An old fogey, or else a punk!
Nalan Yanran smiled, trying to mask her awkwardness:
"Well... Yan'er, Wutan City is still a long way from here. Walking the whole distance would take us many days, so I asked an elder from my sect to give us a ride."
"Is that so?"
Qi Yan'er tilted her little head, looking rather puzzled:
"Then when will your elder arrive, Sister Yaner?"
"Soon!"
Nalan Yanran replied, her face radiating pride and confidence.
Just as she finished speaking...
"Screeech!"
A sharp hawk's cry echoed from the distant sky.
Qi Yan'er looked up at the sky upon hearing the sound.
A massive blue falcon streaked across the firmament, instantly arriving right above their heads.
"Whoosh!"
Accompanied by a gentle gust of wind, the falcon beat its wings and slowly descended.
An elderly man landed from above. Seeing Nalan Yanran, he looked slightly perplexed:
"Yanran, didn't you want to walk to Wutan City with Moli? How come..."
"Eh? Where did this little girl come from? And where is Moli?"
The elder wore a moon-white robe, smiling broadly and radiating vitality.
A pair of narrow eyes flashed with sharp light as he looked Qi Yaner up and down before asking curiously.
Qi Yan'er tilted her little head, studying the appearing elder in return.
This old man certainly looked the part of an elder.
He looked far more reliable than that "Senior Brother" Moli.
Of course, what looked most reliable of all were the pale moon and the constellation of seven stars embroidered on the chest of the elder's robe!
Seven-Star Grand Master!
Qi Yan'er's little brain whirred.
Judging by the insignia worn by Moli and Nalan Yanran, she immediately deduced the elder's cultivation level!
"Uncle Ge Ye."
After calling out, Nalan Yanran looked at Qi Yan'er:
"Little Sister Yan'er, let me introduce you. This is Uncle Ge Ye, a deacon of my Misty Cloud Sect."
"Uncle Ge Ye!"
Qi Yan'er greeted him with a smile on her little face.
"Ah... what an adorable little girl!"
Hearing such a pretty and cute little girl address him, Ge Ye smiled and answered.
Men... remain boys until the day they die!
Though Ge Ye was no longer young, he still had zero resistance to cute little girls.
This referred to his benevolent and doting nature, not any malicious thoughts.
Otherwise, Nalan Yanran's master would never have trusted him to take care of her.
"Yanran, you still haven't answered my question!"
After the introduction, Ge Ye pressed her again.
Hearing this, Nalan Yanran's expression darkened:
"We ran into danger just now, and I was..."
"What?"
"You're saying you almost got captured by mercenaries? Moli just ran off and left you to fend for yourself? And she saved you?"
After listening to Nalan Yanran's account, Ge Ye was utterly shocked.
If these words hadn't come straight from Nalan Yanran's mouth, he wouldn't have believed them even if beaten to death.
A little girl had actually taken down a whole group of burly mercenaries!
And one of them was even an Eight-Star Dou Zhe!
"That bastard Moli!"
Shocked, Ge Ye clenched his fists in fury, wishing he could tear Moli limb from limb:
"Once we get back to the sect, I will report this to the Sect Master and have this Mo Clan properly punished!"
"Do you know which mercenary group they belong to, Yanran? What are they called?"
Nalan Yanran lowered her head, looking somewhat embarrassed:
"I... I don't know. I passed out just..."
"You, oh you..."
Ge Ye sighed helplessly:
"The Sect Master simply spoils you too much normally. You still need to go down the mountain more often to temper yourself in the future."
There was one thing Ge Ye kept to himself.
Which was that she was already in her teens, yet she was actually less capable than a little girl!
"Yanran understands."
Having been through this ordeal, Nalan Yanran was well aware of her own shortcomings.
No matter how exceptional her innate talent was, blind cultivation alone was simply not enough.
To become a true powerhouse, relying solely on meditation was useless!
"Do you know, Yan'er?"
Ge Ye's eyes curved into crescents as he asked Qi Yan'er gently.
Qi Yan'er rested her chin in her small hand, recalling:
"I'm not sure what mercenary group they belong to, but the big guy seemed to be called Hemeng, some kind of Third Commander!"
