Chu Lingwei: "..." Why did she feel her senior brother was not paying attention?
"Senior Brother, why hasn't Master returned?" Chu Lingwei knew her senior brother wouldn't bother with trivial matters like the marsh snakes, so she changed the subject.
"Master is still at the Loose Cultivator Alliance. I was worried something might happen to you, so I returned early." Leng Xingzhi looked at Chu Lingwei with a significant gaze. If he hadn't returned, she might have caused some trouble.
"What is there to worry about? I'm just going to pick up a mission." Chu Lingwei looked sheepish. Being watched from behind, she couldn't do anything.
"Senior Brother, should we go to the marsh to take a look?" Chu Lingwei felt bored. If she weren't being watched, she would have already gone to Beiming Valley.
"No, the people from Wangtian City should be investigating. We'll just wait for news here."
Leng Xingzhi flatly refused. He wouldn't get involved in such a minor matter. "As for you, the Hundred Year Grand Competition is approaching, and you've been slacking off recently."
Chu Lingwei's face darkened. Doing missions was also a form of training.
"Yes, I'll go back and cultivate now." Chu Lingwei stood up. She couldn't enjoy this spiritual tea properly, so she took her two little beasts back to her room.
After Chu Lingwei left, Leng Xingzhi's eyes flickered, and a dark light flashed. Anyone who dared to follow his junior sister was truly tired of living.
"Weiwei, I feel like Senior Brother wasn't very happy today." Feng Ming jumped onto the bed and rolled around. She remembered that Senior Brother had been smiling, yet she felt a chilling dread.
The Illusion Cat nodded repeatedly. He had also felt it. "Yes, yes, I felt it too."
"Are you two concerned about Senior Brother's mood?" Chu Lingwei sat down in her spirit gathering array with a smile, ready to cultivate.
"No, Senior Brother was just different today." Feng Ming insisted. Today, Senior Brother seemed to exude killing intent.
"Could something have happened at the Loose Cultivator Alliance?" Chu Lingwei tilted her chin and looked towards the courtyard. Her Senior Brother had never drunk spiritual wine in front of her before.
Could it be related to this matter?
The two little beasts nodded vigorously. It was very possible.
"Never mind. If Senior Brother doesn't want to tell me about this, he won't." Chu Lingwei shook her head. If her Senior Brother didn't want to talk about something, asking him would yield no answers.
She closed her eyes and began to cultivate.
When Leng Xingzhi sensed that his junior sister's room was enveloped by spiritual energy, he got up and disappeared from the courtyard in a flash.
Two days and two nights passed.
Chu Lingwei opened her eyes, feeling refreshed.
The two little beasts in the room had long since disappeared. Chu Lingwei hadn't summoned them; with Senior Brother around, they wouldn't dare to run off.
She walked out of the room, and the innkeeper greeted her.
"Fairy Chu, the spiritual meals are all prepared. Please follow this old servant."
"Is Senior Brother still at the restaurant?" Chu Lingwei had a habit of not liking to stop once she started cultivating.
"Yes, the young master is waiting for you in the front."
Chu Lingwei arrived at the dining area, where her Senior Brother was already seated at a table. The two little beasts sat obediently opposite him, looking as if they dared not move.
"Senior Brother." Chu Lingwei saw the two little beasts occupying her seat and had to sit next to her Senior Brother.
"Junior Sister, coming out today, we can catch a good show." Leng Xingzhi handed Chu Lingwei chopsticks and helped her pick up a piece of spiritual meat.
Seeing this, the two little beasts knew they could eat and, without needing to be told, began to devour their food.
Chu Lingwei asked curiously, "What show? Is it about the marsh?"
"Yes. I heard that the powerful cultivators from Wangtian City found nothing unusual there. However, quite a few marsh snakes have come over." Leng Xingzhi said with a smile, "You were right, Junior Sister."
Chu Lingwei, who was about to eat, stopped mid-action. "Senior Brother means that those marsh snakes have really entered Wangtian City?"
"It's only been two days. Do they have that much speed?"
The distance between the marsh and Wangtian City was not short. It took her two days and one night to fly there. She had cultivated for two days and two nights, and those marsh snakes had already arrived.
"Yes, the fourth-tier marsh snakes are very fast." Leng Xingzhi ate his meal with elegant movements.
However, Chu Lingwei had no time to appreciate this at the moment. Her attention was entirely focused on the marsh snakes heading towards Wangtian City. "Senior Brother means that after leaving the marsh, they recovered their spiritual energy and their speed increased."
"Yes."
Leng Xingzhi looked out the window at the street. "Those people should be the cultivators hunting those marsh snakes."
Chu Lingwei stood up and looked at the street below. Cultivators were moving in teams towards the city gate.
"They don't need to rush to the marsh. They can guard the city gate. Killing one marsh snake will earn them a generous reward."
Chu Lingwei blinked. She had only cultivated for two days, and such a major change had occurred.
Crucially, Feng Ming and Maomao hadn't called her. Chu Lingwei glared at them.
"I told them not to call you," Leng Xingzhi gently held Chu Lingwei's arm and led her back to her seat. "Junior Sister, there should be tens of thousands of marsh snakes outside the city. After we finish eating, we'll go."
Chu Lingwei gasped. The marsh outside Wangtian City was only a hundred miles across. How could there be so many marsh snakes? It was even more bizarre.
"Senior Brother..."
"Eat first."
Leng Xingzhi interrupted Chu Lingwei and gestured for her to eat.
Chu Lingwei mechanically ate with her Senior Brother and the others, her eyes occasionally glancing outside. Hearing the cultivators walking by below, all heading to hunt marsh snakes, she became even more puzzled. Just how many marsh snakes had arrived?
After a hasty meal, Leng Xingzhi kept his word and took Chu Lingwei towards the outskirts of the city.
Chu Lingwei opened her communication talisman and saw two messages inside. One was from An Tao, sent on the first night of her cultivation, informing her that the marsh snakes had suddenly recovered their spiritual energy and many cultivators had already headed to the marsh.
The other was from Lei Tao, who was asking for help. He was trapped in Beiming Valley and hoped she would rescue him.
Looking at Lei Tao's message, Chu Lingwei fell silent. At such a critical moment, he wouldn't place his hope on her unless he felt utterly desperate and had sent out distress calls to everyone.
"What's wrong?"
Leng Xingzhi's voice interrupted Chu Lingwei's thoughts.
"Senior Brother, do we need to pass through the marsh to go to Beiming Valley?" Chu Lingwei remembered Lei Tao mentioning that it was necessary.
"There is only one way to Beiming Valley, and that is to pass through the mountain range next to the marsh." This statement was not entirely accurate. That path was, at most, adjacent.