Chapter 52 Part 2

Han Lin cleared his throat lightly. “In that case… what about the reward…?”

No matter how stingy the Dream Beast was, it had no choice now but to cough up some of its stores.

It opened its mouth and spat out a cluster of lingzhi mushrooms and spirit herbs, accompanied by a rainbow-like sheen. They looked exceedingly precious. But… no matter what, they had come straight from its mouth.

Jiang Ruan poked Han Lin. “Senior Brother, you go fetch them.”

Han Lin showed not the slightest reluctance. His eyes gleamed as he hurried over.

“These are all priceless treasures!!”

Then the Dream Beast breathed on each of them once.

A flash of surprise crossed Jiang Ruan’s eyes. Moments later, she clearly felt her body lighten all over. The spiritual power within her churned wildly, gathering at her Golden Core and nourishing it until it grew brighter and larger.

Jiang Ruan could distinctly sense that she had nearly advanced half a layer.

The others had experienced the same.

Chen Xu was the first to leap to his feet. “Master! Master! I-I’m right on the verge of Foundation Establishment!”

Han Lin slowly exhaled. “This is truly no small matter…”

Jiang Ruan asked, “What do you mean?”

Han Lin said, “Do you know what it breathed out just now?”

From the effects, Jiang Ruan had assumed it was simply dense spiritual power. But since Han Lin was putting it that way, it clearly wasn’t.

“It’s Divine Power!” Han Lin explained. “It’s a divine beast, after all—its breath is naturally Divine Power! Our aptitude is too low to fully convert it, so it entered our bodies in the form of rich spiritual power to replenish us. Even so, that’s treasure enough!”

That was indeed the case.

Chen Xu had only been at Initial Qi Condensation, with no real tempering experience, yet now he was poised to leap straight into Foundation Establishment.

Jiang Ruan herself had merely been approaching the Golden Core First Layer before, but now she could practically touch the threshold of the Second Layer.

And this was from just a single breath…

To gain such a reward for free was equivalent to half a year of cultivation.

The Dream Beast grumbled, “Satisfied now, are you?”

Han Lin replied, “Many thanks, many thanks.”

Jiang Ruan asked, “So how do we leave?”

The Dream Beast said, “You couldn’t leave earlier because someone was still trapped in the dream I constructed, and I hadn’t opened the door for you. But since you stumbled in by accident, I’ll open the door to the Secret Realm. You can make your own way out.”

The others naturally had no objections.

While they waited for the Dream Beast to act, Han Lin suddenly thought of something. He sidled up to Jiang Ruan and whispered, “I gave it some thought—what it said seems to be true.”

Jiang Ruan blinked. “What?”

Han Lin clarified, “The Dream Beast’s words earlier. It wasn’t just trying to dodge responsibility or spouting nonsense; it was telling the truth. I put myself in its place and recalled my own dream—it all lines up. If that dream hadn’t been so perfect it felt fake, I never would have seen through it and woken up.”

Jiang Ruan couldn’t help frowning.

If it wasn’t the Dream Beast’s doing, then had someone tampered with things without anyone realizing?

But who could it have been?

Soon, the Dream Beast opened the “door” in the sky above.

Jiang Ruan glanced back at it. “What about you?”

The Dream Beast blinked. “What??”

Jiang Ruan said, “After sending us off, you’ll just stay here by yourself?”

The words were perfectly ordinary, but for some reason, hearing them made the Dream Beast inexplicably feel a twinge of pity for itself.

What a joke! It had plenty to eat and drink here. It ate its fill, slept, and had been resting contentedly for centuries—how could it possibly be pitiful!

Besides, if it went outside, it would surely face danger. The world out there was full of bad people.

Thus, the Dream Beast declared, “Of-of course!”

Han Lin gave her a thoughtful look. “Junior Sister, are you thinking of taking it with us?”

Jiang Ruan shook her head. “It definitely wouldn’t want to. Forget it.”

However, the Dream Beast had sharp ears and overheard their conversation. Its large ears twitched.

After a moment of internal struggle, it called out to Jiang Ruan. “Hey, wait a minute.”

It pawed at the ground with its front claws. “You—you want to take this lord out for some fun, but you only ask once? You give up after a single refusal? You human lack any real persistence!”

Jiang Ruan: …

What was she supposed to say to that?

The whole tsundere act wasn’t in style anymore, and more importantly, she wasn’t into tsundere types—so could it please drop it?

But it was a divine beast, after all.

Divine beasts had that kind of flair.

Jiang Ruan: “In that case, Dream Beast Lord, would you please join us for some fun outside?”

The Dream Beast perked up at once, its tail wagging.

“Since you’ve invited me with such sincerity, I’ll graciously accept. Just so you know, once I’m out, I expect spirit spring water to drink, lingzhi mushrooms to eat every day, baths and massages on demand, and regular nail trims.”

Jiang Ruan: What now? She regretted it already.

Of course, that was just a fleeting thought.

Truth be told, if she could actually lure this Dream Beast away, even Jiang Ruan could scarcely believe it.

It had to be her sheer luck.

The Dream Beast had lingered here in solitude for ages, too proud to venture out on its own. Finally encountering outsiders had stirred its interest.

And Jiang Ruan had simply struck at the right moment.

The Dream Beast ambled over to Lu Ning’s side.

For some reason, it felt an inexplicable closeness to this human. Staying near her brought a profound sense of comfort.

Even though she remained impassive and showed no warmth toward it, the Dream Beast found itself inexplicably drawn to her.

