Chapter 24: A Fault in Memory

Qi Yan held Yun Zhao tightly, then flicked his hand, causing the Blood-Drinking Sword to return to his grasp. The Frostwood Flood Dragon, stung by pain, crashed its massive body to the ground.

"Qi Yan," Yun Zhao poked her head out from his arms, "you're here!"

"Yes, I'm here."

Qi Yan released her, pushed her behind him, and charged toward the Frostwood Flood Dragon with his sword. The dragon endured the pain to engage him, and the two fought until the sky seemed to darken. Yun Zhao turned to look for Song Zhiyuan, only to find that he had already vanished without a trace.

"Zhaozhao, are you alright?" Mu Qianqian grabbed her hand, looking her up and down repeatedly. Yun Zhao smiled and said, "Senior Sister, I’m fine."

"It’s a good thing Qi Yan arrived in time," Mu Qianqian said, patting her chest, "otherwise..." She felt a lingering fear and dared not continue. "And that scoundrel Song Zhiyuan, how could he run so fast?" Mu Qianqian complained. "We agreed he would throw out a spirit artifact to stall for time, but he didn't do it. It’s so infuriating!"

When they had been arguing in front of the Frostwood Flood Dragon, they had used secret sound transmissions to agree to flee in different directions. However, since there were three of them, the dragon was likely to pursue them, so Song Zhiyuan was supposed to create a distraction. No one expected him to bail.

Mu Qianqian said angrily, "When we get back, I’ll report him to our Master and have him avenge us!"

As they spoke, Lin Shu and Shuang Xue approached. After checking on each other, they waited for the battle between Qi Yan and the dragon to conclude.

"Huh," Yun Zhao frowned, "Senior Sister, am I seeing things? Neither of them seems to be fighting for real." It looked more like a sparring match.

Mu Qianqian nodded, "You aren't seeing things. It really is."

Rewinding to before the fight, the moment Qi Yan struck, the Frostwood Flood Dragon had recognized him: "You're of the Demon Clan?" Qi Yan didn't answer but pointed to the sky. The dragon understood, and as they fought, they drifted up into the clouds. After a brief, intense exchange, both parties simultaneously ceased their lethal moves and began sparring instead.

Within seconds, they had exchanged hundreds of strikes. After separating, the Frostwood Flood Dragon laughed, "Kid, not bad!"

Qi Yan took a step back. "You’re not bad yourself."

"Alright, I’ve had my fill," the dragon conceded, sheathing its intent. "Take those humans and go. Tell that little girl that we’ve become acquaintances through this fight. As for seniority, you two should call me Uncle Dragon!"

Whatever "seniority" that was, it was clearly the dragon smelling the demon aura on Qi Yan and forcing a connection. It was worth noting that Qi Yan's mother was a powerful Demon King who ruled a vast territory; it remained a mystery why she had taken a fancy to his human father—a married scoundrel, at that.

Qi Yan ignored it and offered a perfunctory bow. "Many thanks, Dragon King."

The dragon arched a brow. "I like that title. From now on, everyone shall call me 'Dragon King'." It added with a bitter edge, "Oh, and that little girl knows the scoundrel who ran off. When you see him, nephew, you must avenge me! He actually dared to covet me! I'll beat him to death!"

With that, it swished its tail and departed.

After Qi Yan descended, Yun Zhao asked curiously, "Qi Yan, did you drive it away?"

"No," Qi Yan replied with a straight face. "I don't know what got into that Frostwood Flood Dragon. It said we were now acquaintances, and after a few moves, it claimed its mother was calling it home for dinner, so it left."

Yun Zhao: "..."
The others: "..."

Yun Zhao retorted, "You’re just spouting nonsense!" Qi Yan curled his lips but said nothing. The others knew he wasn't telling the truth, but since he didn't want to explain, they didn't press him.

"Let’s not dwell on that. It’s good that we’re reunited," Yun Zhao said with a smile. "Let’s continue our cultivation."

The six of them traveled together, and with the pressure of Qi Yan’s Golden Core stage, no demonic beast dared to provoke them. Over the next ten days, Yun Zhao had Qi Yan capture beasts of similar cultivation levels to serve as sparring partners. Soon, the beasts began avoiding them entirely.

"Sigh," Yun Zhao said, sitting by the fire, looking dejected. "We’re just looking for a few sparring partners, do they have to hide from us?"

Qi Yan was speechless. "Is it really just 'a few'?"

Mu Qianqian hid a laugh and handed them each a skewer of roasted beast meat. "Zhaozhao, even little Lin has had eight or nine sparring partners. Do you realize how many beasts we’ve fought?"

Lin Shu was the weakest of the six, only at the second level of Foundation Establishment. If he hadn't been with Qi Yan and the others, Lu Mingdao would never have let him enter the secret realm.

"That's true," Lin Shu said, smiling as he distributed medicinal pills to everyone. "But over these ten days, my cultivation has improved quite a bit." He was now at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment; his Master would certainly be pleased upon his return.

Mu Qianqian sighed, "The training has been sufficient, but it's a pity we haven't found any spirit beasts that took our fancy."

"The Frostwood Flood Dragon wasn't bad," Qi Yan suddenly remarked. "If it hadn't run so fast, we could have contracted it."

Mu Qianqian’s mouth twitched. "No, no, no. Contract a Golden Core Frostwood Flood Dragon? Do I have a death wish?" She poked Yun Zhao. "Zhaozhao, your Qi Yan sure knows how to tell jokes."

Yun Zhao rested her chin on her hand. "Why is it a joke? If Qi Yan says it, he can certainly do it." She tilted her head. "Right, A-Yan?"

Meeting her gaze, Qi Yan looked away toward the flickering flames. "Yes."

[Favorability +5, current favorability 40]

Yun Zhao felt a surge of joy: Almost halfway there, keep going!

Back inside her tent, Yun Zhao tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so she simply sat up. "System, are you there? Let's chat for a couple of spirit stones."

System: *Bubbling.*

Yun Zhao sat cross-legged, supporting her chin with her hands. "System, do you think something went wrong when I was transported into the original host's body?"

The System countered, "How could that be? Everything shows as normal on my end."

"Then why don't I have any of the previous memories?" Yun Zhao asked, puzzled. "Like the time Mu Qianqian and I saved Lin Shu, or memories of being close with Mu Qianqian when we were young—none of them are there." The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt. "The original host's memories tell me she was always infatuated with Song Zhiyuan and didn't get along with others, but Mu Qianqian says we were best friends growing up... There must be a problem here!"

The System was silent for a moment. "It is strange. Host, wait a moment, I will go check."

With that, the System went offline. Left without the System to talk to, Yun Zhao felt bored. She summoned the sleeping Fuguang and shook it awake.

"Fuguang, Fuguang, keep me company and talk."

Forced awake, Fuguang was listless, having to listen to Yun Zhao’s chatter and provide responses from time to time.

Fuguang: "..."

This torture lasted until three in the morning before Yun Zhao finally let it go and went to sleep, feeling satisfied. Fuguang didn't return to the sword; it glared at Yun Zhao with two massive dark circles under its eyes. *Fine, fine! You finish your talking and go to sleep, and now I have absolutely no sleepiness left!*

It slapped its paw onto Yun Zhao’s face. *Get up and go to sleep again!*