Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 9 Soul Capturing
"Where did this little monkey come from?"

Drawn by Xiao Hui's voice, Tian Ling'er looked at the little monkey perched on the bamboo and asked Zhang Xiaofan curiously.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan shook his head slightly, looked up at Xiao Hui who was still lying on the bamboo, scratching his ears and cheeks anxiously, and said with a light laugh.

"I don't know, maybe it ran over from the deep valley behind the mountain?"

The deep valley behind Dazhu Peak is covered with pine and cypress trees, making it secluded and unpredictable. It is also home to various ferocious beasts and poisonous insects, but these beasts and insects rarely leave the valley.

Furthermore, Zhang Xiaofan even knew that in a secluded valley within that deep ravine, there lay a rare treasure—the Soul-Capturing Treasure—that was no less powerful than the divine weapons of the Nine Heavens.

However, Zhang Xiaofan wasn't very interested. He had the Burning Sword, and his expertise lay in the art of playing the zither and the art of swordsmanship, so he no longer needed anything that was useless to him.

Perhaps even Zhang Xiaofan didn't realize that his lack of interest was actually more of a resistance—a resistance to that vague yet chilling fate.

Tian Ling'er didn't pay much attention to what she heard, but the next moment, she felt her arm being pulled. Before she could speak, she felt a force coming at her.

Once Tian Ling'er had regained her footing, she saw Zhang Xiaofan standing right in front of her, his woodcutter's knife suddenly slashing down, and with a 'crack', a pine cone was shattered.

Tian Ling'er was stunned for a moment, then looked up and saw that the little gray monkey had somehow found so many pine cones and was throwing them at them.

Upon seeing this, Tian Ling'er immediately realized that Zhang Xiaofan had pulled her away to avoid the little monkey's sneak attack.

Tian Ling'er grew up on Dazhu Peak. She was loved by her father, mother, and senior brothers. Even her junior brothers dared not bully her. Even the big yellow dog on the mountain had to listen to her. When had she ever suffered such grievances?

"That wretched, smelly monkey!"

Immediately, Tian Ling'er was enraged. The Amber Crimson Silk suddenly flew out from her waist, carrying Tian Ling'er through the air, and went straight for Little Gray.

Seeing that Tian Ling'er was about the same size as Zhang Xiaofan, Xiao Hui assumed she was someone he couldn't fight back against. After being humiliated by Zhang Xiaofan, he naturally set his sights on Tian Ling'er. Little did he expect that he would provoke a tigress.

Seeing Tian Ling'er flying through the air, Xiao Hui was immediately shocked, but reacted very quickly. Seeing that there seemed to be no way to avoid it from all directions, he let go of his limbs and fell downwards, causing Tian Ling'er to miss her.

Little Gray was also very agile. While in mid-air, it reached out and grabbed a bamboo branch. Then, it swayed and swung to another bamboo branch, and then swayed again and jumped to the next bamboo branch.

Clearly, after realizing that Tian Ling'er was not as easy to bully as Zhang Xiaofan and that he couldn't afford to offend her, Xiao Hui decided to run away.

Tian Ling'er was not about to let Xiao Hui get away with it. From childhood to adulthood, apart from that naughty junior brother, no one had ever dared to bully her, let alone a little monkey. How could she let it escape?

Immediately, Tian Ling'er used her magic to control the Amber Crimson Silk and chased after them, not forgetting to call out to Zhang Xiaofan.

"Xiao Fan, keep up! Don't let this little monkey get away!"

Zhang Xiaofan shook his head, knowing he couldn't stop her, and worried that Tian Ling'er would follow him to that dangerous place as fate would have it. He stuck his wood-chopping knife into the ground and rode his Fenji sword to follow her.

Little Grey, who was being chased by Tian Ling'er, turned around and saw that the guy she had bullied before was also flying up and chasing her. She was so frightened that she squeaked and fled in panic towards the deep valley.

If it were an open space, Tian Ling'er could easily catch up with Amber Crimson Silk by commanding it, but the dense bamboo forest was a real hindrance.

On the contrary, Little Grey was more agile in the forest, making it difficult for Tian Ling'er to catch up. However, Tian Ling'er was also stubborn and kept chasing after it. Suddenly, the scene in front of them changed abruptly. It was no longer a green bamboo forest, but a deep valley shrouded in thick fog.

Seeing Xiao Hui jump straight off the cliff, grab onto a tree branch to absorb the force of the fall, and then swing away to disappear into the deep valley, Tian Ling'er disregarded everything else and chased after it again.

A dark red light flashed behind him. Zhang Xiaofan stood on the cliff and looked at Tian Ling'er, who had already chased after him. A complicated look flashed in his eyes.

Finally, after a soft sigh, Zhang Xiaofan followed on his sword.

Deep in the valley, amidst the shadows of the trees, a small gray shadow could be seen darting about. Not far behind, a red shadow pursued it closely, and behind that red shadow, a dark red rainbow followed at a steady pace.

After chasing for half an hour, Tian Ling'er, having become familiar with how to traverse the forest, saw that she was getting closer and closer to Xiao Hui. Xiao Hui's screams grew more urgent, but she could only desperately try to escape forward.

A moment later, the view suddenly opened up to a wide-open space with many pebbles on the ground and a pool of emerald green water in the middle.

After Little Grey escaped to this place, it paused noticeably, seemingly somewhat afraid. However, the red shadow that kept approaching from behind made Little Grey anxious, and it had no choice but to land on the open ground.

Soon, two red lights flashed one after the other, and Tian Ling'er and Zhang Xiaofan landed on the open ground one after the other.

Looking at Little Grey standing in the open space, somewhat scared and hesitant to move forward, Tian Ling'er couldn't help but smile. She thought the little monkey was afraid of her, and said rather proudly.

"Hmph, you damn monkey, are you scared now?"

"Senior sister, this place is quite strange, we should be careful."

Zhang Xiaofan reached out and grabbed Tian Ling'er, who was about to rush forward. He pointed to the bare pool in front of them and whispered to her.

Upon hearing this, Tian Ling'er looked around and saw that within three zhang of the pool, not a single blade of grass grew, while beyond that, the vegetation was lush and abundant, which was quite strange.

Tian Ling'er couldn't help but take a second look, finding the place rather strange, but she didn't pay it any mind. She just smiled and stared at Little Gray in front of her, as if she had just vented her anger.

"Hmph, you stupid monkey, run away? Why aren't you running anymore?"

As she spoke, Tian Ling'er slowly walked towards Xiao Hui. At the same time, she was also thinking about how to teach this stinky monkey a lesson.

Tie it up and hang it on a tree? No way, it'll be too noisy!

Should we throw a pine cone at it? That little thing is so small, what if we kill it?
Whether it was sensing Tian Ling'er's malice or being frightened by Tian Ling'er, Xiao Hui moved a few steps further inside.

"Sister..."

Seeing that Tian Ling'er was still slowly approaching, Zhang Xiaofan couldn't help but remind her again and reached out to pull her back.

Unexpectedly, Tian Ling'er was worried that Xiao Hui would escape. Her seemingly slow movement was just to confuse Xiao Hui. Once Xiao Hui lowered his guard, she suddenly rushed towards him, causing Zhang Xiaofan to miss his grasp.

(End of this chapter)