From the distant shade of trees, a figure slowly emerged, looking somewhat lonely on the empty path.
Luo Tangtang carried the little Qilin, walking with trepidation, feeling more and more that something was off.
The journey so far had gone beyond her understanding. Didn’t they say the secret realm was fraught with danger, with the risk of death at any moment? Why was it so quiet now?
Something is wrong when things are unusual. Luo Tangtang combined this thought with her previous encounters and felt utterly unlucky.
“Oh, you, how can you be so carefree?” Luo Tangtang was incredibly nervous herself. Involuntarily, she glanced at the little Qilin whimpering thoughtlessly in her arms and felt quite exasperated. Here I am worrying about our fate, and this little Qilin is completely at ease.
The little Qilin smacked her lips, defending herself, “I just sniffed around. There’s no dangerous aura.”
Luo Tangtang was slightly surprised, “Your nose is that sensitive?”
“Of course! My Qilin race is an ancient divine beast!” The little Qilin proudly puffed out her chest, her self-importance evident.
Luo Tangtang slapped her, “Can’t you use your brain and think for a moment? Why isn’t there even a single monster beast here?”
“There aren’t dangerous monster beasts!” the little Qilin corrected.
“Talking back? Another slap.”
“Don’t!” The little Qilin sounded a bit mournful, reluctantly asking, “Then why aren’t there any threatening monster beasts here?”
Xiao Xu felt Luo Tangtang was looking for trouble. This question was like asking why their Qilin were ancient divine beasts or why the fox thought the grapes were sour – there was no logic to it.
“Think about why there weren’t any large monster beasts around you at first?” Luo Tangtang prompted.
“Isn’t that obvious? I’m an ancient divine beast… a Qilin!” Xiao Xu suddenly widened her eyes, a hint of fear flashing within them. “It means there’s an even bigger monster beast nearby!”
Luo Tangtang nodded silently, seeing that the little Qilin had figured it out.
“Then run! Why are you still wasting time talking to me here?”
“Do you think I want to?” Luo Tangtang looked at the little Qilin’s instant change of expression, her eyes full of blame, and felt a surge of inexplicable frustration in her chest. “The key is, which way should we go?”
“I just sent out my divine sense; it’s silent for a hundred miles around, not a single bird chirping. Which way to go?”
The little Qilin also rolled her eyes like Luo Tangtang, only she did it too hard, the black pupils completely disappearing. “Just run a hundred miles that way.” Her tone was utterly self-evident.
“Ugh—!” Luo Tangtang covered her forehead. She realized she was currently lacking intelligence.
“Tangtang, head west.” Another cold little claw patted her face.
Just as Luo Tangtang was about to flare up, she saw an incredulous expression on the little Qilin’s face, her eyes also filled with a hint of fanaticism.
“What’s wrong?” Luo Tangtang was a little confused.
“I suddenly felt a familiar aura to the west, very powerful. It seems to be an opportunity.” The little Qilin tugged at Luo Tangtang’s clothes, her short legs also trembling restlessly. The whole beast seemed impatient.
Luo Tangtang nodded, her eyes slightly brightening. She suddenly realized the little Qilin was still somewhat useful. If they found an opportunity, she could split it fifty-fifty. Since she saved the little Qilin, she could take a bit more, split it seventy-thirty.
Little Qilin thirty, her seventy.
Luo Tangtang instantly transformed into a streak of light, moving forward at extreme speed.
“Tangtang, hurry! I can sense there’s no danger ahead, but that might not be true later!” the little Qilin reminded her.
This time, Luo Tangtang’s speed increased even further. She had never known she could be this fast.
“Is that it?” Luo Tangtang’s eye twitched.
The ground was covered in the corpses and severed limbs of monster beasts, blood spilled everywhere.
Is this an opportunity? This is a scene of carnage, isn’t it?
Luo Tangtang’s steps paused, then she decisively turned around and intended to run.
“Can’t go!” The little Qilin slid down from Luo Tangtang’s back, hugging her leg, desperately stopping her from leaving.
“You little brat, you want to kill me!” Luo Tangtang’s brow throbbed, and she felt a chill run down her spine. “Your idea of an opportunity looks like this?”
“Trust me, my feeling isn’t wrong.” The little Qilin stubbornly clung to Luo Tangtang, preventing her from moving.
Did I rescue an ancestor and bring them back? Luo Tangtang’s face darkened, and she felt terrible.
