"Yip! Yip!"
The Silverwolf's cub yipped, oblivious to the danger, chasing a butterfly despite its injuries. It bounded toward Su Xiaobai's position, unaware of the predator nearby.
From the shadows of a tree, Su Xiaobai watched the Silver Wolf and its pack tear into Fairy Lianhua. Her bloodied form struggled, but his focus wasn't on her. It was on the weathered treasure map that slipped from her grasp.
A map to treasure?
It should have — spatial equipment... my way home.
'This is it.'
Just then, the cub stumbled closer. Su Xiaobai's eyes narrowed. 'Perfect.'
He dropped from the tree with barely a sound, landing in front of the cub. Startled, it looked up, its innocent eyes meeting his cold gaze.
Whoosh!
Su Xiaobai snatched it up without hesitation.
"Silver Wolf!" His voice rang out, sharp and loud.
"??"
The massive beast froze, turning its furious eyes on him, the beast's killing intent pushing down on him.
Su Xiaobai raised his hand, igniting it in crimson flames. "One step, and this 'little whitie' becomes ash. Leave my companion alive and get lost! Follow my words, and I'll release this cub within an hour—alive and untouched. Defy me, and—"
"Whimper..." The cub whispered, its neck strangled by Su Xiaobai.
Grrrr...
The Silver Wolf growled low, its pack echoing the sound, but none dared move.
The Inferno Flames crackled—deadly, burning not just flesh but soul.
Su Xiaobai smirked. 'He won't risk it.'
But then—Boom!—a cold wave of pressure hit him.
Soul attack!
Only those in the Nascent Soul realm or higher could launch such attacks, directly targeting the spirit of their enemies.
Swoosh!
"!"
Su Xiaobai froze for a heartbeat, feeling the icy grip of death... until the Inferno Flames surged on it's own, snuffing out the attack.
The Silver Wolf staggered, its plan foiled.
"I warned you," Su Xiaobai said, his panicked expression slowly melting into a bitter chuckle.
"Rrrrrr..." The Silver Wolf growled again, but its rage turned to resignation.
With a final snarl, it backed away, its pack following.
"Smart choice," As they vanished into the forest, he muttered, his gaze shifting back to the battlefield.
Fairy Lianhua lay motionless, the treasure map fluttering just out of reach.
'The map... it's mine.'
Surprising his excitement, he glanced back at Xiao Lu, who had silently watched everything from behind.
He held out the squirming cub—a small creature with snowy white fur stained with dirt and blood, its bright eyes filled with confusion and fear—he commanded, "Grab it and don't let it escape. If it does, we're as good as dead."
"Mm…" Xiao Lu nodded, but her gaze lingered on him, her expression curious as she gently cradled the cub, which let out a soft whimper, its tiny body trembling.
Su Xiaobai frowned. "What's with that look?"
She hesitated but then spoke anyway. "Why did you call it Little Whitie?"
Su Xiaobai's face darkened. "No food for you today."
Xiao Lu groaned inwardly, but amusement flickered in her eyes as she stroked the cub's soft fur. 'Xiao' meant "little," and 'Bai' meant "white."
Together, 'Xiaobai' meant "Little White," so hearing him call the cub 'Little Whitie' was ironically funny.
Su Xiaobai, grumbled to himself and turned his attention back to the fallen Fairy Lianhua.
He crouched beside her and noticed something glinting on the ground near the treasure map. Quickly sending the map to his spatial ring, he picked up a small silver emblem. Inscribed on it was the mark of a phoenix.
"Phoenix... The Vermillion Phoenix Dynasty?" Su Xiaobai muttered, his brow furrowing. "What's someone from there doing here?"
He knew Yue Country was part of the Tianlong Empire, but this emblem hinted at the involvement of another power entirely. The Vermillion Phoenix Dynasty was another empire—why would one of their people be caught in Silver Wolf territory?
His eyes flicked around the scene. There was no horse, no further supplies—likely lost or destroyed during the battle.
'What a shame,' he thought bitterly. He had hoped to rob it.
Shaking off his disappointment, Su Xiaobai's gaze stayed over the fallen beauty. Her shattered armor revealed pale skin, and even covered in blood, her golden hair still shimmered like rays of sunlight.
But admiration wasn't why he was here. It was time for heavenly punishment.
"Xiao Lu! Don't get blinded by her beauty!" he called, a wicked grin forming. "This woman almost got us killed. What should we do for revenge?"
Xiao Lu blinked, processing his question. "Kill her?" she offered, as if it were the most obvious answer.
