Fake Promises

Yuchi Meizhen was looking around. Huan Wei never left her feet. In the half hour they had been walking, she had slain a Fire Snake, a gorilla-like tiger and a small pack of wolves. The young man had just waited with a kitchen knife. At least he had a weapon. Even if it was useless, holding the knife made him feel a little less uneasy.

"Hey," he said towards her. "When will we be back? Whatever it is you're looking for, it's not here."

Yuchi Meizhen didn't even look at him. Instead she was looking at her map. She often looked down at the paper and sometimes looked up to look around. She had a displeased expression on her face. "It should be around here."

Huan Wei moved a little closer to her. "At least tell me what you're looking for so I can look. Four eyes can find it faster than two."

"I don't need your crybaby eyes. Stay a little farther away."

Huan Wei took a step back. He did not want to go any further. The girl might be moving freely in this area, but the first natural monster he encountered would probably be the young man's end.

The Life Link Realm that Yuchi Meizhen was in should have been the realm after the 5 Steps of the Path. Huan Wei had never heard of that realm before. He knew that people continued to cultivate, but he had never learned the names of the realms. There was no one he could learn from. He was in no mood to sit and chat with Huan Shanyuan.

Extending life span made all the difference. Huan Wei didn't have to die at 70 like ordinary people. If he could reach the Life Link Realm, he could perhaps live for hundreds of years. Of course, this was a scenario that could come true if he could get out of here without dying.

They traveled a long way behind Yuchi Meizhen. She didn't say what she was looking for, but Huan Wei thought she was looking for the graveyard. Because she had asked the young man about a graveyard in the forest. Huan Wei had heard many legends, but none of them mentioned a cemetery in the forest. The story he had told Huan Liwei had been his own invention.

They both stopped as a growling sound reached their ears. Yuchi Meizhen put the map back into the ring with an exasperated expression and drew her sword. "You guys are so annoying."

A natural monster appeared from behind the tree. This one was quite small in stature. In fact, it barely came up to Huan Wei's knee, but she stopped when she saw it. "Shit."

"What's wrong? It's a small thing. Can't you handle it?" Huan Wei was stressed now.

The little monster looked like some kind of monkey, but it had a big smile on its face. The sharp claws on its hands and feet were not long. Its brown fur fluttered in the wind. Yuchi Meizhen stretched her finger forward. "Death Voltage!"

When the lightning from her fingertips shot forward, the monster nimbly jumped to the next tree. It held on with its claws. The lightning bolt landed in the grass. It did not start a fire. Instead, it blackened a small area.

The girl looked angrily at the monster clinging to the tree. "A Deep Forest Monkey. There are many of them in the Bright Forest, but I didn't think there were any in your forest. Looking at its size and the length of its claws, it's in the Natural Adult Monster realm."

Huan Wei didn't understand what she was saying. He had no idea about monster realms, but it must be something powerful if it was making her nervous.

The Deep Forest Monkey was standing on the tree, laughing and looking at them. Huan Wei gripped the knife in his hand tightly. If Yuchi Meizen was wary of this thing, the danger for the young man was much greater.

Suddenly the monkey landed on the ground and started running in zigzags towards them. While Huan Wei was waiting, Yuchi Meizhen immediately put one foot back and took a fighting stance. She did not attack the monkey. She waited for it to come.

When it was close enough, she quickly stabbed her sword forward. The monkey jumped slightly, used its hands to hold onto the sword and pushed itself into her face. At the same time, it opened its claws wide.

Yuchi Meizhen quickly raised her sword. She intended to cut the monster in two. The monkey also recognized this attack and quickly stepped on her shoulder and jumped back towards Huan Wei. When the young man saw the monster coming at him with claws and a big smile, he reflexively raised his knife. He tried to stab at the monster, but the monkey parried him too.

"So agile..." Huan Wei thought. Before he could react, the monster had landed and slashed Huan Wei's leg with its claw. The young man jumped back and looked at his leg. The cuts were not very deep, but they still hurt. It hurt with every step he took. The monkey had already moved away from them and climbed another tree.

"Shouldn't you be able to kill these things?" Huan Wei asked as the blood flowing down his leg soaked his feet.

