Qiu Mei opened the envelope and read the letter through, tears shining in her eyes.
Her face showed no expression at all, yet tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
Gao Fei realized that Li Jie must have gone to Spring Revival Pavilion first and learned that Gao Fei had redeemed Qiu Mei.
He had mistaken Qiu Mei for his wife.
Watching Li Jie flee as if for his life, Gao Fei thought, I'll explain it tomorrow!
Then he immediately reconsidered. No, wouldn't it be better if he thought he owed me a favor?
Having figured it out, Gao Fei did not linger. He rose and returned to his room. He did not know how to comfort people.
Seeing this, everyone around them shook their heads and turned back to their rooms. Matters like this had to be worked through alone; whatever others said was useless.
Only Xiaocui remained standing silently at the side, somewhat at a loss.
Early the next morning.
Gao Fei secretly took Gao Linyue's long spear and headed to the apothecary as agreed.
Li Qingyao and the other two had long since equipped themselves and were waiting in the inner courtyard.
The moment Gao Fei arrived, they set off at once.
This time, they searched eastward in the direction of Tao Hua Village. Several violent clashes of spiritual power had come from that direction.
All of them had prepared dried rations, ready to camp in the wild for an extended period.
Along the way, only dilapidated houses remained. Not a single person was in sight.
They often encountered a few dog demons with Unawakened Intelligence.
Gao Fei did not spare even those. If they were far away, he hurled his long spear directly; if they were close, he charged in using the power of his body. His physical body was extremely strong, and his speed was roughly on par with Lin Ye's.
He wanted even a single Merit Point. Sometimes, it could save a life.
Ten li outside the city, several large pits caused by external force appeared along the road, with broken trees scattered around them.
Thirty li out, they still had not discovered any demons.
After searching for an entire day, they found nothing.
This time, the four of them lit a fire and began roasting the corpses of the dog demons with Unawakened Intelligence that Gao Fei had killed.
Three days passed in a row without any gains. Gao Fei killed two dog demons, and together with the dog demons with Unawakened Intelligence, he gained fifty Merit Points.
Until the fourth day.
The four followed a group of more than a dozen rat demons to the outskirts of a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides.
The valley was thick with trees that blotted out the sky and covered the sun. Even its outskirts were filled with towering trees.
They did not approach, but from afar, they saw a strange sight.
Several hundred rat demons and more than ten cat demons were hiding together in the trees or grass without any conflict breaking out.
The group exchanged glances and, with perfect tacit understanding, stopped where they were to wait and see what these demons intended to do.
Soon, more than a dozen Spirit-Absorption Realm demons arrived, along with over a dozen black gorillas.
"Looks like they're planning to ambush someone?"
No one answered Lin Ye. No one paid attention to the nonsense of an unimportant person.
Gao Fei sensed the area. The underground magnetic field here was somewhat unusual, and his Shrinking Earth to Inches was severely affected.
According to what the Li siblings had said, the county magistrate should also cultivate Shrinking Earth to Inches.
Just as he was considering whether to mention it, two figures appeared in the distance and rushed over at high speed. They crisscrossed and frequently became entangled, one fleeing in another direction while the other blocked the way.
"Fox Demon, if you want to fight, then fight. What do you mean by blocking my path?"
"My dear County Magistrate, you keep crashing right into my weak spot every time. It feels so good!"
"You slutty fox, if you have some scheme, hurry up and show it. Let's see whether you can bear the wrath of a Great Wu."
"Don't be so worked up. I'm merely traveling the same road as you, so we happened to bump into each other. I'm a woman, and I don't even mind it, yet you, the one taking advantage, are threatening me instead."
"Don't think I don't know. The earth veins here are in chaos. You want to cripple my Shrinking Earth to Inches, but I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I've cultivated it to mastery and can still use it."
"So all along the way, you were teasing this old lady? I was wondering why every collision hit so precisely..."
"Stop acting slutty here. I was looking for your weak spot..."
