She Chased, It Fled

No one answered Jiang Yao's doubts. She decided that the moment she had the chance, she would get rid of Jiang Wan, that nuisance.

After Jiang Wan handed out the pastries, Jin Yao and Yin Shuo came over and activated the Spirit Sealing Array. Although they were still teaching the same things today—

Perhaps because Jiang Wan had squandered priceless treasures—she had casually let others eat Supreme Spirit Bone—they decided to intensify the children's studies in terms of knowledge.

Yin Shuo spoke eloquently at the front and had even made a PPT—well, vivid images—to help them remember the appearances of those heavenly treasures.

"What is this? This is Supreme Spirit Bone. It is blah blah blah.

"This is Zhe Huang Jing, blah blah blah.

"This is Tian Yuan Stone, blah blah blah..."

Jiang Wan felt that whenever this foundation establishment senior brother explained a heavenly treasure, he would glance at her, as if he were deliberately speaking for her benefit. She had to be overthinking it.

Over the course of a single day, they had to memorize more than a hundred kinds of spirit herbs and heavenly treasures, as well as the effects of various talismans, formations, and more.

After more than ten consecutive days, they had memorized over a thousand kinds. And this was only scratching the surface.

"Wanwan, I heard we'll be intensifying this stuff for the next few months. I'm so tired!

"Why doesn't Martial Uncle just give each of us a jade slip? Wouldn't it be enough for us to read them ourselves?"

Jiang Wan did not know either, but at their age, all they could do was muddle along here. They certainly would not be sent out to gain experience.

She reached out, cupped Nangong Wanyu's little face, and gave it a rub.

"Let's hurry. If we get there too late, the spirit fruit will all be eaten."

At the mention of spirit fruit, Nangong Wanyu smacked her little lips and swallowed. Her tiny body, which had been slumped against a branch in exhaustion, instantly perked up.

"Let's go. Spirit fruit is delicious. Hurry!"

Jiang Wan was holding a branch too, though not because she was tired. The Spirit Sealing Array had been shut down again, because they were going to run laps around the mountain that afternoon.

They were building up their stamina from childhood. Hiss, hiss, hiss~

Jiang Wan's ears twitched. She heard something. There should not have been snakes here.

She stretched out her little hand and grabbed Nangong Wanyu's arm.

"Little Yu'er, wait. Listen—do you hear anything?"

Nangong Wanyu tilted her head and listened, then shook her head.

"I don't hear anything strange."

Jiang Wan heard it, and it was getting closer. A snake covered in black patterns slithered over with its tongue flicking out, followed by a piercing scream.

"Ahhhhhh! A snake! Ahhh!"

Black Snake: That scared the scales off me.

Jiang Wan saw an arm-thick snake stop not far away. Perhaps Nangong Wanyu's scream had frightened it, because it did not dare come closer.

Nangong Wanyu hugged her. After screaming, she untied the little leather whip from her waist.

"Waaahhh, Wanwan, don't be afraid! I have a weapon."

Jiang Wan looked at the whip in her hand, took it, and pulled her behind herself.

"I'll do it. Get behind me."

The snake had a little intelligence. Instinctively, it felt that Jiang Wan was dangerous. It could even sense a bloodline suppression emanating from her.

Jiang Wan gradually approached. Little Black Snake: Danger, danger, retreat, retreat, retreat.

Once Nangong Wanyu got over being afraid, she saw Jiang Wan advancing while the snake backed away, and the little girl immediately grew curious.

"Wanwan, it seems scared of us!"

Jiang Wan saw it too. Strange. It had clearly been heading toward them just now, so why was it shrinking back now?

She advanced, and it retreated.

Then, for some reason, Jiang Wan charged forward and tried to whip the snake, scaring the Black Snake into turning tail and fleeing.

Jiang Wan chased from behind while the snake fled ahead. No one knew how the situation had reversed, but the Black Snake knew only one thing: run! This might be a dragon hatchling. Her bloodline had it suppressed so thoroughly that if it dared bite her even once, it would be finished.

