Sister

With a flash of light, Zhong Michu appeared out of thin air.

Upon seeing her, Gu Fuyou's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Zhong Michu stood barefoot, her jade-white toes pressing into the snowy ground. The sash of her robe was undone, and she held a snowy white ribbon, busily tying up her hair.

The timing of the summon wasn't good; she probably intended to take a bath.

Luckily, she wasn't summoned when she was completely naked. If that had been the case, this person would probably not come to save her, but to kill her instead.

Still, when Zhong Michu turned her head, her expression was far from pleased.

She casually tied her hair, the black hair on her temples was still neatly combed, half of her ear hidden under the hair.

Gu Fuyou weakly cried out, "Save me!"

Summoning her at such a moment wasn't intentional but a matter of necessity.

Zhong Michu glanced at her and, after a pause, asked, "Is this Xian Luo?"

Gu Fuyou nodded. Zhong Michu, however, turned to leave, saying, "The journey of Xianluo is meant for cultivation. All hardships are to temper the spirit, and all storms and thunders are to forge the body. If you seek external help at the slightest difficulty, how can you progress? You must seek opportunities amidst dangers."

In her mind, Gu Fuyou thought, "I've already encountered enough difficulties. If I don't seek help, it won't be tempering anymore, but directly crushing me to death!"

Gu Fuyou hurriedly stopped her, "You promised me that I could summon you in dire situations."

Zhong Michu replied, "That's under normal circumstances. Our sect has rules against entering Xian Luo without prior permission. Moreover, our sect leader explicitly forbade me from entering Xian Luo. You should be aware of that."

"I…" Gu Fuyou knew that summoning Zhong Michu would cause her to defy her master's orders and the sect's rules, which is why she had not summoned her earlier; otherwise, she would have done so at the first encounter with Dizang.

"I'm sorry… After going out, I will explain to the sect leader and bear the responsibility. But you've already come, so can you help me now? My brother and Si Miao are still trapped. I…"

At present, she was separated from Gu Huaiyou and Si Miao, and she was exhausted and alone. It was difficult to pass the current obstacle, let alone go and save the two of them.

Zhong Michu remained silent. Taking a deep breath, Gu Fuyou exclaimed, "I don't care! You can't leave! Originally, it was allowed to bring spirit beasts to travel together in Xianluo. Letting one's own spirit beast help doesn't count as relying on external forces! You took the position of my spirit beast, so you have to be responsible for me till the end!"

Gu Fuyou couldn't care less about the consequences. Even if it meant acting unreasonably and persistently, she couldn't let Zhong Michu leave.

If Zhong Michu left, she would surely die here.

When Zhong Michu turned around, she noticed a roaring snow bear approaching, and her expression shifted slightly.

The snow bear came with a fierce momentum, looking very majestic, and its power seemed to have reached a certain advanced stage.

Gu Fuyou wasn't lying; her life was genuinely hanging by a thread.

Zhong Michu considered Gu Fuyou's words, remaining silent for a moment, evidently hesitating.

Gu Fuyou stared intently at the back of Zhong Michu's head, waiting for a response. Seeing her silent, fearing she might fly away, she suddenly lunged forward and clung to Zhong Michu's legs.

Zhong Michu stiffened, her face twitching in surprise, she exclaimed, "What are you doing!"

Gu Fuyou retorted, "If you won't save me, then let's die together!"

"You! Let go!" Zhong Michu's face flushed.

While the two were talking, the snow bear had already charged close and looked set to pounce.

Zhong Michu swiftly grabbed Gu Fuyou by the arm and called out, "Gengchen!"

A flash of sword light emerged from her sleeve, lifting them both into the air, carrying them several dozen feet away.

Zhong Michu said, "I'll help you. Now let go."

Gu Fuyou, thinking she might have misheard, looked up at her and asked, "You'll help me?"

After seeing the seriousness in Zhong Michu's face, Gu Fuyou quietly relaxed her hold, positioning herself behind Zhong Michu, only peeking her head out to observe the approaching snow bear.

The snow bear, all four limbs on the ground, charged swiftly. When it neared, it suddenly stood upright, leaping about three meters into the air with a nimble grace that made Gu Fuyou exclaim, "Such agility!"

