Lin Shiqi saw that Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly did not oppose her actions, so she didn't say much and directly threw the huge lightning ball with a diameter of over a meter towards Yujie.

Yujie looked desolate, her heart ashen. She knew that avoiding it was futile and made no move. Just as the lightning ball was about to strike her, a figure swiftly darted out and collided straight into the lightning ball.

After a series of buzzing sounds and dazzling electric light, the person was covered in black smoke and fell to the ground, motionless.

"Tian Ge, how are you? Wake up!" Yujie looked panicked, embracing Yitianchou's body and shaking it continuously. It was Yitianchou who had shielded her from the huge lightning ball at a critical moment.

Yitianchou's hands hung on the ground, eyes tightly closed. No matter how Yujie called and shook him, he didn't wake up. The wounds he received from the double-headed monster's claws earlier had not healed, and blood continued to drip. Yujie thought Yitianchou was dead, holding onto his body, sitting on the grass stained red with blood, tears streaming down her face, looking extremely desolate.

"Hmph, if I had known this would be their end, they shouldn't have done so many bad things before." Lin Shiqi said disdainfully. Though she spoke like this, when she saw the pitiful state of the two, she inexplicably felt a sense of guilt.

"Let's go," Qin Yan suddenly said.

"What, are we just leaving them?" Lin Shiqi was astonished.

"Well, looking at their current state, even if we spare them, they probably won't live much longer. Let them fend for themselves here," Qin Yan replied.

"Oh, okay..." Lin Shiqi also found it difficult to act, so she agreed to Qin Yan's words.

"Where are we going now? Should we follow the direction that double-headed monster mentioned and head to that town to find humans?" Lin Shiqi said, no longer paying attention to Yujie and Yitianchou.

"Yeah, I've already noted the specific location. Although what the double-headed monster said may not be entirely true, we don't have any other choice but to try our luck there," Qin Yan said.

The three of them continued their journey as before, traveling during the day and taking turns to rest and keep watch at night. They headed in the direction indicated by the double-headed monster, eating wild fruits when hungry, hunting wild beasts, and having Lin Shiqi use her magic to conjure water or drink dew from tree leaves when thirsty.

Along the way, they naturally encountered various strange and fierce attacks from monsters, but these creatures were no match for Qin Yan and Lin Shiqi. They were either killed for food or driven away. Although the journey was arduous, the three of them gradually adapted to this life of roughing it and traveling.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The forest they were in was unexpectedly vast. After walking for four days, they were still within the forest. One evening, they stopped in the forest as usual to rest. They heard faint footsteps coming from the direction they had come from earlier, as if some creature was following them and getting closer.

The three immediately became alert, hiding in nearby bushes to see what was following them. Soon, two figures appeared before them. They saw a young woman in tattered clothes supporting a man with a sickly appearance, walking through the forest along the path Qin Yan and the others had just taken.

"Is it them?! These two really have strong luck to have made it this far?!" Lin Shiqi immediately recognized the two as Yujie and Yitianchou, whom they had seen a few days ago.

Yujie's once beautiful face looked haggard, her long hair disheveled, and her clothes tattered, indicating the hardships she had endured in recent days. She appeared anxious, frantically searching the ground around her, muttering something about "footprints." Yitianchou, on the other hand, looked sickly and barely alive. His eyes were half-open, facial muscles twitching occasionally, as if enduring immense pain.

"How did you end up here? Are you following us?" Qin Yan emerged from their hiding spot, questioning Yujie and Yitianchou directly.

Seeing Qin Yan appear, Yujie's face immediately showed a panicked expression, waving her hands and shaking her head continuously. "No, no, we're not following you. It's just a coincidence."

"Hmph, trying to deceive us? Speak up, why were you following us? Were you planning to attack us when we least expected it?" Lin Shiqi also stepped out from hiding, sternly questioning Yujie.

"No, absolutely not," Yujie waved her hands more vigorously.

"You better tell the truth," Qin Yan, seeing the miserable state of the two, didn't want to harm them but also didn't want to be attacked or plotted against in the future. He said with a grim expression, "If you lie again, you'll regret it!"

Feeling Qin Yan was serious, Yujie had no choice but to speak the truth. "Yes... yes, I was following you. After hearing your conversation with the double-headed monster that day, I noted the direction the monster mentioned and followed your footprints all the way here."

"Why were you following us? Were you planning to attack us?" Qin Yan asked again.

"No, no!" Yujie sincerely and fearfully explained, her voice surprisingly gentle. "I have no ill intentions towards you. Tian Ge is very ill, and he can't use his powers. There are many monsters in this forest, and I can't handle them alone. I found that as long as I followed behind you, it was safe because wherever you passed, the monsters were either killed or driven away. There wouldn't be any monster attacks on us. Plus, we could eat the food you left behind to regain strength, so..."

Lin Shiqi immediately understood, "Oh, so you were trying to benefit from us, using our strength to protect yourselves. Last time we spared you, we were already lenient. Now you want us to protect you again. Hmph, you want to benefit without doing any work. Listen carefully, from now on, you are not allowed to follow us, understood!?"

Yujie furrowed her brows, her mouth tightly shut, not saying a word.

Seeing Yujie's reaction, Lin Shiqi knew that she probably wouldn't listen to her. She directly conjured a lightning ball with her wand and shouted, "Are you leaving or not?!"

"Please spare our lives..." Yujie pleaded desperately.

Lin Shiqi remained silent and hurled a lightning ball towards Yujie and Yitianchou.