Chapter 34
(TLN: So a reader pointed out how the author wrote anti-chapters and posted the real ones a bit later. I posted the real Chapter 33 and the fake as 33.5. Same with chapter 34. So go back to read the real Chapter 33 if you haven’t yet.)
After repeated questioning, Long Shiyan and others finally understood what had happened.
It turned out that because of the school competition in three months, the school had to make the top students of the Holy Spirit Magic School begin their school exams a year ahead of time.
When they entered the inner clearing of the Magical Beast Forest, they were attacked by strong magical beasts, the wind wolves, which almost led to their complete annihilation.
“The school’s annual examinations” would organize a risky adventure for students from all over the school. No matter the age nor the level of the student, all students had to go participate. The teachers would guide the younger students while the slightly older students would have to go on real and dangerous adventures.
If one was incompetent, then that individual would die.
However, this was for the survival of the school. Unless one decided to drop out, one would have to participate.
The team rescued by Long Shiyan was an alchemy department affiliated with the Student Holy Spirit Group. Using modern understanding to explain them, they were basically scientists who were also strong fighters.
In short, they were very important.
The pony-tailed girl named Daliana was a fifth-level swordsman. Her strength could be considered average on this team. Their team had just entered the outer periphery of the Magical Beast Forest before encountering the wind wolves. After their battle, countless numbers of trainees died or became heavily wounded. In the end, the captain secretly gathered the less injured team members as they broke through the siege and left the rest.
Moreover, Daliana had to stay because of her friend’s injury, so she accompanied
her other good friend, Bonnie. But during the battle, Bonnie was seriously injured in order to protect her and now, she was unconscious.
Fortunately, at the most critical juncture, she broke through and became a sixth-level swordsman, which explained why she was able to support the rest for so long.
These people were one or two years younger than Long Shiyan, and they all knew each other since quite a while ago. However, Long Shiyan rarely hung out with them and usually only contracted them when she needed them. It was Zi Linglong who made friends one by one at school.
In the end, since the significant events that happened at the school mostly involved Zi Linglong, Long Shiyan had to come out to deal with the problems as she was Zi Linglong’s sister. This led to the rise of Long Shiyan’s popularity, causing the system to call her the “All-purpose helper of people.”
This also laid a good foundation for her to run in the campaign to become the head of the group.
After listening to her explanation, Long Shiyan suddenly muttered under her breath for a few seconds. Then she said, “There are so many people in the Alchemist Research Society. The wind wolves shouldn’t have attacked you due to their natural characteristics. In the end, what happened? Isn’t it extremely improbable for this situation to occur without a reason?” It wasn’t strange for her to doubt that a magical beast would take risks to attack them as an ordinary wild beast would.
。
They were not lacking any food to eat.
“I don’t know!” Daliana lowered her head and frowned.
“Alright, I will handle this matter. First, you should grab something to eat and then rest.” Long Shiyan reached out and patted her head. She then took out a large round pastry and handed it to her.
“Okay,” Daliana whispered in agreement. She bit the large pastry while looking at the location of the injured. After, she flashed a glance at Zi Linglong.
Zi Linglong faintly smiled. She helped her stand up as they headed toward the wounded.
Long Shiyan did not follow them but simply swept a glance at the wounded and the others. And then, she silently closed her eyes, leaning against a large tree.
The saying “a blessing in disguise” wasn’t entirely inaccurate in this case. While the Alchemy Research Society suffered a lot, at least the very least, these pure and naive students could now understand the cruelty of this world. Moreover, she could also confirm that the current captain allowed these children of the Alchemy Research Society to become genuinely qualified.
The Alchemy Research Society was the most important school organization.
Katis, the most famous alchemist in the original book, was a cheerful and lively girl known for her headstrong nature. She was also a beauty. What was worth mentioning was that she was one of the rare beauties who did not get captured by Long Aotian.
Moreover, there were two assistants beside her. One was dependable and earnest while the other was gentle and considerate. Both of them were difficult to deal with, but they were still very beautiful in appearance, especially the gentle Bonnie. The women in Long Aotian’s harem, aside from Long Yuqing and the Radiant Saint Christina, weren’t too superior to them in terms of looks.
The gentle beauty was called Bonnie. The original Long Aotian had pursued her many times, but Daliana, who was by her side, would always obstruct him. Finally, while Long Shiyan herself didn’t know why, the text did not say anything about Long Aotian actually capturing these three childhood friends. Instead, the story went directly to the realm of the gods arc, and then, to the Radiant God.
Maybe it was because there wasn’t any more time to write that part.
But in any case, the three were rare beauties who did not get captured by Long Aotian. The final outcome of what happened to them was not written. After all, after going to the realm of the gods, Long Aotian rarely returned to them since he spent most of his time fighting. Furthermore, the number of times he went to capture more beauties were also reduced.
Soon, their group came together for a midday break. The two seriously wounded people were still in a coma. Although their minor injuries have already healed by a lot, their faces were still a little pale. Daliana lowered her weapon, wiped the two wounded, and took care of them. Obviously, despite her highly capable nature, her gentle heart did not disappear.
