Shen Xiaoyan looked at Bai Gér and the other two with surprise. "These are Bai Gér and them?"
So surprised was she that Shen Xiaoyan's eyebrows shot up and her small mouth gaped open. However, the words that came out were crisp and clear, ensuring everyone in the room could understand perfectly.
"When we came out together before, Bai Gér and the other two didn't look like this at all! How have they become like this now?"
"Look at their faces, are they frozen like this?"
"I'm really a bit puzzled, I'm not targeting you deliberately, don't take it to heart."
"Do you think you're too good-looking and want to cover yourselves up?"
"Otherwise, how could you, with spiritual energy protecting your bodies, freeze your faces like this?"
Lu Taobao kept shouting loudly but remained seated on the wooden chair without moving.
Bai Ying, hearing Lu Taobao, burst into laughter.
What was being said was truly... too satisfying.
They should be made to know what shame was, and then they wouldn't always think of coming out to embarrass themselves.
The faces of Bai Gér and the other two changed repeatedly, and in the end, they just pursed their lips and didn't reply.
This further astonished Shen Xiaoyan and the others. After scrutinizing the three, Shen Xiaoyan's wariness towards them deepened.
She knew their personalities all too well.
But today, she had deliberately provoked them, wanting them to lose their composure and say a few more words, so that she could glean information from their speech.
However, the three of them didn't fall for it at all.
Not only did they not retort to her, but they acted as if they didn't see her, looking straight at Xi He on the main seat.
Xi He was very satisfied with their performance. The smile on her face now held three parts more sincerity.
This made Shen Xiaoyan even more depressed.
Weren't these three already misled in another direction?
How could they all be like this, still looking at Xi He with reverence?
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the extremely smug smile on Xi He's face and her heart suddenly faltered.
This wasn't what she had imagined, was it?
Just as she thought this, she heard Xi He sigh, "When I arrived, I happened to rescue the three of them on the road. I don't know why, but their spiritual energy was suppressed and they couldn't use it to defend themselves. I don't know how long they had been unconscious. It was only after I saved them that they slowly woke up."
"Unfortunately, I couldn't restore their spiritual energy, and their frostbitten faces wouldn't heal with ordinary medicine."
Shen Xiaoyan listened quietly as Xi He recounted the story, but her heart was not at peace.
Xi He had already explained how they met, but now she was going to say it again.
Shen Xiaoyan rubbed her ears and said directly, "If you keep dawdling, we'll leave. Do you really think we have endless time to waste here with all this back and forth?"
After Shen Xiaoyan's words fell, the faces of Bai Gér and the other two became even more unsightly.
When he saw the three of them gradually change before his eyes, it didn't take long for Xi He to become almost the same as them.
Looking at the similar frostbites on their faces, Shen Xiaoyan finally felt her breathing ease a little.
Weren't they originally fine?
How had they all become like this?
Were their self-introductions all lies?
And that feeling they had just had of arriving at their destination, was it all an illusion?
Suddenly, Shen Xiaoyan's eyes widened, but her gaze was vacant.
Zheng Wei and the others also slowly regained their senses and only then noticed that they were not in any icy wasteland.
They hadn't moved from their seats at all.
The few of them were stunned for a moment, and then looked at Shen Xiaoyan in fear, thinking she had saved them from dying.
Shen Xiaoyan was their savior!
Xi He watched the people who were gradually returning to normal, and her face became increasingly grim.
She had exhausted almost all her power to create this illusion.
As long as Shen Xiaoyan and the others believed they were frozen to death, they would slowly and truly freeze to death.
But unexpectedly, at the critical final moment, Shen Xiaoyan woke up.
Without any antidote, without any method, the two of them had already fought.
As time went by, everyone gradually regained control of their bodies, while Bai Gér and the other two stood with their eyes closed, their facial muscles tense and their bodies trembling. It was clear they were about to freeze to death.
Xi He, focused on fighting Shen Xiaoyan, had forgotten about these people.
Although she vaguely remembered later, Xi He deliberately ignored them.
If Shen Xiaoyan and the others didn't die, it was always Bai Gér's fault.
Dying like this now was probably a good outcome. She had spared them suffering in the future, and they would still feel grateful to her.
Xi He thought this and wanted to lift the corners of her lips in triumph.
But at this moment, she heard Shen Xiaoyan say, "Still not waking up? Are you planning to dig a hole and bury yourselves?"
Shen Xiaoyan's voice was very loud, as if it bypassed people's ears and went directly into their souls.
When Bai Gér and the other two were startled awake and opened their eyes, they realized that half of their bodies were buried underground, and the holes beneath them were still deepening.
This terrified the three of them, and they immediately leaped out of the holes.
