Cloud Crane (Yun Zhonghe) had once said that Qin Hongye was a bit of a hopeless romantic.
That did make some sense.
But in a moment like this—when her life was literally on the line—
She actually wasn’t thinking about how to save herself.
Instead, a strange sentence began to float into her mind.
Why is he trying so hard?
Why is he risking so much for me?
She should be the one worrying about her own survival, but instead, her thoughts were consumed by Cloud Crane.
Why is he risking everything like this?
Why would he go so far as to put himself in danger just to come here?
Qingzhu Town is very far from Cangzhou City.
Qin Hongye refused to believe it was just a coincidence.
That Cloud Crane just happened to be in Qingzhu Town too…
And then just happened to save her?
That was way too suspicious.
She would rather believe Cloud Crane had been secretly following her, and then threw himself into danger just to help her when he saw she was in trouble.
Miss Qin — she was utterly captivated.
Back when they first met at the Immortal Alliance, the words Yun Zhonghe spoke kept replaying in her mind.
Her heart surged with emotion, her little face flushed red, and a rush of heat shot straight to her head, flooding her mind.
For a moment, she felt a sensation she had never experienced before — a bit dizzy, yet not unpleasant.
In fact, there was even a subtle hint of enjoyment.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhonghe had no idea what Hongye was thinking.
Fortunately, he had excellent control.
His spiritual energy consumption was minimal, and he had vast reserves of it stored up.
Moreover, Yun Zhonghe had also mastered spiritual power compression, allowing him to drag out the fight with the Spider Woman for quite some time.
He focused all his attention on applying the techniques of the Nine Swords of Questioning Heaven and the Limitless Sword Art.
Watching from the sidelines, Mu couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of shock and disbelief.
What on earth did Yun Zhonghe take?
Some kind of pill?
Even the Spider Woman felt her scalp tingle and go numb.
Yet Yun Zhonghe could still keep going.
Wait — who’s actually the one in the Golden Core stage here?
At that moment, the moonlight above grew dazzling.
The moon slowly climbed to its peak in the center of the sky.
Xue and Xiao Hu’s initial worry gradually turned into numbness.
Why is this beast so relentless?
She’s almost completely drained!
But despite this, the moonlight continued to shine bright and round — it was the night of the full moon.
The small courtyard was bathed in a faint, ghostly glow.
Time seemed to slow down.
Could it be…there’s no other choice but to give up?
If he fails now, Yun Zhonghe’s reputation —
Yun Zhonghe’s Limitless Sword Art swept through the air, causing ripples to spread across the golden barriers formed by the protective arrays.
The quest boss seemed to have fully entered its battle state.
At this moment, Yun Zhonghe was even more clear-headed.
He made sure to control his power precisely, so that Mu Xiao’s delicate little body wouldn’t be overwhelmed by this ferocious onslaught.
Otherwise, she truly wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
As the Spider Woman’s spiritual energy rapidly depleted, her massive spider body began to reveal weak points as obvious as glowing wounds.
Now, everyone’s attention was solely on Yun Zhonghe.
The Spider Woman’s hatred for him only deepened.
That damn man — he dares to steal the precious treasure I had finally secured?
On this night of the full moon, she had originally planned to use Qin Hongye to break through.
How could she possibly let it go so easily now?
Damn it!
The Spider Woman was filled with hatred.
She had intended to use this full-moon ritual to ascend — how could she let this man ruin everything?
The barriers she unleashed flickered under Yun Zhonghe’s relentless attacks, growing weaker with each blow.
Even Xiao Hu, standing nearby, noticed it.
Yet the Spider Woman herself seemed completely unconcerned, not bothering to defend her vital point at all.
This gave someone lurking not far away the perfect opportunity.
Xuê had been patiently hiding, waiting for just such a moment.
His patience finally paid off.
He activated every stealth charm he had, put on a strengthened concealment stone, and even secretly cast a small invisibility buff on himself.
Snow (Xuê) deftly avoided the Spider Woman’s spiritual sense, silently creeping toward her vital spot.
Without hesitation, he drove his icy sword straight at it.
Ahhh!
The Spider Woman let out a shrill cry of agony.
Her vital point had been struck and split wide open, blood gushed violently from the deep wound.
The sudden, deadly strike stunned her completely.
She hurriedly turned, flailing toward Mu Ji in a desperate attack — but it was already too late.
Her vital core was thoroughly shattered, leaving her utterly powerless to retaliate.
The Dragon Maiden deftly evaded the attack and, with a graceful swing of her sword, sliced off the Spider Woman’s head.
“Damn it…”
The Spider Woman could only let out a final curse.
Her enormous spider body crashed heavily to the ground, headless.
Mu Ji Xue stood atop the fallen carcass, her back to Yun Zhonghe and Qin Hongye, flicking her sword with casual elegance.
So cool!
Just moments ago, she had truly been terrified.
When the Spider Woman was on the verge of a counterattack, it had looked extremely dangerous.