Zi Linglong picked up a few skewers of the barbecue and spoke a few words to Long Shiyan. Then, she went to Daliana’s side, handed the skewer to her, and sat down next to her. She observed the unconscious duo as she whispered, “Their complexion appear a lot better; I believe that they will recover completely in no time.”
“Zi, thank you!” Daliana looked at her; her face was filled with gratitude.
“Don’t mention it; it was nothing much.” Zi Linglong shook her head and replied, “We are friends and classmates. Rescuing you all was not difficult at all. As long as you are alright, then everything is fine. Besides, we are a part of the Student Holy Spirit Group. Helping you all is the responsibility of our group.”
“Regardless of your words, I still want to thank you. You saved us.” Daliana looked at her earnestly. Afterward, she snapped back to reality and took a bite of the barbecue skewer. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she asked, “Zi, did you make this?”
“Yeah! But…” Zi Linglong supported the chin and said, “I wasn’t the only one who contributed to cooking. Edgar hunted the fire cloud swine, Brands was responsible for removing the skins, and Chris cleaned out the internal organs. I was in charge of roasting it while Elder Sister secretly helped us.”
“Pfft~” Dalina couldn’t help but cover her lips as she giggled a few times. She sneaked a peek at Long Shiyan, who was located not too far away, and asked, “So, you roasted this?”
“Yeah.”
“Speaking of Zi, you seem to be good at cooking. I still remember the last time Katis ate your egg tarts,” Daliana stated.
Zi Linglong’s face was red; she wrapped her arms around her legs and replied in a low voice, “It’s because…because my elder sister refuses to cook despite being very picky, so I studied a little over time.”
“So that’s the case!” Daliana sighed, recalling that Zi Linglong had raised her cooking skills for that strange upperclassman, Long Shiyan. In regards to her, not many people could come in contact with her. As she thought that, she snuck a glance at Zi Linglong.
Perhaps Zi Linglong, a thoughtful and considerate girl who likes to make friends, was the only one who could be friends with that strange girl!
“In fact, I’m not the only one with cooking skills. Edgar can also cook! His family owns a restaurant, and his father is a well-known chef who participated in the Guangming City Yu Family Cooking Competition.” After being stared at so attentively, Zi Linglong’s pretty face was dyed by a faint red. She quickly mentioned someone else who could cook in the group.
However, the effect of this action was insignificant.
“So…” Daliana closed her lips, becoming silent as she did not know what to think about this.
Zi Linglong stared at her for a while. She suddenly asked “Does Daliana want to learn how to cook?”
“Ah?” Daliana was startled; she hurriedly waved her hands with a flushed complexion and said, “No, no, I don’t have any skills in cooking. Cooking is…too difficult.”
Zi Linglong blinked and wanted to continue asking, but the beautiful girl lying on the soft animal skin stirred. She appeared faintly awake, so Daliana leaned over her and held her hand. At this moment, the golden girl on the other side suddenly whispered a few times, like the fear of a nightmare. Daliana quickly reacted by gently taking her hand. Afterward, both girls quieted down, sinking into another slumber.
Zi Linglong wanted to help but soon noticed that Daliana did not need her help. She crouched nearby, watching the scene with a smile. She whispered, “Daliana, I realized that you are actually very kind.” She paused and observed the girl’s flushed face before adding another sentence, “And still very shy.”
Daliana bit her lip and glared at her, but she didn’t dare to say anything, for fear of waking the sleeping duo.
The two unconscious girls were holding hands close to them as Zi Linglong sighed. “The relationship between the three of you is really good!”
Daliana groaned and suddenly smiled. Recalling her old memories, she said, “Our families lived near each other. We were always together when we were still very young. We all lived together, have never been separated, and have experienced many things together. Of course, our feelings for each other are positive.”
Zi Linglong stared blankly. She suddenly smiled and said, “It’s the same with me and my elder sister. Ever since we have met, we have never been separated. We would stick together all the time. We would eat, sleep, train, and cultivate next to each other. Even now, we still do the same.”
“We are about the same as you two. Ever since we entered this school, we have been together.” Daliana nodded with a smile. “But Katis always acts silly, gets into trouble, and is sometimes unbearable. Meanwhile, Bonnie would always spoil her,” she said with a gloomy expression.
“My elder sister is also like that. She’s always doing stupid things!” Zi Linglong was also depressed. “When you look at her, she seems very powerful, but she is actually just a little girl. Aside from reading, she would cultivate and occasionally forget to eat on some days. I can only force her to eat, but she’s a picky eater. What’s even more strange is that I always have to help her bathe because she’s too lazy to do so herself.
But I am much better than you. At the very least, I only have to deal with my elder sister, but you have to deal with two people,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Not too far away, Long Shiyan, who was drinking water, choked. She coughed as her saliva almost came out. This girl, was it really necessary to say such a thing about her? How aggravating! Stupid! Naive!
“Head of the Group, are you okay?” Edgar, who was raining curses at the Alchemy Research Society’s captain, noticed Long Shiyan’s coughs and couldn’t help but ask.
“No, it’s nothing.” The corner of Long Shiyan’s mouth twitched as she asked with a smile, “Edgar, have you three heard about any strange issues?”
