Zhu Yanyi nodded, holding Xiao Yun’s hand and leading her to the side. She pulled out several folding stools from her storage tool. "Everyone, sit down and watch the show."
Yi Yunfei coughed lightly. She noticed that Zhu Yanyi’s storage seemed to contain everything, even these folding stools. But having a seat was good, so she didn’t hesitate to sit. Seeing Yi Yunfei sit, the others followed suit. Xiao Yun sat on a stool next to Zhu Yanyi.
Zhu Yanyi looked around, feeling a bit bored. "A few days ago, I stir-fried melon seeds and peanuts with jasmine flowers. Do you want some?"
"Yes." The word came from Lei Danfeng.
Zhu Yanyi smiled and handed out a packet of melon seeds and a packet of peanuts to everyone. She started eating happily. Xiao Yun not only had peanuts and seeds but also a plate of jasmine cakes.
"So fragrant, so delicious." Xiao Yun loved the taste.
Zhu Yanyi nodded. "I made them myself, so of course they taste good." She watched Jian Feiyan and Mi Xiao fight their opponents while eating.
There were five opponents in total. Zhu Yanyi glanced at them and assessed their strength: one at the peak of Foundation Establishment, three at the mid-stage of Golden Core, and one at the late stage of Golden Core. There were no Nascent Soul cultivators, so she wasn’t worried about their safety.
Jian Feiyan shouted while fighting, "Fifteen, save some food for me!"
"Yes, Fifteen, save some for me too!" Mi Xiao punched an opponent right in the eye socket.
Zhu Yanyi said, "Don’t worry, I’ve saved portions for both of you. You can eat later. Focus on fighting for now."
She paused, then added seriously, "Just don’t get hurt. Don’t worry about anything else."
Her meaning was clear: it didn’t matter if the opponents were injured or disabled, as long as Jian Feiyan and Mi Xiao were safe.
Jian Feiyan made an "okay" gesture. "Just don’t eat all the good stuff. These guys are easy to handle. We’ll be back to eat with you soon."
"Take your time, no rush," Zhu Yanyi said, chewing. "It’s rare to see opponents who make you happy. Enjoy yourselves."
"That’s a good reason," Jian Feiyan nodded with a smile. "Then I’ll fight a bit longer." Jian Feiyan was fighting three opponents: two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators and one peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. They found it hard to break free from her entanglement.
Mi Xiao was fighting two opponents, one of whom was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. But that didn’t matter. Mi Xiao was the type who liked to beat people thoroughly, so the full power of her body cultivation was displayed.
Zhu Yanyi watched them fight happily, feeling satisfied herself.
Suddenly, one of the masked men began chanting strange words. It wasn’t a language anyone recognized.
Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned. Her heart moved, and she flicked a melon seed from her hand. It hit the man directly on her forehead. She jerked her head back and fell to the ground.
"Fifteen, what are you doing?" Yi Yunfei asked curiously.
"I don’t like people who play tricks. So I knocked her out first," Zhu Yanyi said with a grin. She handed Xiao Yun to Cui Chang’an. "Seventeen, please take care of Xiao Yun for me."
"Okay." Cui Chang’an carefully held Xiao Yun’s hand. Zhu Yanyi walked over to the fallen man.
"If you want to die, keep pretending to be dead," Zhu Yanyi said, a hint of cruelty on her face. "If you don’t want to die, answer honestly. What was that spell? What were you summoning?"
"Spell summoning?" Jian Feiyan and Mi Xiao had already captured the remaining four men and heard Zhu Yanyi’s words.
Zhu Yanyi nodded. "That was a summoning spell, but it belonged to the dark arts. I don’t understand the specifics, but I can recognize it."
There was no other way. Yan Aohan had worried about her coming here alone. Before she left, he had given her special training, teaching her all kinds of languages. Fortunately, she had the innate ability to remember everything she saw and heard. Otherwise, she would have been tortured to death.
"Dark spell? Could it be someone from the Dark Forest?" Cui Changjiu said.
"Sixteen, you know about the Dark Forest?" Zhu Yanyi turned to ask Cui Changjiu.
Cui Changjiu nodded slightly. "Our original home was not far from the Dark Forest. We left for some reasons later, so I know it well. The Dark Forest is inhabited by dark races, such as dark beastmen, dark elves, and another type, dark undead."
Zhu Yanyi felt speechless. It really felt like they had entered a fantasy world.
"Then, Sixteen, do you think she was summoning dark elves or dark beastmen?" Zhu Yanyi asked.
"Dark beastmen are only dark in heart. Their control abilities are similar to the beastmen in the Happy Forest. Just look at Xiao Yun; dark beastmen aren’t very useful. Dark elves are too arrogant to be summoned casually. So if this person really has summoning skills, he should be summoning dark undead," Cui Changjiu thought and answered.
Zhu Yanyi raised an eyebrow. "Dark undead? Given our current situation, does she want the undead to perish?"
"Dark aura has a corrosive effect. If he summons dark undead, he is likely using the dark aura to attack us," Cui Changjiu said seriously.
Zhu Yanyi rubbed her forehead. "Why do people always like to break the peace? We were living happily, but they just like to cause trouble. What’s the point?"
Zhu Yanyi shook her head at the man in front of her. "Since that’s the case, let’s capture them and let Uncle Xu interrogate them. I’m not interested anymore."
"There’s no other way now," Yi Yunfei agreed with Zhu Yanyi. After all, people would come here soon. If the situation was discovered, it wouldn’t be good.
Because of the news about the dark faction, everyone lost interest in wandering outside. The group returned directly to the academy.
Xi Muzheng looked at Zhu Yanyi, then at Xiao Yun, then at the others and the five captured men. She rubbed her temples. She realized that things at the academy had been quite busy recently. But what could she do? These events just happened to coincide. She sighed and looked at Zhu Yanyi.