Supreme Emperor of Mist

"We'll handle it, young master." Lu Yi and Huo Zunjie charged into the Yao Beast swarm as they started the massacre. As for Lu Qing Yun, she lingers about five meters away from her young master.

Hu Jia reached for Qin Lan's hand as the young master pulled her up from the floor. With his other hand supporting her on her waist, it made the young maiden blushed as she rested her head on his broad chest.

Qin Lan's height was just right for her head to rest comfortably.

"You're bullying me... Were you testing me before this?" Hu Jia speaks meekly like a maiden in love. From the day she's smitten by Qin Lan that day, his appearance has never stopped popping up inside of her mind.

"All of us has a secret. I'll give you a proper explanation in the future. I'll stay guard by your side, so take a rest and regain your strength first." Qin Lan placed two bottles of medicinal pill in her hand as he brought her to a dry, flatter surface.

"Qing Yun, give a hand to Lu Yi and Zunjie." Qin Lan ordered.

"Qing Yun understands." Lu Qing Yun made her move in a flash and appeared on top of a nearby Violet Legged Spider Demon. Using the (Piercing Wave) from the Rippling Wave Palm to start the battle, she trashed the Yao Demon using a single move.

"Even his female servant's strength is on par with Housekeeper Wu!" Hu Jia revealed a shocking expression towards the overall strength of Qin Lan's team.

Thinking about how reckless is her previous action, Hu Jia regretted it.

It is far from enough for a team of four second-level cultivators and a third-level like herself to safely explore the West Demon Forest comfortably.

With no other survivors except herself, Hu Jia could only give up and return to the Fu-Rong Town after this.

"Come here! Don't run!" Lu Yi chased the escaping Violet Legged Spider Demons as he slaughters them one by one. As for Huo Zunjie, he's currently facing the injured Quasi fourth-level Yao Beast on his own to test his strength.

Lu Qing Yun was the one with the most leisure with the Qiankun Pouch in her hand. Moving around and collecting the corpses of Yao Beast they killed, she's only forced to make a move if the spiders dare to attack her.

**SHUA!!!**

The Quasi fourth-level Yao Beast loudly thumped the ground with two of its foremost limbs and prepared to escape from this profitless fight.

"Stay right there!" a dragon claw with three talons appeared around his arm as Huo Zunjie injected his spiritual energy into the Jade Dragon Finger.

"Huang-Grade Precelestial Treasure!" Hu Jia's eyes opened wide as she stares at Huo Zunjie's Offensive Treasure.

"Profound Projection Fist!" Huo Zunjie's attack decapitates one of the limbs from the Quasi fourth-level Yao Beast as it struggled on the ground for a while before trying to make it escape again.

"Senior brother!" Huo Zunjie yelled for Lu Yi's attention as he chased the Yao Beast from behind. As there were not many obstacles around them, it gave the Quasi fourth-level beast a terrain advantage when it came to escaping.

The Yao Beast widened their distance by over a hundred meters within minutes. Without looking back as it escaped, it vanishes from Qin Lan's sight.

"Young master, I'm sorry to let the Yao Beast escape." Huo Zunjie came forward to bear the responsibility of allowing the Quasi fourth-level beast to escape. Lu Yi remained quiet as he stands beside Huo Zunjie.

"Fifty Violet Legged Spider Demon, fifteen Crimson Clawed Spider Demon, and one Emerald Spider Beast." Lu Qing Yun came forward with her report.

"That's quite a good result," Qin Lan nodded.

The fifty Violet Legged Spider Demon racked them five hundred merit points. As for the fifteen Crimson Clawed Spider Demon and Emerald Spider Beast, both were a third-level Yao Beast. With a thousand and six hundred points added into five hundred, that's two thousand and one hundred merit points from this fight alone.

"Where's your Qiankun Pouch?" Qin Lan asked Hu Jia, who now looks much better than before. Lu Qing Yun also retrieved the corpses of Xiao-Xi and Xiao-Che back to be placed nearby.

"Here," Hu Jia pulled the Qiankun Pouch from her outer robe and gave it to Qin Lan.

Without saying anything, Qin Lan transferred the carcasses worth two thousand and a hundred merit points and returned the pouch to Hu Jia.

"I don't need you to purposely help me." Hu Jia rejected Qin Lan's goodwill and raised her palm to push the Qiankun Pouch away. She would give up this attachment if Qin Lan insisted she accepts his pity.

Furthermore, accepting two medicinal bottles worth of pill from Qin Lan was already more than what she felt she could take. Hu Jia knows that she's not Qin Lan's opponent in terms of martial and cultivation prowess, but that doesn't mean she can openly accept his goodwill.