“What strange issues?” The three men looked at her incomprehensibly.
“Well, a real man should maintain a gentleman’s demeanor.” Long Shiyan nodded solemnly, then closed her eyes and did not speak. For those who practiced martial arts, listening to people talking softly was easy. There was no problem at doing this at all. However, overhearing what girls were whispering about was not what a gentleman would do. After all, they were model students at the school. It was also no wonder why an obedient these obedient children would ignore what they were talking about.
Generally speaking, Long Shiyan was fine with that.
Chapter 34.5: Side Story 2
“Rest assured, there are a variety of breeds of cassavas. While this type is undomesticated, they’re not poisonous. I often ate them when I was young. If they really were poisonous, I should already be dead,” Wu Xiaojing said, beginning to pack up her own stuff.
Surviving in the wild, as long as she had a source of fire and a knife, she would not die. The survival skills that she gained since elementary school were deeply engraved into her bones and could never be forgotten. Of course, if this was a real primitive forest, then it would be really challenging to survive.
Although it was still not cooled down, Wu Xiaojing twisted one of them and exposed its white flesh and smoke. She peeled it open and blew on it a couple of times. After confirming that it was not hot, she took a small bite.
The fatty couldn’t wait any longer, ignoring the heat, she directly peeled off the skin and took a bite. After saying that it was hot while eating, she soon finished the cassava. But soon, she made an expression revealing that it wasn’t enough to satisfy herself.
Wu Xiaojing also started to peel another. Upon seeing this, Xiao Liqi also began to peel off the skin of hers. Han Xueling hesitated for a while but soon began to study how to cook them. However, she was too clumsy, so she messed up her cassava.
Wu Xiaojing quickly took over the cooking and handed the result over to Han Xueling. She said, “If you messed up, you shouldn’t just abandon it. Just eat it fast. I ate the section I screwed up with and it’s absolutely not dirty.”
“Thank you.” Han Xueling took over as her cheeks flushed with some embarrassment. Wu Xiaojing glanced at Li Er and saw that she was far away. She did not touch the cassava that was given to her.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Li Er shook her head with some fear in her expression. “You guys should go ahead and eat. I once ate cassava with poison, so now I don’t dare to eat any more cassavas.”
“Rest assured, it’s not poisonous since we all ate it.” Wu Xiaojing comforted. It was indeed not poisonous, otherwise, she wouldn’t have eaten it.
“No, I’m still okay. You guys can eat them instead.” Li Er still chose not to eat. “You have to eat quickly since we will soon enter the village.”
The chunks of cassava gave them strength. With their stomach half full, they began to become dehydrated. Of course, eating more cassava would make them even more thirsty. Wu Xiaojing explained this and started searching for water.
She found a creek for them to quench their thirst but it was better to not drink too much from it. It would have been safer if they boiled the water first.
After eating and drinking, a few people carved a row of conspicuous words on a big stone nearby before they began to walk to the village.
The mountain roads were not easy to cross. Everyone would occasionally bump into each other, and it took a lot of effort to find a path.
There were numerous weeds on the trail, the shrubs were tall with the tallest reaching up to people’s thighs. Wu Xiaojing looked around and felt something was wrong. It didn’t seem like anyone had walked upon these trails in a long time, causing the grass to become so lush.
She observed her surroundings again. She was encircled by steep rocks. She could either attempt to return to the original path, or she could find another trail. From above, she could clearly see the layout of the entire village. The village houses were strangely built, not following the concept of feng shui at all.
Although Wu Xiaojing didn’t learn about feng shui, she still understood that an average house would normally be facing north or south, but these houses were very peculiar. Their placements were disorderly and unnatural.
This layout was even more unfathomable than those of remote mountain villages. The casting pattern of south-facing houses had already been formed over thousands of years of the history of China. This pattern had not changed until now.
“Hey, look.” Han Xueling suddenly skipped over a few steps and picked up a water bottle. “It’s a mineral water bottle…also there are a few bags over there.” After saying that, she pointed forward.
Xiao Liqi walked over and picked up the parcel as she muttered to herself, “It seems like other people have already arrived here as well…they should be the ones who found this village first.”
“Let’s go,” the fatty hurriedly urged. “Since others have already come here, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry and keep going, maybe we can catch up with them.”
“Wait a minute. There seems to be writing on the big stone over here…” Han Xueling suddenly crouched on the grass.
Wu Xiaojing followed his movements and cut the grass with a military knife, revealing a huge stone. The stone was irregularly shaped with a few red symbols written on it—Expensive Village.
“Expensive Village, the village is called the Expensive Village. Does it mean that the village is wealthy?” Han Xueling whispered softly.
“Let’s go and check the village out. I’m starving to death.” Li Er complained, pulling the fatty forward.
“I told you to eat before, but you didn’t. It serves you right that you’re hungry,” the fatty reprimanded, but she had no choice but to follow.
After watching this scene, Wu Xiaojing quickly followed them. Around the village were rows of dead trees without any leaves. They also noticed the farmland’s fields were devoid of any grains or crops. Instead, they were filled with luscious water plants and weeds. Clearly, the area had been abandoned for a long time.
