Because the Moqi brothers naturally accelerated to match their pace to Ning He's when he pulled forward, the rest of the youths also had to hasten after the three in order to not be left behind. In this way, the second leg of their journey was completed more quickly than planned, so much so that the group sighted the Liu An City that was their original destination for the day in the early afternoon instead of the expected late evening, meaning that if they pushed onward they would cross paths with the demonic beasts within hours. But, believing that his shizhi must have overexerted himself to fly so swiftly, Moqi Baihui announced that their schedule wouldn't change, they would still rest for a night in the settlement then start the battle tomorrow morning.
As they approached the outpost, the teenagers buzzed with excitement—due to Heavenly Saber Sect's strict regulations against disciples leaving the mountain range without special permission, many of them hadn't had a chance to venture into a mundane town since they'd been admitted to the sect as five- or six-year-olds, so that, hearing Liu An City's grand name, these wide-eyed children had therefore held some dreams in their hearts. The closer they got to the earthen wall, however, the more their expressions turned scornful. This station, which was the closest settlement to the sect's territory, could only be referred to as a city when it was compared to the other rural communities in this area. In reality, the buildings and streets that came into view were uniformly crude and small, the population size appeared to merely number a hundred or so, it could hardly even be called a town in objective terms.
Moreover, the place's impression of backwardness was deepened by the bowing and scraping of the simply dressed residents streaming out to welcome them as well as by the nervously beaming city lord who stepped forward to greet the peak masters with his round body trembling from awe. In fact, although the locals were indeed accustomed to submissively serving the occasional sect disciples who visited their city for items such as pills, weapons, and beast cores, their current behavior was far more subservient than usual. Unlike in peaceful times, even the oldest generations were deferring to these teenager cultivators, lest they be criticized by their neighbors for considering their pride to be above everyone else's safety.
This was the case despite the latest news that, according to the animals' projected path, this location wouldn't be affected, because many of the Liu An City's commoners who'd taken in relatives from other, already destroyed towns had received detailed descriptions of how their homes had been crushed to dust and how so many people had been trampled to death. With these images spinning around in their minds, their panic couldn't be reasoned away, so that everyone made sure to be very respectful to these martial arts practitioners who could protect them from the demonic beasts. Thus, when Moqi Baihui stated that the team would rest in this village for the night, the locals could only force themselves to lavishly praise his prudence, suppressing their desperate wish that the group would hurry along to block the wave of animals as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, consoling themselves with the idea that the sect members' stay was a chance to ensure that these cultivators would wholeheartedly work to destroy every one of the animals tomorrow, the citizens freely provided all the best they had to offer, even pushing forward some of their more beautiful girls to accompany the primarily male party. Although none of the disciples dared to accept these maidens under their much-admired righteous peak masters' watch, they were pleased by the villagers' sincerity and, in their lightened mood, began to casually swagger about. As for the profiteers who would normally have tried to take advantage of the turmoil to charge the cultivators exorbitant rates for their goods, a glimpse of Moqi Lirong's sharp face was enough to scare them off, leaving just the residents who were willing to flatter the sect members. In this way, the air turned rather festive, with the city inhabitants and the teenage martial artists mingling amicably.
While Chen Yu was observing all this fuss indifferently, his position between the two obviously most powerful fighters inevitably attracted some special attention as, assuming that he was also an important personage, the locals rushed to fawn over him, proudly leading over a pretty young widow to be his maid and suggesting that he sleep in her house tonight. Since Chen Yu didn't particularly require another servant on top of the Moqi twins, however, he was about to refuse, but just as he parted his lips, his view suddenly spun upside down and his hips were grasped punishingly tightly by a big hand.
Dizzied from the abrupt flip, by the time he realized that he'd been swung onto Moqi Lirong's shoulder like a sack of grain, Moqi Baihui had icily rejected the woman on his behalf, and the two brothers were striding away in sync from the awkwardly frozen city leader and the relieved girl. Sensing the familiar smell of vinegar in the air, Chen Yu didn't waste energy struggling, he leisurely settled on the man's hard shoulder and allowed himself to be gracefully escorted in this manner to the most luxurious lodging available in Liu An City, which had been reserved for the peak masters.
