Who are you?

Chapter 8: Who Are You?

"Bad luck, bad luck, damn bad luck."

Lin Yan cursed three times in his mind as he sprinted.

"I just picked a random spot to look around, and I end up stumbling into a nest of soul beasts at this level."

"What the hell is this Black Marsh, anyway?"

He cursed under his breath, but his speed didn't slow one bit.

The White-Robed Youth ahead was also running.

The two of them skimmed over the Black Marsh, one on the left and one on the right, neither saying a word, yet both tacitly refusing to split up.

Because they both understood.

This wasn't a question of "whether to team up."

It was that, if they separated, neither might survive much longer.

Taking advantage of the escape's brief lull, Lin Yan finally got a good look at the White-Robed Youth.

The youth wore a plain white robe, his hair simply tied back. His face was a bit pale, as if he'd expended a lot of spiritual power.

He kept clutching something in his hand.

That thing was very small, a pale gold all over, shaped like a feather blade, or half an extremely thin metal quill.

The youth gripped it tightly, as if guarding some kind of trump card.

"This guy definitely has something," Lin Yan narrowed his eyes.

"Just don't know if it'll be useful."

Meanwhile, the White-Robed Youth was clearly sizing him up too.

From the very start, he'd noticed something off about this cat.

Its speed was unreasonably fast.

Its aura was hidden extremely deep.

It looked like nothing more than a fluffy white cat, but when it ran at full tilt, faint silver traces trailed behind its tail.

Even stranger, he couldn't see through this cat at all.

This made the White-Robed Youth's heart tighten in secret.

But now was clearly not the time to dwell on it.

Because the Marshwing Blood Leech behind them was about to catch up.

"Hiss—"

A long screech tore through the sky above the Black Marsh.

Black water churned.

Mud waves surged in all directions.

That Marshwing Blood Leech, over fifty thousand years old, opened its huge mouth full of fine teeth, drawing closer and closer to the two of them.

And farther off, that even more terrifying aura from the deepest part of the Black Marsh had already been thoroughly roused.

If they dragged it out any longer, both big beasts would surround them, and neither of them would be able to leave.

Thinking of this, Lin Yan finally stopped pretending.

With a stir of his mental energy, he directly sent a thought to the White-Robed Youth.

[Running like this, we'll be caught sooner or later.]

The White-Robed Youth was clearly taken aback.

He jerked his head to look at the white cat beside him.

"You can transmit thoughts?"

[No shit,] Lin Yan shot back, annoyed.

[What time is it, and you're still worried about that?]

[Do you have a way to seriously wound it?]

[I can trap it for an instant.]

A flicker of shock passed through the White-Robed Youth's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

Now wasn't the time to be stunned either.

He replied with his mental energy, his tone rapid.

[I do.]

"If you can actually trap it for one breath, I can wound it."

Lin Yan's heart immediately understood upon hearing this.

"Alright."

"Good that you have a backup plan."

"I was afraid you'd been running with some broken trinket the whole time without knowing how to use it."

Almost the moment he made his decision, the Marshwing Blood Leech behind them had already charged into range.

Its massive maw opened wide.

Leathery wings flapped.

A stench of blood hit their faces.

Lin Yan's gaze sharpened as he simultaneously pressed his soul power and mental energy toward a single point.

Moon Mark Time Slow.

Activate!

In an instant, everything around them seemed to lag by a beat.

Not a complete standstill.

But the Marshwing Blood Leech charging at the front clearly stiffened—its gaping maw, its flapping wings, its whipping tendrils all slowed down in that moment.

As if pressed into an invisible, viscous curtain of water.

The White-Robed Youth's pupils contracted sharply.

His cultivation was not low, and his eyesight was even sharper.

He could naturally tell that this was no simple speed-reducing soul skill.

This was a technique involving time itself!

But he also knew this was no time to be stunned.

The next moment, the Pale Gold Feather Blade in his hand blazed brightly.

The youth flicked his wrist.

The feather blade grew with the wind, transforming in an instant into a slender golden light blade.

Holy.

Sharp.

The moment its aura emerged, even Lin Yan was briefly startled.

"This scent..."

"The Angel Lineage?"

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than the golden light blade slashed toward the Marshwing Blood Leech.

No flashy trajectory.

Just a straightforward cut.

But as that cut descended, the air tore apart like paper.

The light blade swept through.

Striking precisely at the junction between the Marshwing Blood Leech's head and neck.

"Pfft—"

A dull thud.

Black blood sprayed out.

Lin Yan even saw the light blade plunge deep into its body, slicing through masses of flesh like a hot knife through butter.

The Marshwing Blood Leech let out a piercing, ear-splitting shriek on the spot.

Half its body went crooked.

It crashed straight from midair into the Black Marsh below.

A great splash of filthy water erupted.

"Holy crap!"

Lin Yan, in his cat form, was completely shocked.

"What the hell is that?"

"A soul skill?"

"A soul bone?"

"Or some kind of treasure?"

No wonder he was stunned.

This is a soul beast over fifty thousand years old—and not just any beast, but a thick-skinned, fast-healing Marshwing Blood Leech.

Yet with that single strike, it nearly split half its head open.

That kind of power couldn't be described with mere "impressive."

The White-Robed Youth landed his hit, but his face turned even paler.

The golden light blade quickly retracted, reforming into that pale golden feather blade, which he gripped tightly in his hand.

And almost at the same moment, Lin Yan's Moon Mark Time Slow reached its limit.