The houses in the village were very worn down, almost all were made of a mixture of earth and stone compounds. Some houses were made of bamboo and mud mixtures as these were even more dilapidated.
There were weeds outside and cobwebs everywhere inside the houses. It didn’t seem like anyone was living here. It was like a deserted village.
“I don’t think anyone is living here. With broken houses and no traces of life, no one can live here.” The fatty came out from a nearly-collapsed house.
Han Xueling said, “Still, someone should have recently come to the village. Perhaps not here, but somewhere around the area. We should look for them since we saw some lights flashing from here last night.”
“What’s that?” Suddenly, Xiao Liqi screamed, startling the group. They quickly looked towards where she was pointing, only to see the backyard of a house. In the backyard, there was a tree. A humanoid figure hung from one of its branches.
Wu Xiaojing’s face was pale, and Han Xueling screamed as she plunged into Wu Xiaojing’s arms, shivering.
“Why are you scared? Isn’t it just a piece of clothing?” The fatty replied after hearing their screaming. Staring blankly, she noticed that it was only some clothes.
“Clothing?” Wu Xiaojing carefully scrutinized it. It really was a white dress…but what she had seen earlier was clearly a person.
“So it turns out it was just a dress that scared me.” Han Xueling quickly left Wu Xiaojing’s arms and caught up with the fatty. Obviously, she wanted to make sure that it was merely a piece of cloth.
Wu Xiaojing also tried to follow, but she couldn’t move her legs. How could she forget what she previously witnessed? She clearly saw a person.
“Come back, Xueling!” Xiao Liqi shouted.
“It’s alright, I just want to examine it,” Han Xueling replied, already catching up to the fatty.
Wu Xiaojing observed Xiao Liqi’s pale expression. She wanted to follow the others, but she withdrew her footsteps.
Wu Xiaojing hesitated and asked, “Manager Xiao, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Xiao Liqi shot a glance at Wu Xiaojing as her expression was unsightly. Obviously, she had seen the same thing as Wu Xiaojing did. She said, “Wu Xiaojing, did you see something a moment ago?”
Wu Xiaojing did not answer. With a solemn expression, she watched the white dress fluttering in the wind. Judging by her observations, there seemed to be a faint trace of blood on the clothes.
Although Wu Xiaojing did not answer, Xiao Liqi also understood that she must have seen the same thing, otherwise, she would have gone closer with the others. Two out of their group of five people knew that it was not an illusion. Although she did not believe in ghosts or gods, she still avoided any trace of them.
“Wu Xiaojing, let’s go before the sky grows dark. We should head back and leave the village,” Xiao Liqi suggested.
“Okay.” Wu Xiaojing glanced at her, unexpectedly agreeing. “Let’s call them over.”
Although Wu Xiaojing did not have many expressions on her face, she was still in a deep state of fear. The experience from last night once again flashed into her mind. If this was a deserted village, were the lights from yesterday just an illusion? Was it merely an illusion that brought them here?
And this place was not just a deserted village, but also a haunted one. For some reason, the people of this village may have already died or left long ago.
“Help! Save me!”
“Please come save that person. Hurry up, someone fell into the well…”
—Suddenly, there was a cry for help from a distance away.
Wu Xiaojing paused for a second and glanced at Xiao Liqi. After hearing a cry for help, Xiao Liqi seemed stunned as she said, “Perhaps, someone ran into an accident. Let’s go take a look.”
Wu Xiaojing thought so as well. They were not the only ones to look for the village as there was also a group of people led by Wang Xiequn.
They weren’t too far away. After navigating around the house, they reached their destination. From a distance, they saw a petite woman crying. When she noticed their group coming over, her expression brightened.
“What happened?” Xiao Liqi rushed to ask her.
“He fell into the well…fell into the well…” The woman cried.
Wu Xiaojing looked straight into the well and saw that it was empty. It was devoid of anything and dried out. If someone fell in, that person would probably die.
“Whoever fell in, are you okay?” Wu Xiaojing screamed. However, a burst of echoes rushed into her mind. She felt as if someone was screaming into her head as buzzing sounds came from everywhere around her. Yet, no voice replied to her inquiry.
At this point, she felt like her waist was being hugged. She wanted to pull herself away from the perpetrator. But when she looked towards the area behind herself, she saw no one. Who was the one touching her? Her heart sank. She could only think about breaking away from these invisible hands.
She struggled with all her strength, but who would have known that the perpetrator would be this strong. At some point, she couldn’t resist anymore and her body fell just like how a kite would after its string was cut. With a scream, she fell to the ground. The buzzing that echoed within her mind instantly disappeared as it was replaced by several cries filled with concern.
“Wu Xiaojing, are you insane?”
“Wu Xiaojing, wake up, wake up…”
“What happened to her? Why did she end up like this?”
“Damn it, it’s raining. Everyone, hurry and find a place to hide from the rain.”
“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, are you alright? What’s happening to her? Please, don’t frighten me!” The warm and sweet voice was filled with concern. While nice to listen to, it was a pity that the speaker was sobbing so heavily.
Wu Xiaojing wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy. After a while, she wearily fainted.
