What a Coincidence, I've Got One Too

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Ji Yang shook his head vigorously. "I already searched online. That's exactly what a roe deer looks like. What's so hard to believe?" the director replied. "I'm not talking about its species!" Ji Yang retorted. "The roe deer demon I fought was terrifyingly strong—that wasn't an illusion! The one she encountered can't be the same one; it has to be way weaker than mine." "At any rate, based on what we're seeing, the broadcast can continue. We'll keep a close eye on this roe deer demon species. Stay put for now, and I'll have the crew dispatch a new bee camera over to you," the director said. "Believe me, it's really a monster..." Ji Yang mumbled powerlessly. "Wait," the director said abruptly. "Looks like someone else has run into a roe deer demon." *** Li Feixia moved slowly through the dense forest, searching for treasure chests. Her divine sense was spread out, and a faint frown creased her brow. Though an exceptional cultivator, she had been raised in a Taoist abbey since childhood. Because of her sweet temperament and adorable looks, her seniors had doted on her, leaving her with little real-world trial under her belt. In personality, she was hardly any different from an ordinary pampered girl. She possessed a natural fear of the dark. Especially in a mountain forest crawling with evil entities, where there was no telling what might leap out at any moment. Moreover, her kind nature made her reluctant to strike down demon beasts with her own hands. She was well aware that these beasts had only been captured after violently storming human city barriers, making them exceptionally savage. Even so, so long as a beast didn't strike first, she would never take the initiative to attack. Along the entire journey, she had slain fewer demon beasts than anyone else. Suddenly, her divine sense detected the breath of a living creature, and she immediately snapped to full alert. Amid a rustle of foliage, a roe deer head poked out of the brush. It wore a pair of ill-fitting work clothes, held a wrench in hand, and had several singed holes still smoldering on its fabric. It was none other than Da Pao, who had just brawled with Ji Yang. Emerging from the brush and catching sight of the human female before it, Da Pao raised its wrench into a combat stance at once. Yet after the preceding battle, it harbored some wariness toward these human cultivators. Compared to the straightforward clashes between demon beasts, human supernatural powers and sorcery were far too mystical and unpredictable. One could easily crash and burn without knowing what hit them. Meanwhile, viewers in her personal livestream were already frantically typing warnings. [That's the deer demon the Hidden Dragon Pool disciple ran into!] [It's a kangaroo.] [Ji Yang's feed cut out right after he ran into it, and he still hasn't come back online. Did he really die?] [Feixia, be careful! It's dangerous!] [...] Li Feixia, however, could not see the bullet chat. She looked at the creature and asked curiously, "Huh? Is that actually a roe deer spirit? I've never seen one before." Da Pao blinked in astonishment at the round-faced female human. Ever since entering the city days ago, she was the first to identify its true kind at first glance. Every other creature that crossed paths with the brothers had called them either kangaroos or little deer, which had annoyed them to no end. Its hostility dialed down a fraction. Seeing that it had not lunged, Li Feixia spoke gently, "You can understand me, right? As long as you don't attack me, I won't hurt you either. Go on, leave." Da Pao stared at her, nodded, and backed away step by step toward the direction it had come. She wasn't its assigned target anyway, and it wasn't some born psychopath who had to slaughter every human in sight. "Heh." Watching it retreat obediently, Li Feixia found the demon beast rather endearing. She gave a light chuckle and turned around. "First time seeing a roe deer in real life. It really does look silly." *Look silly...* Perhaps she had meant it affectionately, but in Da Pao's ears, the words rang with pure mockery. Growing up, the brothers had heard the phrase "silly roe deer" countless times. Humans and demons alike used it to ridicule them. In fact, the very first human words Da Pao had ever learned to say were those three words. The brothers had tempered their physical bodies like madmen every single day just to redeem the reputation of the roe deer clan! *We are not silly!* Its eyes flared scarlet. Baring its teeth at Li Feixia once more, it shot straight out of the brush! *Whether they look malicious or kind, these humans all reek of haughty condescension! I'll make you realize that anyone who dares insult our noble roe deer clan must die!* *Give me your life!* *** Yue Wen arrived in the area just in time. His approach was not entirely a stroke of coincidence. When the staff dumped them into the simulated wasteland zone, it was called random, but they had deliberately scattered the explorers far apart to prevent them from meeting too early and making the grounds seem small. After exploring on their own for over half a day, none had crossed paths. Yet after moving around for so long, several were bound to close the distance. Yue Wen, Ji Yang, and Li Feixia had all been wandering in neighboring sectors. Furthermore, Yue Wen carried the demon-revealing mirror and specifically headed toward areas dense with demonic aura. When Ji Yang had clashed with Da Pao earlier, the demonic fire released by Da Pao had flared violently. Naturally, that heavy demonic aura had caught Yue Wen's attention. He had tracked it all the way using his spirit-probing needle. Rounding a bend along the mountain path, he saw Li Feixia turning sideways just as a demon beast engulfed in a whirlwind went hurtling straight toward her! [Roe Deer Demon: For a silly roe deer to reach the half-taking form stage is truly an extraordinary gift. Its physical body has been tempered to a terrifying degree, boasting combat power far exceeding ten thousand healthy human grandmas—difficult to measure. Truly inspiring; heaven does not fail a diligent roe deer.] *Combat power far exceeding the ten-thousand-grandma tier?!