Chapter 459: Why Are You So Unmoved?

Abbess Jiunan’s embarrassment was evident as she glanced at the suspended whip. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to put the whip away, change into a new set of clothes, and alter her appearance before heading in the direction Ye Wenxin had left.

Fairy Fengya, who had been leaving, watched the scene silently, as if puzzled by Abbess Jiunan’s actions. She had already fled, so why go through the trouble of changing her appearance to go meet the person she fled from?

Great-Grandma: Why are you so unmoved, Mistress?

Great-Grandma’s query was filled with curiosity, thinking Fairy Fengya had been unusually calm as of late. Fairy Fengya’s mood stayed within a normal range upon seeing Ye Wenxin, which left Great-Grandma surprised and anxious, worried that Fairy Fengya was becoming harder to grasp.

Fairy Fengya: What’s there to be moved about?

Great-Grandma: But didn’t you have some feelings for Ye Wenxin before?

Fairy Fengya: It’s unnecessary now.

Great-Grandma: Why? She’s the key to resolving your Tribulation of Emotions.

Great-Grandma suddenly realized she was understanding Fairy Fengya less and less, and thus grew more fearful of her mistress.

But Fairy Fengya didn’t answer. She turned and walked in the opposite direction from the two, choosing not to interfere with Ye Wenxin’s unusual night with her aunt.

……

Ye Wenxin was completely unaware of this incident. The eight furballs’ abundant harvest had almost made her forget why she had come out in the first place. While lost in the joy of gaining more things, she picked up faint murmuring in the distance.

The sound was so weak that if Ye Wenxin didn’t have such acute hearing, she would’ve overlooked it. Curious, she continued forward, and the further she walked, the more surreal the surrounding scenery became.

After another step, the world abruptly changed.

In the blink of an eye, she found herself in a peach blossom forest. For several hundred paces along the shore, there were lush, fragrant grass, and a plethora of fallen petals, with no other type of tree in sight. Ye Wenxin had never thought she would set foot into the literary description she had learned long ago—a genuine peach blossom spring.

Ye Wenxin was unsure how this peach blossom spring had come to be. By the time she realized what had happened, she was already in the middle of the peach forest. The peach blossom tattoo on her back began to sting, probably due to her recent upgrade’s mutation.

Perhaps her recent encounter with Fairy Fengya had triggered this opportunity. The more Ye Wenxin mused, the more urgent her steps became. The peach blossom spring that stretched for a hundred li was extraordinarily beautiful, pulling her deeper into its charm.

As she drew closer, she could hear the sounds of women frolicking.

The variety of voices suggested that many women were hidden deeper within the forest. This struck Ye Wenxin as odd, and she wondered if she had entered some sort of illusion. Yet, there was no turning back now, so she proceeded cautiously.

Suddenly, she came upon a bustling urban scene.

A group of women was laughing, having fun with modern entertainment facilities. What was concerning, however, was that these women appeared somewhat familiar. They more or less had some connection to Ye Wenxin. The freaky scene left Ye Wenxin bewildered, and the women seemed oblivious to her presence as they continued their playful banter.

“I lost again. A bet’s a bet; I’ll take off a piece of clothing.”

The bossy and outspoken Jin Xiaoqin willingly removed her jacket, revealing her striking figure. Without the embellishment of traditional attire, Jin Xiaoqin’s physical advantages became even more apparent.

Ling Jue, dressed smartly, also lost. She reluctantly removed her coat with a wry smile, showing considerably more modesty compared to the others. Ye Wenxin found this display somewhat tedious, so she moved on and soon spotted Fairy Fengya standing in the distance.

She was professionally dressed, and seemed to be engaged in a phone call. After a brief exchange, she rendered the other party speechless. If Fairy Fengya were a modern person, she might actually be infuriating beyond measure.

Ye Wenxin found the scene funny, but still couldn’t grasp the origin of this illusion. She continued searching for an exit.

What she was seeing looked incredibly realistic, with familiar items such as nerdy drinks, chips, and hamburgers perfectly depicted. These things made her feel a little nostalgic, so she decided to sit down and watch the women play.

While they clearly couldn’t see Ye Wenxin, Ye Wenxin was watching them intently, and time passed without Ye Wenxin’s notice.

Perhaps spending ten years within the Bright Mirror Formation had instilled profound patience in her, because even amidst this predicament, Ye Wenxin couldn’t feel an ounce of aggravation.

Just as the women had gone around her more than a hundred times, there was suddenly the sound of scripture chanting. Ye Wenxin found it out of place, and then noticed a rift appearing in the sky above. This was clearly the exit. As Ye Wenxin prepared to fly out, the group of women seemed to finally notice her. They called out, “Wenxin, are you leaving?”

“Aren’t you staying with us?”

The women all stopped what they were doing and turned to face Ye Wenxin, their gazes full of reluctance to let her go. Ye Wenxin smiled wryly as she looked at their familiar faces. Once, she had longed so deeply for modern life—to live as a normal person.

But in reality, she wasn’t that different from Long Qingyue. She was quite taken with her current world, and no longer desired to return to life on Earth.

“Sorry, but I still prefer that world,” Ye Wenxin apologized. The women’s expressions turned strange upon hearing her words, and in an instant, they transformed into grotesque rabbit spirits. Startled, Ye Wenxin leapt into the air, fleeing desperately towards the source of the scripture chanting.

She had no idea where she was or why someone had lured her here, but she knew she needed to escape. She ran with all her might, and made it through the rift before the chanting ceased. As soon as she passed through, Ye Wenxin finally woke from the dream. To her surprise, she found herself lying on a woman’s lap.

The woman was not unfamiliar to her—it was none other than Ah Jiu, one of Abbess Jiunan’s disguises.

This unexpected meeting in the forest with Abbess Jiunan, disguised as Ah Jiu, felt oddly intimate.

“I…” Ye Wenxin tried to speak, but her throat felt dry, as if she’d just survived a life-and-death ordeal. Ah Jiu seemed relieved as she gently helped Ye Wenxin sit up, explaining, “I found you out cold by that peach blossom tree.”

Ah Jiu pointed toward a small peach blossom tree in the distance.

Ye Wenxin followed her finger and saw a solitary peach blossom tree. It looked frail and small, as if the slightest breeze might topple it. Despite this, it had somehow managed to nearly claim Ye Wenxin’s life within the illusion.

“Thank you so much, Ah Jiu,” Ye Wenxin expressed her gratitude, still struggling to understand what had just happened.

If it weren’t for Ah Jiu’s chanting, she might not have found a way out of the strange illusion. But what perplexed her even more was how a single peach blossom tree had caught her so off guard.