Zhong Michu glanced at her from the corner of her eye. With a raise of her left hand, wind and snow rose, swirling upwards, trapping the snow bear in the middle.

With a quick flick of her fingers, the soft, fluffy snow instantly transformed into a clear, hard pillar of ice, trapping the snow bear's legs and suspending it helplessly in mid-air.

Gu Fuyou was astonished. Wasn't Zhong Michu a water spiritual root? How could she use ice techniques so skillfully?

As Gengchen carried Zhong Michu closer to the snow bear, it, seeing them approach, began to swipe wildly with its free arms.

Zhong Michu extended her right hand, signaling for the bear to stop.

The snow bear immediately quieted down, though its beastly eyes remained red and it growled softly at Zhong Michu.

Gu Fuyou thought to herself that Zhong Michu must have mastered the art of beast taming.

It seemed like the snow bear was trying to communicate something to Zhong Michu, so Gu Fuyou asked, "Senior Sister Zhong, what's it saying?"

Zhong Michu turned to look at Gu Fuyou, with her scrutinizing gaze, and asked, "Did you kill its young cub?"

Gu Fuyou did not understand the implication of her scrutiny. In fact, Zhong Michu was astonished that the young snow bear, already at the initial stage of foundation building, had been killed by Gu Fuyou, who only had the full cultivation of Qi training, and without being seriously injured herself. Ordinary mediocre talents couldn't achieve this.

Gu Fuyou, however, thought Zhong Michu knew that this trouble was her own doing, and with an awkward smile, she explained, "I just accidentally fell into that snow bear's cave and accidentally disturbed its hibernation. It chased me to the death and wouldn't stop until it killed me. I had no choice but to fight back…"

The snow bear roared a few more times. Gu Fuyou asked, "What did that snow bear say?"

She always felt that spirit beasts showed particular respect in front of Zhong Michu, even their roars of rage seemed restrained; she suspected it was some trick of beast control and planned to ask Zhong Michu for lessons when the opportunity arose.

Zhong Michu hadn't answered when Gu Fuyou guessed, "Is it sparing me this time for your sake, and there won't be a next time?"

Just as she finished speaking, the snow bear roared loudly and with a crack, broke free from the ice pillar, landing on the flat surface of the broken ice, ready to leap again.

This time, it was prepared. It wouldn't be easily subdued by Zhong Michu's techniques.

Zhong Michu calmly said, "It says, 'The vengeance for killing its child is irreconcilable, even if it costs me my life, I demand blood for blood.'"

Gu Fuyou didn't believe a spirit beast could articulate such sophisticated sentiments. She was convinced that Zhong Michu had just embellished the beast's intention and said such words to scare her.

Just as Gu Fuyou was about to object, the snow bear pounced, and the tip of the Gengchen sword suddenly rose, piercing straight into the sky.

In a flash, the sword dispersed the dust, the snow bear tried to pursue but couldn't match the speed and roared skyward in frustration.

Zhong Michu could have defeated the bear, but saw no reason to engage it needlessly. Moreover, she pitied the creature for losing its cub, so she chose to flee to conserve energy.

Zhong Michu carried Gu Fuyou eastward on her sword. Gu Fuyou had no idea which part of Xianluo she had been transported to from the teleportation formation. She only saw that the snowy forest below had ended abruptly at a cliff. Below, the surging waves crashed against the shore, and ahead, the green waves merged with the sky, forming an endless sea.

Zhong Michu landed on the sandy beach below the cliff. She put away the Gengchen sword and stepped onto the soft, fine sand.

Gu Fuyou also jumped down to the beach, found a rock to sit on, and took a deep breath, her mind racing with thoughts of how to find her way back to the barren forest.

Zhong Michu glanced at her and reached into her sleeve, pulling out a handkerchief to hand to her, saying, "Wipe it."

Gu Fuyou took it with both hands, staring blankly at her.

Zhong Michu added, "Face."

Only then did Gu Fuyou realize that she had been hit by the Tian Xing earlier and was injured on her forehead, with blood flowing down her face. She touched it, and the blood had already coagulated, along with her hair being clumped together. "Thank you, Senior Sister."