With great restraint, the Dream Beast declared, “Human, you have my permission to stroke my fur.”

Lu Ning’s mood was far from good at the moment.

Her emotions usually remained steady, without much fluctuation, but now they had sunk below that baseline.

Thus, even as the divine beast approached with overtures of friendship, Lu Ning showed no response whatsoever.

Besides, she already had her own Spirit Pet.

Lu Ning: “No, thank you.”

“…”

The Dream Beast’s fur stood on end. “Insolent human, you have no idea what you’re missing!”

Lu Ning paid it no mind, her gaze shifting to Jiang Ruan instead.

They would need to fly out on swords. Jiang Ruan summoned her Clear Serenity Sword and said to Nan Qingyun, “Come here.”

Without a word, Nan Qingyun leaned in close.

Jiang Ruan: “I’ll carry you out. You’ve only just recovered—best not to expend any spiritual power.”

In truth, Nan Qingyun had fully healed back when the Dream Beast had breathed on them, but with Jiang Ruan offering, she saw no reason to decline.

She curved her lips into a faint smile. “Very well. Thank you, Shizun.”

As she watched the two share a single flying sword, Lu Ning quietly lowered her gaze.

Her hand drifted to the Nine Heavens Sword at her waist, weighed down by a heavy heart.

Soon enough, they soared free.

The rift from before had vanished without a trace.

Jiang Ruan surveyed the inn. “Looks like there’s plenty of cleanup left…”

Han Lin: “Now’s not the time for that. Why don’t you take them back to the sect first? I’ll stay and handle things here.”

It was the ideal arrangement.

Jiang Ruan agreed at once. “Sorry to put you out, Senior Brother.”

Han Lin: “Just take care on the road.”

Jiang Ruan: “We’ll make the trip nonstop, so no worries there. You, staying behind alone—that’s when you really need to watch your back, Senior Brother.”

Han Lin chuckled. “I’ve got flying cranes for messages. What could go wrong? It’ll be sorted in no time.”

Jiang Ruan nodded.

Meanwhile, Lu Ning headed back to her room to retrieve her Spirit Pet.

The crisis had struck so suddenly that she’d hastily stashed it away there.

Since it always slept alongside her, the Spirit Pet had dodged the massacre that claimed the other inn guests the night before.

The Dream Beast trailed after Lu Ning. Seeing her scoop up what was clearly an ordinary pet, it scoffed. “That thing’s got no smarts at all—just your run-of-the-mill pet. Nowhere near this lord’s caliber.”

Lu Ning ignored it completely.

Ordinary or extraordinary—what did it matter?

Those things had never been her concern.

“Hey! Don’t you have any taste at all, human?”

At the inn’s entrance, Jiang Ruan caught the tail end of their bickering and glanced back—just in time to see Lu Ning approaching with her Spirit Pet cradled in her arms.

The girl’s eyes were serenely downcast, half her hair pinned up with a simple jade hairpin while the rest tumbled freely down her back.

A gentle breeze lifted a few loose strands along her cheek, framing features as exquisite as a classical painting.

Jiang Ruan paused, momentarily transfixed, before looking away in mild discomfort.

“Alright then. Let’s get going.”

~~~

After returning to the sect, Jiang Ruan told Nan Qingyun to go back and rest first.

Nan Qingyun said, “Shizun, this disciple is already fine.”

Jiang Ruan took her hand and whispered softly in her ear, “After all, you just… It wouldn’t be good for you to come with me to see the Sect Leader right now. I’ll handle the important matters with him first, then gradually reveal everything about you.”

Nan Qingyun paused, then realized Jiang Ruan was only thinking of her. A warm feeling bloomed in her heart.

But Nan Qingyun wasn’t afraid.

“This matter concerns this disciple, so it’s only right that this disciple goes to face it. Shizun need not…”

Jiang Ruan cut in. “Not listening to me anymore, are you?”

“No.”

Jiang Ruan reached out and lightly tapped her forehead. “Be good and head back first. Or we can slip away later and go see the Sect Leader together, just the two of us.”

Nan Qingyun froze for a moment, touched her forehead, and then nodded.

A faint smile curved her lips. “Alright, everything as Shizun says.”

Jiang Ruan added, “Take Shan Hu with you while you’re at it.”

Shan Hu spoke up at once. “I’ll go check on Yuan Jiao…” She bit her lip. “She got hurt saving me, after all. I… I want to see her.”

Jiang Ruan nodded. “That’s fine. Qingyun, please escort her there.”

Nan Qingyun nodded.

Once the two had left, only Jiang Ruan and Lu Ning remained, accompanied by the Dream Beast.

Chen Xu and Han Lin had stayed behind to handle matters there.

Jiang Ruan said, “Let’s go.”

The Dream Beast asked, “Are you taking me to meet the Mirror Moon Sect’s Sect Leader?”

Jiang Ruan nodded. “After all, since you came out with us, we need to inform him.”

“Very well.”

When they arrived at the Sect Leader’s residence, they dismounted from the flying sword, sent someone ahead to announce them, and waited off to the side.

Lu Ning gazed at Jiang Ruan and murmured softly, “Jiang Ruan.”

For some reason, Jiang Ruan shivered.

She pursed her lips nervously, glanced at Lu Ning, then quickly looked away.

Lu Ning had been on the verge of saying something but fell silent, a flicker of disappointment and bewilderment crossing her face.

“You… are you afraid of me? Why?”