Seeing her flustered and exasperated like this made Shui Yue'er find the situation even more amusing. She said again, "If that's not what you think, then why do you have so many prejudices against Xu Sheng? After all, he did save us!"
"In terms of character, power, and even looks, he's top-notch!"
She almost blurted out, "You don't like men," but stopped herself just in time!!
Snow Dance glanced at Shui Bing'er and replied softly, "I truly am grateful to Xu Sheng, but that's it. I have no other feelings for him!!"
Could it be that Yue'er has guessed my inner thoughts?
No, it's not possible. I've never shown such thoughts in front of anyone!
How could she possibly know!!
Shui Yue'er wanted to add something more...
But Shui Bing'er quickly reached out to cover her mouth, "Yue'er, that's enough. Snow Dance simply isn't interested in men; there's no point in pressing the issue!"
Shui Yue'er's eyes filled with indignation, as if she was voicing her own dissatisfaction, "Mmm-mmm-mmm..."
Snow Dance ignored the previous speaker and looked at Shui Bing'er, asking, "Bing... Bing'er, were you standing up for me just now?"
Even though I really don't like men, that is!
Shui Bing'er countered, "And? Is there a problem with that?"
Snow Dance came back to her senses and waved her hand, "No... no problem. You're right; I'm not interested in men!"
At that, Shui Bing'er revealed a contented smile, "Hmm, then from now on, we won't talk about Xu... men in front of you."
"Everyone agrees, right?"
She felt it was necessary to take Snow Dance's feelings into account!
Qiu Ruoshui was the first to agree, "No objections. But Snow Dance not liking boys is indeed quite surprising!"
Yu Hairou shrugged, "I find it quite normal. After all, all the students and teachers at Skywater Academy are women; even if Snow Dance liked women, it wouldn't be impossible!"
Shen Liuyu's eyes widened, "Eh, it's not entirely out of the question. Although Snow Dance is a woman, she always carries a masculine air. Well, I personally like men, that's all!"
Gu Qingbo calmly analyzed, "Short hair must be the reason. If you let your hair grow out, Snow Dance, you'd be quite pretty too. Otherwise, how could you have entered Skywater Academy?"
Seeing them starting to discuss again, Shui Bing'er felt a headache coming on, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this topic anymore!"
"Let's continue with our cultivation. The teacher's expectations for us have gotten much more strict!"
If the discussion continued, who knew if Snow Dance would walk away in a huff...
However, when she looked at Snow Dance, there wasn't the slightest sign of annoyance...
In fact, there was even a hint of shyness...
Her own heart suddenly started beating wildly... "Thump-thump, thump-thump"...
No... it can't be?
It must be an illusion, an illusion!!
Such an absurd thought was simply unbelievable!!
...
Meanwhile!!
Gui Mei was leading a group of Martial Soul Hall members in their relentless search...
Suddenly, he frowned deeply and gestured with his hand...
Everyone immediately stopped and waited for his command...
Gui Mei narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, "Did the trail disappear here?"
This unfamiliar aura he had sensed, he had encountered it on the bodies of the abyssal creatures that had appeared in Martial Soul City...
Therefore, the direction in which the abyssal creatures had fled could be determined...
It's just a pity that from here, their traces had completely vanished...
However, he was not about to give up...
He immediately issued an order, "All Martial Soul Hall members listen up, split into several teams immediately and conduct a carpet-like search around the area!"
Upon hearing this command, the Martial Soul Hall members swiftly divided into several teams and, following the prior orders, set out to search in different directions...
Of course, they maintained a distance that would allow them to keep in contact, to prevent any accidents...
Only the Spirit Hall Executive beside Gui Mei couldn't help but ask aloud, "Elder Gui, what do we need to do??"
The former glanced at them and commanded again, "You are responsible for observing here, and should you notice anything unusual, report it immediately!"
Having said that, he released his own Martial Soul and merged with the shadows, rushing forward at a speed difficult for the naked eye to capture...
This display of formidable power immediately elicited exclamations of amazement from everyone...
"Hiss, as expected of Elder Gui, by the Pope's side, his strength is truly terrifying!!"
"Yes, with Elder Gui's speed, it will probably not be long before he has thoroughly investigated the situation ahead!!"
"Actually, there's one thing I don't quite understand. If it's just for the pursuit of those soul beasts that attacked the village, there's no need to dispatch such an important figure as Elder Gui, right??"
"Idiot, of course the matter isn't that simple. It must be something more difficult for Elder Gui to handle, perhaps it's those legendary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts!!"
"Hiss... now that you mention it, it does seem possible. Without Elder Gui, we would probably become their food if we encountered them by ourselves!!"
But in the next second, their faces turned terrified, and they began to observe their surroundings carefully...
Without a doubt, the emotionless words of Gui Mei echoed in their minds...
"Stop chattering and pay close attention to your surroundings, if you miss anything, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
…
Not long after, the search of the area was thoroughly completed, and Gui Mei had returned...
He immediately interrogated, "Have you found anything??"
The leading deacon reported apprehensively, "Reporting to Elder Gui, nothing was found. In this area, there are only some ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts; even thousand-year soul beasts are extremely rare!"
Hearing this, Gui Mei couldn't help but clench his fists and angrily scolded, "Damn it, could it be that those creatures have already escaped this area??"
No, that's impossible. If they had escaped this area long ago, how could they have left such a clear scent behind!
There must have been a mistake somewhere!!
He forced himself to calm down and began to carefully recall the entire search process...
Finally, a sentence previously mentioned by Xu Sheng came to mind...
Abyssal creatures can freely transform into human forms!!
In an instant, Gui Mei understood everything...
"Damn it, I've been tricked!!
I actually forgot the most important point, that abyssal creatures have the ability to transform into humans!!
The civilians we encountered when we arrived here could very well be abyssal creatures in disguise!!!"
With this realization, he then turned to the Martial Soul Hall members and ordered in an irrefutable tone, "Everyone, return the way we came. Any Civilian Soul Masters we encounter must be captured for interrogation!!"
To capture an abyssal creature, there was only one principle to follow!!
It was better to err on the side of killing than to let one go!!
…
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