A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother

"Wait!"

Li Xuanxiao suddenly called out to Liu Qiushui, who had turned to leave.

Liu Qiushui turned her head slightly, as delicate as a flower brushed by a breeze.

Her stunning profile unfolded like a meticulously painted scroll.

Li Xuanxiao opened his mouth but said nothing, letting out a barely audible sigh.

"You... if you have nowhere to go, I actually know a place.

Now that the Daxia Emperor has probably allied with Mount Shushan to hunt you down, Great Sui and Daxia haven’t been on good terms for a long time.

There’s a place in Great Sui called Shencao Mountain, don’t know if you’ve heard of it. If you’ve got nowhere else to go for now, you can go there to recover."

Liu Qiushui fell silent for a moment. "Why help me? I just tried to kill you."

Li Xuanxiao shook his head.

"Forget it, you should go."

Liu Qiushui left without another word.

After she was gone, Li Xuanxiao sighed and shook his head, muttering under his breath:

"If only you weren’t from the Demon Sect..."

Li Xuanxiao’s gaze lingered in the direction she left, as if trying to etch that silhouette deeply into his eyes.

Even though Liu Qiushui’s figure had vanished at the edge of his sight, she clearly caught that line full of emotion and helplessness.

The moment she heard it, her light steps suddenly grew heavy, and her body trembled slightly without meaning to.

The calm lake of her heart, undisturbed for so long, now rippled as if someone had thrown a stone in.

The ripples spread out, breaking the long-held peace inside her.

"........."

Great Sui, Shencao Mountain.

"Honored Lord, our Asura Hall has taken a huge hit. The Left Guardian died in battle, and the Right Guardian was captured by those Mount Shushan bastards!

Now there are rumors all over the martial world saying our Asura Hall is finished.

Those who’ve long held ill intent against us are stirring up trouble while we’re down.

Even worse, many of our followers, seeing things go south, have deserted and left the sect.

The territory we fought so hard for is being divided and snatched up by other sects.

Tian Sha Hall is the most arrogant of them all, especially that Di Nü Feng—she’s pushing us way too far!

She’s leading her people like wolves and tigers, rushing in to seize our lands for themselves.

As things stand, Asura Hall is on the brink of collapse. Honored Lord, you must quickly decide how to respond! Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Faced with the tearful accusations of her subordinates,

Liu Qiushui waved her hand.

"Everyone has down days. Don’t treat a moment like it’s forever!

As long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood. We’ll rise again, sooner or later."

Liu Qiushui glanced at the subordinates currently gathered around her.

So this is all that’s left of the core forces of Asura Hall?

Previously, the Holy Hall of Asura Hall suffered a surprise attack from Mount Shushan and took heavy losses.

In the Daxia Capital, aside from herself,

Even both Left and Right Guardians were lost.

As for the rest of the followers—none made it out.

"Leader, many of us have already surrendered to Tian Sha Hall. Right now, Di Nü Feng is chasing down our followers all over the place.

It seems there’s nowhere in Great Sui for us to take shelter."

Liu Qiushui looked toward Shencao Mountain not far off.

Unconsciously, she recalled the parting moments with Li Xuanxiao.

Fell for This Honored One, did you?

Understandable.

Now that our mole in Mount Shushan, Song Qize, has been exposed, if there were someone else inside Shushan who could feed us intel, that’d be perfect.

Perhaps he can be used.

Use him...?

Liu Qiushui hesitated.

That first meeting in Wuwang Mountain... healing in the cave... day and night together.

That moment he broke the rules of the Body Fusion Stage.

The misunderstanding...

His lonely look at their parting.

Heh, what’s wrong with me?

Liu Qiushui let out a bitter laugh.

Could I really be catching feelings for a Mount Shushan disciple not even a hundred years old?

Dominating the realm! That’s what I, Liu Qiushui, have always pursued.

Men, love—they’re just seasoning.

Having it can add flavor~

Liu Qiushui nodded thoughtfully.

"This place might be safe....."

She paused, then said,

"Still, send a few people to check it out, see if there’s an ambush.

Also, post some scouts on the perimeter to watch for signs of Mount Shushan disciples!"

"Yes!"

A while later, the scouts returned with their report.

There were only a few straw huts in the mountain, plus a group of spirit-refined groundhogs.

And the mountain itself brimmed with spiritual energy.

Liu Qiushui had already observed as much herself.

She had to admit, this mountain was indeed a good spot.

A perfect base to regroup scattered forces.

Shrink their scale and restructure, build up their outer lines...

Though Asura Hall had suffered great losses, with proper planning, they could make a comeback.

With that thought, Liu Qiushui led her remaining forces up Shencao Mountain.

They arrived at the peak.

Then checked out the huts.

Though a bit shabby, the scenery was pleasant and spiritual energy ran deep.

Plus, the nearby mountain ranges were full of fierce beasts—ordinary folks wouldn’t dare venture here.

It was an excellent place to recover and regroup.

Liu Qiushui nodded.

Li Xuanxiao really had picked a good spot for her.

He really went to great lengths for her.

Of course, she was only using him.

Just like she had used Song Qize and the others.

It was just a matter of using.

So why... why did her chest feel so tight?

Liu Qiushui smacked herself hard across the face.

Asura Hall was in crisis—this was no time for foolish romantic notions.

"Honored Lord, there’s more than one spiritual spring here!"

"Honored Lord, there are also many spiritual herbs and grasses. We even found ancient trees over a thousand years old."

"Honored Lord, Heaven hasn’t forsaken our Asura Hall—this place was prepared just for us!"

"......."

The remaining Asura Hall followers quickly swept through the whole of Shencao Mountain.

They were surprised by how many pleasant surprises the mountain held.

A faint smile crept onto Liu Qiushui’s lips.

"Hey, what’s that?"

A follower looked up, eyes fixed on the sky.

A blazing golden light was plummeting rapidly from above! Like a burning meteor streaking across the night sky—dazzling and awe-inspiring.

Liu Qiushui’s smile froze in an instant.

In a flash, a deafening boom rang out.

That golden light was an unbelievably sharp burst of sword aura!

It struck the ground like a falling star, with the power to destroy everything.

In a split second, dust and rubble exploded, a powerful shockwave sweeping out in all directions...

"Eat my sword!"

The Sword Spirit roared.

"........."