Qilin Hall hadn’t expected this descent to the mortal realm to be any different from the usual ones. They were delayed a bit—and the moment they arrived, they ran straight into a fight.

Which was…

Amazing.

Opportunities for legitimate combat were rare. As junior gods who could usually only spar through simulations in Heaven, any real fight was pure profit. They certainly weren’t about to let a single troublemaking demon slip away.

Li Xiao immediately adjusted the lighting around the demon, plunging the area into deeper darkness. Opening a domain wasn’t nearly as cost-effective as blocking physical vision. Absolute darkness made their work easier—after all, gods didn’t rely solely on their eyes to lock onto a target.

The four of them spread out perfectly, each taking a direction to rescue someone.

Li Xiao regrouped with Zhu Yin and saved the Fifth Prince, Xie Yuheng, who had already intended to chase after Xie Yucheng, Xie Yuyan, and Xie Yuhe.

The youngest, Seventh Prince Xie Yujin, had little real combat experience. At the first sign of danger, he completely forgot the riding and archery skills he practiced daily and focused only on escaping. In his panic, he ran in the opposite direction—straight toward the camp. Situ Meng happened to be following the smoke and firelight nearby, so he suppressed the demonic aura first and rescued Xie Yujin.

Xie Yujin didn’t know anything about demonic energy. All he knew was that he must have been incredibly lucky—he’d accidentally reached the camp early, and once there, the demonic winds vanished entirely. His fortune felt unreal.

The other two weren’t so lucky.

Second Prince Xie Yukang was swept back toward the path they’d come from. He hesitated, glanced at the raging storm ahead, and decided to retreat under the pretense of seeking reinforcements—leaving the others behind. But just as he turned, a massive brown bear lunged at him from behind. With no choice, Xie Yukang drew his sword to fight.

Si Zhuo hadn’t expected his assignment to be so easy—easy enough that he didn’t even need to use magic. After all, he was a dragon. Mortal animals, driven by instinctive terror buried in their bloodlines, naturally avoided him.

There was no challenge at all. He even stood aside to watch for a bit, only stepping in at the last moment—half-heartedly performing a bit of “street magic” to scare the bear away. Then he stationed himself at the entrance, waiting for the mortals to arrive.

“Who are you?” Xie Yukang demanded.

“I live nearby,” Si Zhuo replied calmly. “I know a few tricks to chase away troublesome bears. It’s getting dark—where are you headed?”

Xie Yukang rode closer, looking down at him from horseback. Si Zhuo found the posture irritating.

The irritation had immediate results.

In the next instant, the horse suddenly went berserk, rearing and neighing wildly, throwing Xie Yukang to the ground before bolting back into the forest and disappearing.

Si Zhuo raised an eyebrow, perfectly composed. Xie Yukang’s expression darkened. Still gripping his sword, he pushed himself up and walked toward Si Zhuo step by step.

“You shouldn’t have been here,” he said coldly. “Blame your bad luck.”

Si Zhuo had sensed the man’s malice long ago. He was merely curious how far a human would dare to go. Seeing that Xie Yukang truly intended to kill him, Si Zhuo laughed instead.

“What are you laughing at?” Xie Yukang asked.

“At your arrogance.”

Si Zhuo lifted the sword in his hand. Only then did Xie Yukang realize—the weapon he’d been holding was gone. The distance between them had shrunk to nothing, too fast for the guards to react.

“I told you,” Si Zhuo said lightly. “I know a few tricks.”

He ran a hand along the blade. Flames erupted instantly, the sword glowing crimson. He looked up at Xie Yukang.

“It’s dark now. Getting back to the city won’t be easy. Care to give me a ride?”

Take you along—and let you spread what you saw?

Xie Yukang had already decided to kill this passerby, but now saw the man wasn’t easy prey. The demonic winds had stopped, night was falling, and the camp was safer than the road. After weighing his options, he forced a smile.

“You’re skilled, sir. As it happens, our camp is nearby. Why not come with us?”

Si Zhuo sneered inwardly but didn’t expose him. “That would be excellent.”

Xie Yuling entered another part of the forest, just like Xie Yucheng. With dense trees and chaos everywhere, he quickly lost contact with his guards.

But unlike Xie Yujin, Xie Yuling wasn’t a useless ornament. With a renowned general as his maternal uncle, he’d trained rigorously from childhood. However, because the emperor feared his mother’s family’s influence, Xie Yuling usually kept a low profile—burying himself in books and avoiding close ties with his uncle in public.