A large chunk of his soul power drained away in an instant.

"Hiss..."

His head spun slightly.

"Still too mana-hungry."

"But the good news is, at least it wasn't wasted."

The bad news, though—

That big one behind them, though heavily wounded, wasn't dead at all.

And the even more terrifying aura deeper within was drawing closer and closer.

Deep in the Black Marsh, a massive swell of black water bulged up like a mountain.

Clearly, the fiercer thing was about to surface.

"Go!"

Lin Yan's voice transmission spat out just one word.

The White-Robed Youth didn't waste any words either, immediately turning to follow.

Man and cat both sped up again.

But this time, they hadn't gone far before Lin Yan noticed something wrong.

The White-Robed Youth's speed was dropping.

Not deliberately holding back.

Truly slower.

That last strike of his had clearly drained him heavily.

Lin Yan took one look and understood.

"Crap."

"That guy nearly emptied himself with that attack."

Glancing back, the Marshwing Blood Leech, though grievously wounded, had gone completely berserk.

Dragging a body soaked in black blood, it took to the air again, screeching endlessly.

And the flying soul beasts stirred up from behind had all swarmed in pursuit.

Worst of all, that deeper, heavier presence was closing in fast.

If they didn't find a way to widen the gap now, once that old monster behind them showed its face, they were truly finished.

With that thought, Lin Yan didn't hesitate.

Mimic Breath dispersed.

His body, once no bigger than a housecat, suddenly swelled.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a white spirit cat over three meters long, limbs long and lean, fur fluffy, and a single flick of his tail trailing a streak of pale silver afterimages.

The White-Robed Youth froze for a moment.

He probably hadn't expected that the creature barely bigger than an ordinary cat a moment ago had a true form like this.

Lin Yan couldn't be bothered with him.

"Don't just stand there."

"Get on!"

The White-Robed Youth snapped out of it, didn't waste time asking questions, and with a light push off the ground, landed squarely on Lin Yan's back.

The first thing he felt was soft.

Then warm.

And finally, fast.

Almost the moment he steadied himself, Lin Yan shot forward like a white blur.

"Hang on tight."

"If you fall off, this kitty's not fishing you out."

The corner of the White-Robed Youth's mouth twitched, but he obediently grabbed hold of the fur on Lin Yan's back.

Lin Yan sneered inwardly as he flew.

"What's the point of spacing out at a time like this?"

"What, never seen such an adorable meow meow before?"

The pursuit behind him grew more urgent.

But Lin Yan couldn't afford to feel sorry for his soul power now.

Swallowing Souls and Absorbing the Moon, Mimic Breath, Moon Mark Time Slow—he cycled through them all, buying distance wherever he could.

This escape lasted an entire night.

Somewhere in the middle, the White-Robed Youth seemed to catch his breath and managed to strike out once more, forcing back two flying soul beasts that had gotten too close.

But those pale golden feather blades were clearly not something to be used lightly.

After the second strike, his face had turned alarmingly pale.

So for most of the latter half of the journey, it was basically Lin Yan flying solo.

As dawn approached, they finally shook off the horde of fierce beasts behind them.

Lin Yan didn't rush to land. Instead, he first swept his spiritual sense carefully over the surroundings several times.

Only after confirming there was no unusual aura nearby did he slowly descend to a cliff edge.

A night of frantic running—even he was a bit tired.

Not to mention he'd been carrying someone on his back.

"Alright."

"We're safe."

The moment Lin Yan sent this message, he found that the White-Robed Youth on his back hadn't moved for a while.

"Hm?"

"Why aren't you getting off?"

The White-Robed Youth seemed to snap back to reality, then hurriedly jumped off his back with some awkwardness.

"Apologies, I was... a bit distracted."

Lin Yan shot him a glance.

He could tell, of course—this guy wasn't just spacing out.

He simply hadn't recovered from the fact that he'd just spent half the night riding a giant white cat.

Thinking of this, Lin Yan felt a swell of pride.

"Normal."

"Who can blame me when this meow's back feels this good?"

Just as he finished his silent boast, the White-Robed Youth raised his hands in a bow.

"Thank you for the rescue, friend."

"If not for your help, this humble one would have had a hard time escaping this time."

Lin Yan didn't answer right away. Instead, he shrank his form back to its original white cat size, then crouched on the cliff edge, looking up at him.

The White-Robed Youth also looked down at this suddenly shrunken cat, his eyes still carrying obvious surprise.

Lin Yan knew exactly what he was thinking.

A white cat that could telepathically communicate, manipulate time, and suddenly grow large enough to carry a person—anyone would need a second to process it.

But right now, Lin Yan was more concerned about something else.

Those golden feather blades.

And that fleeting trace of angelic aura.

With that in mind, Lin Yan didn't beat around the bush. He sent a direct telepathic message:

"Who are you?"

The White-Robed Youth paused.

Clearly, he was weighing his words too.

After all, he hadn't fully figured out this cat's background either.

Both had saved each other, but true trust? That was still far off.

After a few breaths of silence, the White-Robed Youth finally spoke.

"This humble one... is Qinghe."

Lin Yan's ears twitched.

"Qinghe?"

The name sounded somewhat familiar.

But not enough.

So he pressed further.

"Full name."

The White-Robed Youth glanced at him, likely realizing this cat wasn't so easy to fool, and finally added another sentence.

"Xue Qinghe."

Lin Yan's originally calm little face instantly froze.

"Wait."

"What did you say your name was?"