A Waste of Time

Chapter 163: Brittle Alliances

Daemon fought lazily, keeping his movements measured, deliberate. Each swing of his curved Blade carved through air and flesh with efficient restraint — just enough to wound, never to finish too quickly. He didn’t want to end the fight yet. Not before seeing how long the two watching him could endure.

His method was slow, almost tedious. But that was the point. He wanted to test their patience.

Liu Yuying’s occasional sighs and tapping fingers betrayed her growing irritation, but every time she looked ready to leap into the fray, Han Ruyue’s calm voice or steady hand would hold her back. The elder of the two remained composed, her black eyes never leaving Daemon’s back.

Those eyes… steady, unblinking, patient.

Daemon could feel them — crawling up his neck like a chill, tracing the movements of his shoulders, reading the tension of his stance.

Damn it... stop being a creep, will ya!

He gave himself a little shake and exhaled sharply, pretending it was just the sweat stinging his skin.

Finally, he burned through the last of the wasps with a swirl of Fire Qi and severed the neck of the final water buffalo. Its heavy body hit the earth with a thud, and a golden shimmer bloomed above the forest canopy — his score rose by ten points.

“Follow us,” Han Ruyue said simply, already turning away.

“Nuh-uh.”

The boy’s voice halted her mid-step. Beneath his feet, the glowing runes and glyphs of the Formation dissolved into fading trails of light. “I’m not going anywhere with you two unless you explain a few things first,” he said. “Why was I the only one attacked? Where are you taking me? And what exactly do you want from me?”

The sight of him standing there — young, soaked in sweat and blood, yet holding that curved Blade with a confidence that distorted his size — gave the two girls pause. For an instant, he looked far older than he was.

Liu Yuying was first to move. Cracking her knuckles one by one, she descended until her boots touched the ground in front of him. “You dare keep that attitude with this Big Sister?” she asked with mock irritation. “You’ve forgotten your manners far too quickly for someone who’s been shown mercy.”

Daemon tilted his head, gaze amused, a teasing curve hiding at the corner of his mouth. “Mercy? I seem to recall someone saying she was here to bully me. A silly grudge from a girl I defeated — a girl I showed mercy to.” His tone grew sharper, more playful. “And now that same girl shows up, hoping to take advantage while I’m busy handling a problem I could clearly deal with myself.”

He gestured toward the battlefield, still faintly smoking from his earlier attacks. “A truly merciful person would have helped me and earned my favor. Instead…” His grin widened as he took a small step closer, voice dipping low. “Be a good girl and become my maid. Let this young master teach you what it means to be a good person in this life.”

For a heartbeat, Liu Yuying froze — caught between outrage and something far more complicated. His words weren’t merely taunting; they pressed directly into her sense of pride, twisting it like a knife.

From the start, there’d been something strange between them — an odd familiarity, a tension that neither could quite define. Their first battle had intensified it, their second meeting fanned it into a spark of dangerous curiosity. And now, as he stood before her, daring her to rise to his bait, that spark grew into heat.

Before she could speak, Han Ruyue stepped forward. “Every participant in the trial faces a wave of beasts,” she said calmly. “Each person becomes the Formation’s core, and the beasts target only them. Escaping is impossible — the Formation binds itself to you. Others can help, but if they remain within the boundary for more than a minute, they’ll be attacked as well.”

She paused, her eyes meeting his with unwavering directness. “We found a treasure guarded by a beast we can’t handle alone. That’s why we came to ask for your help.”

Daemon studied her face in silence, deliberately drawing out the moment until the quiet grew heavy enough to make even Liu Yuying’s breathing uneven. Then, without warning, he stepped forward, took Han Ruyue’s hand, and smiled.

“See? That’s what you should’ve done the moment we met,” he said lightly. “Be straightforward. Ask when you need something. I, for one, would always ask you to hug me to sleep whenever you’re available.”

Liu Yuying’s glare could have set forests on fire. She looked ready to throw him into the ground, but Han Ruyue’s hand tightened gently on her shoulder. When Yuying turned toward her, she found those same calm black eyes — glimmering with faint amusement. A small shake of Ruyue’s head stopped her from losing her temper.

“What kind of treasure are you targeting?” Daemon asked, breaking their silent exchange. He clearly noticed, but ignored it, keeping his tone casual.

