Qiu Zhihe responded calmly, "I heard Senior Brother He was in danger and got worried, so I went to find them."

Wei Wan nodded slightly, and asked without missing a beat:

"But we killed the Fifth Grade Demonic Beast, rushed to the Snow Moon Forest, and fought for a long time before you appeared. Why did you arrive so late?"

Qiu Zhihe said, "I ran into several groups of demonic beasts along the way, which delayed me."

Wei Wan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have you heard of the Thousand Sword Array?"

Qiu Zhihe replied, "I’ve heard of it. The Thousand Sword Array is known as the most powerful Slaughter Array."

Wei Wan said in a deep voice, "When we arrived at Snow Moon Forest, the demonic beasts surrounding Junior Brother He and the others were slain by the Thousand Sword Array. Do you know who did it?"

"Was it really the Thousand Sword Array that killed those demonic beasts?"

Qiu Zhihe showed an expression of surprise, "I arrived too late to see it. I thought it was you, Second Senior Sister."

Wei Wan chuckled lightly, "That’s also true. You were indeed a bit late. By the way, have you heard of Li Fire?"

"Li Fire?" Qiu Zhihe asked blankly, "What’s that?"

"Profound Ice and Fire Technique." Wei Wan looked at Qiu Zhihe and said slowly:

"The cultivation technique of the Cyan Lotus Sect Saintess, Xia Qinglian. Haven’t you heard of it?"

Qiu Zhihe realized, "Of course, I’ve heard of the Profound Ice and Fire Technique. But isn’t Xia Qinglian already dead?"

Wei Wan’s gaze fell on Qiu Zhihe’s face, seemingly trying to catch something, but Qiu Zhihe appeared clueless, her heartbeat remained steady.

After a while, Wei Wan smiled warmly, "I was just casually asking. Oh, Junior Sister Ruo, you were so anxious yesterday to save Junior Brother He; do you like him?"

Qiu Zhihe’s face showed just the right amount of shyness. She lowered her head, her cheeks slightly red, "I, I..."

Wei Wan smiled, "Junior Sister Ruo, no need to be nervous. The affection between men and women is natural; even cultivators can’t avoid it. However, Junior Brother Lan and Junior Brother He are both outstanding disciples in the Outer Sect. You should decide early, so as not to harm others or yourself."

Qiu Zhihe was taken aback, truly surprised this time.

Wei Wan had misunderstood her and Mo Xiaolan!

Indeed, Mo Xiaolan is currently posing as a man. Perhaps Wei Wan thought she was playing both sides?

Without waiting for her to explain, Wei Wan had already walked out of the woods and said to the disciples, "Let’s continue our journey."

Qiu Zhihe followed, and immediately countless complex glances fell upon her.

There was hidden hostility from Xu Caihe, admiration from Shi Ying, and envy, jealousy, contempt from others.

It seemed not a few people misunderstood her as entangled with both He Zhiqiu and Lan Yin.

Qiu Zhihe found it amusing; well, this way, Wei Wan wouldn’t focus so much on the Thousand Sword Array and Li Fire.

For now, her cultivation hadn’t recovered, and it wasn’t time to trample the Zhenyang Sect under the identity of the Cyan Lotus Sect Saintess yet.

After a small interlude, everyone continued on their way.

Cultivators have an incredible speed, and by nightfall, they were less than a thousand miles from Zhenlian City.

At this rate, they would arrive by noon tomorrow.

They had been traveling at full speed during the day, exhausted much, and it was near midnight when Wei Wan ordered the disciples to rest on the spot.

This was a clearing in the forest with a mountain spring nearby, so the female disciples went to the spring to wash up.

Some bolder ones simply stripped off their clothes and jumped into the spring, pulling their close senior sisters and junior sisters down with them. For a time, the spring was filled with soft and fragrant beauties, waves rolling.

"What so-called righteous disciples, so shameless!"

Liu Su and Qiu Zhihe were sitting by the spring, using a towel to wipe their bodies, looking at the women frolicking in the water, and couldn’t help but curl their lips.

