“Good.”
Because the person in front of her lowered her eyes, Yan Zhu could not discern her expression. Her voice drifted in with the wind and brushed past Yan Zhu’s ear; lifting her gaze, she only saw the back of the young girl holding a sword as she walked toward the entrance of the tomb.
Just before that figure was about to be swallowed by the darkness, the other person abruptly stopped in her steps.
“…You must also… be careful.”
The words seemed to bounce out of her mouth one by one, her voice trailing off softly toward the end of the sentence.
A flush of warmth spread across Song Wenqing’s cheeks. Without waiting for the person behind her to reply, she strode quickly into the cave entrance as if fleeing.
Yan Zhu was still stunned. It was not until she saw the young girl’s figure disappear that she came back to her senses and could not help laughing softly.
–She seemed to have discovered this person’s hidden attribute.
Listening to their conversation from the side, Tong Mu felt that the way the two of them interacted lacked the straightforward ease of typical friends, and a sudden surge of curiosity rose within it.
Yet, it was genuinely intimidated by the “immortal” right before its eyes, and at the moment, it did not dare to ask anything at all. Feeling utterly aggrieved, it shook off a few more leaves.
Silently lamenting its own misfortune, the tung tree shifted its roots and replanted itself in its original spot, using its tall and thick trunk to tightly and solidly block the entrance of the immortal tomb.
Unless a newcomer’s cultivation level far exceeded its own, it would be absolutely impossible to detect the mysteries hidden within this place.
Tong Mu was confident that after the Age of Dharma Decline, the fellows whose tiers could surpass its own were exceedingly few and far between. The truth was indeed so; before it provoked Yan Zhu, the massive bug of this world, it had safely guarded the immortal tomb for nearly a hundred years.
“I am truly foolish, truly…”
Every time it thought of this matter, Tong Mu regretted it to the core. It carefully observed the young girl in front of it who seemed to be staring blankly at the leaves on the ground, guessing that she must be plotting some vicious and malicious tricks once more.
–After all, these immortals are all black-hearted!
Yan Zhu was unaware that she had already become some sort of terrifying existence in the old tree’s eyes; she was merely letting her mind go blank.
Not long after Song Qing left, she suddenly realized that she had overlooked a very important matter: she fundamentally had no idea about the exact time of the other person’s return.
Cultivation knows no years; to cultivators, time is like flowing water.
Several years, a dozen or so years, or even decades are nothing more than a snap of the fingers, slipping away easily in the midst of closed-door seclusion or overcoming perilous trials.
Yet Yan Zhu was a mortal, and she might not necessarily live that long.
The image involuntarily surfaced in her mind of herself with graying hair, leaning on a cane, trembling as she walked toward the cave entrance to welcome Song Qing back. Shuddering with fright, Yan Zhu quickly shook her head to rattle this terrifying thought out of her mind.
No, she might not even live until that time.
Most likely, before three days were up, she would starve to death in this very place.
Previously, half of her food source came from Song Qing’s hunting spoils, and the other half was bought by Song Qing using spiritual stones… Waking up to this reality belatedly, Yan Zhu realized the vital importance of this small teammate of hers and resolved that she must work harder to hug her meal ticket’s thick thighs in the future.
“The Southern Continent’s mystic realm will open before long, and there are quite a few fortuitous opportunities inside…”
Moreover, the Lingyun Dao Sect had also organized disciples to go there, and eighteen-year-old Song Wenqing would make her second major breakthrough in reputation throughout the cultivation world because of this journey.
Unlike her first thin label as a “sixteen-year-old Golden Core prodigy,” the impact of this time would be much more profound. Many behind-the-scenes mighty figures from various sects would successively begin to take notice of this junior.
Among them, there would be no lack of old fellows who had already stepped half a foot into the grand gates of immortality.
Yan Zhu had arranged this subplot precisely to let the female protagonist accumulate personal connections.
Therefore, Song Wenqing would step forward multiple times in the mystic realm to rescue righteous path disciples from various continents, bestowing quite a few favors and essentially establishing her preliminary foundation within other sects.