Chapter 34
(TLN: So a reader pointed out how the author wrote anti-chapters and posted the real ones a bit later. I posted the real Chapter 33 and the fake as 33.5. Same with chapter 34. So go back to read the real Chapter 33 if you haven’t yet.)
After repeated questioning, Long Shiyan and others finally understood what had happened.
It turned out that because of the school competition in three months, the school had to make the top students of the Holy Spirit Magic School begin their school exams a year ahead of time.
When they entered the inner clearing of the Magical Beast Forest, they were attacked by strong magical beasts, the wind wolves, which almost led to their complete annihilation.
“The school’s annual examinations” would organize a risky adventure for students from all over the school. No matter the age nor the level of the student, all students had to go participate. The teachers would guide the younger students while the slightly older students would have to go on real and dangerous adventures.
If one was incompetent, then that individual would die.
However, this was for the survival of the school. Unless one decided to drop out, one would have to participate.
The team rescued by Long Shiyan was an alchemy department affiliated with the Student Holy Spirit Group. Using modern understanding to explain them, they were basically scientists who were also strong fighters.
In short, they were very important.
The pony-tailed girl named Daliana was a fifth-level swordsman. Her strength could be considered average on this team. Their team had just entered the outer periphery of the Magical Beast Forest before encountering the wind wolves. After their battle, countless numbers of trainees died or became heavily wounded. In the end, the captain secretly gathered the less injured team members as they broke through the siege and left the rest.
Moreover, Daliana had to stay because of her friend’s injury, so she accompanied
her other good friend, Bonnie. But during the battle, Bonnie was seriously injured in order to protect her and now, she was unconscious.
Fortunately, at the most critical juncture, she broke through and became a sixth-level swordsman, which explained why she was able to support the rest for so long.
These people were one or two years younger than Long Shiyan, and they all knew each other since quite a while ago. However, Long Shiyan rarely hung out with them and usually only contracted them when she needed them. It was Zi Linglong who made friends one by one at school.
In the end, since the significant events that happened at the school mostly involved Zi Linglong, Long Shiyan had to come out to deal with the problems as she was Zi Linglong’s sister. This led to the rise of Long Shiyan’s popularity, causing the system to call her the “All-purpose helper of people.”
This also laid a good foundation for her to run in the campaign to become the head of the group.
After listening to her explanation, Long Shiyan suddenly muttered under her breath for a few seconds. Then she said, “There are so many people in the Alchemist Research Society. The wind wolves shouldn’t have attacked you due to their natural characteristics. In the end, what happened? Isn’t it extremely improbable for this situation to occur without a reason?” It wasn’t strange for her to doubt that a magical beast would take risks to attack them as an ordinary wild beast would.
。
They were not lacking any food to eat.
“I don’t know!” Daliana lowered her head and frowned.
“Alright, I will handle this matter. First, you should grab something to eat and then rest.” Long Shiyan reached out and patted her head. She then took out a large round pastry and handed it to her.
“Okay,” Daliana whispered in agreement. She bit the large pastry while looking at the location of the injured. After, she flashed a glance at Zi Linglong.
Zi Linglong faintly smiled. She helped her stand up as they headed toward the wounded.
Long Shiyan did not follow them but simply swept a glance at the wounded and the others. And then, she silently closed her eyes, leaning against a large tree.
The saying “a blessing in disguise” wasn’t entirely inaccurate in this case. While the Alchemy Research Society suffered a lot, at least the very least, these pure and naive students could now understand the cruelty of this world. Moreover, she could also confirm that the current captain allowed these children of the Alchemy Research Society to become genuinely qualified.
The Alchemy Research Society was the most important school organization.
Katis, the most famous alchemist in the original book, was a cheerful and lively girl known for her headstrong nature. She was also a beauty. What was worth mentioning was that she was one of the rare beauties who did not get captured by Long Aotian.
Moreover, there were two assistants beside her. One was dependable and earnest while the other was gentle and considerate. Both of them were difficult to deal with, but they were still very beautiful in appearance, especially the gentle Bonnie. The women in Long Aotian’s harem, aside from Long Yuqing and the Radiant Saint Christina, weren’t too superior to them in terms of looks.
The gentle beauty was called Bonnie. The original Long Aotian had pursued her many times, but Daliana, who was by her side, would always obstruct him. Finally, while Long Shiyan herself didn’t know why, the text did not say anything about Long Aotian actually capturing these three childhood friends. Instead, the story went directly to the realm of the gods arc, and then, to the Radiant God.
Maybe it was because there wasn’t any more time to write that part.
But in any case, the three were rare beauties who did not get captured by Long Aotian. The final outcome of what happened to them was not written. After all, after going to the realm of the gods, Long Aotian rarely returned to them since he spent most of his time fighting. Furthermore, the number of times he went to capture more beauties were also reduced.
Soon, their group came together for a midday break. The two seriously wounded people were still in a coma. Although their minor injuries have already healed by a lot, their faces were still a little pale. Daliana lowered her weapon, wiped the two wounded, and took care of them. Obviously, despite her highly capable nature, her gentle heart did not disappear.
