Cave again

Xia Tao

Ahaha, the awakening of the second girl was clearly not the reaction Ye Chen had been expecting. His face stretched in surprise. It was magnificent. The second girl, now fully awake, was definitely not thrilled about meeting her "destined one." Ahaha!

Mei and I continued to sip our herbal tea, chatting about nothing in particular. The newly awakened girl glanced around, saw us drinking tea, and moved closer to us. We looked at her with curiosity.

"Miss, how are you feeling? Do you need any assistance? We happened to be passing by on some business" I said, looking at her. "Your friend, as I can see, has already found everything she needed."

The girl looked at us with a mixture of relief and suspicion. She had a slightly tanned complexion, which was unusual here. If we were on Earth, I'd say she looked like she was from Latin America, with very black hair and a great figure. Her friend, who was practically clinging to Ye Chen, had white hair with a hint of silver and a petite frame, her skin almost pale. Black and white, quite a contrast.

"I'm fine, thank you" she replied, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Just a bit confused about what happened. My name is Zhen Yinglong. And yes, it seems Xue Li Ying has found what she was looking for."

"Good to hear" I said, nodding. "We saw the fight and came to help. Seems like Ye Chen had things mostly under control, though."

Zhen Yinglong looked at me with a mix of surprise and curiosity before closing her eyes for a moment.

"Do you have any second-rank antidote pills?" she asked.

I turned to Mei, who nodded and tossed her a pill.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ye Chen," our enthusiastic friend said, stepping forward. "I was just passing by and couldn't resist helping such beautiful ladies in distress."

The girl looked at him as if he were the death himself. "Thank you. If I get the chance, I will repay the favor" Zhen Yinglong said, then glanced at us.

"Oh, we were just flying by. You don't owe us anything. Your hero is over there" I said, pointing at Ye Chen and laughed.

"Alright, if everything is more or less under control here, please leave our cloud. We need to get going" I said, my tone polite but firm.

"Thanks, kid, for the help! I'll make it up to you! Ladies, I can escort you wherever you need to go, just say the word" Ye Chen offered, oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation.

When will this guy develop some emotional intelligence?

Zhen Yinglong looked at Ye Chen and then back at us. "Thank you again for your assistance" she said, genuinely grateful. "We should be fine from here."

We would have liked to chat more with the inner disciples, but we had business to attend to. Leaving Ye Chen and the girls behind, we headed towards the southern mountains. After a while, Mei spoke up.

"Master, it seems you attract ladies" she said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

I turned to her with a silent question in my eyes.

"Ever since we met Ye Chen, someone has been following us. It's likely that tanned girl" Mei continued.

"Really? What could she want? Hmm, can we approach her?" I asked.

"We can, but why?" Mei asked.

"Let's ask her what she wants" I suggested.

"Or we could just speed up and leave her behind" Mei proposed.

"Yeah, you're right. We don't have time for distractions right now" I agreed.

Mei concentrated, and within seconds, our speed tripled. The wind rushed through my hair, invigorating and refreshing. The landscape blurred below us as we soared through the sky, the southern mountains drawing closer with each passing moment.

Zhen Yinglong

After that strange couple left, I realized I hadn't even asked their names. Liang Nuwang kept trying to matchmake me with the guy who saved us. While I was grateful to him, the thought of spending more time with Liang Nuwang made my stomach turn. What interested me more was the boy who looked like a child. Judging by his clothes, he was an outer disciple, as was the girl with him. Despite her markings indicating she was a placed elder, it was clear from their interaction that he was the leader.

Curious. And the fact that he didn't react to my exotic appearance was strange. Usually, people around here would stare and drool over me, given how unusual I look for these parts. But he showed only mild interest and then indifference, not even asking my name or inquiring about what happened. He simply left without a word. Where were they rushing off to?

I decided to follow them. There was nothing more intriguing than today's events, and judging by the state of the beacons on my other captives, I didn't need to hurry back—they would be dead soon enough.

I summoned my cloud, a technique I had honed to Major Achievements level. As a result, the cloud could now become nearly invisible, making it perfect for discreet travel. Following them, my curiosity grew. Where were they headed? But then something happened that I hadn't expected—they tripled their speed. What? Even I could only double my speed at best. Not only had they noticed me, but they accelerated to an absurd degree. Who were they?

They disappeared in the direction of the southern icy mountains, and I lost track of them. Damn. Well, it seems they know the guy who saved us, and Liang Nuwang is clinging to him. I'll find out later where they were rushing to! He didn't even ask my name, that jerk!

Xia Tao

Mei and I continued to fly at high speed towards our destination. According to her, we had lost our tail within ten minutes.

"Ha, beauty, I might have chatted with you to learn some inner secrets, but we've got too much on our plate right now. Go tend to your important matters in your inner region" I thought to myself.

After about twenty minutes, we finally found the entrance we had previously blocked with rocks. Clearing the entrance, we proceeded towards the hall where the stone and water had been. The closer we got, the colder it became—much colder than the last time we were here. Clearly, something here was containing the stone's power.

Entering the hall, we saw that it was entirely covered in ice, radiating a strong Yin energy.

"Hmm, and you said the ice lily was growing somewhere above here?" Mei asked.

"Yes, that's where we got the seeds" I replied.

"And show me where the stone was" Mei requested. I led her to the spot, which was surprisingly comfortable. The floor of the cave was visible here, unlike the other areas, which were either covered in ice or a thin crust. 

"I don't know what this is, Master, but it seems there's a natural anomaly here. We can't leave it like this. Several people, and even the goose, have seen this place. I wouldn't be surprised if they will return to investigate" 

I nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. This place has become unstable and could attract unwanted attention. We need to find a way to stabilize it or conceal it entirely."

We spent the next few minutes examining the area more closely. The ice covering the hall seemed to emanate from a single point—where the stone had been. 

"What should we do now?" I asked.

"Dig, Master. We need to dig. And preferably, we should bring that disciple who helped build the fortress. He has a sensitivity to the earth and might be able to sense something" Mei suggested. "Here's the plan, Master: you stay here and monitor the area while I fetch the disciple. I'll be back in about two and a half hours."

"By the way, Mei" I said, "the disciple who helped us with the fortress, he swore an oath of loyalty, right?"

"Yes, otherwise we wouldn't have allowed him to work on the construction," she confirmed.

"Bring some strawberries and feed him on the way here. It might enhance his talent for sensing the earth and could be useful" I suggested.

"That's a good idea. I'll do that. Please wait here, Master" Mei said as she set off to fetch the disciple.