In This Frightened World, Only You and I (6)

Bang!

The battle erupted in an instant!

The ground caved in, branches snapped.

The beastified corpse charged forward at breakneck speed.

The girl's loose, ink-black hair stretched into a straight line through the air, while the short blade in her hand traced a streak of icy silver-blue light.

The two crossed paths in the blink of an eye.

The instant Ruan Su's short blade struck that hard flesh, a layer of eerie blue flame immediately coated its edge.

But the item Meng Peijiu had given her was top-grade. Coupled with Ruan Su's force, the tortoise shell around the beastified corpse's wrist shattered instantly. Then, that furry, leopard-like hand spun rapidly as it flew high into the air!

Her body drawing an arc through midair, Ruan Su landed gracefully. Frowning as she lowered her eyes, she cast a cold glance at the burning short blade in her hand and was about to shake it hard to fling away the ghostly blue flames, but the flames dissipated first.

The blue flames could not remain detached for long.

Understanding flashed through Ruan Su's eyes. After confirming that the Patterned Blade had not deformed in the slightest, she coldly looked toward the terrifying monster that had crossed paths with her.

The beastified corpse, having lost one hand, did not let out the slightest pained shriek, nor did it bother with its severed palm. It silently rolled over and crawled up. Yet just as it rose, its head quietly tilted, slid from its neck, and rolled onto the ground with a rumble.

It was Qin Yi's Silk Thread Blade Line.

In the hair's breadth when the beastified corpse's attention had been drawn to Ruan Su, the Silk Thread Blade Line silently sliced across its neck before being burned away by that wisp of ghostly blue flame.

Intense dizziness assailed his mind once more. Under the Pulse Soulburst state, the dissipation of three Resonance Threads had already pushed Qin Yi close to his current limit. He forcibly steadied himself and raised his pale face to look ahead.

Yet as far as his eyes could see, that headless beastified corpse still stood in the forest.

Even after losing its head, it had not lost its ability to move. But it could no longer stir up any trouble.

The beastified corpse was not very intelligent. It possessed only its stats and mechanisms. With Ruan Su drawing its attention, after only a few exchanges, the siblings' seamless coordination had carved it into a human stump with no threat left at all.

At last, everything returned to silence. The bloody stench of blood splattered across the fallen leaves was swept into the distance by the cold wind.

Dragging his heavy steps, Qin Yi lightly braced himself against an ancient tree before finally steadying his body. This battle had drained him too severely, to the point that every part of his body was sounding alarms of weakness.

So,

when he saw his sister hurtling toward him in a flying bear hug, Qin Yi merely sighed so faintly it was almost imperceptible. He had no strength at all to control the Resonance Threads and flee.

Rustle...

Under the tremendous impact, the siblings both rolled onto the soft ground blanketed in thick fallen leaves.

"Xiao Yi, you're amazing!"

The girl straddled the boy, cupping his pale little face. Her lowered beautiful eyes brimmed with excitement. "Just now, I was worried about what we'd do if that thing touched us!"

Qin Yi lay sprawled on the ground, feeling the girl's not-too-heavy weight on him. He sighed softly and said in a low voice:

"I'm tired. Don't sit on me."

"Oh, oh!"

Ruan Su hurriedly got up. The smile on her face could not be suppressed as she helped Qin Yi up from the ground. As if she had suddenly remembered—or perhaps had been holding it in for a long time—she abruptly asked him:

"Xiao Yi, you... aren't leaving anymore, right?"

Qin Yi turned his head and glanced at his sister with dark eyes.

Ruan Su immediately defended herself, twirling her long hair around her slender index finger as she said:

"I... I was just asking casually. I didn't mean anything else. If you want to leave, I can stay in Yellow Bamboo Town and wait for you."

Qin Yi withdrew his gaze and looked at the corpse in the distance, now covered with a few yellow leaves. He gently shook his head.

"Everyone's dead. Where else could I go?"

"Mhm! That's true."

Hearing that, Ruan Su's eyes immediately curved into a smile. Her face shone brilliantly, revealing her little canine teeth. But she did not say anything more about it. She simply bent down, hoisted Qin Yi onto her back, and started walking toward Yellow Bamboo Town as she quietly asked:

"Xiao Yi, what was that disgusting monster just now?"