During this period, she would also faintly manifest the demeanor of a new generation’s righteous path leader, attracting numerous cultivators to follow her.
Yan Zhu remembered that when she finished writing that chapter, the comment section was filled with howling comments from people who couldn’t wait to see the female protagonist slaughtering the field.
“It is truly wonderful…”
She narrowed her eyes, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips.
Although she herself was ordinary, dim, and hidden among the sea of people, her closest friend—the protagonist she had personally created—would shine brightly in another part of the world.
Even more fortuitously, she had come to her world and was granted the privilege of witnessing firsthand the star named “Song Wenqing” rising steadily in the cultivation world.
“No… she is more like the moon…”
Yan Zhu thought with a smile.
In the dark night of the prolonged Age of Dharma Decline, the moon hanging high in the azure vault was pure and gentle, yet sufficient to cause all the stars to pale in comparison.
She longed to quickly see her unilaterally acknowledged friend.
She wanted to see her appearance, listen to her voice, and gaze upon her as she was envied and looked up to by the multitudes.
As for herself, it would be enough to simply watch from afar.
The Southern Continent presented a fine opportunity.
Pity that the Southern Continent was too far away; trying to find someone amidst a crowd of cultivators was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.
Yan Zhu felt it would be more direct to head straight to the Central Continent closer to the Western Continent and keep watch right outside the gates of the Lingyun Dao Sect. The probability of encountering Song Wenqing would be much greater.
–However, what about Song Qing?
A voice emerged from the depths of her heart.
Originally, this “transaction” was fair, but now, she had clearly accumulated even heavier debts during this period of living together.
To the extent that Yan Zhu was struck by a profound sense of helplessness, not knowing how to repay them.
“The fortuitous opportunities of the Southern Continent… will she be satisfied with them?”
A gust of breeze swept across her face, lifting her flying strands of hair and causing an itching sensation on her cheeks.
Yan Zhu felt an inexplicable blockage in her heart; she vaguely felt as though she had let something down, yet she could not quite figure it out.
Sighing deeply, she temporarily pushed her worries about the future to the back of her mind.
Lifting her head to look at the sun obscured by the cloud layer, Yan Zhu concluded that the most urgent matter to ponder right now was—she had to stay alive until Song Qing came out.
This indeed presented a major problem.
After spending roughly half an hour on contemplation, Yan Zhu broke down “survival” into ten steps, with each step equipped with a plan and a backup plan, and some even featuring a backup plan’s backup plan.
“Very well, half of the problem is solved now, and the next step is to work hard and execute it!”
Yan Zhu cheered herself on silently in her heart, her gaze slowly falling upon Tong Mu opposite her.
Opening her mouth, she prepared to speak, but first heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes on one side.
Yan Zhu closed her lips, gripped the tung tree branch in her hand even tighter, and shifted her gaze toward that spot with vigilance.
The branches and leaves of the bushes swayed slightly, revealing a scattering of black through the gaps.
“Meow~”
Two small lanterns probed outward from within—one bright yellow, the other emerald green, both containing slit-like vertical pupils.
The black shadow flashed across her eyes in an instant, and looking again, the newcomer had already landed on a nearby patch of open ground.
“Meow~”
The small black ball shook its fur, trotted over on tiny paws to her leg, and affectionately rubbed against her.
Looking down at this inexplicably appearing cat, Yan Zhu vaguely sensed a hint of oddity.
As if to verify her suspicion, footsteps approached from far and near, disorderly and sounding like more than one person.
“Catch it…”
“Where did it run”
“Cat… Don’t know”
A few vague words drifted into her ear, and observing the furry creature that had jumped into her arms at some unknown moment, Yan Zhu felt alarm bells ringing wildly in her heart.
Disaster had struck!
She had been accosted and framed by an unscrupulous cat!
“Meow~”
The cry was both delicate and coquettish, and round heterochromic pupils gazed up at her. Unfortunately, the surroundings were too dark, wasting the highly lethal, innocent expression on this fellow’s face.
