CHAPTER 35
What kind of fate has led to this? And now I'm being soaked in a large test tube filled with a strange solution?
It seemed as if someone outside the door pressed a button. Sheng Qing, who was still carefully groping for the exit, felt a force and the separation of human and fluid was completed in a few seconds. He fell from the bottom of the test tube.
The room was very cold, and Sheng Qing couldn't help but shiver.
"Put this on." Meng Yunxi took off her coat and handed it to Sheng Qing, glancing at it quickly before awkwardly looking away.
"No need." As soon as she finished speaking, Sheng Qing couldn't help but sneeze.
Meng Yunxi casually tossed a towel over, and Sheng Qing finally noticed the strange look in her eyes. Her clothes, soaked with the solution, clung tightly to her body. She hurriedly wrapped her coat around herself and silently buttoned it all the way up.
"How does it feel? My stuff works great, right?" The fox-eyed man peeked out from behind Meng Yunxi and asked with a smile.
"It's...it's fine," Sheng Qing mumbled in response.
Does the saying "birds of a feather flock together" mean that good-looking people tend to have good-looking friends?
Sheng Qing couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, and the other person raised an eyebrow in response.
Still feeling confused, Sheng Qing blinked and looked around carefully.
"Be careful." As Meng Yunxi spoke, she moved her arm in front of Sheng Qing, gesturing for her to lean on it.
Sheng Qing unceremoniously used the arm in front of him to stand up, her tone tinged with doubt: "Are we in a treatment room?"
"No, no, no, this is my home." The fox-eyed man pointed to the strange solution that had been separately stored away, and his smile widened. "These are all my masterpieces!"
My masterpiece? Oh no, they're not going to ask for an exorbitant price, are they?
Sheng Qing glanced guiltily at the strange solution again.
"By the way, my name is Xu Pei. What's your name?" The fox-eyed man politely extended his right hand, looking Sheng Qing up and down.
Is the first thing I do when I wake up is to start chasing after debts?
“My name is…” Sheng Qing hesitated before extending her hand.
"Xu Pei? Is that the name you just gave yourself?" But before she could finish speaking, Meng Yunxi slapped Xu Pei's hand away. "Don't even think about touching her."
Huh?
Unsure of what was going on, Sheng Qing silently withdrew his hand.
"Not at all, Boss Meng, you're judging a gentleman by your own petty standards!" Xu Pei narrowed his eyes, smiling instead of getting angry.
"Speak, what do you want this time?" Meng Yunxi did not let her guard down. Instead, she stepped forward and shielded Sheng Qing behind her.
"Sigh, I'm very curious about what your friend released, but I'd like to explore it in more depth." As he spoke, Xu Pei turned his head and smiled at Sheng Qing.
In-depth discussion?
and you?
Me?
Whose mind is clouded?
Sheng Qing wisely refrained from responding.
"Are you sure?" Meng Yunxi asked back.
"Never mind, it's a waste of my month's food rations." Seemingly frightened by Meng Yunxi's expression, Xu Pei waved his hand and began to sigh deeply.
Beautiful as he was, Sheng Qing always felt that Xu Pei's face was out of place with his overall temperament.
"Two months' worth of food?" Meng Yunxi asked tentatively.
"How about adding ten more Thousand Faces and ten more Seashells?" Xu Pei probed.
"Deal." Meng Yunxi made the final decision.
"Boss Meng is so straightforward!" Xu Pei wanted to pat Meng Yunxi on the shoulder, but when he saw her cold gaze, he awkwardly withdrew his hand.
She couldn't understand a word they were saying, but as long as it didn't involve spending gold coins, everything was negotiable. Sheng Qing's gaze shifted back and forth between Meng Yunxi and Xu Pei, barely suppressing the urge to ask a question.
"Same as always, no tricks in three days," Meng Yunxi said.
"Okay, okay!" Xu Pei's eyes narrowed into slits, and his hands unconsciously tugged at the skin on the side of his ears.
"Let's go," Meng Yunxi said to Sheng Qing.
As Sheng Qing moved her feet, she suddenly felt dizzy, her head was heavy and her feet were light, and she felt even more dizzy.
"Let me catch my breath." Sheng Qing managed to utter a few words, but Meng Yunxi immediately put her arm around his shoulder.
"Hold me tight." It was hard to tell if it was a command or a plea.
ah?
Why bother with this kind of show of force?
Sheng Qing was stunned.
Xu Pei, who had escorted the two to the door, then opened it for them with great courtesy.
Outside the door was a bottomless darkness; this was nothing like Mengcheng.
It resembled a deep, abandoned mine, with a faint light shining from its distant entrance. The cave walls were dotted with countless recessed spaces, scattered in a haphazard yet orderly fashion.
Just like this one in front of us, it looks ordinary, but inside it is a hidden gem.
Sheng Qing suddenly realized that it was really necessary to cling to a powerful figure.
Given his current state of being weak and frail after recovering from a serious illness, he might very well lose his life here.
Pshaw! Pshaw! You're such a jinx!
Sheng Qing hurriedly hugged Meng Yunxi tightly, and the latter used the vines to jump and landed in another recessed open space.
Xu Pei was left far behind.
Huh? A strange scene has appeared before my eyes.
"Xu Pei, why is he so deflated?"
"Captain, your friend is deflated!"
Sheng Qing's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Hmm." Meng Yunxi wasn't surprised or suspicious, she just said calmly, "Be gentle, it won't fall."
Because of nervousness and excitement, Sheng Qing didn't control the strength of his arms when holding Meng Yunxi.
"Am I seeing things?" Sheng Qing hadn't recovered yet.
“Those are their work uniforms.” Meng Yunxi said calmly, glancing down at the hands tightly wrapped around her waist, and sighed silently. A slight smile then appeared on her lips.
