The elder burst into mad laughter, as if he had discovered something extremely amusing and fascinating. At the same time, he was furious that a mere little girl had dared to make them climb the mountain and slow them down. He felt deeply offended—yet strangely exhilarated—by how intriguing this child was.
Lin Wuyue panted heavily, watching the elder with caution. When the elder saw the fierce look in her eyes, he felt an even stronger urge to laugh.
"Jojo… such a murderous gaze at such a young age. You truly are interesting. Congratulations, I suppose?" He clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. If you hadn't offended the young master, he might have taken you in as a disciple. What a pity. When I hand you over to him, I'll be richly rewarded."
Rage surged through Lin Wuyue so strongly that she feared she might spit out another mouthful of blood.
"Damn old man… he actually dares to hand me over to that monster. I won't allow it."
"Little one, don't worry," the serpent said urgently inside her head. "I'll leave the ring and fight him. You run as fast as you can. There's a cave not far from here—hide there. I'll follow after you."
"No," Lin Wuyue replied coldly in her mind.
"Are you crazy? If that man catches you, he will kill you for sure!" the serpent snapped impatiently, convinced the girl was being foolish.
"Calm down. I'll think of something," Lin Wuyue said quietly.
The serpent fell into anxious silence. It allowed her to do as she pleased, deciding that if she were in real danger, it would intervene no matter what.
Lin Wuyue slowly began to retreat. Seeing this, the elder raised an eyebrow in amusement and took another step forward.
Her mind raced desperately.
The elder was far stronger and far taller than her—grabbing her would be as easy as picking up a chicken. Completely effortless.
Think. Think faster.
Then she remembered the extremely potent sleeping liquid Chen Xi had given her to use on the Feng brothers.
What kind of luck is this?
And there's also the serpent… no, I don't know how long it can stay outside the ring. I just told it not to come out—it's my trump card. If I expose it now and something else happens later, it'll be too late.
But if I take out the liquid now, this elder will definitely notice. He's not like Chen Xi or Feng Wu or Linyuan. If I make one wrong move, he'll kill me instantly.
Her gaze shifted past the elder.
Below the mountain, a fierce battle was clearly taking place. The metallic clash of swords echoed upward, carried by the strong wind.
Her eyes widened.
"Brother Wu… you came for me?"
The elder frowned and turned his head sharply.
"Feng Wu climbed up here? How did I not sense him?"
But when he looked closely, there was no one there.
Startled, he turned back—
Lin Wuyue was gone.
She had already started running the moment he looked away.
The elder: "..."
The serpent: "..."
When the elder saw her fleeing, his rage twisted into laughter instead.
"Damn little brat… you actually dared to trick me. Hahahaha!"
He immediately moved to capture her.
How could Lin Wuyue possibly outrun an experienced cultivator?
In the blink of an eye, the elder caught her, lifting her by the back of her collar with one hand.
"Let me go!" Lin Wuyue roared.
The elder snorted and casually shifted her to his other hand. To him, she was nothing more than a small, chubby ball.
Amused by the comparison, he laughed and began pulling something out of his sleeve.
Lin Wuyue didn't know what it was—but she prepared to take out the liquid as well, ready to smash the vial over his head and kill the old bastard if necessary.
But when she saw what he had taken out, she froze in shock.
The elder had produced two orange balls and began juggling them—along with Lin Wuyue.
Her world spun violently.
She felt nauseous, on the verge of vomiting, utterly humiliated.
Everything blurred. She was terrified of making a mistake and alerting the elder.
Why didn't I react faster…? she thought desperately as she was tossed around like a human ball.
Seeing the girl's pale face, as if she were about to throw up, the elder found it even more amusing. Still, he eventually stopped playing with the poor child—who could have been his granddaughter.
For some reason, he felt strangely entertained.
He had never had children, let alone grandchildren. At his age, he should have been giving sweets to little kids.
He almost forgot that he was here to deliver this very same child to her death.
The moment he stopped moving—
Crack!
The sound of a jar shattering echoed through the air, followed by searing pain exploding in his head. Liquid splashed across his face. He couldn't tell whether it was blood or something else.
With a grunt, he dropped everything in his hands—Lin Wuyue, the two orange balls—and even a communication jade slipped free and fell.
Lin Wuyue hit the ground with a dull thud.
She hesitated for only a split second before snatching up the jade and running with everything she had.
The serpent had watched the entire exchange with eyes wide open.
Then it burst into laughter.
"Kido… you're incredible. Truly incredible. I didn't make a mistake giving you my master's ring. Hahahaha! It's been centuries since I laughed this hard!"
Lin Wuyue snorted and asked coldly, "Where's the cave?"
Struggling to stop laughing, the serpent finally replied, "Follow that path… pfft… you'll find the cave where you can hide. Hahaha."
Lin Wuyue ignored it and kept running.
She was in a foul mood.
That damn old man had played with her while she was badly injured—yet strangely, he hadn't worsened her wounds, allowing her to keep running, though with difficulty.
She bit her lip, enduring the pain, and continued forward.