Nee Chen and Xiang Ya ride on the boars in a hurry to chase over the two targets the Game Master is sharing with them. With their compass and a general direction in mind, the two didn't need to think twice to decide.
The boars aren't the prettiest mounts, but it is sturdy and doesn't easily tire. The player by the ID of 'Villager B' is having quite a boom in his business since the first boar he manages to catch.
Nee Chen looks at the compass, and with a rough estimate of where the Sword Metropolitan is, they arch their trajectory of travel, and no matter how easy it sounds, what the two of them are about to do are as much as difficult as blindly chasing them.
Xiang Ya as if she can smell the metaphorical blood that was about to leak from her enemies, smiles and makes a hard turn as she goes ahead of Nee Chen. Nee Chen who has complete trust in Xiang Ya follows. Shan Yusin who was in the back of the pack is scrambling on her ride, very unlike the 'Royal Bodyguard' title of hers.
They are all in the 3rd stage now, but Shan Yusin as the 'junior' isn't getting the treatment she deserves, or at least she thinks. The two in front of her are clearly ignoring her. This irks her. She is aware that the System's Providence Sect doesn't care about her status as a Royal Bodyguard evidenced by the Game Master's intention of separating her from her mistress.
Moreover, Shan Yusin's boar ride is very unpleasant which contributes more to her annoyance. Do they really have to hurry this frantically? She looks at her seniors who were abusing their mounts. Clearly, she doesn't know the story behind them… Of their village massacre, their disappointment with the government, and their hatred for the Bones Devouring Sect.
"I see them…" Xiang Ya calls to Nee Chen as she activates her subclass, the Scout's special eyesight. The reason why Xiang Ya is not yet at the peak level of her current stage is that she has 3 subclasses namely Scout, Cook, and Alchemist… No one knows what is in her mind in choosing these subclasses, but at this moment, her choices are paying their dividends.
In the rocky canals just before a mountain, Nee Chen descends from his mount and summons a piece of meat bun. He swallows it in one bite, and then he gains a boost of his strength stat. This meat bun is one of Xiang Ya's prototypes.
Speaking of prototypes, Xiang Ya also has a 'paralyze pill' which she was able to finish just recently.
Two cultivators who are running with all of their might suddenly find Nee Chen and Xiang Ya ferociously blocking their way. Immediately, they know that they are in trouble, but before they can turn around and flee, Shan Yusin is already blocking their path of retreat.
Shan Yusin as calm as she is, has the spunk and awareness to block their path, thus successfully catching the hateful two who she doesn't even know whether they are good or bad people.
Of course, they are bad, they are demonic cultivators! But Shan Yusin doesn't know any of this as Nee Chen and Xiang Ya didn't give her any explanation at all.
Nee Chen with a burst of his speed uses his new skill Aura** which can boost any particular stat of the player. Using Equip* and Boost* simultaneously, he strikes the cultivator in front of him.
Since there is no way out for him, the cultivator decides to stake it all, and fight. However, he suddenly finds himself to be unable to move. Flickering lights gather in his feet and arms. Xiang Ya's mastery and application of Barrier* are immaculate. The cultivator was able to break free in the end but it was already too late as Nee Chen's sword cleanly cuts his neck.
Shan Yusin's eyes bulge in surprise. "Don't we need to interrogate them first?"
"We only need one." Nee Chen coolly replies.
The remaining cultivator thinking of 'Xiang Ya' as an easy target activates his instant movement skill. In his eyes, the other two looks like warriors which are obvious by their weapons meanwhile the other is simply just a woman who knows some support spells.
All they were able to see is the bursting of a shadow, and immediately, the remaining cultivator is at Xiang Ya's flank. But Xiang Ya was immediately able to react to this as if anticipating this very occurrence.
Xiang Ya savagely smiles and with swift hand signs, she casts her Shackles** spell which slithers on the remaining cultivator's ankles. Xiang Ya launches from her mount and drops at the remaining cultivator.
The cultivator feels the chills in his back but he too is in the 3rd stage. He reveals his knives and attacks Xiang Ya. He strikes her beautiful skin causing blood to bloom. Xiang Ya disregards all of this and successfully reaches the cultivator's range. At that moment. The cultivator sees the scary smile on her face.
