CHAPTER 36: ARMS WIDE OPEN... FOR DISAPPOINTMENT

Those who remained on the mountain had begun to think clearly once the initial excitement wore off.

Some even looked relaxed, sitting on rocks or stretching their limbs as if on a midday stroll instead of the brink of a monster hunt.

The air had settled into a calm rhythm.

Hei Long let out a slow yawn, stretching his arms behind his head.

He wasn’t too worried about what lay ahead—not in the slightest.

After all, he already knew exactly where the best monster core would be found.

He didn’t need to scramble around like the others.

That was the advantage of having read the novel this world was based on.

Hei Long’s eyes casually drifted toward a jagged outcropping on the east ridge—

Where a rare flame-veined tiger would be prowling its territory any minute now.

"Alright~ I should head out..." Hei Long took a step forward—

When suddenly he stopped when a voice called out from behind him:

"Hei Long!"

He turned.

Yue Yu came running toward him.

Her face was lit up with a bright, almost giddy smile.

The kind that came from mustering up a lot of courage all at once.

Hei Long blinked.

His brows rose slightly in surprise.

"What’s up?" Hei Long asked, curious about her sudden approach.

"Well..." Yue Yu slowed to a stop a few paces away, clutching her hands together in front of her.

She glanced up at him briefly, then quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing a soft pink.

Her fingers began twirling around each other anxiously.

She took a small breath, as if the words were heavier than she expected.

"I was wondering... if we could team up..." Yue Yu mumbled, eyes still cast downward.

Hei Long’s expression flattened.

He rubbed his temples and let out a short sigh, somewhere between exasperated and apologetic.

"I’m going to have to reject you on this one," Hei Long said plainly, though not unkindly:

"As you know... our little friend would be devastated if he didn’t get to partner up with you."

He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder.

Yue Yu’s eyes followed the gesture—and landed on Lin Fan, who was currently standing in place, grinning.

His arms were crossed confidently, his teeth gleaming in the sun.

He seemed to be in the middle of an intense conversation—with himself.

Or more accurately, with the voice in his head.

Yue Yu blinked twice, then turned back to Hei Long with a sigh of her own.

"Oh... I see," she said softly. Her smile faltered.

It wasn’t disappointment exactly, more like the sobering sting of reality sinking in.

For a moment, she looked embarrassed.

"I don’t know what I was thinking," Yue Yu added under her breath, mostly to herself:

"Guess I let my emotions get the better of me."

Hei Long didn’t respond immediately.

He looked at her a second longer—

At the way her shoulders slumped just slightly, the way she fiddled with her robe now instead of her fingers.

"Yue Yu," Hei Long said in a whisper:

"I’ll praise you a lot later tonight..."

"Really!?"

Yue Yu’s face lit up like a child on festival night.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and she practically bounced on her feet.

Being praised—even indirectly—by Hei Long made her feel like she was floating.

She gave him a quick, energetic nod, then spun around on her heel.

Without wasting another second, Yue Yu dashed off.

A little away—

Lin Fan stood blinking, his attention momentarily torn from the internal conversation he was having with the old man in his head.

He squinted at the figure sprinting toward him.

"Yue Yu?" Lin Fan muttered aloud, his heart skipping a beat.

She was actually coming to him?

Lin Fan stood straighter, puffing out his chest.

He stretched out his arms wide, as if expecting her to leap into them.

’Come to me, my love...’ Lin Fan thought, imagining the perfect, romantic slow-motion embrace under the golden sun:

’This is it. This is the beginning of our destiny together!’

But instead of slowing down...

Yue Yu sped up.

In the very next instant, she zoomed past Lin Fan with the force of a passing wind spirit, kicking up a cloud of dry dirt and pebbles into his face.

"Hurry and follow me!" Yue Yu shouted over her shoulder.

Lin Fan stood frozen, blinking through the swirling dust cloud, his outstretched arms still open... to absolutely no one.

A mouthful of grit and sand hit his tongue, and he immediately coughed and sputtered.

"Pthbbt—ack—p-tooey!" Lin Fan spat, flailing his hands to clear the dust:

"My... my robe! This is top-quality Spirit Cotton!"

Lin Fan frantically brushed off his sleeves, now smeared with dirt, but the flustered look on his face couldn’t hide the blush creeping up his neck.

Despite the ambush of terrain and his crushed expectations, a goofy, dazed smile still curled at his lips.

"She... she told me to follow her..." Lin Fan whispered, eyes twinkling with something that might’ve been hope.

Then, with newfound determination, he clenched his fists, lowered his stance like a runner at the starting line, and shouted:

"Yes! Of course! Yue Yu, wait for me!"

Lin Fan took off after her, stumbling a bit at first but quickly regaining his footing.

Dust still clung to his footwear and robe, but he didn’t care.

He was chasing something far more important than cleanliness—he was chasing love!

Or at least, what Lin Fan thought was love.

Hei Long, meanwhile, finally began moving.

He made his way down the mountain.

Disciples clashed with monsters in every direction—

Shrieking fangtoads, clawed shadow lizards, and more.

Steel rang against claws, and spiritual energy danced like sparks in a wildfire.

However...

Some disciples had turned on each other—

Arguing about who saw a monster first...

Another pair wrestled in the dirt, their swords long since discarded, each trying to yank a shimmering core from the same slain monster.

A woman shrieked as a man tried to swipe her bag and bolt, only for another disciple to trip him mid-run.

Hei Long watched it all with detached disinterest, barely slowing his pace.

His expression didn’t shift, but his eyes narrowed in quiet contempt.

"Idiots," Hei Long muttered under his breath, stepping over a knocked-out disciple without missing a beat:

"Do they really think no one’s watching?"

Hei Long tilted his head upward slightly.

High above, cloaked in drifting clouds and glimmering light, hovered the elders—floating silently.

Their eyes glowed faintly with Qi sight, watching everything unfold below.

Hei Long gave a small shake of his head:

’Every punch, every theft... they’ll remember it all...’