Ye Qinglian slowly climbed onto Meng Li’s body. Such an intimate activity between the two of them, yet at this moment, it gave Meng Li no sense of enjoyment whatsoever. As Ye Qinglian gently blew a puff of air next to her ear…
Meng Li, like a startled kitten, sprang straight up from the hot spring and leaped onto the shore. She snatched the clothes beside her and draped them over herself. Ye Qinglian did not stop her.
“Where is Little Junior Sister going in such a hurry~”
“I suddenly remembered I left the gas on at home!!!”
“Gas? What is that?”
Before Ye Qinglian could finish asking, that petite figure had already vanished without a trace. Ye Qinglian wanted to chase after her, but as soon as she stood up, she sat back down in her original spot.
Feeling the comfort of the hot spring enveloping her entire body and that silky-smooth touch from just moments ago, Ye Qinglian slowly covered her eyes and slowly exhaled a turbid breath. Then, her eyes, that long and direct pair of deep blue eyes, opened once again.
“Aiyo, she ran away. Was I too impatient~”
At this time, after fleeing for a certain distance, Meng Li found a spot to put on her clothes, then sat down on a stone stool nearby and began to gasp for air heavily. If that panel hadn’t suddenly appeared and she had actually laid that hand on her, it was highly likely it wouldn’t still be attached to her body right now.
“Too torturous. Why didn’t I notice in the game that Eldest Senior Sister was this alluring?”
Just merely recalling the sensation of Ye Qinglian’s soft whisper by her ear, and the feeling of that final puff of air sweeping past her, made Meng Li feel her legs going numb.
“Not good, not good. If this keeps up, I’m going to get played to death by Eldest Senior Sister. Indeed, the cold and aloof Second Senior Sister suits a baby-constitution like me the best~”
The thought that tonight she’d be sharing a room with Situ Xue, sleeping in the same bed, and the numb sensation all over made Meng Li instantly forget her fear from seeing that four-digit combat power a moment ago.
“That said, Second Senior Sister never told me her location either. On the map, it should be at… Wait, it’s not even marked on the map!”
Meng Li was completely lost. She could only wander aimlessly back and forth across Jade Candle Peak. Yet, even after walking for half an hour, she still couldn’t see a single house. Meng Li sat down on a pile of rocks, looking at the completely unfamiliar scene.
She clearly remembered the descent feeling very quick. Yet half an hour had passed, and she hadn’t even finished traversing half of this mountain. Meng Li wondered inwardly if Situ Xue had left her some kind of hint.
“Up ahead, it’s almost the cliff edge. Could it be that she’s at the halfway point…”
Though her physical stamina had improved, this aimless wandering and climbing was still somewhat exhausting. Just as Meng Li was about to give up and find a random tree to camp under for the night…
She saw that familiar ink-wash-colored robe near the cliff’s edge. Meng Li immediately perked up and ran over in small, quick steps. As she ran, she used her most coquettish tone. Seeing the figure within reach, Meng Li threw herself at her without a second thought.
“Aiya, you really made me search so hard~ I have nowhere to sleep tonight, so I can only rely on Senior Sis—”
Meng Li used what she believed to be her most delicate, frail voice. At the same time, she hugged tightly, burying her face in the other’s chest, savoring the other’s cool, elegant fragrance. At the same time, taking advantage, her hands slowly reached backward…
“Didn’t I say Shifu ordered Second Senior Sister to arrange things for you…”
Meng Li had mentally prepared exactly how she would act coquettish to get the other to share a bed with her. Still enjoying the soft, intoxicating sensation in her arms, as she listened to the voice and the words, it felt more and more off. She could only slowly raise her head and look at the other.
“Huh? Shi… Shizun!!”
At this moment, Meng Li saw the silver-white long hair reflecting under the moonlight, slowly drifting in the breeze, the attire of light ink-wash plain colors, and a pair of eyes that revealed no emotion—utterly indifferent.
Meng Li froze for one and a half seconds. She looked at the other’s face, then looked down at her own hands, which had already wrapped around the other’s lower back. The air instantly became terrifying. Meng Li’s mind was completely blank. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she finally reached a conclusion.
“Ah, I’m going to die…”
Meng Li wanted to let go and then perform a lightspeed kneel to beg for her life, but her legs had long since gone so weak they lacked the strength to hold her. It was as if her hands were glued in place; no matter how her brain sent commands, they wouldn’t move.
“How long do you intend to keep holding me…”
“I… I… I’ll let go right away…”
At this moment, although Ling Qingyue made no other move, Meng Li could feel the surrounding chill getting colder and colder. Ling Qingyue extended a finger and lightly tapped, and Meng Li’s hands involuntarily released their grip, after which she slumped to the ground weakly.
“I really didn’t expect you to come looking for me. Are you already planning to make a move on me…”
“I don’t know anything! I just happened to pass by!”
“Your expression makes it very easy to believe you. I almost suspect you really are this innocent…”
“I… I was actually looking for Second Senior Sister. It’s just that the sky was dim, so I mistook Shizun for…!”
“It’s a decent excuse. What did you prepare for me this time? Primordial Void Poison? Dragon-Trapping Nail? But it seems you don’t have any of these…”
Facing Ling Qingyue’s leading questions, Meng Li could only continue to play dumb, putting on a look of knowing absolutely nothing. Ling Qingyue’s unbridled divulging of this information clearly showed she was completely unafraid of her knowing.
