Liuyang slowly wiped the blade of his sword, everything that had happened in the mist still lingered in his mind. At that time, he was separated from Da Shixiong and saw a woman in red walking towards him. He recognized her as a person from the Qiongxian Sect but she didn't respond to him. What happened afterwards was a nightmare.
Struggling in a state of confusion, he suddenly found that he was holding the woman, doing unmentionable things while calling the name of his Da Shixiong. Recalling it made him feel like he'd been dunked in a basin of cold water.
When he wanted to apologize, the woman had already been poisoned and died.
"They're coming out! They're coming out!"
Jiang Wangchu's voice drew Liuyang's attention away from his sword. He saw a figure gradually emerging from the mist. His clothes and hair were a little messy and unruly, but he was full of joy, holding a person in an intimate posture.
The atmosphere was strange, until Fatty fell off Lu Shenxing's fingers and rolled awkwardly a few times, looking like a tiny lime.
"Is she dead?"
Liuyang, "En."
Lu Shenxing secretly pondered, he deliberately sent those people to the beast as food. This woman must have been afraid and fled from her sect, before discovering that she was poisoned and strayed into the mist. When she ran into Liuyang, she thought she would be saved.
What happened then...
Lu Shenxing glanced at the marks on the woman's face, then looked at Liuyang blankly. They had barely met and there was nothing between them. Where did their attachment come from?
He felt a little strange. In the original plot, Liuyang and that woman shared many hardships in the secret realm before developing any feelings of love. After they left, they met again while training and became each other's Daoist companions.
The plot had really deviated to the point where even the author wouldn't be able to recognize it.
Just as Lu Shenxing was still wondering about the cause, another man and woman came out of the fog, both embarrassed. When they saw the dead woman on the ground, they both ran over crying, "Shijie—"
"It's all your fault! We were going to leave, we didn't need to find any purple bamboo forest at all!" The woman shouted and rushed towards Lu Shenxing, but he kicked her away.
The man also glared at Lu Shenxing, "You deliberately let us hear those words."
Lu Shenxing sneered, "Isn't it baffling, that everyone who has entered the secret realm sudden says they haven't come for the artifacts. Do you think I'm stupid? You're just looking for someone to blame."
The man choked, his face switching between blue and white. They should've been fine. Why did they suffer this disaster? Greed? They did what anyone else would've done.
Lu Shenxing called for Jiang Wangchu and Liuyang to keep moving towards the road. The person in his arms frowned, showing signs of discomfort. He loosened his hold a little bit and relaxed his strength.
Jiang Wangchu, who followed behind, secretly looked at him many times. Xiao Shidi was being held by Da Shixiong, was his leg injured?
Ning Que woke up to find that he was being held. He pretended to be dizzy in embarrassment. His mind was a blur, with different images swarming around. He remembered all the shameful words that had come from his mouth, his cheeks were hot and his breathing became muddled.
"Do you think your Da Shixiong is good?"
The voice that floated to his ears made Ning Que stiffen. He buried his face in Lu Shenxing's chest for a long time, "Good."
Lu Shenxing smiled at the corners of his lips, "Which part is good?"
Ning Que thought about it seriously, "Everything is good." He couldn't think of anything wrong...
Patting Ning Que's butt, Lu Shenxing flirted with a tone that only they could hear, "Don't try to forget it, it won't work, it's better to remember how Da Shixiong in the mist hurt you."
Ning Que, who was trying to forget everything, was as red as a cooked lobster. He pursed his lips. The words of San Shixiong appeared in the back of his mind. Before, he could deceive himself but now something like this had happened and it was impossible to pretend to be ignorant.
Fortunately, Da Shixiong also wanted to be his Daoist companion, Ning Que's heart warmed up, and his waist didn't feel so sore.
Ning Que was almost recovered, so he asked to be put down. Lu Shenxing did not refuse. He had exerted himself too hard before, he almost made Ning Que pass out a few times. It really wasn't because he was desperate but he'd been working hard lately, this time around he planned to have a good time.