Yuying hesitated for a heartbeat, then spoke. “An Evil-Eye Flower. A complete one — all five petals intact.” Her excitement was palpable, but it quickly dimmed. “But others tracked us. They found it just as we were about to pluck it. We barely escaped before the guardian beast arrived.”

Daemon raised an eyebrow. “I know how valuable Evil-Eye Flowers are for Spirit Cultivators… but worth enough to risk being hunted by two Foundation Establishment experts?” He took another step closer, shamelessly slipping an arm around her waist.

Han Ruyue stifled a laugh when she saw her friend’s body go rigid. Yuying’s flustered glare only deepened Daemon’s smirk.

“Having one petal each would stabilize our foundations and refine our Elements,” Ruyue answered, her voice dreamy, eyes distant. “It would save us months of closed-door cultivation.”

“Maybe it was a mistake to sell that last petal,” Daemon murmured absently.

Both women froze.

“What do you mean?” Yuying demanded, leaning down so her face was level with his — which only made it easier for him to wrap an arm around her neck.

“I found one outside my camp near the village,” he whispered in her ear, his warm breath brushing her skin. She shivered despite herself.

Ruyue crouched beside them, her calm façade cracking with curiosity. “What did you do with it?”

Daemon rested his chin on Yuying’s shoulder and sighed dramatically. “I fed my servant, Yan Ru, one petal… and my maid, Yan Jia — three.” His eyes drifted between the two girls, savoring their stunned expressions. “Then Ru sold the last petal to the people of the Seven-Gold Pagoda for Spirit Resources.”

His tone softened, and his expression darkened — perfectly executed sorrow. The two women, caught off-guard by the sudden change in mood, instinctively reached out to pat his back.

He used the chance to hug them closer, rubbing his cheek against theirs with mock affection. “Oh, by the way,” he said casually, “I ran into Zhao Wei earlier. Was he one of the ones who ambushed you?”

Yuying snorted, her eyes narrowing. Ruyue took the chance to gently slip away from his grasp, mentally cursing herself for lowering her guard even for a second.

Daemon sighed. “Maybe I should’ve squeezed that one dry,” he said, then shrugged. “Next time for sure.” He patted Yuying’s head with an exaggeratedly fond smile. “No one bullies my sweet maid and gets away with it.”

Ruyue couldn’t help a small smile at her friend’s exasperated expression, but she quickly schooled her features. “There’s something else. Something you’d find useful. But we won’t tell you where we found that Orange-Scale Fruit unless you help us get one petal each.”

Daemon froze mid-motion. His hand slipped from Yuying’s hair to her fingers, which he caught and held. “Orange-Scale Fruit? An evolved form of the Yellow-Scale?” he asked, excitement flickering in his eyes. That kind of strength… through natural means instead of System-based growth — addictive.

Yuying smirked. “You might be strong, but Orange-Scale Fruits are for elite Body-Refiners only.” She ruffled his hair just to tease him, but he only laughed, wrapping an arm around her thigh as he looked up.

“Then I’ll help you get the whole Flower,” he declared proudly, “because I can’t be seen favoring one maid over another.”

“Bffft…” Han Ruyue couldn’t stop herself this time. Laughter burst from her lips before she turned and bolted, half-flying, half-escaping.

“I’ll give you one less petal,” Daemon called after her, “but I’ll make it up to you in the future! Promise!”

She faltered midair, nearly losing control of her flight, and Liu Yuying’s laughter exploded. “Hahahaha! Serves you right!”

For now, she ignored the kid still clinging to her thigh, basking in her friend’s flustered retreat — unaware that Daemon could, in truth, fly just as freely as she could.

The laughter lingered in the air long after Han Ruyue’s silhouette vanished between the trees.

Liu Yuying’s voice softened into faint chuckles while Daemon finally released her and straightened his clothes, the smirk never leaving his lips.

The forest around them had grown quiet again, yet the silence felt heavier now—charged with the thrill of what was to come.

Han Ruyue’s aura shimmered faintly in the distance, a steady beacon guiding the way.

Daemon stretched once, rolled his shoulders, and followed, his curved Blade catching a fleeting glint of light beneath the shadowed canopy.

Behind him, Yuying sighed, half amused and half resigned, before rising into the air with a swirl of Wind Qi.

Together, the three slipped into the depths of the forest—toward the hidden Evil-Eye Flower, and whatever awaited them beyond its guardian’s shadow.

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