Leaving home

"Miss, what are you trying to do?" Cui'er asked in confusion. She watched helplessly as her mistress packed her clothes, wanting to help, only to be brushed aside.

Dongfang Minghui waved a hand. "Nothing. Go stand guard outside. Don't come in unless I call you."

Cui'er obediently withdrew, closing the door behind her.

Dongfang Minghui immediately changed into a maid's outfit, tied up her long hair, and haphazardly smeared some powder on her face. "Cui'er, I'm hungry. Go see what there is to eat in the kitchen and bring me two servings of pastries."

"Yes, Miss."

Once Cui'er had left, Dongfang Minghui peeked through the crack in the door and slipped out.

As soon as Dongfang Wanyu left the Dongfang Family, she hurried out after her. To keep The Female Lead from discovering her, she even changed into men's clothing, tied her hair up high, and hid her face behind a fan as she crept along after The Female Lead.

"You've got a little tail behind you. Aren't you worried she'll ruin our plans?" A cool male voice suddenly sounded in Dongfang Wanyu's mind.

Dongfang Wanyu snorted. "Her?" She wanted to see exactly what Dongfang Minghui was up to.

To keep up with The Female Lead, Dongfang Minghui dared not sleep too deeply at night, afraid she might oversleep. During the day, she didn't dare rest even a moment longer. After three days of this, she felt dizzy and exhausted. Yet The Female Lead looked full of energy, completely unaffected.

"Ugh, I've eaten all my rations. What am I supposed to do now?" Dongfang Minghui rummaged through her bundle. She had brought plenty of money and pills, but nowhere near enough food.

She had thought going out to gain experience meant seeing the world, staying at inns, drinking, and enjoying delicious food. Who would have thought it meant eating and sleeping outdoors without enough clothing to keep her covered? After just three days, she felt she couldn't take much more. Look, several blisters had already formed on the soles of her feet. At night, the pain kept her from sleeping; the old blisters rubbed raw and bled while new ones appeared.

"I can't live like this." Dongfang Minghui wanted to cry but had no tears. Out in this wilderness, she didn't even have anyone to complain to.

The next day, as the sun rose, the wild grasses shook the dew from their blades, mischievously sprinkling it all over Dongfang Minghui. She smacked her lips, sleeping soundly.

"Get up! She's leaving!"

"Lazybones, she's leaving! You're done for if she goes!"

Dongfang Minghui rolled over and murmured, "Who's leaving?"

"The Female Lead! She's already gone a long way!" the grasses chorused.

The Female Lead?

Dongfang Minghui jolted awake and sprang to her feet. Looking closely at where Dongfang Wanyu had slept the night before, she couldn't see a soul.

"Oh my goodness! Thank you!" Dongfang Minghui hurriedly pulled on her clothes and boots, then bounded off in pursuit.

"She caught up again. Hey, this little sister of yours really does seem to have some ability."

Dongfang Wanyu couldn't be bothered to respond and let him talk to himself. Still, Dongfang Minghui's persistence had exceeded her expectations.

After walking all morning, they were about to enter the Purple Demon Mountains. Dongfang Wanyu chose a spot to rest for a while.

Dongfang Minghui hid some distance away and rummaged through her bundle, unable to find a single scrap of food. "Am I supposed to starve to death here?"

She leaned against a tree stump and rested for a while, her stomach growling with hunger. Suddenly, Dongfang Minghui sat up straight. She had spotted a little white shape. "Hehe, there's my food."

With the little spiritual power she possessed, Dongfang Minghui soon caught the plump rabbit. She quickly cleaned it, skewered it on a branch without fuss, and put it over a fire to roast.

As the rabbit gradually cooked, its aroma drifted out. Golden fat dripped onto the grass, making her mouth water uncontrollably.

Worried the meat wasn't cooked through, Dongfang Minghui turned it a few extra times and poked it several times with her knife. When it was finally done, she immediately sliced off a rabbit leg.

The leg was scorching hot, so she wrapped it in green leaves, opened her mouth wide, and took a couple of bites. Without seasoning, the rabbit tasted a little gamey, but at least it had been roasted, and the skin was somewhat crisp. It would fill her stomach.

Dongfang Minghui quickly finished one leg and was about to cut off a second when she noticed a little squirrel sitting opposite her. When had it arrived? It was fluffy all over, its ears twitching, its gray eyes darting around the rabbit leg in her hand. Its front paws rested against its chest, and its little tongue flicked out again and again, looking unbearably hungry. Its thick, long tail swished over the grass. It was adorable.

Dongfang Minghui's first reaction was that the little fellow was so cute. She tentatively held the rabbit leg out toward it. "Want some?"

The little fellow's ears twitched twice. Its pink tongue licked its black nose repeatedly, its eyes fixed on the rabbit leg.

"Since you're so cute, I'll give you one." Dongfang Minghui generously stuffed the leg between its front paws, not worrying about whether it could hold on.

The little fellow clutched the rabbit leg tightly in its front paws, opened its tiny mouth, and revealed sharp teeth. A few crunching bites took care of more than half of it, and another quick series of crunches finished the rest, leaving only a bone.

Dongfang Minghui had merely turned around to pack up the remaining rabbit meat. When she looked back, the little fellow was licking its left paw, then its right, gazing at her as though it hadn't had enough.

It looks like it wants more?

