Chapter 371: Chapter 184: The Venerable of Yun Mansion
Deep within a dense forest!
In a secluded valley, a stream babbled, lush grass grew everywhere, and the sound of panting filled the air...
Ahem!
’Wrong set!’
Seeing that they had shaken off their pursuers, Zhao Rui and Mo Ling’Er let out a sigh of relief and revealed themselves from the treetops.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Mo Ling’Er blushed when she saw Zhao Rui sizing up her face. She touched her cheek, but there was nothing on it.
"Hm, you’ve gotten much prettier. Doing good deeds really does make a person more beautiful!"
Zhao Rui said, raising his eyebrows.
"Hmph, stop trying to PUA me!"
"Oh? You even know what PUA is? You’ve learned quite a bit."
Zhao Rui was slightly taken aback, then chuckled.
"We haven’t been occupying the Stan Countries for just a day or two. There are some things I know more about than you do, you know."
Mo Ling’Er raised an eyebrow and spoke with a hint of smugness.
On reflection, it really had been more than a day or two since the visitors from Gui Xu had secretly taken over these small countries in Central Asia.
"Alright, thanks for your help this time. Until we meet again."
Having said that, Zhao Rui was just about to get up and flee into the distance.
But Mo Ling’Er grabbed him by the waistband and snapped, "If you keep running forward, you’ll reach the territory of Gui Xu..."
Zhao Rui stopped in his tracks and turned to ask, "Your territory, or your enemy’s?"
"Our enemy’s territory, of course."
Mo Ling’Er’s expression darkened as she continued, "If we weren’t forced with our backs against the wall, we would never go to that desolate realm of yours. Only a bunch of country bumpkins like you would think it’s such a great place."
"..."
Zhao Rui looked at the tall trees, the clear stream, and the air thick with Spiritual Qi, and couldn’t help but give an embarrassed smile.
Indeed, compared to a small place like Blue Star, this place was truly more suitable for human habitation.
Of course, that was assuming one didn’t have to deal with these astonishingly powerful extraordinary people and Exotic Beasts.
"I’m heading to Gui Xu. How am I supposed to get back without going through it?"
Zhao Rui glanced at Mo Ling’Er and continued, "We don’t have some deep-seated hatred for each other, so why must we be entangled? Isn’t it better for us to go our separate ways?"
Hearing this, Mo Ling’Er was speechless for a moment. "Ever since you started practicing the Phoenix Hairpin Technique, we’ve been bound together."
"Who’s bound to whom?"
Zhao Rui’s eyes narrowed. ’The Secret Technique only has the hidden function of a superior controlling a subordinate. There isn’t any strict condition that we must be inextricably entangled. Could there be a secret I don’t know about?’
’Logically, that shouldn’t be possible. The Cultivation Technique the system copied is a one hundred percent perfect replica of the original.’
"I’m bound to you! I’m bound to you! I’m the Support! I’m the Support!"
Mo Ling’Er was about to go mad!
In this vast wilderness, she just didn’t want to walk on alone.
Ever since the Phoenix Hairpin bond formed between her and Zhao Rui, her trust in him had absolutely skyrocketed to one hundred percent.
After all, even when he could have directly controlled her, Zhao Rui hadn’t done anything improper—not out of dislike, nor to kill her.
Being with someone like that was, at the very least, reassuring.
"You must play a lot of games. Do you have a phone too?"
"You focus on the strangest things!"
Since Mo Ling’Er had already admitted defeat, she didn’t try to say anything more forceful.
Instead, she walked right up to Zhao Rui’s side, pointed ahead, and said, "Let me tell you about the distribution of power in Gui Xu."
"As far as I know, Gui Xu is divided into four major powers. The largest is the Great Zhou Dynasty, followed by the Manghuang Barbarians..."
"We are of the Yin Shang lineage. We worship the Phoenix Totem and have now mostly withdrawn from the Returning Ruins Realm. Only half a continent’s worth of land is still being contested, so we haven’t fully evacuated yet."
"Another faction is your Central Plains Martial Arts. They were forced out of Gui Xu by us."
"But they’re too clever, playing both sides..."
Mo Ling’Er carefully explained the things she knew about Gui Xu.
Listening to her, Zhao Rui thought to himself, ’By this logic, the original inhabitants of this Land of Return were the Manghuang people. Then, after the war between Yin Shang and Great Zhou, Gui Xu welcomed its first batch of outsiders from the Central Plains...’
’After a thousand years of development, the second batch didn’t arrive until the Song Dynasty.’
"So, our next step is to find your clansmen?"
"Yes. We can only return to Blue Star by finding them."
Mo Ling’Er nodded.
"Understood!"
"If you want to go back, you have to listen to me for the time being."
"Fine, no problem."
"Then the first thing is, we need to change clothes!"
"Clothes?"
Mo Ling’Er pointed to her own clothes and Zhao Rui’s, saying, "We have to wear the attire of Gui Xu!"
"Uh! It’s not animal skins, is it?"
"We’re not that backward! Follow me!"
With that, she shot out of the dense forest with a WHOOSH and flew into the distance.
Seeing this, Zhao Rui hesitated for only a moment before following her.
Half a day later, outside the forest, Mo Ling’Er was holding two sets of clothes, showing them off smugly to Zhao Rui.
"They’re made of Singing Deer hide. Very precious."
After speaking, she tossed the clothes to Zhao Rui with a flick of her wrist.
Zhao Rui caught them easily and took a look. They were actually quite good-looking.
The inside was woven from a material similar to linen, while the outside was wrapped in a yellowish-brown animal hide. It looked nice.
Zhao Rui looked up, just about to ask Mo Ling’Er where she got them.
But then, a flash of a snow-white body appeared before his eyes.
"Ahem, it’s a great view, but... could you show a little respect for me as a man?"
Zhao Rui took a couple of glances—it really wasn’t bad—but he quickly turned his head away.
"I’m not hiding from you *because* I respect you!"
"Like what you see?"
Mo Ling’Er’s logic was always so strange.
"I do. Very white, and very big!"
"I meant the clothes!"
"..."
Zhao Rui sighed. After all, he was a hot-blooded young man.
