Han Changsheng crept closer to the sound and spotted a mysterious figure practicing with a sword in hand . Through the depth of night, he couldn’t make out their face, only their shadowy figure, and not enough to determine their ident.i.ty .

He was amused . Who worked so hard as to practice by the light of the moon, alone? Perhaps they got word Elder Lan Fang planned to take an apprentice?

Something felt off, though . The swordsmans.h.i.+p he saw now didn’t belong to the Yuehua Sect . Tianning was proficient in the world of martial arts, but even Han Changsheng, diligent in his own practices, couldn’t recognize the steps .

The man’s sword arced in a half-circle through the air . Didn’t that move belong to Liu Xiaoqi? Was this Liu Xiaoqi?

The man’s next move was restrained, and he stopped, retracting his sword .

Han Changsheng hesitated, still hidden behind the tree .

The man exhaled slowly, turned, and left . Once he was far enough away, Han Changsheng stepped out of his hiding place . Feeling his way around, he headed towards the West Wing .

Outside the sleeping quarters, he saw the lights were out in every disciple’s room except for a single flicker in An Yuan’s . Leaning forward, Han Changsheng poked a hole in the window screen and peeked through it .

Dressed in an obscene robe, An Yuan’s long hair draped over his shoulders as he sat before a mirror . In his arms, he held a . . . Dragon Li?!

“Cherry Snow Spirit Feather,” An Yuan touched the Dragon Li’s chin .

Han Changsheng almost fell to the ground . Cherry Snow Spirit Feather?! Was this that small stinky egg?! This Dog Lord was infamous for his naming ability . . . ! He could no longer roast the names Ming Xiao gave his cats in the Tianning Cult!!!

Lifting the Dragon Li, An Yuan leaned forward to kiss its nose . The cat raised its paw indignantly and pushed his face away . Shocked, An Yuan set down the cat . “What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood today?”

The Dragon Li was too lazy to pay attention to him and curled into a ball in his lap to sleep .

An Yuan gazed at his reflection in the mirror and sighed, “I’m handsome again, handsome every day, how can I continue living like this! Nine out of ten people are speechless the first time they see my face . I just want to be an ordinary person who can make friends and play together instead of being wors.h.i.+pped all the time . . . ”

Han Changsheng scowled . Although the Dog Lord was good looking . . . fine, extraordinarily good looking, no matter how good looking he was, it just made people want to beat him up!

“Ah, Cherry Snow Spirit Feather,” An Yuan said, “Today, Da s.h.i.+xiong told me he likes me and wants to be friends with me . I didn’t like him much before . He used to secretly scheme against me, and I just couldn’t be bothered to argue with him . It wouldn’t be long before he got unlucky . . . but now I don’t want him to be unlucky . ”

An Yuan sighed and gently touched the Dragon Li’s fur . He continued, “What do you think? Does Da s.h.i.+xiong like me this much? I know I’m handsome, I have a good temperament, and I’m good at everything . But there are only two kinds of people in the world . Those that like me to death, and those that itch to kill me out of jealousy . . . But those who hate me never survive long due to bad luck . It’s been like that since I was young . G.o.d favors me, and there’s nothing that can be done about it . . . I’m helpless . . . I always thought Da s.h.i.+xiong was the second type, never expected him to be the first . . . ”

Before he even showed up, Han Changshend had already left his shoes in the gra.s.s . The old man wrote that kind of s.h.i.+t? Not only did he want to beat An Yuan, but he also wanted to beat the fate that made the Dog Lord altogether!

Cherry Snow Spirit Feather heard An Yuan mention Han Changsheng and opened an eye .

“When Da s.h.i.+xiong grabbed the sword without a second thought, I was surprised . My heart was loud in my chest, and I didn’t know what happened to me . I’m usually the one saving others, but, for the first time, someone saved me . I realized he’s reliable . ”

Han Changsheng silently thought, “The Dog Lord likes being saved? I can use this . ”

Staring at the mirror in dismay, An Yuan didn’t say anything for a long time . Just when Han Changsheng thought he had lost him, An Yuan burst into laughter . “Da s.h.i.+xiong is interesting . I don’t know if he’s changed, or if I have . But, when he kicked the disciple of the Yunxiao Sect, I almost couldn’t hold in my laughter . . . ”

Han Changsheng grinned .  Laozi was so cool!

