Right now, Su Luo was flying through the air while the three people below were staring right up at her. She felt completely stuck, unsure whether she should keep going or turn back.
Was Ning Wanshuang's vision enhanced by an eight-fold zoom lens?!
"Ning Wanshuang," whom Su Luo was currently cursing out in her heart, smiled pleasantly and said, "Senior Sister Su, what a coincidence."
Su Luo: "..."
The coincidence was so excruciating she wanted to cry. If she had only left a little earlier, she wouldn't have run into this trouble...
Yet the other person had no intention of letting her off the hook, immediately asking, "Senior Sister Su, I heard you plan to leave the Tianyiji Sect?"
Su Luo didn't answer. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Qin Xiu shielding "Ning Wanshuang" behind him as if guarding some priceless treasure, glaring at her with total vigilance. Suddenly, she found the whole thing utterly pointless and lost all desire to exchange pleasantries with them.
She merely gave a wave of her hand.
"It's not a plan—it's already done. Starting today, I am no longer a disciple of the Tianyiji Sect. There's no need to call me that anymore."
At this, the expressions on the faces of Ye Danqing and Qin Xiu shifted dramatically.
When they had first heard the master's message, their initial reaction was that Su Luo was throwing another one of her tantrums, convinced there was no way she could ever bear to leave the Tianyiji Sect!
Yet now, she had actually severed ties with the sect and was really leaving?
"Is Senior Sister Su leaving because of me?" "Ning Wanshuang" fixed a direct, unblinking gaze on Su Luo, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Although the two of us had some friction in the past, it was all just a misunderstanding. No matter what, we are still fellow disciples. Why would you feel the need to leave the Tianyiji Sect?"
Having finally found such an interesting toy, how could he possibly be willing to let her walk away now?
The look in his eyes made every hair on Su Luo's body stand on end. In an instant, she recalled how, in her past life, the other person had repeatedly looked at her with that exact same gaze—the kind one might use to observe an interesting specimen—and her mood plummeted even further.
The reason she was leaving the Tianyiji Sect in the first place was, on one hand, because she loathed this place, and on the other, to get away from this psycho. She certainly hadn't done it to make herself interesting to him!
Prompted by this reminder, Su Luo thought of all the messy complications between the original owner and the female protagonist, making her feel even more depressed.
Out of jealousy, the original owner had indeed deliberately or unintentionally sidelined the female protagonist on a few occasions and even tripped her up. Now that she had taken over the original owner's body and become her, gloomy as she was, she still needed to clear the air with Ning Wanshuang and settle their grievances.
From her experience with her in the past life, she knew all too well how vindictive the young woman before her was; she absolutely had to make sure Ning Wanshuang held no more grudges. Otherwise, once this psycho went off the deep end later in the story and suddenly remembered her—a minor cannon fodder character—and came looking for revenge, she would be completely doomed.
"Junior Sister Ning is overthinking this. My departure from the Tianyiji Sect has nothing to do with you. I've simply stayed here for too long and want to go out and see the world. Besides, I was immature in the past and targeted you out of jealousy. I am truly sorry, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Su Luo's apology once again stunned all three of them. Qin Xiu, in particular, blurted out, "Have you lost your mind or something?"
Su Luo silently rolled her eyes and ignored him.
"With this parting, I'm afraid we won't have a chance to meet again in the future, so I wanted to apologize to you before I left."
Now that she had apologized, the female protagonist had better not be petty and keep plotting against her precious life!
"I still have a journey to make, so goodbye, you guys!" *May we never meet again!*
With that, Su Luo slapped a talisman directly onto her sword. With a *whoosh*, the spiritual sword accelerated and shot straight past over their heads.
From start to finish, Su Luo didn't even glance at Ye Danqing and Qin Xiu, nor did she say another word to them.
Ye Danqing watched Su Luo's retreating figure as the smile at the corner of his lips faded just a fraction.
On the other side, Qin Xiu's eyes widened.
"A God-Speed Talisman??"
The God-Speed Talisman was an advanced version of the flight talisman, something even he didn't know how to use. How did Su Luo manage to get one?! No, he had to go ask her!
Without another word, he summoned his sword, leaped onto it with agile precision, and called out, "Senior Brother, Junior Sister Ning, I'm going to ask Su Luo about something. I'll be right back."
