Chapter 104| Chapter 105| Chapter 106
Chapter 104: The Paper Man
Shen San opened the world forum, unable to resist posting a thread to vent his frustrations as an overprotective, old-school father.
[My master is being forced into a blind date. I’m so upset! It feels like the precious cabbage I raised at home is about to be dug up and eaten by wild pigs!]
In the body of the post, he recounted the afternoon’s events in vivid detail.
The player base on StarNet was massive, and it didn’t take long for his thread to catch the community’s eye. In Ancient Times, thousands of players had taken on NPC masters, but a master getting caught up in a marriage rush? That was a first. A crowd quickly gathered to watch the drama unfold.
Onion Eater: OP, your master getting married isn’t the same as your actual kid getting married. Why are you acting like a worried old dad? For all you know, your master might be way older than you!
Universe’s Most Handsome: Plot twist: Is OP’s master a legendary beauty? That’s why OP is so reluctant to let her go!
Heartthrob-in-Chief: Wait, so masters can get married? I wonder if I can marry my master?
Reading the replies, Shen San’s entire body went rigid.
Marry Master?! This guy had an incredibly reckless mouth. How could anyone even dream of marrying their own master? Besides, his master would absolutely never marry one of these players who did nothing but lounge around, laughing and joking all day!
As his irritation simmered, a heavily upvoted reply was pushed straight to the top of his notifications.
He forced himself to calm down and clicked back into the thread to read the highly-rated response.
Psychologist: OP, you don’t actually have the mindset of a father here. Judging by the tone of your post, I’d say you’re completely in love with your master. You’re just jealous because she’s going on a blind date, aren’t you?
A massive wave of netizens immediately began jeering and causing a racket beneath the comment.
Shen San gnashed his teeth in front of his virtual screen. What do these self-proclaimed psychologists even know? They’re completely talking out of their asses!
He angrily slammed the forum interface shut, scoffing at the ridiculous theories. What an absolute joke. As a player, how could he possibly fall in love with an NPC? She was just a collection of data—a paper woman!
Meanwhile, in her own quarters, Lu Yunxi was buried deep in her own thoughts.
Her aunt was a woman possessed. In the span of a single afternoon, she had paraded the portrait albums of nearly thirty young men in front of her. If this trend continued, Lu Yunxi would be scheduled for a blind date every single day of the week, leaving her no time to do anything else.
On top of that, my apprentice seems to have been in a terrible mood lately. Is it because I’ve been neglecting him? Should I take him out to relax?
She pondered the matter for a long time but couldn’t come up with a solid plan. Wishing to find a bit of inspiration, she opened the player forum to browse through recent discussions.
To her absolute astonishment, the creator of the hottest trending post on the front page bore a name she knew intimately: Shen San.
Her lazy, relaxed posture vanished instantly. She sat up straight, her eyes sparkling with excitement. So, her usually stoic, deadpan apprentice actually participated in gossip forums? She had honestly assumed he was far too serious to ever touch a place where players gathered to trade idle rumors.
Lu Yunxi eagerly tapped the post open. The amused smile on her face froze solid in the very next second.
What in the world?!
What kind of absolute nonsense was her disciple broadcasting to the entire player base?
So, his foul mood wasn’t because he felt neglected—it was because he viewed her as a daughter? He couldn’t bear to see her get married because he was playing the role of a protective father?!
…Pah! He actually wants to be her dad? In his dreams!
Lu Yunxi snapped out of her shock, a terrifyingly feral smile slowly spreading across her lips as she thought of her mutinous apprentice.
Over the next few days, Shen San realized his master had undergone a sudden, drastic personality shift.
Previously, she had always spoken to him with a gentle, patient tone. Even back when he was first learning to cook and had accidentally exploded the stove, thrown away the premium ingredients while keeping the scraps, and nearly burned down the entire kitchen, she hadn’t uttered a single word of blame.
But now—
“Shen San, go fetch some hot water for my foot soak. Remember to add a handful of mugwort. The humidity has been terrible lately.”
“Shen San, I want to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Squirrel Mandarin Fish, Wensi Tofu Soup, and a rack of Roasted Whole Lamb for dinner. Go prep the ingredients now, and make sure you pay close attention to the fire.”
