As they walked along, Yan Xiao'er's foot accidentally kicked something.
"Don't touch random things. You only move when I tell you to."
"Oh."
With another tug on the rope, they continued forward.
Yan Xiao'er felt less like she was doing chores and more like she was a prisoner being paraded through the streets.
The memory of being dragged to the execution ground involuntarily flooded her mind.
"Vixen."
"If we don't kill this woman, the Li Kingdom is doomed."
...
"It's the Inner Demon Soul acting up. Watch your breathing."
Her right hand, bound by the rope, was gripped by a hand that was both warm and icy. It was Yu Changmian's low voice snapping her back to reality.
...
"Hurry up and die, so I can marry someone else."
"Xiao'er, Grandmother is willing to die in your place."
...
Yan Xiao'er's ears were filled with a chaotic jumble of voices. Even though she heard Yu Changmian's instructions, she couldn't bring herself to follow them, and her breathing only grew more erratic.
"Mph."
A wave of warmth pressed against her trembling lips.
Rhythmic breaths passed between their teeth, rising and falling in cadence, before finally parting.
Gradually, those haunting voices vanished into thin air. As Yan Xiao'er slowly calmed down and opened her eyes, she found Yu Changmian's face just inches away, leaving her utterly frozen in astonishment.
"Haven't had enough yet, hmm?"
Yu Changmian was teasing her again.
Yan Xiao'er was furious. Just as she thought he was a complete villain, he always managed to save her at the critical moment.
"Where is your Guardian Spirit? Its master is under attack, why hasn't it shown itself yet?"
Who was he talking to?
"Squeak, squeak, squeak."
A tiny, fluttering sound echoed through the air.
Specks of pale yellow light materialized around Yan Xiao'er.
"Well, well... How interesting. I actually guessed wrong. It seems you're not from the Lieque Tribe."
Ugh. Who's from the Lieque Tribe? Your whole family is from the Lieque Tribe.
Yan Xiao'er felt a flicker of annoyance, which was immediately replaced by sheer shock at the sight before her.
She rubbed her eyes. The points of light had gathered together to form a giant, blinking bumblebee.
It was even covering its eyes with its delicate wings out of sheer embarrassment.
See no evil—those two had been acting far too shamelessly just a moment ago.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
Sensing the creature's intent, Yan Xiao'er's face instantly burned red.
"Protect her seven orifices. In this fog, visual and auditory hallucinations can kill you in an instant."
Thousands of fireflies flickered, enveloping Yan Xiao'er's face in a protective glow.
It's certainly obedient to Yu Changmian. I'm supposed to be its master!
No, I need to establish a master-servant bond right now.
"Hey, how about I call you 'Little Bee'?" Yan Xiao'er softly asked the tiny Guardian Spirit for its opinion.
The glow around her swayed back and forth.
"Too masculine, is it? But if I call you 'Little Honey', it sounds inexplicably awful too. What should I call you?"
"How about 'Ling'er'? It's very cute."
The light swayed.
"You don't want a cute name either?"
Yan Xiao'er was in a bind. She really didn't know how to name things; back when she was little, all the maids' names had been chosen by her mother.
If only her parents were still here.
The sudden wave of grief had just begun to rise when a cool, refreshing sensation in her mind snapped her back to alertness.
Hey, it really worked! That must have been its doing.
"I've got it. I'll call you 'Ling'er'. 'Baby Ling'er', how's that?"
The glow happily circled around her in loops and bounds.
"What is that?"
A cluster of deep red flames drifted closer and closer, bursting repeatedly right in front of them.
"The things we were looking for have delivered themselves to our doorstep," Yu Changmian said, raising an eyebrow. "Just what kind of constitution do you have to be so attractive to these freaks?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Fine then. Now it's your turn to work."
Abandoning his position at the front, Yu Changmian spun around, pulling and jerking the rope to send Yan Xiao'er hurtling straight toward the direction of the "will-o'-the-wisp."
"Hey! Can you at least give a little warning or a heads-up?"
Catching the scent of a delectable treat drawing near, the "will-o'-the-wisps" drifted faster.
Panicked that they might attack her, Yan Xiao'er instinctively waved her hands. To her astonishment, the red light flared brilliantly and exploded with a deafening *boom*.
