"You two little demons want to run too? Not so easy!" The old turtle unleashed another wave of demonic energy. Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) quickly threw Little Swallow, whom she held, backward out of the grand hall, thinking that if one could escape, it would be one.
However, before she could turn around, she was already controlled by the demonic energy and was involuntarily moving towards the old turtle's throne.
[Danger! Danger!] System 86365 in her mind began to sound the alarm.
At this moment, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) had no energy to converse with the system. She could only focus all her attention on resisting with her demonic energy, but the result was still her being drawn step by step closer to the old turtle.
Just then, a warm touch suddenly came from behind, followed by a refreshing, clean aura surrounding her, blocking her uncontrolled forward momentum.
It turned out Yan Qinghuai had regained his mobility and had returned.
Seeing this, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) quickly reverted to her original form, a little white rabbit, making it easier for Yan Qinghuai to pick her up. Yan Qinghuai, with practiced ease, held the rabbit in one hand and hurled a seven-colored glowing sphere towards the old turtle with the other.
Then, without hesitation, he turned around, instantly unfurling a pair of black wings from his back and flying away with Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang).
Not long after, a loud bang came from behind, and the entire underwater palace collapsed.
The two demons burst through the water curtain and returned to shore, only to see the corpses of Ah San and Ah Liu, but not Jiaolong and Tao Yaoyao. Not daring to delay, Yan Qinghuai flew for some time before finally his strength gave out, and he landed.
He shook his wet wings, retracted them into his body, and then, holding Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang), hid in a patch of grass to rest.
"It seems they've completely abandoned us!" Yan Qinghuai said sadly. Having spent time together, he had thought they were all friends.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) had not given up on breaking free from the confinement. After another three minutes, she could finally move again and instantly transformed into her human form.
"Qinghuai, what was that you threw just now? It looked quite powerful," Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) already knew Jiaolong and Tao Yaoyao's character, so she wasn't very sad. Her main concern at the moment was this question.
Yan Qinghuai, who had expected her to be as concerned as he was, blinked in confusion at her question before replying, "It's a demonic energy bomb my father gave me, infused with his demonic aura."
"That's a good method. Teach me how to make it next time!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) felt that the power of this demonic energy bomb was similar to a hand grenade, quite effective for self-protection.
"Ah? Okay!" Yan Qinghuai agreed dazedly and then asked, "Qiushui, you're not angry that they did this?"
"Oh, young man, it's better to rely on yourself than on others. Besides, this incident made us realize they are unreliable, and recognizing that sooner is a good thing!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) comforted the little swallow. Kuaishuge.
"That's true! If they don't betray us this time, they might do it again when facing more danger in the future." Yan Qinghuai turned his head and looked at her passionately, "It's you, Qiushui, who never gave up on me!"
"And you saved me at the critical moment. It shows we're both quite reliable, haha!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) laughed heartily and then suddenly became troubled, "It's just that now it's only the two of us left. I don't know if we can still make it to Fire Spirit City smoothly."
"Are you going to leave me too?" Yan Qinghuai asked urgently upon hearing this.
"Of course not. I just don't know what to do next. And the token jade pendant your father gave you, isn't it with them?"
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) remembered the original host's wishes: not to lose her inner core, and with them gone, she should be safe for now; to find someone who truly loves her and live a free and unrestrained life, these things would have to be done slowly.
As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Qinghuai took out a letter and another jade pendant that looked identical from his spatial ring. "Actually, the real token is with me. The one they have is fake, and my father's handwritten letter is also with me. He made two preparations back then to prevent people from abandoning me halfway!"
"Your father is indeed very capable. Then let's set off quickly!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) gave him a thumbs-up.
As for Jiaolong and Tao Yaoyao, they were completely unaware of this. They still believed the token in their hands was real and continued their journey towards Fire Spirit City.
As they walked, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) noticed a problem: she could hear the inner thoughts of everyone she had interacted with before, but during her recent physical contact with Yan Qinghuai, she hadn't heard any of his thoughts. She quickly consulted the system about this.
[This situation generally has three possibilities: one, the other party's demonic energy far exceeds yours; two, you have been using soul artifacts frequently lately, and your stored energy is insufficient; three, your demonic energy is too low, making you unable to control the soul artifacts.] System 86365 analyzed.
"It's likely the third reason. I must have used up all my stored demonic energy to break free from the confinement just now!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) scratched her head, thinking this was the more probable explanation.
Ultimately, she had to rely on her own strength. Otherwise, she would never achieve true freedom, no matter where she went.
After walking and stopping along the way, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) and Yan Qinghuai finally arrived at "Fire Spirit City" in the afternoon.
Following the direction Yan Nanshan had told them, they went to a blacksmith shop named "Yan Zhu" to find Yan Jiuxing.
"Hello, excuse me, is Senior Yan Jiuxing here?" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) saw a very young man in the blacksmith shop, who was currently working the forge shirtless. His muscles rippled with every swing of the hammer, making him look very sturdy.
The young man paused his hammering, wiped the sweat from his brow, and replied, "Someone came to see Uncle Jiu at the hour of the snake and hasn't returned yet!"
"Little brother, excuse me, were the two young people, a man and a woman, who came to see Senior Yan Jiuxing?" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) blinked her large eyes coquettishly.
A faint blush appeared on the young man's tanned face, and he stammered, "Yes... and a girl... you can... call me Xiao Tie..."
"Alright, Brother Xiao Tie. Do you know where else I can find Senior Yan Jiuxing now?" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) seized the opportunity.
"I'll take you! My work for today is almost done anyway!" Xiao Tie tidied up his tools and happily led the way for them.
After a long and winding journey, Xiao Tie pointed to a doorway in the distance and said, "Uncle Jiu's house is up ahead. I'll take you in!"
"Uncle Jiu, Uncle Jiu, someone else is here to see you!" his voice reached them before he entered.
Yan Jiuxing came out of the house, frowned at Xiao Tie, "What are you fussing about!" Then his gaze met Yan Qinghuai, who was following behind, and his expression instantly changed.