"Xiao Shidi, you and Da Shixiong were the last to come out." Jiang Wangchu swallowed. He wanted to ask what had happened, but seeing that Xiao Shidi's ears were red, he stopped.
Ning Que smiled shyly, unable to hide his happiness.
Lu Shenxing picked up Fatty and threw him to Ning Que. He seemed to like Ning Que very much, and obediently rolled himself into a circle.
Since entering the secret realm, Lu Shenxing hadn't met with the other three disciples, and wasn't clear about the situation.
Ning Que glanced at Liuyang secretly. He pressed the corners of his lips, he wasn't sure what it was but he seemed more distant and unapproachable.
At the top of the mountain, there was a broken pavilion floating in the air. A visage with a terrifying aura stood there. It was like it could tear open space with a wave of it's hand and destroy everything.
Without waiting for Lu Shenxing to make preparations, it waved one of its huge hands in the sky, and Liuyang, Jiang Wangchu, and Ning Que were all swept off the ground and rendered immobile.
"Only one of the three can live, who do you choose?"
Fuck, this is worse than the mother and wife falling into the river at the same time conundrum. One of them was his main target, the other was his side task, and the other...
Lu Shenxing didn't hear any cliched lines from TV, no one said, "Da Shixiong, leave me, save the others." It was understandable that people succumb to fear and panic when facing death, and most do anything they can to continue living.
The expressions of the three people who were immobilised were all different. Jiang Wangchu's mouth was slack. Liuyang mobilized his internal strength and waited. Ning Que was very calm, expecting the worst.
Lu Shenxing chose Liuyang as Ning Que watched. He planned to join forces with Liuyang, who was more capable. He didn't expect the old man would speak again and ask similar questions.
"There are two more, pick one, and the other—will die."
Jiang Wangchu's heart was very cold, and Da Shixiong would definitely choose Xiao Shidi. He was going to die.
Across the gap, Ning Que and Lu Shenxing looked at each other, then he nodded very slightly, signalling Lu Shenxing to rest assured.
Damn, Lu Shenxing's face was gloomy, the old man was deliberately punishing him.
"I don't want to choose!"
Lu Shenxing threw Fatty away. The protagonist came with his own halo, and could take care of himself. He tries his best to get to Liuyang, who was also stunned. Then seeing Lu Shenxing change directions and move to Jiang Wangchu's side, he suddenly felt that he understood.
Throwing Jiang Wangchu down, Lu Shenxing hugged Ning Que tightly, and together with him was thrown into the sky by a force that could shake the world.
Jiang Wangchu, who was returned to the ground, was in shock, fear and panic. He didn't understand. Why didn't Da Shixiong save Xiao Shidi first?
"Stupid boy. He treats you as outsiders." The old man said, "Your Da Shixiong only had your Xiao Shidi in his heart."
"It's not like that at all!" Jiang Wangchu turned to look at Liuyang, "Er Shixiong, don't you think?"
Liuyang didn't answer.
"Well, it's your turn. Only one of the two can live." The old man seemed to enjoy his pranks, "Is it going to be the Da Shixiong or the Xiao Shidi?"
Lu Shenxing and Ning Que, who were in the tower, heard the old man's words, and they looked at each other.
Jiang Wangchu shouted anxiously, "I want both!"
"Little fat man, you lie!" The old man's voice was sharp, "What you want in your heart is obviously your Da Shixiong, you do not want your Xiao Shidi at all."
Jiang Wangchu was embarrassed and annoyed, and his bias was seen right through. He felt ashamed and wanted to hide.
The old man tutted, "And your Er Shixiong, he would also give up your Xiao Shidi."
Liuyang's facial muscles tightened, his eyes were bloodshot, and his fists clenched.
"What's wrong? Is this old man embarrassing you?" The old man snorted, and the world seemed to shake.
Jiang Wangchu secretly looked at Liuyang. It turned out that it wasn't just him who didn't care much for Ziao Shidi... He couldn't help thinking it was a miracle that Xiao Shidi didn't know.
