The higher they climbed the stone steps in the forbidden grounds of the Danyang Sect's Back Mountain, the colder it grew.
The biting wind blew cold straight into their bones.
Faint threads of killing intent were also perceptible, like blade after blade floating in the air.
Walking in the middle of the group, Lin Shisan could feel that killing intent seeping up through the cracks between the stone steps.
It was like countless invisible tentacles winding around his ankles.
With every step, their grip tightened a little more.
It felt rather like when he and Hu Niu used to visit the mortuary in Tianshui Village as children.
Behind him, Bai Youyou and Zi Yuner had silently moved up beside him.
One on either side, they shielded him between them.
Feng Xian'er walked at the very front, her pale purple hem brushing over the stone steps with the faintest rustle.
She did not turn around, but her voice reached Lin Shisan's ears with perfect clarity.
"Shisan, don't take this too seriously. This sword is downright sinister. Just give it a touch later. If you can't move it, let go. There's no shame in that."
"Understood, Master."
Bai Ziyin swallowed hard, his brow creasing again and again.
Sure enough, this was Feng Xian'er's usual style.
With so many people present, most of them juniors at that, Feng Xian'er had actually said such a thing. She truly could not have been more free and easy.
The middle-aged man from the Xiao Household walked beside Bai Ziyin, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
He turned his head and said unhurriedly, "Rest assured, Junior Sister Feng. The Evil-Exorcising Sword has a spirit and generally won't harm the innocent. If someone has no affinity with it, its sword intent will repel them on