Meng Li was very clear: the moment she showed any sign of knowing what happened in Ling Qingyue’s previous life, this Shizun who was looking for any excuse to kill her wouldn’t bother waiting for an opportunity—she’d do it on the spot.
“I see you have nothing to do tonight. Why not come to my Cave Abode…”
“Greetings, Shizun…”
Ling Qingyue had already planned to bring Meng Li to her cave abode to collect some interest. She raised her hand, ready to pull Meng Li over, but suddenly a familiar voice rang out from the side of the two.
Situ Xue stood respectfully to the side. Meng Li saw a life-saving straw and looked toward where Situ Xue stood with a face full of pleasant surprise. She watched Situ Xue step forward slowly until she stood between the two of them, shielding Meng Li behind her.
“Shizun, Junior Sister is still young. If she undergoes an all-night discussion on the Dao, I’m afraid she won’t be able to bear it…”
“It’s nothing. I’m just giving her a technique manual…”
Ling Qingyue’s hand, which had already been raised, slowly retracted. From her sleeve, she drew out a manual and casually tossed it down in front of Meng Li.
“I’m tired. The two of you, leave…”
Ling Qingyue gave a light wave of her sleeve. Meng Li felt the scenery before her shift. She hurriedly grabbed the fallen manual. Just as the shift was about to end, the scene before her eyes had already changed from a dense forest into a simple, plain room.
“Whoa, where is this?”
“I was searching everywhere for you. You, however, took the easy route and went straight to Shizun…”
As Meng Li looked around in alarm, she felt her entire body being lifted up. Situ Xue gathered Meng Li in her arms. Feeling the other’s cool, refreshing scent, Meng Li felt as if her taut nerves finally received a hint of solace.
“I really couldn’t find Senior Sister anywhere, so I wandered around and ended up at Shizun’s place!”
“I know…”
“Still, I didn’t expect Shizun to actually give me a technique manual~”
Held in Situ Xue’s arms, Meng Li looked at the manual in her hands with a face full of surprise. She initially thought it would just be a minor spell or some minor technique.
However, the moment Meng Li flipped open the first page of the manual, Situ Xue cast a glance down and directly snatched it away. Meng Li was momentarily thrown off by this sudden action.
“Eh?”
“This technique…”
Situ Xue looked at the name written on it but said nothing; only the expression on her face changed ever so slightly. Seeing this, Meng Li assumed the other was interested in the technique, so she calculated she could give it to her to earn some favor.
“If Senior Sister wishes to learn it, then let me just—”
“You can’t train in this right now…”
Situ Xue merely glanced at the technique’s name before casually tossing it into a corner. Watching the flung-away technique book, Meng Li’s eyes nearly popped out. After all, in the game, resources were scarce; of course, she would learn every technique she came across.
Yet Situ Xue had directly thrown that manual into a corner. Meng Li instantly felt her heart ache, inwardly worrying that if it got damaged and she couldn’t learn it, what would she do.
“With your current state of mind, if you train in this, you’ll go mad…”
As if she had already seen through Meng Li’s thoughts, Situ Xue continued to walk forward but still offered an explanation. Hearing this, Meng Li also quickly realized: in the game, some techniques required prerequisites to learn, and while the game would give a prompt if conditions weren’t met…
Meng Li suddenly recalled that she was now fully integrated into this world. The techniques here, if she couldn’t train in them, wouldn’t give her any prompt whatsoever.
“That technique has side effects?”
“No. You’re just too weak…”
“…”
Hearing the other’s blunt explanation, Meng Li felt speechless inside. She glanced at the technique manual discarded in the corner. Although she knew training in it would have side effects, she was still curious about what it was.
Just then, the panel that had been silent for a while appeared again, as if it could hear the thought in Meng Li’s mind. The discarded manual emitted a dazzling radiance.
【One Qi Transforms into the Three Pure Ones】
【Heaven-Ranked Technique: Red Quality】
【Can divide the Three Corpses within the body into: Good Thought, Evil Thought, and the True Self. Continuously engages in self-inquiry, allowing the Dao Heart to stabilize further. Upon mastering the technique, can create Outer Body Incarnations, each capable of using the full extent of the true Body’s power. As long as a single thought remains, one cannot be extinguished.】
【Those with an unsteady Dao Heart who train in this will, at the mildest, go mad; at worst, lose consciousness and become an unconscious being.】
“Uh… That old Shizun of mine… she couldn’t have done this on purpose, could she…”
Facing the technique before her, Meng Li was both shocked and delighted. After all, a Red-Quality item was something she’d barely seen even in the late game. And the one before her was such a top-tier technique.
Possessing a technique like this was practically cheating. When she encountered enemies, she could just split into three people and gang up on them. And as long as one remained, she couldn’t be destroyed.
“Like that, even Shizun…”
The more Meng Li thought about it, the more excited she became. As long as she succeeded in training this, she could probably run off anywhere she wanted, and even someone as powerful as Ling Qingyue might not be able to catch her. However, just as Meng Li was fantasizing about a glorious future, a sudden sensation of weightlessness hit her.
Before Meng Li could even react, she felt something soft beneath her. She reached out and felt around, only to realize she had been tossed onto a bed. Situ Xue slowly undid her outer robe, looking at Meng Li, who had been thrown on the bed, with a perfectly calm expression.
“These next few days, we’ll just have to squeeze together…”
………
…
