Lu Renjia irritably hacked at the tangled vegetation in front of her with her sword, complaining without looking back: “What kind of crappy path is this! Can’t the Steward Hall choose a better place for training?”
Behind her followed two female cultivator followers.
One was called Zhou Min, the other Wu Min.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, sandwiched Xiao Luoyi in the middle.
Xiao Luoyi followed silently, calmly scanning her surroundings, mentally noting all the key landmarks they passed along the way.
Lu Renjia stopped in front of a steep slope, turned around with an apologetic smile: “Ah, Junior Sister Xiao, we’ve gone the wrong way again. The fog is too thick, can’t see the path clearly.”
“It’s fine.”
Xiao Luoyi replied, a rare response, her gaze landing on the new sachet at Lu Renjia’s waist.
It was completely different from the embroidered fragrance sachets Lu Renjia usually liked to use.
This sachet was currently emitting a faint odor.
Xiao Luoyi’s nose twitched, recognizing it as some kind of Demon-Repelling Incense.
For certain demon beasts with sensitive smell, this scent was very pungent.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t strange.
For this kind of “team cooperation,” she just needed to protect herself and then direct the two followers to do the work.
“Let’s rest! I’m dead tired!”
Zhou Min stopped, took out a porcelain bottle from her medicine pouch, and poured out three green pills.
She swallowed one herself, then handed one each to Wu Min and Lu Renjia.
Lu Renjia took the pill but didn’t eat it.
She turned and walked toward Xiao Luoyi with a very warm smile: “Junior Sister Xiao, this prevents miasma. Would you like one too?”
Xiao Luoyi looked at the pill in her hand for a moment, then shook her head.
Lu Renjia gave an awkward smile, but wasn’t annoyed.
She patted Xiao Luoyi’s shoulder and turned away.
Xiao Luoyi felt a little uncomfortable on her shoulder and looked down.
It seemed some medicinal powder had stuck to her shoulder, the scent very faint.
Mixed with the surrounding smell of grass and trees, it would be hard to notice under normal circumstances.
But she still detected the effect of the powder.
It was Demon-Attracting Incense.
“Alright, stop resting. Zhou Min, check the map. How much further to that habitat?”
Zhou Min unfolded the beast-skin map, looked at it for a while: “At this speed, still need half an hour.”
“The hunting ground for Small Bristleback Boars is not over there.”
Xiao Luoyi voiced the doubt she’d had the whole way.
“We’re not going to the hunting ground,” Wu Min answered eagerly.
“We’re going to hunt Bristleback Boar cubs.”
“Why?”
Lu Renjia smiled.
“Cubs are good, safe. Our Junior Sister Xiao is participating in team training for the first time, so we should start with something simple, right?”
Xiao Luoyi stared at Lu Renjia for a moment, then lowered her head and said nothing more, silently following the three as they set off again.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Misty Hidden Forest.
“Senior Brother Zhao! Look! It’s Red Essence Grass! The equipment forge buys this stuff, two contribution points per plant!”
Qian Erge pointed excitedly at a clump of plants growing in the crevice of a large rock on the grass ahead, shouting.
Zhao Dayong’s eyes lit up:
“Where? Pull them all up!”
Zhao Dayong, Qian Erge, and Sun Sanjin all swarmed around, taking out sickles and medicine hoes, completely forgetting formation and forgetting there was a fourth person in the team.
Lin Xiao followed slowly behind, at least three meters away from them.
This was his survival wisdom.
According to his gaming experience, this kind of trio usually came with a trouble aura; getting too close would easily get him splattered with blood.
Plus, on a patch of grass there was a rock, and in the rock’s crevice a single herb grew all alone.
Don’t you suspect the reasonableness of that?
“Three senior brothers, the grass looks a bit deep. There might be snakes.”
Lin Xiao quickly caught up to the three and stopped them.
Zhao Dayong and Qian Erge did listen and stopped, but Sun Sanjin was disdainful: “What’s there to fear from a snake? Perfect for a meal! Move aside, move aside.”
Lin Xiao sighed.
Better save them completely.
He took a step forward, seeming to trip on something, and with an “Ah ya” he crashed into Sun Sanjin.
The collision was perfectly timed; Sun Sanjin stumbled two steps, precisely avoiding the open space in front of the herb.
And right where Sun Sanjin would have stepped, a sharpened wooden spike sprang up from under the grass, flew past his pant leg, and embedded itself in the tree behind, sinking deep into the wood.
Sun Sanjin froze in place, his face instantly turning white.
Zhao Dayong and Qian Erge were also startled, quickly coming over to examine the wooden spike.