Zi Linglong picked up a few skewers of the barbecue and spoke a few words to Long Shiyan. Then, she went to Daliana’s side, handed the skewer to her, and sat down next to her. She observed the unconscious duo as she whispered, “Their complexion appear a lot better; I believe that they will recover completely in no time.”
“Zi, thank you!” Daliana looked at her; her face was filled with gratitude.
“Don’t mention it; it was nothing much.” Zi Linglong shook her head and replied, “We are friends and classmates. Rescuing you all was not difficult at all. As long as you are alright, then everything is fine. Besides, we are a part of the Student Holy Spirit Group. Helping you all is the responsibility of our group.”
“Regardless of your words, I still want to thank you. You saved us.” Daliana looked at her earnestly. Afterward, she snapped back to reality and took a bite of the barbecue skewer. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she asked, “Zi, did you make this?”
“Yeah! But…” Zi Linglong supported the chin and said, “I wasn’t the only one who contributed to cooking. Edgar hunted the fire cloud swine, Brands was responsible for removing the skins, and Chris cleaned out the internal organs. I was in charge of roasting it while Elder Sister secretly helped us.”
“Pfft~” Dalina couldn’t help but cover her lips as she giggled a few times. She sneaked a peek at Long Shiyan, who was located not too far away, and asked, “So, you roasted this?”
“Yeah.”
“Speaking of Zi, you seem to be good at cooking. I still remember the last time Katis ate your egg tarts,” Daliana stated.
Zi Linglong’s face was red; she wrapped her arms around her legs and replied in a low voice, “It’s because…because my elder sister refuses to cook despite being very picky, so I studied a little over time.”
“So that’s the case!” Daliana sighed, recalling that Zi Linglong had raised her cooking skills for that strange upperclassman, Long Shiyan. In regards to her, not many people could come in contact with her. As she thought that, she snuck a glance at Zi Linglong.
Perhaps Zi Linglong, a thoughtful and considerate girl who likes to make friends, was the only one who could be friends with that strange girl!
“In fact, I’m not the only one with cooking skills. Edgar can also cook! His family owns a restaurant, and his father is a well-known chef who participated in the Guangming City Yu Family Cooking Competition.” After being stared at so attentively, Zi Linglong’s pretty face was dyed by a faint red. She quickly mentioned someone else who could cook in the group.
However, the effect of this action was insignificant.
“So…” Daliana closed her lips, becoming silent as she did not know what to think about this.
Zi Linglong stared at her for a while. She suddenly asked “Does Daliana want to learn how to cook?”
“Ah?” Daliana was startled; she hurriedly waved her hands with a flushed complexion and said, “No, no, I don’t have any skills in cooking. Cooking is…too difficult.”
Zi Linglong blinked and wanted to continue asking, but the beautiful girl lying on the soft animal skin stirred. She appeared faintly awake, so Daliana leaned over her and held her hand. At this moment, the golden girl on the other side suddenly whispered a few times, like the fear of a nightmare. Daliana quickly reacted by gently taking her hand. Afterward, both girls quieted down, sinking into another slumber.
Zi Linglong wanted to help but soon noticed that Daliana did not need her help. She crouched nearby, watching the scene with a smile. She whispered, “Daliana, I realized that you are actually very kind.” She paused and observed the girl’s flushed face before adding another sentence, “And still very shy.”
Daliana bit her lip and glared at her, but she didn’t dare to say anything, for fear of waking the sleeping duo.
The two unconscious girls were holding hands close to them as Zi Linglong sighed. “The relationship between the three of you is really good!”
Daliana groaned and suddenly smiled. Recalling her old memories, she said, “Our families lived near each other. We were always together when we were still very young. We all lived together, have never been separated, and have experienced many things together. Of course, our feelings for each other are positive.”
Zi Linglong stared blankly. She suddenly smiled and said, “It’s the same with me and my elder sister. Ever since we have met, we have never been separated. We would stick together all the time. We would eat, sleep, train, and cultivate next to each other. Even now, we still do the same.”
“We are about the same as you two. Ever since we entered this school, we have been together.” Daliana nodded with a smile. “But Katis always acts silly, gets into trouble, and is sometimes unbearable. Meanwhile, Bonnie would always spoil her,” she said with a gloomy expression.
“My elder sister is also like that. She’s always doing stupid things!” Zi Linglong was also depressed. “When you look at her, she seems very powerful, but she is actually just a little girl. Aside from reading, she would cultivate and occasionally forget to eat on some days. I can only force her to eat, but she’s a picky eater. What’s even more strange is that I always have to help her bathe because she’s too lazy to do so herself.
But I am much better than you. At the very least, I only have to deal with my elder sister, but you have to deal with two people,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Not too far away, Long Shiyan, who was drinking water, choked. She coughed as her saliva almost came out. This girl, was it really necessary to say such a thing about her? How aggravating! Stupid! Naive!
“Head of the Group, are you okay?” Edgar, who was raining curses at the Alchemy Research Society’s captain, noticed Long Shiyan’s coughs and couldn’t help but ask.
“No, it’s nothing.” The corner of Long Shiyan’s mouth twitched as she asked with a smile, “Edgar, have you three heard about any strange issues?”
