Who Are You?

"Bad luck, bad luck, damn it, this is such bad luck."

Lin Yan raced ahead, cursing to himself three times in a row.

"I just wanted to look around somewhere, and I ran straight into a Soul Beast nest of this level."

"What the hell kind of place is this Black Marsh?"

He cursed aloud, but his speed never slackened.

The White-Robed Youth was running ahead of him, too.

They skimmed over the Black Marsh side by side, one on the left and one on the right. Neither said a word, but they tacitly stayed together.

They both knew why.

This wasn't a matter of whether they wanted to team up.

If they split up, neither of them was guaranteed to survive any longer.

In a gap between bursts of flight, Lin Yan finally took a good look at the White-Robed Youth.

The youth wore a plain white robe, and his hair was simply tied back. His face was a little pale, as if he'd spent a great deal of Soul Power.

He kept clutching something in his hand.

It was tiny and pale gold, shaped like a feather blade, or perhaps half of an extremely thin metal feather.

The youth held it tightly, as if protecting some trump card.

"This guy really does have something up his sleeve."

Lin Yan narrowed his eyes.

"Just don't know if it'll be any use."

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

He'd noticed from the start that something was off about this cat.

Its speed was absurd.

Its presence was hidden incredibly well.

It looked like nothing more than a fluffy white cat, yet when it ran at full speed, faint silver streaks trailed behind its tail.

What was stranger still was that he couldn't see through the cat.

The White-Robed Youth felt a flicker of unease.

But this was clearly no time to dwell on it.

The Marshwing Blood Leech behind them was almost upon them.

"Shreee—"

A long cry ripped through the air above the Black Marsh.

Black water surged.

Mud splashed everywhere.

The Marshwing Blood Leech, over fifty thousand years old, was closing in on them, its mouth gaping wide with rows of fine teeth.

Farther away, the even more terrifying presence from the depths of the Black Marsh had also been fully roused.

If they dragged this out, the two monsters would surround them. Neither of them would get away.

At last, Lin Yan stopped pretending.

His Soul Power stirred, and he sent a thought directly to the White-Robed Youth.

[Keep running like this, and it'll catch us sooner or later.]

The White-Robed Youth visibly froze.

He turned sharply to look at the white cat beside him.

"You can communicate telepathically?"

[Obviously.]

Lin Yan answered curtly.

[And this is the time you're worrying about that?]

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

[I can restrain it for an instant.]

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

This wasn't the time to be shocked.

He answered just as quickly through their mental link.

[Yes.]

[If you can restrain it for one breath, I can hurt it.]

Lin Yan immediately understood.

"All right."

"Good thing you've got a backup plan."

"I was worried you'd been running around clutching that useless trinket without knowing how to use it."

Almost as soon as he made up his mind, the Marshwing Blood Leech charged into range.

Its huge mouth snapped open and shut.

Its fleshy wings beat.

Its foul stench hit them in the face.

Lin Yan's gaze sharpened. He focused his Soul Power and mental strength on a single point.

Moon Mark Time Slow.

Activate!

In an instant, everything around them seemed to lag.

It wasn't completely still.

But the Marshwing Blood Leech, charging ahead faster than anything else, stiffened noticeably. Its gaping mouth, beating wings, and whipping feelers all slowed at that moment.

As though it had been plunged into an invisible curtain of viscous water.

The White-Robed Youth's pupils shrank.

His cultivation was high, and his eyesight was keen.

He could tell this wasn't a simple slowing Soul Skill.

It was a power that involved time!

But he knew this wasn't the time to stand there in a daze.

The next moment, the pale gold Feather Blade in his hand flashed brightly.

The youth flicked his wrist.

The Feather Blade expanded in the wind, turning in the blink of an eye into a long, slender blade of golden light.

Holy.

Sharp.

Even Lin Yan was taken aback by the aura it gave off.

"This aura..."

"Angel Lineage?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the golden light blade slashed toward the Marshwing Blood Leech.

There was no fancy trajectory.

Just a straightforward slash.

Yet as it fell, the air split open like paper.

The blade of light swept through.

It struck the Marshwing Blood Leech where its head joined its neck.

"Pfft—"

A muffled thud.

Black blood sprayed out.

Lin Yan even saw the blade sink into its body, slicing through a mass of flesh like a hot knife through butter.

The Marshwing Blood Leech let out a long, piercing shriek.

Half its body sagged.

It plunged straight from the air into the Black Marsh.

A great wave of filthy water exploded.

"Holy crap!"

Lin Yan was so startled that his whole body jolted.

"What was that?"

"A Soul Skill?"

"A Soul Bone?"

"Or some kind of treasure?"

It was no wonder he was shocked.

This was a Soul Beast over fifty thousand years old, and the Marshwing Blood Leech had tough hide and incredible regenerative abilities.

Yet one strike had nearly split half its head open.

"Powerful" didn't even begin to describe it.

The White-Robed Youth had landed his blow, but his face had grown even paler.

The golden light blade shrank rapidly, reverting to the pale gold Feather Blade, which he clutched tightly once more.

At nearly the same time, Lin Yan reached the limit of Moon Mark Time Slow.

His Soul Power dropped by more than half all at once.

"Hss..."

His head spun a little.

"Still costs too much Soul Power."

