Distress
Xiao Ze's heart moved slightly, and Su Qingjun's words made him suddenly enlightened.
Wasn't it because he felt guilty that he didn't know how to face him? Su Qingjun was truly kind to him as a friend. And after the mission was completed, he and the protagonists would definitely not have any more contact, so why not give it a try now?
Even if the final result is not satisfactory, Su Qingjun is still with Jiang Xi and his group, so he has no regrets.
After figuring everything out, he stopped hiding from Su Qingjun and returned to his usual self.
But the secret realm was not as quiet as the cottage and the bamboo forest, and Xiao Ze did not seem too close to Su Qingjun.
After their relationship eased, Su Qingjun's mood also improved a lot. However, she still didn't know the reason why Xiao Ze turned a blind eye before leaving, so she decided to question Xiao Ze after returning to the sect.
Jiang Ge came over again at an inopportune time.
Seeing Jiang Xi coming towards them, Xiao Ze knew he was looking for Su Qingjun, so he tactfully walked away. He wandered around, occasionally putting anything valuable he saw into his backpack.
The moment Su Qingjun saw Jiang Xi's face, he was furious. It was no wonder the usually good-tempered senior brother was irritated. Who could tolerate someone clinging to them all day, nagging them non-stop, and most importantly, saying nothing but useless things?
Ignoring Su Qingjun's impatience, Jiang Xi said with a smile, "Brother, let's go with the fellow Daoists from the Beast Taming Sect."
Su Qingchuan's eyes turned cold.
"There is strength in numbers, and we will all be safer together." Jiang Xi continued to talk.
Zhou Miao seemed to know what Jiang Xi was talking about and quickly walked over. He bowed to Su Qingjun and said, "I just heard from this young Daoist Jiang that Daoist Su is willing to let us go together. I am very grateful."
Zhou Miao had just entered the Jindan stage. In addition, many people from the Beastmaster Sect died in the White Forest, and some of the survivors were seriously injured. If he had not traveled with Su Qingjun, he would probably be the only one in their team who could walk out of the maze alive.
Su Qingjun didn't want to agree. He was already struggling to lead dozens of disciples alone. If he were to go with the Beastmasters, when danger arose, the crowd would become chaotic and he would not be able to protect every Tianxuan Sect disciple.
This Jiang Gu is really going to cause him trouble.
"You're welcome. Brother Zhou, as you can see, I'm bringing quite a few new disciples with me this time, and the journey has been very tiring. I'll have to trouble Brother Zhou for more help from now on."
When Zhou Miao heard this, his face changed slightly. He didn't expect Su Qingjun to be so disrespectful and directly reject him.
Jiang Xi's face on the side looked even worse. He originally wanted to say a few words to put the blame of being forced to travel with Zhou Miao on his head, but he didn't expect this man to be so direct and actually said everything!
Xiao Ze, who was wandering around, listened to the whole thing and felt that Jiang Xi was really short of men. Su Qingjun was still standing here, and she had hooked up with Zhou Miao.
None of them knew what was going on in each other's minds. After a short rest, they continued on their way.
Snow-white rabbits were running around in the grass, birds were chirping, the water in the river was crystal clear, and fat fish were swimming happily.
The scenery was pleasant and everyone gradually relaxed their vigilance.
Everything is normal except Gracilaria.
After setting off again, Jiang Xi became even more aggressive and stuck to Su Qingjun all the time. Although they were not too close, there was only a distance of two fists between them.
Su Qingjun finally couldn't bear it anymore: "Junior Brother Jiang, what are you going to do?" His brows were furrowed, and a hint of hostility emanated from his eyes. He was extremely impatient.
"I just want to be closer to my brother," two blushes crept up his cheeks. Jiang Xi was unusually shy, and his voice was soft: "I... I like my brother."
Oh, confession.
Jiang Xi's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone present to hear.
Xiao Ze watched from afar, only suspecting that Su Qingjun didn't currently like Jiang Xi. Looking at his frown, which looked like it could pinch a fly to death, Xiao Ze had no doubt that if killing a fellow disciple didn't violate the sect's rules, Jiang Xi would have been dead by now.
Su Qingjun met Xiao Ze's eyes with an inquiring look. Xiao Ze was confused. He didn't know why Su Qingjun was looking at him.
Seeing that Xiao Ze was not avoiding her, Su Qingjun's mood improved a little.
