Chapter 263: Interlude (3k)
Amidst the lush green mountain range, an unusual number of people were surging. The shouts even startled the birds resting in the woods, causing a spectacular flurry of wings across the sky. Through the seemingly endless mountains, people rode bird-like monsters, pursuing their prey, the air filled with the sounds of skills being released like “咻咻——”. In an instant, this normally quiet forest was alive with the aura of human activity.
After winding through numerous paths, the three of them were finally not far from the agreed-upon meeting spot with the Sun Wukong boy and his senior siblings. The surrounding trees had grown dense, and ahead lay a wide dirt road, somewhat rugged and uneven. Su Jiu, with her hands in her pockets, strolled leisurely behind the other two. As her gaze swept over the bustling crowd, she paused slightly at a rather icy shout, her eyes following the sound.
It was a girl with a rather charming appearance, her hair cascading down her shoulders. She was also wearing that black dragon scale armor. Behind her followed a man and a woman; the man was as sturdy as a bear, while the woman wore frameless metal glasses and was playing a mobile game, appearing to be part of the support staff. At this moment, the charming-looking girl held her arms, frowning as her gaze swept past Su Jiu behind the two, landing on the Sun Wukong boy in the lead. She asked calmly, “Where have you two been? Didn’t you say you were going to investigate…”
“This is my sworn sister, equivalent to our Big Sister. We were thinking of having her join us at Cloud White Stream, and we were going to lead the way for her…” Seeing his senior sister questioning him, the Sun Wukong boy glanced back, and upon receiving Su Jiu’s consent, quickly explained.
“Nonsense! We are on a mission, not sightseeing… Bringing a weak woman is just asking for trouble!” Before the Sun Wukong boy could finish, a man’s voice chimed in from behind the rather beautiful girl. His tone was quite stern; it was the tall and burly Mr. Da Han. The silver dragon head emblem on his chest appeared minuscule. His large, bell-like eyes swept over Su Jiu, filled with appraisal.
“Boring… Is this Crow Feather?” The girl, who seemed to be the team’s strategist, also sized up Su Jiu. Initially, her gaze was about to move away from Su Jiu but was instantly captivated by the lifelike crow feather embroidery on Su Jiu’s sleeve. Her pupils contracted sharply, and after a moment of stunned silence, she quickly pulled out her phone, discreetly snapping a photo of the black feather on Su Jiu’s sleeve before typing rapidly on the keypad…
“Senior Du, Senior Mu, our Big Sister’s strength is definitely not weak, even…” the Sun Wukong boy said with some urgency. He wanted to explain for Su Jiu but didn’t know her true strength, so he looked to Su Jiu, hoping she could provide an explanation of her abilities. The girl with the pleasant face, referred to as Senior Du by the Sun Wukong boy, casually shifted her gaze to Su Jiu. Her eyes scanned Su Jiu’s Crow Feather Attire, and Senior Du raised an eyebrow. Generally, in Dragon Country, black attire was mostly worn by Enforcers. Many people wore all-black simply to appear cool, unaware that their temperament couldn’t carry such clothing, especially Su Jiu, who appeared as gentle as a girl next door to her. In Senior Du’s opinion, Su Jiu’s attire was like failing to draw a tiger and ending up with a dog. She lacked the killing intent that black clothing could accentuate, nor did she even bother to feign coolness. Clearly, she was an inexperienced student. With this thought, Senior Du gave a slight chuckle and said indifferently, “Looking at this little girl, she probably hasn’t graduated yet, right?”
At this, the atmosphere instantly froze as several pairs of eyes turned to look. Feeling the chill in her words, Su Jiu didn’t pay it much mind. She nodded and said with a light smile, “Indeed, I haven’t graduated… I just started university this year.”
“Heh heh… Since you just started university this year, what right do you have to be the Big Sister of my two juniors? Or are you just using your tongue to deceive my two green juniors?” Senior Du’s slender willow-like eyebrows slightly raised, and then her tone turned cold as she spoke, her gaze calmly falling on Su Jiu’s face. Her eyes narrowed, and her words were quite blunt. She tried to find a hint of panic after being exposed, but to her disappointment, Su Jiu’s blood-red eyes within the darkness held only calmness, reflecting her face like a mirror.
Seeing his senior sister speak so mockingly to Su Jiu, who had saved them, the Sun Wukong boy’s expression instantly turned cold. He blurted out angrily, “Senior Du! We recognized her as our Big Sister ourselves. I hope you’ll show some respect…” The girl with the blue hairpin grabbed her companion’s hand. Her gaze was fixed on Senior Du, and even her aura began to radiate, a pressure belonging to the Battle General level causing the surrounding leaves to tremble and fall, rustling sounds arising, and white birds taking flight from the trees…
“Senior is teaching you to distinguish right from wrong. You admire this person despite her lack of strength, and even brought her along, affecting the progress of the mission… You are so ungrateful, I will report this to the counselor when we get back.” Senior Du remained unfazed, her eyes filled with composure. With a faint smile, a layer of frost appeared on her finger, and a chill rose around her, a pressure approaching the High-Rank Battle General level erupting. Within moments, it threatened to overwhelm the aura emanating from the girl with the blue hairpin.