County Magistrate Xue looked rather bedraggled. His scholar's robe was covered in grime, wrinkled beyond recognition, and riddled with holes.
Even his inner garments were tattered, exposing the scars that had already formed calluses on his body and the bloodstains on his clothes.
Even when he had answered the Fox Demon just now, he had lacked confidence.
Gao Fei watched the man and demon still running toward the encirclement.
He turned to glance at Li Jie nearby. Li Jie stood rooted to the spot, watching with a grave expression, without moving at all.
Even Li Qingyao remained composed, showing no intention of stopping them. It seemed they had not noticed the problem with the underground magnetic field.
Gao Fei could not stand by and watch the county magistrate who had saved his life fall into a trap. Besides, he could take this chance to test just how much the Fox Demon was worth.
No sooner thought than done. Spiritual power poured into his long spear, and Bright Force condensed throughout his body.
Gao Fei felt some regret. My Merit Points still aren't enough. Otherwise, I would have to try striking Dark Force through a weapon.
Fixing his gaze on their path, he stepped out just as they were about to draw near. Faint ripples of spiritual energy spread beneath his feet, space folded slightly, and he instantly appeared at the next point where the two figures would collide.
His long spear thrust out, catching the Fox Demon's body at exactly the right moment.
A narrow sword, three fingers wide, appeared upright in the air, its blade blocking the spear tip.
Clang!
The spiritual power produced little recoil. When the weapons collided, the sword suspended in the air merely trembled before falling still.
Gao Fei had expected this. He could not injure the Fox Demon, but he had not expected the gap between them to be so vast that he could not even break through the sword's defense.
The Fox Demon and County Magistrate Xue quickly retreated several steps, opening distance from Gao Fei.
Upon seeing who had arrived, County Magistrate Xue revealed a flicker of delight. This man was a genius. How long had it been since they last met? Yet he had already reached the Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm.
Then, as though remembering something, he hurried before Gao Fei. "Leave now. The cat demon and Yellow Weasel will catch up soon. Go to Qing Province and seek reinforcements."
"The earth veins ahead are abnormal. It's a trap."
Gao Fei had fought Yellow Great Immortal with his physical body before. Now that he had reached the Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm, he was not afraid of two demons at the Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected.
Instead, he was looking forward to the two demons.
When the Fox Demon saw Gao Fei's face, delight appeared on her face. She muttered to herself, "Such a thing exists? A Pure Yang Body that was drained dry can recover?"
She narrowed her eyes, and her delicate nose twitched. Her smile, which had filled her face moments ago, gradually faded and turned savage.
"Why do you carry the scent of my father's and eldest brother's Demon Cores?"
Gao Fei's heart tightened, and power began gathering in his palm. This is a fox, not a dog. How is her nose even sharper than a dog's? I barely held them for any time at all, yet she can smell them after so long. Is she trying to bluff me?
"I don't know, I don't recognize them, and I know nothing about it."
"You know nothing when asked three questions. Just like last time, once I catch you, you'll behave."
After the Fox Demon spoke, ripples of spiritual energy spread from beneath her feet. Her legs left behind countless afterimages as her body drifted toward Gao Fei with astonishing speed.
Gao Fei's consciousness could keep up, but his body could not react. He could only take a step at the last moment, appearing three zhang away.
The moment he steadied himself, the Fox Demon's arm followed like a shadow, reaching straight for his throat.
Transforming Force charged at full power for 10 seconds. Just as Gao Fei was about to strike, the Fox Demon's palm was blocked by a shield bearing a black palm print.
Gao Fei had no intention of stopping. He stepped in close, closing the distance before the fox could react.
Twelve seconds of charged Transforming Force erupted. That three-finger-wide sword appeared again, blocking Gao Fei's full-powered strike.
Clang...
The lingering echo did not last.
The sword blocked the attack, but cracks spread across its entire blade before it fell straight to the ground.
Before you continue