Xiang Ya shoves the 'paralytic pill' in her hand into the cultivator's mouth, she straddles him sitting on top of his abdomen with domination, and then she covers her fists with her barrier… and from then on… she starts slobbering the cultivator.
The sight of Xiang Ya brutally bashing the cultivator's skull sends a shiver down Shan Yusin's spine.
Nee Chen walks forward, and he frowns at the dwindling HP of the remaining cultivator. When he sees that it was about to reach one percent, he grabs Xiang Ya's arms. "Enough… We need him alive…"
Xiang Ya inhales a cold breath and looks around to see her Nee Chen. Her gentle gaze belies the brutality that seems more of an illusion now. "Sorry, darling… Let me heal him."
Emptying almost all of her qi, she manages to bring the poor cultivator back to living with 100% HP, yet the poor cultivator cannot even think of running anymore, especially with Xing Ya still sitting on her.
"Hey, Xiang Ya…. You can get out of his skin already…" Nee Chen asks Xiang Ya to move so that he can ask the cultivator nicely, but Xiang Ya just smiles and teases Nee Chen. "He might escape, you know? Anyway, are you jealous? Do you want me to sit on you too?"
Usually, Nee Chen would be blushing but he is in 'business mode' right now, and his cold heart is just getting colder as he sees more of this Bones Devouring Sect cultivator.
The Game Master was kind enough to explain that a conspiracy relating to the Bones Devouring Sect might be happening in the kingdom. His also sharing of the escaping demonic cultivators is also a boon for them.
For all Nee Chen knows, the Bones Devouring Sect are a very slimy bunch as in the duration of Xiang Ya, and his search for them, they didn't even manage to catch their shadows. But now, things are different.
They now have someone to interrogate.
Nee Chen without his emotions changing brings his sheathed sword to the lying cultivator. The sheathed sword descends soundly crushing the poor cultivator's kneecap. Nee Chen calmly proceeds, and shatters another kneecap… and then the elbow… and another elbow.
"Xiang Ya, please…" Nee Chen asks Xiang Ya with a dreaded look.
For Xiang Ya, it is her first time seeing Nee Chen like this… and it arouses her. Blushing, she removes herself from Nee Chen's way.
Nee Chen presents himself from the lying cultivator on the ground. Nee Chen is eager to proceed with the interrogation, but he needs to do better than that. Crouching down to level his eyes at the poor cultivator, he suddenly strikes with his fist cleanly breaking the jaw of the cultivator.
The cultivator cannot cry anymore, yet a whimper escapes his lungs.
Nee Chen kindly explains. "The reason I broke your jaw is so that I can ensure that you do not commit suicide like swallowing your tongue, some pills from your teeth, and anything… I am not sorry though…
"This is what is going to happen. You blink once, and that is a yes… You blink twice and that is a no… Do you understand?"
The poor cultivator blinks once. Nee Chen smiles.
"Good… Tell me, demonic cultivator of the Bones Devouring Sect…" Nee Chen in purpose halts midsentence, though he is not asking anything yet, the poor cultivator in the ground is already trembling.
Nee Chen continues. "Tell me this… Is there danger about to befall the kingdom?"
The cultivator blinks once.
"Hmmm… Is the danger imminent?"
The cultivator blinks once.
"Is it the capital? Desolate Mountain? South? North? East? West?"
The cultivator blinks once, once, once, twice, twice, and twice.
Nee Chen finds the information he has now satisfying, as such, he leaves the demonic cultivator. He looks at his companions and decides to ask them to leave him alone for some time as he wishes to speak with the Game Master. "You guys are free to ask the demonic cultivator… I will be gone in a minute…"
The moment Nee Chen is gone, Xiang Ya heads for the lying cultivator. Shan Yusin wants to ask something about the demonic cultivator too, but she lets her 'senior sister' have a go for it first.
Xiang Ya with her same melodious voice asks the demonic cultivator. "Am I pretty?"
The demonic cultivator crazily blinks once… and then another once… emphasizing that she is beautiful… but it looks like he might be actually blinking twice.
Shan Yusin can feel the cold sweat on her back, and she recalls the 'senior brother' who casually breaks off kneecaps, elbows, and jaws. There is the crazy 'senior sister' too who is as equally brutal.
"What a crazy couple…" She whispers to herself still in disbelief that there are actually people like this.