"Heh. Whether I'm human or not, you can find out for yourself with your own hand." The handsome man smiled noncommittally, stepped to within a pace of Duanmu Yu, and extended his hand.

Duanmu Yu eyed him dubiously. At Wei Zhao's urging, she gave his arm a pinch—and suddenly her expression changed. The texture was nothing like human flesh and blood; it felt more like some kind of plant, though for the moment she could not place what.

"Can't guess?" The handsome man's lips curved with interest. His right hand came slowly to rest on his left forearm, and he gave it a gentle bend—then came a crisp crack.

Duanmu Yu's eyelid twitched at once, and when she saw him snap that entire forearm clean off, she was utterly stunned. What in the world was going on here?!

Not only Duanmu Yu—even Wei Zhao was struck dumb. He had seen ruthless men before, but never one this ruthless; this was the first time he had ever laid eyes on someone who would casually wrench off his own arm.

Yet the strangest part was that despite the whole forearm being torn off, the handsome man bled not a drop. Looking closer, the forearm was not made of flesh and blood at all. Apart from a few hollow sockets on the cross-section, the rest was a solid, unbroken mass. Most startling of all, several fine threads still connected the severed forearm to the wound on his body, very much like the broken stalks of a lotus root that stay linked by their fibers.

"Lotus root?" Only then did Duanmu Yu catch on. She stared at the handsome man anew and said, "You're a lotus-root man?"

"Something like that. To be precise, my true form is a water lily. As for my identity—you already know it. I am that lord's Dharma Protector, the one they all call the Water Lily Protector." The handsome man spoke calmly.

"The Water Lily Protector." The answer took Duanmu Yu somewhat by surprise. The water lily was an exceedingly serene and lovely plant, one might even call it sacred. And yet this creature before her, though he often appeared gentle and refined, had a savagery that surfaced again and again, rooted deep in his very bones. Try as she might, she could not connect him with a water lily.

Wei Zhao, however, understood all at once. Spirit beasts were different from human cultivators; unless their gift was special, they could generally cultivate only the innate abilities of their own kind, and every such ability was bound up with their true form. This creature's true form was actually a water lily—no wonder he could wield such a wondrous power as Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water.

"Well then, I've asked what needed asking. Take off your clothes. Dual cultivation demands absolute cleanliness, untouched by a speck of dust. I will wash your body for you." So saying, the handsome man reattached his arm and reached straight for the last of Duanmu Yu's undergarments.

This time, Duanmu Yu was not so unflappable. If even her last scrap of covering was torn away, she would never be able to show her face again.

Truth be told, Duanmu Yu's strength was not to be called weak—but that depended on whom she was compared to. Before an existence of the Water Lily Protector's caliber, it counted for nothing at all. She had barely begun to lean back when the other had already seized both her wrists.

"No use dodging. I know you're shy, so this time I'll undress you myself." The handsome man smiled faintly. His patience was nearly worn through; he had no wish to dawdle and woo Duanmu Yu any longer. He wanted to get straight to the point and begin attempting dual cultivation at once.

Duanmu Yu was aghast. But she could not struggle free at all now, and could only watch helplessly as the other slowly pulled at her undergarments. At a moment like this, she had no second choice but to accept her fate.

Yet just as Duanmu Yu was on the verge of despair, there between her and the handsome man, Wei Zhao's figure suddenly appeared. Before the other could react, he thrust one hand straight into the man's mouth.

The scene came too suddenly. Not only had the handsome man never expected it—even Duanmu Yu, who had been somewhat prepared, could not react in time. And it was not merely the suddenness of it; the key was that Wei Zhao was too fast. Whether fleeing or ambushing, he could seize absolute initiative. Last time the brain-eating worm had been helpless against him; this time the Water Lily Protector was just as helpless.

As a Dharma Protector in his own right—an existence beneath one beast and above ten thousand—the handsome man had never suffered such humiliation. Not only had someone slipped into his mirror world, but now a hand had been shoved alive into his mouth. For a moment he was nearly stupefied with rage.

Unfortunately, before he could make any countermove, Wei Zhao had already pulled his hand back first, and he and Duanmu Yu behind him both shot backward in a burst of speed, retreating fast as flying.

The handsome man froze for a moment, and only then realized there seemed to be something in his mouth. But before he could reach in to take it out, the thing burst with a roar, and his entire head was blown to bits on the spot, not even a scrap left.

"He... he's dead, isn't he?" Duanmu Yu stared open-mouthed at the mangled corpse ahead. She had thought today would surely be a narrow escape and a bloody, bitter fight—never had she imagined that Wei Zhao's sudden strike would end the battle just like that.

"Let's hope so." Wei Zhao, however, was frowning slightly at the corpse.

This sneak attack had been a plan he'd worked out long in advance, but it was really only a fallback. The best moment to strike would have been after the creature truly began dual cultivation—except that would have cost Duanmu Yu her chastity. Weighing the two, Wei Zhao had ultimately chosen to strike early.

Fortunately, the opportunity had not been a bad one either, and with Wei Zhao's nearly unsolvable speed, the ambush had in the end come off without mishap, and a true-qi dan-fire bomb had delivered this Water Lily Protector a grand gift.

By all reason, the other being blasted into this state ought to have counted as a clean finish. But for some reason—perhaps because it had gone too smoothly—Wei Zhao could not shake a faint unease in his heart. This was an existence on the same level as the brain-eating worm; could a single true-qi dan-fire bomb really settle it so easily?

"What is it?" Duanmu Yu looked at him.

"Oh, nothing." Wei Zhao shook his head vigorously. He was probably just being oversuspicious. True, this Water Lily Protector was powerful, but it was clearly a spirit beast of a different sort from the brain-eating worm, its defensive capacity far inferior to the worm's. Caught off guard, being finished by a single true-qi dan-fire bomb was only natural.

"If it's nothing, then why not put me down?" Duanmu Yu's expression turned cold.

"Uh—sorry, sorry." Only then did Wei Zhao snap back to his senses. Earlier, to keep Duanmu Yu from being caught in the blast of the true-qi dan-fire bomb, he had scooped her up against himself as he retreated, and in his daze had clean forgotten the fact—making it look as though he had meant to take advantage of her. (To be continued.)