Chapter 29: Azhi, You’ll Protect Your Master, Right?

Chapter 29: Azhi, You'll Protect Your Master, Right?

Pei Zhi's expression remained indifferent throughout the wolf fight, and even when he planned to use himself as bait to lure the wolves into biting him for a counterattack, his emotions didn't so much as flicker.

But when he felt the wound on his wrist being smoothed away bit by bit under Xue Youtan's fingers, his deep-pool eyes finally stirred. Like ripples on a still lake, the movement quickly faded.

Taking advantage of the moment while his wound was being treated, Pei Zhi looked at Xue Youtan's profile and noticed his robes were slightly disheveled, clearly having scrambled out of bed without bothering to fix his clothes.

"It's late—why isn't Master resting in his room instead of out here?" Pei Zhi hesitated briefly before asking.

You think I want to be here? It's not like I chose to be teleported here by the system to bump into you, the male lead.

Anyway, the time, place, and conditions are all perfect now—why hasn't Nightfang shown up yet? It's not like Xiao Yiheng already subdued it at the front mountain, is it?

Pei Zhi didn't receive a response and was about to say something else when a loud crash sounded. A beast the size of several men, with a dragon's head and lion's body, came flying out of a Temporal Slash and rolled to a stop right in front of him.

Temporal Slash?!

Xue Youtan's composure cracked. Didn't they say the Third Master of Cangya Mountain had gone off "traveling"? If he couldn't be there in person, why could Yueli pull off a Temporal Slash?!

And what, is Deadwood Forest a dumping ground? Just tossing this thing in here to deal with it—he sure knows how to cut corners.

The beast must have gotten riled up at the front mountain. Its eyes were bloodshot as it hit the ground, scrambled up, and charged at the first thing it saw.

"Watch out!" Even though he knew Xue Youtan's cultivation far outclassed his own, Pei Zhi still shouted and instinctively stepped in front of Xue Youtan at the sudden danger.

But by the time he cast a spell seal to briefly hold off the beast and looked back, Xue Youtan had already slipped away at some point and was now lounging on a branch of a nearby tree. When he caught Pei Zhi's gaze, Xue Youtan propped his chin on one hand, eyelids lifting slightly. "Didn't you want to get stronger? Today, I'll give you that chance. Subdue Nightfang, and I'll consider you for Top Disciple tomorrow."

Nightfang! The ancient fire-breathing beast from the classics!!!

The texts said even golden core cultivators would struggle against this thing—how was he, a mere foundation-building cultivator, supposed to beat it?

Had Xue Youtan come to Deadwood Forest today knowing Nightfang would show up, and planned it all along?

While Pei Zhi was still reeling, the enraged Nightfang shattered his flimsy spell seal and lunged at him, jaws gaping. He had no choice but to shove those thoughts aside and focus on the fight.

Xue Youtan watched the one-on-one battle unfold. Seeing that Xiao Yiheng—who was supposed to swoop in for the win in the original story—hadn't shown up, he nodded in satisfaction. Now, as long as he stepped in at the most critical moment and let the Cangya Mountain disciples witness Pei Zhi subduing Nightfang, the main quest would be done.

And the "public witnessing" part was easy—he'd just have Feng Mingjue open a projection. Every sect leader had a projection device, basically a surveillance camera. If Yueli could use Temporal Slash, Feng Mingjue had to be around too.

With that, Xue Youtan used his spiritual energy to conjure a Spirit Butterfly and sent it over the mountain to deliver a message to Feng Mingjue.

The moment the Spirit Butterfly flew past the Deadwood Forest barrier, a female voice suddenly spoke in his head: "Host brother, wouldn't helping out count as cheating?"

"Hey, a scholar's cheating isn't cheating—at most, it's called external assistance. Besides, the mission rules clearly say 'assist Pei Zhi'—how am I supposed to assist without taking action..."

Xue Youtan's voice died mid-sentence as it hit him who he'd just been talking to.

"Why did host brother stop talking?" System Sister's voice was sweet, but to Xue Youtan, it was pure awkwardness.

Why do you think I stopped talking? Because I just don't like to talk?

If I say too much and you go tattle to your brother, what if the system marks my main quest as failed?

"Host brother doesn't need to worry—even if my brother finds out, it's fine. Host brother should worry more about the crisis right in front of him. Nightfang is coming for you now."

Jolted by System Sister's reminder, Xue Youtan snapped back to reality and looked toward Pei Zhi. He found Pei Zhi, overwhelmed in his fight against Nightfang, being pushed closer and closer to him. The next second, just as Nightfang swatted Pei Zhi's sword and snapped the hilt in half, Pei Zhi leaped onto the tree and slipped behind him.

Nightfang's target immediately switched from Pei Zhi to him.

???

Kid, you have no martial ethics!

As the male lead, at a moment like this, shouldn't you be unlocking some amazing talent, breaking through your bottleneck, and subduing the beast? But with Pei Zhi, it turns into diverting the disaster elsewhere?!

If you can't win, you drag an innocent bystander in to take the hit—that's not what a righteous hero does.

Xue Youtan glanced at Pei Zhi, who was hiding snugly behind him, and helplessly flicked his sleeve, planning to drive back the beast first and then feed Pei Zhi some motivational talk to keep the main quest moving.

But that flick only fanned air at Nightfang—not a single trace of spiritual power came out.

Awkward silence.

Confused, Xue Youtan tried to channel his energy, only to find several strands of cold qi surging through his dantian, clogging his spiritual flow and blocking his techniques.

I just said I was going to cheat and now I've lost my powers—System, are you screwing with me?

With his spiritual energy blocked, a gap opened in Xue Youtan's protective aura. His body suddenly went cold, and he could barely keep the miasma of Deadwood Forest at bay.

The cold qi shot up to his throat, and Xue Youtan coughed despite himself. The next second, Nightfang's paw—bigger than his whole body—came swinging down. Liguang, protecting its master, unsheathed itself and absorbed most of the blow. Even so, the leftover force rattled Xue Youtan's organs and nearly knocked him off the tree.

Damn it—I sent that Spirit Butterfly to Feng Mingjue to open a projection. Please tell me it didn't catch any of Pei Zhi's heroic moments and instead recorded all my embarrassing beat-down scenes. If I lose face in front of all the Cangya Mountain disciples, how am I supposed to keep up my image as the mighty and imposing Altar Master?!

"Master?" Sensing something wrong, Pei Zhi peeked out from behind Xue Youtan and saw that his face and body were covered in frost, and even his breath was cold.

"This is... the cold qi from the Cold Pool!" Pei Zhi immediately realized. "Master, did you get hit by it that day when you were getting rid of the cold for me?"

Oh, that? This kid remembers clearly—I wouldn't have thought of it if he hadn't brought it up.

Back then, while guarding him in the medicinal barrel, he had indeed intercepted Liguang's attack on Pei Zhi and let a few strands of cold qi slip in. But wasn't Pei Zhi out cold that day?

Xue Youtan raised an eyebrow and seized the chance to play it up. "That day, the cold qi got into my body and I didn't think much of it. Who knew it would flare up now?" With that, he grabbed Pei Zhi's wrist and started the manipulation. "Your master's spiritual energy is blocked now, and I'm afraid I can't beat this beast. Azhi, you'll protect your master, right?"