Chapter 20 Meeting Linglong "There's no danger." Qin Wenxue touched...

“There is no danger.” Qin Wenxue stroked the puppy and frowned. “Then this formation should be very simple. Even the illusion left over from a thousand years ago is just an illusion.”

"What do you mean?" Shi Wenzhe was completely bewildered.

Qin Wenxue glanced at her and said, "I've misunderstood. There shouldn't be any danger here. So what's he staying for? Is he reminiscing?"

"Wait..." Shi Wenzhe stopped her, "Who left it behind?" She realized what he meant and exclaimed in shock, "So you know who left it behind?!"

"Hey, Qin Wenxue, wait for me..." Shi Wenzhe muttered, "Not only does she not answer me, but she also ignores me completely. This person's temper is really..."

Qin Wenxue glanced over lightly, and Shi Wenzhe tensed up and shut his mouth.

"Chirp, chirp—" The piercing chirping echoed through the mountain forest, startling a flock of birds into flight.

I heard a sound of something turning and looked up. The sky was clear and bright, and a line of egrets flew into the sky.

They had been following the old man for a long time. The sun was gradually setting, and the afterglow cast dappled shadows on the trees.

Shi Wenxue, feeling her legs aching, thirsty, and hungry, asked with a pitiful expression, "How much longer do we have to walk?"

"Are you very tired?" Qin asked Xue.

"Mmm, I'm injured. Aren't you tired after walking for so long? I'm almost exhausted and I'm so hungry." She was feeling extremely wronged. She had only eaten that one piece of sugar cake since coming to this other world, and the taste of the sugar cake seemed like a distant memory. If Shi Wenzhe didn't find something to eat soon, she would almost forget that she was human, even though she wasn't originally human.

"He stopped," Qin Wenxue reminded him.

Shi Wenzhe stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up. He saw that the old man had stopped at the entrance of a cave. There were many weeds growing outside the cave, which concealed the cave halfway up the mountain. The sound of the stream was more obvious here, and Shi Wenzhe guessed that they should not be far from the source of the stream.

The old woman untied the cloth bundle, as if taking something out. Shi Wenzhe wasn't tall enough to see clearly, so she tried to stand on Wenxue's shoulder, but the other woman quietly slipped past her.

Shi Wenzhe pursed her lips, thinking that this person was being too distant. They were already so familiar with each other, yet he wouldn't even let her lean on him. Helpless, she could only hold onto the tree for support and observe carefully. The weeds outside the cave were constantly swaying, and something had pushed through the weeds and run out.

Shi Wenzhe held his breath, his heart pounding like a hunting cat, staring intently at its prey. However, the person next to him was such an eyesore. Qin Wenxue's white robes fluttered across the blue stone platform, the red robes standing out starkly against the green mountains.

The tinkling of silver bells drew the wary gaze of a child who suddenly appeared in front of the old man.

Those eyes sent a hostile signal, and Shi Wenzhe sensed the other party's intense killing intent. She rushed to Qin Wenxue's side and cowered behind the woman in red.

It was a child of about eleven or twelve years old, roughly as tall as the weeds, which only reached Shi Wenzhe's waist. The child still had chubby cheeks, but his eyebrows were sharp and upturned, and his eyes were fierce. He stared intently at the intruder with taut muscles. Shi Wenzhe's heart skipped a beat, feeling as if he were being stared at by a vicious wolf cub.

Qin Wenxue tugged at her hem and said in a deep voice, "Be gentle."

"Huh? What?" Shi Wenzhe looked up in confusion. She didn't hear what Qin Wenxue said. The hem of her clothes was pulled back and put back on the person. Shi Wenzhe clenched her hands and smiled awkwardly.

"Who goes there?" the child asked in a cold voice, his tone clear and melodious, like the chirping of birds on the eaves, in the forest, or on the treetops. Shi Wenzhe felt as if she had heard heavenly music, and she was so captivated by the lingering sound that she did not wake up.

Qin Wenxue lightly tapped her forehead and said, "It was just a little trick, but you're too easily fooled."

I often heard Zhe covering his forehead and sighing.

“A destined person,” Qin Wenxue replied softly. This was the first time Shi Wenzhe had seen Qin Wenxue staring at someone so openly; her gaze was so intimidating that she was somewhat afraid.

"No outsiders have ever been here before, how did you get in?" the child asked sharply.

The wind died down and the clouds stopped. The rustling of insects disappeared completely. Even the old man stood motionless, like a soulless puppet. A murderous intent gradually spread in the air, and people could be heard holding their breath, unable to breathe loudly, caught in the stalemate between the two sides.

Just then, she heard Qin Wenxue chuckle softly. The laughter seemed to be a signal, breaking the deadlock. The child narrowed his eyes, and the wind and clouds surged again, rolling in.

"We'll meet again." Qin Wenxue tilted her head slightly, the silver chain slipping off her shoulder with a rustling sound, reflecting red and yellow light. Shi Wenzhe swallowed shamelessly. She was very, very close to Qin Wenxue. The child didn't hear Qin Wenxue's last breath, but she did. It sounded like a name: "Linglong".

The cloak on her shoulders was almost crumpled into a rag. Shi Wenzhe felt flustered and conflicted. She looked at the child's innocent face, looking at Qin Wenxue with a simple and curious expression. Qin Wenxue still had that calm and expressionless face. Shi Wenzhe sighed inwardly and lit a candle for the child.

But the child didn't say anything. When he met Qin Wenxue's dark eyes, his back relaxed. He didn't know what signal he had received, but no matter how relaxed a person pretends to be, the emotions in their eyes cannot lie. Linglong was certain that he saw a long-awaited reunion in those eyes.

