Chapter 5: Secret Realm

Wen Xi waved her sword at the entrance of the cave for half the night and did not come back until the second half of the night.

She didn’t know whether it was because she was thinking about something or something else, but she fell asleep again in the middle of the night. But this time, the image of the person in the dream was a little blurry for some reason. For a moment, Wen Xi even thought the figure in the dream overlapped with Xi Meng, and the name the other party called at the end was hers.

How is this possible?

Thinking of this, she immediately opened her eyes.

The fire in front of her had gone out.

Not far from her, Xi Meng was sleeping quietly with her back against the stone wall without any defense. The little snake that went out to hunt last night had returned and quietly wrapped itself around Wen Xi’s wrist, pretending to be a jade bracelet.

Wen Xi glanced at the sky gradually brightening at the cave entrance and felt that it was getting more and more outrageous. It seemed that she really needed to form a pill quickly.

Wen Xi didn’t wake anyone up. She got up and quietly left the cave. She took out the iron sword and practiced a set of basic sword techniques.

She didn’t know that as soon as she left, the person who was originally sleeping soundly immediately opened her eyes.

There was no time to make breakfast for the other party in the morning. After the people woke up, Wen Xi barely found a bottle of fasting pills in the corner of her storage bag and gave it to Xi Meng.

Xi Meng took the bottle of medicine that had been there for who knows how long, expressed gratitude on the surface, but then threw it far away without touching it behind her back.

Wen Xi finished what she was supposed to do and was ready to continue on her journey with her companions just like yesterday. However, this time, she was stopped by the other party before she even stood up.

“Daoist friend, can I ask where you are going now?”

Wen Xi said calmly: “Quicksand Region.”

Xi Meng: “I mean, before going to the Quicksand Region, does Daoist friend have any other places she wants to go?”

Wen Xi: “No.”

Xi Meng was puzzled: “Then Daoist friend Wen doesn’t have a map of the secret realm?”

This doesn’t make sense. Even without a map, they should know that the Quicksand Region is in the inner area, so they should go towards the inner area.

“Have.”

Wen Xi thought that what she wanted to see was just a map, so she didn’t care much and simply took it out and handed it to her.

Xi Meng looked at the map and confirmed that the locations marked on it were correct, eliminating the possibility that the other party had been deceived.

Xi Meng: “Fellow Daoist Wen, have you seen the map before?”

Wen Xi: “I’ve seen it.”

Xi Meng: “Did you follow the route on the map?”

Wen Xi: “Yes.”

Xi Meng took a breath and said, “Well, forgive me for being so presumptuous, but does Fellow Daoist Wen have any idea of the direction?”

“…”

Wen Xi thought of the red silk at the entrance of Xuefeng Mountain Cave and Wen Xue’s instructions before leaving and remained silent.

If anyone else encountered this situation, they would have been unable to hide their embarrassment, but Wen Xi’s crystal-clear face still maintained her usual cold and calm expression.

Xi Meng looked at her and said calmly, “Well, I think you are probably going in the wrong direction, Brother Wen.”

The cold and beautiful woman actually has a poor sense of direction. This is not a shortcoming, but makes her look more adorable. Xi Meng just feels that she likes the person in front of her even more.

And if you think about it again, it was the beauty’s poor sense of direction that created the fate between them, isn’t it wonderful?

“Oh, it seems that Wen Xi and I are destined to be together… friends.” Xi Meng smiled meaningfully.

“Friend?”

Wen Xi only knew that Wen Xue made many like-minded friends through gossip, and her master always told her to make some friends, but she herself had never thought about these things.

Xi Meng sensed the bewilderment in her words and was also surprised. Could it be that all those who practiced the ruthless way were so stupid? However, stupid people also have their own fun.

“Yes, friend.” Xi Meng’s voice was bewitching and slowly turned into grievance, “Or does Wen Xi think that I, a demon cultivator, am not worthy of you, a disciple of a righteous sect, and disdains to be friends with me?”

Wen Xi had no prejudice, so she shook her head and said, “That’s not the case.”

Xi Meng excitedly held Wen Xi’s hand, her face filled with joy: “That’s good.”

Wen Xi didn’t notice it through her sleeve yesterday, but now she only felt that the hand holding her was soft, tender, and boneless, with a slight coolness on the skin.

Xi Meng was also shocked by the hot skin of her hand. Doesn’t this woman have ice spiritual roots? Why is her body so hot like a ball of fire?

Before she could say anything, her hand was shaken away.

Wen Xi met the other party’s pair of clear and bright black eyes, her fingertips trembled, and she said coldly: “I don’t need friends.”

After that, she turned around and said, “It’s time to go.”

Seeing this, Xi Meng comforted herself in her heart and told herself to take it slow while following: “Okay, I’ll show you the way.”

“Um.”

This time, Wen Xi learned from yesterday’s lesson and immediately imprisoned Xi Meng at the end of the sword, not giving her any chance to do anything. Xi Meng was responsible for guiding the way, and she even forgot that she was afraid of heights.

*

When it comes to how to quickly gain other people’s favor, Xi Meng can be said to be gifted.

When she found that pretending to be pitiful was effective, she used it to gain sympathy without hesitation, and then used it to test Wen Xi’s bottom line again and again.

Wen Xi didn’t like people to get close to her, but Xi Meng insisted on getting close to her. Wen Xi didn’t need friends, but Xi Meng insisted on being that friend.

