Xu Mu first glanced at Dai Xingluo, then turned his gaze toward the six or seven people approaching from the other side.
Activating his Divine Eye, he scanned the woman who had just spoken.
She wore a long dress and had a tall, slender figure—not quite as striking as Dai Xingluo, Meng Wanyue, or Miao He—but still above average in appearance.
Name: Zhang Yujing
Identity: Outer disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect
Favorability: 0
Fate Level: 1 (Max: 10)
Seeing this information, Xu Mu smiled faintly. So this was one of Dai Xingluo's senior sisters from her sect. Judging from the woman's tone, the two didn't seem to get along.
"Who are you? I don't seem to know you," Dai Xingluo asked with feigned curiosity.
"You—!" Zhang Yujing's face darkened. "Dai Xingluo, you don't even remember me, Zhang Yujing? When you first entered the sect, who was it that took care of you?"
"Oh, so it's Senior Sister Zhang. Forgive me, junior sister was being rude."
Dai Xingluo said sweetly, looping her arm through Xu Mu's. "Brother, let's go. Just seeing her makes me nauseous."
Xu Mu nodded slightly and gave Miao He a subtle look.
Miao He understood instantly and continued leading the way ahead.
"Stop! You think you can just leave?"
Zhang Yujing snapped coldly. Her companions quickly formed a semicircle, blocking their path.
"What's the meaning of this, Senior Sister Zhang?" Dai Xingluo asked with a faint smile.
"Senior Brother Zhou Xing from the Greenwood Peak of Heavenly Sword Sect suddenly lost contact," Zhang Yujing said, pointing at Dai Xingluo. "I remember you had a conflict with him once. Did you kill him?"
Xu Mu's eyes narrowed slightly. So it was that man he'd killed. He hadn't expected the sect to send investigators this quickly.
"Senior Sister Zhang, if you want to accuse me, at least make it sound logical. As I recall, Senior Brother Zhou's cultivation was at the Mystic Art Realm."
Dai Xingluo tapped her chest lightly. "And me? What realm am I in? Do you think I could kill him?"
"Who knows what tricks a vixen like you might've used! Do you dare to swear it?" Zhang Yujing shouted sharply.
"Of course I do! If I killed Senior Brother Zhou Xing, may I be struck by lightning five times!"
But as Dai Xingluo spoke, she suddenly noticed Xu Mu watching her with a serious expression—and realization dawned on her.
Wait… was Zhou Xing killed by Xu Mu?
[Favorability +15]
"Go on then—why won't you finish your oath?" Zhang Yujing sneered coldly.
"I was just thinking of a stronger one!" Dai Xingluo said quickly. "If I killed Senior Brother Zhou Xing, may heaven smite me with five bolts of lightning!"
Since she hadn't done it, she had nothing to fear from any oath.
Zhang Yujing stared at her. Truthfully, she knew Dai Xingluo couldn't possibly have killed Zhou Xing.
If she really had that kind of strength, she'd have been taken under the wing of some elder long ago—regardless of whose ire she drew.
"Dai Xingluo, don't get too close to men," Zhang Yujing said icily. "Be careful—Senior Brother Zhou Xing's senior, the First Brother of Greenwood Peak, is easily jealous."
With that, she waved to her group. "Let's go!"
Once they'd left, Miao He resumed leading the way forward.
Dai Xingluo immediately clung to Xu Mu's arm again, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "Brother… Zhou Xing was killed by you, wasn't he? How did you even know he was my enemy?"
Meng Wanyue's gaze turned cold, while Miao He, walking ahead, furrowed her brows slightly.
Chen Xuan, however, jumped in excitedly: "I was there yesterday! The guy insulted Xingluo's name, and Brother Mu just snapped! One strike for his lady's honor!"
[Favorability +20]
Dai Xingluo's eyes gleamed as she tightened her hold on Xu Mu's arm. "Brother, you really are the best brother in the whole world!"
Xu Mu felt as though some strange force had taken hold of his arm—it was impossible to pull away.
It almost felt like Dai Xingluo was using some kind of Water-Fusion Technique—not as overwhelming as Xu Ningbing's or Li Yun's, but potent enough to earn the name Little Water-Fusion Art.
He quickly changed the topic before his imagination went astray.
"What exactly happened between you and them?" Xu Mu asked.
"The Heavenly Sword Sect has three branches," Dai Xingluo explained, looking ahead. "The Flaming Sun Peak, the Ice Soul Peak, and the Greenwood Peak. Each has its own inner and outer disciples.
When I was young, I was taken in by an elder from Greenwood Peak as an outer disciple. When I turned fifteen, the Second Senior Brother from that peak took a liking to me."
Chen Xuan nodded in realization. "Ah, so that Second Senior Brother lusted after Miss Dai's beauty, huh?"
"Of course," Dai Xingluo said lightly. "But beauty is just one of Sister's strengths—the real thing is my talent."
She once again rested her head on Xu Mu's shoulder.
Crack!
Meng Wanyue, walking ahead, suddenly gripped a tree trunk—and with one hand, ripped a thick strip of bark clean off.
Xu Mu immediately withdrew his arm, face calm. "Go on."
"That Second Senior Brother was the elder's grandson. He wanted me to become his woman, but I refused. So he sent Zhou Xing and that woman just now to threaten me," Dai Xingluo continued. "At that time, Zhou Xing was still the Sixth Senior Brother of Greenwood Peak."
"Can your seniority ranks change?" Miao He suddenly asked.
"Yes," Dai Xingluo nodded. "The Heavenly Sword Sect holds annual tournaments. The winners rise in rank. That Second Senior Brother is now the First."
"Since he was the elder's grandson, I couldn't afford to offend him—so I left the mountain."
Xu Mu nodded to himself. No wonder Dai Xingluo had been working at the antique shop instead of returning to the sect.
"Oh, right—Brother, the technique you gave me was actually one of the lost top-grade techniques of Flaming Sun Peak."
As she said this, she deliberately glanced at Meng Wanyue.
But Meng Wanyue's expression didn't change—if anything, she looked more spirited.
After all, Xu Mu had given her a legendary Earth-Grade technique. She wasn't the jealous type.
"Alright, we're here," Miao He suddenly said.
Xu Mu looked ahead. They were still deep in the mountains.
The trees above blotted out the sky—an ordinary person could easily lose their sense of direction here.
A small river flowed down from a higher elevation in front of them.
"Where's the entrance?" Xu Mu asked.
Miao He walked briskly to the riverside, where scattered rocks lined the bank.
With a light step, she leapt into the water—its level reached her stomach.
"The entrance is between the rocks underwater," she called out.
Then, channeling Gang Qi, she blasted the water aside and sank beneath the surface.
Previously, Xu Mu couldn't sense anything underwater—but now that she'd gone in, he could perceive it clearly.
The entrance was hidden in a side crevice beneath the current—no wonder it was so hard to find.
"Hurry, one at a time," Xu Mu said, patting Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo on the back.
Meng Wanyue jumped in first, releasing her own Gang Qi to form a barrier that kept her clothes dry.
She dove under the surface and quickly found the side crevice entrance.
Suddenly, Xu Mu's face changed. "Hurry up—someone's coming!"