"Work clothes?" Sheng Qing asked in surprise, noticing a small creature emerging from the so-called work clothes, shaking its head and wandering around as if checking for a malfunction.
A moment later, Xu Pei swayed and then, as if inflated, returned to human form. He stood up straight by the door and waved to Sheng Qing.
Sheng Qing couldn't help but shiver again.
"Are you cold?" Meng Yunxi, who was about to jump to another concave spot, stopped and pulled the coat tighter around the person in her arms.
"Um, are all your friends so..." Sheng Qing carefully chose her words, "so special?"
"What, are you scared?" Meng Yunxi's tone carried a hint of mockery.
"How could that be? If an official investigator were afraid of something like this, he'd be a laughingstock." Sheng Qing said seriously.
"That's good." Meng Yunxi nodded in satisfaction, and then led Sheng Qing up to another recessed area.
What are they satisfied with? My question is, are they afraid?
Are you asking your friend?
Sheng Qing was somewhat annoyed, but felt that arguing about this issue was pointless.
He looked up at the towering cave entrance, a look of melancholy on his face.
"You're not planning to just climb up step by step like this, are you?" Sheng Qing asked.
"Do you have any other good ideas?" Meng Yunxi asked in return.
"Without a teleportation array or anything, can we get out in a flash?" Sheng Qing felt her arms, which were wrapped around the other person, were slightly sore. She moved them carefully for a few seconds before tightening her embrace again.
If I hadn't been entangled by that damn black mist, which depleted my spiritual energy, I wouldn't need to be here as someone else's accessory.
I've incurred another debt of gratitude; how will I ever repay it?
"Yes," Meng Yunxi uttered a single word.
"Huh?" Sheng Qing wondered if she had misheard, and repeated, "Yes?"
If it exists, why not use it? Are you just being lazy?
"When did I say I was going back to Mengcheng?" Meng Yunxi's expression remained unchanged.
“If we don’t go back to Mengcheng, then…” Sheng Qing frowned, feeling her heart beat faster.
You can't exactly sell yourself to get some kind of thousand-faced mask and conch shell, can you?
"Are you really Meng Yunxi?" Could it be some monster in disguise, wearing such a strange work uniform?
Sheng Qing looked at the person in front of him with suspicion.
“Genuine, no doubt about it.” Meng Yunxi seemed intrigued and stopped at a concave point, leaning slightly closer. “Why don’t you check it and see if there are any flaws?”
How would I know where your weaknesses lie?
Sheng Qing released his grip, took two steps back, and looked wary.
Having just escaped the clutches of the black mist, have you fallen into the trap of an unknown monster?
Sheng Qing recalled that the monster named Xu Pei seemed to have strangely tugged at his ears.
Could it be at the seam of the work uniform?
Seemingly seeing through Sheng Qing's little scheme, Meng Yunxi frankly pointed to her ear and said with a smile, "You can give it a try?"
Sheng Qing's body reacted faster than her brain; she actually stood on tiptoe and reached out to check.
But the moment she touched him, she snapped out of her daze and said with slight annoyance, "Meng Yunxi, are you kidding me?"
A hint of disappointment flashed in the other person's eyes. He sighed, straightened up leisurely, and said, "I thought your brain had really been damaged by that solution, and you were even trying to settle scores with it?"
Okay, there must be something strange about this cave, which is why Meng Yunxi has become abnormal as well.
"I'm not teasing you anymore." Meng Yunxi coughed lightly, shifting her gaze from Sheng Qing's stunned face, and briefly explained the situation.
This place is a hidden paradise, a secret realm discovered by chance. Interestingly, besides the obvious secret realm right before our eyes, the indentations scattered on the cave walls also serve as entrances to other secret realms.
Between these secret realms lie layers upon layers, each containing countless new ones. If someone unfamiliar with the area were to wander in, they might inadvertently fall from one secret realm into another, ultimately becoming lost in this place.
The reason for not immediately returning to Mengcheng was that Sheng Qing's body had not fully recovered. Rather than risking being harmed again by some unknown creature by returning to Mengcheng, it was better to stay here and recover first.
Sheng Qing was skeptical, but then looked up and observed carefully.
As far as the eye could see, there were countless densely packed concave points, and for a moment, my feet were stiff and I dared not move them.
"Then how did you avoid the entrance to the secret realm at the concave point?" Sheng Qing thought of something illogical.
"Where is a place to recuperate?" Sheng Qing paused, then explained, "Actually, I'm not in a place where I need to recuperate. I'm just mentally exhausted. Maybe a good night's sleep will make me feel better."
"I'll take you somewhere where no one will bother you, and we'll talk after you've rested." Meng Yunxi reached out to Sheng Qing, gesturing for her to come closer.
“I can go up myself.” Sheng Qing glanced at the other person’s eyes and felt inexplicably awkward. She then focused her mind, gathered the power of wood element, and summoned the vines.
"Okay." Meng Yunxi didn't insist and withdrew her hand.
Following Meng Yunxi's example, Sheng Qing jumped successfully, but just as he was about to land beside him, a sudden blur caught him off guard, causing him to fall further away.
It was only a meter away, and Sheng Qing didn't take it to heart.
Then, instead of a sense of security from where I landed, I felt a suffocating feeling.
Oh no! Did we fall into another secret realm?
In an instant, the surrounding scene changed. Icy water rushed in from all directions, and the fishy-smelling liquid instantly filled the throat and nasal cavity, then quickly rushed into the ear canals and eye sockets.
Struggling to rise to the surface, the surging water relentlessly enveloped and pressed down on Sheng Qing.
I can not swim!
I'm not going to drown, am I?!
Two thoughts suddenly flashed through Sheng Qing's mind.
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