Yan Zhu extended a finger to gently tap the small head of the black ball, lowered her voice, and threatened it with a fierce expression, “You are not allowed to call out!”
Just moments before, seeing that people were about to approach, she had relied on quick wits to cradle this drag-along bottle and hide by the immortal tomb’s entrance, hoping to temporarily evade them.
The surroundings were pitch black, with the two cat pupils acting as the sole light sources. Beneath her palm lay a warm and soft texture that inevitably stirred a trace of pity in one’s heart. While gently hugging the little fellow tight, Yan Zhu paid attention to the movements outside.
The people who arrived were indeed more than one, and they had not yet walked away.
When Tong Mu chose not to manifest, it possessed plenty of unique methods to conceal its traces.
However, perhaps because that group of people discovered something, they kept pacing back and forth in the vicinity.
“What should we do… We cannot find it…”
“Impossible, it clearly ran in this direction!”
“It is also possible it is an illusion technique; spiritual beasts… are not much more foolish than humans…”
“An illusion technique? Looking at it, it doesn’t look like it has gained intelligence at all; at most, it is just a level-one spiritual beast.”
Several voices argued endlessly among themselves until someone could no longer listen and interrupted.
“Alright, stop arguing!”
The speaker seemed to be the leader of this group, and those individuals immediately fell silent.
“Arguing is useless; finding the divine beast is the priority.”
“Since it cannot be found here, we shall split into several paths right here.”
“Spiritual beasts are few in number and precious, with immense potential. Regardless of whether it is level one or level two, let’s catch it first!”
Another burst of chaotic footsteps followed, and then the exterior fell completely quiet.
Afraid that it might be a feint, Yan Zhu restrained her patience and waited for about the space of an incense stick without hearing any strange noises pop up, allowing her to relax slightly.
“It seems to be… safe.”
Her low voice echoed within the hollow cave entrance, a soft sigh included at the end of the sentence.
“Meow—”
The black cat leaned in very affectionately to rub against the side of her face.
Facing this hateful “principal culprit,” Yan Zhu found herself completely unable to muster any anger. Fulfilling her duty of taking care of the little fellow in her arms, she walked over to the entrance and reached out to knock on the “wooden door” before her.
“Boom—!”
Like an earth-shattering tremor, the surroundings shook violently.
Sand and stones rained down with a rustling sound, dust filling the air completely.
Yan Zhu was nearly choked, hastily narrowing her eyes and stepping back a few paces.
Right at that juncture, the ground trembled once more—milder than the previous time, yet lasting longer.
Following that came the sound of stone slabs loosening, then the sharp screech of sand grinding against stone, and finally concluding with the dull, thunderous roar of heavy objects landing.
Dust billowed, and the entire space of the cave entrance was submerged.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Using her sleeve to cover her nose and mouth, Yan Zhu coughed uncomfortably; thanks to the stone wall at her back, she managed to barely steady her body.
After a duration unknown, the commotion beneath her feet finally ceased, and the dust floating in the air slowly settled onto the ground.
Having adapted to the dark, Yan Zhu opened her eyes and discovered that the entrance she had entered through was blocked tight by a thick, massive stone wall.
An ominous premonition welled up in her heart, causing it to sink abruptly.
“Tong Mu?” Yan Zhu called out tentatively.
There was no response.
“Can you hear me? Tong Mu…”
“Tong Mu… Are you still there?”
Her throat was already hoarse from calling, yet there remained no response from the outside.
This place ought to be soundproofed.
Looking at her reddened hands, Yan Zhu thought as the last lingering expectations in her heart instantly vanished, biting her lip in bewilderment.
“Meow—”
The kitten in her arms tilted its head to look at her, its cry softer and hoarser than before, as if offering comfort.
“I am fine.”
Scratching the little fellow under its chin, Yan Zhu took a deep breath to steady her mind. “It does not matter… Life itself is an adventure…”
She turned around and walked toward the single remaining path.