

In the days since Lu Wu-bing had awakened from the confusion within the womb—crossing over—he had personally experienced the Little Cat's miraculous qualities.

And relied on them greatly.

Now, he could actually discern a complete meaning from Mao Mao's cry.

It seemed to be calling him over.

Ouyang Lan readily followed his lead.

She turned, kicked off the ground, and darted behind the Little Cat. Following the Little Black Cat's flickering figure, she raced through the grass and beneath the tree shadows.

Aside from maintaining the bearing of an elder sister, she generally listened whenever Lu Wu-bing spoke.

This junior brother was simply too remarkable.

Even her father, an old pedant who wore a stern face every day, had been forced to personally say, "Listen more to Little Nine's opinions." One could well imagine just how sharp his mind was.

With their lives on the line,

and pursuers clinging close behind them, listening to him could not be wrong.

After racing for quite some time, Ouyang Lan gradually came to her senses. "The route we've been taking seems to have stayed entirely beneath the trees. Wherever it's darkest, we run that way..."

"Senior Sister only just noticed?"

Lu Wu-bing chuckled. "Look up."

At his words, Ouyang Lan raised her head to look at the sky, though her feet did not stop and she continued closely after the Little Cat.

Through the sparse leaves, she saw an utterly cloudless sky. The rosy glow was gradually fading, leaving the heavens filled with leaden gray...

A thin black shadow flashed across the high sky, wheeling in an arc before circling and gliding sideways.

"That is..."

Ouyang Lan gasped softly.

Though she could not make out what the black shadow was, she could guess.

"No wonder every move we made seemed to have been anticipated. We never escaped their tracking. It's a trained black hawk—the Eastern Sea Sword Sect truly has such resources."

"The path Little Cat chose happens to avoid the black hawk's line of sight. With the leaves concealing us, we can temporarily escape their pursuit. As long as we endure until nightfall, we'll be much safer."

Lu Wu-bing also let out a slight breath of relief.

If only some of the Wolong Mountain Stronghold pursuers and the remaining Eastern Sea Sword Sect disciples were chasing them, the danger would not be too severe.

But if Gu Dongting, the Eastern Sea Sword Sect's sect master, disregarded his status and personally came to hunt them down,

then the problem would become grave.

If that possibility had been slight before,

then after they had suffered heavy losses and even Flying Feather Sword Tan Zhongjing, the Eastern Sea Sword Sect's second disciple, had died in these barren mountains, the likelihood of Gu Dongting acting would increase greatly.

They had to break contact before then.

They had to flee as far as they could.

The sky gradually darkened.

The Little Cat seemed to be tired from running, and its pace grew slower and slower.

Senior Sister Xiaolan's running steps also began to grow heavy, no longer as light and nimble as before.

Each step left a small pit in the ground.

"Huff, huff... Little Junior Brother, you're so heavy."

Ouyang Lan panted. Perhaps because they had escaped immediate danger, her tone became somewhat lighter.

"Senior Sister, if you're tired, put me down so we can rest."

"I'm not tired. I can still hold on." Ouyang Lan turned and gave him a smile, her flushed cheeks steaming with heat. "It's just that you should move your sword sheath farther away. It's pressing against my waist and feels very uncomfortable."

"Alright." Lu Wu-bing fell silent for a moment, then agreed.

The chirping of insects and birds in the forest suddenly became clamorous.

All at once, Ouyang Lan's legs gave way. She tripped over a vine, and her body tilted as she fell.

Lu Wu-bing hurriedly landed and caught her. He then discovered that Senior Sister Xiaolan's body was alarmingly hot.

Her breath even carried a faint sweet fragrance.

Even her eyes were half-open and half-closed, like someone so sleepy at night that she was drifting in a haze.

"This is..."

Lu Wu-bing's heart jolted.

"Poisoned? Senior Sister, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"It's nothing. I used my inner force to suppress the poison...

"Little Junior Brother, let me tell you: our Celestial Star Sect's advanced internal art, the Celestial River Orthodox Method, can refine one's meridians into great rivers and mighty streams, giving one long-lasting breath and endurance in battle.

"Though Paired Swallows was poisoned, it cannot do anything to me."

"Senior Sister is the most formidable."

After spending these past days together, Lu Wu-bing had more or less understood Senior Sister Xiaolan's personality.

As long as he praised her a little, her mood would surely brighten.

Especially if he praised her swordsmanship and deep internal cultivation.

That would be precisely what she liked.

It could keep her happy for an entire day.

"Though Senior Sister's internal cultivation is profound, there's no need to wrestle with poison and injuries...

"The enemy hasn't caught up yet, but we might run into them suddenly. When that happens, we'll still need Senior Sister to protect us."

"That makes sense."

The surge of determination in Ouyang Lan's chest abruptly dissipated, and she immediately felt dizzy, her shoulders and back numb, unable to summon any strength.

She wanted to find a clean spot, sit cross-legged, and circulate her energy to heal her injuries.

But she found herself swaying unsteadily, as though the stars filling the sky were shaking while everything before her blurred.

"Don't move."

Lu Wu-bing's heart sank. He realized that he had still underestimated Ouyang Lan's injuries.

Earlier, when she had met Tan Zhongjing's final palm strike head-on, blood had spilled from the corner of her mouth, and she had suffered internal injuries.

Afterward, the strange Paired Swallows hidden weapon had injured her left shoulder and upper back... Then, without having any chance to rest, she had pushed her lightness skill to the limit and run wildly for more than an hour.

Even if the poison had been suppressed, it had not been purged.

No matter how resistant to poison the Celestial Star Sect's Celestial River Orthodox Method was, it could not simply make her recover.

In his anxiety, Lu Wu-bing helped his senior sister lean against a tree trunk. By the faint moonlight, he strained his eyes to look.

He saw that slightly behind her left armpit, her clothes had been sliced open, blood seeping out and soaking the fabric.

Earlier, he had been pressing heavily against her back.

The running had kept jostling the wound.

Yet she had not made a single sound.

A faint ache stirred in Lu Wu-bing's heart.

"Riiip."

He gripped the cloth and tore a large opening.

He said softly, "Senior Sister, let me examine your injury."

Inside the torn fabric, on her shoulder and back, white and lustrous as jade, was a deep wound the size of a thumb.

The flesh around the wound had turned outward, revealing an ominous black color.

"It's ugly, isn't it?"

For some reason, Senior Sister Xiaolan's body temperature rose even higher, and her voice became slightly bashful.

"It's beautiful—no, it's too dark. I can't see anything clearly."

Lu Wu-bing spoke too quickly. His gaze swept over that half-round curve, and he found the moonlight tonight rather alluring—far too bright, in fact.

When he had torn open the clothing around his senior sister's armpit just now, he had used a little too much force and torn it toward the front as well.

A mistake.

"Don't worry. The wound isn't large. As long as we force out the poison, apply medicine, and bandage it, you'll recover quickly, and it won't leave a scar."

The Hall of Returning Spring had a family tradition of medicine.

As the young master of the Hall, although Lu Wu-bing's medical skills were not especially profound, treating a minor wound was no problem.

The method of treatment was all in his memories.

"Mhm!"

Ouyang Lan's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Nor did she question how her little junior brother, who claimed he could not see clearly, intended to treat her wound?