Chapter 246: You're Directionally Challenged

Xiao Zhufeng and Zhai Qingye exchanged a glance.

Xiao Zhufeng had no idea what to do.

He frowned tightly, then took small steps toward Zhai Qingye, his face bearing an indescribable strange smile, as if wearing a mask.

Zhai Qingye laughed until his stomach hurt.

Yuan Yao and Ying Wuji beside them were also holding back laughter.

Xiao Zhufeng: "... Isn't that wrong?"

"Cough cough, don't laugh." Zhai Qingye opened his mouth and couldn't help laughing, "You... laugh so strangely. If I were the Power Witch, I'd surely think you have ulterior motives."

Xiao Zhufeng: "..."

"Zhai Qingye, want to give it a try?" Yuan Yao looked at Zhai Qingye.

Upon hearing that, Zhai Qingye's smile vanished instantly.

Under the gaze of the three, Zhai Qingye had no choice but to steel himself and agree; he took a deep breath, treating Xiao Zhufeng as the Power Witch, first lowering his brows and eyes, then shyly lifting his gaze, gazing at Xiao Zhufeng with affection.

"Power Witch Sir." His voice softened.

He threw several flirtatious glances at Xiao Zhufeng.

Xiao Zhufeng instantly got goosebumps, his features contorted as if enduring something disgusting.

Zhai Qingye looked at Yuan Yao and Ying Wuji, only to see them secretly laughing.

Zhai Qingye's face turned black.

"I'm not acting anymore!"

"Ying Wuji, you come!"

Zhai Qingye especially wanted to see Ying Wuji make a fool of himself once, because Ying Wuji had always been magnificent since childhood, an unignorable presence in any crowd.

Ying Wuji calmly said, "I can't act well."

Immediately after, he added, "I have another plan."

Hearing that, Zhai Qingye and Xiao Zhufeng both realized they had been played.

"Ying Wuji, why didn't you say so earlier!" Zhai Qingye gritted his teeth in hatred.

Ying Wuji said composedly, "Seeing you two so enthusiastic, I didn't interrupt."

Had the timing been right, Zhai Qingye and Xiao Zhufeng would have teamed up to beat Ying Wuji up.

Yuan Yao curiously asked, "What plan?"

"Yao Yao, you don't need to get involved." Ying Wuji said solemnly to her, "Because my plan is more risky."

Yuan Yao frowned, "Senior Brother, you always think of me; why don't you think about yourself?"

Ying Wuji froze.

Yuan Yao said, "Senior Brother, you have your plan to carry out, and I won't abandon my cooperation with the Wolf Emperor."

"That's the Power Witch!" Zhai Qingye's expression changed slightly.

"So what?" Yuan Yao lifted her eyes and scanned the three of them, "If I don't say it, you should all guess what this Flowing Light Secret Realm is testing us on. Not competing means being eliminated. I also have my ambitions."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Ying Wuji and the other two were shaken in their hearts.

Ying Wuji gazed at this junior sister who had once been cradled in their master's palm; now she not only grew rapidly, but her mindset had undergone a complete transformation.

She no longer wished to be the person protected behind others, but longed to stand at the forefront.

Yuan Yao's face firm, she declared, "We of the Ninth Province will not lose to anyone!"

"If the Flowing Light Secret Realm is a chessboard, then we should be the players, not the pawns, let alone discarded pieces."

Zhai Qingye and Xiao Zhufeng also tasted a hint of the struggle for power and profit in her words.

"Yao Yao." Ying Wuji suddenly spoke, reaching out to embrace Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao was held in Ying Wuji's arms; she stiffened a moment, about to speak, but heard him whisper near her ear: "In this Flowing Light Secret Realm, besides us five, no one can be trusted, especially Qian Yunzhou, Xie Zixu, and others. The Wolf Emperor will use you; you must be prepared on both fronts."

After Ying Wuji released Yuan Yao and stepped back two steps, their eyes met.

Both felt an unspoken understanding.

Yuan Yao nodded, smiling, and replied, "Okay."

Yuan Yao and Ying Wuji's expressions were read by Zhai Qingye and Xiao Zhufeng nearby; without needing them to speak, they said, "Then let's split up and act."

Let's see who can stir this muddy water even more.

Or perhaps become the true controller of the board.

The four exchanged glances and all laughed in unison.

"I won't lose to you." Zhai Qingye said, pointing to his own temple: "I'm not inferior to you here."

Xiao Zhufeng: "..." He felt he was being sarcastic about himself.

"Then we'll each act on our own." Yuan Yao said.

Ying Wuji will head to Qingcheng in the Ten Thousand Li Plain, which is also the capital city of the Ten Thousand Li Plain.

Zhai Qingye did not reveal his destination.

Xiao Zhufeng said he would follow Yuan Yao to the demon tribe's territory.

Xiao Zhufeng considered himself not that smart, so all he could do was pose as a monster tribe member and assassinate demon tribe members in their territory.

Yuan Yao, Xiao Zhufeng, Ying Wuji, and Zhai Qingye said their goodbyes.

"Above all, protect yourself." Ying Wuji solemnly instructed Yuan Yao before parting.

He knew Yuan Yao had a lifesaving talisman left by her master that could guard her life, but he still worried about letting her go out alone.

After all, her cultivation is low.

"Senior Brother, rest assured."

Ying Wuji pressed his lips and nodded slightly.

He has one thing he must do, and that is to kill a person in the Liuguang Secret Realm; he doesn't care about the realm's mysterious mission, nor the reward behind it, he only wants a person's life.

Ying Wuji watches the back of Yuan Yao and Xiao Zhufeng walking together, and a hard‑to‑describe emotion flickers in his eyes.

He withdraws his gaze, nods a greeting to Zhai Qingye, and then leaves.

Zhai Qingye watches them leave, then finally spits out the faint sweet‑blood taste he had been holding in his throat; the pallor leaves his face, his lips part, and he can't help but raise his right hand to cover his chest.

Immediately, he uses his left hand to take a bottle of Healing Wound Pill from his storage, lifts the cap, and pours it into his mouth.

When he fought the White Wolf Emperor, he was the most severely wounded among everyone.

Adding the travel and forced endurance along the way, he can barely hold on.

He must first find a safe place to recuperate his injuries.

Perhaps separating from them is a normal choice.

…

On the other side.

Yuan Yao and Xiao Zhufeng walk side by side.

Yuan Yao takes out the map of Wanli Plain and studies it carefully.

Yuan Yao analyzes: "The nearest demon‑clan base to us requires us to pass through three towns first."

Xiao Zhufeng steps closer, lowers his eyes to look at the map of Wanli Plain, and feels his head spin.

Yuan Yao turns her head toward him: "After you reach the demon‑clan territory, where do you want to start?"

Xiao Zhufeng presses his lips, points with his hand to a marked spot on the map, "It should be here, I guess."

Yuan Yao looks in the direction he indicated and sees a familiar town name—Empty Moon City.

Yuan Yao: "……". This is a town under the jurisdiction of the demon clan, also the town once ruled by the deceased Crane King.

She lifts her eyes to look at Xiao Zhufeng.

Xiao Zhufeng shows slight confusion: "What's wrong?"

Yuan Yao asks seriously: "Are you directionally challenged?"

Xiao Zhufeng: "…Hmm."