The young girl noticed her unusual behavior and her eyes flickered.
Although she had been kept safely behind the others the entire time, she had clearly observed all of Su Luo's actions.
That girl had clearly looked quite smug just a moment ago after successfully picking the Spirit-Boosting Grass, but then her expression had abruptly changed, cycling rapidly through shock, wild joy, resentment, and sympathy. The sheer variety of expressions flashing across her face was simply too entertaining.
Yet the moment she herself appeared, the girl had instantly turned as pale as a sheet, a trace of... terror and wariness flashing in her eyes?
Ning Wanshuang could not help but raise her eyebrows slightly.
She suddenly found this inexpensive senior sister, who had always looked at her with eyes full of jealousy, becoming rather interesting...
With that, she spoke up once more.
"Senior Sister Su? What is the matter with you? Why is your complexion so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"
As she spoke, she stepped closer on her own accord, scaring Su Luo into taking a reflex-driven step back. Su Luo looked at Ning Wanshuang with a face as pale as paper.
Su Luo honestly had full-blown PTSD from this crazy woman!
If the person she hated most right now was Lu Yan, whom she wanted to kill for revenge, then the person she feared most was this lunatic Ning Wanshuang! She was terrifying—in her past life, she was absolute nightmare incarnate!
She had clung to her like a phantom, occasionally going mad and acting out, until she finally truly lost her mind in the end, colluding with the Demon Race and slaughtering the entire Tianyiji Sect.
No one had any idea why she would do such a thing!
Clearly, she was the heroine showered with countless affection, the sole disciple of the Third Elder of the Tianyiji Sect, and an immensely popular figure whom no one failed to chase after. Yet a person like this had actually betrayed the Tianyiji Sect in the later stages, crazily slaughtering so many of her own followers!
Thinking of the tragic state of her past life, Su Luo tightly pressed her lips together, her keen peripheral vision noticing that Ning Wanshuang's amber eyes had narrowed slightly, causing alarm bells to ring wildly in her heart.
Su Luo knew that expression all too well; it was a sign that she was displeased!
Sure enough, the very next moment, Ning Wanshuang asked, "Is Senior Sister Su angry with me?"
That remark sounded suspiciously like stoking the flames.
Sure enough, a second later, Su Luo felt the surrounding people glaring at her with even more intense gazes.
Su Luo took a deep breath, squeezed out a dry smile, and instinctively began to handle the situation before her.
"Junior Sister Ning is overthinking it. I... I'm just feeling a bit unwell... I'm not angry at all..."
"Is that so?"
The soft words of the young woman fell upon Su Luo's ears like a cold venomous snake winding itself around her, choking her until she could barely breathe.
"It's good that Senior Sister isn't angry. However, I won't be snatching this spirit grass, so Senior Sister needn't worry..."
Oh, dear mother! She almost forgot! She definitely didn't want this fatal grass! She needed to hand it over and slip away immediately!
With that thought, Su Luo felt her scalp tingle. Disregarding everything else, she lunged forward with a "swoosh," forcefully shoved the spirit grass in her hand directly into the heroine's grip, and quickly retreated several steps, lowering her head to explain anxiously.
"Si-Since Junior Sister Ning urgently needs this spirit grass, then I'll give it to you. On second thought, I don't really need it that much anyway; since Junior Sister is the one who needs it urgently, I'll just give it to you... Well, since nothing else is the matter, I'll be leaving first. You all carry on."
Without waiting for anyone else to react, Su Luo turned on her heel and walked away, giving no one a chance to make her stay.
Halfway through her departure, she suddenly remembered something. She turned her head to scan the surroundings, and her eyes lit up when she spotted two female cultivators standing at the very edge. She hurried over in a few strides, smiling faintly as she grabbed each of them by one hand and pulled them toward another direction.
"Senior Sister Wan and Senior Sister Yu, I have something to discuss with you. Could you please accompany me for a moment?"
These two female cultivators had originally been standing to the side just watching the drama unfold, but before they knew it, they were being pulled forward by Su Luo—one in each hand—looking utterly bewildered. By the time they snapped out of it, they had already walked a considerable distance.
Behind them, the abandoned group was left wondering, "? What is going on here?"
They were all completely baffled.
Hadn't this Su Luo snatched the Spirit-Boosting Grass that the Junior Sister needed, stubbornly refusing to let go no matter what? Why had she suddenly changed her tune and voluntarily given it to the Junior Sister?
Watching the figures of Su Luo and the others gradually fade into the distance, they pondered over it for a long time without figuring it out, and eventually gave up trying. Instead, they all turned collectively toward Ning Wanshuang to offer their congratulations.
