Chapter 310: Breaking Character for the Nth Time

Jin Xiaoqin’s expression remained strange as she pointed at the rotten pieces of clothing on the ground. “And what about that red qi from earlier?”

Ye Wenxin felt tongue-tied, as her obvious actions had drawn Jin Xiaoqin’s suspicions. She reluctantly took out a small bottle from her bag of holding, sprinkled the powder inside on a stone, and then threw the stone into a distant bush. In an instant, red qi emerged, consuming the entire bush within a radius.

“This is a corrosive powder that mutates when it encounters qi, turning into a form resembling red qi,” Ye Wenxin explained the origin of the red qi, and then looked towards Long Qing’er.

“Don’t tell me, you got this idea from the book I gave you last time,” Long Qing’er said with a complex expression, realizing that if applied in larger amounts, this powder could even dissolve human bones.

This was even more terrifying than poison, leaving Long Qing’er a bit frightened. The Ye Wenxin she thought she knew, seemed far more complex than she had ever imagined.

Ye Wenxin nodded. “Right, I found the formula in it, Senior Sister Qing’er.  Old Jin, are you satisfied now?” She then naturally looked at Jin Xiaoqin.

Jin Xiaoqin, still trying to figure out what felt off, was further annoyed at being called ‘Old Jin’ again. She raised her hand and gave Ye Wenxin a light slap on the head.

“Are you trying to make me dumb, Old Jin?” Ye Wenxin rubbed her head where it hurt, but was secretly relieved; she had slightly broken character today.

“Now I believe you’re the real Ye Wenxin. You were acting too clever earlier, I almost thought you had died and been replaced,” Jin Xiaoqin retorted, giving her a disgruntled glare. Despite her harsh words, it was evident that she genuinely cared for Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin felt even more speechless. She had hoped to enjoy her time in the secret realm, but who could have predicted such drastic changes, that even these accursed Yin Fetuses had shown up? It made her wonder if some sort of ghost king was lurking behind the scenes.

Despite her speculations, Ye Wenxin didn’t want to put too much pressure on her companions. She pretended to have overused her qi and curled back under a quilt.

As the night grew deeper and colder, the others couldn’t help but pull out thin blankets to cover themselves. The distant Yin Fetuses finally started to thin out. Ye Wenxin was still dozing off until Jin Xiaoqin kicked her awake.

“Alright, time to get to work,” she ordered.

Ye Wenxin turned over before reluctantly getting up. She saw that the others were already packed and ready to go. Xuan Luofei was hugging the guqin that was larger than herself, and Long Qing’er had taken out her favorite long sword.

After some thought, Ye Wenxin decided to take out the dagger that Long Qing’er had given her before.

“This dagger isn’t another gift from Long Qing’er, is it?” Jin Xiaoqin looked at her weirdly. She seemed unsure of Ye Wenxin and Long Qing’er’s relationship—whether it was good or bad, or if there had been some undisclosed connection between them long before they met Fairy Fengya, leading to the current rumors meant to obscure the truth.

“You caught me.” In fact, Ye Wenxin had deliberately taken out this dagger. If it had been Gu Xiangsi beside her, she would have taken out the dagger Gu Xiangsi had given her.

In any case, Ye Wenxin knew how to read the room. She looked at Long Qing’er, who seemed delighted with the gesture. Even if Ye Wenxin couldn’t really use the dagger in an actual fight, it was worth it.

The four of them continued their journey, with Jin Xiaoqin, the strongest cultivator among them, leading the way. As she glanced back at Ye Wenxin, who was bringing up the rear, she couldn’t help but give a final word of caution. “If those damn things come back, just make sure to stay with Xuan Luofei and you’ll be fine.”

“Why?”

“She learned the Demon Subduing Qin, which has enhanced attacks against these malevolent spirits,” Jin Xiaoqin said with an eye roll, feeling a bit worried about the disciple she had taken on.

Their adventure in the secret realm was just beginning, and it was hard to imagine how much hardship they would endure in the coming month. It was also uncertain how many of the hundred participants would survive.

Ye Wenxin suddenly understood. She recalled that the manual, the winning prize from the tournament, was specifically designed to counter demon cultivators, naturally effective against demons, ghosts, and other malevolent beings.

If she had known this, she would have shamelessly asked for it back then. Now, aside from the evasion skills she learned from Jin Xiaoqin, Ye Wenxin only knew how to use Flower Burial.

She was confident in her ability to kill people, but when it came to dealing with malevolent spirits, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat them or if they would crush her instead. With this in mind, Ye Wenxin became more obedient, holding Xuan Luofei’s hand and following closely behind.

Xuan Luofei seemed very pleased. “I never thought the day would come where we could fight side by side again, Zhu-zhu.”

Ye Wenxin gave a wry smile and responded humbly, “Don’t say that, I only know how to run away.”

“Then this time, make sure you run fast and don’t get in my way,” Xuan Luofei said with a broader smile. Even though her eyes were devoid of light, they seemed so full of life. However, her words always carried a sense of heartbreak.

Yet, when Ye Wenxin thought about the fact that Xuan Luofei was talking to a golden pig, the sentimentality never lasted more than three seconds before she broke out into a grin at the image of the golden pig turning into a roast suckling pig.

As she stifled her laughter, she was suddenly grateful that Xuan Luofei couldn’t see her strange expression. Jin Xiaoqin and Long Qing’er, on the other hand, had no interest in Ye Wenxin’s expressions; they were fully focused on surveying the surroundings and keeping track of the Yin Fetuses’ movements.

However, the wall was eerily quiet. Jin Xiaoqin lightly tapped it with her axe, finding it solid and impenetrable, with no way a person could pass through. While Jin Xiaoqin was perplexed, Long Qing’er probed around with her sword, hoping to draw some green blood from the wall, but found nothing.

Ye Wenxin released Xuan Luofei’s hand and began to feel her way along the wall. She expected to find some hidden mechanism for a secret passage, but found nothing after a long search. It was as if what they had seen a few hours ago was a mirage, yet the footprints clearly confirmed that it had all happened.

The ground still had a few half-eaten corpses, and the strong smell of blood reminded them they were on the edge of danger.

Xuan Luofei wandered around with her qin, not staying idle either. Ye Wenxin shifted her focus away from the wall, and was about to pull Xuan Luofei back to prevent her from getting lost. That was when she noticed something peculiar.

As the cold wind blew, Xuan Luofei’s clothes fluttered and touched the wall, and it seemed as if the wall absorbed her clothes. Or rather, her clothes seemed to pass through the wall.