Angggggg...
Hundreds of elephants cried out at once, stepping in the air as they charged towards the caravan on the ground.
"Damn it, it really is the white feather flying elephants!"
"How did we attract them, they should be living above the mountain belt."
"Get into formation, faster get into formation!"
But it was too late, under the rampage of the elephant group, anywhere they went, people were flipped off their horses.
These white feather flying elephants, their bodies were covered in white feathers. With two three-meter long curved tusks, thick and sharp. With the huge impact of their charging, they were near unstoppable.
The moving caravan were caught off guard. Under just one attack, hundreds of lives were taken away. Many servants were stomped into meat paste, and the carriages were pierced by the tusks. Three black skin fat beetles were killed, and winged snakes and ostriches ran about in panic, causing stomping incidents.
At once, the scene was in utter chaos.
"Gu Masters, all of the Gu Masters, gather here!"
"So close!"
"Save me!"
Shouts erupted on the ground as the entire caravan was under attack by the flying elephants.
A white, feathered flying elephant yanked out its own tusks and charged straight at the caravan, crushing mortals beneath its feet. Their bodies were flattened in an instant—bones shattered, flesh turned to pulp.
The ground trembled under the force of two roaring flying elephants. They shook their massive heads violently, causing shards of tusk and debris to scatter, the holes they had pierced growing wider with each furious movement.
"Miss!" cried Xiao Die, the maid of Shang Xin Ci, her voice filled with fear. She watched helplessly as their Gu Masters were overwhelmed—unable to stop the beasts—each one dying horribly, reduced to bloody mush.
The horrific scene left her trembling.
Shang Xin Ci was also afraid, but she kept her emotions hidden, her expression calm and composed.
They huddled behind a sloped rock, just a short distance from the shattered remains of the carriages.
The carriages were in ruins, and everyone inside—whether a simple mortal or a skilled Gu Master—was mercilessly trampled to death, their bodies mangled beyond recognition by the rampaging flying elephants.
Angggggg...
Angggggg...
Angggggg...
The elephants let out another thunderous roar, as if their fury had yet to be satisfied, before their savage eyes turned toward the sloped rock.
Shang Xin Ci and Xiao Die turned pale with fear. Trembling, Xiao Die cried out, "Miss, we're going to die!"
Shang Xin Ci was just as frightened. She shut her eyes tightly and embraced Xiao Die, preparing for the worst.
"Wind Blade!"
A low, commanding voice echoed through the forest, followed by the whooshing rush of wind that filled Shang Xin Ci's ears.
But death didn't come.
Cautiously, she opened her eyes—only to see a figure suspended in the air, wings spread wide as they beat steadily. Hovering above them was a young man with jet-black hair and eyes, his handsome face calm and composed. In his hand gleamed a silver-white sword.
Relief washed over Shang Xin Ci—she was alive. But a strange sense of doubt crept into her heart, for reasons she couldn't explain.
Then the young man spoke again, his voice firm and righteous: "You vile beasts! How dare you threaten innocent lives?"
Shang Xin Ci's heart fluttered. She couldn't quite name the feeling rising within her—perhaps it was the adrenaline of escaping death, or maybe the overwhelming relief of being saved at the last moment.
With a single slash of the young man's sword, wind tore through the sky. In an instant, the flying elephants—both in the air and on the ground—were slain.
Shang Xin Ci stared at the scene in stunned silence. Before she could fully grasp what had happened, the entire horde of flying elephants lay dead.
The young man cast a brief glance at Shang Xin Ci, then turned his attention to her maid, Xiao Die.
Blood dripped from Xiao Die's injured hand.
Descending gracefully from the sky, the young man approached her. Without a word, he placed his hand gently on the wound. A soft light passed between them, and in moments, the bleeding stopped—the injury completely healed.
Both Xiao Die and Shang Xin Ci bowed deeply. "Thank you, Gu Master, for your help," they said with sincere gratitude.
But the young man merely waved it off. "There's no such thing as Gu Masters or mortals," he said calmly."We're all human. And as humans, we must help one another."
With that, he turned and soared back into the sky, vanishing into the clouds. The two girls stood frozen, dazed by what had just happened.
Shang Xin Ci placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart pound faster.
In her life, she had met countless people—mortals and Gu Masters alike—who had been enchanted by her beauty. Many had tried to charm her, some even tried to claim her.
But today, she had met someone different.
He had looked at her, just once—and remained completely unaffected. Instead, his concern had gone to her injured maid, Xiao Die. He had acted without hesitation, without expectation.
In that moment, Shang Xin Ci felt as if she had met the man of her dreams. Her perfect prince.
She turned to look at Xiao Die—her faithful servant, but also her closest friend—and thought with a twinge of irony: Why wasn't it me who got hurt?
Yet those final words from the young man echoed in her mind, resonating deep within her heart:
"There's no Gu Master or mortal.""We are all human. So we must help each other."
She had never spoken such thoughts aloud, but they reflected something she had always quietly wished for—a world without division, without hierarchy, where people lived in unity.
And hearing it from him, those words didn't sound like mere ideals.They sounded like music—like a gentle violin playing a melody she never wanted to forget.
Though she had barely survived the encounter, Shang Xin Ci knew one thing for certain:Today, she had fallen in love for the first time.