“What strange issues?” The three men looked at her incomprehensibly.
“Well, a real man should maintain a gentleman’s demeanor.” Long Shiyan nodded solemnly, then closed her eyes and did not speak. For those who practiced martial arts, listening to people talking softly was easy. There was no problem at doing this at all. However, overhearing what girls were whispering about was not what a gentleman would do. After all, they were model students at the school. It was also no wonder why an obedient these obedient children would ignore what they were talking about.
Generally speaking, Long Shiyan was fine with that.
Chapter 34.5: Side Story 2
“Rest assured, there are a variety of breeds of cassavas. While this type is undomesticated, they’re not poisonous. I often ate them when I was young. If they really were poisonous, I should already be dead,” Wu Xiaojing said, beginning to pack up her own stuff.
Surviving in the wild, as long as she had a source of fire and a knife, she would not die. The survival skills that she gained since elementary school were deeply engraved into her bones and could never be forgotten. Of course, if this was a real primitive forest, then it would be really challenging to survive.
Although it was still not cooled down, Wu Xiaojing twisted one of them and exposed its white flesh and smoke. She peeled it open and blew on it a couple of times. After confirming that it was not hot, she took a small bite.
The fatty couldn’t wait any longer, ignoring the heat, she directly peeled off the skin and took a bite. After saying that it was hot while eating, she soon finished the cassava. But soon, she made an expression revealing that it wasn’t enough to satisfy herself.
Wu Xiaojing also started to peel another. Upon seeing this, Xiao Liqi also began to peel off the skin of hers. Han Xueling hesitated for a while but soon began to study how to cook them. However, she was too clumsy, so she messed up her cassava.
Wu Xiaojing quickly took over the cooking and handed the result over to Han Xueling. She said, “If you messed up, you shouldn’t just abandon it. Just eat it fast. I ate the section I screwed up with and it’s absolutely not dirty.”
“Thank you.” Han Xueling took over as her cheeks flushed with some embarrassment. Wu Xiaojing glanced at Li Er and saw that she was far away. She did not touch the cassava that was given to her.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Li Er shook her head with some fear in her expression. “You guys should go ahead and eat. I once ate cassava with poison, so now I don’t dare to eat any more cassavas.”
“Rest assured, it’s not poisonous since we all ate it.” Wu Xiaojing comforted. It was indeed not poisonous, otherwise, she wouldn’t have eaten it.
“No, I’m still okay. You guys can eat them instead.” Li Er still chose not to eat. “You have to eat quickly since we will soon enter the village.”
The chunks of cassava gave them strength. With their stomach half full, they began to become dehydrated. Of course, eating more cassava would make them even more thirsty. Wu Xiaojing explained this and started searching for water.
She found a creek for them to quench their thirst but it was better to not drink too much from it. It would have been safer if they boiled the water first.
After eating and drinking, a few people carved a row of conspicuous words on a big stone nearby before they began to walk to the village.
The mountain roads were not easy to cross. Everyone would occasionally bump into each other, and it took a lot of effort to find a path.
There were numerous weeds on the trail, the shrubs were tall with the tallest reaching up to people’s thighs. Wu Xiaojing looked around and felt something was wrong. It didn’t seem like anyone had walked upon these trails in a long time, causing the grass to become so lush.
She observed her surroundings again. She was encircled by steep rocks. She could either attempt to return to the original path, or she could find another trail. From above, she could clearly see the layout of the entire village. The village houses were strangely built, not following the concept of feng shui at all.
Although Wu Xiaojing didn’t learn about feng shui, she still understood that an average house would normally be facing north or south, but these houses were very peculiar. Their placements were disorderly and unnatural.
This layout was even more unfathomable than those of remote mountain villages. The casting pattern of south-facing houses had already been formed over thousands of years of the history of China. This pattern had not changed until now.
“Hey, look.” Han Xueling suddenly skipped over a few steps and picked up a water bottle. “It’s a mineral water bottle…also there are a few bags over there.” After saying that, she pointed forward.
Xiao Liqi walked over and picked up the parcel as she muttered to herself, “It seems like other people have already arrived here as well…they should be the ones who found this village first.”
“Let’s go,” the fatty hurriedly urged. “Since others have already come here, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry and keep going, maybe we can catch up with them.”
“Wait a minute. There seems to be writing on the big stone over here…” Han Xueling suddenly crouched on the grass.
Wu Xiaojing followed his movements and cut the grass with a military knife, revealing a huge stone. The stone was irregularly shaped with a few red symbols written on it—Expensive Village.
“Expensive Village, the village is called the Expensive Village. Does it mean that the village is wealthy?” Han Xueling whispered softly.
“Let’s go and check the village out. I’m starving to death.” Li Er complained, pulling the fatty forward.
“I told you to eat before, but you didn’t. It serves you right that you’re hungry,” the fatty reprimanded, but she had no choice but to follow.
After watching this scene, Wu Xiaojing quickly followed them. Around the village were rows of dead trees without any leaves. They also noticed the farmland’s fields were devoid of any grains or crops. Instead, they were filled with luscious water plants and weeds. Clearly, the area had been abandoned for a long time.
