Taking a Walk

On Lu Qiancha’s right side, Gan Tang was pressed close against her, her skirt fluttering with her light steps, the gauze of her dress shimmering faintly in the sunset.

Every so often, she would give a little joyful hop, kicking up a few specks of golden sand.
But her gaze would always drift unconsciously toward the corner of Lu Qiancha’s robes fluttering in the sea breeze, before quickly looking away again.

After just a few minutes, Lu Qiancha felt a hundred times more tormented than when she was being fed by the bonfire earlier.

Lu Qiancha’s voice carried a fatigue she was trying hard to suppress and a hint of relief from being on the verge of collapse.
“I feel… I’ve digested enough.
The evening wind is chilly.
Why don’t we head back?”

“Okay, senior brother!”

Gan Tang responded instantly, her face showing unhesitating reliance and pure happiness.
She just wanted to stick to her senior brother; the walk was merely an excuse.

“Mm~ I’ll listen to little Qiancha~” Xun Xue chimed in with a smile, her figure already flickering closer.

In the instant they passed each other.

Her well-defined, jade-like hand shot out silently, like a phantom.

Swish!

It precisely pinched the hidden, fluffy little ear tip of Lu Qiancha, which was twitching slightly in annoyance at that moment!

“Whaaa—?!” Lu Qiancha’s fur stood on end, like a puppy whose tail had been stepped on.

Her body shot up instinctively in a conditioned reflex.

The sudden stimulus caused her spiritual energy supply to the illusion to abruptly cut off.

“Ngh! Don’t touch my ears!!!”

The little wolf girl’s fur bristled.
Her small paw, carrying the sound of a humiliated fury wind, swatted violently at the offending large hand.

“Hehe~”

Xun Xue had already retracted her hand like a lightning bolt, her smile like that of a great bear who had stolen a whole pot of honey, and she strode forward contentedly.

Her fluffy, elegant tail was held high in triumph, swinging from side to side.

Seeing this, Lu Qiancha’s blue eyes instantly filled with a crystalline mist from the anger and sudden shock.

The spot where her ear tip had been pinched was still throbbing with heat.

Ngh… So angry!

Lu Qiancha glared at Xun Xue, her gaze slowly moving to Xun Xue’s large tail.
Then, a mischievous smile spread across her lips.

‘Hmph, you pinch my ear, I’ll grab your tail.
A fair exchange, isn’t it?’

She held her breath, her eyes sharp, locking onto her prey.
She aimed for the defenseless, fluffy tail ahead, which was still basking in the afterglow of victory.

Spiritual energy suddenly condensed in her legs, then exploded.

“Whoosh—!”

Her small figure shot forward like a cannonball leaving the muzzle.

A small cloud of sand kicked up at her feet as she lunged fiercely at that damned tail.

Her vicious paws could almost feel the fluffy, warm touch.

Lu Qiancha, filled with mischievous intent, charged straight for the defenseless large tail.

The next moment.

Immortal energy protected its master.
A shield of shimmering immortal energy suddenly appeared around Xun Xue.

Bang!

Lu Qiancha felt as if she had slammed headfirst into a steel wall.

“Wuyii—!”

A short, miserable cry was uncontrollably squeezed from her throat.

All her forward momentum, all the wicked intent she had brewed, was extinguished in an instant like a candle doused with boiling water.

Her little head was ringing, and countless little spots of light seemed to flash before her eyes.

The tremendous inertia sent Lu Qiancha stumbling back several steps.

Finally, with a plop.

She landed heavily on her bottom in the still-warm golden sand.

The fine sand that was kicked up sprayed all over her face.

Lu Qiancha was still a bit dazed.
She stiffly raised a paw and subconsciously covered the spot on her forehead, which was rapidly turning red and hot, like a searing brand.

Her blue eyes instantly filled with a thin layer of moisture, a physiological reaction.

“Wuu~”

Lu Qiancha rubbed her slightly dizzy little head with her paw, a small whimper escaping her lips.