“Shen San, my neck feels a bit stiff. Come give me a massage. Use that rose essential oil I just bought; the fragrance is quite nice.”
“Shen San…”
Before long, whenever Shen San heard his name called, his muscles would instinctively lock up in sheer dread of whatever arbitrary chore his master was about to invent next.
Whether it was preparing her foot baths or acting as her personal pack mule during shopping trips, these were tasks he had never performed for anyone in his life. He was incredibly stiff and awkward throughout all of it. Even his culinary skills, which were usually his pride and joy, began to falter under the pressure. He had only recently mastered those complex banqueting dishes; he was nowhere near as fluid with them as he was with everyday home-cooked meals, leaving him looking thoroughly clumsy in the kitchen.
A week later, Shen San was completely lost in a sea of confusion.
He hadn’t made any mistakes recently, had he? Why did his master still seem so deeply displeased with him? This icy treatment had persisted for seven straight days. If she kept harboring this hidden stress, it would eventually take a toll on her health. He needed to find a solution, and fast.
Unfortunately, after racking his brain, he came up entirely empty. To lift her spirits over the past few days, he had tried sending her fresh flowers and even tailored a magnificent, flowing gown for her—but none of his usual tricks worked.
Defeated, he turned back to the world forum to seek professional guidance from the player community. This time, the netizens proved to be significantly more helpful. Among the various responses, the top-rated comment caught his eye:
Behavioral Research Expert: OP, statistical data shows that a vast majority of individuals experience short-term depressive episodes when subjected to extreme marital pressure from family. Based on your updates, your master is likely experiencing a wave of anxiety and depression. You need to validate her emotions. Of course, the most permanent solution is to remove the marriage pressure altogether. Once that conflict is resolved, her mood will naturally improve.
Shen San read the advice three times over. Suddenly, a brilliant spark ignited in his mind.
“Master, haven’t you been deeply troubled by your aunt’s match-making lately? I’ve come up with a plan that can solve your problem completely.”
Lu Yunxi raised an eyebrow. She shifted her head to look at her disciple, who was currently kneeling behind her chair and diligently massaging her shoulders. A wave of amusement washed over her. Troubled? She had been having the absolute absolute time of her life ordering him around like a servant for the past week.
“Oh? What grand idea do you have?”
“Mrs. Jin’s constant nagging is certainly a headache, but the root of the problem is simply that she wants to see you settled. As long as you have a partner, she won’t have any reason to push you into blind dates anymore, right?” Shen San explained, a hint of pride bleeding into his voice.
Lu Yunxi’s eyelid twitched. Her aunt’s aggressive match-making was a minor nuisance, certainly, but it wasn’t a crisis severe enough to warrant finding a random man to tie herself to. She despised being forced into things, but jumping headfirst into marriage just to escape a nagging relative? Wasn’t that just leaping from a small puddle straight into a bottomless pit?
“What a foolish idea,” she scoffed. “What if I marry some random stranger and he turns out to be a wretched person who treats me poorly?” If a husband dared to cross her, she was terrified she’d lose her temper and execute him on the spot, landing herself a life sentence in a government cell.
“Master, I obviously don’t mean for you to actually marry a stranger!” Shocked by her extreme leap in logic, Shen San shook his head frantically. Leaning over the back of her chair, he offered, “I mean, we can simply pretend to be partners! If we put on a convincing act, Madam Jin will naturally stop trying to arrange matches for you.”
“You?” she echoed, her voice laced with deep skepticism.
Lu Yunxi looked up, her gaze colliding with his handsome face positioned just inches away. He possessed the clean, radiant freshness of youth, yet the subtle, sharpening angles of his jawline hinted at the mature man he was becoming.
She stroked her chin, genuinely weighing the pros and cons of the proposal.
However, the plan fell apart the moment they brought it before the matriarch.
Mrs. Jin had taken one look at them and immediately delivered her verdict: “My dear girl, if you truly have no desire to marry right now, then so be it. But don’t you dare try to fool your aunt by dragging your own disciple out to play the part!”
“Forget it, forget it. I won’t force the matter anymore. It seems your heart hasn’t even begun to blossom yet,” her aunt added with a helpless sigh, waving her hand in resignation. “We’ll halt the search. Go on and enjoy your youth for a few more years!”
