You... You Can Stand?

"What's our current result?" Jiao Heng asked.

"Answering to the young master, we have five Quasi fourth-Level Yao Beast in the pouch. There are also ten Third-Level, forty second-level, and two hundred first-level," a servant reported.

"Then we should be on our way towards the east. Our next target will be the nest of Silver Canis!" Jiao Heng said. There is no longer a reason for his team to continue and loiter around as the end of the Annual Hunting Festival is getting closer.

Based on the point allocation that he was told by his father, a first-level Yao Beast can be exchanged into a single point. Second-level beast yields 10 points, third-level beast worth 100, and Quasi fourth-level worth 500.

A fully grown fourth-level Yao Beast would worth a thousand points. Unfortunately, they're hardly found due to the restriction placed between the Inner and Outer forest border.

And with a pouch with 4,100 worth of points, Jiao Heng is confident that this year's champion seat will naturally belong to him.

"Young master, shall we wait for the remaining teams to deliver their hunt?" a servant asked.

"No. We'll make our way to the Silver Canis' nest. As for those mere single-digit point contribution, it is fine for us to ignore them." Jiao Heng said.

In his opinion, it was pointless to purposely wait for those "greedy" cultivators and their contribution, which is limited to the first to the third-level corpses. Furthermore, some carcasses might be damaged to the point of an irreversible state, making it pointless for both sides.

"Let's go!" the lead servant ordered the others to follow as they made their way over to the eastern direction. Their target is where the nest of a Matured Yellowtail Fox Demon is located.

What they did not know is the nest have been cleared by Qin Lan's team. Right now, there's another surprise waiting for them over there.

...

...

It was already the middle of the afternoon Qin Lan's team subjugated the two Thunderhorn Copper Rhinoceros. There are less than one and a half-day to the end of this Annual Hunting Festival, and Qin Lan is not confident about winning one of the top three positions.

"Young master, there are a total of 4 Quasi fourth-level Yao Beast in our Qiankun Pouch." Lu Yi counted the total of Yao Beast carcasses they've captured.

"That's two thousand points. What about the first to third-level Yao Beast? What's our total right now?" Qin Lan continued.

"First-level, two hundred and fifty. Second-level, one hundred and thirty. Fifteen third-level." Lu Yi quickly reported without delay.

"Two hundred fifty points, a thousand and three hundred points, and a thousand and five hundred points. So that's a total of five thousand and fifty points." Qin Lan roughly counted the total point of his team, unaware that it was more than enough.

"Let's keep it up. Getting six thousand points should be enough for each one of us to have a thousand five hundred merit points to be exchanged into cultivation materials." Qin Lan calculated.

"We'll follow the young master's decision." Lu Yi, Lu Qing Yun, and Huo Zunjie nodded at Qin Lan's decision.

"Great. Let's go." Qin Lan leaned on his wheelchair comfortably as Lu Qing Yun expands her sense around them. The moment they caught a hint of activity nearby, Lu Yi and Huo Zunjie will immediately rush forward and begin their hunt.

Such activity continues throughout the night until the seventh day is finally here.

There were only six teams left inside the forest.

"Young Lady!" Hu Jia's attendant shouted as he tried to remind her to be cautious around her. They're currently surrounded by a pack of Violet Legged Spider Demon Insects.

**Zing!**

**Shua!**

The Violet Legged Spider Demon who tries to sneak behind Hu Jia had one of its eight limbs chopped off.

"How come there are so many Violet Spider Demon at this place?" Hu Jia complained. The spiritual energy that gathered around her Offensive Treasure is getting thinner due to exhaustion in her stamina.

"We've must have stumble across one of the Spider Queen's nest. We should retreat before it's too late, milady!" Hu Jia's servant inhaled a mouthful of air and shouted in the direction behind his young lady.

"Violent Tiger Roar!" the sound attack as fierce as a roaring from a tiger demon beast makes way for Hu Jia and two other servants to escape from the Violet Legged Spider Demon's clutches.

One of the two servants hastily grabbed the hand of another servant lying on the ground as they're retreating from this dangerous place.

"Just leave me here. Protect our young lady..." she weakly whispered her will as the servant started to lose her consciousness.

"No! I'm not leaving you here alone. We've said before that we'll ask the patriarch for his approval for our marriage after this Annual Hunting Festival, correct? Don't leave me alone, please! I beg you!" the male servant started to lose his calmness as the female servant he's in love with is dying.

"Xiao-Che... Please protect milady... If we happened to meet each other again in our next life, I, Xiao-Xi, promise that I will be your bride for sure." the female servant used the last bit of her strength to finish her words.