Yun Zhonghe finally let out a long breath.
He actually felt cold sweat trickle down his back — for a second there, he thought things might really go wrong.
Fortunately, the Spider Woman’s final struggle turned out to be nothing but empty flailing.
And Mu Ji Xue — or “Little Snow” as they sometimes called her — had managed to pierce right through to the vital point without delay, instantly ending the threat.
But if they hadn’t stalled for time until the Spider Woman’s vital point was fully exposed, and had instead launched a reckless sneak attack, she might still have had enough strength to counterattack — and that would have been deadly.
Fortunately, this time everything went smoothly.
The quest boss was cleanly finished off by Mu Ji Xue.
Deep down, Yun Zhonghe felt greatly relieved.
Surely Qin Hongye must be incredibly proud right now…
He turned around, his heart brimming with satisfaction.
Seeing Mu Ji Xue handle the situation so effortlessly filled him with genuine admiration.
He also mentally reviewed everything that had happened, carefully replaying each step.
As a true brother-in-arms, he thought with a grin, I bet he’ll be absolutely moved by this.
“Gaga~ Wuhu!”
Yun Zhonghe couldn’t help letting out a small laugh, full of unrestrained joy.
“We did it!”
The monster was dead!
Yun Zhonghe and the others had succeeded.
“We really did it!”
Little Hu was overjoyed.
He leapt out from the hidden tunnel, excitedly wanting to go up and examine the corpse.
Just the three of them had managed to take down a monster at the Golden Core stage!
So strong!
Of course, when it came down to it, his role was really just…casting that stealth spell on Mu Ji Xue at the very end.
Still, that didn’t stop him from feeling quite smug about it.
Hey, he’d contributed too — it was an assist!
Yun Zhonghe heard Little Hu’s excited shouting and couldn’t help the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
“Keep your voice down! Don’t say too much!”
He still wanted to maintain the impression that it was a head-on clash — that Yun Zhonghe hadn’t been any weaker than the spider demon, and that the BOSS had been instantly slain before it could even react.
If Little Hu kept babbling, people might realize it had actually taken all three of them working together to pull it off.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhonghe was still hoping to shape it as though he had decisively stepped in to help Mu Ji Xue finish things off…
Ah well, he thought, forcing a small smile, sometimes reality doesn’t quite cooperate with your bragging rights.
“I advise you not to say too much.”
Some things…just shouldn’t be spoken aloud.
It wasn’t like he’d tanked all that damage for nothing!
“Don’t spout nonsense,” Yun Zhonghe warned.
Little Hu, fortunately, suddenly scratched his head, perhaps distracted by the stick he was holding — so Yun Zhonghe finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Miss Qin,” he called out, “it’s safe outside now. I’ll help you out.”
He stepped up to the glowing cocoon where Qin Hongye was still trapped, raising his golden sword, prepared to slice it open.
“W-Wait!”
Suddenly, from inside the light cocoon, Qin Hongye’s flustered voice rang out.
Yun Zhonghe froze, sword mid-air, confused.
Wait?
For what?
He tilted his head, looking puzzled, as he noticed that some long wooden stick (he didn’t even know where it had come from) was prodding the spider demon’s corpse nearby.
“Hold on just a moment…please…”
Inside the cocoon, Qin Hongye sounded almost panicked.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhonghe’s mouth twitched.
What on earth is she doing in there…?
The radiant glow finally faded.
It was a sword aura so powerful, it rivaled that of an early-stage Golden Core cultivator!
This was the Eight Desolations Sword Art — an ultimate, ruthless sword technique.
When paired with Yun Zhonghe’s sword enhancements, its power was pushed to the absolute limit.
The blinding brilliance of the cocoon was sliced apart in an instant.
The light cocoon broke with a crisp sound, unraveling into shards of faint light.
Yun Zhonghe stared.
“Holy crap!”
Then —
Thud!
Something soft and warm crashed down on top of him.
Yun Zhonghe was flattened to the ground, the lower half of his face buried completely in —
Wait, what?!
When he managed to glance up, his eyes were met by — smooth, supple, faintly cool skin, so dazzling under the lantern light that his brain nearly short-circuited.
Yun Zhonghe was on the verge of mental collapse.
His sword still awkwardly stuck out to the side, while he lay pinned beneath something that was definitely not a chicken egg (even if it felt oddly delicate).
A faint flush climbed his face.
He had only come to rescue someone…how did it turn into this?!
It was blinding.
Yun Zhonghe’s entire face was engulfed by something unbelievably soft and dazzling — sinking him into a world of overwhelming, cushiony warmth.
Nestled within that vast softness, two bright, emerald-green eyes suddenly peeked out, blinking at him.
When Yun Zhonghe’s gaze finally met that small, increasingly flustered face above him, his own cheeks flushed a deep, furious red.
A burst of white steam practically shot from the top of his head.
He was mortified.
Why did this rescue mission turn into such an embarrassing disaster?!