At first, Wen Xi refused, but Xi Meng would always pretend to be casual, touching her arm, or stroking her hair, or suddenly getting scared and jumping into her arms…

If they were discovered, she would say pitifully that she did not mean it and sincerely admit her mistakes, but she would refuse to change.

Sometimes Wen Xi was really driven to the point of being pushed by her and even wanted to throw her away, but she would immediately calm down.

However, she wasn’t always like this.

When she found that the other person would pay more attention to her when she talked about some of her past experiences or some of the scenery she had seen, she would not hesitate to tell the other person everything she knew.

Wen Xue also liked to talk to Wen Xi, but she mostly talked about random things. Today it is this senior sister, tomorrow it is that senior brother, and the day after tomorrow it is a certain sword master.

Wen Xi was not interested in those things. Instead, she was more attracted by the traps that Xi Meng had been to and the crises encountered in the secret realm.

But sometimes Wen Xi would wonder, “You look young and your cultivation isn’t that high; it’s hard to imagine you’ve been to so many places.”

Xi Meng paused when she heard this. She was so eager to show off that she almost got carried away and exposed herself.

“Hahaha, it seems that Wen Xi, you have also been deceived by my appearance.”

Under Xi Meng’s constant persuasion, the two changed their addresses from polite “Daoist” to “Daoist Wen,” and then to “Wen Xi” and “Xi Meng.”

“deceived?” Wen Xi raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard that.

Although she knew the method of measuring bone age, those who entered this secret realm were generally the more outstanding disciples in the sect, so she subconsciously treated them as people of the same age.

Seeing this, Xi Meng smiled at Wen Xi: “Don’t just look at me because I look young. I’m actually 83 years old this year. I was just lucky in the past and swallowed a herb to keep my appearance.”

Wen Xi silently straightened her shoulders: “I really didn’t expect it.”

Xi Meng added: “As for the many places to go, who would be willing to go to those dangerous places all day long if there is no other choice? We demon cultivators are not like your immortal cultivators. If we want resources, we can only fight for them ourselves. The weak ones have to be careful of being plotted against.”

Xi Meng had become accustomed to playing the victim these days, and Wen Xi was also accustomed to being more sympathetic and tolerant towards her. She nodded and comforted her, “It’s not easy for you.”

Among all the people she had met, it seemed that no one was more miserable than Xi Meng. Not only had she not yet formed a pill at her age, but she also lost her storage bag when she entered the secret realm to look for resources, and she almost lost her life.

Poor qualifications, old age, and poverty.

Wen Xi’s eyes changed, and she felt that the other party was having a hard time.

Xi Meng looked at the other person’s strange eyes and always felt that something seemed wrong, but since Wen Xi didn’t say anything, she didn’t dare to ask.

It was not until the evening rest time that Wen Xi sorted out the things in her storage bag, picked out a few things she needed, and took out the rest all at once and placed them on the ground.

“I don’t need these things. You can keep them if you need them.”

What she took out was much more valuable than the wild flowers and weeds that the other party dug up every day, and it should be able to improve the other party’s life a little bit.

Xi Meng finally understood where the weird feeling she had in the morning came from.

Her first reaction: Does she think I’m a rag collector?

Second reaction: Is she looking down on me?

The third reaction is: Oh, she must feel sorry for me.

Xi Meng sighed, not knowing whether to say that she was unkind or to praise her for being too kind.

She obviously didn’t even want to call her “friend,” but she was so generous when giving her things.

“Thank you very much.”

Since it was Wen Xi’s intention, Xi Meng would not refuse. By casually taking one or two things, she had another reason to get closer to her.

After Xi Meng finished speaking, she was about to pick up two bottles of pills at random, but her eyes were attracted by a small green ball: “Huh? What is this?”

Wen Xi looked over and was shocked. Wasn’t that the snake coiled on her hand? When did it run over there?

“Wait…”

Before Wen Xi finished speaking, Xi Meng had already reached out to take the ball.

The little snake disguised as a ball smelled a pleasant smell and took a bite.

“Ah!”

The incident happened so suddenly that Xi Meng couldn’t help but scream out in surprise.

Wen Xi hurriedly stood up, pinched the naughty little snake with one hand, and grabbed Xi Meng’s finger with the other hand and asked anxiously, “How are you?”

Xi Meng was about to say it was okay, but when she looked up, she saw Wen Xi with such a worried expression for the first time. The words on her lips immediately turned into: “It hurts a little; can you help me hold it?”

After hearing her words, Wen Xi realized that she was worrying unnecessarily, so she let go of her hand and sat back: “I’m glad you’re fine.”

If you get too proud of yourself for a moment, you will lose a good opportunity.

Xi Meng was touched: “I hope you don’t blame me.”

In her heart, she was disgusted to death. She, a dignified infant cultivator, was actually tricked by a little snake in the Foundation Building stage. It was so embarrassing, but—

Xi Meng’s mind turned, and the expression on her face changed again: “This time I owe you more, and I can’t repay you even more.”

Wen Xi shook her head: “Although it followed me before, it is not mine. Now that it has been contracted with you, it is your opportunity. You don’t owe me anything, and you don’t need to repay me. Besides, you are weak, so taking it with you is an extra protection.”

Oh, the strength is low.