Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: The Long Night of Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse
On the lengthy mountain path.
Xiao Jinse was admiring the scenic journey as she walked.
Whereas, Bai Lian was contemplating a problem.
How should this "adventure" be evaluated?
Perhaps, it can only be described as fate and luck intertwined.
Of course, when she mentioned fate, she referred to the Second Martial Sister’s luck as the protagonist.
Next to the Sword Washing Pool, after realizing the true strength of The Demon of the Outer Realm who could have killed her in seconds, she doubted the credibility of the system.
"How can you tell me that the mission risks are only equivalent to 14 points of Light Skill when the opponent is so powerful?"
Just kidding.
Bai Lian was uncertain whether the Demon of the Outer Realm possessed strength comparable to that of a human immortal, but she only knew that ordinary immortals were absolutely not as terrifying as him.
If it wasn’t for that guy being intimidated by her reputation, her head would have flown off with just one confrontation.
If Bai Lian didn’t get a Light Skill score of 20 points, she wouldn’t be satisfied!
However, after a brief exchange with Ju Buyi, she realized that she had oversimplified things.
After coming out of the mist, Ju Buyi had been staying in the Void Domain.
He received the inheritance of the Divine Sense Fire, but he just couldn’t find a way to leave the Void Domain.
That’s when the Demon of the Outer Realm arrived, bringing with it its black magic!
It opened the key to the Void Domain by condensing the breath of spirit Qi.
Its goal was to find the Monument of the Next World, as well as to search for something they had once fought over.
However, such action presented Ju Buyi with an opportunity to leave the Void Domain.
Bai Lian realized that even if she and the Second Martial Sister didn’t come, Ju Buyi could still solve the Demon of the Outer Realm and the grudge demon formed in the Void Domain alone.
However, the cost he pays for it will be enormous.
"Perhaps it is his life."
"…"
"This is the best result we can hope for now."
It was only because the Demon of the Outer Realm was entirely focused on her at the time that Ju Buyi had the opportunity to inflict a severe injury on it with a single sword strike.
The Demon of the Outer Realm’s strength was greatly reduced, giving Bai Lian the chance to triumph in the fight. Ju Buyi, who only had to deal with the grudge demon, had a chance to survive.
This is indeed the best possible outcome.
Despite being terrified, seeing the Second Martial Sister successfully dispel the grudge in her heart and gaining the Heavenly Lord’s legacy, Bai Lian couldn’t be happier.
What does it mean to have the protagonist aura!
Bai Lian sighed with emotion.
She also obtained some useful information, but that’s all thanks to the Second Martial Sister.
Without the Second Martial Sister, she would have never been able to come to Yingzhou in this lifetime.
After her sigh, Bai Lian began to secretly praise the system.
It must be said that this system sees things very accurately!
"I underestimated you!"
She sincerely apologized.
A long time ago, she discovered that the Task System in her hand seemed to have the ability to predict the future.
Although this prediction is a very vague one, the system has never been wrong for several years. Every time she doubted, the subsequent developments would ruthlessly teach her a lesson.
"Hopefully, this isn’t some sort of conspiracy."
Bai Lian never let go of her guard.
As she walked, the voice of Second Martial Sister called out to her again.
"Elder Martial Sister."
"What’s wrong?"
"We’ve arrived at the seaside."
Bai Lian looked up and saw the vast sea before her.
Because there was neither moon nor stars in the sky, she only saw a dark tide with a hint of mystery.
The sea water splashed and occasionally beat against the exposed rocks under the cliff.
It was silent all around, except for Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse, there was no one else.
They stood at the edge of the cliff, resembling lonely scarecrows.
"It felt as if we had walked to the end of the world." Xiao Jinse’s laughter broke the silence.
Bai Lian nodded in agreement.
She asked, "Do you want to stand here a while longer?"
The sea breeze was somewhat chilly.
However, she had become accustomed to the cold since arriving in this world.
The night view here was not beautiful, instead it magnified the fear in people’s hearts.
But it didn’t matter.
Just looking at the Second Martial Sister beside her, Bai Lian seemed to see the melting of ice and snow, the murmuring of flowing water, and the blooming of spring flowers…
After a brief moment of pondering, Xiao Jinse’s delicate brows trembled unconsciously, then she nodded with great solemnity.
"This place isn’t aesthetically pleasing."
Bai Lian gazed at the Second Martial Sister with a dazed expression.
