Miss Fairy, Please Hear Me Out

“Achoo!” A sneeze rang out from between a dense thicket of trees outside Everbow Valley.

Qin Mo, who had been using the ancient-style long blade in his hand to hack through the thorns and undergrowth step by step, suddenly stopped. He rubbed the tip of his nose, frowned, and muttered to himself,

“Why do I keep feeling uneasy lately?”

But the moment he finished speaking, a slightly teasing middle-aged man’s voice sounded in his heart. “Uneasy? You’re worried that Bewitching Soul Devil Body will get eaten by someone else first, aren’t you? I told you, relax. That Xu Changtian won’t even be able to touch one of her fingers.”

When Qin Mo heard the voice, he ignored what it was actually saying. His eyes lit up slightly as he asked, “Old man, when did you wake up?”

Ever since they retrieved the soul-restoring secret treasure, the old man had gone completely silent. Qin Mo had long since gotten used to the other man nagging in his ear, so being without that voice had felt strangely uncomfortable. Now that he heard it again, he could not help feeling a little pleased.

The middle-aged man’s voice was clearly in a good mood as well. “I just woke up. What, did you miss your master?”

“I never agreed to take you as my teacher,” Qin Mo grumbled.

The deep middle-aged male voice chuckled. “You cultivate my art, take the pills I left behind, and every martial skill on you came from me. Now I even have to keep you safe. If that doesn’t make me your master, what does? Heh. Back in the day, who knows how many people knelt and begged me to take them as disciples. You, brat, really don’t know how blessed you are.”

Qin Mo laughed at that too. “Fine, fine, I know you’re amazing, old man.”

“Heh.” The middle-aged man gave a light laugh, then asked, “Are you planning to return to Stillwater now?”

Qin Mo fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Mhm. I may need your help.”

The middle-aged man understood at once. This brat really was going to save that beauty of his after all. His tone turned leisurely. “What do you want me to do? A direct assault? A mere third rank is nothing to worry about, but there are other formations inside the city. I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to linger for long.”

Qin Mo smiled faintly. “Of course not. I’m planning to sneak into the Xu residence and rescue Jinxuan.”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man replied in a relaxed tone, “You want me to help conceal your aura? That won’t be difficult.”

Qin Mo was silent for two seconds, then said seriously, “Thank you.”

A hint of laughter entered the middle-aged man’s low voice. “No need to thank me. If you really want to thank me, then call me Master just once.”

But halfway through, he suddenly froze. The next instant, his voice sped up slightly. “Someone’s coming! Remember, don’t talk to me!”

After saying that, he did not wait for Qin Mo to react. The middle-aged man’s voice sank completely into silence for the time being.

It had happened so suddenly that Qin Mo was a little dazed. He did not understand what was going on, much less why the old man’s voice had sounded so urgent.

Rustle, rustle... The dense canopy above Qin Mo’s head suddenly gave off a series of faint, scattered sounds.

Then, a graceful figure dressed in black like ink appeared in front of Qin Mo.

The sudden appearance made Qin Mo’s pupils shrink slightly, and he instinctively took half a step back.

It was a woman. Her face was covered by a black veil, making her features impossible to see. Her figure was exquisite and curving, and long, straight black hair spilled down her back like a waterfall. In her hand, she held a three-foot black sword, and on her back was a bulging travel pack.

Her quiet, indifferent eyes were like an ancient cold pool that had never once rippled.

Sunlight filtered through the treetops and fell across her body, giving her a silent, beautiful stillness.

The woman in black nodded to Qin Mo and spoke softly. Her voice was as quiet and clear as her eyes. “Um, excuse me. Do you know the way to Stillwater?”

Qin Mo stared. Huh? All that dramatic entrance just to ask for directions?

With a hint of wariness in his eyes, Qin Mo replied in a low voice, “I do.”

Hearing this, a glimmer of light flashed through the woman’s quiet eyes, though her tone remained calm.

“Could you tell me?”

Qin Mo fell silent for a moment. He lifted his head, roughly identified the direction, then pointed east and said in a low voice, “Go that way. You’ll arrive in less than two days.”

The woman gave a slight nod. Without a word, she took off her travel pack, pulled out a few taels of broken silver, bent down, and placed them on the ground.

“Thank you.”

Whoosh! With that, the woman suddenly disappeared, just as abruptly as she had appeared.

The dense forest returned to silence.

Qin Mo stood quietly in place for a long while, then silently walked over and picked up the silver.

At that moment, the middle-aged man’s voice, which had vanished without a sound earlier, slowly rang out again. “She’s rather impressive.”

“What?” Qin Mo tucked the silver into his robes.

The middle-aged man sounded somewhat emotional. “That little girl isn’t even 18 years old yet, but she’s already a Grandmaster. Her cultivation speed is even faster than mine was back then.”

Qin Mo was stunned. “She’s not even 18, and she’s already a Grandmaster?”

“Heh.” The middle-aged man suddenly chuckled.

“Don’t be so shocked. This world is vast, vast enough that geniuses are as common as ox hair. Of course, a girl like the one just now would still count as one of the few who stand above an entire generation, no matter what era she was born in.”

Hearing this, Qin Mo’s heart inexplicably grew a little heavy. He lowered his head and looked at the blade in his hand.

They were roughly the same age. He had only just entered the seventh rank, while she was already a third rank Grandmaster.

The middle-aged man seemed to sense Qin Mo’s mood and comforted him softly. “Don’t belittle yourself. You are someone who builds slowly before breaking through all at once. Besides, you cultivate my art. Your future achievements definitely won’t be any less than that girl’s.”

Qin Mo let out a long sigh. “Mhm. All right.”

Seeing this, the middle-aged man did not continue persuading him. Instead, he changed the subject with a smile. “By the way, kid, why didn’t you travel with her just now? You’re going to Stillwater anyway. Making friends with a woman like that would benefit you in the future.”

“If I traveled with her, wouldn’t you be exposed?”

“Of course not. I just wouldn’t be able to transmit my voice to you anymore.”

Qin Mo was quiet for several breaths, then suddenly said, “Actually, I did think about traveling with her just now. But for some reason, I felt that if I went to Stillwater with her, I’d be in danger.”

The middle-aged man was a little surprised. “Why? Judging by how she acted just now, she clearly isn’t some villain.”

She had asked for directions and even paid silver for it.

Qin Mo shook his head. “I don’t know. I just had this strange uncomfortable feeling in my heart.”

The middle-aged man sighed faintly. “Being cautious is fine too. When your strength is weak, it’s best not to wander around in front of powerful people like that. The slightest offense might get you killed. All right, I’ll continue recuperating. Hurry on your way. Once you enter Stillwater, I’ll naturally wake up.”