Chapter 8
Xie Wen struggled to piece together the shattered and upside-down world, only to find himself in a completely new place. It looked like a suburban wilderness, overgrown with weeds, with cracked yellow earth roads. A group of people who looked like beggars sat by the roadside, their bodies disheveled and dirty, carefully sharing half a dirty steamed bun.
In the distance stretched endless mountains and dense forests, the shadows of which cast a chilling aura behind Xie Wen. She turned around and suddenly two people appeared out of nowhere.
Yun Yan still maintained his fierce appearance, gripping a large knife. Before Yun Yan could regain consciousness, Xie Wen darted behind Chu Xianyue, crouching behind him and tugging at a sliver of his clothing.
Xie Wen was genuinely afraid that Yun Yan, that lunatic, would challenge her to another duel; she couldn't handle it anymore. Survival was paramount, no matter what. Even at the risk of being sent flying by Chu Xianyue's palm strike, she would cling tightly to his leg and hide behind him.
Chu Xianyue turned around and gave Xie Wen a cold glance, who was cowering like a little chick. He seemed puzzled; was he being treated like a protective mother hen by Xie Wen?
Yun Yan had regained consciousness and remained in the same stance, sword in hand, facing Chu Xianyue. Anyone witnessing this would have deemed Yun Yan a rebellious and treacherous disciple. Chu Xianyue glared at him, and Yun Yan immediately became obedient, sheathing his sword and turning to Xie Wen, "Where's Xie Wen?"
Xie Wen, who was hiding behind Chu Xianyue: ...
It seems this junior brother not only has some mental issues, but also some problems with his eyesight. Xie Wen said, "Is Xie Wen the way you call me? No matter what, I'm your senior sister. If you don't acknowledge me, it's the same as not acknowledging our master, right?"
Yun Yan has always held Chu Xianyue in the highest esteem, regarding him as a god-like figure. Whenever Chu Xianyue is placed in front of him, he is always invincible.
Chu Xianyue narrowed his eyes, and Yun Yan lowered his head, reluctantly calling out softly, "Senior Sister."
Xie Wen let out a smug look.
Before Xie Wen could finish gloating, Chu Xianyue grabbed him from behind like a chick and pulled him out, saying, "How long are you going to hide behind me?"
Xie Wen stopped laughing and faced Yun Yan warily.
Since they were already there, the two temporarily put aside their "grudges" and focused on the trial. Having fallen into the same instance, the three of them were essentially bound together, so they naturally had to cooperate to break free of the illusion as soon as possible.
Although Xie Wen and Yun Yan couldn't stand each other, they strangely reached a consensus.
Xie Wen asked, "Master, what is the illusionary realm mission? What should we do next?"
Before Chu Xianyue could speak, Yun Yan crossed her arms and sneered, "Did I knock your brains out, Senior Sister? You've even forgotten the trial mission. How ridiculous."
After Yun Yan finished speaking, he turned to stare at Xie Wen with a suspicious look in his eyes, wondering if Xie Wen was planning to use some trick against him again.
Xie Wen: This brat is really unlikable.
While Xie Wen was pondering, she was bumped by an old man carrying a basket on his back. The old man was so hunched over that most of his body was bent like a shrimp, and Xie Wen was a little worried that his head would fall to the ground. As a result, the old man was much shorter than Xie Wen, looking like a small child in front of her. She could see the contents of the old man's basket by slightly turning to the side and bending over.
A pair of empty eyes stared at Xie Wen.
Her hair stood on end.
A round, plump object lay in the bamboo basket, beneath which lay fragments of the people. The blackened bamboo basket was stained with years of blood, and fresh blood was still dripping down its seams.
The passersby seemed unfazed. Xie Wen had heard of this profession in his modern life, called a corpse driver, who transported corpses from foreign lands back to their hometowns. This old man looked like he did that, but not entirely.
The old man walked along the dirt road, but it was a dead end leading to a dark forest. The dense, dark forest looked like a place where one could never come out again, and it didn't seem like a human settlement. The closer he got to the forest, the more desolate it became, without a single living creature in sight.
