Chapter 38 The butterfly flaps its wings and suffers its second bout of illness.
The attic contained not only a Heavenly-grade magic treasure, but also several other magical artifacts. The elders set up restrictions, allowing each person to choose only one item.
No one knows what method Shen Zhou used, but in any case, with a wave of his hand, all the magical treasures flew into Hua Deng's Qiankun Ring.
Hua Deng: "..."
Shen Zhou said, "Keep it. With me here, no one will find out."
After saying that, he went out and stood guard outside the attic to prevent anyone from suddenly approaching.
After a while, Su Yiqing and Pei Jianming also climbed up, panting heavily, and cursed the designer's ancestors for eighteen generations.
Hua Deng selected several superior magical artifacts and presented them to Su Yiqing, who exclaimed that her trip was worthwhile.
As for Pei Jianming...
He broke down, shouting, "I've climbed for so long and there's nothing here? Are you guys even human?!"
Hua Deng: "Can't you be a little more rational?"
Pei Jianming blurted out, "What rationality? Rationality existed in the Tang Dynasty!"
After yelling, they realized something was wrong and all three of them fell silent. Hua Deng and Su Yiqing looked at each other in bewilderment.
Pei Jianming waved his hand irritably: "Forget it, you two bumpkins won't understand at all."
"You're the bumpkin," Su Yi said lightly, giving him the middle finger. "Do you know Taylor's formula? Do you know Leibniz's formula? Have you studied microeconomics, macroeconomics, or international trade?"
Pei Jianming was shocked, because he really hadn't studied it; he had transmigrated here after graduating from high school.
"You, you..." He pointed for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence, "Could it be that the system, you guys, also—"
Hua Deng and Su Yiqing both nodded.
Pei Jianming's face grew increasingly pale, and he almost collapsed.
"So I...am not the only one!"
After a while, he finally regained some confidence: "You don't know yet, do you? Two hundred years from now, I will be the strongest swordsman in this world. It's not too late to apologize for your behavior and latch onto my coattails!"
Hua Deng found it amusing and teased, "What kind of book is that? Is it reliable?"
For some reason, Pei Jianming's face turned slightly red. He stammered, "Reliable? How can it not be reliable? Anyway, it's the same kind of book as yours."
At Hua Deng and Su Yiqing's insistence, they saw the title of Pei Jianming's book: "How I Became the Strongest Cultivator in the Immortal Cultivation World After Being Single to Death: The Thrilling Path of Upgrading with Heavenly Spiritual Roots".
Su Yiqing: "Wow!"
Hua Deng: "Uh."
It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to wear a book with a title like this.
The attic was completely ransacked. Apart from Pei Jianming, who looked resentful, Hua Deng and Su Yiqing left satisfied.
However, Shen Zhou was not there.
Just as Hua Deng was puzzled, he suddenly felt a slight itch on the back of his hand, and a butterfly landed on it, its wings fluttering gently.
Where did the butterfly come from?
"Wow, look at the streetlights!" Su Yiqing's exclamation interrupted her.
She looked up, and a gentle breeze suddenly rose in the secret realm, causing countless butterflies to fly out of the forest and gather from all directions.
The wind brushed her cheeks and ruffled her hair. As she reached out her hand, all the butterflies fluttered and danced around her, like a sea of flowers under the sunlight.
Before long, the wind stopped, and the butterflies vanished instantly, as if it had all been an illusion.
Hua Deng stood there blankly, wondering if she was dreaming, but a sudden voice beside her pulled her back to reality: "Have you seen enough this time?"
She turned her head away, unable to speak.
"You look so silly." Shen Zhou flicked her head with his finger. "Go on, you've seen enough."
Even though he used some magic to summon the butterflies, he still couldn't understand what was so interesting about them, and they even seemed to leave people dumbfounded.
Hua Deng finally snapped out of her daze, covering her forehead with both hands: "I understand! You're not allowed to lay a hand on me!"
At this moment, outside the secret realm, the elders who were busy maintaining the magic array all felt a spiritual energy fluctuation of unknown origin.
"...?"