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

The bad news was—

Although the monster behind them had been badly wounded, it wasn't dead.

The more terrifying presence in the depths was drawing closer, too.

Far inside the Black Marsh, a huge patch of black water had already bulged up like a mountain.

The even more ferocious creature was clearly about to emerge.

"Go!"

Lin Yan sent a single word through their mental link.

The White-Robed Youth didn't waste time replying. He immediately changed direction with him.

The man and cat accelerated again.

But they hadn't gone far before Lin Yan noticed something was wrong.

The White-Robed Youth had slowed down.

He wasn't holding back on purpose.

He was genuinely slowing down.

That last strike had clearly cost him dearly.

Lin Yan took one look and immediately understood.

"Damn it."

"That last attack nearly drained him dry."

Behind them, the Marshwing Blood Leech had been badly wounded, but it had gone completely berserk.

It took to the air again, covered in black blood, and shrieked without end.

The flying Soul Beasts that had been roused were also charging after them in a swarm.

Worst of all, the heavier, more terrifying presence was drawing closer by the second.

If they didn't find a way to put some distance between them now, they'd be done for once that old monster showed itself.

With that thought, Lin Yan didn't hesitate.

Mimic Breath faded.

His body, previously no bigger than an ordinary housecat, suddenly grew.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a white spirit cat over a zhang long, with long limbs and fluffy fur. His tail swept out, trailing silvery afterimages.

The White-Robed Youth froze.

He probably hadn't expected the creature that had looked only a little bigger than an ordinary cat to be this large in its true form.

Lin Yan couldn't be bothered with his reaction.

"Stop staring."

"Get on!"

Only then did the White-Robed Youth react. He didn't bother asking questions and leaped straight onto Lin Yan's back.

The first thing he noticed was how soft it was.

Then how warm.

Only after that did he notice how fast they were moving.

The moment he steadied himself, Lin Yan shot off like a white streak.

"Hold on tight."

"If you fall off, this meow isn't fishing you out."

The White-Robed Youth's mouth twitched, but he obediently grabbed Lin Yan's fur.

As Lin Yan flew, he sneered to himself.

"You're still spacing out at a time like this?"

"What, have you never seen someone as adorable as Lord Meow Meow?"

The pursuit from behind grew more and more relentless.

But Lin Yan couldn't afford to worry about his Soul Power anymore.

He took turns using Soul Devour Moon, Mimic Breath, and Moon Mark Time Slow. Every bit of distance he could put between them and their pursuers counted.

He fled like that for an entire night.

At some point, the White-Robed Youth seemed to have recovered a little. He managed to strike once more, forcing back two flying Soul Beasts that had gotten too close.

But those pale golden feather blades clearly weren't something he could use carelessly.

After that second strike, his face had gone deathly pale.

So for most of the rest of the journey, Lin Yan was essentially the one carrying them through the air.

Just before dawn, they finally shook off the Ferocious Beast horde behind them.

Lin Yan didn't hurry to land. Instead, he carefully swept the area several times with his spiritual power.

Only after confirming there were no unusual auras nearby did he slowly come to a stop beside a cliff.

After a whole night of fleeing, even he was a little tired.

And he still had someone riding on his back.

"All right."

"We're safe now."

Lin Yan had just sent him the message when he realized the White-Robed Youth on his back hadn't moved for a long time.

"Hm?"

"Why haven't you gotten down yet?"

The White-Robed Youth seemed to snap back to his senses. He quickly jumped off Lin Yan's back, looking a little awkward.

"Sorry, I was a little... distracted."

Lin Yan glanced at him.

Of course he could tell the guy hadn't simply been spacing out.

He just hadn't gotten over the fact that he'd spent half the night riding on a giant white cat.

At the thought, Lin Yan felt a little smug.

"Understandable."

"After all, riding on my back really is quite comfortable."

He'd barely finished praising himself when the White-Robed Youth raised a hand in salute.

"Thank you for saving me, friend."

"If you hadn't stepped in, I'm afraid I would have had a hard time escaping this time."

Lin Yan didn't answer right away. He first shrank back down to his original size, returning to his white cat form. Then he sat by the cliff and looked up at him.

The White-Robed Youth looked down at the suddenly shrunken cat, surprise still plain in his eyes.

Lin Yan knew exactly what he was thinking.

A white cat that could communicate telepathically, manipulate time, and suddenly grow large enough to carry someone would make anyone stop and wonder.

But that wasn't what mattered most to Lin Yan right now.

There was something else.

Those golden feather blades.

And that fleeting trace of angelic aura.

Thinking of this, Lin Yan didn't beat around the bush. He sent the question directly:

"Who are you?"

The White-Robed Youth paused.

Clearly, he was weighing his answer.

After all, he hadn't completely figured out this cat either.

They had both saved each other, but that didn't mean they trusted each other—not by a long shot.

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

"I am... Qinghe."

Lin Yan's ears twitched.

"Qinghe?"

The name sounded a little familiar.

But it wasn't enough.

So he pressed on.

"Your full name."

The White-Robed Youth glanced at him. He probably understood that this cat wasn't easy to fool, and finally added:

"Xue Qinghe."

Lin Yan's usually calm little face froze instantly.

"Wait."

"What did you say your name was?"