Chapter 23

The young woman was delicately beautiful, her steps marred by a slight limp—likely an injury sustained while fighting demons. Her voice carried sincere apology. "Senior Brother Luo, I'm truly sorry. You saved us earlier, and now we're troubling you again. If not for protecting us, you'd have been miles ahead... We're holding you back."

Luo Binghe's reply was perfectly courteous. "As fellow cultivators, we should look after one another."

Shen Qingqiu had long been accustomed to his disciple's early-stage "white lotus" demeanor. He wasn't surprised.

Fighting monsters while shepherding this group of weaklings was precisely why Luo Binghe's ranking hadn't climbed all day. Otherwise, with his abilities, challenging Gongyi Xiao for the top spot would have been effortless. Even Ming Fan had a decent ranking... But it didn't matter. Luo Binghe had plenty of latent potential!

It never occurred to Shen Qingqiu to reflect on what this fiercely protective mindset—"my disciple is the best in the world, and if he weren't so kind, gentle, and easy to take advantage of, none of you would stand a chance"—actually meant.

Yue Qingyuan smiled. "Qingqiu, your little disciple has an excellent character."

Shen Qingqiu fanned himself, accepting the praise with ease. Qi Qingqi snorted. "Exactly. He hardly seems like someone you taught."

Others chimed in with compliments, though their sincerity was questionable. What use was good character? The Immortal Alliance Conference valued strength. In their eyes, Luo Binghe's actions were somewhat naive.

Beside Shen Qingqiu, the old palace master of Huan Hua Palace studied Luo Binghe's face in the crystal mirror and let out a faint, almost imperceptible sound of surprise, as if he'd nearly risen from his seat.

Shen Qingqiu kept his eyes forward, understanding perfectly. Luo Binghe's striking handsomeness closely resembled his mother's. The old palace master must have seen the resemblance and mistaken him for a junior who happened to look like his beloved former disciple. Little did he know, Luo Binghe was that very disciple's own child.

Meanwhile, within the Ravine of No Return, Luo Binghe was calmly considering how to manage this flock of weak disciples.

Morally, he couldn't abandon these junior Huan Hua Palace disciples. Yet, he also didn't want to miss the chance to excel in the conference and win honor for his master.

While Luo Binghe was thinking of ways to extricate himself from this situation, Shen Qingqiu assumed he was busy sparking romantic tension with a girl.

This was the first girl Luo Binghe would ever sleep with! Qin Wanyue, the gentle Junior Sister Qin!

Shen Qingqiu's deepest impression of this girl was that she'd helped Luo Binghe lose his virginity. After that, she mostly played the victim in the harem's daily scheming. Only a weirdo like Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky could occasionally infuse a harem novel with the flavor of a palace intrigue drama. I'd rather read a hundred thousand words on how demonic spiders mate than watch Sha Hualing tear Qin Wanyue apart. Thanks!

Watching the group treat Luo Binghe as their savior, clinging to his every step, Shen Qingqiu felt another spike of irritation.

Some among these disciples genuinely needed time to adjust and would be fine with a little guidance. Others, however, were lazy and incompetent, unwilling to withdraw from the competition, hoping to cling to Luo Binghe's coattails for a few spirit beads and a better ranking.

If this were the blackened Luo Binghe, he'd have slaughtered them all without blinking. A kind heart just invited exploitation.

They walked on. The minor creatures that attacked under cover of darkness were dispatched by Luo Binghe with a flick of his fingers—his sword never even left its scabbard. Yet their pace remained slow.

Why?

A Huan Hua Palace female disciple leaning against Qin Wanyue began to sniffle and cry. "Sister, my foot really hurts."

Luo Binghe, ahead of them, stopped walking. He didn't turn, merely lowering his head to rub his temple.

Qin Wanyue grew nervous. She whispered to the girl, "Wanrong, can you bear it a little longer? We must move faster."

Junior Sister Wanrong whimpered, "But my foot really hurts, I can't walk! And we've been walking all day with nowhere to bathe. I feel so uncomfortable."

Several other undisciplined disciples in the group chimed in agreement. If Shen Qingqiu had direct authority to judge, he'd have disqualified them on the spot and kicked them out of the ravine.

If your feet hurt so easily, why sign up for the Immortal Alliance Conference? And if you sign up, why drag others down? Look at Liu Mingyan—the gap isn't small, no wonder she's the lead female protagonist!

But there was nothing he could do about this Qin Wanrong. After all, both Qin Wanyue and Qin Wanrong were destined for Luo Binghe's harem. By international convention, even if they courted death, they wouldn't actually die.

A strange sense of vexation spread through Shen Qingqiu.

Binghe, ah... In the future, when you're collecting your harem, you could consider quality a bit more... Don't just scoop up every pretty girl you see. Seeing such uneven standards in your future harem pains this master's heart!

