Chapter 41: Survival is the Ultimate Goal

Although Ye Qingning had already left, the sound of a familiar phrase still reached her ears—”Quick, go find the senior brother!”

For some reason, this brought to mind the classic line—”Quick, go find Monkey King!”

The system, seeing that Ye Qingning had successfully left, was brimming with excitement and couldn’t help but ask: “Ning Ning, how did it go? How many points did you earn after getting the Nine Turns Yin-Yang Bottle? Did you make it into the top three?”

At the system’s mention of this, Ye Qingning realized that after obtaining the Nine Turns Yin-Yang Bottle, she had not received the usual exam score notification.

“It should be calculated when we exit the secret realm on the final day,” Ye Qingning explained. “Only then will the person who took the Nine Turns Yin-Yang Bottle get an additional 600 points, doubling the total score.”

“After all, the current points aren’t the final score. If someone snatches the bottle away, there would be deductions, which would be troublesome. It’s better to calculate everything at the end.”

Understanding the logic behind her explanation, the system responded: “Then you have to guard the bottle well, Ning Ning. There are still three days left.”

Ye Qingning smiled faintly. Three days? No problem. She just had to play her role well and avoid suspicion. The next few days would be all about one thing—survival.

Survival without dying, just keep playing the long game.

As for the Nine Turns Yin-Yang Bottle, it wasn’t entirely safe on her person. Fortunately, she had already planned ahead on where to hide it.

Ye Qingning sped up, not sure whether the invisible person had followed her. But thankfully, her invisibility talisman was indeed effective. After the person chased her out of the underground crack, they would likely become disoriented, not knowing which direction to follow.

After all, most of the disciples participating in the exam were in the Foundation Establishment stage, and only someone in the Golden Core stage or above might have been able to detect her.

Clearly, the person chasing her had not figured it out, or they would have caught up with her by now.

But she was sure that Shen Xuanli had noticed something. When she exited the crack, though he was busy fighting the evil spirits, he had glanced in her direction. He must have sensed her presence.

In her past life, she knew Shen Xuanli had reached the Void Realm, but she didn’t know his current level. Still, it was normal for someone of his caliber to sense her presence.

Moreover, the supervising disciples could see the names of the exam disciples in the secret realm. Even if she was invisible, her name might not be hidden, and that’s probably why Shen Xuanli had glanced in her direction.

This thought made her smile wryly.

She had originally planned to stay and watch how Yu Tangtang and the others dealt with the evil spirits, but since her invisibility talisman had a limited duration, and she feared being exposed once it expired, she decided to head back to the Yu residence instead.

She could watch the drama later, but her safety had to come first.

Even though the Taoist had died, his body was still intact, and someone would definitely search it for the Nine Turns Yin-Yang Bottle. Once they realized the bottle was missing, they would deduce someone had taken it first.

But she didn’t need to worry about Bai Wei. After all, Bai Wei had been with Yu Tangtang and the others the whole time, so she was unlikely to be a threat.

…

When Ye Qingning returned to the Yu residence late at night, she found that Lu Luo was sitting on the steps in front of her door, half-asleep.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Lu Luo suddenly woke up and, seeing Ye Qingning, quickly stood up, rubbing her eyes.

“Miss, you’re back! Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for so long. I was worried when you didn’t return, so I stayed here the whole time.”

“Miss, I don’t know what’s going on today, but everyone in the house seems to have disappeared. Only Master and Madam are here. Even the Second Madam sneaked out of the house!”

“Miss, do you think Second Madam sneaked out at night to meet with a lover?”

Ye Qingning paused. The second madam, who still had some charm, left the house in the middle of the night?

She had already suspected something about the second madam. It seemed that she was either sneaking around with someone or involved in the exam. The likelihood of her being an exam disciple was higher.

After all, who would sneak out in the middle of the night unless there was something more significant at play? Moreover, the masters had instructed everyone not to leave the house after dark.

This meant that the second madam had definitely gone outside the city.

Suddenly, Ye Qingning remembered something.

The invisible person’s hand had felt smooth and delicate, almost as if it belonged to a woman.

“Lu Luo, what’s the second madam’s full name? I can’t seem to remember.”

“Miss, her name is Liu Ruyan.”

Ye Qingning nearly choked. Liu Ruyan? The second madam had a name that sounded quite poetic. It was clear she was more than just a supporting character. Ye Qingning found herself amused. This Liu Ruyan truly embodied the ideal type of woman in a novel—elegant and charming.

She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of background Liu Ruyan had and what kind of role her older sister played. It seemed that, in the coming days, she’d have to probe these two carefully.

Especially Yu Tangtang. With her status as a disciple of the Immortal Sect, her points wouldn’t be low. If she could eliminate her, it would be a significant advantage.

“There’s no evidence, so don’t spread rumors. Keep this to yourself for now, understand?”

“Yes, Miss. I won’t tell anyone,” Lu Luo quickly replied.

Ye Qingning nodded and then gave some instructions. “You were looking for someone earlier, right? If you haven’t found them yet, go look again. They’re probably close. Once you find them, bring them here and tell them that I know where they went and that I need to speak with them.”

Lu Luo was confused, wondering how Ye Qingning knew where that person was. But she didn’t dare question her, simply saying, “I understand, Miss. I’ll go now.”

…

After returning to her room, Ye Qingning lay down.

The next three days were going to be intense. She couldn’t afford to waste any time.

Holding the Nine Turns Yin-Yang Bottle felt like holding a hot potato. She had to hide it somewhere safe as soon as possible.

If it remained on her person, even in her storage bag, if someone suspected her, they might try to steal it.

So, she had no choice but to hide it.

From now on, survival was her top priority.

Ye Qingning gradually fell asleep. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t rested for a few days, but she soon slipped into a deep slumber.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, she heard a noise in her room, waking her up.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a man standing at the foot of her bed, his expression sour, as if he’d just chewed on a bitter pill. If his identity wasn’t clear from that face, she didn’t know who else it could be.

Ye Qingning sat up, pulling out a soundproof talisman and sticking it to the door. Only then did she relax. “No one else is here. Master Jiang, why are you still acting so dramatic? I’ll pay back the spirit stones I owe you. Don’t look at me like that every time you see me.”

Jiang Shaoling clenched his fists, still furious. He had never felt so embarrassed in his life.

Thinking back to what had happened, he was even more furious. His voice was tinged with anger: “So you recognized me earlier? Was everything you said last night intentional?!”

Ye Qingning rolled her eyes. He had such a short temper! If it weren’t for him choosing this identity, she wouldn’t have been so caught up in this situation.