Dongfang Wanyu had been resting when she sniffed the air and caught the scent of meat. Following the aroma, she found Dongfang Minghui staring at a little creature, which stared right back.

"A Poison Flower Lightning Mouse."

Lightning Mice were low-level magical beasts, but they moved as fast as lightning, and their sharp claws were extremely dangerous weapons. It was said that a poisonous flower grew in the habitats where Lightning Mice lived. As they searched for food, their claws remained exposed to its poison, earning them the name Poison Flower Lightning Mouse.

"How did you provoke it?"

Dongfang Wanyu suddenly approached, carrying a bundle in one hand while the other rested on the flexible whip at her waist. If the Lightning Mouse so much as moved, she would teach it a lesson.

The moment the little fellow saw Dongfang Wanyu, its sleek fur stood on end, and it glared fiercely at her.

Dongfang Minghui spread her hands. "Seventh Sister, I didn't provoke it. I think it was hungry and came over on its own when it saw me roasting a rabbit. Look, it's almost eaten the whole thing."

Of that entire plump rabbit, she had eaten one leg, while almost everything else had ended up in the little creature's stomach. How could something so small eat so much?

The worst part was that after eating, it still looked at her with such innocent eyes that refusing to feed it felt like a crime.

"Let's go. That smell will attract too much attention," Dongfang Wanyu urged.

Dongfang Minghui's eyes immediately widened. Is The Female Lead inviting me to travel with her? Wow, this is so exciting! "Okay, let's go!"

She placed all the rabbit meat left in her hands before the Lightning Mouse. "Here, you can have the rest."

The Lightning Mouse blinked its round eyes at Dongfang Minghui, its tongue still flicking out.

"Seventh Sister, look how cute it is. Don't you think?"

Dongfang Minghui smiled as she walked and talked. If The Female Lead hadn't suddenly appeared, she would have tried to coax the little cutie into coming along. It might have made the journey much more fun.

"Cute? That's because you haven't seen it kill someone. One light swipe of its claws, and the poison kills as soon as it draws blood."

Dongfang Minghui nearly choked on her own saliva. She stared wide-eyed at Dongfang Wanyu, inwardly grumbling nonstop.

Dongfang Wanyu gave her a complicated look, unsure whether her innocence was real or an act.

"Let's go. Once we're in the Purple Demon Mountains, don't light a fire unless you have to," The Female Lead kindly reminded her.

Dongfang Minghui was still preoccupied with how she had nearly lost her life just now. It took her a long, dazed moment to register those words before she shrieked, "The Purple Demon Mountains?"

Dongfang Wanyu gave her a strange look, seemingly unable to understand why she was making such a fuss.

"Seventh Sister, didn't you say you were going to the Royal Academy?" Dongfang Minghui asked in shock. The Purple Demon Mountains were a place people entered but never left. With savage magical beasts and danger at every step, wouldn't someone with her meager abilities be swallowed alive the moment she went in?

Dongfang Wanyu smiled. "The only route to the Royal Academy goes through the Purple Demon Mountains. What's so strange about that?"

"Speaking of which, you still haven't told me what you intend to do by following me out here."

If she hadn't brought it up, Dongfang Wanyu might have let it slip. Now she suddenly remembered the question of why Dongfang Minghui had run away this time. What exactly was she planning by following her?

Well, Dongfang Minghui mentally lit a candle for herself.

"When Cousin visited last time, he told us about all sorts of interesting things that happened during his travels. I was curious and wanted to go out and gain some experience too." She trotted out the excuse she had prepared long ago.

Dongfang Wanyu looked her up and down, clicking her tongue in wonder. "With your meager abilities? Did the Second Madam agree? Did your father?"

Dongfang Minghui lowered her head guiltily and answered in a small voice, "Neither of them did."

"Then how did you get out?" Dongfang Wanyu asked again.

Dongfang Minghui clearly explained the entire sequence of events: how she had disguised herself as the maid Cui'er, avoided the household guards' watchful eyes, and crawled out through a dog hole.

"Seventh Sister, please take me along. I promise I won't cause trouble." With such a chance to improve her relationship with The Female Lead, Dongfang Minghui certainly wasn't going to let it slip away.

Before Dongfang Wanyu could refuse, a commotion came from the woods.

"Seventh Sister, take me along. I'll behave."

"Shh. Be quiet."

Dongfang Minghui quickly covered her mouth, her large eyes fixed intently on The Female Lead.

"Stay here and don't move. I'll go take a look."

Dongfang Minghui wanted to follow, but she was afraid The Female Lead would turn on her without mercy, so she could only sit and wait. "I wonder what's happening in there."

In the middle of the night, it probably wasn't anything good.

"Little grass, little grass, can you tell me what happened?" Bored, Dongfang Minghui fiddled with a blade of grass and murmured to it.

"Oh, you want to know? Stroke me some more, and I'll tell you." An especially young-sounding voice suddenly rang out in Dongfang Minghui's mind.

Dongfang Minghui immediately reached out and stroked its leaves, tapping her fingertips back and forth over them as though playing. "Does that feel good? Hurry and tell me."

"It feels so good. Stroke me some more."

Dongfang Minghui could almost picture it closing its eyes in enjoyment. Amused, she couldn't resist pressing a little harder with her fingers. "Stop fooling around and tell me."

"Humans are fighting a Demon Insect."

So, has The Female Lead run over there to recruit another underling?