“Qingqing, how many have I killed?” Su Mo leaned on his sword, his gaze icy.
“149—just 143 more than me, that’s all.” Xia Qingqing didn’t bat an eye, her face thick as a wall.
“‘Just’—pfft, hahaha…” Wu Heng froze for a second before bursting into laughter.
Xia Qingqing shot him a glare. “What’s so funny? You only killed 106 more than me, which is still 37 fewer than Qingyi.”
Wu Heng fell silent, his eyes shifting to the pack of jackals hesitating ahead.
Under his gaze, the jackals collectively took half a step back.
And it wasn’t just him—Su Mo had the same effect.
These two had already left an indelible mark on the jackals’ fragile little hearts.
As for everyone else’s kill counts, Xia Qingqing had kept track:
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Huo Jingshu: 26
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Luo Xiu: 8
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Herself: 6
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Yin Yan’yan: 3
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The other three: 0
This was the clearest reflection of their overall strength, and it gave Su Mo a sharper understanding of Huo Jingshu’s capabilities.
No need for flowery descriptions—just one word: strong.
This girl was seriously strong, and the scary part was that she fought like her life didn’t matter, matching Su Mo’s own ferocity.
“Didn’t expect you to have this skill, keeping count while fighting.” Luo Xiu seemed genuinely surprised.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me. This is just the tip of the iceberg.” Xia Qingqing lifted her chin proudly.
The jackals stopped advancing, retreating until they vanished entirely.
At the same time, the thick fog finally dissipated, revealing the path ahead.
Everyone cheered.
They’d made it through—what a struggle.
Su Mo glanced at the three outliers who hadn’t blended in and spoke coldly, “I don’t think we need to keep working together.”
“Huh?” The three widened their eyes in disbelief.
“In that fight, everyone gave their all to kill the enemy. Only you three hid in the back, protecting yourselves.”
“But we’re weak! You’re the strong ones—shouldn’t you protect us?”
Su Mo’s gaze turned frigid, his voice heavy with pressure. “If you know you’re weak, you should’ve quit. Why stay?”
They wanted to argue, but Wu Heng cut in, “Even if you weren’t strong enough, just putting up a fight would’ve been something. But cowardice is a different story. You’re not just useless—you’re a liability. So, goodbye.”
The girl among the three suddenly burst into tears, sniffling as she tried to sweet-talk Wu Heng. “Brother Wu Heng, I know you’re a good person. Please don’t make us leave, okay?”
Wu Heng frowned.
Seeing a chance, the girl grabbed his arm, pressing herself against him. “If you help me… I-I can sleep with you…”
“Get lost!” Wu Heng showed zero mercy, shoving her away in disgust.
Wiping her tears, the girl turned to Luo Xiu next. “Brother Luo Xiu…”
Luo Xiu shuddered. “Don’t look at me! I’m not interested in women!”
Then, realizing how that sounded, he quickly added, “Just to clarify—I’m not gay…”
Everyone: “……”
The girl whimpered before shifting her gaze to Huo Jingshu, who’d been watching the drama unfold. “Sister… if you help me, I-I can also…”
Huo Jingshu blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Kids shouldn’t ask too many questions.” Su Mo glared at the trio again. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
Defeated, they could only watch as the group walked away, not daring to follow.
Seeing their pitiful expressions, Xia Qingqing felt a pang of sympathy—but she stayed quiet.
Once they were far enough, Su Mo suddenly asked, “Well?”
Wu Heng replied as if they’d rehearsed it, “That girl’s at least peak E-rank. And judging by the calluses on her hands, she’s trained since childhood.”
Here, “trained” didn’t just mean basic martial arts—it meant serious, long-term combat experience.
“Mm. Then it’s confirmed…” Su Mo nodded.
Xia Qingqing tilted her head, baffled. “What are you talking about? I don’t get it.”
Su Mo smirked. “If I’m right, they’re probably spies sent by some faction.”
“Huh? Then why let them go? I should go deliver justice—”
Su Mo yanked her back by the collar. “It’s just a suspicion for now. If it’s confirmed, we’ll deal with them.”
“How do we confirm it?” Luo Xiu was also struggling to keep up.
“If they’re spies, what’s their goal here?”
“The treasure?”
“Exactly. If they’re spies, they’ll definitely follow us—and most likely wait until we secure the treasure to swoop in and take it.”
“Ohhh.” The group collectively had an epiphany.
Xia Qingqing, however, feigned nonchalance. “I already knew that…”
“So what do we do?” Yin Yan’yan asked.
“We act natural. The more normal we seem, the easier they’ll take the bait. As for the bait itself… we’ll have it soon.” Su Mo grinned mysteriously.
Then, Wu Heng added, “The other two’s strength is unclear, but I’d guess they might be D-rank.”
“No problem. When the time comes, we take one each—see who finishes their target first.”
Wu Heng sighed. “You’re clearly setting a trap, yet you make it seem so casual, like you’re just charging in without a plan.”
“Because I am just charging in. When did I say anything about setting traps?” Su Mo said matter-of-factly. “Confirm their identities, then eliminate them. Simple. I’m not like those schemers who love smugly saying, ‘Everything’s going according to plan.’ So damn pretentious.”
Wu Heng was taken aback—Su Mo had just cursed.
In his experience, the prettier a girl was, the more she cared about her image. Swearing in public? Unthinkable.
Tsk tsk tsk… the goddess image is crumbling.
Then again… What does her face even look like? Why does she always hide it?
…No way, it can’t be—
Nah, my instincts are never wrong. She must be hiding it because she’s too beautiful.
Yeah, that’s definitely it.
His thoughts had already drifted into the clouds…
Meanwhile…
The three who’d been kicked out by Su Mo were huddled together, discussing their next move.
“I didn’t expect them to actually abandon us like that,” Male A grumbled.
“It’s all that damn Ye Qingyi’s fault. She’s just as ruthless as her sister. If I hadn’t been hiding my strength, I’d have taught her a lesson,” the girl spat.
“Enough complaining. We need to figure out what to do next. Without them as shields, our mission just got a lot harder,” Male B said darkly.
But the girl suddenly smirked. “Who says we don’t have shields? We’ll just follow from a distance. Once they find the treasure, we’ll swoop in and take it.”
The other two nodded—it made sense.
“If we pull this off, we’ll probably get promoted to the Thirty-Six Celestials, right?”
“Be confident—scratch the ‘probably.’ This wasn’t even our original mission. The treasure is just a bonus.”
“Lucky it’s unexpected. Otherwise, Beidou would’ve been on high alert, making things way harder.”
“Guess the heavens are on our side. Hahaha…”