Even with the demonic winds empowering the chaos, he cut his way through. When his vision finally cleared, he saw a young woman standing in the forest, casually catching a falling leaf. Startled by his presence, she turned to look at him.

Damn it.
She was supposed to be a long-range fighter—how did someone wander into her territory?

Luan Ling’s mind raced. She hadn’t used any visibly obvious spells… right? She’d only played with the wind a little while dispersing the demonic aura. That shouldn’t count, right?

Seeing Xie Yuling staring at her, she braced herself and said, “Sir, do you know how to get out of here? I got separated from my friends.”

She’d planned to stage a heroic rescue—but somehow she was the one being rescued instead.

Xie Yuling studied her briefly. “I didn’t see anyone else on my way in.”

“Oh…”

Luan Ling fell silent, thinking fast. Judging by his clothing, she could guess his status—probably one of Xie Yuyan’s brothers. She wasn’t sure which, but he vaguely matched the Sixth Prince described by Zhu Yin.

She raised her eyes cautiously. “Sir… could you take me out of the forest?”

She was only asking. If he refused, she could always force him—she’d learned a thing or two from Zhu Yin and Si Zhuo. And as the strongest in spiritual cognition, the cost wouldn’t be high.

While Luan Ling was contemplating these morally questionable backup plans, Xie Yuling misunderstood her silence as fear. After hesitating, he suddenly rode forward and extended his hand.

Luan Ling froze, confused. That blank look only made her seem more frightened.

Xie Yuling leaned down, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her onto the horse.

Now she was truly stunned.

Gods didn’t need horses. This was her first time riding one since descending. That shoulder grab—did it even obey physics? How did she end up airborne? Was this internal energy? How was it different from divine power?

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice that Xie Yuling silently rode straight back to the camp.

He was the last prince to return—and his arrival stunned not only the other princes, but Qilin Hall as well.

Li Xiao muttered, “We were all rescuing people. Why is Junior Sister’s treatment so different?”

Situ Meng dropped ingredients into the pan, stir-fried them automatically, and continued staring in shock.

Zhu Yin fixed her gaze on Luan Ling. Xie Yuyan took a deep breath, looking left, then right.

From the moment Luan Ling appeared riding on the same horse as Xie Yuling, he felt a heavy, murderous aura.

Si Zhuo had already been scowling since he arrived at camp—but this killing intent was on a different level.

Xie Yuyan quietly confirmed with Zhu Yin, “Si Zhuo is…?”

“Killing impulse,” Zhu Yin replied calmly. “Perfectly normal.”

“…Huh?”

Zhu Yin said nothing more, pulling out her flute and resuming her old job of providing background music.

The chaos silenced even Xie Yuyan for a moment.

Luan Ling didn’t let it last.

Spotting Qilin Hall, her eyes lit up. She flipped off the horse, discreetly steadying herself with divine power, then thanked Xie Yuling.

“Thank you, sir! My companions are here after all!”

Xie Yuling nodded faintly.

Luan Ling returned the gesture, then turned away. This time she didn’t dare hug her senior sister, so she ran to Situ Meng instead.

“Junior brother! What are you cooking? It smells amazing!”

Only then did she remember to open the shared spiritual channel. Oh no… I didn’t even get to put on a rescue performance. I got rescued instead.

Si Zhuo cut in coldly, “That really is tragic. The only true god present, reduced to ending the scene as the ‘damsel’ in a hero’s rescue. Is this the power of divinity?”

“If that mouth of yours were used to blow on the fire instead of talking, it’d be more useful,” Luan Ling snapped back. “Who cares who rescued whom? We infiltrated their group—that’s what matters. We’re here to eliminate demons, not play wandering heroes.”

Si Zhuo saw right through her. “Oh? Someone’s still upset they didn’t get a flashy entrance—stuck riding behind someone else. Not exactly a righteous savior, is it?”

She nearly kicked him.

Li Xiao rushed in to mediate. “Junior Sister—”

“Don’t say he’s worried about me!” Luan Ling cut him off. “I don’t need his concern. It just makes me mad!”

Seeing Si Zhuo still lounging smugly, she kicked him anyway, then ran to accept the fried rice Situ Meng handed her.

Senior sister and junior brother really were the best—one played music to express unspoken emotions, the other summoned comfort through food.

And that primal comfort instantly attracted everyone else.

After all, Situ Meng was the Food God’s disciple. Even though the group had brought mortal cooks for this expedition, nothing could compete with that irresistible, heavenly aroma.

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