After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 77

Qin Qingyi reached out to Zhou Zhixue:

“Junior Sister, are you willing to go with me to support Feng Ning?”

Zhou Zhixue stared at her intently, and after two moments, she lowered her eyes and gently replied, “Senior Sister knows I won’t refuse.”

——————

By the time the two arrived at Ya Mountain, the battle was fierce.

Feng Ning was leading her people in a desperate fight against the Demon Race. Seeing that they were about to collapse, Qin Qingyi and Zhou Zhixue arrived just in time. Without a word, they threw themselves into the battle, which finally reversed some of the decline.

“I can’t remember how many times this is. The Demon Race seems tireless; they attack every few hours.”

After the battle, Feng Ning barely managed to stay on her feet.

She looked at Qin Qingyi, her eyes full of gratitude.

“Thank you both so much. If you hadn’t arrived in time, perhaps I would have died at the hands of the Demon Race.”

Her gratitude was sincere.

After all, if Qin Qingyi hadn’t arrived promptly and slain the Demon General who was about to succeed in a sneak attack, Feng Ning would probably be a cold corpse right now.

“You can’t die,” Qin Qingyi joked.

“If you die, where will our Martial Uncle find another disciple as hardworking and reliable as you? I know she has long intended for you to take over as Sect Master.”

She poked the fire in front of her. The flickering warm light shone on the group, driving away much of the fatigue.

A bonfire was lit at night, and many immortal sect disciples gathered around it in twos and threes to warm themselves. Ya Mountain was bitterly cold, and even cultivators couldn’t withstand it easily.

Used spiritual stones were discarded on the ground—they were exhausted from the Spirit Gathering Array. Everyone sat cross-legged within the array in silence, meditating. They had to race against time to recover their spiritual power during these few hours of respite.

Qin Qingyi looked at the disciples around her, whose spirits were constantly tense. She knew that after a long time here, having to face sudden attacks from the Demon Race at all times, their nerves were severely strained.

Especially Feng Ning, as the leader, her pressure was particularly immense. Qin Qingyi’s keen monster-race intuition told her that the current Feng Ning was like a fully drawn bow, unable to withstand any more stimulation.

That string, which could snap at any moment, made her overly fearful and suspicious. In just this short time, Qin Qingyi noticed that Feng Ning had looked toward the Demon Race’s direction no fewer than dozens of times.

But she couldn’t help Feng Ning much. The Sword Sect didn’t have many disciples left to guard it. For this trip, she could only bring her Junior Sister and the disciples who had already recovered. If even a few more people were transferred out, the Sword Sect would truly be unguarded.

After thinking for a moment, she tossed Feng Ning a sticky rice ball—a snack from the Hidden Snow Peak’s small kitchen that she had tucked away before leaving.

Feng Ning reached out, took it, opened it, and began to devour it ravenously. It had been a long time since she had returned to the Sword Sect. Although Ya Mountain was only a thousand miles from the Sword Sect, a cultivator could return in a moment.

“Master only sees that I am hardworking and capable. In terms of talent, I’m merely average, not some favored child of heaven.”

Hearing Qin Qingyi’s teasing, she only chuckled softly.

But after laughing, a look of longing appeared on her face:

“I wonder how Xiao Ying is doing.”

Hearing her ask about Feng Ying, Qin Qingyi waved her hand, “Oh her? She’s worried sick about you. She looks much thinner than before.”

“She’s thinner?! Has she fallen ill?” Feng Ning immediately became anxious, looking at Qin Qingyi and waiting for her to continue.

Seeing her worry, Qin Qingyi didn’t keep her in suspense and quickly told her everything about Feng Ying’s situation: “She’s not sick, she’s just thinning from exhaustion.”

“She is currently responsible for treating the wounded inside the Sword Sect. She knows you are having a difficult time guarding Ya Mountain, but she can only worry every day and learn about your recent situation from other disciples who have retreated from Ya Mountain. Back and forth, wouldn’t she worry even more, seeing her become thinner by the day?”

After hearing what Qin Qingyi said, a look of bitterness instantly appeared on Feng Ning’s face: “It’s awful that I can’t go back and reassure her.”

Seeing her morale drop, Qin Qingyi stepped forward and patted her shoulder: “Don’t overthink it, she’s very strong.”

Qin Qingyi recalled the young girl who was not particularly healthy, always looking worried, seldom smiling, and constantly seated in a wheelchair.

