“I was wondering why I hadn’t seen her these past few days.” Luo Er’s small chest heaved up and down a few times. “So she ran off on her own, how hateful.”
Luo Er waved her small fist, a little angry.
Luo Tangtang sat to one side, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Luo Er called out. “Why do you seem so distracted?”
“Nothing much.” Luo Tangtang shook her head.
“Tch, just as secretive as Luo Yi,” Luo Er said, looking at Luo Tangtang’s tightly covered face.
“I can’t help it. You know about my face; if I go out, I’ll scare the children,” Luo Tangtang explained.
“That’s true.” Luo Er nodded thoughtfully. “Hey, wait a minute. You’ve been taking medicinal baths for so long, and your face still hasn’t healed?”
Luo Er’s eyes now held a trace of suspicion.
Luo Tangtang’s eye twitched. Her voice seemed a bit helpless as she said with great sincerity, “I don’t put my face in when I take a bath.”
“That… seems to be true too.” Luo Er coughed lightly a few times, seeming a bit embarrassed. “Then I’ll pay attention next time and prepare a face soak specifically for you.”
“No need to trouble yourself,” Luo Tangtang refused. “Cultivators don’t need to care much about their faces.”
“Oh, right, has the matter of the rift been resolved?” Luo Tangtang deliberately changed the subject.
Actually, her face is almost healed. But that’s precisely why she has to cover it. After all, this face is almost identical to Luo Yi’s, which might cause unnecessary trouble later. Once we reach the Supreme Immortal Sect, I’ll find a chance to leave, Luo Tangtang mused.
“This…” Luo Er’s face showed vexation.
“No. Otherwise, I would have sent you back long ago. How could I possibly keep you here?”
She glanced at Luo Tangtang, her eyes unfriendly.
Luo Tangtang immediately touched the tip of her nose, the only part of her face showing. I really shot myself in the foot.
The journey was peaceful. After about half a day, the carriage slowly descended from the sky. When it came to a complete stop, the door was gently opened from the outside.
“Why aren’t you getting out?” Luo Tangtang asked, looking at Luo Er who was sitting there like an old patriarch.
“You go first.” Luo Er lifted her chin.
“?”
Luo Er immediately rolled her eyes. “Have you ever seen a master get out of a carriage before their servant?”
Luo Tangtang: “…” Such an eighth-grader. She’s hopeless.
She sighed silently and got out of the carriage.
As soon as she stuck her head out, she saw a dense crowd of people standing in front. Even Luo Tangtang had never received such treatment. She quickly moved to the side and joined the group watching the carriage door.
After a moment, Luo Er slowly walked down.
As soon as she got out, Luo Er seemed to see someone she knew. Her eyes lit up, and she called out, “Ye Siwen, you’re here too!”
Ye Siwen? Luo Tangtang paused for a moment. Looking up, she saw the man standing in the very center of the crowd. He was handsome and refined, like a bright moon, with a constant smile on his lips. When he saw Luo Er, his smile widened slightly, making him look even gentler.
“Luo Tangtang, come over here.”
As Luo Er ran over, holding up the hem of her dress, she didn’t forget to wave at Luo Tangtang.
Luo Tangtang looked helplessly at the gazes that occasionally glanced her way, then braced herself and followed.
“Huh? Luo—” Luo Er’s voice suddenly became excited, but it stopped abruptly halfway.
Following her gaze, Luo Tangtang saw a white corner of a robe. Luo Yi!
Luo Tangtang froze on the spot. She didn’t know what was wrong with Luo Yi today; her usual cyan hair and silver eyes had become the black hair and brown eyes of a normal person. Her expression suddenly became even more complicated. This way, we look completely identical.
“Little immortal attendant,” Luo Yi called out faintly, her eyes very calm.
But the meaning behind her words was self-evident: she was telling Luo Er to shut up and not reveal her identity.
Luo Er pouted and said nothing.
Ye Siwen looked at them and chuckled lightly. “Little immortal attendant, you’ve had a long journey. You should go rest first.”
“Mm.” Luo Er lifted her chin and nodded arrogantly, her small, short hand grabbing Luo Tangtang’s clothes.
Ye Siwen’s gaze swept past Luo Tangtang, a hint of surprise seemingly in his eyes, but he didn’t say much and led Luo Er away to rest.
Luo Tangtang, however, felt increasingly alarmed because she had just walked out from a place where she was enveloped by everyone’s gazes, making her scalp tingle.
She seemed to have underestimated the influence of the so-called Divine Maiden on the people of this world. Most of them had fanatical eyes, looking at Luo Er as if a chronically ill person with no cure had seen their last sliver of hope. It was somewhat morbid and crazed.
This was no longer just faith; it was probably obsession.
Luo Tangtang’s lips tightened. She looked at Luo Er ahead, who was walking with her head high and chest out, taking small, proud strides, showing Luo Tangtang the round, black back of her head. Luo Tangtang’s lips moved, but the words caught in her throat, unable to come out.
“We’re here.” Ye Siwen stopped.
Actually, they hadn’t walked for long. When Ye Siwen said he would take Luo Er to rest, a formation array had appeared beneath their feet. It shrunk the distance of a thousand li in an instant, and in a flash, they arrived at a small, magnificent palace.
Pavilions, terraces, and towers, with carved beams and painted rafters—Luo Er’s eyes immediately lit up.
