Chapter 42: Someone Died

After finishing breakfast, Yue Li cleaned up the dishes and then took Xing Lian out of the manor.

Arriving by the city’s main road, Yue Li hailed a carriage, and the two of them rode out of the city.

It wasn’t long before they reached their destination. 

The scenery here was beautiful, with clear waters and green hills. 

A lake sat nestled in the center of the mountains, looking absolutely breathtaking.

Xing Lian was very satisfied with this place. 

She grabbed her fishing rod and ran towards the lakeshore.

“Lian’er, slow down. Be careful not to fall.”

Seeing Xing Lian running so fast, Yue Li chased after her worriedly.

But Xing Lian paid no heed. 

After fishing for so long, she had fallen deeply in love with this activity.

This lake was huge. 

She wondered what she could catch.

Xing Lian circled the lake, found a suitable spot, and sat down to fish.

Yue Li stood beside Xing Lian, looking at her with a gentle expression.

Xing Lian’s fishing skills had long been honed. 

In just one morning, she had caught a full bucket.

“Lian’er, you’re amazing. You caught so many fish. How about I make grilled fish for you for lunch?”

Seeing Xing Lian’s haul, Yue Li was unstinting with her praise, because she knew this would make Xing Lian happy.

Sure enough.

Xing Lian was overjoyed to hear this and nodded in agreement.

After fishing for so long, she felt tired too. 

Having something to eat was just right.

Yue Li had made ample preparations for today’s outing. 

Carrying the small bucket and their luggage, she started a fire in a clearing by the lake, took out her cooking utensils to prepare the ingredients, and then focused on grilling the fish.

Xing Lian sat to the side, not needing to do anything but wait to eat.

After Yue Li finished grilling the fish, she handed one to her.

Xing Lian took it and began to eat.

Yue Li’s cooking skills were excellent. 

The grilled fish was golden, crispy, and delicious. 

Xing Lian ate two in a row and drank some water before finally feeling full.

After finishing lunch, Yue Li started cleaning up the utensils.

Once she was done, she took a walk along the lakeshore with Xing Lian.

The scenery of the lake and mountains was very beautiful, the air was fresh, and the view was pleasant. 

Xing Lian loved it.

After walking for a while, Xing Lian found a rock to sit on and chatted idly with Yue Li. 

After chatting for a bit, she prepared to resume her great fishing endeavor.

But just as she picked up her fishing rod, a scream suddenly rang out, startling her.

“What was that sound?” Xing Lian looked behind her warily.

The lush, dense woods greatly limited her vision. 

In her black-and-white perspective, there was nothing there.

Yue Li didn’t see anything unusual either, likely because the source of the sound was too far away.

“That was probably…”

Before Yue Li could finish her sentence, the scream sounded again.

This time, it wasn’t just a sound; there was also movement from within the forest.

“Help! Save me!”

A dark figure stumbled out of the woods, accompanied by a strong, pungent smell of blood.

Xing Lian was so scared she dropped her fishing rod, staring nervously at the approaching person.

This person was tall and slender, with a very ordinary face, dressed in black clothes. 

There were wounds at her waist and back, and her body was covered in blood.

Xing Lian had never seen such a scene before. 

She was terribly frightened by the blood-covered person before her, fearfully moving closer to Yue Li and tightly wrapping her arms around Yue Li’s arm.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Yue Li pulled Xing Lian into her embrace, watching the newcomer warily.

The woman in black opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

Right at that moment.

With a “whoosh”, an arrow shot out from the woods and pierced her body.

“Ah!”

The woman in black let out a scream, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell to the ground with a “thud”.

Seeing this, Xing Lian was almost scared to death.

A person who was fine just a moment ago was killed the next second. 

This was a strong shock to her heart.

But soon, she didn’t have the mood to think about that anymore. 

The dense woods rustled, branches and leaves shaking.

The sound of footsteps approached, and several women wearing soft armor ran out from the forest.

These women were brimming with killing intent, holding large knives in their hands, each with an unfriendly expression.

They were likely the ones who had just shot and killed the woman in black.

Xing Lian was so nervous she could barely breathe.

The women ran to the side of the woman in black, squatting down to check her body.

“No breath. She’s dead.”

“Good that she’s dead. What about these two?”

The women turned their gazes towards Xing Lian and Yue Li.

Seeing Yue Li, they remained unmoved, not taking her seriously at all. 

But when they saw Xing Lian, all the women were stunned.

A face of peerless beauty, skin whiter than snow, eyes glistening with unshed tears, looking utterly pitiable and lovely.

‘Beautiful. So incredibly beautiful!’

The women were all captivated by Xing Lian’s appearance, staring dumbly for a long time before snapping back to reality.

“Kill the tall woman. Keep the small one.”

With that said, the women slowly advanced, knives in hand.

Xing Lian was nearly scared out of her wits, her heart pounding wildly with tension.

The tall woman must refer to Yue Li, and the small one must be herself. 

What did they mean by ‘keep’ her? 

They definitely wanted to bully her.

Having lived in this world for over a year, Xing Lian already knew the destructive power of her own appearance.

If she fell into the hands of these people, she might not die, but living might be more painful than death.

Could Yue Li protect her? 

Was she capable?

Xing Lian nervously clenched Yue Li’s hand.

Yue Li gave her a reassuring look before turning to face the several women.

She hadn’t wanted to cause trouble, but if these people were seeking death, then she couldn’t blame her.

Although she had no weapon in hand, as a Transcendental Beast Girl, her body was tougher than ordinary swords. 

Yue Li was not afraid in the slightest.

The women charged. 

Yue Li stepped forward.

One woman slashed down viciously with her knife. 

Yue Li reached out and caught the blade between two fingers. 

With a slight exertion of force, she directly snapped the knife in two.

She punched the woman, sending her flying several meters away, then turned and kicked another one away.

Yue Li didn’t even transform into her original form. 

Using just ordinary punches and kicks, she knocked all the women down.

“Miss, please spare us!”

Seeing how powerful Yue Li was, the women knew they had kicked an iron plate. 

They quickly knelt and begged for mercy.

But Yue Li remained unmoved. 

With a few “thuds”, she gave each of them a punch. 

Their heads lolled to the side, and they stopped breathing.

Seeing this, a flicker of reluctance passed through Xing Lian’s eyes, but in the end, she didn’t say anything more.

She wasn’t a fool, nor was she a saint. 

She knew that if it weren’t for Yue Li, they would be the ones dead.

Wanting to commit evil but lacking the skill, getting killed in return—there was nothing pitiable about that.

She just wasn’t used to seeing blood and instinctively disliked the passing of life.

“Lian’er, are you okay?”

After dealing with the women, Yue Li turned and saw Xing Lian covering her mouth, looking like she might vomit. 

She asked with some concern.

“N-no… I’m fine.”

Xing Lian shook her head and asked what they should do next.

“We can’t stay here. Let’s go back quickly.”

Yue Li thought for a moment and finally made this decision.

She didn’t know the identities of the woman in black or these attackers, nor did she want to investigate. 

It was none of her business; she didn’t want to invite trouble.

This was the scene of the incident. 

Someone might come at any time. 

It was best to leave as soon as possible.

Xing Lian was badly frightened and had already lost her composure, so naturally, she would follow whatever Yue Li said.

“Mm, let’s go quickly.”

Yue Li transformed into her original form and carried Xing Lian, running all the way back. 

Before long, they returned to the city.