The cat jumped from An Yuan’s knee and ran to the door .

An Yuan called, “It’s late, Cherry Snow Spirit Feather . Where are you going?”

The Dragon Li ignored him . Opening a crack in the door, it slipped out .

Shrugging, An Yuan continued to stare at the mirror, shamelessly admiring his looks .

As soon as the Dragon Li ran out, it saw Han Changsheng crouching under the window . The cult leader didn’t expect the small stinky egg to leave . Quickly, he gestured for it to be quiet, for fear it would call An Yuan . The small sticky egg was very human in nature and kept silent . It walked towards Han Changsheng and rubbed against his leg .

Breathing a sigh of relief, Han Changsheng touched its head .

The small stinky egg ran two steps and stopped, looking back at him . Puzzled, the cult leader didn’t move from the window . The little stinky egg ran back and bit his trouser’s leg, pulling him in that direction .

After a few tugs, Han Changsheng understood . The little stinky egg wanted him to follow .

Tired, An Yuan muttered to himself and walked to his bed, leaving the mirror .

Han Changsheng hesitated then crept toward the stinky egg . After each step, the cat looked back at him to make sure he kept up . Han Changsheng knew what it wanted, so he followed closely .

“Small, stinky egg, where are you taking me?”

The cat took him south .

Han Changsheng wasn’t familiar with Yuehua Sect’s terrain . In the darkness, he lost his way . Through moonlight, alone, he found that the cat brought him to a place he’d never seen .  

It was a quiet valley with only the sound of cicadas and wind blowing past .

The cat stopped and rubbed its head against the cult leader’s calf .

“Where is this?” Han Changsheng wondered, “What did you bring me here for?”

The cat yawned, mouth wide open . Curling into a ball, it settled down for the night . It was ready to sleep .

Han Changsheng was baffled . It was so dark already . He hesitated then turned to head back to his room to sleep and rise early for practice with his sword .

He’d taken only two steps when a weapon cut through the air, flying towards him . Ducking, he heard the weapon pa.s.s over him .  

It shocked Han Changsheng .

 “Who?!” Was someone in the valley?! Those who practiced martial arts were sensitive to breath . Though Han Changsheng could feel the atmosphere, he only noticed his own breath alongside the cat’s . He couldn’t sense another presence .

“Fwoos.h.!.+” Another weapon flew towards him .

Han Changsheng couldn’t see it . He could only judge the direction by listening .

More and more flew towards him, each from different directions . He grew increasingly more nervous, not only by the weapons but who sent them . He couldn’t find any trace of them, though, not even how many there were .

Han Changsheng held his breath . Since he couldn’t see his opponent, perhaps his opponent couldn’t see him . The opponent could also attack based on his breath . He was out in the open, the enemy hidden . If he wanted to draw them out, he had to hide . Even after he held his breath and lightened his steps, the opponent continuously and accurately launched their weapons in his direction . Their motives were difficult to judge; they didn’t intend to injure him . Although he dodged the attacks, he realized that even if he didn’t, the weapons would only gaze against his skin . They wouldn’t hurt him .

Did they want to drive him out of the valley? Did he invade someone else’s territory?

Han Changsheng frowned and retreated towards where he came . He didn’t mean to anger anyone . He was in the Yuehua Sect and needed to make as little trouble as possible . If his ident.i.ty was exposed, he would lose all his effort . Besides, the other person’s martial arts was above him .

When Han Changsheng retreated, a figure flashed in front of him, and a thin, long weapon swung towards him . Han Changsheng quickly ducked; he didn’t bring weapons when he came out . He had nothing to ward off the attacker . Fortunately, he was not pressed by his opponent . He took a chance to dodge and grabbed a branch on the ground like a sword . The shadow also seemed to have a branch in hand .

“Who on earth are you?” Han Changsheng called .

The man didn’t speak . Seeing Han Changsheng had a weapon in his hand, he continued to attack .

After a few moves, Han Changsheng felt awe-inspired: this was a master . He did not use internal forces when he drew his sword . His swordsmans.h.i.+p wasn’t profound and mysterious . Every move was basic and simple . Any swordsman in the world of martial arts could use them, but in his hands, these moves were very powerful .

This person is a master!