Qiu Zhihe turned her head to take a look, and Liu Su chuckled, taking her arm:

"Don’t worry, miss, with you here, the gentleman wouldn’t dare to peek no matter how bold he is, ow!"

Liu Su clutched her head, as she saw Qiu Zhihe standing up, walking to Wei Wan, who was also standing by the spring, and said to her with a shy face:

"Second Senior Sister, after a day of travel, won’t you wash?"

Wei Wan shook her head, "No need."

Qiu Zhihe raised her voice slightly, "Second Senior Sister, you have been protecting us these days and have consumed your cultivation to slay demonic beasts. I am very grateful. Let your junior sister serve you."

Hearing her words, the other female disciples also emerged from the spring, gathering around Wei Wan:

"Yes, Second Senior Sister, let us help you bathe."

Liu Su was puzzled, what was the Saintess trying to do?

However, Wei Wan’s expression froze, she seemed a little nervous, repeatedly declining, "No need, I, I don’t need a bath."

Liu Su realized, I understand now!

Back then, Ling was whipped by Mo Sha with the God-piercing Whip, and it’s slow to recover from those injuries. If Wei Wan really was Ling, there would definitely be whip marks on her body!

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a scream sounded from the spring, and the girls turned around in astonishment, only to see Zhou Ling’Er standing in the spring, her face still with a horrified expression, pointing at the mountain spring flowing down from afar.

The faces of everyone instantly turned pale.

In the gurgling spring water, there were dozens of corpses floating.

Judging by their clothes, there were white robes and skirts, and even Purple Sun Brocade Robes; they were all disciples of the Zhenyang Sect!

Half an incense stick of time later.

They stood by the spring, with dozens of corpses retrieved from the water laid on the ground.

These corpses hadn’t decayed, clearly dead not long ago, all showing expressions of wide, glaring eyes, full of indignation and astonishment, clearly unwilling in death.

They stood in front of the bodies of their fellow disciples, faces full of grief and rage.

"Senior Brother Liu, you died so tragically, wuwuwu..."

"Senior Sister Chen, we cultivated together just the other day, I never thought the next time we meet, you would already be..."

Shi Ying smashed his fist into the ground, hatingly said, "I will kill all the demonic beasts, avenge Senior Brother and Senior Sister!"

The others also cried out in grief, united against the common enemy.

Qin Gengyun furrowed his brows, about to speak, when Qiu Zhihe’s voice transmission reached his ears:

"Don’t speak, go to the mountain top at 1 a.m."

Qin Gengyun looked at Qiu Zhihe in surprise, only to see her looking at Wei Wan, and it dawned on Qin Gengyun that Wei Wan didn’t seem particularly sad, her expression somewhat peculiar.

Qin Gengyun knew Wei Wan had also noticed something off about those corpses, yet she didn’t reveal it, indicating there might be some unspeakable secret.

He then kept quiet, joining the others to bury their fellow disciples.

By now, it was late at night, everyone was exhausted after the shock, and they rested on the spot in the mountain forest.

...

a.m.

Once everyone had fallen asleep, Qin Gengyun quietly got up, looking to where the female disciples were resting, only to find Qiu Zhihe already gone.

His figure flashed, and soon he was on the mountaintop.

Upon the solitary peak, beneath the full moon, a delicate figure stood with arms crossed, staring defiantly at the bright moon.

Qin Gengyun approached her from behind, Qiu Zhihe turned around, her eyes clear and cold:

"Husband, you were so reckless during the day... Ah?"

Her words had barely fallen when Qin Gengyun hugged her, and when Qiu Zhihe was about to speak, she noticed a figure hiding in the darkness nearby, spying on them.

"It’s Wei Wan."

Qin Gengyun transmitted his voice.

"It’s all your fault, being so careless, now what?"

"Since she wants to see what we’re up to, let’s give her a good look."

"What do you mean? Mmm?!"

Qiu Zhihe’s eyes widened, her red lips already sealed by Qin Gengyun’s.

Her cheeks instantly turned crimson, wanting to push away, but was tightly embraced by Qin Gengyun.

"Wife, if Wei Wan doesn’t see us on a secret tryst, how could she let it go?"

"You...mmm..."