A few days later, Lu Yunxi and Shen San found themselves floating aboard a small wooden boat, drifting quietly across the open sea.
Though they were finally en route back to the Forest Continent, Shen San was visibly downcast. He couldn’t quite articulate the heavy sensation weighing on his chest. Ever since Mrs. Jin had instantly seen through their facade, a strange, persistent knot of anxiety had formed in his gut, slowly morphing into a profound sense of melancholy.
Mrs. Jin had kept her promise and stopped hunting for prospective bachelors, but she also hadn’t shown even a flicker of suspicion that the master and disciple could ever be a real couple. Why had she been so utterly certain, right from the very first glance, that there was nothing romantic between them?
Did he and his master truly look that incompatible?
Oblivious to the existential crisis torturing her apprentice, Lu Yunxi kept her focus entirely on the open waters ahead. Suddenly, her brow twitched.
“Shen San, drop the oars! Something’s heading our way!” she commanded sharply, swiftly retrieving her longbow and drawing an arrow to its chest.
The calm ocean surface erupted into violent ripples. With a tremendous splash, an enormous, looming shadow rose from the depths, completely enveloping their small vessel.
Staring at the colossal crustacean towering over them, both master and apprentice froze in shock.
It was the exact same giant crab they had encountered on the shoreline weeks ago—the very same creature that had dragged Shen San down into the ocean depths.
The crab stared down at them with its beady, black eyes for a long moment. Seemingly recognizing its old targets, it aggressively snapped its massive, razor-sharp pincers and lunged directly toward the boat.
Lu Yunxi’s reflexes were instantaneous. Before the monster could even close the distance, she released her string, sending two arrows whistling through the salty air straight toward the crab’s vulnerable eyes.
Chapter 105: Something Happened to the Sect
Shen San stood at the helm, quickly stabilizing the boat against the rolling waves.
His master’s raw attack power was exceptionally high, more than enough to handle a giant crustacean on her own. The battle went exactly as he anticipated; it didn’t take long before Lu Yunxi easily dispatched the crab and claimed the loot.
“Master, did it drop anything good?” he asked casually, keeping his eyes on their heading as he steered the vessel.
Lu Yunxi flipped through the dropped items and curled her lips in disappointment. The game was getting stingier by the day, offering such pathetic rewards for a monster that was clearly at a formidable level.
“Just a piece of gold-tier jewelry. If you want it, it’s yours.” Technically, the creature had also dropped orange-quality crab meat, but neither of them felt like diving into the ocean to retrieve it.
Lu Yunxi nonchalantly dangled a vibrant green jade bracelet between her fingers, entirely unbothered by the fact that it could slip into the sea and be lost forever.
Shen San glanced at the item, and its item attributes quickly popped up before his eyes.
Though it was a gold-tier piece, he already wore a heavy chain with superior stats on his wrist that looked far more imposing. A delicate jade bracelet simply wasn’t suited for a man like him.
“I have no use for it. You should keep it, Master,” he replied, a slight frown marking his refusal.
Lu Yunxi tossed it directly into her spatial storage.
If external players knew the two of them were extravagant enough to turn their noses up at gold-grade gear, they would weep tears of pure fury. At this stage of the game, not a single player in the outside world had managed to obtain a single piece of gold-tier equipment. It was only because this master and apprentice had amassed such a hoard that they could afford to be so picky.
Bracelet: [grievance.jpg]
The small boat had only sailed a short distance further when they encountered yet another massive shadow from the depths—the exact same giant octopus monster they had battled on their way out.
Lu Yunxi sighed. “What is wrong with the world today? Why do I keep crossing paths with these familiar faces?” Could this wretched game have a mechanic where whatever boss monsters you fight on the journey out are guaranteed to ambush you on the return trip?
While victory was a given, she had absolutely no desire to fight right now. She wanted nothing more than to take a peaceful nap and wake up back on the Forest Continent.
“Master, why don’t you take the oars? I’ll handle the octopus,” Shen San suggested.
“No, let me do it.” Shen San’s burst damage was far lower than hers, and forcing him to dive into the sea to fight the monster would be a tedious affair.
