Make bold assumptions and verify them carefully

“Thank you.”

After saying thanks, Shangguan Yunzhu stared blankly at Lu Qiancha.

Images flashed through her mind: being besieged by a host of villains, captured after a bitter fight, and then, in the interval while her captors were preparing an aphrodisiac poison, finding an opportunity to tear open the life-saving talisman her master had given her, teleporting a thousand li away.

She looked at Lu Qiancha’s figure and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

She had been betrayed by her childhood friend, yet saved by a member of the demon clan, whom she had always considered an enemy.
The irony was profound.

“Ooh~ Awooo~!”

Lu Qiancha let out a big, lazy stretch, making no effort to hide her exhaustion.

Getting the injured Shangguan Yunzhu into the cave had taken a herculean effort.

Carrying a person with these furry paws was far less convenient than with hands.

Even with the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art active, Lu Qiancha’s paws couldn’t turn into hands; it was, at most, just a layer of disguise.

“Um…” Shangguan Yunzhu hesitated, looking at the other’s stretching figure, and asked, “My name is Shangguan Yunzhu. May I ask your name?”

“Hmm?” Lu Qiancha glanced at her sideways and casually made something up. “My name is Qianqian.”

With that, without waiting for Shangguan Yunzhu’s response, she walked over to a pile of dry grass and curled up. “I’m going to sleep for a bit. Don’t move around. Call me if you need anything.”

“Alright, Miss Qianqian.”

Shangguan Yunzhu replied, then lay quietly on the ground, staring blankly at the cave’s ceiling.

Gradually, a figure began to form in her mind—her so-called childhood sweetheart, Qingfeng, who had joined the Tianyuan Sect with her and would quickly follow her wherever she appeared.

Long ago, Shangguan Yunzhu had felt that this overly enthusiastic compatriot of hers seemed to be wearing an exquisite mask.

There was always a hint of unnaturalness in his words and actions, so she had intentionally kept her distance.

But she never expected that when he finally tore off that hypocritical facade, what was revealed would be such a filthy and disgusting, ugly face!

‘What exactly has happened these past few days?’

“Eep!”

A warm, soft little paw suddenly landed on her, interrupting her thoughts.

Shangguan Yunzhu was startled and instinctively turned her head—she saw that Lu Qiancha, beside her, was sleeping quite restlessly.

She had been lying on her back, but probably found it uncomfortable to lie on her tail, so she had turned onto her side.

A moment later, she somehow managed to twist herself into a strange position with her face down and tail sticking up.

And in this awkward posture, that restless paw had flung out and landed right on Shangguan Yunzhu’s chest, while her own small body was sprawled in a ‘star’ shape on the nearby pile of grass.

Shangguan Yunzhu blinked, then gently reached out, took hold of the furry little paw on her chest, and carefully moved it away.

Throughout the process, she held her breath, her gaze fixed on Lu Qiancha’s face, afraid of waking her savior.

After doing this, she quietly sighed in relief and looked back at the cave ceiling.

However, this time, a slightly strange thought popped into her head at an inopportune moment—the feel of this paw… it felt so familiar, almost identical to the feeling of Senior Brother Lu Qiancha’s hand.

‘Back on the boat, I vaguely felt something was odd. Senior Brother Lu Qiancha’s hands looked smooth and fair, but when I poked them, the firm yet soft texture, with that strange, granular feel, was distinctly like touching the pad of a small beast.’

‘Could it be…’

In Shangguan Yunzhu’s mind, Lu Qiancha’s tall, handsome figure began to strangely overlap with the silhouette of the small, curled-up, snoring wolf cub beside her.

“…”

‘No! What am I thinking? How could they possibly be the same person? It’s simply preposterous!’

Shangguan Yunzhu shook her head vigorously, forcibly banishing the absurd association from her mind.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to look inward, regulating her breathing.

Life force flowed within her.

The healing power of the talisman, combined with Lu Qiancha’s herbs, was surprisingly effective.

In less than half a day, her stagnant and chaotic internal energy had been guided back onto the right path.

Although her injuries were severe, they had mostly stabilized, and there was no longer any danger of them worsening.

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was as calm as water, having regained its former clarity and peace.