* The demon-revealing mirror's inability to provide a precise evaluation gave Yue Wen quite a jolt. This creature was stronger than even the strongest tiger demon of the Tiger Head Gang back then. The demons released into the simulated wasteland zone had all been pre-screened, generally ranging from several hundred to around a thousand grandmas, with very few surpassing the thousand-grandma tier. The director had mentioned stepping up the difficulty for the newly released demons, but jumping to this level right away? *You call this 'stepping it up a bit'?!* There was no time to ponder. His sword-control art unleashed in a flash, and he bellowed, "Li Feixia, look out!" *Swoosh—* The flying sword streaked like lightning, turning into a beam of radiant light that crashed head-on into the pouncing demon. Li Feixia had only just turned her head when a vicious gale bore down on her face. The roe deer demon had doubled back, launching a sudden ambush while her guard was down! By the time she registered the danger, it was too late, leaving her to scramble backward in a frantic dodge. Fortunately, Yue Wen's flying sword arrived a beat faster. Da Pao's primary target had been Li Feixia. With the flying sword slashing in from the flank at blistering speed, it couldn't dodge in time and could only swing the oversized wrench to parry. Though it blocked the sword's point head-on, the sword qi wrapped around the blade erupted into a deafening boom. *Boom!* Da Pao went flying backward, crashing to the ground riddled with dozens of bleeding gashes. Several were cut to the bone, a testament to the lethal power behind that single strike! Da Pao looked toward the source of the sword in shock. This was the first time it had ever encountered so formidable a human cultivator. Had it not reacted quickly enough to block the tip, that single blow might have slain it on the spot. A moment later, it realized the newcomer was none other than its designated target! *No wonder.* Thanks to the flying sword buying her time, Li Feixia managed to leap several paces back and open up distance. With a flick of her wrist, she produced a five-colored treasure fan, swept it vigorously, and fired five beams of rosy light! *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—* The beams converged in rapid succession: white to freeze to the bone, red to incinerate, black to corrode skin and flesh, yellow to bring soothing comfort, and purple to rip open the belly. If all five struck home, no physical body, no matter how tough, could withstand them! Da Pao bounded backward multiple times in succession, narrowly dodging the barrage. This girl's cultivation level wasn't as high as the target's, but the magic implement in her hands was undeniably deadly. Da Pao knew instantly that it could not overpower them here. Its beast instincts made a split-second judgment: if you can't win, run! Once it was strong enough to kill the opponent, it would return for revenge at the first opportunity. This mindset was the exact flip side of its earlier rule to never let an opponent escape when holding the upper hand. It decided to flee first and summon its brother to deal with the target together. Turning a disadvantageous one-on-two into an advantageous two-on-one before launching a counterattack was the way to go. Yet while it wanted to flee, Yue Wen had no intention of letting it walk. This roe deer demon was outrageously vicious and had nearly killed an explorer. Surviving a surprise strike from his sword proved it was far too dangerous to leave alive; he had to finish it off while it was wounded! "Demon, where do you think you're going?!" With a sharp hum, his sword-control art activated. Yue Wen stepped onto the sword's blade, transforming into a descending cascade of light as he gave chase! Canopies and branches shattered on impact wherever he passed. *Damn it!* Da Pao cursed inwardly, feeling the pursuit of that relentless qi aura behind him. It had to call its younger brother immediately to join forces against this human cultivator. The thought had barely formed when a beast roar echoed from the distance: "*Huo—!*" *Er Pao?* Da Pao recognized the roe deer clan's unique distress call. But it hadn't even called out yet—why was Er Pao roaring first? Could it be... his brother had sensed danger and come to rescue him? *Is this what humans call 'brothers' hearts beating as one'?!* Deeply moved, Da Pao threw its head back and roared, "*Huo—!*" Guided by their roars, the two brothers closed the distance rapidly through the mountain woods. The terrain closely mirrored the wasteland zone, and the methods they used in the wild served them just as well here. Three minutes later, kicking up plumes of dust as it dashed forward, Da Pao spotted its brother sprinting toward it from the front. The two brothers were charging straight toward each other. "Er Pao, you came just in time!" Da Pao shouted. "A human expert is hunting me from behind! Hurry, help me take him down!" "Huh?" Er Pao froze. "What a coincidence, I've got one here too!" *** Meanwhile, the director patched through to Ji Yang's line once more. "That roe deer demon showed up again. Yue Wen nearly took it down with a single strike, and now he's chasing after it," the director said without a trace of emotion. "Same as before: take some time to reflect on your own shortcomings." Ji Yang said skeptically, "It probably wasn't the one I ran into, either." The director said flatly, "It was yours."