Xiao Jinse was not deterred by that scorching gaze, she fearlessly gazed back at Bai Lian.
"Elder Martial Sister, do I have something on my face?"
Bai Lian smiled sweetly, "No, it’s very clean. I just suddenly felt like you looked a bit like the Fifth Martial Sister earlier."
Xiao Jinse immediately denied, "That’s impossible!"
"Why do you say that?"
"I’m much older than the Fifth Martial Sister!"
"…"
Actually, Bai Lian agreed with this statement. In every sense of the word, the Second Martial Sister was indeed older than the Fifth Martial Sister.
She averted her gaze and said, "Since this place isn’t beautiful, let’s go see something that is."
"Where to?" Xiao Jinse looked at Bai Lian expectantly with her eyes.
Bai Lian thought for a moment, "The places that Master once took me to."
She referred to the places that An Lan took her to play in the Past World created by the Past Stele.
"That… sounds nice too."
Xiao Jinse subtly bit her lip and soon relaxed.
"Let’s go."
Bai Lian took the hand of the Second Martial Sister and soon they flew out of Yingzhou, which was wrapped in black mist.
But as soon as they broke free, she stopped.
She floated in mid-air, staring fixedly at the silent sea level.
"Elder Martial Sister?"
"This place is different from when we came."
Bai Lian furrowed her brows slightly.
"Different?"
Xiao Jinse extended her Divine Sense.
She saw that beneath the calm sea surface were fierce whirlpools everywhere. There were no sea fish within a radius of hundred miles, and the sand and mud on the seabed were as smooth as if they had been cut by a knife.
This is not a normal sea.
Bai Lian looked further ahead.
With the help of Qianhuan Real Eyes, she captured a trace of unusual black energy.
However, to her disappointment, the black energy disappeared just as she chased it for about ten miles, as if it had been cut off by force.
It was at this moment that a task suddenly appeared.
[Task 1: Continue to explore ahead and find the reason. (Reward: Ebony Wood Marrow)]
[Task 2: Pretend to not have seen anything. (Reward: +1 Focus)]
Ebony Wood Marrow is the primary material for refining low-level wooden-typed immortal weapons and is of extremely high value.
This is not something she can taint.
"…"
After hesitating for a while, Bai Lian’s eyebrows relaxed.
"As you wish."
Personal ability is limited, and she cannot manage everything.
What she can do is to leave a small magic array in the deep sea. Once something changes here, she can immediately know through the magic array.
"Let’s first go see the sea, and then go climb the mountain!"
After sweeping away the worries in her heart, Bai Lian set out on the journey again with the Second Martial Sister.
This time, they didn’t take much time to cross the boundary between the boundless black night of Yingzhou and the azure sky of the outside world.
At that moment, it seemed that all abnormalities had turned into normal.
The vast blue sea was like an upside-down blue sky.
But it was different from the blue sky. The scattered sunlight spread evenly on the sea, and the gentle breeze rippled, the waves glittering.
Azure sea, blue sky, floating clouds…
Bai Lian was in a good mood.
She seemed to have really entered a holiday mode. She deliberately changed out of her practical white suit and put on cool summer clothing that showed off her slender waist and long legs.
Xiao Jinse stared in amazement at her tight abdomen.
For a moment, her attention was completely captivated by the cute yet somewhat seductive navel.
She had never seen Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian dressed like this before.
The shorts were extremely short, but not at all awkward, dragging a few strips of aqua blue cloth.
Her jade feet were bound in loose sandals, with glittering little stars on the straps, and her rounded toes were painted in pink, resembling exquisite candy.
[Probably very delicious as well.]
A cool breeze blew by.
Perhaps due to an itch, one of her big toes suddenly curled upward.
"Hiss–"
Xiao Jinse felt like she was suffocating and quickly pressed her chest.
She took several deep breaths to calm down, too scared to continue looking down, and could only shift her gaze back upwards.
However, this time she failed to get a clear view of Bai Lian’s upper body attire.
Because a hand, wrapped in an icy white glove, was resting in front of her, with the index finger and thumb spread out and the other fingers curled up.
It looks like…
A matchlock?
That’s the name, right?
"Snap!"
A brief sound burst out of the owner’s mouth of this hand.
When Xiao Jinse realized something was wrong, it was too late for her to dodge.
"Ah!"
The clear column of water mercilessly hit her forehead, instantly soaking her face, hair, and top.
"Elder Martial Sister!"
