◎(Revised) Don’t Cry, You Did Well◎
Three figures emerged, all clad in yellow robes trimmed with green. Among them was a female disciple—the one who had struck first with the talisman.
Are they disciples of the Wen Clan?
Impossible. According to the original story, they should be hosting an auction at Masked Moon Pavilion right now. Besides, those two disciples died without a sound, without even having the chance to alert their comrades. There’s no way they could have arrived so quickly.
The firelight illuminated their faces. The woman was tall, with two silk ribbons fluttering from her hair crown, giving her an ethereal appearance in the night breeze. When she got a clear look at Bai Li’s face, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Huh? I thought there were two people. Turns out it’s just a lone stray fish.”
The other two were male cultivators in their early twenties. One of them stepped forward eagerly, saying, “Senior Sister, no need for words. Just kill this remnant. The Eldest Brother is waiting for us.”
What remnant? She was an innocent victim! Bai Li hurriedly explained, “You must have the wrong person! I have nothing to do with the Wen Clan!”
“Lies! If you’re not a remnant of the Wen Clan, why are you holding their sword?”
Are you stupid? That’s for self-defense!
But the female disciple ignored her protests, her eyes brimming with killing intent. “Kill her!”
The disciple who had seemed the most impatient stepped forward first, clearly eager to claim the credit. However, the other one wasn’t about to be outdone. The two collided with a loud thud, stumbling awkwardly in opposite directions.
Bai Li: “...” These villains don’t seem very bright.
The female disciple covered her face in exasperation. “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”
Bai Li’s mind raced. Suddenly, she looked past them, her eyes lighting up. “You’re finally here!”
The three of them paled, turning around in unison—only to see an empty expanse of night, devoid of any trace of another person.
By the time they realized they’d been tricked, Bai Li was already long gone.
The female disciple was the first to react, chasing after her with a low growl. “We’ve been fooled! After her!”
The wind howled in Bai Li’s ears as she ran, her feet stumbling over jagged rocks that threatened to twist her ankles at any moment. Her lungs burned with cold night air, her eyes stung, and her legs had gone numb from running. Talismans and sword glares whizzed past her, slicing countless gashes into her clothes. Then, without warning, she tripped over a rock and fell hard, scraping her knees raw.
A gust of icy wind swept in, carrying with it a killing intent that loomed over her. Bai Li had no time to dodge—only now remembering the sword clutched in her arms.
But she didn’t know how to wield it.
The flames surged closer.
No choice.
She couldn’t die in such a brutal place. At the very least… at least let her find the person she was supposed to win over.
Bai Li gripped the sword tightly with both hands, holding it like an illiterate person clumsily clutching a brush—a stance so amateurish it drew a cold sneer from the female disciple.
Clang!
The sword clashed against the talisman, sparks erupting like a dazzling shower of silver and gold. The sword’s energy overpowered the talisman, reducing it to a useless scrap of paper that fluttered lifelessly to the ground.
Did… did she succeed?
She barely had time to think before staggering to her feet. The female disciple, furious at her failed strike, had already positioned herself ahead, her ribbons fluttering in the wind, her robes billowing as she raised her sleeve with deadly intent.
“Remnant, you think you can escape?”
Bai Li slammed into a tree trunk.
It hurt.
Her head spun, her vision blurred, and her grip on the sword faltered. The female disciple advanced, her slender fingers shimmering with cold moonlight. Bai Li squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to witness the final blow.
“Senior Sister, watch out!”
A heart-wrenching scream tore through the air. The wind stilled, darkness swallowing everything as if an unseen hand had yanked the sky down, sending stars cascading like rain. Silence enveloped the scene like a vortex.
“This isn’t how you hold a sword.”
In the boundless darkness, those words bloomed like a single ray of light. Blood sprayed through the air like ink flung carelessly by a painter, painting the night in vivid, breathtaking crimson.
A boy crouched down, wiping her face with a clean hand. His eyes, dark as ink, sparkled with amusement. “Don’t cry. You did well.”
Moonlight spilled over the ground like frost.
Behind the relay station lay a deep ravine, its bottom invisible beneath towering ancient trees. Bai Li crouched beside a gnarled root, watching as Xue Yu kicked the three corpses down the slope, tossing their bloodstained swords after them. The ravine swallowed them whole, like a monstrous maw.
Xue Yu returned with an armful of firewood, dropping it beside her before sitting down. He stretched his long legs out, tilting his head at her. “Why so quiet? Scared stiff?”
Bai Li was scared stiff, her face half-buried in her knees. “...I don’t think I’ll last three days here.”
Xue Yu tossed a lit branch onto the pile, the flames leaping to life, wrapping them in warmth. He frowned. “Is this your first time outside?”
Bai Li nodded miserably.
An hour ago, she’d been curled up in bed with a plush teddy bear, only to be yanked into this deadly cultivation survival game. Terrifying.