“This—who left this damned trap!”
Sun Sanjin recovered his senses and cursed loudly.
Lin Xiao rubbed his shoulder and said softly: “Senior Brother Sun, are you okay? It’s my fault, I lost my balance…”
Sun Sanjin had wanted to scold Lin Xiao, but looking at the wooden spike that nearly put a hole through him, the words died in his throat.
He only said resentfully: “Be more careful next time!”
Zhao Dayong frowned at the trap: “This workmanship is crude, looks like something outer sect disciples set up years ago. Maybe they forgot to dismantle a trap meant for catching demon beasts. Forget it, let’s go. Be careful.”
The three finally restrained themselves a bit, no longer charging around recklessly.
Lin Xiao breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his mind had already flown elsewhere.
Everyone walked for a while longer, and soon the two groups met by a shallow stream.
When Lu Renjia saw Zhao Dayong’s group, she spoke first: “Oh, it’s Senior Brother Zhao and you all. What a coincidence!”
Xiao Luoyi saw Lin Xiao walking at the back at first glance.
Her steps paused, her gaze stopping on his face for a second, then calmly moved away.
Lu Renjia deliberately stepped forward a few paces to stand on a large rock by the stream, and said loudly:
“By the way, we’re heading to the cliff in the west. Zhou Min said there’s a lone Bristleback Boar cub over there, perfect for practice.”
“Cubs are less dangerous. Though the contribution points are a bit lower, it’s just right for practice!”
“Senior Brother Zhao, if you also come across it, don’t snatch it from us. This prey, we’ve reserved it!”
Zhao Dayong sneered: “Bristleback Boar cub? Five contribution points? You go ahead and play. We’re going straight to the Bristleback Boar hunting ground. A Small Bristleback Boar is worth twenty points each!”
Qian Erge and Sun Sanjin also joined in the laughter, obviously dismissive of such low-level prey as cubs.
That was exactly the effect Lu Renjia wanted: “Then it’s settled. May you also return with a full load.”
She was the first to leap across the stream, with Zhou Min and Wu Min following closely.
Xiao Luoyi walked at the end.
When she passed by Lin Xiao, she didn’t stop and didn’t make eye contact.
This made Lin Xiao’s heart feel empty, but isn’t this what you wanted?
Stay away from the female lead; you chose this, idol.
After all, the one Xiao Luoyi knew was the mysterious Yu Lao, not some Lin Xiao.
The two groups thus separated, heading in opposite directions.
After walking some distance, Qian Erge suddenly leaned close to Zhao Dayong and lowered his voice to gossip: “Senior Brother Zhao, why do you think Lu Renjia and them always target Junior Sister Xiao? What do they gain? Junior Sister Xiao is usually quiet and hasn’t offended them, right?”
Sun Sanjin also leaned in, his face full of curiosity: “That’s right, that’s right. I heard that when they first joined, Lu Renjia wanted to pull Junior Sister Xiao into their little group, saying something about looking out for each other in the outer sect. But Junior Sister Xiao didn’t even acknowledge her and just turned and left. Lu Renjia’s face was green!”
“And there’s more,” Qian Erge continued.
“A while back, when Steward Li was substituting, he taught the Basic Qi Guidance Technique and praised Junior Sister Xiao for having a calm mind and being diligent in cultivation. And guess what? That same day, those three drenched her with water.”
Zhao Dayong snorted: “These girls have too many schemes. But honestly, Junior Sister Xiao’s personality is a bit… how to put it, too solitary. People like Lu Renjia love being flattered. Since Junior Sister Xiao ignores her, she feels disrespected, so of course she picks fights.”
The three chatted enthusiastically, not noticing Lin Xiao behind them, his expression grim.
A boring reason.
Just because Xiao Luoyi didn’t flatter her, got a compliment, worked harder than them…
And now, they were about to lead this disobedient junior sister toward a deadly trap.
Only he knew: that wasn’t some cub practice—it was a death invitation that would attract the mother beast.
“Senior Brother Zhao,” Lin Xiao suddenly spoke, “I—I think I ate something bad this morning… I need to find a place… to relieve myself. You go ahead, I’ll catch up!”
Zhao Dayong was in the middle of an animated chat and waved his hand impatiently: “Go, go!”
“Thank you, Senior Brother!”
Lin Xiao clutched his stomach and staggered into the depths of the forest.
Once out of the three’s sight, he immediately straightened up, dropped the pretense, and his expression turned serious.
He spun around sharply, activated Flowing Cloud Traceless, and dashed swiftly toward the Bristleback Boar cub habitat in the western part of the Misty Hidden Forest.