"Something good," Su Ying said coolly.
"How can you feed our junior brother random things? What if it clashes with the energy in his body?" Ling Xian reproached her, then turned her tender, watery gaze on Chu Yu. "Junior brother, you aren't feeling unwell, are you?"
"Senior Sister Ling Xian, I feel fine." Chu Yu rubbed the back of his head, expressing his trust in Su Ying. "Senior Sister Su Ying wouldn't hurt me."
Ling Xian looked somewhat embarrassed.
Su Ying told Ping Qingyun and Ling Xian, "What I just gave him was a Detoxification Pill. This miasma comes from a Mist Beast. We'll go in and hunt it. You two can wait here."
"No! Mist Beasts are so high-level. What if you take him in there and can't protect him?" Ling Xian objected.
Su Ying pointed into the miasma. "Then will you go?"
"We'll go too." Ling Xian tugged Ping Qingyun's sleeve. "Eldest senior brother, we can't let the two of them go in alone."
"Let's go." Ping Qingyun listened to her.
Su Ying reminded them, "But the miasma is poisonous. At best, you'll lose consciousness. At worst, you'll suffocate to death."
Ping Qingyun withdrew the foot he had just stepped forward with and glared at her. "Give us two Detoxification Pills!"
"I only had two." Su Ying's lips lifted slightly. "Our junior brother and I took them. Follow us if you aren't afraid to die."
With that, she pulled Chu Yu into the miasma.
The moment she stepped inside, an eerie gust swept over her, lifting her skirts.
Completely unaffected, Su Ying held Chu Yu's hand and strode resolutely deeper inside.
Ping Qingyun stared fixedly after them. Before long, their figures vanished into the white miasma.
Ling Xian paced anxiously. "Senior brother, I'm worried."
Jealousy surged through Ping Qingyun. It was bad enough that his junior sister adored their master. Now even Chu Yu wanted a slice of the pie?
He secretly wished they would never come back out of the miasma.
"There's nothing to worry about. Su Ying's cultivation is higher than yours," Ping Qingyun said stiffly.
Ling Xian's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Senior brother, do you despise me for my weak spiritual power too?"
Seeing her tears, Ping Qingyun realized he had misspoken and hurriedly said, "Junior sister, that's not what I meant. Oh, you've misunderstood me!"
"Senior brother, I know my spiritual power is weak and my spiritual root is poor, but I've been working so hard. Why? Why do you have to look down on me just like senior sister does?" Ling Xian wiped her tears.
Ping Qingyun launched into another round of coaxing.
Weeping pitifully, Ling Xian charged straight into the miasma.
"Wait, junior sister!" Startled, Ping Qingyun immediately followed.
Meanwhile.
Su Ying and Chu Yu had reached the center of the mist.
They heard astonishingly loud snores.
[Damn, is this Mist Beast asleep?] Su Ying asked the system inwardly.
[Probably, host. I can't detect that.] The system's response amounted to: you're making things difficult for this poor little system.
Su Ying rubbed her chin, retrieved a fire striker from her Spatial Ring, and crouched down. Then she picked up a thick branch and lit it.
The miasma stretched everywhere, making it impossible to see.
A torch, however, could disperse both mist and miasma.
The instant the torch flared to life, the snoring stopped abruptly.
[Host, your torch seems to have awakened the Mist Beast!] the system said.
[I know. Spare me the pointless chatter.] Su Ying thought it was better awake. Now she could pinpoint its location!
She stepped onto her flying sword, pulled Chu Yu aboard, and flew up into a tree. "Junior brother, stay here and don't move. I'll deal with the Mist Beast."
"Senior sister, I can help." A flicker of disdain crossed Chu Yu's eyes.
A Mist Beast?
That thing would drop to its knees and call him Daddy if it met him.
"Don't move!" Su Ying snapped fiercely. [Honestly, doesn't he understand that I'm cherishing a beauty? If the Mist Beast leaves a couple of scars on his face, he'll be disfigured. That would break my heart, you know?]
[Host, you're incredible.] The system was speechless.
Chu Yu was speechless too. Being underestimated left him irritated, yet at the same time, he rather enjoyed standing in the tree and watching the show.
Wasn't Su Ying hunting a beast just another show?
Once Su Ying had settled Chu Yu, she also pinpointed the Mist Beast's location. Drawing her sword, she plunged swiftly down and drove the blade into the top of its head.
The top of the head was this kind of beast's weakest spot.
But Su Ying's strike failed to finish the Mist Beast off.
Provoked by the attack, the Mist Beast went berserk and charged in one direction.
Just as Su Ying was about to pursue it and deliver a fatal blow, she suddenly heard a scream.
"Ah!"
"Damn it, this is bad!" Su Ying recognized Ling Xian's voice and rushed over. The Mist Beast was charging straight at Ling Xian, targeting her for its attack.
Having inhaled the miasma, Ling Xian was thoroughly dazed. She knew danger was coming, but she couldn't escape.
Su Ying suddenly remembered her side quest: she couldn't let the female lead get hurt.
[Just my rotten luck!] she lamented inwardly. She quickly forced the Detoxification Pill up from her stomach, spat it out, and sprinted toward Ling Xian.
Before the Mist Beast could slam into Ling Xian, Su Ying stepped in front of her, slapped the pill into her wide-open mouth, and raised her sword.
As the Mist Beast smashed into her waist, her sword pierced its neck.
"Ugh..." Su Ying groaned, a metallic sweetness rising in her throat.
Then she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Thanks to the Pain-Relief Pill, it didn't hurt.
But she knew she had suffered internal injuries. Without the Detoxification Pill, she had also been poisoned.
Her vision grew increasingly blurry. Dropping to one knee, she instructed, "Remember, take the Beast Core-"
Just as she finished speaking, Chu Yu's voice rang out. "Senior Sister Su Ying!"
At the same time, the system spoke: [Congratulations, host. You successfully took a calamity in the female lead's place. Points increased by ten.]
[Didn't I... take two hits for her? Fuck, system, you're such... a rip-off.] After that complaint, Su Ying lost consciousness.
"Senior Sister Su Ying?" Chu Yu had climbed down from the tree by now. His expression darkened as he looked at the unconscious Su Ying.
Not only had Su Ying taken the Mist Beast's attack for Ling Xian, she had also given her the Detoxification Pill.
Looking at Ling Xian standing there dumbfounded, Chu Yu felt a surge of irritation.
So damn annoying. What kind of lousy system and lousy quest screwed someone over like this?
Nothing could happen to Su Ying, or he would lose his cook!
"Senior Sister Ling Xian, can you take Senior Sister Su Ying out of here? She gave you her Detoxification Pill, so she can't stay in the miasma too long." As Chu Yu spoke, he pulled out Su Ying's sword and dug out the Beast Core.
"Ah, oh." Ling Xian came back to her senses. Her face had remained pale since the fright. She took hold of Su Ying, intending to drag her out.
Her spiritual power was too weak to transport an entire person out.
But she wasn't very strong physically either.
After extracting the Beast Core, Chu Yu saw what she was doing, and his face darkened. He strode over, hoisted Su Ying over his shoulder, and swiftly ran outside.
Before you continue