Xie Wen found it strange. Just as he was about to ask, Yun Yan grabbed the old man by the collar and lifted him up like a piece of clothing, interrogating him without any politeness: "Old man, where are you going with a dead man on your back? What are you going to do?"
Xie Wen looked at Yun Yan speechlessly. This guy was so rude. He was like a mindless little thing.
The old man was as thin as a skeleton, trembling like a leaf in Yun Yan's hands. He honestly replied, "I found this corpse because nobody wanted it. I haven't done anything immoral. I'm going to use this corpse to go to the Green Lantern Forest to exchange for the Holy Fruit with the Holy Maiden."
"Holy Maiden? And what is the Holy Fruit?" Yun Yan asked.
"Don't you know? There's a saintess in the Green Lamp Forest. If you bring a corpse to her, she'll be happy. If you're lucky, you can get one of her sacred fruits. You can take it to the market and sell it for several hundred strings of cash, enough for an ordinary family to eat for more than a month. But if you're unlucky, you'll become nourishment for the sacred fruit."
Therefore, poor people often took the risk of carrying corpses to the Green Lantern Forest to offer them to the so-called "holy maidens" inside.
Yun Yan snorted coldly, "What kind of holy maiden is she? She's just pretending to be a goddess. I think she's more like a witch!"
Upon hearing this, the old man seemed to have heard something terrible, and was so frightened that he repeatedly begged Yun Yan to stop talking, saying that the Holy Maiden would be angry. If she were angry, none of them would be able to escape unscathed.
Yun Yan scoffed. He wanted to see just how powerful this demoness really was. He released the old man's collar and said, "Where is that demoness? Take us there."
The old man was almost in tears, his face filled with despair, as if he were pleading with him: Please stop talking, please stop talking...
Xie Wen: Look how scared he is! This brat doesn't know how to respect the elderly or care for the young at all. Xie Wen then glanced at Chu Xianyue. He really doesn't teach at all! He's supposed to be a revered Immortal Venerable, and look at the disciple he's taught.
It must be said that in some ways, Yun Yan truly inherited Chu Xianyue's traits. That innate air of looking down on everyone is practically identical to his.
Chu Xianyue seemed to sense what Xie Wen was thinking and said calmly, "You have a problem with that?"
Xie Wen looked away. Was this person mind-reading? Or was she just so unable to keep a secret?
Chu Xianyue must be too cunning!
Chu Xianyue asked in a low voice, "What are you thinking about?" This startled Xie Wen quite a bit. She could complain in her heart, but they were still in the illusion, and she was counting on him to break the illusion quickly. She didn't want to upset him any further.
Xie Wen chuckled and changed the subject, "Now that we know that the Holy Maiden is up to something, let's hurry up and kill her so we can leave the illusion, right?"
The old man listened to these people's words, each one more infuriating than the last. He began to wonder if he had offended anyone, and who exactly had sent these people to harass him.
Led by the old man, the three walked along the dirt road, which eventually disappeared into a patch of waist-high weeds. Beyond the weeds, the misty, secluded forest was the Green Lamp Forest.
Xie Wen asked the old man, "Where did you hand over the work before?"
The old man, carrying a large basket on his back like a giant parasite, said shakily, "I don't know, this is my first time here too. If I didn't have no other choice, who would risk doing this? I have a family to support, and if I don't find food soon, they'll starve to death."
Even knowing that he was just an illusion, Xie Wen was deeply moved by the old man's helpless appearance. She had also been poor when she was young and had seen many people from the bottom of society who suffered hardship. To put it bluntly, she had also come from such a background and had been supported by such people.
Yun Yan had no time to listen to the complaints of this virtual person conjured up from the illusion. He was single-mindedly focused on killing the great demon as soon as possible, leaving the secret realm and seizing first place. He impatiently urged the old man, "Hurry up and go in, stop dawdling."
The old man had no choice but to grit his teeth and walk into the dark forest. He was short, and as soon as he stepped into the waist-high weeds, he was completely swallowed up and disappeared from sight.