They looked at each other, both seeing confusion and helplessness in each other's eyes.
What are you doing again?
*
Hua Deng successfully exited the secret realm with the highest score.
With two Heavenly-grade magic treasures at her disposal, her score completely overwhelmed the competition, and she would also receive an additional 5,000 spirit stones as a reward.
The area outside the secret realm was crowded with people. Pei Jianming spotted a familiar figure at a glance and rushed towards him with tears in his eyes.
"elder brother!"
He shouted so loudly that even the streetlights turned to look at him.
"Brother, they're the ones who bullied me!" Pei Jianming said, feeling wronged.
The man smiled and said to Hua Deng and the others, "I'm sorry, my younger brother is being ignorant and has caused you all trouble."
Hua Deng said, "You're too kind. We're just looking out for each other."
As she spoke, she kept asking the system in her mind, "Is this also a character in the story?"
She's always a little uneasy about people who are good-looking.
"Yes, but he has no direct relationship with the host and is not within the scope of the mission target," the system said. "His name is Pei Duyun, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and a personal disciple of the Qingyang Sect leader."
Hua Deng was relieved and nodded to Pei Duyun. The two then introduced themselves.
At this moment, Su Yiqing's Daoist partner also came over. Hua Deng had met him once before. The young man still had that gentle appearance. He held Su Yiqing's hand and said, "I have contacted you many times. Why didn't you reply?"
Su Yiqing's face fell immediately, and she shook off his hand, saying, "Stop bothering me, it's really annoying."
Yun Mingyu seemed used to it and silently stepped back, but his gaze remained fixed on her, following Su Yiqing wherever she went.
The two of them were like conjoined twins, and even Shen Zhou couldn't help but frown when he saw them: "Are they both sick?"
Hua Deng nudged him with her elbow: "You don't understand, this is what love is."
Chen Zhou: "Boring."
Hua Deng raised an eyebrow slightly: "You're just being a sour grapes."
Shen Zhou scoffed: "You've ever tasted it?"
Hua Deng said, "I don't have one either, but it looks quite interesting. It should be a good experience."
"Is that so?" Shen Zhou calmly withdrew his gaze, unconvinced.
Just then, Hua Deng suddenly said, "You can too."
"What?" He turned his head.
Hua Deng stood three steps away, amidst the clamor of the crowd, his lips moving clearly as he spoke: "Feel, love, like everyone else. You can too."
After standing still for a moment, Chen Zhou said, "What's the use of feeling those things?"
"All right."
Knowing this would be the answer, Hua Deng wasn't annoyed at all, and still said with a smile, "Then I wish you can experience the feeling of being loved."
This time, Shen Zhou didn't refute anything, perhaps because he didn't care about what she said at all.
The Xiashan Secret Realm has ended, but the Immortal Sect Competition continues.
Hua Deng signed up for the Golden Core group disciple competition and spent the next two days almost without sleep, diligently cultivating from morning till night.
Soon, it was her turn to perform.
Hua Deng, holding a fan, stepped into the arena. Her first reaction was to look around, trying to spot a familiar figure.
As expected, Shen Zhou was not there.
This person did not appear until she easily won the match.
Although there was some anger, the lights shone brightly with joy at the victory.
As she walked out, she shared with Su Yiqing through the communication disc, and also said in her mind, "System, I'm not going to talk to him today. Shen Zhou is really too annoying."
He said he wouldn't watch the Golden Core group, and he actually didn't come.
"Host, would you like me to scan him for you? He might be nearby," the system said.
"...Whatever. He'd better be here!" Hua Deng snorted.
Just as they reached the door, a figure appeared in front of them. Hua Deng looked up and greeted him, "Senior Brother Pei, are you here to watch the competition? This is the Golden Core group, Pei Jianming isn't here."
“Jianming’s competition is over.” Pei Duyun smiled slightly, his tone gentle. “I’m here to see you, Miss Hua.”
"Looking for me?" Hua Deng asked in surprise.
Pei Duyun's smile remained unchanged as he calmly said, "The tea at Qingming Pavilion is quite good. I wonder if I might have the honor of inviting Miss Hua to join me?"