The boy’s smile faded. “If you’re afraid, why did you leave the mountain?”
Bai Li thought for a moment.
The original owner had left to search for herbs in a secret realm.
As for her… she needed to find Xue Qionglou and win him over.
Right—maybe this boy knew where Xue Qionglou was.
She asked carefully, “You’re from the Xue Clan of Bozhou, right? Do you know Xue Qionglou?”
His dark, starry eyes dimmed, turning as cold as a frozen river under moonlight. He smiled faintly. “Why ask about him?”
“Just curious. Do you know him?”
“Only by reputation. But you’d be better off never meeting him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like him.”
“Huh?”
Bai Li was baffled. The infamous villain was at the height of his fame right now—far from his eventual downfall. Everyone knew of the illustrious Xue Clan of Jinlin.
The boy said flatly, “Because we share a surname but not a clan. The world knows him, not me. So I dislike him.”
“...” What an edgy reason.
The conversation died there. She forced a laugh. “Anyway, where did you go earlier?”
He pointed at the crackling fire. “You were shivering in your sleep, so I went to gather firewood.”
Bai Li flushed, turning away. “You didn’t have to. I could’ve toughed it out for one night.”
“Mmm… I just don’t like owing favors. You helped me, so I’m returning the kindness.”
Bai Li thought, What help? I’ve been getting carried this whole time.
“Once the fire burns out, we should leave. This place isn’t safe anymore.” He leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes.
Bai Li nodded like a pecking chick.
He opened one eye, a glimmer of amusement in his gaze. “Aren’t you worried about how you’ll survive alone after we part ways?”
Oh. Right. Alone, she’d be easy prey.
Bai Li quickly scooted closer, fawning eagerly, "Teach me." Before the young man could reply, she hastily waved her hands, "Not killing, though—just enough to stay alive."
"If you don’t learn to kill, what will you do when someone tries to kill you?"
"Then I’ll just avoid them."
He leaned back against the tree trunk, eyes closed, and chuckled. "Naïve."
"Ah, what did you say?" Just then, the fire crackled, drowning out his soft murmur. Bai Li didn’t catch it.
"I said, it’s simple." His long lashes lowered, half-lidded eyes glinting. "Use your legs."
Bai Li’s face lit up with realization. "Kick them in the crotch? Great idea!"
Xue Yu choked, pausing before replying flatly, "I meant, use your legs to run."
Bai Li: "…" She felt mildly insulted.
He prodded the fire with a branch. "If you don’t run when you should, you’re dead. If you run when you shouldn’t, you won’t even know how you died."
"All roads lead to death—how tragic for me," Bai Li grumbled.
Xue Yu smiled without answering and tossed the branch aside. "We’ll leave once the fire burns out."
She nodded absently, struck by guilt. He’d been tirelessly looking after her, yet she hadn’t even told him her real name. How terribly ungrateful.
The firelight flickered, embers swirling like summer fireflies, brushing against the trees like blossoms.
Gathering her courage, Bai Li carefully said, "Um, there’s something I should tell you. Actually, my name isn’t—"
"Save it for later." He stood abruptly, cutting her off. "I’ll be back soon."
"Eh?" Caught off guard, Bai Li panicked. "Where are you going now?"
He sighed. "To answer nature’s call."
Her face flushed crimson. Hugging her knees, she awkwardly waved him off. "Then… hurry back."
He looked torn between amusement and exasperation. "Got it."
The night swallowed his silhouette like ink soaking into paper, bit by bit, until he vanished entirely.
The fire cast Bai Li’s small, curled-up shadow against the wall, shrinking and fading as the flames dwindled. The cold crept in, biting through her clothes. She hugged her arms, watching the feeble fire struggle in the wind before dying into wisps of ash.
Had it been too long?
Anxiety gnawed at her. After pacing in place, she resolved to go find him. She’d been so reliant on his protection, forgetting he was badly injured too. What if he’d run into danger alone?
"If you don’t run when you should, you’re dead. If you run when you shouldn’t, you won’t even know how you died."
His warning echoed in her mind. Bai Li froze at the doorway, hesitation creeping in.
She was helpless—no strength to fight, no guarantee she’d even find him. She might just get herself killed too. The reckless heroines from those cliché dramas flashed through her memory. She needed a foolproof plan.
Peering outside, she saw moonlight pierce the clouds, illuminating the ground. Among the gnarled tree shadows, a figure emerged, hugging the wall, breaths shallow.
Was he back?
The figure darted forward—a stranger, a girl in a dazzling goose-yellow liuxian skirt, tiptoeing with exaggerated stealth. Their eyes met. Both froze.
The girl recovered first, clamping a hand over Bai Li’s mouth. "Don’t panic, fellow cultivator! I’m not a threat—I’m just running for my life."
Bai Li’s eyes widened.
In the entire novel, only one person favored goose-yellow liuxian skirts.
This was the heroine—Ling Yanyan!