Lying on the girl's back, Qin Yi had grown quite a bit taller these past few days, yet she was still half a head taller than him. Out of habit, he rested his chin on her shoulder. The familiar scent of soapberry lingered at the tip of his nose as he answered softly in an even tone:

"A cultivator."

"Hm? You mean you can become like that too, Xiao Yi? That's so ama—"

"No. The paths are different. He should have cultivated the Soul Mound."

"Uh... Soul Mound?"

"It is a cultivation method that uses one's own body as a mound to bind souls. Normally, the souls can be summoned as guards. When trapped in a dead end... one can probably merge them into one's body like that and beastify oneself."

"Oh, oh!"

It was unclear whether Ruan Su understood, but she merely kept her eyes curved happily and nodded again and again.

"That's impressive. But we're even more impressive, hmph hmph."

If only she could stop being so foolish normally and be like this when she fought.

Qin Yi turned his dark eyes to look at her profile. A strange thought flashed through his mind, and he gently shook his head again.

The cold wind swept through the fallen leaves, covering the path they had taken. Mottled daylight filtering into the forest shone upon their close figures.

Forget it... this is good too.

So Qin Yi thought. The corners of his lips lifted almost imperceptibly as he quietly asked:

"Sis, did the boss know when you ran over here?"

Ruan Su's body trembled slightly beneath him. She shrank her neck, belatedly realizing that she seemed to have caused trouble.

"...He knows."

After a pause, she timidly added:

"Xiao Yi... when I came, I smashed a hole in the boss's very luxurious carriage. It'll probably cost a lot of silver to compensate..."

"..."

Qin Yi closed his eyes speechlessly. His arms wrapped around her neck as he comforted her softly by her ear:

"Don't be afraid. The old boss won't fuss over that. If we walk a little farther, we'll probably run into them."

"Eh?"

Ruan Su gave a small cry of surprise. Her earlobes felt a little itchy as she asked in a low voice, "Then... the matter with that prominent Central Plains family... the boss won't fuss over that either?"

This time, Qin Yi thought seriously for quite a while before slowly answering:

"It's fine. I'll handle it."

"Mhm!"

Ruan Su lifted the hands wrapped around the boy's legs slightly, letting him lie more comfortably on her back. A faint smile lingered at the corners of her pressed lips.

She no longer thought about it, because Xiao Yi had said he would handle it.

Stepping through the heavy fallen leaves with soft rustling sounds, after walking some distance, Qin Yi's thoughts continued endlessly. Weighing all the information, he finally made a decision and spoke:

"Sis, once we meet the old boss, we should prepare to leave Yellow Bamboo Town."

"Hm? Eh?"

Ruan Su instinctively whipped her head around. Strands of hair directly lashed Qin Yi across the face as she widened those clear eyes and asked:

"What about me?"

"..."

Qin Yi said nothing. He merely looked at her quietly.

Seeing this, Ruan Su finally put her heart back in her stomach. She pursed her lips and muttered softly:

"Xiao Yi, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

Ruan Su answered immediately. Her tall body bent slightly as she tried to avoid an overhanging branch, and Qin Yi habitually raised a hand to brush it aside for them.

After a pause, she asked softly:

"Then should we go back and pack our luggage?"

Qin Yi did not answer. Instead, he asked:

"Aren't you going to ask why we're leaving?"

"Why?" Ruan Su asked immediately.

Qin Yi fell silent for several breaths, suppressing the enormous chain of thoughts in his heart about finding a way to activate the other party's brain before speaking:

"The Shu Region sits peacefully in a corner. There probably isn't anyone capable of contending against the Meng mother and daughter. Only by going to the Central Plains, to a greater world, can we try to borrow others' power against them."

"Mm..."

Ruan Su narrowed her slender eyes slightly, seeming to ponder the matter seriously for a moment. But then the conversation abruptly veered away, and she continued asking:

"So, Xiao Yi, are we going back to pack our luggage?"

"No!"

