Chapter 1738: An Old Friend Who Shouldn’t Be Here
When Zu An first entered this world, not only had he released his divine sense, he had also immediately used his jade badge in an attempt to use the surrounding smaller creatures as a radar. However, there wasn’t a single reaction.
At first, he had thought that maybe the region just happened to lack smaller creatures, but there weren’t any even as he went further in. He soon realized that something was strange.
Qiu Honglei was startled and looked vigilantly around the area. She asked, “Could it be that these plants are poisonous?”
Zu An shook his head and said, “I know a bit about poisons. These are all just normal trees and don’t have any poison.”
“Then that makes things even weirder…” Qiu Honglei muttered, her brows furrowing as she thought to herself; she appeared to be struggling with something. Suddenly, she noticed that Zu An was staring at her absentmindedly. She asked in a panic, “What is it?”
Zu An said with a chuckle, “It’s nothing. I just thought that you’re really pretty even when you’re frowning.”
“You’re so annoying…” Qiu Honglei protested playfully. If it were another man who had said something similar to her, she would only think he was being flirty. But when her lover said the same thing, she felt her heart beat rapidly.
Zu An held her soft hand and said, “Let’s go. There seems to be light up ahead. Let’s go over and take a look.”
Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. As the Saintess of the Devil Sect, she was normally quite decisive, and yet now that she was with Zu An, she didn’t really want to think about things anymore. She felt really happy just being with him.
If Wan Guiyi were to see her now, perhaps his previous impression of a woman who ruthlessly overcame her challenges would completely collapse.
The two of them continued along the small path. Even though the source of light didn’t seem that far, it still took them some time to get there. That was because it was an entirely unfamiliar environment. Both of them were vigilant and constantly looking for abnormalities around them, so they didn’t move too quickly. By the time they drew near to the light, the sky had already become completely dark.
Only then did they notice that the source of light came from a dilapidated temple. It wasn’t particularly small, but it was extremely run-down. There were weeds growing all over the place, and all manner of vines climbed along the trees and walls; they were sinister and malicious-looking, as if they were giant snakes. There were broken slabs of stone and collapsed statues strewn all across the ground, covered by a thick layer of dirt and ashes. All of these things seemed to suggest that the temple had existed for a very long time.
The two of them exchanged a look. Judging from the state of the temple and the desolate wilderness around it, it had clearly been abandoned for a long time. How could there still be any chance that someone was inside?
“Could it be master and the others?” Qiu Honglei wondered expectantly.
“Unlikely. We need to be careful,” Zu An replied seriously.
The two of them carefully approached the temple. Suddenly, they stepped on something hard. Zu An noticed that something was different and squatted down. It turned out to be a broken stone tablet that still vaguely carried traces of writing. Qiu Honglei brushed her hand across it and instantly cleared away the dirty layer covering the surface, reading the inscription on it: Ruo Lan Temple.
Zu An was stunned.
“Ah Zu, what’s wrong?” Qiu Honglei asked nervously when she saw his strange expression.
“It’s nothing. I just remembered some things from the past,” Zu An replied as he thought to himself, Good thing it’s not Lan Ruo Temple.[1]
The two of them continued into the temple. The doors were on the verge of collapse, as if the merest gust of wind would knock them over. Furthermore, strange creaks emanated from them from time to time. If a normal person tried to open them, the doors would definitely make ear-splitting noises. Fortunately, both of them were strong cultivators and didn’t make any sound while moving.
…
They continued inside. There were thick spiderwebs everywhere, and yet not a single spider could be seen. The pair’s gazes landed on a room inside the main temple. The light came from that place.
Suddenly, they heard a strange singing voice that resembled a duck’s quacking, and wasn’t all that pleasant to listen to at all. The voice sang, “I love simmer-fried chicken wings…”
Qiu Honglei clearly sighed in relief. The one inside was a person, and judging from the current situation, they didn’t seem to be too dangerous.
Zu An had a strange expression. Why did the voice sound a bit familiar?
The two of them arrived in front of the door. There was nowhere to secretly observe the interior, because there were holes everywhere in the doors and windows. There was a bonfire in the center of the room. A wretched youngster was seated next to it, and there was a simple rack set up above the fire.