“I don’t care, you have to go with me.” The little Qilin started crying again. “Worst case, next time I shed my skin, I’ll give you all my scales.”
“Ah—!” Luo Tangtang wanted to howl at the sky again.
“You said that!” Luo Tangtang gnashed her teeth, glaring furiously at the little Qilin.
“Gulp… mm!” The little Qilin looked at Luo Tangtang’s gaze, which was a bit eerie. She shivered involuntarily, but feeling the familiar bloodline summoning within her, she still mustered her courage and nodded hard.
“Let’s agree first, if there’s danger, we run. Forget the opportunity. I won’t care about you then either.”
“If you die, don’t come looking for me as a ghost. I’ve been more than benevolent to your rare species.”
Luo Tangtang looked at the little Qilin, her eyes filled with resolve. If the little Qilin wouldn’t leave, she had no choice. She would protect her if she could, but if she couldn’t, she could only run first.
“Okay!” The little Qilin nodded seriously, her face unusually solemn and grave.
As the blood mist thickened, Luo Tangtang’s cat-like eyes narrowed to slits. She pursed her lips, moving forward cautiously.
Suddenly, a massive figure flashed past her eyes.
Luo Tangtang dodged nimbly, leaping up, and thrust her long sword forward.
It was a giant wolf, looking like it was already on its last legs. Luo Tangtang easily finished it off, dug out its inner core, and tossed it to the little Qilin clinging to her back.
A crunching sound instantly came from her shoulder. Luo Tangtang tilted her head, a little annoyed. “Keep the noise down, it’s grating on my ears.”
The little Qilin immediately held the crushed inner core in her mouth, not daring to chew vigorously.
Luo Tangtang nodded in satisfaction. Children should be obedient, can’t spoil them.
She didn’t know how long they walked. When they passed through layers of blood mist, Luo Tangtang was a little confused.
Just… like that? We’re through? Luo Tangtang suspected she might have made a fuss over nothing. She had only encountered a few half-dead monster beasts coming through the blood mist.
“See? I told you my intuition wasn’t wrong. There really wasn’t any danger here,” the little Qilin said, with an expression that clearly meant Now do you believe me?
Luo Tangtang was silent. After a moment, she suddenly spoke, “Then how did that Golden-Winged Great Peng bird corner you?”
The little Qilin immediately froze. “Wasn’t it time for me to shed my skin? Besides, I didn’t expect that smelly bird to be so eager to eat me.”
“Then why would you, a Qilin, need to shed your skin?” Luo Tangtang asked, giving her a sidelong glance.
“Don’t ask!” The little Qilin became frantic, seemingly remembering something unpleasant. Her face was filled with dejection.
“Alright,” Luo Tangtang stopped while she was ahead and changed the subject. “Where’s your opportunity? Where is it?”
“Keep going forward,” the little Qilin mumbled.
Luo Tangtang chuckled softly. Sulking now?
Luo Tangtang carried the little Qilin on her back, looking at the scenery behind the blood mist. The mountains and water were beautiful. The sound of water rushing suddenly reached her ears, becoming clearer as they moved forward.
A waterfall!
Why are there so many waterfalls in this secret realm? Luo Tangtang silently grumbled to herself.
A silver arc of water plunged straight down, falling into the cold pool below. Mist swirled on the water’s surface, rising in curls.
A woman dressed in white stood gracefully in the cold pool.
Luo Tangtang was slightly stunned, looking at the back of the person who had suddenly appeared before her, feeling a sense of familiarity.
The little Qilin on her back was even more excited, trembling. She roared, “Opportunity!” and shot up from Luo Tangtang’s head, flying towards the person in the cold pool like a small projectile.
“You!” Luo Tangtang’s lips parted slightly. She reached out to grab her but caught nothing but air. “Don’t hurt it!” Luo Tangtang cried out in alarm.
The woman in white was very alert. As the little Qilin pounced on her, she turned around abruptly, gathering ice blades in her hand, ready to shoot them at the little Qilin. By the time Luo Tangtang shouted, it was already too late.
Luo Tangtang only heard a cry of pain, and the little Qilin fell straight into the water.
“Junior Sister.” The woman in white turned around, looking at Luo Tangtang with complex eyes, her tone inexplicable.
Luo Tangtang smiled awkwardly and also descended into the cold pool, fishing the little Qilin out.
It was the unfamiliar Senior Sister who had wanted to travel with her at the beginning.