Chapter 911: A Broken Young Lady

“Miss Han, here. You take one, too.”

Han Shanxue glanced over but made no move to accept it. Ye Wenxin placed the blanket on a nearby branch and added, “If you get cold, just put it on.”

She said no more after that, climbed back onto White, and settled in. The furball opened one eye, curling her tail protectively around Ye Wenxin before drifting off again.

……

The night passed quietly.

The heat woke Ye Wenxin. The forests within the Golden Age Dynasty had a drastic day-night temperature difference, which she wasn’t used to.

Sitting up, she spotted Fei Chai in the distance, starting his morning training.

Han Shanxue stood nearby, silently observing his movements. There was no unnecessary conversation between master and disciple.

Ye Wenxin gave White a few pats on the head. White immediately shrank to a size small enough for her to ride and padded off in the other two’s direction.

“Good morning, Miss Ye,” Fei Chai greeted Ye Wenxin with a smile as he noticed her approaching.

Ye Wenxin gave a slight nod in return. Han Shanxue’s gaze also turned toward her.

The usual cold aura was absent around her today. Still, her eyes held the same icy sharpness when they landed on Ye Wenxin.

“You two try,” Han Shanxue said out of nowhere.

Ye Wenxin blinked, a little confused. Fei Chai also looked puzzled, but he still asked, “Miss Ye, shall we spar a little?”

Ye Wenxin hesitated. Although she was a disciple of the Azure Wings Sect, she hadn’t learned much of their cultivation methods. Jin Xiaoqin had always handed her books about evasion, not fighting, completely skewing her skillset.

But Han Shanxue wasn’t someone she could casually brush off. After considering it, Ye Wenxin agreed.

The two of them took their positions on opposite sides. The smile on Fei Chai’s face vanished in an instant as he radiated an intense killing intent.

Ye Wenxin wasn’t surprised in the slightest. She took a deep breath, gathering qi between her palms.

“Apologies, Miss Ye!” With that, Fei Chai aimed a hook punch straight at her. The force behind it produced a gust of wind.

But Ye Wenxin had already seen through it. She dodged effortlessly.

Han Shanxue was still suspicious of her. Acting too weak would only deepen that suspicion.

But the problem was that she didn’t have any real martial arts techniques committed to memory. No palm strikes, no fist forms—nothing.

She dodged again.

“Junior Sister, you can’t keep dodging like that forever!” yelled the storyteller. He and Ghost Mother had both noticed the commotion.

The storyteller was a fellow Azure Wings Sect disciple. Seeing Ye Wenxin constantly on the defensive made him anxious.

“It’s fine. I’ve got my way.” Ye Wenxin responded confidently. She’d memorized about 70 to 80% of Fei Chai’s attack patterns.

As his fist came at her again, Ye Wenxin finally struck back with her own fist, landing a solid blow to Fei Chai’s abdomen.

Fei Chai was a bit dazed but thought it was just a lucky hit.

Seeing she had hit him, Ye Wenxin faintly smiled. This time, without waiting for him to make the first move, she launched the same set of punches he’d used on her.

Fei Chai instantly recognized the technique and scrambled to respond.

Ye Wenxin pressed her advantage. She knocked Fei Chai to the ground, and his expression showed disbelief.

Yet Ye Wenxin felt no sense of triumph. To her, this was no more than bullying a junior. Despite her youthful appearance, she was a seasoned cultivator.

“Thank you for being lenient, Young Master Fei,” she said politely.

Fei Chai gave a bitter smile. “I wasn’t at all. You’re truly impressive, Miss Ye. I took three years to learn this fist style, yet you picked up seven to eight parts in just a few moments.”

Logically, someone who stayed close to a female lead shouldn’t be this outclassed.

Was Fei Chai just a background character? Because why else would he have such a generic name? Or maybe Han Shanxue was the type of female lead destined to be single?

As Ye Wenxin contemplated all this, her gaze never moved to Han Shanxue. There was no reading the ice-cold beauty’s expression anyway.

So, she continued exchanging a few more pleasantries with Fei Chai.

Meanwhile, Ghost Mother and the storyteller had wandered off to gather some fruits from nearby. Everyone made do with fruits and dry rations for breakfast.

After eating, the group resumed their journey along the main road. Ghost Mother sat atop the storyteller’s horse, appearing like a normal human woman. Every subtle frown or smile of hers effortlessly drew attention.

Ye Wenxin chose to walk with the group instead of riding her horse. She watched as Fei Chai and the storyteller tried to flirt with Ghost Mother, only to end up blushing madly after Ghost Mother flirted back.

“Based on my estimations, we should reach the Golden Age Dynasty in about three days. There’s a small town up ahead—why don’t we stop there and rest for a bit?” The storyteller, well-traveled and knowledgeable, acted as the de facto leader of their little traveling group.

“Sounds great!” Ghost Mother agreed immediately. She had gained human form only recently, and there was still so much she hadn’t seen. The thought of going shopping made her excited.

Fei Chai quickly chimed in his agreement as well, then turned his gaze toward Han Shanxue, awaiting his master’s final word.

Han Shanxue gave a small nod.

With her agreement, everyone turned to look at Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin had no objections. Over the past few days, she’d already sent out the furballs to scout ahead. After confirming that an incident at the Wind and Moon Palace had delayed Liu Churan and the peach blossom demon, she felt more at ease.

Even if the peach blossom demon made it to the Golden Age Dynasty, her opponent would be Long Qingyue—the cleverest woman under the heavens, a person not so easily tricked.

Having sorted her thoughts, Ye Wenxin looked again at the excited Ghost Mother and the ever-mysterious Han Shanxue.

All this waiting was worth it.

……

The town wasn’t far, and the group soon found an inn. To save on costs, the storyteller and Fei Chai shared a room, while Ye Wenxin was assigned a room with Ghost Mother.

Han Shanxue got a room to herself due to her seniority.

After some rest in their respective rooms, they planned to head out for dinner and a little exploration after nightfall.

Except something was bothering Ye Wenxin.

“Gui Gui, why are you so scared of me?” This was the first time on the journey that Ye Wenxin had been alone with Ghost Mother.

“I—I’m not! I’m really not!” Ghost Mother shook her head furiously, refusing to admit she was scared of being alone with Ye Wenxin.

Maybe the lingering trauma from before had planted some belief that things would happen if she ended up alone with Ye Wenxin.

“Oh? Is that so?” Ye Wenxin found it amusing, though deep down, she felt a twinge of guilt. Ghost Mother wasn’t bad by nature. It was just that, somewhere along the way… Ye Wenxin might’ve broken her a little too thoroughly.

“Y-yes…”

As Ye Wenxin stepped closer, Ghost Mother backed up, as if her seemingly harmless master were some terrifying beast of legend. Yet, her body didn’t resist. It was like she already knew disobeying Ye Wenxin’s commands was futile.

As Ye Wenxin drew nearer, Ghost Mother clenched her eyes shut in despair, ready to face whatever terrible punishment might come.

But it didn’t.

Instead, she felt something being placed in her hands.