Jiang Xi, with his head lowered and his face flushed, saw nothing. The long silence made his once confident heart gradually uneasy. Then he heard a cold and pleasant voice above his head: "I don't like you. Keep your distance from now on." Then he turned and left.
The blush on Jiang Xi's face faded, and a sad expression appeared on his face just right.
For some reason, Jiang Xi's expression and voice suddenly reminded Xiao Ze of Su Qingjun from before! Now, observing carefully, he felt that some of Su Qingjun's expressions and movements were very similar to Jiang Xi's, but these behaviors seemed completely inconsistent with his current personality, extremely disconnected.
After getting rid of the strange feeling from his mind, Xiao Ze looked at Jiang Xi speechlessly as he was being comforted by a group of people.
"Junior Brother Jiang, don't be sad. Senior Brother is just like that. He didn't accept any of the many people who proposed to him before."
"Yes, Junior Brother Jiang, don't resent Senior Brother. He is a person who still has cultivation in his heart."
"Honestly, the more Senior Brother acts like this, the more I want to follow him. I feel super safe. No matter what happens, I don't have to worry."
Jiang Xi wasn't sad because he was rejected, but because he was afraid of being rejected. From childhood to adulthood, as long as he put on a shy and aggrieved expression, no one would ever reject him. But this time, something unexpected happened.
Su Qingjun led the way, and Jiang Xi bit his lip and followed. However, he didn't dare to get as close as before, and followed behind at a distance.
The others took advantage of the opportunity to squeeze in between the two of them.
What a joke. Before, they didn't dare to get close because of Jiang Xi. Now that Jiang Xi is gone, it becomes unsafe to get closer to the eldest brother. Anyone who doesn't come is a fool.
The fool who was far behind—Xiao Ze pulled the corner of his mouth speechlessly.
Seeing that his line of sight was also blocked, Jiang Xi turned his head and looked at Xiao Ze aggrievedly. Xiao Ze quickly turned his head, looking at the sky, the ground, and the scenery, completely ignoring him.
The sun gradually set and darkness set in. Before it got completely dark, the group found a cave and planned to spend the night there.
Some disciples of the Beast Taming Sect summoned their spirit beasts. Looking at the spirit beasts around them that were unusually lively because they were out for a walk, Xiao Ze felt itchy.
A furry little ball with a white body and black stripes came into view. Xiao Ze could no longer control his restless hands and touched it.
"Yuanbao is cute, right?"
As Xiao Ze's hand just touched the little ball, a crisp voice sounded behind him, and a handsome disciple of the Beast Taming Sect walked up to him.
Xiao Ze withdrew his hand with a guilty conscience after touching someone else's pet without the owner's consent.
Seeing his embarrassment, the girl said generously: "It's okay, you can touch it. Yuanbao especially likes to be touched on the head."
Looking at the chubby little thing, Xiao Ze reached out and rubbed his head. The little guy happily rubbed his hands and legs with his head, and lay on the ground with his belly turned over.
Pointing at his plump belly, Xiao Ze asked, "Is Yuanbao a kitten?"
"Haha, you think it looks like a kitten too? I thought it was a cat the first time I saw it. It wasn't until I brought it back to meet the elders that I realized it was actually a tiger cub."
"Tiger? Hahahaha, it must be still small. When it grows up, Yuanbao will definitely be a majestic big tiger!" As if knowing that Xiao Ze was praising him, Yuanbao licked his hand happily.
"I am Zhong Han from the Beast Taming Sect. Who is your fellow Daoist?"
"My name is Xiao Ze." As the owner of the cute little tiger, Xiao Ze couldn't help but treat her a little closer than to others.
I took out some prepared dried meat from the backpack and handed it to the little guy. The little guy jumped up and started eating it with relish, without guarding the food.
The two of them started chatting casually while teasing Yuanbao.
Not far away, Su Qingjun was sitting alone on a protruding rock, with dark energy surging in her eyes. She wished she could tie Xiao Ze to herself and not let him go anywhere.
But he could only think about it. If he really did that, Xiao Ze would probably hate him to death.
As a senior of the Beast Taming Sect, no one dared to chat with Zhou Miao. When he was extremely bored, he saw Su Qingjun who was also alone, so he walked over happily and prepared to talk to her.
Su Qingjun was staring in one direction, and then he saw Zhong Han and Xiao Ze chatting happily. "Your junior brother is quite capable. He usually seems quiet, but he actually chatted so happily with Zhong Han!"