"Junior Sister Ning, this is wonderful."
"That's right, Junior Sister hasn't been feeling well, so at least she'll feel a bit better now that she has the Spirit-Boosting Grass."
Standing out in the crowd, Ye Danqing wore a refined and conspicuous smile. "Junior Sister Ning, you can finally use this Spirit-Boosting Grass to replenish your Spiritual Energy and make your breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment (late) stage."
The others chimed in, "Yes, indeed. It seems our persuasion was effective after all; Senior Sister Su is quite sensible too~"
Qin Xiu crossed his arms and let out a disdainful huff. "She still knows what's good for her... With her pseudo-spiritual roots, it would be completely useless even if she used this Spirit-Boosting Grass. It would just be a total waste."
"Senior Brother Qin makes a valid point..."
"That's right, that's right! Junior Sister Ning is truly blessed!"
Amidst the praises and concern of the crowd, Ning Wanshuang finally withdrew her gaze from Su Luo and the others. Lowering her eyelids, she gazed quietly at the spirit grass in her hand, her eyes obscure and unfathomable.
After a moment, she let out a soft sigh.
"Yes, thank you all so much..."
Hearing this, Ye Danqing and Qin Xiu looked even more delighted.
"As long as it helps Junior Sister Ning, we are glad."
"Junior Sister, with Senior Brother protecting you, you can make any request you like!"
The rest of the crowd nodded repeatedly as well.
Ning Wanshuang let out a light laugh, starlight glittering in her eyes like a begonia untainted by the mortal world, utterly intoxicating to behold.
Even through her veil, everyone was inevitably drawn to her, their eyes filled with fanaticism and adoration.
It was Ye Danqing who finally cleared his throat to break the silence. "Since we've found the Spirit-Boosting Grass for Junior Sister, let's head back now. Master and Uncle-Master are still waiting."
"Alright."
Ning Wanshuang nodded and was escorted down the mountain by the crowd.
Yet, when no one was paying attention, she cast an inadvertent glance toward the direction where Su Luo had left. A flash of red light swept across her amber eyes, and the corners of her lips hidden beneath the veil curved into a sinister arc.
...
Meanwhile, over on Su Luo's side, she was dragging her two senior sisters along as she hurried back, looking anxiously all around her along the way without speaking, her eyes filled with growing panic.
She remembered from the novel that after the original owner took the Spirit-Boosting Grass, she walked for about half an hour before being suddenly attacked by a rampaging giant Gold-Eating Ant, ultimately dying a miserable death inside its jaws.
She had no intention of suffering a brutal death in the mouth of an ant the moment she was reborn!
In her past life, Su Luo had never come to the back mountain, thus avoiding this dead end. But this time, the timing of her rebirth was far too coincidental—she was already deep within the back mountain, where Sword Flight was prohibited and everyone had to walk on foot. Even though Su Luo had already returned the spirit grass to the heroine, the probability of her encountering a Gold-Eating Ant remained extremely high!
Su Luo had a premonition that there was simply no way she could escape this death trap.
However, since she had just been reborn, her strength at the Foundation Establishment (early) stage was far too weak; she had zero confidence in her ability to deal with a Gold-Eating Ant by herself. Therefore, to save her own skin, she still needed the help of others.
Logically speaking, staying with Ning Wanshuang and her group should be safe for Su Luo. Even if they encountered a Gold-Eating Ant, with so many people around, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Yet, thinking of her experiences in the past life, Su Luo couldn't help shivering, her face turning pale.
She truly did not dare stay with that crazy woman! As terrifying as the Gold-Eating Ants were, Ning Wanshuang was even scarier! Su Luo would rather die than have any more to do with Ning Wanshuang! She only wanted to shake off the impending death trap, leave the Tianyiji Sect as fast as possible, and get as far away from that lunatic as she could!
Besides, the crowd around Ning Wanshuang had all been brainwashed and looked down immensely on the original owner. If a real emergency happened, those people wouldn't necessarily save her—they were entirely unreliable!
Thus, after glancing around the group, Su Luo spotted Wan and Yu, and a completely different plan instantly formed in her mind.
Although these two senior sisters hadn't interacted much with the original owner, they at least didn't dislike her. They were upright and open, and would never scheme against others behind their backs. In her past life when the Demon Race invaded, they had even actively stepped forward to fight the enemy, proudly refusing to surrender—it was simply a pity that they had fallen in battle in the end.
Su Luo remembered that these two female cultivators primarily practiced weapon crafting. If she used a Gold-Eating Ant to lure them in, Su Luo believed these two would certainly help her.