When a great enemy was at hand, many disciples would feel fear to some degree, but that girl faced the battle between immortals and demons with complete composure, showing no sign of fear. Not only was she currently worried about Feng Ning on the front line, but she was also forcing her body to treat the wounded.

She was already stronger than many people; it was only her body that held her back.

Qin Qingyi didn’t say much, but Feng Ning managed to cheer herself up.

She gave herself a pep talk: “When this war is over, there will be plenty of time. I will definitely take Xiao Ying to tour the great rivers and mountains of the Xuan Tian Realm.”

With that, Feng Ning braced her knees and stood up, full of fighting spirit, with no trace of her previous dejection.

What a wonderful person.

Qin Qingyi laughed heartily.

Before long, Feng Ning had settled her mind and invited Qin Qingyi to patrol with her.

Halfway there, Feng Ning looked at Qin Qingyi, then at Zhou Zhixue, who was walking a few meters behind them, with the distance deliberately maintained. Something felt very off.

She then recalled some things Feng Ying had told her before, and her gaze towards the two women became more playful. She could have held back, but as she and Qin Qingyi chatted enthusiastically, the gaze behind her was too scorching; it felt like it was about to burn a hole in her back.

She couldn’t hold back for long and finally poked Qin Qingyi, asking in a low voice, “Is something wrong with your Junior Sister?”

She winked and made faces, which only made Qin Qingyi want to laugh.

But the resentment behind her, which had practically solidified and was stabbing her back, truly couldn’t be ignored.

Qin Qingyi subtly glanced at Zhou Zhixue trailing behind her. Seeing her face was cold and rigid, clearly looking like someone owed her a few thousand spiritual stones, she knew in her heart that Zhou Zhixue was still angry with her. However, she couldn’t explain the details to Feng Ning, so she could only be vague:

“I did something earlier that annoyed her. She’s probably still upset.”

The explanation only made the expression on Feng Ning’s face more subtle, adopting an “I understand, I understand” look.

Seeing this, Qin Qingyi simply kept quiet. Continuing to talk would probably only make things worse. She might as well say nothing.

But Feng Ning, who enjoyed the spectacle, urged Qin Qingyi to go and placate her, and then she quickly walked ahead to patrol first.

Before Qin Qingyi could react, Feng Ning was already so far ahead that she couldn’t be caught up to.

Qin Qingyi sighed softly and stood still.

Zhou Zhixue also stopped a few steps behind her, neither coming closer nor speaking.

Qin Qingyi turned around and looked at her:

“How long are you going to throw a tantrum at me like this?”

Her words were already very calm, but they still made Zhou Zhixue’s heart ache, and in a moment, tears began to fall.

“So this is just me throwing a tantrum at Senior Sister?”

She choked up.

She stood there, with the wind and snow blowing across Ya Mountain between them, like an uncrossable chasm.

Qin Qingyi sighed.

She should have known long ago that once a breach was opened, it would be impossible to return to the past.

“I didn’t mean to blame you. My words were poor, and I made you sad.” She softened her tone, wanting to talk properly with Zhou Zhixue.

She put on the posture and tone she used to use to coax a child, opening her arms to Zhou Zhixue: “Come to Senior Sister, okay?”

This trick was highly effective. Zhou Zhixue, who had been crying sorrowfully, stopped her tears. She looked at Qin Qingyi and, seeing her genuinely gentle expression, then walked over step by step and stood in front of Qin Qingyi.

But she only stood in front of Qin Qingyi, indifferent to the hint that she wanted a hug, even turning her face away with a hint of petulance.

She refused to let herself be embraced like she did when she was a child.

Qin Qingyi felt genuine regret in her heart.

However, the good thing was that Zhou Zhixue no longer sullenly refused to speak. Instead, she changed to following Qin Qingyi wherever she went.

In the small Ya Mountain, as long as Qin Qingyi left for a moment, she would start searching for her all over the mountain with her sword in hand.

It didn’t seem to have gotten much better.

It might have been better when she wasn’t talking.

Qin Qingyi thought this, her face showing a touch of numbness.

But others didn’t think so. They even brought a playful mindset, as daily dealing with the Demon Race attacks was already exhausting, and having this entertainment to watch every day was quite nice.

With the addition of Qin Qingyi and Zhou Zhixue, two powerful combatants, the situation at Ya Mountain significantly improved. From barely holding on initially, they were now fighting with ease. At the very least, counterattacking the Demon Race’s assaults was now relatively light work for them.

