Chapter 28: Ambush

“Stop!”
Su Che raised his hand to halt the Lei siblings, pretending to concentrate and listen carefully, even twitching his nostrils as if a hunting dog searching for scents in the wind…
Seeing his actions, the Lei siblings understood he must have made another discovery—possibly some kind of spiritual herb or something else.
“There’s an ambush at the corner of the path ahead, at least three people!” Su Che concluded confidently.
The siblings exchanged a silent glance. Of course, they wouldn’t doubt his expertise in this regard. Besides, they already knew they were being followed, so those others who should appear would show up sooner or later.
The siblings instinctively took up advantageous positions. Lei Qingxue called out to Su Che, “Junior Su, hide in that spot and wait for the right moment to support us.”
The spot Lei Qingxue indicated was between several large rocks, where Su Che would be relatively safe. Once fighting started, his task was simply to take care of himself and not cause trouble for the Lei siblings.
The pursuers behind them naturally saw all of this. The masked man with long ears realized that his movements had long been detected, and even the ambush ahead had been exposed.
So, he sent another message to his brothers, reporting, “They’re on guard now—the surprise attack has failed!”
If a surprise attack didn’t work, then they’d have to go straight to force!
On the other side, the three men and one woman who received the message emerged from behind the corner and walked steadily toward Su Che and his companions. The man with long ears also sped up and rushed forward, creating a pincer attack from both sides.
The Lei siblings held swords in one hand and talismans in the other, staying alert in silence.
“Three of you really made us wait,” said the man with the birthmark first, wearing a fake smile. “Did your gathering mission go smoothly?”
“I know you!” Lei Xiao pointed his sword at him. “You’re the guy who sold the Wind Rat yesterday. No need for unnecessary talk. I just want to know why you’re ambushing here.”
“It’s simple to get the answer—just surrender peacefully, and I’ll explain it to you,” the man with the birthmark replied coldly. “It’s quite common for cultivators in the Wind Valley to raid each other. What’s there to not understand?”
“Then let’s settle this with force. Attack!” Lei Xiao shouted.

The female cultivator named Yinghong smiled at Lei Qingxue and said, “Sister, you must be their senior, right? The situation is clear—none of us five are above the third level of Qi Cultivation, but you… You seem intelligent enough to know how to make a choice, don’t you?”
“Wasting words is pointless. Either you retreat now or we’ll prove ourselves!” Lei Qingxue spoke crisply, her expression still calm.
“A girl as beautiful as you… I really can’t bring myself to harm you,” Yinghong said with a charming smile. “Alright, I’ll play with you for a while.”
Before her words faded, she moved swiftly and closed in at high speed! Unexpectedly, among so many men, it was a woman who took the lead in attacking.
For cultivators, a distance of over ten zhang is practically close. With a clashing sound, two magic swords collided. As the two female cultivators moved, their skirts fluttered like butterflies among flowers, and even as they engaged in deadly combat, their movements were breathtakingly graceful.
Yet the men present had no time to admire this picturesque scene. The man with the birthmark, Lord Lu, and the man surnamed He all rushed forward together to attack Lei Xiao.
The man with the birthmark and the man surnamed He both used ordinary low-grade magic swords. One attacked from the left, the other from the right, their swords flashing like lightning as they targeted Lei Xiao’s vital points; Lord Lu swung a heavy round hammer at her head.
The third level of Qi Cultivation still belonged to the early stage, and even if one had mastered the art of controlling weapons, it would be difficult to attack from afar. Generally, weapons were used for close combat. To strike someone from a distance of a hundred zhang, one had to reach the middle stage of Qi Cultivation.
At present, long-range attacks mainly relied on spells and talismans. By choosing close combat, the three men with the birthmark were confident in their strength. They should be able to kill a second-level disciple of Tianxuan Sect in an instant, even if he used ordinary defensive talismans.
But Lei Xiao was no ordinary outer disciple, and the talisman she used was nothing ordinary either.
Whoosh!
Lei Xiao promptly activated a jade talisman hidden in her left hand. An orange-yellow flame halo appeared instantly, spreading out in all directions from her.
“Ah!”
The three men with the birthmark cried out in shock. They quickly retreated, though they managed to avoid the range of the orange-yellow flame, they were still badly affected by its terrifying heat.

