No one knew what he was thinking; his gaze drifted on and off, sweeping across Su Ye's face.
Su Ye turned her head and glanced at him.
Then, she slowly reached out and gently, cautiously pulled her sleeve out, inch by inch.
Afraid that if she used too much force, she might hurt him.
She did her best to keep a smile on her face.
"It's getting late, I really need to go."
She said this sentence three times.
But since he gave no reply, she dared not leave.
He just stood there, silent.
Only his eyelids quivered, and he slightly lifted his eyes, those phoenix eyes sweeping across her cheek.
That look, that expression, made her feel as if she was about to abandon him.
Su Ye started to regret having written him to look so handsome.
It really made it too easy for people to lower their guard.
After a long moment, she finally heard him speak, slow and languid,
"Why aren't you leaving?"
As soon as Su Ye heard him talk, she hurriedly replied,
"I'm leaving now."
Saying this, she quickly ran off toward the east.
As if something was chasing her from behind.
At the very center of the forest, only a sickly man remained standing under the dim sky. His features were strikingly handsome, yet he looked so frail, it seemed as though the darkness would swallow him whole the moment one looked away.
After a long while, the man let out a soft laugh.
That one laugh was even more dazzlingly beautiful, like a flower swaying in the night.
Soon after Su Ye left,
dozens of dark figures appeared.
Each one radiated a murderous aura from head to toe—it was clear these were men who had fought their way through slaughter and hardship.
Yet all of these men, before this sickly yet unreasonably handsome man, knelt down.
"Your subordinate has arrived late. Sect Leader, please forgive us!"
The voices were unified; once the words fell, not another sound followed.
They were all extraordinarily cautious, as if terrified of this master.
After a long silence, there came the sound of Su Qing's throat shifting before, unexpectedly, he laughed aloud.
That made them so frightened they all took in a sharp breath, none daring to move.
After a while, Su Qing spoke slowly,
"Am I really that scary?"
Once he finished, the place grew even quieter.
It felt like you could hear a pin drop.
His long, narrow eyes were filled with rich, inky darkness as he glanced casually over the man in green kneeling on the ground.
Those crimson lips parted, words coming out as if it was nothing more than an absent-minded question.
"What do you think, Fei Chen?"
The man addressed rose from the ground.
Fei Chen had followed Su Qing for a long time, and was not as afraid as the others.
He walked to Su Qing's side, lowered his head, and spoke,
"To answer Sect Leader—you're not scary."
But as the words left his lips, the silence grew even deeper.
Fei Chen kept a respectful distance from Su Qing, not daring to help him even though his lord's health was poor.
Their sect leader, though sickly, hated being touched by others.
He was extremely picky, had all sorts of rules, and was exceedingly hard to care for.
He said,
"Sect Leader, we should return."
While speaking, he glanced at Su Qing's body, worry flickering in his eyes.
Such an unremarkable little place was truly no fit spot for the sect leader to recover his health.
This time, Su Qing actually gave a reply, acknowledging with a soft sound.
With that, he walked toward the sedan chair behind the black-clad men.
Just looking at this sedan chair, having Fourth Tier martial cultivators as its bearers was already surprising enough.
But it was also inlaid with Fifth Tier Crystal Stones, treasures cultivators would fight and die for.
Yet for him, it was merely a protective adornment for a humble sedan—pure, utter wastefulness and extravagance.
As the sun sank, the group quickly vanished into the depths of the Demon Beast Forest, leaving no trace behind.