"Crackle!"
Amid the occasional crackling of the campfire, half an hour soon passed.
Having recovered her spiritual power, Yan Qun'er came over to the campfire.
Gathering her red skirt around her, she crouched beside the fire with her arms around her knees, staring blankly at the flames. Who knew what she was thinking?
Liu Yu naturally knew how easily a hero rescuing a beauty could capture a young woman's heart.
But at present, he was merely a lowly Qi Refining cultivator, at the very bottom of the cultivation world's lowest rung. He had no room for such thoughts.
His decision to help this time had largely been motivated by his own interests.
Having come to a world where great power resided within the individual, where those with mighty divine abilities could overturn rivers and seas with a mere gesture, Liu Yu would never resign himself to becoming a handful of yellow earth a hundred years later!
Unknown and unremembered.
He wanted to reach higher realms, unravel the mysteries of the Immortal Mansion, pursue longevity and even eternal life, and take command of his own destiny!
He wanted to take a good, long look at this beautiful world!
These thoughts sent ripple after ripple across the lake of his heart, before everything finally settled into stillness.
Seeing that Yan Qun'er had recovered her spiritual power, Liu Yu took out two spirit stones, absorbing and refining the spiritual energy within them to replenish what he had expended.
Neither the man nor the woman beside the campfire spoke, yet a faintly romantic atmosphere gradually spread between them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yan Qun'er secretly studied this junior martial brother.
His eyes were as black as ink. Though his looks were ordinary, his calm, composed bearing made him easy to like.
"."
As her thoughts wandered, Yan Qun'er grew a little shy and hurriedly smoothed her hair with her hands to conceal her emotions.
Yet an unfamiliar feeling rose within her heart.
This brief romantic interlude did not last long, however, before a streak of light on the horizon shattered it.
It was a red carpet twenty or thirty feet long, tracing a brilliant path across the night sky like a scarlet ribbon.
"Whoosh!"
The red carpet sped like the wind and lightning, landing in the blink of an eye and stirring up fallen leaves.
Standing upon it was a female cultivator dressed like a Daoist nun, who looked about thirty-four.
She wore loose Daoist robes. Her face had a rounded, lustrous beauty, and a mature charm graced her brows and eyes.
The middle-aged Daoist nun's brows were slightly furrowed, and she looked rather anxious.
Only after seeing Yan Qun'er safe and sound did she breathe a sigh of relief, her expression softening considerably.
"Auntie!"
Yan Qun'er's face lit up, and she ran over and threw herself into her aunt's arms.
"Waaah..."
"Auntie, you're finally here! Do you know how close I came to never seeing you again?"
Like pear blossoms drenched in rain, Yan Qun'er tearfully poured out her grievances while clinging to the Daoist nun, looking utterly wronged.
Affection and heartache flashed through the middle-aged Daoist nun's eyes. She raised a hand to stroke Yan Qun'er's little head and gently comforted her:
"There, there. It's all over now. Everything's all right."
"Don't cry, Qun'er."
"Don't sneak out again next time, understand?"
"Now tell Auntie how you escaped danger. Where are those villains?"
This niece of hers was the most gifted of the younger generation in her branch of the lineage.
Usually obedient and considerate, she was immensely endearing and had cultivated alongside her aunt on Qingxiu Peak since childhood.
When she sneaked out this time and nearly met with disaster, her aunt had been horrified. She had hastily ended her cultivation session and driven her magical artifact at full speed to get here.
If anything had happened to this precious niece, how could she have answered to her own younger brother?
Looking aggrieved, Yan Qun'er held the middle-aged Daoist nun's arm and gently shook it as she began recounting what had happened.
When she reached the part about being pursued by four people, fear covered her face.
When she described Liu Yu's righteous intervention and his stern, principled words, her little face flushed, and she secretly turned to glance at him.
Liu Yu had already risen when the middle-aged Daoist nun landed. Since he knew who she was, he was not alarmed.
But with a Foundation Establishment martial aunt before him, he dared not neglect proper etiquette.
Rather than rashly interrupting, he stood a short distance away, waiting for the aunt and niece to finish their conversation.
Upon hearing that Yan Qun'er had bought a Beauty-Nourishing Pill as a birthday gift, the middle-aged Daoist nun was deeply gratified, thinking that all the affection she had lavished on this girl over the years had not been wasted.
When she heard that two of them had escaped, her face immediately turned frosty, and a flash of killing intent crossed it.
Once she learned that her niece had come through unharmed thanks to Liu Yu's intervention, the middle-aged Daoist nun turned to glance at him, her expression distinctly approving.
"It's all right, Qun'er. You're safe now."
"Auntie will properly thank this young friend for you."
"As for the two who escaped, once we return, I'll mobilize the sect and the lineage. We'll certainly capture them and bring them to justice."
"Then we'll let them taste what it's like to have their souls extracted and refined!"
The middle-aged Daoist nun's voice began gently, but by the end it had become ice-cold.
The murderous intent in her eyes was utterly unconcealed, inspiring fear in anyone who looked at her.
Having finished, she turned to look at Liu Yu and said evenly:
"Come here."
Hearing the Foundation Establishment martial aunt summon him, Liu Yu dared not delay. He strode forward, bowed, and saluted:
"Disciple Liu Yu pays his respects to Martial Aunt."
His tone was neither servile nor arrogant, and his voice was calm.
Having gotten a clear look at him, the middle-aged Daoist nun found this Outer Disciple, who had stepped forward at a critical moment to save her niece, quite pleasing.
"No need for such ceremony. Martial Nephew Liu, you did very well."
"To help a fellow disciple in danger, rather than cling to life and shrink from death, is truly commendable."
"Since you saved my own niece, there's no need to be so distant. Just call me Martial Aunt Hongyu!"
Yan Hongyu nodded slightly, a trace of appreciation in her words.
"Fellow disciples ought to watch over and help one another."
"Seeing Senior Martial Sister in danger, I naturally couldn't stand by with folded arms. I don't deserve such praise, Martial Aunt Hongyu."
Liu Yu's words were watertight.
Then, like a snake climbing a pole offered to it, he seized the opening and immediately drew much closer to this martial aunt.
The Yan lineage wielded considerable influence within the sect. Was that not precisely why he had rescued Yan Qun'er?
If he could maintain a good relationship with them, his future path within the sect would be easier to walk.
Seeing how sensible this Outer Disciple was, Yan Hongyu found him increasingly pleasing and said with a smile:
"That's true enough, but you saved Qun'er. As her aunt, I must thank you."
"Tell me, what would you like?"
"Whether it's a magical artifact, talismans, or pills, I can grant your request so long as it isn't excessive."
After speaking, she gave Liu Yu a meaningful look.
She wanted to see what answer this "bold" Outer Disciple would give.
"Auntie!"
Hearing this, Yan Qun'er became a little embarrassed and annoyed.
She stamped her foot and shook Yan Hongyu's arm vigorously, wheedling.
Thanks to readers Tianxia Shuyou 160, Hunan Warlord, Xiahuan 007, 20191206162342345, Mu Yuyan, Xiao Jinling, An Unforgotten Thought, May the World Treat You Gently pi, 20200708235855702, and the others for supporting this book with recommendation votes!
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