Shortly, each of them left, carried away by their respective protector spirits to their destination. The onlookers stared in awe as they flew off, disregarding the flight regulations of the city...

Mei screeched as she was snatched into the air by Hong Ling in his serpent form, soaring far way into clouds in the sky, her hair blowing in the air so fast she felt like it was about to come loose.

Unlike Feng Shen, Senior Han's bird, the jade spirit did not put up a protective barrier at all!

A few minutes later, he dropped a miserable and dizzy Mei who toppled to the group and almost puked.

"What was that for? Shouldn't you have set up a barrier or something?" she complained.

"You're a Foundational cultivator, come on. Don't be shaken by such small things! Didn't you learn how to fly recently too? Though it can barely be called that, haha!"

Grrr...

Mei continued to lie on the ground.

"Why aren't you getting up?"

"I feel sick. Give me a moment..."

"Hah... a Foundational cultivator getting sick from flying."

"A normal person would have set up a barrier!"

"That's not aerodynamic. And also a waste of qi."

Mei didn't comment.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you're only getting dizzy because of old habits. I heard a pretty effective way to get over being disorientated from high speeds is to get a friend to grab you by both your feet, then spin you around in a circle for an hour straight every day! Hahahah!"

"I'm not a masochist... and they'd get dizzy too..."

"Ahahaha!"

Mei wondered if it was really fine for him to be in charge of keeping a disciple safe...

"Wait," she said. "Where's Su Qing?"

Hong Ling: ...

"Shit," he said.

"Seriously?!"

"Okay, you stay right here, I'll go get him real quick."

"Urgh!"

Unbelievable! Mei was filled with grievances as Hong Long took off, leaving her behind.

...

Why did the bandits feel so close?

Mei looked around and saw a set of tents in the distance, a few gruff looking men wearing masks standing guard.

Oh. Oh no.

Well, this was very bad. Was she seriously left here alone without a guardian? They were definitely going to spot her like this, lying on the ground in the open!

Shaking off her airsickness, she crawled slowly, trying to hide behind a bush.

...

"Hey! Who's that there!" a voice suddenly shouted.

Shit! Busted already! How could she be so unlucky?

No, calm down! These were just qi gathering cultivators! They might be really intimidating and fierce, but they weren't as strong as her!

As several bandits marched up to her, she stood up slowly, putting on her best poker face. Her trembling feet were thankfully hidden by the bush.

"A girl? What is she doing here in the middle of the woods?"

"Something isn't right..." another one whispered.

"You there! What are you doing here?"

As they discussed, Mei mustered the qi from her body and unleashed it, hoping to scare them away.

The bandits froze.

"S-she- she's a Foundational cultivator! What the hell!" one of them screamed.

"They're onto us!"

"Oh my god! Why?!"

As the bandits frantically scrambled, suddenly, one of them shouted.

"I'll hold her off! You guys, RUN!"

In an instant, he charged at her with incredible speed, giving Mei a huge shock! Before a second had passed, a full-force kick was less than half a metre away from her abdomen, glowing with azure light.

Instinctively, Mei activated Might of Trees, just in time to receive the blow.

BANG!

In the next instant, her mind went blank as a tremendous force was sent through her body, sending her flying at a speed that would put a charging horse to shame.

She slammed into a tree, the sound of wood being crushed, followed an awful cracking sound resounding through the forest. A few chirps could be heard as a flock of birds took off, hundreds of leaves falling.

Moments later, the tree fell, slamming to the ground with a mighty thud.

A few droplets of blood left Mei's mouth as she coughed, miraculously not unconscious. She felt like her spine was broken, but oddly enough, while terribly painful, she didn't feel as much pain as she thought she would.

This... how could a qi gathering cultivator be so powerful? She felt terrified. That stupid Hong Ling... she was really going to die at this rate! And if she didn't activate her body technique in time, she might actually have! Her heart pounded so loudly, she could hear it in her head.

Opening her eyes, she saw with her blurred vision the bandit that kicked her had fallen to the ground. He clutched his broken leg with a look of agony. Far away, the rest of the bandits hastily grouped together, one of them holding up a glowing jade.

A circle of light appeared around them as they chanted. Shortly, they vanished with a flash, abandoning their comrade.

Mei felt an immense sense of relief. If they all teamed up on her...

She reached into her bag and swallowed a pill Wang Wei had passed her. A warm feeling surged through her, numbing the pain. The bandit wasted no time healing up as well, chugging a strange elixir in a single gulp.

Propping himself up with both arms, he stood on a single leg, his other leg hanging limply, the cloth around it soaked with blood.

"You may be a Foundational cultivator, but I won't let you take me down easily!" he snarled.

While his words were brave, the look in his eyes was that of a cornered, desperate animal.

Mei got up as well, filled with trepidation. She thought of reaching for her axe... only to realise she forgot to bring it as well. She bit her lips.

The bandit focused, unleashing his qi.

Followed by the sound of huge pots shattering, streams of water flew out of the tents, floating around the bandit in a huge shroud. He turned a knob on one of his gauntlets, which spewed a glob of fire qi into the water. In an instant, the liquid began to froth as it boiled intensely, steam wafting off like smoke.

Oh god...