"Do you think your Xiao Shidi really doesn't know anything?" The old man laughed loudly, his laughter was deafening, but he hadn't realized this yet, so he kept laughing.
Jiang Wangchu covered his ears and squatted uncomfortably on the ground with blood in his mouth. Liuyang was no better than him, his throat tasted sweet.
The laughter stopped, and the old man sighed, showing his loneliness, he looked at the little green thing.
The world is ridiculous. The same is true of you, little thing. There is destiny in your life, you have the world in your heart and wish to save the common people. But you are so lazy don't bother to make any progress.
Fatty rolled back and forth for a while, then erected his body, as if saying that you are blind, how can I hold the world in my heart and save the common people like this?
The old man seemed to lose interest and with a light movement of his palm, Jiang Wangchu and Liuyang were sent into the tower together. After that, the old man's afterimage faded away.
As soon as he entered the tower, Jiang Wangchu, who couldn't hide anything, walked straight to Ning Que without looking at anything else. He lowered his head in shame, "Xiao Shidi, you're pretty good." He scratched his head, "I'm sorry."
The unprovoked apology made Ning Que freeze for a moment. Then he seemed to understand something, and smiled. Because his eyes were long and thin, and the tails were raised, it gave people the warm feeling of laughter.
But at this time, in Jiang Wangchu's eyes, it was like a hook.
"You can talk when we return." Lu Shenxing strode over and glanced at Jiang Wangchu. The look was quick and cruel, Jiang Wangchu was already guilty, and his face immediately turned red.
Liuyang, who was next to him, looked around in silence, staying on the sidelines.
The tower had four floors and was dilapidated. It seemed like it would crumble to the ground with every step. Making it frightening to be inside.
Lu Shenxing informed Liuyang and Jiang Wangchu about the tower a little bit, and gave them the opportunity and time to cultivate immortality on their own.
"Da Shixiong, where are you going?" Ning Que followed closely.
"Just looking around."
Then Lu Shenxing casually took Ning Que to a room on the second floor.
Ning Que was dumbfounded. Inside were many elixirs, prescriptions, and talisman-making materials, each as rare as the other.
"Don't be stunned, take whatever you like." Lu Shenxing squeezed his face.
Turning through a book, Ning Que's breathing changed, his eyes widened, and his heartbeat sped up. He swallowed his saliva, feeling his mouth dry, even his palms were sweaty.
Lu Shenxing saw him stuck there, not moving, "What book are you holding?"
The voice behind him startled Ning Que. He closed the book and said with a chuckle, "It's a book about making talismans."
Lu Shenxing noticed his panic when he was caught, but he didn't press him over it.
There were so many wondrous things and Lu Shenxing and Ning Que put a lot of them in their storage bags. They didn't expect that Qing Jianzong's people would also come here. Everyone was shocked, all thinking that they were the only ones who could enter.
Everyone took a deep look at each other, and what was revealed was the shared pity of unfortunates who were all tortured by the same lunatic. The two sides were at peace for a while then they were at a loss.
Qing Jianzong's stared at the pill in Lu Shenxing's hand, his meaning was clear.
Lu Shenxing's side was only him and Ning Que. There were six people with Qing Jianzong, they had the upper hand in numbers and they knew it.
"Bai Fengqi, hand over those pills!"
"If you know what's good for you, just hand over your things then take your Xiao Shidi and leave."
When Ning Que heard them attack Lu Shenxing, he suddenly became infuriated, and cauldron flew into his hand.
Lu Shenxing didn't make a move, he was protected by Ning Que, unscathed. Suddenly an old voice interrupted his treasure hunting work.
"Young man, do you know what your purpose is in this world?"
Lu Shenxing raised his chin and said nothing, he wasn't interested in speaking with any ancient gods.
The voice seemed to be anxious, and said mysteriously, "I know."
Lu Shenxing listened to him lazily, and said in his heart with a smile, "Really, then you tell me."
"Everything has a purpose and a consequence." The old man's voice was slow, ethereal, and meaningful. "The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed."