Chen Huaian didn't usually play games, but even if he hadn't eaten pork, he'd seen pigs run. In game maps, enemies were usually marked as red dots.
These five red dots were moving extremely fast. In just a couple of breaths, they were already closing in on the small house.
"Oh no! Li Qingran is still outside washing dishes!"
In the game, Li Qingran was focused on scrubbing the plates, completely unaware of the danger approaching the house.
Chen Huaian's heart sank. He quickly searched the game interface for any options to warn Li Qingran.
The game interface had a lot of options, but most of them were locked.
**[Recharge 100 to purchase a Sound Transmission Talisman to send a message to Li Qingran once.]**
The recharge interface popped up.
Chen Huaian didn't have time to think about why the talisman was so expensive. He immediately recharged.
Alipay sounded the payment notification, and a talisman appeared in the center of the screen.
**[Please hold the talisman and speak.]
Chen Huaian's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath, pressed the talisman, and said in a deep voice, "Monsters are attacking! Retreat!"
A loud shout echoed in the void: [Leave now!]**
Li Qingran, who was washing dishes, suddenly froze and looked around.
Was that… the senior's voice?
"Awooo—!"
A sharp wolf howl pierced through the rain.
Accompanied by heavy growls, three pitch-black demon wolves, each the size of a water buffalo, charged into Li Qingran's view.
Behind them, the figures of two more demon wolves loomed faintly.
"Black-backed demon wolves?"
How could this be…
Li Qingran immediately realized.
The demon wolf she had fought off earlier must have been a scout.
No wonder that wolf hadn't engaged her directly. It retreated as soon as she put up some resistance. Turns out, it was just there to scout.
The closest demon wolf was only five meters away from Li Qingran.
Without any hesitation, it pounced.
Although her cultivation had been crippled and her spiritual roots removed, her combat experience remained. Li Qingran seized the moment, rolled to the side to dodge the first wolf's attack, and then threw a plate at the second wolf preparing to pounce.
Outside the screen, Chen Huaian's heart was in his throat.
Seeing Li Qingran move as agilely and decisively as a cat, he couldn't help but slap his thigh: "Well done!"
The worst thing would've been if she just froze in fear.
Fortunately, Li Qingran was calm and quick to react.
These demon wolves had been living in Wanshan Mountain for years, occasionally clashing with cultivators from the Qingyun Sect. When they saw a white object flying toward them, they thought it was a magical weapon Li Qingran had thrown and instinctively dodged.
The plate hit the ground, and nothing happened.
The wolves exchanged glances, feeling humiliated. Their crimson eyes grew even more ferocious.
Meanwhile, Li Qingran had already taken the opportunity to dart back into the house and slam the door shut.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Li Qingran muttered as she dragged furniture toward the door, her heart filled with worry. "Dealing with one demon wolf almost killed me a few days ago. How am I supposed to handle five now?" She was already running out of strength. Just dragging a table was exhausting, and her face turned red from the effort.
Before she could even get the table to the door, the vibrations of the approaching wolves could already be felt outside.
Li Qingran's pupils contracted, and she immediately retreated to the window.
Jumping out the window might be her only way out.
However, just as she thought the wolves were about to break through the door—
"Boom—!"
A deafening thunderclap sounded outside the door.
Even through the door, she could see a flash of lightning.
Then came the wolves' agonized howls, and the smell of burning filled the air.
Li Qingran looked up in shock and saw a talisman on the door emitting a brilliant light. The square outline of the talisman was visible even from the other side of the door. It was spewing thunder and fire, reducing the approaching wolves to charred remains.
"Thunderfire Talisman!" Li Qingran immediately recognized the talisman.
She hadn't noticed the talisman on the door when she went in and out earlier. It had to be the senior's doing.
Talismans and pills were categorized into five grades: Common, Intermediate, Advanced, Supreme, and Immortal.
Immortal-grade talismans were wrapped in golden light and had unparalleled power.
Only the old monsters from major sects who specialized in Daoist techniques could draw Immortal-grade talismans.
Common Thunderfire Talismans were only effective against enemies at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, while Immortal-grade Thunderfire Talismans could even kill Core Formation stage monsters. They were treasures that couldn't be bought with money.