But before they'd walked too far, he did take the trouble of raising his drooping head to glance around for a red-clothed figure, confirming that, as expected, Zhuo Biming was murmuring privately with another boy on the edges of the crowd. En, as befitted the protagonist, he'd managed to acquire a loyal little brother in such a short time ah. Furthermore, from the features he could discern at this distance, this tail was You Daolin, the sole fifteen-year-old who'd been bold and talented enough to join this mission with his fire element single spiritual root and Foundation Establishment cultivation base.
While this wasn't a bad partner, Chen Yu sighed, it would have been even more fun if Wenren Shishi and Zhuo Biming had realized that they were aiming for the same target...Still, having confirmed that things were coming along, Chen Yu curled his lips and lowered his gaze back down, only to find that Moqi Baihui, who had noticed whom he'd been focusing on as well as his ensuing sigh, was patting his hair sympathetically.
Leaning down toward Ning He's ear, the man, who'd 'understood' how secretly concerned the boy was about his fellow disciple from Jade Sword Mountain and also how bitter he must feel to not even be able to reveal his care, whispered, "Don't be sad, shizhi, the other children will appreciate how much you've sacrificed for them in the future."
At this reminder of the youth's troubles, Moqi Lirong also gentled his hold on Ning He's upturned hips and soothingly stroked them instead, reassuring, "And even if they don't, we know what a good child you are."
A veteran at dealing with such creative interpretations of his actions, Chen Yu didn't bother to explain to either of the twins, he simply nodded then, as if to thank the two for their support, shyly and clumsily made some tea for them once they'd reached their designated room. Oddly enough, a short while thereafter, the brothers who'd eagerly taken the drink felt a bit sleepy. But, figuring that they were unusually tired because they had experienced such intense emotions for the first time in their lives the day before, they coaxed Ning He into being tucked in for a nap between them and swiftly fell unconscious, smiling from whatever they were dreaming about.
Of course, in contrast to their fantasies, as soon as he sensed that the limbs coiled around him had become lax, Chen Yu threw them off without hesitation and left the room alone, curious to see what Zhuo Biming had prepared for him.
Luckily, he didn't have to search for long, since the moment he stepped into the hallway, he vaguely caught someone scoff, "Pei, that's Ning He? What a scrawny loser!" Furthermore, in yet another 'stroke of luck,' he spotted in his peripheral vision a short figure that had been hovering around the corner scurry away, so that he couldn't help but rub his temples, realizing that the original owner would really have fallen for such a stupid ploy.
Well, regardless, it seemed he'd kept You Daolin waiting, so he should at least oblige by following his lead. Mm, perhaps he would even get to apologize. Thus, overflowing with a gentlemanly spirit, Chen Yu traced the child's distinct tracks, which just so happened to coincide with his original intention to drop by his dear shixiong's room.
Moments later, when Zhuo Biming heard the impatient rapping on his door, he reviewed his plan again. Although he'd deliberated over the issue from every angle, he honestly couldn't come up with a single aspect of Ning He beside his looks that could have interested the Moqi brothers. Neither the boy's average talent nor his status as Ning Taio's son would matter to the peak masters, since from their perspective as geniuses, the youth's skill should be worth less than an ant's and each of them could blow Jade Snow Mountain away with a single finger. On the other hand, even he had to admit that Ning He was one of the most attractive youth he'd ever seen.
If his guess was right, however, matters became very simple. All he had to do was ruin Ning He's face to get rid of his guardians, thereby making him vulnerable to an accidental attack during the melee with the demonic beasts.
Finally, having carefully scanned the arrangement he'd set up one last time, Zhuo Biming ignored the You Daolin who'd been next to him the whole time clenching his fists and redundantly muttering, "It's him, he really followed me! It's just as you said, he's a fool..." and invited, "Come in!"
Then, right as Chen Yu opened the door, a blaze of fire shot out.