I Made A Mistake

After getting lost four times because of the many pathways, Long Wen began growing impatient. All the rooms Yu Xuelan had led Long Wen in were questionable and strange that if it was possible, it would most definitely be best to erase their memories of what they'd witnessed in those rooms.

"Lin Yuhe, are you sure we're heading the right way?"

Yu Xuelan looked back with a confident expression, "Young Madam Long, trust me. I am very sure this time."

"That's your fourth time saying it," she muttered under her breath, but she made sure it was loud enough for Yu Xuelan to hear.

But even if she mumbled the words in an extremely quiet voice, Yu Xuelan could still understand every word clearly.

———

After their sixth try, they had finally reached the underground prison.

"See, every small step makes big progress," Yu Xuelan proudly grinned.

"Look! Yuhe is there!" Yue called out from the cage.

Meixiang and the other women in the cages started standing up with a glimpse of hope beaming in their eyes, chattering and calling out to the two cultivators.

"Lin, Lin Yuhe!!" Yue cried in happiness.

"Yue! Meixiang!" Yu Xuelan beamed cheerfully.

"Young Madam Long, can you break those cages?"

Long Wen nodded and gathered an enormous amount of spiritual energy at her palms, forming a sword with spiritual energy and sliced the cages.

Once again, Yu Xuelan couldn't help but feel surprised by Long Wen's progress in her cultivation techniques. The Qi sword she created was only capable if one was in their fifth rank of cultivation practice. Well, it had been eight years since Yu Xuelan last saw her strength, so it shouldn't have been surprising to see her growth.

"Are we finally free?"

"Someone has come to save us!"

"It's been two years!"

"Two years? I've been here for four!"

"Don't celebrate yet," Yu Xuelan cautioned, and the women immediately shut their mouths.

"Here," Meixiang handed her black robes.

Yu Xuelan slipped on her robes and asked, "Long Wen, are you alright?"

Long Wen, "..."

"Who do you think I am?" She scoffed.

Seeing that Long Wen was still her usual self, Yu Xuelan smiled in assurance, though she couldn't help but worry about Wu Zhitian.

Wu Zhitian...

Her face immediately heated up and she shook her head to get rid of those past thoughts.

"Oh right, has anyone seen my twin sister?" Yu Xuelan radiated in anticipation as she asked the girls.

"No."

"I don't think so."

"I never look at the newcomers anymore."

"You have a twin sister?" Long Wen furrowed her brows.

"I'm sorry Lin Yuhe. No one has seen your sister," Yue responded.

Yu Xuelan's body sunk and sighed, rubbing her temples before turning to Long Wen. If Lin Changying had already been eaten by Bo Fan, then the commandment would've surely melted in his stomach, leaving absolutely no trace of the note's existence.

Surprisingly, Yu Xuelan found herself worrying more about Lin Changying's safety than the commandment note itself.

"Long Wen, where is Huo Yan?" Yu Xuelan asked.

Long Wen furrowed her brows and said slowly, "When I woke up, they changed my clothes and they also took Huo Yan away. It should probably be with the Woman Eater."

Yu Xuelan could never send themselves back if her sabre was still missing. If Long Wen returned to the Tiger Palace without her sacred weapon, then it would be so shameful since that sabre was ultimately the pride of Zheng Long.

"Yuhe, who is that?" Yue whispered as she looked at the cloaked woman.

Yu Xuelan smiled, "A very highly skilled cultivator!"

Long Wen raised her brows but immediately returned to her usual stern expression. Feeling the piercing gaze of the girl, sweat dripped down Yu Xuelan's neck as though Long Wen were analyzing every single word and action.

"We have two highly skilled cultivators here to help us!" A girl breathed.

"Alright, can you draw a teleportation array around these girls? Sorry, I don't think I have sufficient spiritual energy to teleport all of them."

Teleportation was an extremely high skilled technique so Long Wen hesitated on whether she could perform it or not, but she didn't want to admit that it might've been too difficult for her since her pride was on the line.

Yu Xuelan was expecting Long Wen to turn her request down since she had already used up an enormous amount of spiritual energy. From creating a sound nullification room to breaking a high-level seal, and walking six flights of stairs to creating a Qi sword that barely any cultivators can do, and now she had to draw a teleportation array. How had this girl not passed out yet?

"Alright," Long Wen agreed.

"If you can't do it, we can find another way," Yu Xuelan worried. "Maybe we can-."

"No, I can do it," Long Wen insisted as the girls huddled in a group.

Yu Xuelan smiled, although feeling quite anxious as she felt she might have been pushing Long Wen's abilities too far.

She also noticed Long Wen was feeling rather stressed in case she could not fully conduct the array, but once she decidesd on something, she must pursue it until the end. That was just the type of person Long Wen was.

The cultivator pulled her spiritual power towards her thumb and drew a circular array around the girls.

"What about you two?" Meixiang asked worriedly.

Yu Xuelan grinned, "We'll find a way out later, don't worry!"

"I'm done," Long Wen said hesitantly, unsure on whether she would have enough energy to teleport them, but she ensured her confident demeanour was still present.

"Please stay safe, Lin Yuhe," Meixiang worried and held Yu Xuelan's hand.

"I'll be fine," The black-robed girl smiled but instantly stopped when she realized Long Wen was glaring at them.

Yu Xuelan glanced over to see if Long Wen was still staring at them but before she could turn her head back fully, Long Wen had already averted her eyes.

"There they are!" The demons yelled.

Everyone jolted and whipped their heads toward the familiar voice.

A dark beam slashed towards the group. The entire underground trembled and shook.

Luckily, Yu Xuelan grabbed a branch that was in her sleeve and gathered spiritual energy at the tip, deflecting the beam.

"Did you kill them?" The demon asked.

"No. They're still alive!"

"Hah. Trying to escape, are we?"

The dust from the impact slowly cleared out where the two silhouettes soon became clear, taking the form of the two monkey demons from before.

Alerted, Long Wen quickly placed her palm on the ground, which the array lit up brightly. Before the demons could prevent her array from progressing, the girls had already vanished.

A large silence loomed over the four.

"The Young Master's food got away!"

The two demons increased their sizes, almost triple their height of what they originally were, and they bared their jagged teeth, dripping with saliva.

Despite their horrid appearance, Yu Xuelan noticed their killing intent was still the same, meaning their strength and rank were still those of a Counter.

A/N: Counter< Mercenary< Fallen< Demon God

Long Wen clicked her tongue, "How troublesome."

"Can you fight? Are you exhausted? You created the sound nullification room and also drew the teleportation array-"

"Why are you worrying about me? Focus on yourself."

"But you don't have your sabre," Yu Xuelan muttered before looking around.

If Long Wen was still in top shape, she could just continue acting dumb and hide behind her since taking on Counter demons should be easy. But her spiritual energy was already depleting and if she fought any further, her body would collapse.

Just then, another idea lit in Yu Xuelan's head.