When Gu Fuyou caught sight of herself in the water, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the person looking back at her.

She dipped the handkerchief in the water to wet it, then wiped the blood from her face, turning the pristine white fabric bright red with a single swipe.

Gu Fuyou thought, every time she summoned Zhong Michu, things always seemed to go from bad to worse.

Zhong Michu tidied the hem of her clothes, which had been disheveled when Gu Fuyou hugged her legs. As she brushed the fabric, the faint yet seductive scent of Gu Fuyou's body lingered on her clothes.

Zhong Michu, recalling how Gu Fuyou had desperately clung to her, sighed softly, "How can there be a girl like you in this world?"

Zhong Michu emphasized "a girl like you." However, in Gu Fuyou's ears, she heard an emphasis on "girl."

After rinsing the blood-stained handkerchief in the sea, Gu Fuyou turned and smiled mischievously, hinting towards her chest and said, "Do you think I don't look like a lady, Senior Sister Zhong? Would you like to check?"

Zhong Michu's expression darkened, "Foolish."

Gu Fuyou couldn't help but burst into laughter. She had predicted Zhong Michu's reply word for word. The relief of having survived made her feel giddy. She laughed so hard that tears formed.

As she was laughing, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something moving in the sand beside her. When she looked directly at it, a creature emerged from the sand, waving two large pincers and crawling towards her – a crab.

She jumped up in horror because, instead of a regular shell, the back of this crab had a human face. Although small, the face was fully formed with all features.

This is a humanoid-faced crab.

Gu Fuyou's hair stood on end. "Ahhhhhh!"

That human face had its eyes and mouth tightly closed. When Gu Fuyou screamed, the human face suddenly opened its mouth and also followed, "Ahhhhhh!"

Its sharp and piercing cry completely overshadowed Gu Fuyou's voice.

The surrounding sand began to shift, and one by one, more humanoid-faced crabs emerged, encircling Gu Fuyou completely.

Gu Fuyou screamed shrilly, and they screamed back even louder. The more desperately Gu Fuyou screamed, the fiercer their response.

Their haunting cries were enough to shatter one's sanity.

Zhong Michu stood to the side, looking quite irritated by the commotion.

Gu Fuyou looked desperately at Zhong Michu, her voice trembling with a sobbing tone, "Senior Sister Zhong, save me!"

Zhong Michu calmly responded, "Humanoid-faced crabs, they don't harm people."

Gu Fuyou yelled back, "But they're so disgusting!"

Why did all sorts of demons and monsters flock to her?

Just seeing those human faces on the crabs gave her the chills. Just touching one sent a cold shiver from her feet to her head. She wished she could just cut off the limbs that had touched the creepy crabs.

However, Zhong Michu showed no intention of helping. Her sleeves billowed in the breeze, her hair entwined with a ribbon, as she gazed at the blue sky and the sea, looking as if she was leisurely enjoying the scenery, oblivious to the urgency.

Gu Fuyou felt that Zhong Michu was still holding a grudge because she had summoned her just before her bath and had clung to her legs, refusing to let her go, which was why she was now watching indifferently.

As the humanoid-faced crabs continued to advance, Gu Fuyou had no choice but to back into the sea.

She was terrified by the countless humanoid-faced crabs, but she tried to reassure herself. If she just closed her eyes and ran through them, treating them like stepping stones, she could reach Zhong Michu's side.

However, she found herself paralyzed by fear, on the verge of breaking down, "Nanzhu Jun!"

Zhong Michu's gaze darted over, her expression unfriendly.

Gu Fuyou remembered her promise not to force Zhong Michu to do anything, so she quickly changed her tone and said softly, "Senior Sister Zhong…"

"Good Senior Sister… Sister! Dear sister!"

After she pleaded several times, Zhong Michu appeared momentarily surprised.

Gu Fuyou continued, "Use your divine powers, please…"

Before she could finish, the sea behind her suddenly rippled. The next instant, a slender white figure burst through the water, coiling around Gu Fuyou's waist and swiftly dragging her away.

Gu Fuyou was pulled into the air, screaming, "Zhong Michu ahhhhhh!" Her voice changed pitch in panic, rising and falling as it grew more and more distant.