Lu Yunxi raised her longbow, unleashing a relentless torrent of arrows upon the octopus monster.
Locked in a cycle of constant skirmishes, the two managed to fight their way back to the coastal waters of the Forest Continent.
Fortunately, the heavy concentration of sea monsters seemed confined to the outer reefs; once they had navigated the deeper waters, the remainder of the voyage proved unusually smooth and tranquil.
More than two months later, the pair finally stepped onto the shores of the Forest Continent once again.
When their boots first hit solid ground, both felt a wave of vertigo, their bodies still adjusting to the phantom roll of the ocean waves. Once they finally regained their land legs, they unpacked a set of tables and chairs from storage.
“Master, shall we cook a meal right here?” Surveying the mountain of premium ingredients scattered across the grass, Shen San looked eager to test his skills.
Right then, a sudden fluttering of wings cut through the air, accompanied by the sharp chirping of small birds.
They looked up simultaneously, instantly realizing what it meant: a message had arrived.
However, two separate carrier pigeons descended from the sky. One flew directly to Shen San, while the other landed before Lu Yunxi.
The birds moved with identical precision, and the master and apprentice unrolled their respective parchment slips in unison. As they read, both of their brows furrowed, a cold light flashing in their eyes before they lowered the letters at the same time.
If their physical appearances weren’t so distinct, their synchronized movements would have looked like a mirror image.
“Shen San, my sect is recalling me urgently. What are your plans?”
“Master, an emergency has arisen back home. I received a letter and need to return for a while.”
They spoke simultaneously.
The next second, the master and disciple couldn’t help but chuckle at the coincidence.
“Very well. I’ll send you a letter once my sect’s affairs are settled,” Lu Yunxi said, patting down her skirt as she stood up to take her leave.
“Master, if you run into a problem you cannot solve, please write to me. Perhaps I can be of assistance.”
Within the Misty Rain Palace, a heavy, suffocating silence hung in the air.
Lu Yunxi hurried through the gates, only to find the faces of her fellow disciples strained with unusually solemn expressions. Her brow furrowed as she suppressed a rising sense of unease, quickening her pace through the crowds until she reached her master’s private quarters.
Bypassing any pleasantries, she asked directly, “Master, what happened? The letter only stated the sect was in dire trouble. What kind of trouble are we talking about?”
At her words, a dark, grim shadow fell over her master’s usually cheerful countenance, heightening her anxiety. The native sects of the Water Continent used to be similarly structured—ancient and filled with powerful masters—before they were systematically dismantled and scattered.
If the crisis facing the Misty Rain Palace mirrored what had happened across the ocean…
“Our Misty Rain Palace and the neighboring factions are… about to go to war,” her master stated flatly, as if discussing a trivial matter, though his tense expression betrayed the truth.
“Why? Is there no room for diplomacy?!” She had guessed correctly.
“Alas, we have no desire for bloodshed. No one in the Misty Rain Palace enjoys fighting,” her master sighed, his face etched with helplessness. “But those newly risen sects—the massive factions that have suddenly emerged out of nowhere—are forming a coalition against us. They want to seize our territory.”
“Since they’re coming to steal what is ours, we naturally cannot yield an inch of this land. Our Misty Rain Palace has stood on these grounds for centuries. How could we simply hand it over just because they demand it?!” His voice grew heated with indignation as he spoke.
Lu Yunxi fell into deep thought.
Newly risen sects?
Were the rival factions her master spoke of not the very same player-dominated guilds that the player base had been frantically flocking to join recently?
In the setting of Ancient Times, every continent was home to countless local sects, but only a select few were fully accessible to the general player base through standard questlines. In contrast, hidden factions like the Misty Rain Palace required extensive, independent exploration to unlock. Currently, fewer than five players across the entire server had managed to join her sect, which spoke volumes about its exclusivity.
She exhaled a breath of pure annoyance. She strongly suspected the player base had triggered a massive server-wide faction world quest, which was why they were mobilizing multiple player sects to siege the Misty Rain Palace. Under these conditions, negotiating a peaceful retreat with the enemy was practically impossible; players wouldn’t abandon a world event.