"Good!"
"Having this information is more than enough for our Misty Cloud Sect!"
Ge Ye's eyes lit up as he praised her.
Then he glanced at Nalan Yanran and shook his head.
Nalan Yanran: (⊙o⊙)？？
She knew Ge Ye's "silent language" all too well; it was nothing more than:
Look... at her!
Bitterness filled Nalan Yanran's heart, yet she had no way to refute it.
Ge Ye looked around and spoke:
"Alright, as for that fellow Moli, let him fend for himself! Let's head to Wutan City."
With that, Ge Ye shifted his stance and stood upon the back of the giant falcon.
"Little Sister Yan'er, let's go up too!"
"Okay~"
With that, Nalan Yanran scooped up Qi Yan'er and leaped onto the beast.
"Sit tight, Yan'er! Yanran, keep a close eye on her."
Ge Ye turned back, his aged face filled with doting concern as he gave instructions.
"Don't worry, Uncle Ge Ye."
Nalan Yanran replied, a sudden, unexpected sense of falling out of favor welling up inside her.
"Screeech!"
Accompanied by a hawk's cry, the falcon spread its wings and soared into the air, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye...
Meanwhile.
Deep in the forest, a youth covered in blood stumbled out.
Clutching a blood-stained sword in one hand and holding his backside with the other, his face was deathly pale and devoid of all color, filled with utter despair.
"It hurts like hell!"
"A fine mercenary group you are. Just you wait, I, Moli, will slaughter every single one of you!"
"Whoosh!"
A sudden gale howled past, causing his already weakened body to collapse instantly.
"Screeech!"
Lying face down on the ground, Moli looked up at the familiar silhouette of the magical beast in flight, and with agonizing effort, stretched out his hand:
"Uncle Ge Ye, Uncle Ge Ye..."
Yet no matter how hoarse he screamed, the falcon showed not the slightest intention of stopping.
Furthermore, not only did his cries fail to turn the falcon around, but they also attracted several men who had just regained consciousness!
"Well, well! So you're still here, you little punk!"
Hearing that familiar angry roar, Moli's eyes widened.
He saw that Hemeng had reached him!
"Hiccup~"
"A dream, this must be a nightmare!"
Unable to handle such a blow, Moli let his head drop and passed out cold.
"Commander, should we finish him off?"
A mercenary rested a broadsword against Moli's neck, looking to Hemeng for instructions.
"No!"
Ferocity flashed in Hemeng's eyes:
"He's still of great use. Toss him over our shoulders so the brothers can keep having fun with him!"
"Yes!"
Though Hemeng looked rough and crude, he was remarkably sharp-witted.
He had seen the giant falcon fly past just moments ago.
He knew all too well that it must have belonged to someone from the Misty Cloud Sect!
Keeping this Moli around might just buy them a hostage; if they killed him, they wouldn't stand a single chance of survival!
"No, we need to get back to the mercenary camp quickly and report this to the First Commander..."
………………
Atop the giant falcon.
Qi Yan'er sat cross-legged, her large eyes filled with excitement and awe:
"Wow~ It's so high! It's so beautiful!"
Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye were entirely unfazed by this reaction.
After all, when they had first ridden a magical beast, they had acted the exact same way.
Even more excited than her, in fact!
"Sister Yanran, you said the person you were betrothed to is a good-for-nothing. Did you call off the engagement just because he's useless?"
Qi Yan'er blinked her bright, nimble eyes and asked with curiosity.
"..."
Nalan Yanran looked at Qi Yan'er, who had suddenly grown calm again, completely dumbfounded.
This child...
Truly was impossible to figure out!
"No!"
Nalan Yanran replied with a firm gaze:
"The reason I went to cancel the engagement was because I refuse to let others control my destiny, not even my elders!"
"Sister Yan'er, I completely agree with what you did."
Qi Yan'er spoke with the air of a grown-up:
"My daddy told me that any man other than him is either an old fogey, or else a punk!"
"And besides, Sister Yan'er, the one you were betrothed to is even a decadent punk to boot!"
Ge Ye's mouth twitched uncontrollably:
An old fogey??
Is she talking about this old man?
………………