"Shut up. This is an agile beast. If I could hit it, I could finish it off in one blow." Yuchi Meizhen stretched her fingers forward. "Death Voltage!"

The lightning from her fingertips struck the tree this time. The monkey had jumped into another tree. The tree struck by the lightning crackled and fell over. The girl looked angry that she had missed once again.

Huan Wei's opinion of Yuchi Meizhen was beginning to weaken. Maybe she wasn't so strong after all?

The young man began to look around. Apart from its natural monster agility, it didn't seem to be very strong. The thing to do in this situation was to take away its advantage. It wouldn't be so strong if it couldn't move quickly.

"Hey," he said towards her. "If I hold it still for a moment, can you kill it?" Then he added. "Without the lightning, if possible."

"I don't need you." She refused. "I'll kill it myself, I'm not going to team up with some poor soul who hasn't even chosen a path because of a monkey."

Huan Wei looked at his leg. He was already scared. If he was caught alone, he wouldn't stand a chance. Now he had Yuchi Meizhen with him, but she didn't seem to be using her brain in battle either. Maybe the difference between them was that she was stronger than the monkey? Huan Wei was aware of his weakness and acted accordingly.

When the monkey once again came down from the tree and started coming towards them, Huan Wei backed off. He took cover behind her. Yuchi Meizhen held her sword tighter and kept her eyes on the monkey. At that moment, the young man could feel the energy in her body flowing much faster. Or was she using another technique?

When he saw the little lightning bolts flowing up her arms, he felt like he had to step back. He didn't want to go too far, but he had to. Huan Wei ran backwards. At the same moment, Yuchi Meizhen's arms were filled with lightning bolts, and when she swung her sword, they scattered in all directions.

Huan Wei hid behind a tree. His thoughts about the girl had changed again. This power was enormous. She had a great control over the lightning. The lightning emanating from it struck trees, flowers and grass, destroying an area many meters in diameter. Even the monkey could not escape this time and was struck down.

The wounded natural monster stood up and tried to stagger away, but the girl wouldn't let it. She immediately appeared next to the monster and plunged her sword into its back, nailing it to the ground.

As Huan Wei watched the grass and trees ignite in some places, Yuchi Meizhen raised her foot and began to crush the monster's head.

"You vile creature!" She stomped again and again. Each time she stomped, a helpless moan came from the monster. The girl did not stop.

Huan Wei didn't care much about this scene. He was more concerned that they should not be caught in the burning grass and trees. He walked over to her, careful of the flames, but she was still busy venting her anger.

"Not only do I have to come to this miserable place, but I have to deal with stupid monsters!"

Huan Wei decided not to say anything. Instead, he looked around. Just then, he saw that the trees had extinguished themselves. The young man was surprised. The forest fire had been extinguished in seconds. Was this the effect of lightning Qi? Did the fire last for a shorter time? Or was there something in the forest?

Soon Yuchi Meizhen pulled her sword out of the monkey's corpse. She smoothed her hair with one hand and looked tired. This did not escape Huan Wei's notice. He remembered that this girl had pulled him up with one hand when he fell from the flying sword. She had done Body Tempering. It was impossible to get tired with a few foot strokes. So it must have been the lightning technique she had just used that made her tired.

As she breathed in, the young man looked at the monkey's corpse. The poor monster's head had turned to mush. Perhaps that was what had injured Gongsun Xiasheng?

"What are you waiting for? Start walking." Yuchi Meizhen's voice was stern. Huan Wei started walking without repeating it. He was still thinking about how the trees had extinguished themselves. There was something strange about this forest he was always going in and out of, but he had no clue. The girl was like a closed box. Except when she was talking to herself, Huan Wei couldn't get any information from her.

They went on for a while. Meanwhile, the girl swallowed a pill from her storage ring. Soon her tired state was gone. She was vigorous again.

Huan Wei was still tense. Although the battle just now had made him forget for a moment, he still needed to get out of this situation. Because the time he had spent with the girl had allowed him to understand a few things about her personality. In that moment he was sure. Even if he survived here, this girl would not leave him in peace. He needed to secure himself, but he couldn't take two steps in this part of the forest without Yuchi Meizhen. The young man had to come up with a plan that could work. Time was running out.