Falling Sunset Sword Technique

Ye An ran a distance before stopping behind a clump of bushes, crouching down and keeping his breathing as soft as possible.

The surroundings were very quiet, and a few wisps of moonlight leaking through the gaps in the tree canopy fell upon the withered leaves on the ground, casting a silvery-white glow.

He waited in place for a long time, until confirming there were no pursuers behind him, before slowly straightening up, intending to detour back to the beast arena from another direction.

Just as he took two steps, a very faint gasp came from deep in the grass, like something had been pressed against its throat and did not dare to breathe hard.

Ye An's movements froze.

He walked a few steps in that direction, parted a clump of waist-high tangled weeds, and by the moonlight made out the person half-lying beneath an old tree root: Song Qingci.

Her dress had been torn by tree branches in several places, most of her hair was disheveled, and her face was stained with dirt and dried blood.

Her right hand still clutched that sword, but the tip of the sword hung down against the ground, supported only by her final shred of strength.

Seeing Ye An, her pupils contracted slightly, then she forced herself to sit up a bit straighter, her voice pressed very flat: "Junior brother, leave here quickly, it's not safe."

Ye An looked at her without speaking.

Song Qingci's tone and demeanor were completely different from before.

It was as if she had suddenly transformed into a good senior sister who was considerate of her subordinates and concerned about her peers.

Ye An stood in place without moving or answering, his gaze shifting from her face to her sword-wielding hand, and then to the rise and fall of her chest.

She was still forcing herself to hold on, but her breathing was already noticeably intermittent; every time she took a breath, her shoulders would tremble slightly.

Sensing that Ye An had no intention of leaving, Song Qingci changed her tone, softening it a bit: "Junior Brother Ye, I am the daughter of the Song Family. If you rescue me and take me out, the Song Family will definitely not treat you unfairly, and even within the Four Symbols Sect, I can protect you from being bullied among the outer sect disciples."

Ye An did not reply.

Seeing that he had no reaction, Song Qingci hurriedly added: "As long as you save me, whatever you want, I can give it to you."

Ye An looked at her and slowly took a step forward.

"Senior Sister Song, you are heavily injured." Ye An's voice was very soft.

Did someone who directly let her subordinates go to die for her own interests really have such a good heart? What kind of credibility could someone have who pushed people out to block blades directly for her own life?!

Ye An did not want to gamble, and he had no idea if Song Qingci survived today and returned to the Four Symbols Sect and the Song Family... whether she would use underhanded tricks against him! Ye An—he did not dare to gamble!

Ye An's gaze drifted down from her face, lingering for a split second on her dirt-stained collar.

Song Qingci's eyes flickered for an instant, and she coughed, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. "Junior Brother Ye, as long as you rescue me... I will agree to all your demands, even if it is... me..."

Feeling Ye An approach, Song Qingci closed her eyes. She thought viciously in her heart: Disgusting thing, once I return to the Four Symbols Sect, I will definitely tell the Song Family to have you killed the moment you step outside!

The next second, her eyes snapped open, her pupils violently constricting.

Ye An's finger had already pressed against her throat, the force precise and withdrawn the moment it touched, internal energy seeping in along his fingertips to cut off the circulation of Qi and blood at the side of her neck, leaving her unable even to cry out.

Song Qingci's body stiffened for a moment, and then, as if drained of all strength, her torso sliding slowly down against the tree trunk.

She opened her mouth, a few blurry syllables issuing from her throat: "Uh... Uh..."

She could not speak, and the light in those eyes was rapidly dimming.

Ye An squatted down beside her, looking at her gradually scattering gaze, his voice very flat: "Senior sister really has a noble and forgetful memory; didn't you want to use me to block a blade earlier?"

Song Qingci's gaze froze, coming to a complete stop.

Ye An did not look any further and rummaged through her belongings. A small money pouch containing roughly a few dozen strands of fragmented silver. A thin booklet—"Rosy Cloud Sword Art", low-grade spirit grade. Ye An flipped through two pages; the sword technique was not overly profound, but its advantage lay in fast circulation, making it suitable to use in conjunction with movement techniques.

As for the sword at her side, Ye An glanced at it and did not touch it. The Song Family's mark was carved onto the scabbard, making it too conspicuous and bound to stir up unnecessary trouble later on.

He tucked the money pouch and booklet into his tunic and destroyed some of the traces. Finally, standing up, he glanced around to confirm he had left no obvious tracks, then turned and headed back along the original path.

The moonlight was still overhead, and the night wind passing through the tree canopy made a rustling sound, quickly drowning out the sound of his departing footsteps.

Four Symbols Sect Outer Sect.

Two disciples wearing Inner Sect Deacon Uniforms walked into A Courtyard and directly knocked on the door of Room Number Three.

The person walking in front was tall and thin, with upright features and a sharp edge between his brows. He glanced at Ye An without entering, standing outside the threshold with a lukewarm tone: "Come with us."

Ye An did not ask any more questions and stood up to follow.

The questioning took place in a small courtyard within the outer sect.

A table and two chairs were set up inside the room. The tall and thin man sat behind the table while the other stood by the window; he looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a peaceful expression and a much gentler aura, lacking the sharpness of the former.

The tall and thin man spoke first: "Coming to see you today is to understand the course of events once more. Tell it again."

Ye An gave the same explanation as before.

Patrolling, discovering abnormalities, encountering Heaven Overturning Cult members, killing one, the appearance of a beast, Night Owl snatching the beast, and Senior Sister Song ordering a pursuit.

Ye An was not foolish enough to mention the part where he killed Song Qingci, and he also omitted the details of Song Qingci using someone else to block a sword and escaping by herself, only saying that he chased for a stretch, encountered a cultist attack while on the way, killed a few more cultists himself, and had not seen Song Qingci after returning to the beast arena.

Hearing this, the tall and thin man suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a trace of uncontainable anger: "You're saying Senior Sister Song was heavily injured and her whereabouts are unknown, while you, an outer sect disciple at the Third Body Tempering, managed to walk back safe and sound?"

Ye An looked at him with a placid expression on his face: "Does senior brother mean that I should have died there as well?"

The tall and thin man did not reply, though his anger remained unmasked.

The gentle man beside him raised a hand and pressed it onto his shoulder: "Senior Brother Shen, calm yourself."

Lu Yun turned to Ye An, his tone regaining a bit of calmness, as if sorting through a complex matter: "Night Owl of the Heaven Overturning Cult has appeared, the beast was seized, and Senior Sister Song's whereabouts are unknown. The sect will investigate these matters. It's already no small feat that you were able to come back alive and bring these news back."

He stood up, added a few strokes to the record ledger, closed it, and nodded slightly toward Ye An: "Junior brother, the sect will remember this merit for bringing back news of the Heaven Overturning Cult this time. The outer sect Mission Hall will add a record of contribution to your name. The sect will continue investigating the matter of Senior Sister Song, and I will help you follow up on the credit."

Ye An cupped his fists: "Many thanks, senior brother."

The two of them stood up and left. As they reached the door, Shen Li, the tall and thin man, looked back at Ye An with a gaze that seemed intent on carving his face into memory, then pushed the door open and walked out. Lu Yun, the peaceful man, followed behind him, nodding toward Ye An just before stepping out the door.