“…However, we have devised a strategy.”
Lu Yunxi snapped her head up. The tone her master used just now sounded remarkably like the smug inflection Shen San used whenever he claimed to have a brilliant idea. A sudden wave of suspicion washed over her.
“Master, what kind of strategy?”
“This mission requires the single most beautiful individual among us to step forward,” her master explained, dodging a direct answer as he led her toward the sect’s grand hall. “Let us determine who the most beautiful disciple is first. We might not even need to trouble you.”
Lu Yunxi entered the grand hall with a look of utter bewilderment.
The chamber was already packed to capacity, with every male and female disciple meticulously groomed and dressed in their finest attire. The men were dashing and the women exceptionally elegant, each displaying their own unique charm.
Sitting amidst this sea of glamorous people, Lu Yunxi’s expression turned incredibly subtle.
Don’t tell me Master’s brilliant plan is to deploy a honey trap against a horde of players?
To the player base, these NPCs were nothing more than characters on a screen—mere paper figures. How could the sect elders possibly expect a bunch of players to switch sides and defend them based on looks alone?
Her face paled slightly as the sheer absurdity of the plan sank in.
Before she could voice an alternative solution, someone tapped her shoulder. “Senior Sister, it’s your turn to cast your ballot!”
Snapping back to reality, she looked at the wooden ballot box being held out to her. She quickly scribbled a number on a slip of paper and dropped it inside. The box was passed along from person to person until the final vote was cast, at which point the senior disciples at the front began tabulating and recording the results.
While the proctors on stage were working frantically, the disciples seated below looked entirely clueless. It was evident that absolutely no one in the lower ranks understood the true purpose of this beauty pageant.
Lu Yunxi checked out of the conversation entirely, staring blankly ahead until the sharp announcement of her own name jolted her back to consciousness.
“…And Lu Yunxi! Let us congratulate our two victors!” the announcer shouted passionately from the stage, as though presiding over a monumental martial arts tournament.
Lu Yunxi walked up to the platform in a daze, finding herself standing beside an exceptionally handsome male disciple who offered her a polite, sweeping smile.
The chosen pair was immediately brought before the Palace Master.
“The hour of destiny for our sect has arrived,” the Palace Master declared solemnly. “We have resolved to forge a grand marital alliance with the other factions to weather this storm together! Therefore, this critical mission is officially entrusted to the two of you…”
Chapter 106: You Finally Wake Up
“Yunxi, you will be the principal lead for this mission. Liyun is only an intermediate-level cultivator; his combat power and field experience are vastly inferior to yours…”
Lu Yunxi stood before the Palace Master, completely and utterly lost.
The Palace Master had laid out the entire plan with absolute clarity, yet her brain simply refused to process it. What marriage? What strategic cooperation? Was it actually what she thought it meant?!
“Senior Sister?”
A gentle touch brushed against her fingers.
Lu Yunxi shuddered, snapping back to reality, only to find Wen Liyun looking at her with a deeply worried expression.
“W-What is it?”
“Senior Sister, the Palace Master told us to prepare. The teleportation array will be activated in about a quarter of an hour. Is there anything you left behind? You should hurry and pack your belongings.”
“Ah…” With Wen Liyun’s handsome face hovering so close to hers, Lu Yunxi subconsciously held her breath and took a small step back.
She reached up to rub the tip of her ear, which had suddenly grown rather warm, and let out a dry, awkward laugh. “I’ve already packed everything… Liyun, are you truly willing to marry a total stranger? If you really don’t want to do this…”
“Senior Sister, I am willing. I am happy to be of service to the sect,” Wen Liyun said, shaking his head gently.
He raised a slender finger and placed it lightly against her lips. As he moved, a stray lock of his hair brushed softly against her cheek. His light brown eyes gazed at her quietly, radiating a profound, melancholic gentleness.
“Besides, it doesn’t necessarily mean I will be the one chosen to marry. We don’t know who the rival sect will select for the alliance. It could very well be you… You should be the one worrying, Senior Sister.”
As he spoke, his brow furrowed slightly, giving him a fragile, devastating beauty that made people instinctively want to tear out their own hearts and hand them over just to make him smile.