Hua Deng's first reaction was to refuse. Just kidding, she didn't want to get involved with anything that appeared in the book, even if there was no direct contact.
But just then, the system spoke up: "Host, we've found Shen Zhou. His divine sense is nearby and should be watching you."
The lights instantly changed their tune.
"Okay," she said with a smile. "I was just thinking of having some tea."
The two walked together toward Qingmingxuan, chatting happily along the way. Hua Deng was amused by him many times and even took the initiative to share his experience of the secret realm with him.
Unbeknownst to either of them, a wisp of divine consciousness circled the sky, then drifted away with the wind, passing through layers of buildings, and returned to its owner.
Under the uneven shadows of banana leaves, Chen Zhou leaned against the window and slowly opened his eyes.
What was this guy's name again?
He never bothered to look at other people, but at this moment he could only barely recall what the man looked like.
He was handsome and refined, but also incredibly weak and pale-faced.
But if she likes Xue Zifei's face, she'll probably like this type too.
He fiddled with the sword tassel in his hand, thinking casually that he wouldn't have to worry about the full moon this time.
"..."
“Ugly,” he said to the rabbit on the sword tassel.
With a crash, he climbed into the house. The windows were completely shut, cutting off all sunlight, and there was no further sound from inside.
*
Qingmingxuan is a place for tea tasting, but Pei Duyun happened to have brought a pot of delicious wine with him, and Hua Deng, on a whim, also had a couple of drinks.
Pei Duyun's speech and manners were completely different from his brother Pei Jianming; he was a truly elegant gentleman.
When he invited Hua Deng for tea, they simply drank tea and talked; there was no other interaction.
Taking this opportunity, Hua Deng asked a question that had been lingering in her mind, but she didn't know who to ask for help: "Senior Brother Pei, have you ever heard of reincarnation?"
This was the guess that best approximated Shen Zhou's situation, which she had pondered for many days.
Pei Duyun didn't think much of it. After a moment's thought, he replied, "There are many extraordinary people in the Nine Provinces, so reincarnation is certainly not out of the question. However, for thousands of years, the method of reincarnation has been subject to many restrictions, so very few people are willing to reincarnate."
Why?
"Because when a cultivator dies, their cultivation disappears. If they defy the laws of heaven and forcibly reincarnate, they will surely incur divine punishment. Even if they escape divine punishment, reincarnation often takes hundreds of years, and the reincarnated person carries the memories of the soul, with a lifespan of at most a few dozen years, and their cultivation may not even reach the Golden Core stage."
Hua Deng's heart skipped a beat, but upon hearing the rest and recalling Shen Zhou's cultivation level at the Integration Stage, she felt much more at ease.
He has always despised the ways of Heaven, so why should he fear the idea of divine retribution? Heaven and earth cannot bind him.
Having found a vague answer, Hua Deng glanced at the sky and bid farewell to Pei Duyun before sunset. Pei Duyun did not try to stop her and watched her leave.
Qingmingxuan was quite far from her residence. On the way back, Hua Deng was lost in thought and unconsciously slowed down her pace. By the time she reached the door, night had already fallen.
She slowly pushed open the door. The room was dark, and she thought Shen Zhou wasn't there. Just as she was about to undress and rest, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
She was startled, but thankfully she turned around and met familiar dark eyes. She didn't struggle anymore, but just complained, "What are you doing? Why don't you turn on the light?"
Shen Zhou did not answer her. In the darkness, his eyes were like those of a cheetah eyeing a lamb, calm yet filled with a sense of oppression.
He leaned forward slightly, as if he had smelled something, and his voice grew colder: "You've been drinking."
Hua Deng, a little slow on the uptake, casually replied, "Yeah."
Shen Zhou's eyelashes drooped, obscuring the emotions in his eyes, leaving only his cold words: "Have you forgotten what day it is today?"
Hua Deng's hand tightened, and she gently turned her face away.
Of course she remembers.
This is a new full moon night, and also the time when she... fell ill for the second time.
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