There was some food propped up on a wooden stick, being roasted. When she saw that it was a piece of bread, Qiu Honglei was completely confused. This world calls this stuff chicken wings?
Meanwhile, Zu An noticed the youngster’s two large front teeth. He had a strange expression. Why was he seeing this guy here? At that moment, he began to question all of his previous speculations.
The two didn’t hide themselves, so the one inside immediately noticed them. He drew his blade and slashed toward them, creating a wind that sent sparks from the fire flying everywhere. He cried, “Who’s there?!”
Qiu Honglei frowned. Even though this fellow’s cultivation wasn’t bad, it was still far too lacking compared to the two of them. She was about to teach him a lesson when Zu An stopped her, leaving her a bit confused.
The bucktoothed youngster finally saw who they were. He voiced his surprise and quickly put his blade away, asking, “Boss, why are you here?”
Qiu Honglei asked in confusion, “Boss?”
Zu An quickly ran over to embrace the bucktoothed man, exclaiming, “I didn’t expect to see you here either!”
It turned out to be none other than his seatmate Wei Suo from back in Brightmoon City. When he first arrived in this world, Wei Suo had been his source of a lot of information. He couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered how excitedly Wei Suo had introduced Brightmoon Academy’s ten great beauties to him back then.
Wei Suo also saw Qiu Honglei. When he saw how stunning she was, his head clearly went blank. He couldn't help but pull Zu An aside, saying, “Boss really is boss, as expected; your women are each more beautiful than the next! The ten great beauties from the academy almost all fell to you alone, and yet you still have such an incredible woman on the outside! When are you going to pass on some flirting skills to me?”
Zu An was stunned, replying, “Is getting women that hard? Don’t you just have to ask if they want to be with you?”
“That’s it?” Wei Suo replied with a suspicious look. Don’t try to trick me just because I don’t have experience…
Zu An nodded confidently and said, “At least, I haven’t experienced rejection after all these years.”
When he saw Zu An’s handsome and confident appearance, then thought about his own face, Wei Suo immediately became discouraged. He said, “Forget it. Pretend I never asked. But why does this woman look a bit familiar?”
Zu An chuckled and said, “You might have seen her before. She spent some time in Brightmoon City in the past, too.” He vaguely introduced Qiu Honglei.
Wei Suo’s eyes lit up. He turned around to look at Qiu Honglei and remarked, “So you were the courtesan queen of Brightmoon City back then! No wonder you’re so beautiful.”
He had seen Qiu Honglei before, but what kind of status did she have back then? She had been surrounded whenever she made an appearance, so Wei Suo had only been able to get a glance at her from far away. He was so stunned by her beauty that he couldn't remember what she looked like back then.
Zu An introduced him to Qiu Honglei. When she heard that he was from Brightmoon City and a former classmate of Zu An, her expression immediately became more pleasant as she said, “Hello.”
“Hello, hello…” Wei Suo replied. The feeling of being able to talk to a goddess he had admired in the past up close was absolutely incredible. He suddenly felt at a loss to know what to do. He didn’t even know where to look anymore.
Zu An was a bit speechless. This guy was able to talk about such beauties in such a skillful manner in private, acting so confident and full of knowledge, yet why did he become completely speechless when he really did meet a beauty in person?
He coughed lightly and asked, “Your cultivation seems to have improved a lot, no?”
That attack had shown that Wei Suo was at the seventh rank at the very least. It was unexpected, because Wei Suo was famous for being a terrible student. He had been at the very bottom of even the academy’s lowest-level Huang class. Reaching the third rank in his lifetime would already have been something his ancestors would be more than satisfied with.
Wei Suo snapped out of his daze. His expression became a bit dim as he replied, “What could I do? I was forced to in order to survive. Back then, something big happened in our clan and I had no choice but to wander the wilderness. After struggling on the edge of life and death several times, I ended up obtaining some opportunities. That was how my cultivation improved a bit.”
He suddenly had a big smile as he continued. He put his arm around Zu An and said, “Boss, I’m already quite strong now! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you in the future. No one will dare to bully you!”
1. Lan Ruo Temple is a temple that contains supernatural entities and mysterious occurrences, from "A Chinese Ghost Story". ☜
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