Chapter 15 Please, I'll beg you!
After finishing his fruit, Mingjian got up and walked towards Song Heyu and the others.
"Senior brother, when do we set off?" Mingjian asked.
Song Heyu sat in front of the campfire, idly poking at the embers with a stick in his hand. Sparks crackled and popped. Hearing Mingjian's voice, he looked up at Mingjian and replied, "About an hour more."
An hour?
Mingjian nodded and had no choice but to return to the tree he had found earlier and sit down.
He didn't feel like cultivating at the moment, so he took out the map of Yunlai Immortal Abode that he had bought earlier from his Qiankun bag and looked at it again. He came to the secret realm mainly for the Blood Spirit Grass, but fortunately it was not far from where the Ice Lotus grew, and he could get there in half an hour by flying on his sword.
Suddenly, the distorted mountain and river patterns on the parchment rippled out like waves, the ink gradually faded, and ancient, deep blue characters emerged.
The locations marked on the map had all changed their positions, and in the blink of an eye, the place where Mingjian was located had also quietly changed its name.
Ming frowned; the characters were strangely shaped, and he had never seen them before.
Some resemble the swaying tails of swimming fish, some resemble the forked branches of coral, and others seem to swirl and twist like whirlpools, glowing with a faint blue fluorescence on the parchment.
Even more eerie was the fact that the towering trees around them grew even taller. Fish-scale-like patterns appeared on their trunks, shimmering silver-blue in the moonlight. The drooping branches stretched out slowly as if alive, silently spreading into the ground.
Ming glanced at Song Heyu and the others. Perhaps because day and night were indistinguishable here, they had lost some of their perception of space and time. None of them had yet noticed the strangeness of this place.
If Mingjian hadn't suddenly decided to look at the map, he probably wouldn't have been able to react in time.
Mingjian leaned closer to Xiao Bumian and whispered, "Xie Hanwei, don't you think something's strange about this place?"
He had been secretly trying to extract information from Xiao Bumian, and as soon as Xiao Bumian asked if anything was amiss, he would reveal what he had discovered to Xiao Bumian.
“Hmm,” Xiao Bumian paused only slightly before nodding, “because this place is the ruins of the merfolk.”
Mingjian was startled by what he heard, and the unsettling feeling that had been lingering in his heart finally came to a head.
He quickly reopened the map he had just put away in his pocket, "Do you recognize these characters?"
Xiao Bumian was not in a good mood. He had only eaten one fruit and was already feeling sleepy. He wondered why Mingjian, who had eaten so many fruits, did not want to sleep.
Seeing that he was about to lie down, Mingjian pulled him up again.
Xiao Bumian: "Sleepy."
"Don't be sleepy, don't be sleepy," Mingjian said, clasping his hands together and squatting down in front of Xiao Bumian, looking at him with bright eyes. "Please."
Xiao Bumian: "..."
"No." Xiao Bumian closed her eyes and lay down.
"Xie Hanwei, Xie Hanwei, don't sleep," Ming Jian said patiently.
Whether it was because his mind was too peaceful at the moment, or because the campfire in the distance was too warm, Xiao Bumian's originally tense nerves gradually relaxed in the sound of Mingjian's rambling voice. That clear and gentle voice was like the meow of a young raccoon dog, which soothed the demonic energy surging on his bone chains.
At first, Mingjian thought Xiao Bumian was pretending to be asleep, but then he realized that Xiao Bumian seemed to be really asleep. After a long silence, he suppressed the urge to beat Xiao Bumian to death, found an open space not far from Xiao Bumian, sat down, and continued to study the parchment scroll in his hand.
"Junior Brother."
Before long, the tranquil atmosphere was broken.
Mingjian looked up at Song Yao, who was standing not far away, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Song Yao scratched his neck, glanced at Xiao Bumian lying on the grass with a troubled look, and then looked at Mingjian with pleading eyes, "Can we go somewhere else to talk?"
For some reason, every time he saw Xiao Bumian, he would recall the glance Xiao Bumian gave him on the second floor of the inn. That look was icy cold, and even now, Song Yao still felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about it.
Yesterday, he heard from Song Heyu that Xiao Bumian had left, and he couldn't stop smiling all night. But when he woke up this morning, he found that Xiao Bumian had returned.
If this continues, he will never win over his junior brother, and the junior brother will surely be blinded by this man's face.
He absolutely cannot tolerate such a situation.
Song Yao couldn't help but scratch his neck again. Ming Jian frowned, watching as he scratched harder and harder, but he himself didn't seem to realize it. Several scratches were very deep, oozing bright red blood.
Mingjian didn't want to go. Ever since he realized that this place wasn't just the simple Yunlai Immortal Abode, he didn't want to stray too far from Xiao Bumian. Although Xiao Bumian had ill intentions, Xiao Bumian's cultivation was high, and it would be safer to stay by his side.
Song Yao grew anxious and looked at Mingjian pleadingly, "Junior Brother, are you not even willing to talk to me anymore?"
Mingjian recalled that although Song Yao hadn't been in a good state a few days ago, he hadn't done anything to harm him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then let's talk around here."
As long as they are within Song Heyu's and the others' sight, that's fine.
"Okay." Song Yao agreed without thinking.
Mingjian was about to get up when he heard Xiao Bumian, who had sat up behind him at some point, say, "Didn't you want to know what the script of the merfolk meant?"