Qin Wanyue glanced again at Luo Binghe's back and whispered, "Little sister, we've already caused Senior Brother Luo so much trouble..." She was counting on Luo Binghe to help her fight for a decent ranking in the conference. If her sister's thoughtlessness annoyed him, things could turn sour.

Qin Wanrong replied with naive cheer, "Senior Brother Luo is so nice, he won't mind. Right, Senior Brother Luo?"

Luo Binghe finally turned. His face still wore a slight, flawless smile, devastatingly handsome. He said nothing. For some reason, Qin Wanyue felt an involuntary shiver.

Qin Wanrong, however, had a brain of cotton fluff. Seeing him smile, she took it as assent and skipped—"la-la-la"—like a sudden breeze toward a nearby stream.

Here it comes! Shen Qingqiu's eyes narrowed.

Luo Binghe was momentarily taken aback. Connecting her words, he thought she meant to bathe. Thankfully, this little sister wasn't that ridiculous. She merely kicked off her shoes and socks and plunged her feet into the stream.

This is the upstream section. What if someone downstream needs to drink...

Shen Qingqiu silently lit a candle in his heart for the disciples downstream.

Following her lead, several others imitated her. Soon, a small group was laughing and splashing playfully.

Seeing this, Luo Binghe felt utterly helpless. Unable to approach, he called from a distance, "It's unsafe to be in the water at night. Juniors, please come back ashore quickly."

Shen Qingqiu found this odd. In the original work, Luo Binghe shouldn't have been standing so far away. He remembered correctly: Luo Binghe, out of concern (or, more likely, due to Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky's desire to write fan service), had gone to the stream's edge and enjoyed a titillating scene of the girls stripping everything from their socks upward... a veritable feast for foot fetishists!

Luo Binghe's warning only drew merry laughter from the group. "It's fine! Senior Brother Luo, come join us!"

Even the sect leaders before the crystal mirror were rendered speechless.

Shen Qingqiu's face remained impassive.

Luo Binghe, aren't you going over? If you don't go now, you'll miss the plot!

Qin Wanyue, aware of her sister's eccentric behavior, cautiously apologized to Luo Binghe. "Senior Brother Luo, I'm sorry. The junior sisters... this is their first time at the conference..." She truly looked pitiful. Biting her lip, as if enduring pain to make a difficult decision, she added, "If Senior Brother Luo finds this troublesome, you can leave us behind and go on ahead... It's alright..."

Paired with her tearful expression, the offer lacked all sincerity. Any man with a moral compass above the passing line would be too ashamed to actually do it.

Before Luo Binghe could respond, a piercing shriek erupted from the stream. His expression changed. Abandoning the now pale-faced Qin Wanyue, he dashed to the water's edge. Those watching via the crystal mirror also stiffened in alarm.

Luo Binghe swept his sword before him, voice low and tense. "What happened?"

Five or six disciples had been playing in the stream. Now, two were missing—including Qin Wanrong.

Shen Qingqiu simmered with frustration. See?! I told you to go earlier! Now look, you've lost a perfectly good wife!

How are you supposed to have your future threesome with the Qin sisters if one of them is missing?!

Who could have guessed that this time, a girl from the protagonist's own harem, Qin Wanrong, would actually manage to get herself killed!

One disciple screamed, "Something happened just now! The water went dark underneath, and Senior Sister... something dragged them under!"

Luo Binghe quickly pulled the remaining, stunned disciples from the stream. But as he reached for the last one, that person seemed to slip, instantly toppling forward. The water closed over their head, and they vanished before everyone's eyes.

Simultaneously, a surge of black energy churned in the water. Peering through the crystal mirror, Shen Qingqiu saw it clearly: countless strands, smooth as a woman's black hair, seeping crimson blood that diluted in the current. Thicker and more revolting than Sadako's hair!

Someone gasped, "Hair wraiths!"

And within the Ravine of No Return, Luo Binghe also quickly identified the creature in the water. Sword energy shot into the stream as he shouted, "Get away from the water! It's a demonic hair wraith from the demon realm!"

The massive, hair-like demonic mass churned beneath the surface for a moment, then, as if belching after a meal, gurgled and "spat out" several objects from within the black strands.

Three corpses, drained of flesh and blood, reduced to sodden skin clinging to bone.

The corpses' pores gaped unnaturally wide, threaded with countless filaments of hair that had burrowed deep into the skin. Like starving parasites, they siphoned flesh, blood, and vital essence from their hosts.

This was one of the hair wraith's most terrifying traits: its ability to invade any orifice, to worm its way into any opening.

The disciples by the stream recoiled in horror. Screams and sobs tore through the forest air as they scrambled behind Luo Binghe, using him as a living shield. Qin Wanyue took one look at her sister's ravaged remains and swayed, the world going gray at the edges.

To her credit, she fought off the swoon. Fainting now, in this chaos, would mean being left behind. No one would stop to carry dead weight.

Output ONLY the translated story text.