Qin Yi immediately snapped irritably, "Once we meet up, I'll trade the breathing method from Nine Songs to him for some silver. Consider it an investment. Then we'll head north directly, leave this place, and go to the Central Plains."

Ruan Su was somewhat disappointed upon hearing that, but she adjusted her mood in an instant and smiled with curved eyes.

"Alright, I understand."

This time, Qin Yi was surprised.

"Weren't there some things in the house that you were quite fond of?"

"Hmph hmph~"

Ruan Su smiled softly. Some glimmer flickered in her eyes as she replied with a smile:

"As long as I have you, Xiao Yi, that's enough. There'll always be new things anyway."

"..."

Upon hearing that, Qin Yi suddenly fell silent. He buried his head in the girl's neck, his pitch-black eyes revealing contemplation.

His state today was a little strange.

Why?

He did not understand.

With Qin Yi on her back, Ruan Su walked briskly through the mountains thick with lush forest. As she walked, she said expectantly in a voice bright as wind chimes:

"Mm... once we get to the Central Plains, we'll build another house. When I was little, I wasn't strong enough to carry heavy things. This time, we can make it bigger! A courtyard house like the boss's would be nice, very pretty. Then we can sleep in whichever room we want.

"And, Xiao Yi, I heard Uncle Peng say that the Central Plains has children's examinations and imperial examinations too. He said they're specially for children around our age. Xiao Yi, you can try them then. You're so smart, you'll definitely pass. Once you have the title of student, maybe you can even become an official..."

Before she had finished speaking, two short breaths sounded by her ear. The boy behind her seemed to be laughing. Ruan Su instinctively turned back, only to see his calm, placid expression.

Qin Yi exhaled a puff of white breath, which vanished instantly in the cold wind. He explained softly:

"Sis, a student is not an academic title. Scholar is. Anyone qualified to take the imperial examinations is a student, but that requires things like household registration to prove your identity. As for building a house... a city is not some mountain hollow like Yellow Bamboo Town. They won't allow you to build wherever you please."

"Eh..."

Ruan Su's voice lowered slightly, as though she were a little disappointed. But she immediately cast it aside and gave a soft huff.

"It's fine. Anyway, all that is as easy as turning over one's hand for you, Xiao Yi."

Qin Yi: "..."

He was helpless against Ruan Su's habit of discarding her brain at any time, but there was nothing he could do about it.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Yi still said slowly:

"Sis, once we go to the Central Plains, we could encounter cultivators at any time. Look at Fan You just now. I only killed him first because my sneak attack succeeded. Otherwise, with that physical strength and those eerie flames, plus his original combat instincts, we..."

"Fan You wasn't that formidable. Whether he was already dead or not, as long as he dared merge a soul into his body, becoming a corpse was a foregone conclusion..."

The abruptly ringing male voice interrupted Qin Yi's words. Almost in the very next instant, Qin Yi felt the world spin around him as Ruan Su directly threw him flying!

At the same time,

Clang!!!

The sound of metal striking metal rang through the mountains!

Barely controlling the Resonance Threads to steady himself and land, Qin Yi saw that a middle-aged man in a loose green robe had appeared where the siblings had been standing moments earlier.

The frosty longsword in the man's hand rested casually upon the short blade Ruan Su had drawn in an instant to block it. Yet the scattered sparks at the point where blade and sword met displayed the terrifying force with which the two were now contending.

Buzz—

Ruan Su suddenly exerted force and swept upward, leaping backward as she rapidly retreated. Her cold gaze fell upon this middle-aged man she had met once before. She held her blade in one hand and covered her abdomen with the other, but the warm blood she had expected did not appear.

When she had retreated just now, this man's sword had clearly slashed across her waist and abdomen. Yet it seemed to have been blocked by the clothes Xiao Yi had given her.

Fu Ming did not pursue. He casually twirled his sword, cold air spreading as the temperature of the entire mountain forest fell several degrees further.

"To think such a small place has such a fine blade and a spirit robe. Tsk tsk, I've truly broadened my horizons."

He glanced at the blade in Ruan Su's hand, his words carrying a mildly easygoing smile.

"We meet again, little ones. We really are fated, aren't we? But unfortunately, it's under these circumstances..."