That single blast of fire triggered an even greater frenzy, sending a surging wave of stray flames rushing toward them.
Yan Xiao'er panicked and looked back at Yu Changmian, whose expression was one of intense excitement.
He let out a sharp whistle. "Fantastic! This bait is working wonders."
Even as he spoke, Yu Changmian's hands moved into position, his fingers dancing in a blur of intersecting gestures.
Just as all the nearby "will-o'-the-wisps" gathered around, a sky full of Golden Light Talismans rose from the ground, transforming into a massive cage that trapped them all inside together.
"I'm still inside it!"
Yan Xiao'er hated this feeling; it only served to dredge up painful memories of the day she was humiliated.
Yu Changmian frowned, clearly hearing her cry out.
With a sudden push and pull of his hands, he yanked the cage back and flicked his fingers several times. The golden threads of the talismanic cage responded as if being pulled from a distance, unraveling one by one before reforming into separate, circular barriers of golden light that trapped the escaping "will-o'-the-wisps" as they realized something was wrong and tried to flee.
Beads of sweat coursed down Yu Changmian's forehead, yet they did nothing to diminish the fierce resolve in his eyes.
He truly hadn't expected the sheer volume of them. But compared to his usual spells, this difficult ordeal pushed the limits of his inner potential.
Only when Yu Changmian saw Yan Xiao'er slip clear of the golden cage did the panic on her face begin to fade.
I must never use that again, he thought to himself instinctively, turning his full focus to dealing with the individual "will-o'-the-wisps" he had cornered.
As he chanted incantations in a steady stream, the "red fireseeds" trapped within the golden light circles vanished into thin air one by one.
With a few stubborn stragglers left and his hands full, Yu Changmian instructed Yan Xiao'er to come over and untie the cloth pouch at his waist.
Without warning, a heavily compressed, miniature "will-o'-the-wisp" burst out from Yan Xiao'er's chest, rocketing toward Yu Changmian's face with explosive speed.
During his earlier transition between spells, a "will-o'-the-wisp" with a much higher spiritual value had seized the opportunity to hide inside Yan Xiao'er's body.
If he were hit by a "will-o'-the-wisp" of that caliber, more than half of his hard-earned cultivation would be instantly wiped out.
Oh no!
Before Yu Changmian could react, Yan Xiao'er screamed, "Ling'er!"
In a split second, thousands of pale yellow light specks wove themselves into a sturdy barrier, deflecting the "will-o'-the-wisp" and sending it flying.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yan Xiao'er yanked open the cloth pouch. Yu Changmian nodded in approval and shifted his hand seals. The pouch inflated as if pumped with air, floating into the air to give chase to the fleeing "will-o'-the-wisp."
Catching up to it, the pouch opened wide like a massive mouth and swallowed it down with a hearty *gulp*.
Then, it drifted toward the remaining "residual forces," swallowing them one by one in the exact same manner. Hovering in mid-air, it gave a satisfied wobble before automatically cinching its opening shut.
Yu Changmian walked over, plucked it down, and tied it back around his waist.
"I let my guard down. Let's see how I refine you lot later."
Annoyed at having nearly been outmaneuvered today, he looked at Yan Xiao'er as she walked over and slipped back into his usual demeanor. "No wonder you were in such a hurry to name it earlier—just so it'd be easier to summon. Not bad, you actually have some talent."
"I just saved your life, and you don't even say thank you? You threw me right at them earlier and locked me in a cage, and I haven't even chewed you out for that yet!"
Yan Xiao'er puffed out her cheeks in indignation, though she couldn't hide a tiny thrill of pride over her improvised rescue.
"Little girl, you're a fast learner. I'll teach you a few more tricks later. And if that's still not enough to call it even, I suppose I could always share some more breath with you."
Startled, Yan Xiao'er jumped back in alarm, completely forgetting that the rope was still tied around her right hand, and let out an involuntary yelp.
Yu Changmian stepped closer. Thinking he was up to something again, Yan Xiao'er braced herself, only to find he was simply untying the knot.
At that moment, a layer of dark green glow slowly rose around Yu Changmian as well. Several strands of it linked together, intertwining with Yan Xiao'er's pale yellow light.
"There. Now we won't get lost, even without the rope."