Before anyone could reply, he impatiently shot away on his flying sword.
"Hey, why is everyone in such a rush?"
Ye Danqing hadn't expected Su Luo to flee so quickly, only for Qin Xiu to chase after her regardless of anything else.
Ye Danqing offered an apologetic look to "Ning Wanshuang." "I'm sorry, Junior Sister Ning. You'll have to head back on your own; I need to go find those two."
"Ning Wanshuang" shook his head, his gaze crystal clear and his voice as cool and crisp as a bubbling spring. "It's fine, Senior Brother should go."
Anticipating that this would be his response, Ye Danqing smiled with refined courtesy, turned, summoned his sword, and hurried off in pursuit.
"Ning Wanshuang" watched the distant figures gradually shrinking in the sky, his amber eyes instantly turning frigid and settling into a lightless, desolate stillness.
Recalling the momentary stiffness of the young woman when he had called out to her earlier, the corners of "Ning Wanshuang's" lips, hidden beneath her veil, curved upward once more.
It seemed it wasn't his imagination. He had sensed that this Su Luo had become somewhat different since yesterday.
She had voluntarily given him spiritual herbs, stopped targeting him, and even taken the initiative to leave the Tianyiji Sect—every single action she took was utterly jaw-dropping. Most importantly of all, she seemed somewhat afraid of him...
Why was she afraid of him? What was she afraid of?
This Su Luo had truly become a lot more interesting lately...
Why the sudden change? Why would she do things the old her would never have dreamed of doing, even going so far as to willingly leave the sect? There had to be secrets about her that he wanted to know.
"Ning Wanshuang" lowered his head in thought, a faint red gleam flickering within his downcast amber pupils, casting shifting shadows.
After a moment, he raised his head and snapped his fingers. A yellow spirit-winged bird fluttered out, chirping excitedly around him before rapidly spreading its wings and flying off into the distance.
"Ning Wanshuang" curved his lips in a thoroughly pleasant mood, his posture graceful as he strolled back toward the sect, lost in casual contemplation.
Once he dug up Su Luo's secrets, he might as well turn her into a puppet. She would make the perfect test subject for the new puppet-making techniques he had recently learned...
Along the way, "Ning Wanshuang" encountered several groups of fellow sect disciples. When they greeted him, he responded to each of them in that cool, feminine voice, calm and unruffled.
Soon. Very soon, he would obtain what he needed. When that time came, he wouldn't need to keep pretending to be this disgusting woman anymore, and his revenge plan could finally begin...
Meanwhile, Su Luo had flown out of the Tianyiji Sect on her sword. After a considerable while, she reached a vast plain where the speed of her flying sword gradually slowed down, finally descending into a forest where she hopped off the blade and began to walk at a leisurely pace.
Sword Flight consumed far too much spiritual energy. The foundation of this body of hers was simply too poor to sustain it for long.
This forest was filled with towering millennium-old trees shooting straight up from the ground, their crowns overlapping like a sea of clouds. Sunlight pierced through the leaves to cast mottled patches of light and shadow upon the forest floor. Countless plants competed for growth, and the calls of birds echoed back and forth—a vibrant, thriving scene.
Su Luo took a deep breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Fair is fair: not only was the cultivation world brimming with spiritual energy, but the air here was remarkably fresh too...
Then, Su Luo rubbed her stomach. She was just starting to feel a bit hungry.
Even though those in the Foundation Establishment Stage could fast, as a modern person, she still had an appetite. When mealtime rolled around, not eating made it feel like something was missing.
In this novel, cultivators mostly consumed food containing spiritual energy, though they could also eat a small amount of mortal provisions. She needed to check whether there were any edible spiritual fruits around in this woods...
Thinking to herself, Su Luo strolled casually through the forest, but before long, an irritating voice rang out from behind.
"Wait! Su Luo, hold on!"
"Tsk..."
Without even turning around, she knew it was Qin Xiu barking like a dog. Su Luo clicked her tongue in sullen annoyance.
Why was this guy so relentlessly clingy? She had already left and he still chased after her—did he really think she was afraid of him?
In the blink of an eye, Qin Xiu caught up to Su Luo, blocking her path with a fixed, intense stare.
"Su Luo, do you have a God-Speed Talisman?"