Chapter 17
“Do you know where we are? This mountain is crawling with demons! Come with me now, and I’ll take you home later.”
Looking at her younger brother, who was carrying firewood in one arm, Su Jiu spoke with a grave expression.
“Sis, it’s not as bad as you make it sound. We’ve only run into a few unranked demons along the way, and the Lin family has guards at our campsite...”
Su Xiaoyu scratched his head. He’d finally managed to make the gorgeous Lin Liuer happy by fawning over her. Why would he leave now?
Besides, he genuinely felt that Su Jiu was the one in real danger. She was wandering around alone, covered in blood, and wasn’t she worried about attracting demons?
“And, Sis, how did you get covered in blood? I’ll go into the camp and get you some medicine.” Su Xiaoyu lowered his head and glanced at the blood on Su Jiu’s legs, speaking softly.
“No need. Just get me some water and food... As for those guards you mentioned, are they Battle General-level?” Hearing that there were guards, Su Jiu’s tone softened a little as she continued questioning him.
“Huh? Sis, Battle General-level warriors aren’t exactly a dime a dozen. How could they...”
“So Sis Jiu actually chased us here alone? I remember asking Brother Xiaoyu to invite you, too.”
Before Su Xiaoyu could say anything more, a rather gentle female voice sounded nearby.
“...”
Su Jiu followed the voice and saw a familiar face. The deep blue dress showed off Lin Liuer’s tall figure to perfection.
Compared to Su Jiu, who was covered in dust from her travels, Lin Liuer looked like a princess beside a general.
“Sis, I’ll go get you some food.”
Feeling that the atmosphere had turned awkward, Su Xiaoyu hurried into the camp with the firewood and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“I just heard you questioning whether the Lin family’s guards are Battle General-level. Are you worried Brother Xiaoyu might be in danger?”
Though Lin Liuer called her “Sis,” her eyes were full of disdain. Both she and Su Jiu had made it into Class A, but she still thought, “It’s so nice to have a mayor for a father.”
After all, Su Jiu had only awakened her abilities late, and with Huang Fusheng covering for her, not many people knew about it.
As Lin Liuer spoke, three figures suddenly appeared behind her: two burly men and a rather tall woman.
They were all dressed in simple leather jackets and pants. The woman leading them had a faintly hostile look on her face.
“Are you Battle General-level?” Su Jiu repeated expressionlessly.
“Little girl, Battle General-level warriors are leaders in Huayang City.” Lin Wu glanced at Su Jiu and spoke coldly. “How could they come babysit a bunch of brats?”
At that, Su Jiu’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter. She continued in a frosty tone, “Then are you Advanced Warriors?”
Lin Wu’s expression turned unpleasant. She was only an Intermediate Warrior, and she’d come along mainly because her younger cousin Lin Liuer was on break and wanted to go out with everyone.
Besides, she’d often come here when she was in high school. There had never been any demon beasts around.
“You’re not even Advanced Warriors... Leave here before dark.”
Su Jiu took a deep breath and spoke with utmost seriousness. With so many people, they’d make a fine meal for the demons.
“Tsk, my cousin can kill a Blazing Wolf that’s on the verge of reaching a rank. Why should we leave? We haven’t run into a single demon that was even remotely dangerous.”
“But you, Sis Jiu, got hurt fighting some unruly monkey or other unranked demon beast. You should hurry home.”
Seeing Su Jiu’s expression, Lin Liuer suddenly burst out laughing. Her older cousin might be a Warrior like the rest of them, but she and the others had actually hunted demons before. After all, they were older than the students.
At that, Lin Wu and the other two exchanged amused smiles. They clearly liked what Lin Liuer had said. They were worlds apart from those students who’d spent their lives sheltered in an ivory tower.
After being tempered by fire and blood, would they really be afraid of unranked demons?
“Suit yourselves. I’m taking Xiaoyu with me later.”
Su Jiu said no more. She smiled, then found a spot nearby and sat down.
About ten minutes later, Su Xiaoyu came back into view. He waved as he approached, carrying some food and several bottles of medicine.
“Sis, I got the food.”
Seeing the medicine, Su Jiu pursed her lips. She wasn’t hurt, but her little brother had still gone to get her medicine. It was kind of touching.