Su Xiaobai's eye twitched. "Is that all? Just kill her?"
These cultivators... all the same. Even with breakthroughs, they lack imagination.
Her answer was technically correct, but dull. If the higher-ups wanted him to deliver punishment, it had to be... creative.
He leaned in, voice dripping with wicked delight. "What else, Xiao Lu? That's not enough."
Xiao Lu's eyes narrowed as she studied Feng Lianhua's unconscious body. She gave a cold smile. "How about we skin her alive? That way she suffers before we finish her off."
Su Xiaobai paused, raising an eyebrow. 'This woman's got potential. Ruthless… I like it.'
Must groom her properly.
"Hmm, a good suggestion. But," he glanced at Feng Lianhua's beautiful yet battle-worn face, "she's at the Rebirth Realm. Three realms above us. If she wakes up while we're halfway through skinning her, we're dead."
Xiao Lu's brow furrowed. "Then what do we do?"
"We steal her yin essence before killing her." Su Xiaobai smirked, brushing Feng Lianhua's hair aside. Her lips, though stained with blood, looked soft. His thumb grazed them as a wicked idea sparked.
Heavenly punishment, right? Might as well do it properly.
Xiao Lu squinted at him. Was this about yin essence... or something else? Her gaze flicked between Su Xiaobai and the fallen fairy, her amusement shifting to mild suspicion.
He doesn't just want to harass her, does he?
If he did, she wouldn't complain. In fact, she'd found a perfect master—one just as morally bankrupt as she was. After all, once someone tries to kill you, they deserve whatever you can squeeze out of them.
Su Xiaobai's mind worked fast. Refining her virgin yin essence would boost his cultivation, and her body would feed the Devouring Thorny Flower.
Two gains from one corpse.
But as Su Xiaobai rubbed his thumb over Feng Lianhua's lips, a strange pang of guilt crept in.
'Has it really been that long since I did anything bad? What's with this omnious feeling....'
He'd lived an almost peaceful, law-abiding life for the last two decades, and now here he was, touching a passed-out fairy like some back-alley pervert. But then again, the higher-ups demanded this. Blame them, he reasoned. If I don't do it, I'll get punished.
Kacha!—
Her broken armor fell apart under his touch, revealing smooth, moonlit skin. He couldn't help but stare.
Xiao Lu sighed, deadpan. "Master, if you just want her yin essence, you can skip the foreplay."
Su Xiaobai's eye twitched, but he didn't stop. His fingers traced over the two soft mounds on the fairy's chest, a mischievous smile creeping up his face. Heavenly punishment, he justified to himself.
Xiao Lu sighed. If this is what my master enjoys… I guess I'll support it.
Xiao Lu stepped closer and grabbed Su Xiaobai's hand, startling him as she placed it directly on Fairy Lianhua's chest.
Squeeze.
"!?"
Su Xiaobai's eyes widened, but Xiao Lu's cold voice broke through his hesitation. "Master, don't delay. The silverwolf will be back soon."
She had the Silverwolf cub trapped between her knees, its pitiful whimper barely audible. Her gaze remained hard, watching Su Xiaobai's flickering guilt with disappointment.
'Is he going soft?'
Her mind shook. In this world, mercy was weakness. If they didn't take their chance now, this woman would come back for blood.
Without another word, she guided Su Xiaobai's hand across Feng Lianhua's body, pressing and squeezing. Her flawless skin was smooth like polished jade, her chest soft beneath his fingers. The nipples, like ripe cherries, begged to be bitten, but Su Xiaobai held back. He couldn't let Xiao Lu see him lose control.
For the first time, he was touching a woman of such quality, so perfect. His fingers trembled, an omnious feeling in his heart but he shook the feeling away. 'I can't hesitate. I have to finish this.'
"Let's get it done."
With newfound resolve, Su Xiaobai ripped the robe from Feng Lianhua's body with a sharp rip!
RIIIP!
Xiao Lu's eyes lit up, pleased to see her master finally back in form. As the fabric fell away, it revealed smooth, supple thighs, her most intimate region hidden beneath a small scrap of cloth—a forbidden garden yet to be touched.
Gudong...
Su Xiaobai swallowed hard, his eyes heating up as his hand reached for the cloth—
Rumble... Rumble...
KA-BOOM!
The heavens abruptly cracked open, a massive thunderbolt crashing down from the sky.
"Wh—!" Xiao Lu jumped in shock, but Su Xiaobai wasn't so lucky.