“If it comes down to a choice, I would far rather marry them myself than watch my senior sister be sent away… After all, in a political marriage, the woman is always placed in the more vulnerable position.”
Lu Yunxi stared into his painfully sincere eyes. Her heart gave a sudden, strange flutter, and the tips of her ears involuntarily burned crimson once again.
“Yunxi, Liyun! Get ready for departure!”
A loud shout from outside shattered the moment, abruptly ending their conversation.
Standing before the grand teleportation array, which pulsed with a soft, starry light, Lu Yunxi was momentarily stunned.
So, manual teleportation arrays actually existed in this world? Then what was the point of her drifting helplessly across the ocean for months? Had she completely forgotten to log into her brain?
“Yunxi, I have already handed you the official missive. When the time comes, present it directly to the leader of the Desert Gate,” the Palace Master instructed, handing her a miniature model of a large sailing ship and gesturing for her to store it in her spatial bag. “Keep this vessel safe. If the alliance negotiations collapse, you can use it to sail back. This teleportation array is strictly a one-way trip; it will be rendered completely useless the moment you arrive.”
Lu Yunxi: “…”
So the array was a single-use disposable item. Worse still, a portal that could only accommodate two passengers required the combined spiritual energy of the Palace Master and every single elder in the sect just to barely force it open!
“What if the negotiations are successful? Should I send a letter via carrier pigeon?” Lu Yunxi asked, tucking the miniature ship away.
“If our alliance is cemented, the Desert Gate will automatically lock onto our sect’s spatial coordinates and construct a permanent, two-way teleportation array. You’ll be able to return instantly,” the Palace Master explained briefly, refusing to elaborate further. He hurriedly ushered the two of them onto the glowing platform. “Quickly, step onto the array! We cannot maintain the spiritual drain for much longer. You will understand everything once you arrive.”
With a final, desperate shove, Lu Yunxi and Wen Liyun were pushed onto the dais.
The instant their boots touched the platform, the array flared with a blinding, blood-red light.
Lu Yunxi’s expression instantly turned subtle.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen a teleportation array glow red. That feels incredibly ominous… Are we going to run into a disaster?
She mentally slapped herself. Ugh! Stop being so superstitious!
Her vision plunged into absolute darkness. When the world finally returned, the lush green mountains and crystal-clear waters of the Misty Rain Palace had completely vanished. In their place lay an endless, desolate expanse of rolling yellow sand.
“Senior Sister, are you cold?”
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the desert temperatures began to plummet, Wen Liyun watched her carefully, unable to hide his concern.
Without waiting for an answer, he unclasped his heavy sheepskin coat—a highly sought-after, stylish piece of winter gear crafted by players—and draped it over her shoulders.
Lu Yunxi was about to politely refuse, but the coat was already wrapped snugly around her. It carried his residual body heat and a faint, crisp scent of pine needles.
Her body involuntarily stiffened for a fraction of a second, her ears immediately flushing a bright, embarrassing red.
“Liyun, stop fussing over me. I’m not cold at all. But if you give me your outer layers, aren’t you going to freeze?” Seeing him reaching to unfasten his inner robes, she panicked and quickly grabbed his hands to stop him.
Although the traditional clothing of the Ancient Times setting consisted of multiple intricate layers, the fabrics were incredibly thin. If he kept stripping, he was going to turn into a human popsicle before midnight.
Seeing that she genuinely wasn’t shivering, Wen Liyun finally relented. He offered her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me, Senior Sister. I’m very capable! I’ll be breaking through to the senior realm soon. This little bit of chill is nothing to me!”
Right on cue, a brutal gust of freezing desert wind swept past them.
Wen Liyun shuddered violently and let out a loud sneeze.
Lu Yunxi was so amused by her stubborn junior brother that she nearly laughed out loud. She pulled the sheepskin coat off her own shoulders and carefully draped it back over him.
He immediately turned his head, fully intending to refuse.
She pressed a firm hand against his chest, locking him in place. “Alright, Liyun, hold still. It’ll be a disaster if your clothes slip off. We can’t afford for you to catch a cold before we even reach our destination!”
Deep into the pitch-black desert night, two solitary tents stood pitched against the wind. A small campfire roared between them, the dry firewood crackling and popping in the silence.