Xiao Bumian leaned lazily against the tree trunk, one long leg casually bent, his arm resting on his knee, and looked at the two of them with a smile, "If you don't go with him, I'll tell you."
After Xiao Bumian finished speaking, he stared intently at Mingjian's expression, feeling an inexplicable surge of excitement—a feeling he only experienced after killing dozens of people in a row, even though he still wore a compassionate smile, making him appear virtuous and upright.
I wonder what the little good-for-nothing will choose.
Hmm, if that good-for-nothing chooses Song Yao, then he might as well kill him.
If he were chosen, no, no one would choose him.
Xiao Bumian's smile grew even brighter.
Mingjian: "..."
He was laughing like his wife was dying.
System: [Waaaaah, host, Xiao Bumian is so pitiful!]
Mingjian couldn't help but sigh, thinking of Xiao Bumian's pitiful words.
...Don't go with him, then I'll tell you.
He sighed silently.
Well, adults don't hold grudges against petty people.
Although he had begged Xiao Bumian for a long time, Xiao Bumian wouldn't talk to him.
But Xiao Bumian has now given him a way out, so he should obediently take it. Otherwise, what if he gets angry later and doesn't want to talk to him anymore? He alone can't recognize those strange and unusual characters.
Thinking it over, Mingjian had no choice but to say to Song Yao, "Senior Brother Song, why don't you say it here?"
Song Yao felt embarrassed, his face as pale as paper. "Junior brother, you promised me first."
"I'm sorry, Senior Brother Song," Ming Jian said. "If it weren't a private matter, it wouldn't matter if Xie Hanwei overheard it."
Song Yao moved his lips, but in the end he shook his head. "Never mind, let's talk about it next time."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Yu Guang paused slightly when he caught a glimpse of the light blue silk ribbon wrapped several times around Xiao Bumian's wrist, unconsciously clenched his fist, and walked away.
Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him walk away.
"Alright, now you can tell me what these words mean, right?" Mingjian said, pursing his lips.
Xiao Bumian remained silent, staring at Mingjian for a long while before slowly asking, "Why did you choose me?"
Ming smiled politely.
Why else? You yandere, your whole body screams, "If you dare choose him, I'll die right now!"
However, to save face for Xiao Bumian, Mingjian still lied through his teeth, saying, "I don't want to leave, I'm tired."
Xiao Bumian lowered his eyes, but then smiled, his eyes crinkling. "That's good."
Choosing him isn't enough.
Xiao Bumian felt a strange sense of irritation. His long, dark eyelashes framed his face as he said gently, "Bring the parchment scroll over here."
Upon hearing this, Mingjian hurriedly ran over and handed the parchment to Xiao Bumian, saying, "This is it."
They're too close.
Xiao Bumian blinked, lost in thought.
He always felt that Mingjian resembled the raccoon dog he had raised when he was a child. Although a thousand years had passed, he still vaguely remembered that the raccoon dog liked to stay close to him, rub against his face, and rub his belly.
That night, Ming dreamed of wanting to be his raccoon dog.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have wanted him to bite his neck.
Only raccoon dogs want to get close to their owners.
So when he thought Mingjian would really leave with Song Yao, he truly wanted to kill him. His fox spirit could not betray him; if it did, it deserved to die.
It is obvious that there is none.
He should be happy, so why does he feel so sad?
His heart seemed to be sick; he felt depressed and unhappy.
"Xie Hanwei, what do these words mean?" Ming Jian's warm breath fell on Xiao Bumian's shoulder.
Xiao Bumian's eyelashes trembled, feeling a little itchy.
It felt just like when Mingjian bandaged him before, with the silk ribbon wrapped around his palm—it was very strange.
“Hmm,” he said, his Adam’s apple bobbing, “The Mermaid’s Cold Pool.”
"Are there any ice flowers here?" Mingjian asked.
“Yes,” Xiao Bumian said.
Seeing his curiosity, Ming tilted his head and asked, "Then how is this place different from Yunlai Immortal Abode?"
Xiao Bumian lowered his eyes. "Yes, Yunlai Immortal Mansion is a three-and-a-half-star mission, but the Mermaid Ruins is a four-star mission."
He didn't beat around the bush, but his interest was waning and his emotions were largely unmoved. "This secret realm is the Yin-Yang Secret Realm. The sunny side is the Yunlai Immortal Abode, and the shady side is the Mermaid Ruins. The opening and closing of the Yin-Yang Secret Realm depends on luck, and we're not very lucky. This time, the secret realm is on the shady side."
"However, since the old men of the Heavenly Mystery Palace have deduced that there is a Heavenly Grade Treasure this time, it is most likely the Yin Side. It's just that before entering, no one knows which secret realm the Yin Side will be."
I've only heard of the Yin-Yang Secret Realm once, when it was mentioned unintentionally during a lecture by an elder two years ago.
In some secret realms, the Yin and Yang realms appear irregularly, but by convention, the Yin side is considered more dangerous. In the Yin side of the secret realm, one should only seek self-preservation and not try to force opportunities.
However, the Yin and Yang secret realms are extremely similar. Unless one is an extremely experienced visitor or a cultivator above the Nascent Soul stage, few people can discover them in a short time. Often, by the time they realize what's happening, they have already lost their lives.
It's clear that this was all a fluke.
He clearly wasn't smiling insincerely, and he wasn't even slightly smug. His mind was filled with the words Xiao Bumian had said.
Four-star mission.
Ha, he thought he might as well go find a cliff to jump off.
A note from the author:
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