In Xiaoyao's life, Hei Xue was currently just an acquaintance passing through. How she was had nothing to do with him.

However, if Hei Xue really put down everything and wanted to be with Xiaoyao, he wouldn't object—he might even really marry her.

What? Why would he marry her? Did this even need to be said? She already exceeded Xiaoyao's standards by a lot. Xiaoyao felt this was already quite good—did he need to marry a goddess? Though speaking of it, to some people, Hei Xue was already a goddess.

What were Xiaoyao's standards for marriage? Very simple—two conditions: female and alive!

As long as someone met these two standards, Xiaoyao would consider it. Other conditions could be added, but only when he was in a position to be picky. Someone like him, a small servant, couldn't be choosy—as long as it was passable, it was fine.

Hei Xue not only met these two basic standards but had many enviable qualities, so naturally Xiaoyao wouldn't have any objections, as long as Hei Xue had the heart for it.

It's just that currently, Hei Xue didn't have this heart yet. Xiaoyao just smiled and continued to look at the night scenery before him, watching quietly.

Gradually, Xiaoyao seemed to enter a state where Hei Xue beside him could clearly see Xiaoyao sitting next to her, yet couldn't sense his presence, as if Xiaoyao had merged into the environment.

This surprised Hei Xue somewhat, but she wasn't particularly shocked, because she had seen Xiaoyao in this state before. This was a state of half-cultivation, half-enlightenment.

In this state, Xiaoyao would sometimes enter comprehension, sometimes continue like this, always in cultivation. Although this state didn't necessarily lead to enlightenment, it wasn't easily attained either. Almost everyone wanted to enter this state—at least it was an opportunity.

If someone knew that Xiaoyao often entered this state, their jaws would definitely drop to the ground...

Hei Xue initially couldn't believe it either, but later got used to it and didn't find it strange anymore. In her heart, Xiaoyao was originally a special existence. She felt that anything could happen to Xiaoyao, which was very normal.

She wondered if Xiaoyao could enter enlightenment this time. Hei Xue looked at Xiaoyao, thinking, gradually becoming entranced. At this moment, she could be said to have completely forgotten about other matters, with only Xiaoyao in her heart.

It had to be said that if Hei Xue put down those matters, she would be a very good wife. She had looks, could manage a household, and probably would be good at bearing children too...

"Oh, someone's coming!"

Just as Hei Xue was daydreaming, Xiaoyao suddenly awakened from that state. This would make a group of people beat their chests in sorrow, saying Xiaoyao didn't treasure this state enough. Even if someone was coming, you didn't need to wake up! You should wait until others actually affected you!

In the current situation, not only was there no effect on Xiaoyao, but that person was still very, very far away. The other party's target wasn't Xiaoyao either. It could be said that Xiaoyao had wasted this state for nothing. Of course, to him, this wasn't waste, because he could enter it anytime.

"What?" Hei Xue looked around in confusion, not discovering anyone approaching their location. She suspected Xiaoyao was confused from being in that state.

"Someone's coming from ahead," Xiaoyao said, looking forward.

"Ahead? Are you dizzy? Our front is a ten-thousand-zhang abyss. There's nothing ahead—where are the people? Are there really bird-people?" Hei Xue said.

"Hei Xue, don't you remember that time in the Great Tang Imperial Palace when you left, the mechanism you used?" Xiaoyao asked back. Hei Xue should be clearer about this matter—it wasn't necessarily only bird-people who could fly.

"I know mechanical arts are indeed miraculous, but these things need preparation. Where would they find flying mechanisms in such a short time?" Hei Xue said. Back then, she had put in considerable effort for that mechanism. This thing couldn't be found in a moment—unless they were lucky enough to have such a thing available.

At this time, Hei Xue hadn't thought of those smaller mechanisms, thinking that to attack this place, quite a few people would need to come. Otherwise, how could they deal with Li Yihun and those people?

Although Li Yihun and these people weren't absolute experts, they couldn't be taken down casually either. One or two people wouldn't be useful unless someone at Late Saint Level or above came. But people at Late Saint Level or above shouldn't mobilize for this matter.

At this time, Hei Xue didn't think this matter was serious to that extent. Actually, to snatch this item, even God Level could mobilize, but currently this matter was still confidential. Those who knew about it were still protecting this information—they knew that if the news spread, it would definitely attract more opponents.