The houses in the village were very worn down, almost all were made of a mixture of earth and stone compounds. Some houses were made of bamboo and mud mixtures as these were even more dilapidated.
There were weeds outside and cobwebs everywhere inside the houses. It didn’t seem like anyone was living here. It was like a deserted village.
“I don’t think anyone is living here. With broken houses and no traces of life, no one can live here.” The fatty came out from a nearly-collapsed house.
Han Xueling said, “Still, someone should have recently come to the village. Perhaps not here, but somewhere around the area. We should look for them since we saw some lights flashing from here last night.”
“What’s that?” Suddenly, Xiao Liqi screamed, startling the group. They quickly looked towards where she was pointing, only to see the backyard of a house. In the backyard, there was a tree. A humanoid figure hung from one of its branches.
Wu Xiaojing’s face was pale, and Han Xueling screamed as she plunged into Wu Xiaojing’s arms, shivering.
“Why are you scared? Isn’t it just a piece of clothing?” The fatty replied after hearing their screaming. Staring blankly, she noticed that it was only some clothes.
“Clothing?” Wu Xiaojing carefully scrutinized it. It really was a white dress…but what she had seen earlier was clearly a person.
“So it turns out it was just a dress that scared me.” Han Xueling quickly left Wu Xiaojing’s arms and caught up with the fatty. Obviously, she wanted to make sure that it was merely a piece of cloth.
Wu Xiaojing also tried to follow, but she couldn’t move her legs. How could she forget what she previously witnessed? She clearly saw a person.
“Come back, Xueling!” Xiao Liqi shouted.
“It’s alright, I just want to examine it,” Han Xueling replied, already catching up to the fatty.
Wu Xiaojing observed Xiao Liqi’s pale expression. She wanted to follow the others, but she withdrew her footsteps.
Wu Xiaojing hesitated and asked, “Manager Xiao, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Xiao Liqi shot a glance at Wu Xiaojing as her expression was unsightly. Obviously, she had seen the same thing as Wu Xiaojing did. She said, “Wu Xiaojing, did you see something a moment ago?”
Wu Xiaojing did not answer. With a solemn expression, she watched the white dress fluttering in the wind. Judging by her observations, there seemed to be a faint trace of blood on the clothes.
Although Wu Xiaojing did not answer, Xiao Liqi also understood that she must have seen the same thing, otherwise, she would have gone closer with the others. Two out of their group of five people knew that it was not an illusion. Although she did not believe in ghosts or gods, she still avoided any trace of them.
“Wu Xiaojing, let’s go before the sky grows dark. We should head back and leave the village,” Xiao Liqi suggested.
“Okay.” Wu Xiaojing glanced at her, unexpectedly agreeing. “Let’s call them over.”
Although Wu Xiaojing did not have many expressions on her face, she was still in a deep state of fear. The experience from last night once again flashed into her mind. If this was a deserted village, were the lights from yesterday just an illusion? Was it merely an illusion that brought them here?
And this place was not just a deserted village, but also a haunted one. For some reason, the people of this village may have already died or left long ago.
“Help! Save me!”
“Please come save that person. Hurry up, someone fell into the well…”
—Suddenly, there was a cry for help from a distance away.
Wu Xiaojing paused for a second and glanced at Xiao Liqi. After hearing a cry for help, Xiao Liqi seemed stunned as she said, “Perhaps, someone ran into an accident. Let’s go take a look.”
Wu Xiaojing thought so as well. They were not the only ones to look for the village as there was also a group of people led by Wang Xiequn.
They weren’t too far away. After navigating around the house, they reached their destination. From a distance, they saw a petite woman crying. When she noticed their group coming over, her expression brightened.
“What happened?” Xiao Liqi rushed to ask her.
“He fell into the well…fell into the well…” The woman cried.
Wu Xiaojing looked straight into the well and saw that it was empty. It was devoid of anything and dried out. If someone fell in, that person would probably die.
“Whoever fell in, are you okay?” Wu Xiaojing screamed. However, a burst of echoes rushed into her mind. She felt as if someone was screaming into her head as buzzing sounds came from everywhere around her. Yet, no voice replied to her inquiry.
At this point, she felt like her waist was being hugged. She wanted to pull herself away from the perpetrator. But when she looked towards the area behind herself, she saw no one. Who was the one touching her? Her heart sank. She could only think about breaking away from these invisible hands.
She struggled with all her strength, but who would have known that the perpetrator would be this strong. At some point, she couldn’t resist anymore and her body fell just like how a kite would after its string was cut. With a scream, she fell to the ground. The buzzing that echoed within her mind instantly disappeared as it was replaced by several cries filled with concern.
“Wu Xiaojing, are you insane?”
“Wu Xiaojing, wake up, wake up…”
“What happened to her? Why did she end up like this?”
“Damn it, it’s raining. Everyone, hurry and find a place to hide from the rain.”
“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, are you alright? What’s happening to her? Please, don’t frighten me!” The warm and sweet voice was filled with concern. While nice to listen to, it was a pity that the speaker was sobbing so heavily.
Wu Xiaojing wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy. After a while, she wearily fainted.