"Xiao-Xi! Xiao-Xi!" tears fell from the eyes of the servant called Xiao-Che as he loosens his grip on his beloved body. Her lips have turned purple due to the poison spreading inside her body.

"Feed her a Flesh Mending Pill," Hu Jia yelled. A hand grabbed her on her right wrist as she's preparing to turn around and retaliates.

"Young lady, no. Please don't waste Xiao-Xi's effort." the other female servant said with tears rolling down from both sides of her cheeks.

"Am I destined to die here with my servants? Am I so weak that I can't even defeat a swarm of spiders?" Hu Jia laments inside her heart. She regretted her choice of entering this spider silk-covered forest without precaution earlier.

"Aargh! Young lady, keep going! Don't look back, don't look back!" the servant with the Violent Tiger Roar martial skill rolled on the ground as his leg was injured by the Quasi Fourth-Level Yao Beast in pursuit.

"Housekeeper Wu!" Hu Jia wanted to turn around and save him, but the female servant forcefully pulled her using all of her strength.

"No! No! Housekeeper Wu!" the male servant named Xiao-Che also let go of the body of Xiao-Xi in his embrace. Grabbing Hu Jia's wrist, the two servants forced themselves to drag Hu Jia as they escaped without looking back.

"Thank you. Thank you." Housekeeper Wu kneeled on the ground as he stares at the trio that leaving further away from him. His head and body were separated by an attack from the Quasi Fourth-Level Yao Beast.

"Go! Bring our lady out of the forest!" Xiao-Che turned around and brandished his blade against the two pursuing Violet Legged Spider Demons behind them.

"Xiao-Che!" the female servant shouted. From how worried she looks, it seems Xiao-Che's luck with the ladies is not too bad. But the fighting sound only remained for less than a hundred steps as the sword clanging sound stops.

"Young lady, please go ahead..." the female servant stopped moving further as well. Hu Jia's steps became slower as she's approaching the exit of the spider's nest.

"Xiao-Che... Xiao-Xi... I'll come and accompany you all..."

"Ah!!!" a scream accompanied her as she followed the footsteps of her other companions.

Hu Jia successfully gets out from the forest of spiders. But there was no written rule that the Violet Legged Spider Demon isn't allowed to hunt outside of their nest. Pulling herself together, Hu Jia tried to move a few steps further.

**SHUA!!!**

The Quasi Fourth-Level Beast uprooted the trees covering the small entrance to the spider forest. Violet Legged Spider Demons from the inside started to pour outside as if they're intending to expand their territories today.

"Am I going to die today?" Hu Jia asked herself. She was out of medicinal pills and cultivation pills. All she was left is a Qiankun Pouch filled with Yao Beast carcasses and the Precelestial Huang-Grade sword.

"Young master, I sense a very familiar..." not too far from Hu Jia, a female servant caught wind of what is happening. But as she reported it to her young master, he was already gone from his comfortable wheelchair.

A streak of flash in Azure light went across a few miles of distance, destroying the foliage as it went past.

"Will he be here to save me?" Hu Jia lost her will to fight. She was out of stamina even before her second fight is going to start.

"Impossible... How can a cripple come so deep into the forest just to save a tigress like me? Ah, I should just kiss him before I went into the forest." Hu Jia started to feel a hint of regret. In her mind, it wasn't her parents that she's missing, but a man.

One that teased her while he was seated on top of the wheelchair.

**Shua!!!**

The Quasi Fourth-Level Yao Beast charged forward with its jaw opened wide to swallow Hu Jia whole.

"Qin Lan... Sob..."

"Save me..."

"QIN LAN!!!" Hu Jia shouted his name for the first time, loud and clear.

"Golden Lord Holy Fist!"

"Mountain Splitting Strike!"

"Crushing Wave!"

"GET THE HELL OFF FROM MY WOMAN!" a man stands in front of Hu Jia after delivering three killing strikes at the incoming Quasi Fourth-Level Yao Beast. The azure-color on his clothing made it hard for one to miss.

"Did my soon-to-be bride miss me?" Qin Lan smiled at Hu Jia.

"You... Are you the real thing?" Hu Jia has no idea where did she found some strength to rub her eyes. But it happened.

"Is there another Qin Lan except for me?" Qin Lan extends his left palm out for her hand to reach.

"You... You can stand?" Hu Jia continues to ask.

"Yes. But you'll have to keep this as a secret." Qin Lan placed a finger at his lips as he answered.

"So... I'm not marrying a cripple?"

"Logically says... You're not." Qin Lan held her hand and pulled her up from the ground.

**SHRIEK!!!**

"Shut up!" the two of them shouted at the Quasi Fourth-Level Yao Beast as they're still in their own sweet world.