Lin Suqing was deeply surprised by himself. He had no idea what had just happened, and he didn't even know how the female demon had been injured.
Luckily, he still had a bit of calmness in him. He stammered evasive answers, buying time while his hand stealthily reached for the dagger behind him.
"I... I... maybe... perhaps..."
Seeing that he couldn't come up with an answer for a long time, the female demon increased her grip, almost twisting his neck, and scolded, "Why do you have... Ah!"
Lin Suqing pulled out the dagger and stabbed it into the female demon's throat, then quickly withdrew the dagger, flipped over, and sprinted away. With the experience of slaughtering the Zhen Beast the day before, the stab was steady, accurate, and ruthless, without any deviation!
He didn't dare look back, fearing that the moment he did, he would see the face of the female demon.
The female demon, caught off guard by his sudden attack, roared furiously, "How dare you hurt me! I will not spare you!"
However, Lin Suqing had already run dozens of miles away in the blink of an eye.
As soon as the female demon's voice fell, she turned around and saw no trace of him, stunned—how could a mere mortal possess such astonishing speed!
At this moment, Lin Suqing also realized that his body was not only unnaturally light as a feather but also as if the wind was under his feet. When he looked back now, he found that not even the female demon could catch up with him!
He couldn't understand why his legs had suddenly become so swift, but he was even more afraid to stop, thinking only of running fast while he could and that his life was at stake.
Unaware of how long or far he had run, when he realized that the female demon's roar was no longer behind him and seemed to have escaped danger, he turned around only to find the female demon in hot pursuit!
Why was she so persistent! Seeing her hair particularly messy and long, Lin Suqing figured that in the woods, being tripped or snagged by branches and underbrush would hardly be convenient. With that, he turned and ran into the woods.
Unexpectedly, the female demon didn't walk on land but clambered up trees and sprinted overhead like a crazed beast.
Continuing this flight wasn't a solution, and he had no idea when this unexplained strength would dissipate. To survive, he must run back to the Crown Prince's estate for help as soon as possible.
This was not the route he had taken earlier.
In his panic, he had only cared about fleeing for his life and accidentally ran in the wrong direction.
His heart was filled with terror, but he forced himself to remain calm. However, he had already run too far, and everything around him became unfamiliar, leaving him completely unable to recall which direction he had come from.
Suddenly, his mind flashed—he remembered that in ancient times, the south was regarded as the seat of supreme honor, and the palaces of emperors were always built facing south from the north. Considering that the Crown Prince was a regional ruler, surely the Crown Prince's estate should also be situated in the north, right!
He then recalled what he had noticed when he entered the Crown Prince's estate yesterday—the entire palace backed against a green mountain and faced a body of water. It seemed they also considered this geomancy theory!
The moment that crossed his mind, Lin Suqing felt a chill run up his spine as if a murderous intent was coming at him. Instinctively sensing danger, he jumped to the side, and sure enough, it was the female demon's hair shooting straight at him.
No time to think further! Time to gamble!
He continued to flee while looking up at the sun in the sky to discern his bearings.
Given the temperature at the moment, this world must also be in summer, and the summer sunrise position is northeast.
Since the sun had just risen, Lin Suqing looked up at the sun a few times, then lowered his head to wait for his vision to clear before carefully observing his shadow.
As the sun rose from the northeast, the direction of the shadow should be southwest.
He immediately identified the north direction and sped up his pace directly toward the north.
But just then, he unintentionally caught sight of a giant rock covered with creepers! It was as if he had finally found what he had been searching everywhere for, making him slow down, somewhat hesitant.
Unfortunately, the sun was already high in the sky, having dried most of the dew on the leaves, leaving only sporadic, not-so-fresh droplets, which were obviously not enough for him to gather for tea-making.
Furthermore, the female monster chasing him from behind would catch up soon, the water drops too minute; he didn't have time to carefully gather them...
He hesitated again and again... Forget it! Saving his life was the priority!
But he had only run a few steps when he immediately turned back, thinking maybe the Crown Prince really had a heart ailment, perhaps he just didn't know that the Bi Li herb could treat heart disease, so why not help the Crown Prince gather some.
Thinking so, he squatted down and hurriedly began to cut the Bi Li with his dagger.
Just then, the female monster rapidly caught up with him.
She chose her moment and suddenly threw her hair out. Lin Suqing, caught off guard, was entangled by her hair around his ankles, the hair then swiftly climbed up his body.
He couldn't just let it climb! Lin Suqing quickly drew his sword to sever the hair that was about to climb up further.
The hair, as if it was part of a flesh and blood body, recoiled in pain when cut by the dagger. Seeing this, Lin Suqing slashed wildly, the hair retreated in defeat. He freed himself and ran again, stuffing the cut herbs into a bamboo tube while running in a frantic disarray.
Yet, just then, his legs suddenly became heavy, no longer nimble like before. Even his head began to spin, and he nearly fell to the ground several times.
His entire body felt as if it were filled with lead, so heavy that he could not lift his legs. The sudden and violent change in his body filled him with panic—could it be... could it be that his life was about to end...
He even began to worry that once he fell, the female monster would pounce on him like a maniac, skinning and boning him, eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
He immediately took a deep breath, no, he couldn't give up until the last moment.
He clenched his teeth, determined to fight against this heaviness with all he had left, but it seemed like he had used up his last bit of energy. Helpless, his legs gave out and he fainted...
Almost at the same time he fell, a figure clad in celestial blue descended from the sky, landing behind him. As soon as the figure landed, he released a severe cold blast that knocked the pursuing female monster back dozens of feet.
Lin Suqing wanted to turn around and see who the newcomer was, but he didn't even have the strength to turn his head. He saw only a blurry vision before him: suddenly, from the sky, Doggy fell, rolled on the ground, got up, rebounded off the ground using his head, and seemingly jumped towards the newcomer...
Immediately after, he collapsed to the ground.
...
The female monster scrambled up, stretching out her sharp claws to attack the newcomer, but upon a closer look, she was immediately dumbstruck, retreating in fear, "Se... Second Crown Prince... Please spare my life!"
She turned to flee.
"Woof!"
A majestic and robust dog's howl echoed across the skies, accompanied by the female monster's piercing scream. Shortly after, the world regained its clarity, and the sinister atmosphere vanished.
The Second Crown Prince turned to look at Lin Suqing lying on the ground, and just as he did, he saw the bamboo tube with its lid not properly secured, with a few leaves of Bi Li scattered around.
Doggy, perceptive and observant, followed the Second Crown Prince's gaze, ran over to pick up the bamboo tube, and brought it to him, looking up and saying, "Your Highness, he indeed recognized the Bi Li."
It lowered its head and carefully inspected the Bi Li stuffed in the tube, completely puzzled, "But I only tricked him into gathering the dew from the Bi Li, risking his life against the Malignant Spirits to collect these herbs, all for no dew."
The Second Crown Prince's lips slightly curled, saying, "Self-assumed mortals."
Then, he stepped forward to personally check Lin Suqing's injuries.
Doggy was utterly amazed; the Second Crown Prince was actually personally checking on a mortal's wellbeing. It carefully followed and squatted beside him.
As the Second Crown Prince knelt down, myriad spirits suddenly emerged from all directions, fearfully hiding in the shadows among the lush grass of the forest, curiously watching the scene unfold.
Among them, a young spotted deer poked its neck out from the shelter of the forest and looked over and over, curiously asking, "Mother, is that our Crown Prince? Why is he different from what the Elders described?"