Chapter 315: Quite the Nerve

The middle-aged man shifted his body slightly, backhanded Xiao Qing's wrist, and with a slight exertion of force, lifted her up. Xiao Qing cried out in pain: "Let go of me!"

"You've got quite a lot of nerve." The middle-aged man clicked his tongue in praise, though his eyes held no pity, and he turned to look at Lin Xuan and the other. "How should we continue playing now? Do you want to try some other moves?"

Lin Xuan gritted his teeth and glared at him. "Stop! Put her down!"

"Put her down? Sure." A cruel smile curled the corners of the middle-aged man's mouth, and he suddenly flung Xiao Qing to the side with such force that she fell to the ground, unable to move.

Seeing this, Wang Zhenqiu was overcome with rage and shouted: "You bastard, today I'll make you taste what it means to regret this!"

As soon as the words fell, a crimson light erupted from Wang Zhenqiu's entire body, and he lunged at the middle-aged man like a burning flame. "Get down!" he roared, and the iron hammer in his hand traced an arc as it smashed toward the enemy's head.

But the middle-aged man's movements were exceptionally agile; he easily dodged the hammer's strike, then closed in and kicked Wang Zhenqiu in the abdomen, the powerful impact sending the latter flying into a large tree.

Seeing his teammates suppressed one after another, Lin Xuan felt both anxious and angry, but he quickly calmed down, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing. "I must find a way to subdue this guy... our moves are too conventional; they can't hurt him at all!"

"Lin Xuan! Don't do anything reckless!" Xiao Qing called out from the ground, enduring her pain, but Lin Xuan had already decided to take the risk. He quickly pulled out a crystal glowing with blue light and embedded it into his blade; instantly, the blade emitted a biting chill, as if it would freeze everything.

"A secret weapon? Interesting." The middle-aged man licked his lips, his gaze fixed greedily on the blue light. "It seems you have quite a stash. I hope this time won't disappoint me."

Lin Xuan did not respond to his words and charged forward, swinging his sword; the sword light descended like an ice and snow storm, covering the sky and earth. This time, the blade finally broke through the middle-aged man's defense, leaving a bloody trail across his shoulder.

"Ah—you really do have a few tricks!" The middle-aged man touched his bleeding wound; instead of retreating, he became even more excited. "The stronger, the better—only then is it satisfying!"

The battle intensified, the surrounding trees collapsed one after another under the aftermath of the energy, and dust filled the entire battlefield. Just when the situation seemed hopeless, a low and distant voice suddenly came from afar:

"Everyone, how about stopping your actions? Does this level of power release not require a price?"

Everyone's movements paused, and they looked toward the source of the sound, discovering an old man with crane-like hair and a youthful face standing in the woods. The old man leaned on a staff with both hands, his expression kind yet awe-inspiring.

"Old man, don't meddle in this!" the middle-aged man cursed viciously.

"Oh my, why such a temper?" The old man spoke slowly, then gave Lin Xuan and the others a meaningful look. "Young people, true growth is not gained by blindly fighting hard. Only by finding balance are you qualified to challenge higher realms."

"What do you mean?" Lin Xuan asked, puzzled.

"It means that what you need right now is not a fight..." The old man chuckled, then shifted his gaze to the middle-aged man. "But an answer, understand? This young master, you should also stop pretending so much; they might just be the people you are looking for."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression changed abruptly, and after a long moment, he snorted: "Forget it, I don't have the leisure to listen to your nonsense. We'll settle the score next time, you brats!" With that, he turned and left, his figure gradually disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

Lin Xuan and the others slumped to the ground, panting, and not until they confirmed the opponent was completely gone did Xiao Qing breathe a sigh of relief and ask: "Who was that inexplicable old man? And what is this 'answer' he spoke of?"

Lin Xuan shook his head, his expression complex, but he did not answer immediately.

At this moment, Wang Zhenqiu grinned: "Alright, alright, let's go back and heal our wounds first; there will be plenty of opportunities to figure things out later."

Just as the three were preparing to set off, the old man's voice came from behind them again: "By the way, remember one thing: sometimes, enemies are not entirely enemies, and so-called friends..." He dragged out the tone for a moment, "... are not necessarily friends you can rely on."

The three turned to look, but found that there was already no one there.

"Hey, that old man is really mysterious... is he even trustworthy?" Xiao Qing muttered as she stood up, holding her waist.

"At least one thing is right: enemies are indeed not always enemies." Lin Xuan stood up and murmured thoughtfully, "There is still too much we don't know."

At this time, a gust of wind blew, causing the leaves to rustle, and the horizon in the distance turned a pale white, signaling that the long night was about to end.

"Let's go, it's dawn," Wang Zhenqiu reminded them with a stretch.

And from the quiet depths of the forest in the distance, a low laugh drifted faintly—

"Interesting little kids, looking forward to our next encounter... hee hee hee."

Just as Wang Zhenqiu finished speaking, sunlight had already filtered through the treetops onto the grass at their feet. Lin Xuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and muttered: "This forest is truly wicked; it won't even let us have a proper place to rest."

Xiao Qing flicked the long braid behind her back and retorted excitedly: "Brother Lin Xuan, aren't you being too dramatic? The scenery here is beautiful, and besides, adventure should have challenges like this!"

"Stop messing around," Wang Zhenqiu interrupted them. "It's better to find a water source as soon as possible, otherwise the food we brought won't last many days."

They hadn't gone far when they indeed heard the sound of gurgling water coming from ahead. After passing a few towering ancient trees, a clear stream came into view. The moss by the stream was lush, and the water surface shimmered with light, like silver scattered in the Human Realm.

"Wow!" Xiao Qing was the first to rush to the stream and squat down, cupping the cool water in her hands and taking a big gulp. "Sweet and delicious, even better than mountain spring water!"

Lin Xuan scratched his head, just about to drink some water, when his ears suddenly pricked up. "Wait, there's some movement..." He vigilantly turned his head toward the depths of the forest on the left.

Almost at the same time, a sharp, piercing scream rang out, and accompanied by the sound of breaking branches, a monkey with blue fur all over its body and eyes as red as blood leaped into the air!

Its limbs were long and agile, but its tail was unusually thick, sweeping across like a steel whip. "Watch out!" Wang Zhenqiu shoved Xiao Qing, who was drinking water, narrowly avoiding the strike.

The Blue Monkey landed steadily in mid-air, a strange smile appearing at the corner of its mouth. Its fangs were slightly exposed, and it licked the edge of its teeth with its tongue, emitting a sinister, threatening sound. "Tsk tsk, a few little brats delivered to my door; I want to see how much ability you have."

Lin Xuan's eyes widened, and he gripped the short blade in his hand and snorted: "What do you want, you creature? Are you starving crazy? We didn't provoke you!"