Feeling that her injuries had recovered significantly, Shangguan Yunzhu was about to get up when she felt a gentle but undeniable pull on her arm.

She turned her head to see that the blue figure, who should have been sleeping on the other side, had somehow quietly rolled over to her side.

Lu Qiancha was now lying right next to her, her small body pressed tightly against her side.

One of her front paws was even wrapped firmly around Shangguan Yunzhu’s arm, as if hugging a pillow.

She was sleeping soundly.

Warm, gentle breaths exhaled from her small nose, brushing against the delicate skin of Shangguan Yunzhu’s neck, bringing a subtle but unignorable tingling sensation.

Seeing this unguarded, completely dependent posture, a corner of Shangguan Yunzhu’s cold, hard heart seemed to melt.

The wariness in her eyes finally dissipated completely, and her gaze unconsciously softened.

After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly raised her still-mobile left hand and, very gently, reached for Lu Qiancha’s pair of slightly drooping, furry little ears, which were trembling slightly with each breath.

The moment her fingertips touched the fine fur, the soft, warm sensation made her pause.

Then, even more carefully, as if stroking a newly bloomed petal, she gently caressed them.

“Purrrr~”

In her sleep, Lu Qiancha seemed to sense this unfamiliar comfort and let out a soft, contented purr, like a young cub.

Instead of shying away, she seemed drawn to the touch.

With her eyes closed, her small nose and cheek unconsciously nuzzled against the gentle hand, finding a more comfortable position in the other’s palm, as if to say: Pet me more.

However, Shangguan Yunzhu had no intention of staying any longer.

She was determined to return to the sect and make Qingfeng and his conspirators pay the price!

‘This kindness, if I have the opportunity to repay it, I will certainly do so with all my strength, without a moment’s hesitation.’

Shangguan Yunzhu made another solemn promise in her heart.

Then, holding her breath, she very gently withdrew her arm from Lu Qiancha’s soft yet firm embrace.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the other’s peaceful, sleeping face.

She took a jade-bi-shaped magical artifact, shimmering with an inner light, from her storage pouch and placed it gently beside the sleeping Lu Qiancha.

Getting up and picking up the broken sword that had been placed to the side, the last trace of confusion in her eyes was burned away by fire, leaving only the grim determination of someone who had burned their bridges.

“Nine Origins Nourish the Spirit, a Thousand Phoenixes Mend the Heart!”

She chanted in a low voice.

The broken sword in her hand gradually began to glow with fire, and clear patterns appeared on its surface.

The original cracks on the blade vanished.

As her long hair danced, a phoenix bird flew around Shangguan Yunzhu, reflecting off her flawless skin and illuminating her eyes, which were filled with resolve.

Stepping out of the cave, a biting cold wind, carrying flurries of snow, hit her face.

Shangguan Yunzhu held her sword horizontally before her chest, her aura suddenly rising to its peak.

Her clear shout echoed across the snowy plains, “A Red Heart Condenses the Spirit, Golden Eyes Illuminate the Shadows. A Single True Fire Burns a Myriad of Arts, with This Sword I Command the Seasons!”

“Burning Phoenix Sword Casket, open!”

With three clangs, the sword’s song echoed for ten li!

A fiery red figure shot out, dozens of flying swords circling around her.

After flying for several dozen zhang, the brilliant fiery light suddenly retracted into her body, and the vast sword intent was hidden away.

Shangguan Yunzhu’s figure completely merged with the vast snowstorm, like a drop of red ink falling into a sea of snow, leaving no trace behind.

“The spiritual energy here flows… my intuition tells me that the southeast direction is the correct path!” In the howling wind and snow, her gaze was as sharp as a falcon’s as she looked into the distance, her voice filled with an unquestionable resolve. “As long as I reach that town and find Martial Aunt Xuan… I will surely be able to expose the vile plot of those treacherous villains!”

With that, the red glow of the flying sword beneath her feet pulsed, and its spiritual light flared!

Whoosh—!

With a sound of tearing air, she shot forward like a meteor, her sword like a soaring dragon, suddenly accelerating!

Her figure broke through the wind and snow, speeding towards… uh, the northwest, and in an instant, she disappeared into the snowstorm.