The talisman in front of her was a golden Immortal-grade one!
Most cultivators would save such talismans as a last resort for self-defense.
Yet the senior had just casually stuck it on her door?
What a waste of a treasure!
Li Qingran felt both touched and heartbroken.
Outside the house—
The two wolves that had approached first had been blown to pieces by the Thunderfire Talisman.
The other three wolves stared wide-eyed, their tails between their legs, utterly terrified by what they had just witnessed.
What had they done to deserve this?
They were just Qi Refining stage demons. Was it really necessary to use such a powerful talisman on them?
The talisman on the door was still glowing, clearly indicating that this path was a dead end.
But giving up on their prey wasn't in their nature.
The three wolves exchanged glances. Two of them circled around to look for a window, while the third tried to climb onto the roof to find another way in.
But before it could even reach the roof—
Boom—!
The two wolves that had gone around to the window were also blown to ashes.
What was going on?
The last wolf wasn't thinking about food anymore. It turned tail and ran in terror.
**[ Would you like to purchase a Thunderfire Talisman to punish the fleeing wolf? (Thunderfire Talisman ￥288 「Half Price」)]**
"What?!" Chen Huaian's face turned green.
If this had happened before, he would've uninstalled the game in a heartbeat.
But looking at Li Qingran's frightened expression in the game, and thinking about the possibility that the wolf might return with more of its kind…
"If you don't uproot the weed, it'll grow back with the spring breeze! Charge it, damn it!"
Chen Huaian clenched his fist, his face twisted in determination, as if he were holding a Thunderfire Talisman himself.
As 288 yuan disappeared from Alipay, a talisman shot toward the fleeing demon wolf.
From Li Qingran's perspective, she only heard a thunderclap in the air, followed by a beam of golden light shooting toward the wolf fleeing through the rain. The moment it hit the wolf, it exploded violently, leaving behind only raging lightning and scorching flames that lingered even in the heavy rain.
"Three Immortal-grade Thunderfire Talismans in a row…"
Li Qingran stared blankly out the window.
In less than half a minute, all five demon wolves were dead.
The senior hadn't even shown their face, only sending a voice transmission as a warning.
Such divine power was truly terrifying, but why would someone like that help her?
She couldn't help but think of her senior brothers and master at the Qingyun Sect. Before the junior sister arrived, her senior brothers and master had treated her decently, but for the master, it was just routine, and for the senior brothers, it was more or less with ulterior motives.
For example, the eldest senior brother, Lu Changtian, had a fire spiritual root and wanted her, with her water spiritual root, as his cultivation partner. The second senior brother, Xiao Yifeng, was obsessed with alchemy and needed her to manage the spiritual herbs and occasionally test his pills. The third senior brother, Yun Zimo, was a martial fanatic who often sparred with her, never holding back. The fourth senior brother, Zhang Hanxiao, was mischievous and troublesome, always causing trouble during sect missions and leaving her to clean up the mess or take the blame…
So, what was this senior's purpose?
But she had nothing, only a worthless life.
Or perhaps there was no purpose, and the senior was just passing by, seeing her in a difficult situation and offering a helping hand?
Li Qingran shook her head, pushing these complicated thoughts aside.
No matter what, the senior had saved her life.
If she could survive, she would do her best to repay the kindness.
"This junior, Qingran, once again thanks the senior for your help!"
This time, she didn't say anything else. She just knelt toward the sky, kowtowed, and bowed with a solemn expression.
**[Li Qingran's favorability +5. Current: 15]**
"Not bad, the favorability is rising pretty fast." Chen Huaian stroked his chin and nodded with a smile. "At least it's worth the 288 I just recharged."
This game was indeed intense. He hadn't been playing for long, and he'd already spent a few hundred yuan. He could somewhat understand those internet-addicted teenagers who borrowed money to recharge games. They were probably just as hooked as he was.
**[Ding! Li Qingran's health report has been generated. Detailed identity information has been generated!]**
**[Would you like to view it?]**
Chen Huaian's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Here it comes~ Hehe~"