After another battle ended, Feng Ning was wiping her sword. Before her breathing could fully calm down, she acutely sensed that something was wrong.

“Strange, the fierce Demon General from before hasn’t been seen for the past few days.”

She was talking about the Demon General who had led the Demon soldiers of Ya Mountain to charge every day before Qin Qingyi arrived. Since Qin Qingyi came, that Demon General had not appeared again.

“Maybe they were transferred elsewhere. To look on the bright side, with her gone, we’re much more relaxed.”

The Kunwu Daoist disciple next to her leaned lazily against the stone wall. His spiritual power had been over-consumed just now, and he was now exhausted, his lips even turning pale.

He had no good feelings for the Demon General Feng Ning mentioned. After all, he had suffered a considerable loss at the hands of that Demon General due to his carelessness, which made him lose face in front of the disciples of other sects.

Now that the Demon General was nowhere to be seen, the Kunwu Daoist disciple felt a slight sense of relief.

Feng Ning, however, did not think so. Her expression became a bit grave because she was thinking about this matter.

When she walked up to Qin Qingyi, she finally voiced her worries.

“I’m afraid the Demon Race is plotting a major move. If we remain completely unaware of it, we will truly fall into a trap and be led around by the nose by the Demon Race.”

This matter was indeed unusual. Qin Qingyi also furrowed her brow and motioned for Feng Ning to walk a little farther away with her.

Seeing that they were some distance from others and no one had noticed them, Qin Qingyi then quietly told her about the Black Water Cliff’s practice of raising Demon Seeds and having them possess others’ bodies.

“What?!” Feng Ning gasped.

She was so shocked that she nearly lost control of her expression. Seeing that Qin Qingyi’s demeanor was not feigned, she clutched her fiercely beating heart and sought confirmation again: “Is what you said true?”

She had been guarding Ya Mountain the whole time and hadn’t returned to the Sword Sect, so she naturally didn’t know that Qin Qingyi had encountered such a dangerous event at Black Water Cliff.

Qin Qingyi nodded: “I heard it with my own ears. That Demon King named Tiwina was absolutely sure, so it must not be false.”

“If that’s the case, we’re in trouble.”

Feng Ning muttered softly.

Just as they were speaking, Qin Qingyi suddenly felt an unmissable gaze coming from behind her.

Qin Qingyi’s back stiffened.

She knew without thinking who it was. She could only turn around and helplessly say to Zhou Zhixue, who was staring at her a few steps away, “Junior Sister, you don’t need to stare anymore. Come over.”

What she was telling Feng Ning was something she and her Junior Sister had experienced together at the time.

But this time, she couldn’t call Zhou Zhixue over. She still stood rooted in place, a little far away, and Qin Qingyi couldn’t quite make out her expression.

Feng Ning beside her was sensible. She mockingly “tsked,” raised an eyebrow at Qin Qingyi, signaled for her to hurry up and coax the person, and then left first.

Leaving Qin Qingyi standing alone.

With no choice, she had to walk up and quietly ask Zhou Zhixue, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Zhixue ignored her, turned around, and walked away.

Qin Qingyi felt inexplicably confused, but she couldn’t press the matter right now.

Until the night deepened, Qin Qingyi began to feel unwell.

Her head gradually became heavy, her body felt hot, and even her breathing grew scorching. She vaguely realized something was wrong. When she looked up, she saw a full moon hanging in the sky.

Only then did she realize it.

Tonight was the night when her ‘love tide’ would erupt again.

Seeing that she was about to lose her sanity, Qin Qingyi thought that she couldn’t let it happen here. This place was full of resting immortal sect disciples; she couldn’t expose herself.

Bracing her body, Qin Qingyi staggered to walk out, but after only a few steps, she collapsed softly into someone’s arms.

It was Zhou Zhixue.

Like finding a life-saving straw, Qin Qingyi tightly grasped Zhou Zhixue’s sleeve, panting softly: “Junior Sister, take me… away from here…”

“I found a mountain cave. Perhaps it can help Senior Sister resolve this urgent problem. If Senior Sister finds it too crude, then Junior Sister will look for another place,” Zhou Zhixue said in a low voice, speaking only loud enough for Qin Qingyi to hear.

Qin Qingyi closed her eyes and responded with difficulty: “No need, the cave… will do.”