"Actually, you don't need overly complex mechanisms to fly over. Just borrowing the mountain winds here, any Flying Wing could do it. As long as someone has some skill, they can accurately land at this place," Xiaoyao said, looking ahead.

"Flying Wings would be a bit difficult, right? The altitude here is highest, quite far from other places, and these mountain winds also have no pattern—sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes east, sometimes west. This makes it even harder to control," Hei Xue shook her head. There were mountain winds here, but due to the strange terrain, the patterns of these mountain winds were very chaotic.

Using Flying Wings to approach here, unless someone was extremely skilled, they might be blown who-knows-where.

"There's a type of catapult mechanism that can launch Flying Wings to very high places. After reaching certain altitudes, the wind becomes regular and it's not easy to be discovered," Xiaoyao said. Although this type of mechanism wouldn't be carried by anyone normally, in the current situation, the people outside had prepared it.

This point would soon be verified. Black dots seemed to appear in the sky—not many in number, only five or six. They weren't very obvious in the night sky either. If Xiaoyao hadn't pointed them out, Hei Xue might not have even noticed.

Well, if they were obvious, how could they achieve a surprise attack effect? But how did Xiaoyao discover them? Even looking now was quite difficult—before it was even more negligible. How were they discovered?

However, what they should be thinking about now didn't seem to be this. These people were coming for Li Yihun and his group. Although whether Li Yihun and these people lived or died wasn't their concern, it wouldn't be good if innocent bystanders were affected.

"What should we do now? Should we hide?" Hei Xue asked.

"No need. We're not together with them anyway. There are only two of us here—we can say we're passing through. Many people pass through here, not just us. Besides, they've seen us too. If we leave now, it would only make them more suspicious," Xiaoyao said slowly, without the slightest feeling of tension.

"What? They've seen us?" Hei Xue asked in surprise. They were so far away—even if they saw them, they couldn't see clearly, right?

"Yes, they definitely saw me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have this feeling," Xiaoyao nodded. The reason he discovered those people was because he had the feeling of being watched.

"From this distance, they definitely can't see clearly," Hei Xue said.

"Not necessarily. If they're experts with good eyesight, they can still see. Perhaps they don't need to see—they can sense it," Xiaoyao shook his head. Sometimes people didn't necessarily need to see clearly to recognize someone—they could also use feeling.

"Sensing makes sense, but for eyesight, that's a bit impossible."

"Not necessarily. I can let you see them clearly now," Xiaoyao said with a smile.

"How?"

"With this!" Xiaoyao took out something.

"A telescope? Naturally you can see with this. How did I forget about this?" Hei Xue immediately exclaimed when she saw the item, thinking to herself how stupid she was for not thinking of it.

"How about it? Now do you believe it? They even have Flying Wings—naturally they'd have small items like telescopes too," Xiaoyao said.

"Yes, let me see... Hey, there are six people, and it seems several are women. That woman seems to have noticed me..." When Hei Xue used the telescope to look over there, she discovered the situation on the other side and also saw that the other party seemed to be looking at her too.

At this time, Hei Xue could be certain they should be able to see her, because one of the women had a telescope in her hand and was looking back at her.

"Your telescope shows things so clearly. I can even see her expression. She seems a bit surprised and somewhat troubled. I think she feels that since we discovered them, their mission this time has become a bit troublesome. She must think we'll tell those people," Hei Xue said with a smile, not showing any particular nervousness, because she knew that in this situation there shouldn't be any problems—the two of them wouldn't be implicated.

Having a telescope wasn't strange and wouldn't make people suspicious. After discovering them and still showing no movement, not going to report, that indicated the two weren't sentries or among those being pursued.

Therefore, at this time, they couldn't leave and couldn't tell others about this. They just needed to wait—this was already the best explanation.

No one would suspect they were deliberately acting. In the current situation, even deliberate acting couldn't reach this level. It wasn't like there was no opportunity—if Li Yihun and the others knew about this now, they could take some defensive measures to prevent these six people from reaching the village.

Although the distance had been far just now, the time needed to reach Stone Forest Village wasn't much. Flying through the air was always faster. Those six people quickly landed near the pavilion where Xiaoyao was, and at this time, it seemed to attract Li Yihun and the others' attention too.

If Li Yihun and his group still hadn't noticed at this point, they wouldn't have made it this far—they would have been caught long ago, and the current situation wouldn't have occurred.

(End of Chapter)