A hatchling did not know her own strength. If she caught it, it would still be finished. The instinct to survive made it run faster than a rabbit.

When Jin Yao's divine sense swept over, he saw little Jiang Wan holding a small leather whip as she chased a Black Snake all over the mountain, lashing at it.

"No, there can't possibly be snakes here. That snake is highly venomous. This is bad!"

The Spirit Sealing Array activated, and Jin Yao flew over, only to discover that the Little Black Snake had already been chopped into two and could no longer move.

It turned out Dong Chen had seen Jiang Wan chasing the snake and come over to help. He had even drawn the longsword from his back and thrown it over. It skimmed past Jiang Wan's face and severed the snake's head as it fled ahead.

Jiang Wan touched her face. Was this boy showing off, or was he serious? If that sword had veered another inch, her little face would have been ruined.

"Martial Uncle Jin Yao, there was a snake here."

Jin Yao nodded with a grave expression.

"I know. This snake is not a species that should be found in our sect's back mountain. It must have come from elsewhere. I'll take the snake away. You all go back first."

Watching Jin Yao leave with the snake, Jiang Wan stepped forward and pulled Dong Chen's sword from the ground. The sword was actually taller than she was, and truly heavy too. He carried it on his back every day—were Sword Cultivators really this miserable?

"Dong Chen, here's your sword. It seems dirty. Why don't you wipe it before putting it back?"

Now that spiritual energy was available again, Jiang Wan saw Dong Chen about to wipe it with his sleeve. She casually found a small handkerchief in her Storage Ring, one Fairy Xueyun had prepared to match her clothes.

"Use this handkerchief."

Dong Chen drew back his sleeve somewhat awkwardly.

"Thank you."

Jiang Wan shook her head as she watched him wipe his sword.

"Senior Brother Dong Chen, that sword throw just now was so accurate!"

Having been praised, Dong Chen smiled and nodded.

"Mm, I think it was pretty accurate too."

Jiang Wan squatted beside him and watched him sit there wiping his sword, then tilted her head and offered a suggestion.

"Next time, could you not throw it so close to my face? I was terrified at the time, you know?"

She patted her little face for him to see.

"My face is so soft and delicate. If that sword of yours, wider than my head, hit me, don't you think I'd be really ugly?"

Dong Chen froze. He looked at the sword in his hands, then at her fair, tender little face. He did not dare imagine what would happen if his sword struck her face. He shuddered. Too terrifying.

"Then next time, I promise I won't throw my sword right past your face."

Jiang Wan smiled. A child who could be taught. She took out a Candied Hawthorn with only one hawthorn on it and gave it to him.

"Very good. This is for you."

"What are you doing? Wanwan, where's the snake?"

Nangong Wanyu and Lu Zhiyi walked over.

Jiang Wan gave her a Candied Hawthorn.

"Martial Uncle Jin Yao took the snake away. He said it wasn't supposed to be here. I don't know what's going on—maybe it got lost from another mountain?"

Lu Zhiyi walked over to where the snake blood was and lowered his head for a look. He was actually able to analyze it quickly.

"That snake was highly venomous. It's fortunate none of you were bitten."

Jiang Wan was astonished. Were children in the Cultivation World all this impressive? He could tell that a snake was highly venomous just by looking at its blood?

"How did you know?"

Lu Zhiyi was thinner than others his age. His pale little face was somewhat shy as he said, "Master had me use that snake to refine pills before. I remembered it."

She had heard System Bro say before that his master was not much good. He actually had a five-year-old child refine pills with venomous snakes. Impressive!

Forget it. Children in the Cultivation World were all tough as nails. As long as they did not die, they could still be saved.

She gave him a thumbs-up.

"You're amazing. Then that's strange—how did this snake get here?"

In the woods, Liuhuo and Jiang Yao stood in confrontation.