"This is not just for you, but for the four of your servants." Qin Lan said.

"Their effort still worth something, don't you think? Take this as their payment for giving up their life for the sake of the Hu Family. What you should do is bring them back, exchange them into cultivation resources, and gave them to whatever family members they have." he added.

"I'll give up my own merit points to compensate them. The Hu Household will not mistreat any of the servants that gave their life to us," Hu Jia retorted. Her stubbornness is well known in this matter.

"And then? What will you do without any cultivation resources?" Qin Lan added.

"I can work hard and compensate for that by completing family missions." Hu Jia answered.

"Where will that take you? Do you know what medicinal herb is this?" Qin Lan continued. Taking out a few medicinal herbs from his own Qiankun Pouch, Qin Lan questioned Hu Jia about her medicinal plant knowledge.

"Six-Leaves Sage, Fiery Pear Flower, Moonbell Flower. What's so hard about this?" Hu Jia answered. The moment she did, Lu Yi, Lu Qing Yun, and Huo Zunjie immediately escaped.

"Sigh..." Qin Lan placed some spiritual energy into Hu Jia's Qiankun Pouch and tossed the useless plants they gathered.

"Then, what is this? Don't tell me your team has someone that prefers to add some wild, inedible sage into their food? That's Crimson Fruit Flower, not fiery Pear Flower. And this is Moonbell Flower, one that's too mature to be used in concocting medicinal pill."

"If you can't even recognize them properly, what kind of family mission can you complete?" Qin Lan's gaze gets colder as he lectured Hu Jia, who's seated in front of him.

That's also why the trio escaped earlier.

With a flick of his finger, Qin Lan fired a pebble over at Lu Yi's knee to teach him a lesson for plucking that Moonbell Flower.

"See, I told you to not sleep when the young master is guiding us..." Lu Qing Yun whispered beside him. But inside her, she's laughing at Lu Yi.

"I - I - You! You're bullying me!" Hu Jia knows that she's not Qin Lan's opponent in quarreling and changed her tactics.

"I'm bullying you? Heh..."

"Shall we consummate our marriage now? I'll be responsible for my action. And let's ask our grandfather to organize the banquet when we get back." Qin Lan said as he placed both Qiankun Pouches hanging on his waistbelt.

Carrying Hu Jia like a princess, Qin Lan slowly made his way over to the thick bushes of green foliage.

"This!" Hu Jia panicked. She's did not anticipate that their first time would be at a place like this.

"We... We shouldn't do this recklessly..." Hu Jia covered her face as she meekly speaks.

"How many kids you want?" Qin Lan asked.

"Kids? I've... Never think of it before..."

"Can't I still cultivate?" Hu Jia asked.

"Shouldn't you be mentally prepared to be the mother of my child after you get married to me? Without sufficient resources, is it possible for you to reach the Middle-Attainment Rank before seventeen years old?" Qin Lan revealed the pretense behind his action.

"Why can't I reach Middle-Attainment Rank before seventeen? If I... I..." Hu Jia wanted to retaliate but found no valid evidence for her to do so.

Out of a sudden, she realized that the status of the young lady of Hu Household wasn't that significant after all. To be a step further than everyone else in this world, one must achieve a certain level of cultivation.

And to achieve that, effort, cultivation resources, and luck is essential.

Her eye swelled. Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes as she's still in Qin Lan's embrace. All the confidence, recklessness, and fortification she placed around her to protect herself finally crumbled into pieces from regret.

What was left on her is a sense of guilt.

"Ah!!!" with the first drop of tear rolled down from the corner of her eye, others followed. Hu Jia grabbed Qin Lan's collar as she covered her face as she cried.

It continued for close to half an hour before she finally calmed herself down from the weariness of crying too long. Closing her eyes and remained in Qin Lan's embrace, she fell asleep like a baby for the first time, gullible, defenseless, and innocent.

"Young..." Lu Qing Yun came closer. But the slight shake of Qin Lan's head made her retreated from where she is. They could only wait.

The sixth day ended just like this.

And while one is within the embrace of another, someone else is drowning in his own anger right now.

"WHO KILLED MY TARGET!!!" Jiao Heng ferociously chopped the trees surrounding the empty nest that belonged to the mature Yellowtail Fox Demon Beast to vent his anger.

**Gehehehe...**

A Half-Snake, half-human hybrid demon slowly approaching Jiao Heng's group as he screamed his lungs out. Following behind the hybrid beast is a school of Amber Snake Demons.

It was destined to be a bloody night.