35. Adopting Isn’t an Option?
The gloomy wind howled, and the sky, for no reason, darkened.
It was just past noon. Gong Yiling had originally planned to find a place to eat.
At this time, for the sky to suddenly turn like this was truly unexpected.
And not only did the sky suddenly darken, but a pile of tombstones and exposed skeletons also appeared on the ground.
This scene had a rather sinister and eerie feel to it.
“This is the true Hundred Ghosts Ridge.” Feng Lili said, “According to the villagers, this place existed before they arrived.”
“This is a place of extreme yin and sha energy. Countless skeletons are buried underground, their vengeful spirits lingering, thus forming this Hundred Ghosts Ridge.”
“As for the secret realm—”
“Ghost Essence Crystal.” Gong Yiling suddenly raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s because of the Ghost Essence Crystal, right?”
Feng Lili was a bit surprised.
This girl actually knew about the Ghost Essence Crystal?
Of course, many things Miss Gong shouldn’t have known, she suddenly did, and that was because of one thing.
“Ding, system notification, you have entered the range of the secret realm [Hundred Ghosts Ridge]. This is a disaster-type secret realm. For details, please check the detailed introduction of the disaster-type secret realm.”
“Disaster-type Secret Realm: Unlike ordinary secret realms, a disaster-type secret realm is not a naturally formed one or a man-made cave dwelling, scene, etc. A disaster-type secret realm itself is not a type of secret realm. It may be formed by the resentment, soul, and obsession of some creatures. There are no so-called treasures in the secret realm. The only item is the Ghost Essence Crystal.”
“Ghost Essence Crystal: A mysterious crystal that can visualize things like obsession, soul, and resentment. The formation condition of a disaster-type secret realm is that this special crystal must exist nearby. Besides forming a disaster-type secret realm, this item can also be used for forging weapons.”
Gong Yiling hadn’t had time to read the detailed description of the secret realm quest.
But these few sentences had already clearly explained the cause and points of attention of this disaster-type secret realm.
She had seen this disaster-type secret realm in the novel, but their number was quite touching, so the book only mentioned it briefly.
Unexpectedly, she had actually encountered one today.
“Since you know about the Ghost Essence Crystal, I won’t mention anything else.” Feng Lili said, “But little one, if your goal is the Ghost Essence Crystal, I’d advise you to save your breath.”
“This place is extremely dangerous. It’s not a place for anyone below the Heavenly Soul realm to enter.”
Ah, this…?
Gong Yiling was a bit confused by her words.
This Ghost Essence Crystal, she only knew what it was when she came here, let alone thinking of taking it for herself.
So did she think she had a plan? It was just a thought that arose a minute ago.
…Eh, wait.
She didn’t have this idea, but that didn’t mean others didn’t.
She was dragged here by her Little Auntie, which means, Little Auntie… she…?
Gong Yiling instinctively looked at Gong Musheng, who hadn’t said a word, but Little Auntie, as if sensing her thoughts, instead said with a laugh, “Eh, Lili, you’re overthinking it. Even I don’t dare to recklessly enter this Hundred Ghosts Ridge. How could I bring this girl here to mess around?”
“Then you are…?”
“She had a dark energy placed on her before. Although she has fully recovered with the help of a divine physician, I want you to take a look at the technique, to see if it’s from the Illusory Bird Dream Courtyard.”
“Those people from the Illusory Courtyard still take such private jobs?” Feng Lili scoffed. “Don’t they claim to have a benevolent heart, even to those from the demonic sects?”
“Don’t you think about who these people usually hang out with?” Gong Musheng chuckled. “To put it bluntly, their so-called ‘benevolent heart’ depends on the person. If it’s to please someone, it’s not impossible for them to temporarily forget their identity.”
“Heh.”
Feng Lili thought her words were quite reasonable. “I came here precisely because I hate those guys’ faces. I’ll take a look at this girl’s situation for you later. What about the other girl?”
She was naturally referring to Yan Chuyue.
“Oh.” Hearing this, Gong Yiling patted Yan Chuyue’s shoulder. “She’s the divine physician.”
Yan Chuyue: “…”
Feng Lili: “Oh?”
Feng Lili looked at this young girl with some surprise.
This girl looked to be in her teens, and from her eyes, she was indeed in her teens.
To have such a high evaluation from others at this age, and to be able to deal with the tricks of the Illusory Bird Dream Courtyard.
“Interesting. Which lineage are you from?”
Yan Chuyue had a very official explanation for this kind of question.
“I have no master. It’s all from my family’s ancient inheritance.”
“Ancient inheritance?” Feng Lili didn’t press further. Since this girl had brought up “inheritance,” which was hard to follow up on, there was no point in asking.
“Now that you’ve been here, and I’ve told you about the dangers, please.”
Feng Lili’s meaning was clear. She didn’t want them to stay here any longer.
Gong Musheng led them away. And just before Gong Yiling left, she noticed that Feng Lili hadn’t left with them, but was standing there, making a prayer-like gesture, before turning to follow them.
But this prayer gesture… looked a bit strange.
As for why she felt strange, Miss Gong couldn’t say.
The rest was a normal return trip.
On the way back to Feng Lili’s residence, they passed by those working farmers again.
These farmers, while busy working, were also gossiping about some interesting things.
“By the way, that matter with Hua’er, have you dealt with it yet?”
“Of course I have.” Another farmer said, “No matter what, she’s my daughter. Can she refuse my arrangements?”
“You can’t say that.” The questioner said, “A girl’s skin is thin. You can’t push her too hard as her father.”
“What’s the big deal? At worst, I’ll just throw her in there.”
At this point, the questioner’s face immediately changed.
He looked nervously at the people nearby and saw Gong Yiling and the others, quickly covering the old father’s mouth.
What were they doing?
Gong Yiling looked at them, puzzled, but ultimately didn’t say anything and followed Gong Musheng.
Well, it was no wonder this kind of ancient era had such old-fashioned ideas. A woman’s marriage, how could it be so simply decided by her parents?
“If I had a daughter, I would definitely not force her to do something she doesn’t want to do.” Gong Yiling said seriously.
Yan Chuyue immediately followed up, “You want to have a child?”
“Can’t I adopt?”