But in the next moment, Su Xiaoyu grinned, stuffed everything into a bag, and tossed it to Su Jiu. Then he opened a bottle of juice and handed it to Lin Liuer. “Liuer, you’ve been talking so much. You must be tired. Here, your favorite green apple juice.”
He was one step away from feeding her himself.
Lin Liuer paused. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have taken it, but seeing Su Jiu there, she smiled sweetly and accepted the juice. “Thank you, Brother Xiaoyu.”
Then she wiggled her eyebrows at Su Jiu provocatively.
“What is it, Little Sister Liuer? Having trouble with your eyes? You keep blinking. Want me to rub them for you?”
Su Jiu met Lin Liuer’s gaze without expression, then suddenly smiled, a trace of innocence in her eyes.
My foolish little brother, you’re being a simp and driving up the price, aren’t you? A warm-hearted guy ranks below a dog, after all.
“Sis, if you’re not coming camping with us, you should head down the mountain.”
Su Xiaoyu felt a faint chill in the air and couldn’t help shivering. It was only noon, so why was it so cold?
“Come with me.” Su Jiu took a deep breath, ignored Lin Liuer’s gaze, and spoke with unusual seriousness.
This was the first time Su Xiaoyu had seen Su Jiu look like this. He shrank back, feeling inexplicably afraid. But when he looked at the goddess beside him, he found courage from somewhere and suddenly raised his head. “Sis, you should go by yourself. It’s safe here. Sister Lin Wu and the others are Intermediate Warriors skilled in martial arts. They can even put up a fight against a forest overlord like a Dark Night Tiger.”
At that, Lin Wu and the other two straightened their backs. They’d never actually fought a Dark Night Tiger, but that didn’t stop them from showing off.
“...”
Su Jiu’s willow brows gradually furrowed. Couldn’t her little brother grow up already? If he got himself killed, who would carry on the family line for their late father?
“Sis Jiu, give him this.”
Just then, faint footsteps came from behind her. It was Bai Qianyu, who’d been waiting for a long time. She handed Su Jiu the emergency flare Bai Chen had given them.
Su Jiu sighed, took the flare, and held it out to her younger brother. “If you run into danger, set it off. The Dragon Hunters patrolling nearby will come to your rescue, and I’ll come too.”
“Pfft. If you run into danger even my cousin can’t handle, are you going to come over and serve yourself up as a meal?” Lin Liuer continued to mock her. “And Dragon Hunters? Why would they be patrolling around here when there are only unranked demons nearby?”
“How irritating!”
As soon as Lin Liuer finished speaking, Su Jiu shot her a cold look, then continued instructing her brother. “Don’t wander around after dusk. If anything happens, message me on QQ. If something happens to you, Dad will be heartbroken.”
Su Xiaoyu wanted to say more, but when he met Su Jiu’s icy gaze, the words stuck in his throat. He replied softly, “O-okay.”
What happened to his usual useless, adorable big sis? Why did he feel such a strange sense of pressure coming from her?
He’d only felt this way once before: when his father had taken him to a banquet at the Adventurers’ Guild, and he’d met a one-eyed uncle.
That man had been an Advanced Warrior who’d lived by the blade!
...
Another hour or two passed.
Several dark figures crept closer, their eyes glinting faintly. From the grass, they stared menacingly at the campers gathered around the newly lit bonfire.
They lowered their heads and resumed tearing at chunks of Dark Night Tiger meat they’d dragged for several thousand meters, occasionally glancing up at the sky.
As if they were waiting for something.
...
After parting ways with the group of picnickers, Su Jiu and Bai Qianyu continued deeper into the mountains toward the rocks. Dusk was approaching, and they had reached their destination.
“It’s an egg about the size of a water bucket. Go look for it. Don’t use your transformation; it’d put too much strain on your body.”
Looking at the rocks glowing crimson in the sunlight, Su Jiu had already activated her Ice Chi Transformation and was scanning the surroundings with her slit pupils.
“Mm.”
Bai Qianyu gave a quiet reply, without asking how Su Jiu knew that the thing they were looking for was an egg.
In her eyes, Su Jiu seemed like a seasoned Dragon Hunter today. She’d taught her so much, from combat techniques to how to use her transformation.
Su Jiu’s techniques for killing demons were practiced and lethal, making Bai Qianyu constantly wonder whether they’d really learned the same things at school.
She couldn’t help thinking: Hadn’t she even blinked during class?