Xiao Jinse looked at Bai Lian on the opposite side, who was laughing loudly with helplessness.
After laughing for a while, Bai Lian suddenly took out two homemade water guns from her chest.
"Here you go." She threw one of them to Xiao Jinse, "I will show you how to use this."
The so-called demonstration was to fill the water gun with water and then drench Xiao Jinse again.
(▼ヘ▼#)
Xiao Jinse, who had been bullied twice, immediately fought back.
"Elder Martial Sister, don’t run!"
"I am not foolish, of course I would run."
The joyful water gun battle, leaving aside all worries, lasted for almost half an hour, and ended with the surrender of Xiao Jinse.
"My clothes are all wet, I’ll stop playing!"
Xiao Jinse threw the water gun into the sandy area, sitting on a protruding boulder with a full stomach of grievances, hugging her knees.
Could she not be aggrieved?
She shot a total of more than a thousand times, but didn’t hit Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian even once.
Humph!
She came to play the game, not to be played by it.
When she heard the soft footsteps on the beach getting closer and closer, she simply turned forty-five degrees to the left.
She didn’t speak, but her body was already filled with anger.
"I was wrong, I’m sorry."
Bai Lian came to a stop behind Second Martial Sister.
Bullying may truly become addictive, especially when bullying the Second Martial Sister who has suddenly become more extroverted.
However, at this moment, she couldn’t help but recall the wicked things "Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian" did in the game "The Battle of the Gods".
Guilt spread out like spilled ink in water.
Bai Lian kneeled down and opened her arms to hug the Second Martial Sister from behind, her cheek pressed against the back of her head, her body closer.
"I…"
Xiao Jinse’s body tensed immediately, especially when she felt the pressure on her back, and she stuttered unable to speak.
Finally able to articulate, she said something strange.
"Actually… I… I’m not angry, really. I just feel… cold, because I’m soaked, and it makes me feel cold."
"Then let me help you change clothes."
Astonishingly, Bai Lian’s words were even more outrageous.
Xiao Jinse remained silent for a long time, nodding her head.
"Hmm."
Bai Lian, "…"
In fact, she regretted saying that sentence after she said it.
Change clothes?
With her current level of cultivation, a single thought could evaporate the water on Second Martial Sister’s clothes.
But since she had already spoken, and the Second Martial Sister had agreed, there was no harm in it, right?
With that in mind, she still walked around to face the Second Martial Sister.
Bai Lian didn’t hurry to act, instead she took out several sets of clothes with completely different styles from her storage pendant and asked the Second Martial Sister to choose.
Finally, the Second Martial Sister picked a outfit that was similar in style to hers but didn’t bare the midriff.
"Do you really want to wear this?"
"Because it looks similar to Elder Martial Sister’s clothes."
"Understood."
Bai Lian put away the other clothes and first took off the Second Martial Sister’s shoes before proceeding to deal with the sock that was wet and stuck to her leg.
The breeze gently brushed the waves.
The sunset illuminated Xiao Jinse’s profile.
The young girl turned her head to look at the fiery red sea, her body occasionally trembling slightly, and her thoughts as disordered as the shattered sunset colors.
Splish-splash.
The sound of waves crashing against the cave stopped after a long time.
The next day.
Early in the morning, Bai Lian took Xiao Jinse to climb the highest mountain in the East Divine Land.
She and her master had lived in the Past World for ten years, traveled all over the world, and visited numerous scenic spots.
Obviously, under the current situation, she didn’t have enough time to completely retrace this path with the Second Martial Sister.
Considering that they didn’t stay in Yingzhou for too long, Bai Lian set aside ten days as a vacation for herself and the Second Martial Sister.
Ten days were enough for them to visit the most famous scenic spots.
January nineteenth.
Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse climbed to the top of the Five Rock Mountain.
On the way up the mountain, they found a tombstone covered with vines, which commemorated a cultivator who died fighting against the invasion of demonic beasts. They paid their respects.
January twentieth.
Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse boated on the Jiangnan Canal.
As it was early spring and because it was a mundane world, there was no enchanting scenery to be seen along the bank. Instead, groups of ordinary people from could be seen offering sacrifices to the heavens and praying for peace by the water’s edge.
January 21st.
Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse went to see the bears on Baifang Mountain.
However, it rained that day and all the bears went into hiding. The two fools stood under a tree with their umbrella for half a day, but the bears never came out.
