Teacher by day, Farmer by passion - Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Aftermath [4]
White Fur raised a paw, and the world itself seemed to pause.

Frost spread outward in an elegant, spiraling wave, not a violent storm, but a controlled, precise purge of everything unworthy.

The ground turned to crystal beneath her, the air thick with shimmering soul force that crackled like thunder in the bones.

Liu Mei, still perched atop White Fur’s head, leaned forward, eyes wide with awe.

“White fur, that’s sooooo beautiful…” she whispered, heart pounding with exhilaration.

This was true power.

Below, Giyo could also feel it. His newly forming core trembled beneath the weight of the incoming force.

His body, already on the brink, faltered.

The white fox wasn’t unlike the other two beast he had been facing, she was not going to toy with him. She was going to erase him.

But then—

CRACK!

A rip through space, a crack in the wind and suddenly, a silhouette of a man arrived.

A man in black, calm as a still pond.

He landed in front of Giyo, hand raised, intercepting the glacial wave with a barrier so dense it warped the very light around it.

The ice struck and shattered against it with a chorus of screeching fractures.

Yu Zhong.

Ace’s body tensed instantly. He stood up from the rubble, brushing dust off his coat, eyes narrowed with rare seriousness.

“That’s a face I didn’t really wanted to see again.”

White Fur’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, pausing in her advance.

Liu Mei blinked. “Master, who’s that?”

“A busybody, and loads lf trouble, if you wanna know,” Ace murmured.

Yu Zhong didn’t waste time. He stood over Giyo, one hand on his shoulder. “What a grand party, why didn’t you invite me? Xiao Zhi.”

Giyo, barely conscious, tried to lift his spear but the pressure of White Fur’s soul force was already cracking the air around him and Yu Zhong.

Yu Zhong raised his other hand, his fingers locking in a gun sign and pointed it playfully at Ace.

Then smirked.

“Bang.”, he whispered.

With that gesture, he vanished.

In the same breath, so did Giyo.

BOOM.

White Fur’s soul force blast exploded where they had stood. The mountain trembled, stone cracking under the force, wind howling like a beast torn from the sky.

But her prey was gone.

White Fur lowered her paw slowly. Her expression remained unreadable, though the tips of her tails twitched and annoyed, but also intrigued.

Ace let out a breath and muttered, “Great. Now he’s back in play.”

Liu Mei leaned forward, brows furrowed.

“Master…. who is he?”

Ace’s eyes didn’t leave the spot Yu Zhong had vanished from.

“Someone really dangerous,” he said grimly.

Liu Mei leaned back slightly on White Fur’s head, arms crossed behind her head as the snowfall began to lighten.

“Alright, everyone, play time is over,” she said cheerfully. “White Fur, you can go now.”

The massive fox blinked once, then let out a soft huff of wind before her form shimmered with light, dissolving into a swirl of snowy particles that floated back into Liu Mei’s soul space.

With a soft hum, Liu Mei unsummoned Midas Touch as well, the golden aura around her flickering out like a gently extinguished lantern.

Across the broken battlefield, Shan Yifeng tapped his brush lightly against his palm before turning toward the silent silver wolf beside him.

“Alright,” he said. “You too.”

The Spirit Sovereign Wolf looked up at him for a moment, proud and dignified, before vanishing in a quiet burst of mist, like moonlight breaking over water.

Liu Mei skipped over to him, dusting snowflakes off her sleeves.

“You still haven’t named it?”

Shan Yifeng didn’t even look at her. “It doesn’t need a name.”

“Oh come on,” she whined, nudging him with her elbow. “You can’t just call it ‘Wolf’ forever. That’s like naming your sword ‘Swordy’.”

“My sword is called Swordy,” he replied without missing a beat.

She blinked. “Wait, seriously?”

He turned slightly, giving her a deadpan look. “No.”

“Hmph!” she pouted. “Well, I think you should name him… something cool. Like Frostfang. Or Moonwhisper. Or Sir Growls-a-lot.”

Shan Yifeng raised an eyebrow. “Sir Growls-a-lot?”

She shrugged. “Hey, it has character.”

“You have too much character.”

Liu Mei grinned, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Don’t forget why we came here,” Ace said, brushing dust off his coat with a sigh. “Let’s quickly find Yuu and save Princess Soho, alright?”

Liu Mei and Shan Yifeng, who had been idly bickering like siblings both froze.

Then, as if on cue, they turned toward Ace and stepped in front of him, arms stretched out wide, palms up.

Silent.

Expectant.

Their eyes practically shimmered with meaning:

‘Carry us.’

Ace blinked. “What… are you doing?”

Liu Mei pouted. “We walked so much today.”

Shan Yifeng nodded solemnly. “And fought. A lot.”

“We’re still growing kids, my bones are tired,” Liu Mei added with mock seriousness.

“Fine,” Ace said with mock grumble.

He leaned down and effortlessly scooped the two up one in each arm, like a dad who had absolutely lost the battle but accepted his fate.

But his arms curled just a little tighter around them, absently, instinctively. Like they belonged there.

Liu Mei immediately flopped onto his left side, all smug and victorious, while Shan Yifeng perched upright on his right like a quietly dignified cat.

Then—

“Master!”

A voice echoed from ahead. High, firm, and sharp as a whistle through fog.

Ace turned his head. “Huh?”

From across the cracked and broken stone path came a blur of motion, a figure skidding to a halt in full crimson battle regalia, twin sabers across her back and not a scratch on her. Her ponytail whipped like a banner behind her.

It was Yuu, his blood general.

She paused just a few meters away, eyes narrowing, expression sharp as ever… but then softening just slightly.

“You’re late,” she said, dusting herself off.

Ace raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “You look pretty un-kidnapped to me.”

Yuu shrugged. “They tried. I disagreed.”