Lu Yunxi sat by the fire, staring at the map the Palace Master had given her, thoroughly bewildered.
The teleportation array, as it turned out, could only drop them at a completely randomized coordinate somewhere within the Desert Continent. The Palace Master had instructed them to follow the map to the Desert Gate and place the alliance missive on the ground before the entrance; the sect’s wards would automatically sense the document and grant them entry.
But there was one massive, glaring problem.
While they had successfully arrived on the Desert Continent, the map was perfectly detailed, her compass was fully functional, and she could always rely on the system’s mini-map to determine True North… she had absolutely no idea where their current location was!
Knowing the exact coordinates of the Desert Gate was completely useless if she didn’t know her own starting point!
Reminding herself that the Misty Rain Palace was desperately counting on her, she forced down her rising panic and began methodically cross-referencing the terrain with the map.
After an entire night of painstaking triangulation, she finally managed to pinpoint a recognizable landmark at the break of dawn, roughly confirming their current position.
Calculating the distance, she estimated it would take them four or five days of hard travel to reach the Desert Gate.
Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Lu Yunxi crawled into her tent to finally catch up on her sleep.
When Lu Yunxi woke up, she stared blankly at the pitch-black sky outside her tent flap, her mind still foggy with sleep.
“Did I really only sleep for half an hour…?” she mumbled, rubbing her blurry eyes.
She was just about to roll over and go back to sleep when she suddenly realized the sky was actually growing darker, not lighter.
A jolt of shock ran through her. She sat up violently and threw open her system clock.
Crap!
She hadn’t slept for half an hour—she had been out cold for over ten hours! It wasn’t early morning; the sun was just setting!
Why didn’t Wen Liyun wake me up?!
Frowning deeply, she threw off her blankets and rushed out into the freezing wind, marching straight into the tent opposite hers.
Inside the simple shelter, the handsome young man was curled tightly within his sleeping bag. His brow was slick with a cold sweat, his face as pale as a sheet of parchment, and his breathing was so shallow he looked as if he might slip away at any moment.
Lu Yunxi’s heart skipped a terrifying beat.
She quickly reached out, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead.
He’s burning up!
She snatched her hand back in shock and leaned over, urgently shaking his shoulder. “Liyun?! Wake up!”
Wen Liyun remained entirely unresponsive, trapped in a deep, agonizing sleep. He looked a bit like a tragic Sleeping Beauty, and a lot like a terminal patient on his deathbed.
Panicking, Lu Yunxi immediately cast a high-level health recovery skill on him, but the green light washed over his body without leaving the slightest effect.
Left with no other option, she activated her master-level medical sub-profession to run a diagnostic scan.
[Diagnosis: Severe Exogenous Wind-Cold. Treatment: Patient must consume a specialized decoction for expelling wind-cold.]
Wen Liyun was eventually roused from his fever dream by the overwhelming, bitter stench of medicinal herbs.
He forced his heavy eyelids open, his gaze slowly coming into focus.
A young woman in a pale yellow dress was crouching beside a roaring campfire, rhythmically fanning a small clay stove. Whatever was brewing inside the pot was boiling vigorously, bubbling and hissing as it released thick plumes of green smoke laced with a pungent herbal aroma.
“Senior Sister…”
Hearing the weak, hoarse whisper, Lu Yunxi instantly spun around. “Junior Brother, you’re finally awake!”
In his feverish state, Wen Liyun seemed to have entirely lost his usual mask of polite, composed gentleness. He blinked up at her with glossy, tear-filled eyes, looking exactly like a spoiled, sickly kitten—utterly pitiful and devastatingly adorable.
“Senior Sister, why are you here…? What are you cooking? Stop cooking, you shouldn’t be doing such menial labor… let me do it,” he mumbled. His mind was clearly still clouded with fever; his voice was terribly soft, and his eyes swam with exhaustion.
Hearing that low, almost whiny tone, Lu Yunxi’s hand slipped, nearly knocking the boiling medicine pot straight off the fire.
She froze for a moment, then set down the small woven fan and leaned over him, her face full of concern. “Liyun, are you okay?”
She held up two fingers, waving them slowly in front of his flushed face. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