But the day was not particularly boring.
By afternoon, Su Youwei and Xiao Jinse had resumed their chatting mode.
Perhaps feeling that Xiao Jinse and Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian had been out for too long, she wanted to inquire about their news in a roundabout way.
Su Youwei, "Master came back last night with a gloomy look, looking very angry."
Xiao Jinse, "Did you ask why Master was angry?"
Su Youwei, "I don’t know, Master didn’t allow anyone to get close."
As they were chatting, they touched upon their respective activities.
Su Youwei, "I have been cultivating swordfighting with Hong Yi lately and my skills have improved significantly. I’m sure I can surprise you with my progress."
Xiao Jinse smirked.
"A surprise, huh?"
"I will also give you a big surprise in return!"
In the remaining days, Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse went to other places for amusement.
Finally, on January 28th, Bai Lian’s birthday, they returned to Castle Peak City after wandering around.
Xiao Jinse initially thought she would never come back as the previous inhabitants had long gone.
She had neither love nor hate for this place.
But she still underestimated it.
"After all, this is the place where I grew up."
She squatted in the yard drenched by the new rain, holding a piece of green leaf that had been blown down, with a bug crawling on it.
After looking for a while, Xiao Jinse turned to Bai Lian and said, "Unlike other girls of my age, I like bugs."
"Uh?"
Bai Lian was surprised.
She had never known that the Second Martial Sister had such a unique hobby, which was not mentioned in the game character card.
"When I was still in this house, I used to run to the corner to see bugs every two or three days, just like now."
As she spoke, Xiao Jinse waved her hand.
"I’m not lazy about cultivation, it’s just that my aptitude is too poor. No matter how I cultivate, I can’t condense Qi inside my body."
She sighed.
"After my father passed away, I suddenly became the most special one in this family. No one was willing to play with me, and more people couldn’t help but come and beat me up."
"!"
Bai Lian couldn’t help but clench her fists.
Xiao Jinse reached out and poked the bug on the green leaf.
"After failing to condense qi or being beaten up, I would find a corner to hide. These little guys especially like to drill into the corners. After spending time with them, I gradually grew fond of them."
She looked up and smiled, looking directly at Bai Lian.
"However, I don’t like all bugs. Instead of these fuzzy ones, I prefer bugs with thick shells, such as rhinoceros beetles. They look very majestic."
Bai Lian could only nod.
She didn’t hate bugs, but she couldn’t say she liked them either.
The things the Second Martial Sister spoke of were beyond her understanding, so she could only be a qualified listener.
After sitting in the yard for a little while, rain suddenly began pattering down from the sky.
"Hurry, let’s go inside!"
Bai Lian pulled the Second Martial Sister and ran into the small wooden cabin where she used to live.
The heavy rain invaded.
Darkness crept in from afar.
The empty cabin had nothing to help pass the time.
Bai Lian and Xiao Jinse sat shoulder to shoulder on the bed, covered by a thin blanket.
Under Xiao Jinse’s urging, Bai Lian talked about her false past again.
"Rather than fear, I would say it’s loneliness," Bai Lian said with a smile.
She had just turned around to see the Second Martial Sister’s expression, but suddenly the Second Martial Sister pounced on her, hugging her tightly.
"What’s wrong?" she asked incredulously.
Xiao Jinse shook her head, "I feel heartache."
Ha.
Bai Lian burst out laughing, "That’s all in the past now."
Xiao Jinse redirected, "Today is Elder Martial Sister’s birthday, right?"
Bai Lian was taken aback, "It seems so."
Xiao Jinse bowed her head, "I haven’t prepared a gift for Elder Martial Sister yet."
Bai Lian said, "There’s no need to prepare something special."
Xiao Jinse shook her head repeatedly, "That won’t do."
"Then just bring me whatever you want to give me."
"Cannot be casual."
"Well…"
Bai Lian suddenly found her hand being held by the Second Martial Sister.
She immediately understood the meaning of the Second Martial Sister.
[Task 1: Refuse the Second Martial Sister (Reward: Tea Ceremony +2)]
[Task 2: The night is long, can’t refusing be unromantic? (Reward: Soft Skill +1)]
"…"
In fact, she didn’t completely resist these things.
Moreover, in this confined space, even the temperature of the air has already risen.
Choose Task 2.
"The timing is perfect, the heat is just right, and it’s a good opportunity to start ‘refining the elixir’ in the ‘furnace’!"