"Oh, look who it is! Everyone else is busy hunting demonic beasts, and here she is, taking her sweet time warming herself by the fire."
Xie Wenyun worried that snakes, insects, rats, or ants might disturb their rest at night, or that demonic beasts might attack, so he planned to set up a barrier in the nearby woods and scatter some insect-repelling powder.
Seeing that Xie Wenyun was gone, Jiang Lingzhou was just about to sidle up to Gu Yi when Gu Yi urged him to go find more firewood.
Unexpectedly, shortly after the two left, several disciples from other sects came across Gu Yi sitting alone near the fire.
"No wonder she's second in the Beauty Rankings. She really is good-looking."
"Right. She's every bit as beautiful as our sect's top beauty."
A group of disciples in matching attire walked past Gu Yi, talking as they went.
The first speaker was a female disciple dressed in red, and the one who answered was a rather sleazy-looking male disciple.
Although Gu Yi did not know which sect they belonged to, he was certain they were from the orthodox side.
"What's this, Senior Brother Zhao Chen? Have you fallen for her too? I heard she received a whole pile of love letters and gifts not long after joining the Illusory Demon Sect."
"Pfft, I'd never fall for a promiscuous woman like that," Zhao Chen said disdainfully.
"Then why do you keep staring at her?" the female disciple beside him asked.
"I'm just curious. I wanted to see how beautiful the legendary second-place beauty really is," Zhao Chen explained.
"Oh, so that's it! I thought you'd fallen under her spell too, Senior Brother!" The disciple understood at last.
"I'm not that easily bewitched. Besides, I heard she's very close to that fellow surnamed Xie in their sect. They're always going everywhere together as a pair. She even seduced Jiang Lingzhou and left him utterly infatuated," Zhao Chen said, his face full of disgust.
"Really? I never imagined she was that sort of person!" the female disciple said in surprise.
"It's absolutely true. I saw it with my own eyes," Zhao Chen declared solemnly.
"Ah, what a shame. Such a pretty face, but such a loose heart," one disciple said regretfully.
"Still, she really is beautiful. If her reputation weren't so terrible, someone might actually be willing to court her," another disciple said.
"Hmph. No matter how beautiful she is, I'd never like her," Zhao Chen said firmly.
"Did you know she's actually engaged?"
"What? She's engaged, yet she still came to the Orthodox-Demonic Friendship Conference? How shameless!"
The voices around him grew louder and louder. Gu Yi sat beside the campfire, quietly listening to their conversation as he gently poked the fire with a twig, his face utterly expressionless.
This was not the first time he had heard such things. He had long since grown used to them.
He silently dwelled on his own affairs, choosing to ignore their finger-pointing and sneering remarks.
Just then, the female disciple in red suddenly walked over. Her eyes full of mockery, she stared at Gu Yi with a sneer on her lips and said, "I thought you were so high and mighty. Turns out you're just someone who gets by on looks... Ah..."
Before she finished, she suddenly screamed, her body involuntarily falling backward.
Gu Yi had abruptly flicked the twig in his hand, striking her foot with perfect accuracy and making her lose her balance.
Smack! A crisp slap rang out.
Before the female cultivator could finish speaking, Gu Yi had already struck, moving too quickly for anyone to react.
The female cultivator covered her slapped cheek, tears welling in her eyes. She looked pitiful enough to stir anyone's sympathy. "You! You actually hit me!"
Gu Yi merely lowered his eyes and blew on his palm, saying coldly, "You came right over asking for that slap. Hitting you only hurt my hand."
As he spoke, his brows drew together slightly, his clear, watery eyes seeming reproachful and resentful. His crimson lips parted, and his voice was lilting and pleasing to the ear. The surrounding disciples could not help being captivated, finding it difficult to look away from him.
"A Ke! Stop making trouble..." Zhao Chen tried to stop the female disciple named A Ke from continuing her antics, but the outcome took him by surprise.
Seething with rage, A Ke raised her hand to strike Gu Yi back.
However, Gu Yi caught her wrist effortlessly, then gave her another resounding slap with the back of his hand.
In Gu Yi's world, there was no such thing as "a gentleman never fights a woman."
Some people simply needed a beating. Without one, they would never learn.
"Ah..." Both sides of A Ke's face swelled from Gu Yi's slaps. Her eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief, never having expected him to slap her again.
"Ye Yiyi! I'll kill you!" She charged at Gu Yi like a madwoman, curses spilling from her mouth and anger filling her eyes.
Seeing her like this, Gu Yi frowned and clicked his tongue impatiently, thinking, Some people really do go out of their way to ask for a beating.
As she lunged at him, Gu Yi suddenly stuck out a foot and tripped her flat on her face. A Ke hit the ground hard with a dull thud.
"Oh dear, Miss A Ke, how did you fall?" Gu Yi looked innocently at A Ke on the ground, all while remembering to rub his slightly reddened palm, thinking, That slap even turned my hand red.
After all, forces acted in equal and opposite pairs. Slapping her had hurt Gu Yi quite a bit too.
A Ke raised her head from the ground, her face covered in dust. Two streams of blood ran from her nose, dripping over her lips onto the ground and forming a dark red pool. She glared viciously at Gu Yi with wide eyes, as though she wanted to devour him alive.
"Oh dear, why is your nose bleeding? Hurry and wipe it." Gu Yi looked at her disheveled state.
"Ye Yiyi!" A Ke got up from the ground into a sitting position and first wiped the blood from her lips. Then, without warning, she burst into tears. "Waaah... This isn't over... Just you wait..."
"Senior Brother Zhao Chen, look, Miss A Ke is hurt. Why aren't you coming over to take her away?" Little did Gu Yi know.
His little QWER combo had already won over every player present.
The disciples all stared blankly at him, having forgotten there was still an A Ke on the ground.
Only when Gu Yi called out did Zhao Chen come to his senses. He hurriedly helped A Ke up. "Junior Sister, are you all right...?"
"Senior Brother... She hit me! Help me kill this bitch! Hurry..." The moment A Ke stood up, she pointed at Gu Yi and unleashed a torrent of abuse.
"Ye Yiyi! How could you attack my junior sister..." Zhao Chen's words clearly lacked conviction.
After all, they had been the ones to speak ill of Gu Yi first, and had even gone over to provoke him.
Gu Yi gave Zhao Chen a harmless smile. "But my hand hurts a lot too... Senior Brother Zhao~"
The disciples: "..."
Zhao Chen: "Junior Sister, why don't we just let it go today..."
A Ke: "Senior Brother! Which one of us is your junior sister from the same sect? How can you speak up for him?!!!"
Before you continue