Ye Siwen had clearly put a lot of thought into it. Even the floor inside the hall was paved with white warm jade. The entire palace was surrounded by winding streams, with elegant hills and arched bridges, all exquisitely crafted.
What made Luo Tangtang even more speechless were the two tall stone statues standing in the center of the main hall.
Luo Tangtang recognized them at a glance: they were of Luo Yi and Luo Er. However, Luo Yi’s statue had a veil carved over its face, obscuring its features.
“This is greatly to my liking!” Luo Er immediately laughed heartily.
But in the next second, Luo Yi’s sharp glare fell upon her, and she immediately shut her mouth.
“Sect Master, there’s actually no need for this.”
Luo Yi turned to Ye Siwen and said, “Just carve a cave for her on any mountain peak in the Supreme Immortal Sect. That will be enough.”
“What?” Luo Er’s eyes widened, clearly dissatisfied. She muttered, “If you’re not living here, I will. Why do you always have to control me?”
“Luo Er, be quiet.” Luo Yi rubbed the space between her eyebrows, her tone somewhat cold.
Luo Er immediately shrank her neck, not daring to say more.
Ye Siwen smiled faintly. “How can we be careless about the Little immortal attendant’s residence? Divine Maiden, there’s no need to refuse.”
Luo Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. She said in a deep voice, “I’ve said it. Since I’ve joined the Supreme Immortal Sect, I will abide by its rules. Sect Master need not be concerned.”
“I am not some Divine Maiden now, just a disciple of the Supreme Immortal Sect.”
Ye Siwen paused, a look of helplessness on his face.
Luo Yi’s eyes swept over Luo Er.
“I—!”
Luo Er was speechless. After a long moment, she compromised, “Fine, I’ll carve a cave. I’ll live in a cave. That’s okay now, right?”
Luo Yi didn’t care about Luo Er’s feelings. After giving her instructions, she left with Ye Siwen, not sparing Luo Er another glance.
Luo Er felt even more aggrieved.
“I just don’t understand what Luo Yi is thinking.”
“Sealing her own abilities and privileges as a Divine Maiden is one thing. I’ll just assume she wants to explore the origin of this world. It’s all about inquiry and seeking knowledge, so I won’t meddle.”
“But then she has nothing better to do than come to the Supreme Immortal Sect to be a disciple.”
Luo Er’s face darkened. “And she hangs out with a bunch of mortals all day. Sooner or later, she’ll be assimilated.”
She spoke resentfully, but the movements of her hands didn’t stop for a moment.
“Be careful, don’t make the cave collapse,” Luo Tangtang reminded her.
“I know!” Luo Er replied resentfully. But then her hand slipped, and the originally solid mountainside instantly collapsed—she had used too much force again.
A cloud of dust billowed up, engulfing Luo Er. No matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t escape it this time.
“Are you okay?” Luo Tangtang looked at the dust-covered Luo Er, wanting to laugh. But seeing the other girl’s if you laugh, I’ll kill you expression, she forced herself to hold it in.
She crawled out of the dust, all grimy, her eyes somewhat angry.
“I’m not doing it anymore! I’m not! Whoever wants to do it can do it!”
She turned and ran.
“Where are you going?” Luo Tangtang asked loudly.
“Don’t you follow me,” she said through gritted teeth.
This… Luo Tangtang watched the other girl’s retreating figure, her eyes brightening.
She immediately found a remote, deserted corner. With a thought, she transformed into her true form. Her clothes scattered on the ground, and she quickly stored them in her small personal dimension.
Still so small. Luo Tangtang looked at her paws.
There was the sound of flowing water ahead. Her large eyes moved, and she scampered over in a flash. She wanted to see what she looked like now.
So ugly! Luo Tangtang thought secretly.
Although several months of medicinal baths had healed many of her injuries, the torrent of time had still damaged her foundation. Her fur was a dull, yellowish color and lackluster. She twitched her tail—it was still hairless.
Sob. Suddenly, she felt a bit sad.
However, before she could feel sad for long, a sudden chill came from behind her.
Luo Tangtang sensed it and agilely dodged.
A small whirlwind brushed past her side, landing in the river and stirring up a wave. The water splashed onto Luo Tangtang, instantly matting her already sparse fur to her body. Her bare tail twitched pitifully in the air.
A burst of mocking laughter erupted.
Luo Tangtang saw several disciples in white and blue-patterned disciple uniforms walking over. Their eyes, as they looked at Luo Tangtang, were full of malice.
“To think we can still see such an ugly… cat within the sect?” one disciple said, a smile on his face.
But no matter how Luo Tangtang looked at it, the smile seemed somewhat sinister.
“This doesn’t look like a cat, does it?” another disciple said. That person rubbed his forehead. “Like a tiger?”
“Ah?”
“Hahahahahaha.” The mocking laughter erupted again.
Luo Tangtang silently sharpened her claws. She paid no mind to the mocking words continuously spewing from their mouths, her cat-like pupils narrowing into slits.
Run!
When the few of them relaxed amidst their teasing, Luo Tangtang quickly slipped away as if her feet were greased, like a bolt of lightning, disappearing in an instant.
If I don’t run, am I going to wait to be caught and killed? They don’t look like good people at all.
Having experienced many worlds, Luo Tangtang deeply understood this principle. Banter when you can, but at critical moments, don’t act on impulse. Nothing is more important than her little life.
She sprinted all the way, leaving the few people behind her stunned in place.
“That cat runs so fast!”
“Yeah,” one of them also said, stunned.
“I wonder what breed it is.”