The ground, which had been fine moments ago, had suddenly produced three holes and trapped them!
And why had they felt nothing at all? If Shen Xiaoyan hadn't called out just now, would they have died now?
Thinking of this, goosebumps rose on Bai Gér and the other two's bodies.
Ever since they set out for Yaohuang Valley, they had been encountering misfortune after misfortune.
There had been two near-death crises.
Thinking of these things, Bai Gér and the other two felt extremely disheartened.
If they had known it would be like this, they would never have come, even if they were beaten to death.
"I didn't expect you to be quite altruistic!" Xi He blocked Shen Xiaoyan's attack and suddenly sneered.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at her, "I don't know about being altruistic, but I just don't want to see anyone die foolishly in front of me. Otherwise, what will their parents say if they come looking for them?"
After speaking, Shen Xiaoyan chuckled, "If you're angry, and if there's still a chance, you can kill them later when I'm not around, can't you?"
Shen Xiaoyan's words choked Xi He speechless.
She had thought Shen Xiaoyan spoke up for Bai Gér and the other two out of kindness or soft-heartedness.
If that were the case, she could have worked with it and perhaps even made Shen Xiaoyan work for her, thus no longer fearing taking Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming back.
But looking at it now, she had completely misunderstood.
Shen Xiaoyan seemed to have guessed what she was thinking and spoke first.
"If I were really kind-hearted and easygoing, do you think you would see me today?"
Xi He was startled.
Indeed, Shen Xiaoyan's adoptive father was not a good person.
If Shen Xiaoyan were truly incapable and not ruthless, she and Shen Xiaoming would have been gnawed down to the bone long ago.
What Xi He didn't know was that what she considered was indeed correct.
The original Shen Xiaoyan was indeed as she thought.
Unfortunately, the current Shen Xiaoyan was no longer the same.
While the two were talking, they had already moved from inside the house to the courtyard.
Shen Xiaoyan did not use her wood-elemental superpower.
From their previous exchange, she had already realized that Xi He's strength was not that great.
Therefore, she didn't want to kill her directly. Thinking that she hadn't made a move in a long time, using her to practice would be good, so Shen Xiaoyan slowly wore her down.
Zheng Wei and the others naturally saw Shen Xiaoyan's intention, so they sat steadily, without a hint of worry.
At first, Song Yan was genuinely worried.
But seeing the calm expressions of Zheng Wei and the others, and with Yi Zhi Xie's quiet reassurances that everything was fine, he also felt at ease.
It was only after watching for a while that he truly relaxed.
It turned out that Shen Xiaoyan was indeed not an ordinary person.
Listening to the non-stop fighting sounds outside, Zheng Wei shifted his gaze to Bai Gér and the other two.
He scrutinized the three of them from head to toe, and after a long while, he said indifferently.
"You have quite resilient lives."
Although his voice was light, it sounded full of sarcasm to Bai Gér and the other two.
Bai Gér contemptuously glanced at Zheng Wei, a sneer forming on his lips. "What are you? Just a pretty boy who relies on his good looks. There are plenty like you in the Sacred Spirit Continent. When Shen Xiaoyan returns to Changqiu Palace and sees more beauties, will she still remember you?"
Although he said this, Bai Gér was inwardly jealous of Zheng Wei.
He was thinking, he also looked good, why didn't Shen Xiaoyan take a liking to him, but instead took a liking to this pretty boy Zheng Wei.
When Zheng Wei returns to Changqiu Palace with Shen Xiaoyan, if Shen Xiaoyan still favors him, then his status would soar.
Perhaps the next time they met, he would have to salute him and curry favor with him.
Therefore, he wanted to seize the moment and trample on Zheng Wei.
But who knew that his words did not have the effect he expected.
Zheng Wei merely gave him a cool glance and then stopped looking at him.
Seeing this, Bai Gér's breathing instantly became heavy, and even his face and neck turned red.
There are people in this world who, although they initiate provocation, would consider it suicidal if others retaliated against them. However, if they were ignored or disregarded, they would be even more unbearable, feeling that they were being looked down upon.
And Bai Gér was exactly this kind of person.
He had no ability himself, and his character was extremely poor, yet he had extreme self-esteem.
Such a person would only lead himself step by step into a bottomless abyss.
Even if Zheng Wei knew this, he did not intend to say anything.
He understood very well that even if he spoke kindly, Bai Gér would feel that he was mocking him.
Therefore, it was better to just ignore him.
Mi Mi had told him before that when some people barked like dogs everywhere, it was best not to pay attention to them.
After all, if a dog bites you, you don't bite it back.
Zheng Wei remained silent, but that didn't mean others wouldn't.
Long Xuan had already stepped forward and stood opposite Bai Gér, looking at him with his chin raised fiercely.