“Senior brother!”

Gan Tang cried out in alarm, pouncing over like a startled fawn.
She half-knelt beside Lu Qiancha, fumbling with her shoulders and arms, her voice filled with frantic concern.

“Senior brother, how are you? Are you alright? Where did you hit yourself? Does it hurt?”

Gan Tang’s pink eyes were filled with fear, so anxious she was almost on the verge of tears.

“Uh… I…”

Lu Qiancha struggled to find her voice, which came out with a slight buzzing echo.
“I’m… I’m fine, just a little dizzy…”

She waved her hand weakly, trying to dispel the stars before her eyes.

While Gan Tang was still in a state of alarm.

A gust of wind, carrying a frosty aura, had already swept before them.
The triumphant smile on Xun Xue’s face had long since frozen, replaced by gravity and a hint of panic.

She swatted Gan Tang’s interfering hand away and then, carefully, almost trembling, used her fingertips to brush aside the bangs on Lu Qiancha’s forehead.

Hiss!

Her heart lurched violently.
On the once smooth, jade-like forehead, there was a palm-sized mark, red to the point of turning purple.

“…”

Xun Xue’s deep blue pupils contracted violently, and the color drained from her face.

She dared not hesitate any longer and fumbled in her storage pouch for a medicinal ointment that glowed with the luster of warm jade.

Xun Xue extended her index finger, gently dabbed it, and the rich, gentle ointment was applied with extreme softness to Lu Qiancha’s forehead, carefully seeping into the red, swollen, and burning area.

A warm current seeped in, soothing Lu Qiancha’s concussed meridians, thread by thread.

The searing pain and dizzying swelling, as if washed away by a gentle spring tide, quickly subsided and disappeared.

The heat on her forehead, as if doused with cool spring water, slowly receded, leaving only a slight soreness.
The stars before her eyes finally faded.

Seeing this, Xun Xue let out a long, deep sigh, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

But then, her fine, willow-leaf brows knitted tightly, and her deep blue eyes churned with heartache, regret, and a trace of lingering fear.

Her voice, however, carried an unprecedented seriousness and a fear she couldn’t suppress.
“You child, what’s wrong with you?!

“So reckless.
Don’t you know about protective immortal energy? You charged right in without even trying to pull back?! What if you had really damaged your foundation?”

“Hmph…”

Hearing this, the anger in Lu Qiancha’s heart flared even brighter.

‘You were the one who provoked me by pinching my ear first, and now you’re scolding me?’

She whipped her little face away, avoiding Xun Xue’s fingertips that were still lingering on her forehead.
Her voice was cold and hard, with a hint of stubbornness born from despair.
“None of your business!”

“Hmph!”

Lu Qiancha sprang up from the sand, radiating a cold aura that warned others to stay away.

She didn’t even look at the conflicted Xun Xue behind her.
Her blue eyes held obvious anger as she grabbed the wrist of the still-dazed Gan Tang.

“Gan Tang, let’s go!” Her voice was resolute, carrying an unquestionable finality.

Spiritual energy surged violently around her body.

The light of the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art, which had been slightly scattered by the impact, instantly re-solidified and strengthened.
The shell of Lu Qiancha’s identity once again enveloped her entire body.

Then—

She dragged the not-fully-recovered Gan Tang, almost literally “hauling” her, and strode away toward the bonfire camp without a single look back.

Behind her, only two sets of footprints, deep and shallow, remained, as if carved into the sand with anger.

“Uh… Senior brother? S-senior brother! Slow down! Wait for me!” Gan Tang stumbled as she was pulled along, having to lengthen her stride just to keep up with Lu Qiancha’s furious pace.

She glanced back at the solitary figure of Senior Xun Xue standing on the sand, her pink eyes filled with confusion and worry.

The sunset stretched their two shadows long.

Xun Xue stood frozen in place, her deep blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on the two figures that were melting into the twilight, then she hurried to follow.