Slowly, Qin Yuyuan turned to look at what she had gripped. The black ‘tombstone’ had turned its head.

It had bloodshot eyes. The sight of it made her trembled and made the hair on the back of her neck stood at end…….

“Ahh!!!” Qin Yuyuan screamed and quickly retracted her hand. She was filled with terror. She staggered backwards then turned to run………

All the black ‘tombstones’ had been awakened. Their black bodies flapped their wings and rapidly chased after her…….

Beside the stream, Murong Xue had just finished her share of grilled fish and sour milk. She was about to spread her mat to sleep when a distressed shout for help was heard, “Help me…help me!!!”

Murong Xue turned her head to see Qin Yuyuan running panickily. Behind her, creatures with tall ears, short feet and enormous wings covered the entire sky like a black cloud, blocking out the stars……

“Those are….bats!” Wu Heng exclaimed.

Wu Heng widened his eyes with shock. He knew they loved to live in groups but there were so many of them………

“Why are their eyes red?” Xun Feng asked.

He had seen many bats. But their eyes had all been black.

“They are vampire bats! Run!” Murong Xue’s face became pale. She grabbed OuYang Shaoshen who was beside her and ran. Vampire bats were fierce in nature and blood was their food source. It was impossible to fight a sky full of them………

Xun Feng and Wu Heng quickly followed.

The guards from Qing Yan all turned to look at Ye Yichen, their faces anxious, “Prince Jing!”. The bats were approaching and they could feel their evil aura, if they didn’t start running soon it would be too late.

“Let’s go!” Ye Yichen calmly said. He sprinted towards Qin Yuyuan, grabbed her wrist and started running.

Murong Xue raced ahead. She caught a glimpse of Ye Yichen and Qin Yuyuan behind her.

Coldly she said, “Qin Yuyuan, how did you provoke them?”

“I have no idea. I came back from strolling around and saw them behind me….” Qin Yuyuan lied, her eyes swept nervously from side to side: She had just wanted to help Yichen..She wanted to know if that cave was the place they had been searching for. Little did she know the black ‘tombstone’ turned out to be disgusting blood sucking bats. It wasn’t intentional, she couldn’t be blamed, she couldn’t be blamed …

“Princess Qin, even though vampire bats suck blood to live, they would never initiate an attack unless you breached their territory. When that happens, they will chase you endlessly…” Murong Xue coldly threw that fact wide in the open.

Qin Yuyuan’s small face turned pale, her eyes were wild with fear. She didn’t know what to argue back….

Xun Feng and Wu Heng were expressionless: They had already been troubled by the people from Qing Yan once, it wasn’t surprising that they were doing it again…..

The guards from Qing Yan frowned: They could’ve rested well tonight but now they were being chased by a flock of vampire bats. The question of keeping themselves alive was doubtful. Resting obviously was out of the question. Qin Yuyuan was a troublemaker, a terrible ‘high and mighty princess’ who always seems to drag them back….

Ye Yichen’s face remained stoned-cold. His eyes were tilting below, unreadable.

OuYang Shaochen’s face was calm, the corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. He held Murong Xue’s hand and emerged from the tall grass. Only to find themselves on the edge of a cliff. It was dangerously steep and the fall was neck-breaking. Beneath, the dark valley lurked with menace. One couldn’t see what was below…..

“It’s a dead end!” the Qing Yan guards jolted and stopped at the nick of time. More than ten vampire bats were behind them and in a flock, they descended onto one of the guards. Their razor-sharp teeth sunk deeply into his flesh and quickly drank his blood.

“Ahh!!” the guard wailed, his face was filled with horror. His young body was quickly changing. In a flash, he became a dried mass…..

Frightening rumours about vampire bats really were something to fear about!

Murong Xue frowned. She swung her arm and 10 silver coins came flying out. They hit the bats’ head.s with force……….

“The bats are rushing down. Quick, slay them!” Xun Feng exclaimed.

The remaining Qing Yan guards came to their senses, buried their shock and proceed to slay the coming bats with their swords. Streaks of blood came raining down….

One by one the bats dropped dead on the ground. They were quickly piling up. The thick scent of fresh blood was in the air. But the sky remained pitch black full of them, it was as if it hadn’t been reduced at all….

The Qing Yan guards secretly glared at Qin Yuyuan. She was incompetent and a failure in many ways, what did Prince Jing even favour in her!

Qin Yuyuan felt the anger and dissatisfaction of the guards but she did not complain. Her small hand clutched onto Yichen’s robe, she was held in his arms, luxuriated in his protection:

There were so many of them, she didn’t know when they would all be killed. But she knew – as long as Yichen was still alive, she would be very safe. The martial arts of the two guards were not even one tenth as good as Yichen’s! As time dragged on, she knew the two guards would become exhausted and turn into the bats’ dinner!

She was the mighty MoBei princess, she wouldn’t be criticized any longer by two of these low-lives…..

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white robe. It was OuYang Shaochen. Silently, he stood beneath the night sky, he was as beautiful as a picture. Under his sleeve, his hand clenched and unclenched. His white robe flapped against the wind like a blooming lotus. A gust of strong wind blew and a powerful surge of energy flew out from his sleeve. It surged towards the bats in the sky and in a flash, some of them were reduced to dust……..

He was such a handsome, talented man. He should be someone who was elegant and refined. Murong Xue was just some sick girl who was abandoned by Yichen, how could she be fit to be with him? And why did he even like her?

She then looked at Murong Xue. She was holding a dagger and was slicing the air with impeccable speed. The bats which came before her dagger were sliced clean, their blood splattered onto the ground, it made people stare in awe……..

Qin Yuyuan squinted: Murong Xue was a powerful enemy, she could not let her grow stronger by the day. She needed to get rid of her quickly. Today presented a good chance, she could get rid of her once and for all………

“There are too many vampire bats, I’ll help too!” Qin Yuyuan casually said.

She then walked out of Yichen’s protective arms. In one hand, she held a sword, it was as if she was going to kill the impending bats. Silently, she approached MuRong Xue…….

Countless bats swooped down, Murong Xue was focussed in killing them. Suddenly without warning, someone pushed her, it had caught her off guard, she fell into the dark valley…..

meixi’s note: QIN YUYUAN YOU LITTLE ****