Su Qingjun ignored him, and he didn't care either, talking to himself: "Zhong Han is the sweetheart of many people in our sect. She ignored so many people who pursued her, so why is she so nice to this disciple of your sect now?"
"If this works, do you think we can be considered matchmakers?"
"I think so. If they really become a Taoist couple, we should sit at the main table at the Taoist ceremony!"
Su Qingjun's face was as black as ink, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up! No one will think you are dumb if you don't speak."
A strong sense of oppression came towards him. Zhou Miao touched his arm and felt that Su Qingjun was not as kind and amiable as the rumors said. Instead, she was very scary. It was better for him to stay alone.
The voices gradually faded away. The new disciples all closed their eyes and fell asleep. Su Qingchuan and Zhou Miao, as Jindan cultivators, did not need much rest and remained vigilant.
Because Yuanbao was fed a lot of snacks, the little guy now particularly liked Xiao Ze. He didn't even want to go back to the spirit beast bag when he went to sleep, and insisted on sleeping in Xiao Ze's arms. Looking at his willful appearance, Zhong Han didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and could only let him do it.
Xiao Ze actually enjoyed it.
It was silent all around.
The soft little thing on Xiao Ze's leg shook its head, got off his leg, and walked out of the cave.
Seeing how small it was, Xiao Ze was a little worried and followed it out. Su Qingjun looked in his direction and saw that it was not far away, so he did not say anything to stop it.
Before he knew it, Xiao Ze followed Yuanbao to a place far away from the cave. He watched the little thing pick and choose, and finally chose a tree and raised its hind legs.
After satisfying his physiological needs, Yuanbao gradually came to his senses. When he turned around, he saw Xiao Ze who had witnessed the whole process. He immediately became angry and humiliated. He stretched out his four short legs and ran back without paying any attention to Xiao Ze.
As soon as he approached the cave, Xiao Ze found something wrong: Why couldn’t he see a single person in the cave?
Xiao Ze's expression became serious. Yuanbao also sensed the danger and turned around and ran to Xiao Ze's side.
Holding it in his arms, Xiao Ze approached the cave cautiously. As soon as he stepped in, his mouth was covered and someone quickly pulled him deep into the cave.
A familiar fragrance came from the man's sleeve. Xiao Ze withdrew his hand that was about to attack and let the man pull him.
There is a narrow passage in the cave, and behind the passage is an inconspicuous hidden space. After stepping in, Xiao Ze found that everyone was here.
Zhong Han squeezed out of the crowd with an anxious look on his face, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Yuanbao in Xiao Ze's arms was safe and sound.
After taking Yuanbao back, Zhong Han thanked Xiao Ze, found a corner, and gave Yuanbao an education that he would never forget.
Su Qingjun placed both hands on Xiao Ze's shoulders and pulled him around. Seeing that there were no wounds on his body, she felt relieved. "Did you encounter any danger outside?"
"No," Xiao Ze said with a puzzled look, "Yuanbao and I stayed in the woods north of the cave for a while. When we came back, we found the cave empty, and then you dragged me here."
"What? Did you see anything?"
"I didn't see it clearly." Su Qingjun's face was solemn. "But I could tell that it was huge, yet it walked silently."
Unknown dangers are even more frightening, but fortunately the enclosed space gives everyone some sense of security.
After daybreak, they finally emerged from the cave. There were no footprints on the ground outside. They continued their journey while the day lasted.
So far, everyone has been in the secret realm for more than five months. The reason why the secret realm is valued by cultivators is not only because of the rare and precious animals in the secret realm, but also because the secret realm is rich in spiritual energy. The speed of cultivation in the secret realm is more than two to three times that of the outside world.
After staying in the secret realm for such a long time, Xiao Ze has already entered the realm of perfect foundation building from the foundation building stage. He believes that when the right time comes, he will be able to advance to the golden elixir stage quickly.
The sky darkened again, but the surroundings were open and flat with only patches of trees. Su Qingjun asked everyone to climb the trees immediately and spend the night high up.
Although I only saw a vague shape last time, the monster should not be able to fly.
Su Qingjun and Zhou Miao were both extremely alert, fearing that the monster would launch a sneak attack. The others did not dare to sleep too deeply, for fear that they would be in the monster's stomach when they opened their eyes again.
Hearing the sound of heavy breathing, Xiao Ze suddenly opened his eyes and, like everyone else, quietly hid in the tree under the cover of leaves and branches.
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