“Heh heh…” With a slight smile, Su Jiu placed a hand on the shoulder of the girl with the blue hairpin. She slowly stepped forward, and a wave of bloody qi instantly surged, causing Senior Du’s generated pressure to collapse with a roar. Su Jiu then said with a faint smile, “But Senior, how do you know I don’t have Battle General level strength?” As she spoke, a bloody light flickered from her fingernails, and a dense bloody External Qi surged from her fingertips. Su Jiu met the slightly astonished Senior Du’s gaze without changing her expression, a faint smile still on her face. She didn’t use too much strength, only about twenty percent of her External Qi, as she was afraid of actually injuring the other party. Her usual opponents were Peerless Battle Generals or Battle Kings. For a mid-level Battle General, even without Elegy, she could defeat them in one move.
Not only was Senior Du slightly startled, but even the burly Mr. Da Han’s body trembled. He re-examined Su Jiu, then scratched his head in confusion. Unlike his muscular exterior, he was a mid-level Battle General with a spiritual attribute bloodline! He hadn’t felt any Battle General aura from this Black Skirt Girl just moments ago – there could only be two possibilities for such a situation: either she possessed a special concealment skill, or… her strength was far beyond his own, and not just her external strength but also her mental power had to be far superior to his for such a phenomenon to occur. How could that be? The burly man shook his head. Anyway, she was only going to travel with them for a while, so thinking too much was useless.
Seeing that Su Jiu possessed Battle General level strength, Senior Du retracted her aura and stopped objecting. She casually looked at Su Jiu’s face and said indifferently, “I assume the two of them have already told you our destination for this trip. You’re also here to catch Crimson Flame Sparrows like them, right? We can part ways about a thousand meters before Cloud White Stream. Cloud White Stream is filled with frost and it’s impossible for Crimson Flame Sparrows to be there.”
“Not quite… I also want to go to Cloud White Stream, but rest assured, I will absolutely not cause any trouble that hinders your mission.” Flipping the charged red blade in her hand casually, Su Jiu chuckled lightly at Senior Du and said, with her hands in her pockets. “咻!” As she spoke, the red blade pierced through several trees, creating palm-sized holes, and disappeared from sight.
“You said it yourself… If you hinder the implementation of the mission, please pay the fine to the local Dragon Hunters Alliance yourself.” Glancing at the tree holes pierced by the blade, Senior Du took a deep look at Su Jiu, stated calmly, then dusted off her black scale armor and turned to walk forward, her boots crunching on the dirt. “Du Du, wait for me!” The burly man trotted to catch up. The remaining few exchanged glances, and after a moment of silence, they followed. The Sun Wukong boy said apologetically to Su Jiu beside him, “I’ve caused trouble for you, Boss. I’m sorry. My senior sister…”
“It’s good that she’s being cautious when taking you on missions. It’s I who barged in without notice that is out of line.” Hearing this, Su Jiu waved her hand indifferently. She was a little annoyed but could understand why Senior Du acted that way… It was likely that without her, an unexpected guest, the other party wouldn’t have been so. With that, she leisurely followed the burly figures, leaving the Sun Wukong boy and his companion looking at each other. Just as they were about to follow, a voice suddenly sounded behind them. It was the girl with the frameless glasses from before. She adjusted her glasses, squinted, and asked, “You two, be honest, who exactly is this person?” She had secretly taken a picture and sent it to her teacher for confirmation, and indeed, it was correct… Crow Feather Attire! Her teacher said the pattern was exactly the same as on the Crow Feather Attire! This mission shouldn’t have involved someone wearing attire of this caliber, even if the danger doubled, such a person shouldn’t have appeared… If her guess was correct and the Black Skirt Girl was wearing Crow Feather Attire, then this crisis was far from simple!
“She’s just someone we recognized as a Big Sister! She should be a bit younger than us, a freshman in university…” The Sun Wukong boy was a little confused by his senior sister’s behavior and slowly explained.
“A freshman? Could it be a misunderstanding? That’s right… someone wearing Crow Feather Attire, how could their strength be at the Battle General level?” The girl with the frameless glasses mumbled to herself. Looking at the chat record on her phone again, she typed a few words, then looked up and smiled at the two, “I think I was being a bit too neurotic. Let’s go. Don’t get too far from Senior Du and the others.” With that, she walked ahead, pocketing her phone. Soon, her phone lit up in her pocket, and the content could be vaguely seen.
Battery: 9
Professor Mo
Me: [Haha, Teacher, you can be wrong too. This isn’t Crow Feather Attire.]
Professor Mo: [No… this is Crow Feather Attire, it has a special mark on it.]
[When Crow Feather appears, the Elder emerges. Something big is about to happen. I’m heading your way immediately. If anything happens, stick close to that Night Watcher Elder. When they display the Shiyu Order, unconditionally support any action.]
