Chapter 328: The Person You Love

That sentence made Ye Wenxin acutely aware that she couldn’t pretend in front of Jin Xiaoqin at all. But Jin Xiaoqin was completely different from her best friend. She judged based on facial expressions, while her best friend could read minds.

“I have a friend…”

Jin Xiaoqin’s expression became even more perfunctory, but she didn’t interrupt Ye Wenxin’s talk of her imaginary friend.

“She’s very clever, like she can see through everyone’s thoughts. I like her a lot, but at the same time, I’m afraid of her.”

Ye Wenxin thought of her feelings towards Long Qingyue. They were supposed to be friends, but recent events had made her suddenly realize that what she thought was certain, might not remain the same.

“Hmm, if you praise me like this, it’ll get to my head.” Jin Xiaoqin, thinking this was about her, lowered her voice with a hint of embarrassment. Ye Wenxin was bemused, but upon careful thought, she realized that those words could easily apply to Jin Xiaoqin as well, so she simply nodded in agreement.

“So, should I continue to like her?”

“Of course you should. No matter what it is, don’t do things halfway,” Jin Xiaoqin replied immediately, sounding somewhat irritated.

Ye Wenxin smiled and continued, “Perhaps in the future, she and I will stand on opposite sides. Maybe there will no longer be equality between us. I’m just one among the masses, while she remains too high to reach—”

Ye Wenxin’s voice abruptly stopped as she sensed something unusual around her. Immediately, she went on high alert. Glancing around, she saw numerous Yin Fetuses surging towards them.

Unlike the adult Yin Fetuses, these ones have clearly undergone mutations. Some were very muscular, and some had arms like sickles, making them appear menacing. Others had completely lost their human form, sprouting tentacles from a greenish sphere, resembling monstrous appendages.

These mutated Yin Fetuses were quite powerful. Fairy Fengya had already stepped forward without hesitation, swiftly dispatching these mutant Yin Fetuses as if slicing through vegetables.

Despite their initial intimidating presence, these mutated Yin Fetuses didn’t last more than three seconds in battle before meeting their demise. Glancing back at Jin Xiaoqin, Ye Wenxin resumed, “Where were we just now?”

“We were talking about the person you love.”

“Love my foot; she’s my bestie!” Ye Wenxin blurted out in frustration, unable to contain her Earthly expressions. But as soon as the words escaped her mouth, she remembered that the person behind her was still her master.

The atmosphere fell into silence. Just as Ye Wenxin wondered which part Jin Xiaoqin would start questioning, Jin Xiaoqin instead asked with curiosity, “What’s a bestie?”

Ye Wenxin explained another Earth term, and every time she glanced up, she would see Fairy Fengya performing her vegetable-cutting show in front of them. Thanks to Fairy Fengya, the invincible female lead, they soon reached the halfway point up the mountainside.

The air was thick with a strong smell of blood, giving everyone intense discomfort. Clearly, the danger here was on a completely different level compared to the mutated Yin Fetuses they encountered halfway up the mountain.

Even though Fairy Fengya could handle slicing through enemies alone, others couldn’t.

However, Fairy Fengya seemed oblivious to the exhaustion of those around her. Long Qing’er, already feeling extremely tired, noticed that Fairy Fengya intended to proceed right away. She quickly said, “Xiao Feng, let’s rest here for a while.”

Fairy Fengya finally looked around at the immortal sect disciples, seemingly puzzled as to why so many people were tired, when she was the one doing all the Yin Fetus slicing.

She stood there, neither nodding nor shaking her head, so Ye Wenxin had to force herself to add, “I’m so tired.”

Fairy Fengya glanced at Ye Wenxin, then gave a slight nod. This obvious detail did not escape the group’s notice. Except for the Azure Wings Sect disciples, the others didn’t know that this girl, who sliced Yin Fetuses like cutting vegetables, was the legendary Fairy Fengya. They watched the subtle interactions among the few people as if watching a play.

If one were to summarize the four women’s relationships, it would be like this: Long Qing’er loved Fairy Fengya unrequitedly; Fairy Fengya cared about Ye Wenxin; Ye Wenxin was infatuated with Jin Xiaoqin; and Jin Xiaoqin cared about Long Qing’er. This created a melodramatic love square among the women.

Such entangled relationships were quite common among cultivators, who lived long lives and had a lot of free time when not cultivating. Many thought about branching out and spreading their lineage, while some aimed to dominate all female cultivators. Love and hate became a sort of entertainment in their otherwise monotonous lives.

Seeing the one-sided love square, a few mischievous disciples even placed bets with spirit stones on who would be the ultimate winner by the end of this secret realm.

Ye Wenxin had always been aware of these dynamics but did not engage much. She had put Jin Xiaoqin down and planned to check Fairy Fengya’s pulse to determine her condition. However, as she approached, she felt everyone’s eyes on her.

Pausing for a moment, she noticed Long Qing’er’s piercing gaze, which seemed to say, ‘You already have a master; don’t try to take mine.’ Ye Wenxin sighed internally, but continued to stride over to Fairy Fengya.

“Hand out.”

Strangely enough, the usually aloof Fairy Fengya obediently extended her hand. Ye Wenxin didn’t dare to be smug; as she took Fairy Fengya’s pulse, she could feel the chaotic flow of qi within her dantian.

If she used her qi once more, she would risk entering a state of Qi Deviation again.

Ye Wenxin couldn’t help but switch to a lecturing tone: “And you still dare to charge in like this?”

Long Qing’er immediately voiced her discontent, standing up for Fairy Fengya. “Wenxin, how can you speak like that?”

Apart from Ye Wenxin, no one else knew that Fairy Fengya’s bouts of Qi Deviation were as common as having meals.

Fairy Fengya remained silent as Ye Wenxin took out several Heart-Cleansing Pills and forcefully fed them to her. Fairy Fengya didn’t resist much, allowing Ye Wenxin to handle her as she pleased.

At that moment, everyone realized that the aloof Fairy Fengya was just a bit of a sheltered idiot. Seeing how Ye Wenxin could act so boldly, Long Qing’er approached, intending to use the pretext of checking Fairy Fengya’s condition to touch her hand.

But as soon as Long Qing’er tried, Fairy Fengya swiftly dodged, putting some distance between them. Unfazed, Long Qing’er insisted she only wanted to help, but each time she approached, Fairy Fengya moved further away.

Their amusing interaction elicited smiles from the onlookers. Feeling guilty, Ye Wenxin quickly went back to fuss over Jin Xiaoqin. Jin Xiaoqin, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, said, “I have a new idea lately.”

Ye Wenxin, still dutifully massaging Jin Xiaoqin’s calf, was caught off guard by her sudden remark.

“What is it?”

“The Sect Master and I have been wondering who that stand-in you found is.” Jin Xiaoqin’s sharp eyes were fixed on Ye Wenxin, as if simply staring at her would reveal the answer.