Fortunately, the robes they wore had a certain degree of defensive effect; otherwise, Lu Laobai’s thick beard would surely have been completely shaved off, drastically changing his appearance…
“An Impact Fire Talisman?”
The three men with birthmarks really didn’t expect this kid to use such an expensive high-grade spiritual talisman right from the start.
Combat-type spiritual talismans are divided into five levels: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, top-grade, and above that are the extremely rare super-grade “Talisman Treasures.”
Cultivators in the Qi Cultivation stage, even if they have exceptional talent for creating talismans, can only make low-grade and medium-grade ones. Only those at the Foundation Establishment stage can create high-grade and top-grade talismans. Thus, even most outer disciples of the Tianxuan Sect can’t afford high-grade spiritual talismans, let alone casual cultivators like the men with birthmarks.
An orange-yellow flame aura surrounded Lei Xiao. With each exhale, it expanded outward, fully proving that the “Impact Fire Talisman” was a high-grade spiritual talisman that combined offense and defense, making it impossible to approach. For at least fifteen minutes, the three men with birthmarks didn’t dare get too close to Lei Xiao and could only fight from a distance. However, the long-range attack spells and low-level talismans of the early Qi Cultivation stage found it hard to penetrate the defenses of high-grade talismans, so for now, they were at a loss as to how to deal with Lei Xiao.
Using a high-grade talisman right from the start was a clear indication of the Lei family’s wealth and powerful background.
On the other side, Lei Qingxue and the female cultivator Yinghong were still engaged in a fight. While competing in swordsmanship and movement skills, various minor spells also appeared from time to time… Both were at the third level of Qi Cultivation. As a sect disciple, Lei Qingxue should theoretically have a slight edge in overall strength, but to decide the battle quickly, she needed to use some special tactics.
As for Su Che…
Su Che was hiding in the gap between several huge rocks, planning to use a spiritual talisman to help Lei Xiao when he saw the masked “Wind-Eared” rushing toward him.
Snap!
Without hesitation, Su Che activated the “Vajra Protection Talisman” in his left hand for defense while simultaneously triggering the “Ice Rain Talisman” in his right hand. Whoosh! A dense downpour of ice rushed toward Wind-Eared, covering an area of five or six zhang, leaving him with nowhere to hide.
The “Ice Rain Talisman” wasn’t highly lethal, but it could freeze the opponent, greatly reducing their movement speed. Su Che knew well that his opponent was at the third level of Qi Cultivation, and a direct confrontation was definitely not in his favor—he must prevent the opponent from getting close.
“You brat, this is completely pointless!”

Protruding ears were indeed unavoidable, and he had no intention of hiding them. While running, he also activated a low-grade spiritual talisman of earth defense to surround himself, effectively ignoring the damage from the ice rain talisman. However, the ice rain that landed on the ground instantly formed a layer of ice, possessing a certain freezing effect. Stepping on it would more or less affect his movement.

Taking advantage of his slowed speed, Su Che darted into the cracks between the boulders, like a slippery loach, and emerged from the exit at the other end of the cracks.

This was Su Che’s plan—to play hide-and-seek with his pursuer.

Not far away, Lei Qingxue observed these events. She had initially intended to rescue Su Che, but now she felt curious to see if he had any special skills in combat. If the situation became critical, it would still be time to offer help.

To her surprise, Su Che kept running around, dragging the pursuing cultivator further and further away, soon to disappear around the corner. Lei Qingxue cursed inwardly, “Idiot, running so far away—how can I help you?”

She wanted to follow, but she was entangled with her opponent in battle, and she couldn’t bear to leave Lei Xiao alone here…

Undoubtedly, Lei Qingxue would stay behind to take care of her cousin with the same bloodline. As for Junior Brother Su, whom she had only met for less than half a day, if he made mistakes and encountered trouble, she could only apologize and sigh in regret.