Xie Wen and the others immediately followed, but it only took a few seconds. The three of them searched everywhere but could not find the old man again, and no matter how they called him, there was no sound.
In broad daylight, Xie Wen felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively stood behind Chu Xianyue, gripping the hem of his clothes tightly. No matter how much Xie Wen disliked this person in ordinary times, in a critical moment, Xie Wen's first thought was to hide behind Chu Xianyue.
Previously, Chu Xianyue was Xie Wen's biggest threat. But after the system arrived, Xie Wen declared that Chu Xianyue was her greatest protection. After all, she lacked practical combat experience and was afraid of death, so it was best to cling to a powerful figure as soon as possible.
No matter what, as long as Chu Xianyue hasn't given up on his path to ascension, he will spend his entire life pursuing her and protecting her. If she dies, his path to ascension will be thwarted, and his dream of ascension will be broken. This practically binds Chu Xianyue and Xie Wen together.
Chu Xianyue seemed to have gotten used to this, and stepped aside to block Xie Wen, showing a hint of protecting his own.
Yun Yan didn't believe in ghosts or evil spirits. He directly chopped down the waist-high weeds with his sword, instantly leveling them and letting them sway in the sun. But he still couldn't see the old man. Yun Yan shouted, "Old man, come out here! What are you pretending to be? Come out here!"
His only response was the sound of the wind rushing through the forest, a mournful sound like the wailing of ghosts. It sent a chill down Xie Wen's spine, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
Chu Xianyue spoke up, "Now that we're here, let's go in and see what's causing this trouble."
Xie Wen felt that the further he went, the thicker the fog became in the forest. The white fog filled the entire Green Lantern Forest, and he couldn't see the faces of the people in front of him even a meter away.
Xie Wen's mind began to fill with images from horror movies he had seen before. They were all set in such a thick fog, where he couldn't see his companions clearly. Before long, the people around him would be silently replaced by something else, the protagonist would call out to his companions, and the companions would turn around to reveal a blood-red, ghostly face...
She was startled by herself and instinctively grabbed Chu Xianyue's arm tightly, crying out, "Master, Master, Master."
Chu Xianyue was startled by Xie Wen's sudden action. Xie Wen was holding his hand tightly... This was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to make such an inappropriate move towards him. He sneered, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction. He swore that this satisfaction was only because his conquest seemed to be progressing, and he was one step closer to his ultimate goal.
After being called by Xie Wen so many times, Chu Xianyue finally turned his head and asked, "What for?"
Xie Wen took a deep breath, calming down, "Thank goodness, he is the real Master."
Yun Yan's voice was as provocative as ever, "Could it be that there's a fake master?"
Xie Wen said, "With such thick fog, aren't you afraid that we might suddenly disappear or turn into something else?" She tentatively suggested, "For safety's sake, how about the three of us hold hands? That way we won't be afraid."
Yun Yan said, "I wouldn't do something so stupid."
If they weren't in the same boat now, Xie Wen would have really wanted to beat this kid up. How could he manage to be so obnoxious in every action and word?
Who cares about him? As long as Xie Wen clings to Chu Xianyue, that's enough. Xie Wen said to Chu Xianyue, "Master, we must never be separated."
Xie Wen tentatively reached out from her arm, through his outer garment, to his wrist. Skin to skin, without any fabric separating them, she could feel Chu Xianyue's body temperature. Xie Wen relaxed a little; she still wasn't entirely at ease just holding onto Chu Xianyue's clothes. In this critical moment, Xie Wen wished she could cling to Chu Xianyue. Truly cling to him.
She was genuinely afraid of dying.
Chu Xianyue was startled when a warm hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. He was not used to physical contact with people and felt that his wrist was sticky and sticky.
In the past, Chu Xianyue could have easily outmaneuvered Xie Wen. But times have changed.
He thought to himself: Good, physical intimacy can enhance feelings. As long as this woman falls in love with me, all sacrifices are worthwhile.
He hadn't forgotten his mission. Everything he did was for his own cause.
And who knows if Xie Wen is genuinely afraid or just trying to take advantage of him? Chu Xianyue thought to himself with a cold sneer.
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