Sudden Abandonment

Something about her didn't seem right. She didn't speak and merely looked at Hun Zao, who looked with disbelief that she killed a rank 4 beast all on her own.

Having recognized this state before, Hei Yue quickly moved towards Anqing and Xukun. Biting the bottom of their clothes, he pulled them away from her. Confused and surprised, they followed him and moved back several meters.

As for Li Baojun, he slowly moved his hand behind him, reaching for his saber. While she was still focused on Hun Zao, this would be an opportunity to attack her and take the dead dragonfly.

Inching closer to the saber, he wrapped his hand around the handle and quickly unsheathed it.

As quick as he was, Ming Yue was quicker. Like eyes behind her head, she didn't look back as her arm lashed out. The dagger in her hand clashed against the saber and managed to force it out of his hands and into the water.

Li Baojun was unperturbed and took out a jade talisman. He lunged towards the Dragonfly's corpse and disappeared, transformed into motes of light. He left Hun Zao and whatever remained of his group at the mercy of Ming Yue.

"No, wait!" they crawled desperately towards their leader only for him to disappear in front of their eyes.

Abandoned so easily by the one they considered their senior.

Cursing themselves, the pair stood up and took their sabers out, ready to fight. It wasn't likely that Ming Yue was going to let them go. They faced her with as much courage as they could muster. Still, their legs were quaking. After what they've just witnessed, there was fear inside them. Under the cold stare of the one before them, they felt as if death approached them.

Ming Yue stepped forward, walking over the bloody puddle that the dragonfly left.

Hun Zao was the first to move. He yelled out and lunged forward. With the silvery saber in his hand, he stabbed once but the images of two other sabers appeared. Three simultaneous strikes aimed at Ming Yue.

One for the head, one for the heart, and one for the stomach.

"Take this! Trinity Lotus Stab!"

The three attacks formed three lotuses, each one flew to their respective positions. This was his greatest skill, a lethal strike aimed at three vital points. A technique he practiced hard and made it his killing move. Hun Zao was sure that she would not be able to avoid it but that was only wishful thinking.

Ming Yue swung her sword and brought it down on the three lotuses, breaking the technique.

"What! Impossible! How can you break it so easily?!"

Whatever courage he had was overtaken by fear. His best technique was dealt with ease, how could he not be afraid?

Ming Yue took one more step forward before vanishing in front of his eyes. The next moment, he felt the cold dagger piercing his neck before lopping his head off.

"That's...impossible."

He spoke his last words as he dropped to the ground.

As for the last member of Li Baojun's group, she had already ran off. Taking advantage of Hun Zao's struggle to escape. Ming Yue turn towards the direction of her and tried to chase after her. But on her next step, she fell to her knee before collapsing on the bridge.

"Ming Yue!"

Anqing and the others ran to her, checking for any signs of life. Hei Yue seemed especially worried for her and watched his master carefully.

"Oh thank goodness, she is still breathing. Quick, let's give her some medicine before her situation gets even worse. Where is that rank 2 pill? The Cleansing Sea Pill?"

Anqing worked quickly and with Xukun's help, they managed to bandage up Ming Yue's more dire injuries and gave her a water-colored pill. Fortunately, both medicines worked quickly and Ming Yue's black and blue body regained some color.

"Let's move to the next island while there's still sun."

Having finished up the treatment, Xukun carried Ming Yue in his arms and started moving. Meanwhile, Anqing still had the unconscious Xiao Yin and Hei Yue carried Ming Yue's sword in his mouth. Despite her heavy injuries, she was still alive.

Ming Yue's mind was active and within it, she conversed with the voice of Xue Yue.

"What happened? Have I died?

"You survived, though your body is in a pretty nasty shape. Your friends are fine as well and most of those people that trapped you are dead."

"I see. That's good."

Ming Yue paused and breathed with relief before realizing something strange.

"Wait, I thought you said that you had no control over my body anymore? Why is it like this?"

"What do you think? After you dove into that water with the dragonfly, your body was put under extreme pressure. Not the mention, the thing took you by the arm and almost ripped it off with its jaw. As strong as your mind was, you barely lasted several seconds before passing out. In such a state, I was suddenly pushed into control. Luckily, you managed to force your dagger into its shell. If not, even if I took control, we would've died long ago, drowned underwater. "

"What? What else did you do?"

"Why are you so concerned? I killed your enemies and that dragonfly, shredded its innards with Torrential Wind. Oh, but their leader ran with the corpse and ditched his own lackeys. Is there anything else you need to know?"

"I suppose not."

"Good, you're going to wake up soon. I'll talk to you later."

Xue Yue's voice faded away, leaving only Ming Yue to ponder the strange situation of her soul. Perhaps, Xue Yue was a way for her to move in case she lost consciousness. If it were like that, Ming Yue would be a much more dangerous opponent. Knocking her out would only result in having to fight another persona, albeit a more merciless version. The thought of it was quite strange for her.

In the real world, her eyes moved just a bit before they opened. Her body was covered with bandages and her shoulder felt incredibly sore. Internally, it was nothing more than a mess. Her energy was spent as was shown in the almost lifeless island within her. Many of her meridians were damaged though it wasn't as severe as she thought.

She couldn't help but groan against the pain.

"Oh, she's awake!"

Xukun was the first to notice and quickly helped Ming Yue sit upright. Compared to Anqing, he seemed much more nervous about Ming Yue's condition. This was pretty much the second person he had managed to befriend. Anqing quickly followed as did Ming Yue's two pets.

"Agh, where are we?" Ming Yue asked.

"The next island, the twenty-first one."

"Oh good."

"How are you feeling?" Anqing asked, "Do you need any more medicine?"

"No, no, you practically covered my body in bandages. I feel much better than I did before. If I circulate my energy for the night, I should have recovered enough strength to at least walk."

"That's good news."

"Yes, it is."

The two paused as they looked at Ming Yue kindly.

"You shouldn't act so recklessly, what if you had not survived?"

"Even if I didn't, we would've died either way. Besides, we're alive now, aren't we?"

Neither could refute her and sighed with dejection. Anqing's rejected face soon turned to a furious one.

"That bastard Li Baojun escaped with the Diving Dragonfly's corpse. The next time I see him, I'm going to give him some real poison."

Her eyes showed no playfulness or kindness but fury.

"Let's get that Black Adder Moss first and then we can talk about dealing with him."

"Oh yes, you're right. Let's grab a fair amount of it. Afterwards, we can go deal with Li Baojun."

Ming Yue was a bit surprised by the sudden change. Perhaps, Anqing was less like a snake and more of a frog. After all, the smallest of frogs can kill a man with merely a touch. It was easier to think, that someone with a poison body has more than dabbled in poison.

In any case, she was somewhat happy that Anqing was her friend. She would not be a fun opponent.

The night passed by as Ming Yue slowly recovered. At the same time, she told the others about her quick trip into the Emerald Deepwater and how she managed to kill the Diving Dragonfly. But, she did not speak of Xue Yue as a detail like that should be kept a secret. Who knows what sort of people may want to capture her for such a thing.