He shrugged, pretending that his emotions were directed at the girl beside him, and didn't care at all. He then instructed the old man to take the items out of the cloth bag again and hand them to him.

Linglong casually sat on a rock, enjoying the old man's service, and casually stuffed the meat pie in her hand into her mouth to chew.

Shi Wenzhe swallowed hard, completely lacking any backbone.

The child looked up, holding up a meat pie, and asked, "Want some too?"

Shi Wenzhe nodded like a chick pecking at rice. She chuckled and asked, "Little girl, could you give your sister a piece... oh no..." She glanced at the aloof and posing Qin Wenxue and changed her mind, "Two meat pies? We haven't eaten in a long time."

Qin Wenxue looked over upon hearing the sound, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions that Shi Wenzhe couldn't decipher. She proudly raised her head, thinking, "My sister is still willing to be good to you."

The boy rolled his eyes at her, sighing that while she was indeed beautiful, she wasn't very bright and was practically an idiot. He said speechlessly, "Who said I'm a girl? Are you blind?"

Shi Wenzhe froze on the spot, stammering, "But you're so pretty..." Before she could finish, the child interrupted, "Being pretty makes you a girl? The person next to you is prettier than me, why don't you call her a girl when you're blind?"

Hearing the thunderclap in the clear sky, he stubbornly said, "But your voice is so clear too..."

"Ha." The child scoffed, "Idiot." He said, his tone filled with utter disdain.

When she heard the sound, her ears turned red, and she covered her face, not daring to look up.

A soft laugh came from beside him. Shi Wenzhe had just received the final blow. He looked at Qin Wenxue expressionlessly, thinking viciously, "I really won't forgive this person for mocking me today. I'm really hurt."

"Hahahahahahahahahaha." The child laughed so hard he fell to the ground, the meat pie in his hand trembling and almost falling to the ground.

She was too preoccupied to even acknowledge Zhe Lian's mockery; her eyes were completely drawn to him. She was on tenterhooks, afraid that the meat pie would fall to the ground. If she were to witness food being wasted, she would be mortified.

"No, no, no..." she whispered.

"Don't what?" Qin Wenxue asked.

Only one edge of the meat pie remained, held tightly in the child's fingers. Her eyes widened, and she whispered anxiously, "Don't drop it..."

A soft laugh came from beside him, followed by a sigh.

"I'm too ashamed to face anyone," she muttered to herself, covering her face.

The child stopped laughing, quickly scrambled up a tree and sat casually, looking down to tease Shi Wenzhe: "You're quite funny. My name is Linglong, what's your name?"

Shi Wenzhe was so dazzled that she couldn't see how he climbed the tree at all. In the blink of an eye, only the leaves were swaying. She was shocked and chewed on the name repeatedly, carefully comparing it with the lingering sound of Qin Wenxue's words. Only then did she secretly confirm that it was indeed these two words.

She glanced at Qin Wenxue discreetly. Qin Wenxue's chaotic thoughts from just a moment ago vanished like smoke, but Shi Wenzhe was certain that for this person, they could only be hidden away.

She said softly, "My name is Shi Wenzhe."

"Ouch!" The child picked a fruit and tossed it to Shi Wenzhe: "It's delicious, you can have it."

Shi Wenzhe reached out and took the fruit. It was green and hard, with a layer of fuzz on it. She didn't know what kind of fruit it was, but it looked like a green plum. So, she couldn't help but salivate and held the fruit as if hesitant, wanting to eat it but not daring to.

But the fruit emitted a sweet fragrance that made her dizzy with temptation. She sniffed it, like a cautious squirrel smelling a pine cone, and finally brought it to her mouth and took a bite.

The sweet and sour fruity aroma exploded in her mouth. She chewed quickly, forgetting the mockery, the embarrassment, and even the little bit of concern she had for Qin Wenxue. She only gave the child a sweet smile.

"It's so delicious, is there any more, Linglong?"

A few more green fruits fell to the ground. Shi Wenzhe picked them up with small, quick steps, wiped them on her skirt, and then held them to Qin Wenxue's lips: "They're delicious, try them."

The girl's eyes shone brightly as she stared at him. Qin Wenxue lowered his gaze and slowly took the green fruit. He stared intently at the green fruit in his hand, took a small bite, and found it to be sweet.

"Hey." The child, annoyed at being ignored, swung his leg and said gruffly, "Xiaoshi, how did you guys get in?"

Shi Wenzhe looked up and said, "I don't know either. I just... chewed and chewed and woke up here... chewed and chewed."

"And what about you?" Linglong smiled at Qin Wenxue, raising an eyebrow as she said, "Beautiful lady."

Shi Wenzhe coughed violently, choking her until her face turned red. "You, you, you..." She pointed at Linglong, then at Qin Wenxue, staring wide-eyed as she chewed. She wanted to say, "You've got some nerve, young man." But Qin Wenxue was indeed a beauty, so her mind was in turmoil, and she only murmured, "You have good taste, young man." After saying that, she glanced at him guiltily, and seeing that he didn't care, she continued chewing happily.

Linglong jumped down from the tree, sweeping in like a gust of wind. Suddenly, she saw a child looking up from among the grass and trees, his almond-shaped eyes reflecting the green sky, gazing at her silently and intently.

Only then did Shi Wenzhe notice that three emerald green feathers hung straight down from the child's hair, swaying behind his right ear. The feathers were like kingfisher feathers, interspersed with wisps of bright yellow down, making them quite beautiful.