Chapter 416: Chapter 12: You are a Duck
The crevice was narrow, allowing only one person to pass through. The walls on both sides were uneven, appearing no different from a typical cliff, with nothing unusual.
But since there was a flight restriction here, it was certain that the two of them were already inside a Mysterious Realm — considering they hadn’t passed through anything like an entrance to this realm before, they could only speculate that perhaps the waterfall held some peculiar properties.
Yan Yu, resting his chin on his hand, was deep in thought when suddenly someone patted him from behind.
“It’s so cold,” Tang Xiaolian complained. “Captain Yan, which way should we go next?”
“Either way is the same,” Yan Yu replied. “We must be within a Formation now, so our sense of space and direction is completely disrupted.”
“I don’t quite understand,” Tang Xiaolian inquired, puzzled. “What would happen if we turned back the way we came?”
...
Although Yan Yu didn’t understand the way of Formations, he had experienced countless Mysterious Realms in his past life and had accumulated a lot of experience in dealing with such Formations. He answered calmly:
“If you turn back and I stand still here, there are three possibilities.”
“First, you keep walking back without turning around, but end up coming back from directly in front of me. This is called the Upside-Down Formation, where front becomes back, and back becomes front. No matter how far you walk, you’re just walking in circles.”
“Second, you walk back, no matter how long, then turn around to walk toward me, it might only take ten minutes to get back here. This is called the Stretchable Ruyi Formation, where it extends as long as you want, or shrinks as short as you want. The space stretches in the direction you move, and no matter how you walk, you’re just staying in place.”
“Third, the further you go back, walking thousands or tens of thousands of kilometers, you still cannot find the exit. This is called the Mustard Seed Formation, seemingly tiny but actually vast, with the entire Formation’s volume reaching astronomical units. Continuous movement will never reach the boundary.”
“Captain Yan, how could you know this so clearly?” Tang Xiaolian was stunned.
“Nonsense, I am the captain,” Yan Yu stated matter-of-factly. “Shouldn’t I know more than you?”
“Captain Zhou is also a captain,” Tang Xiaolian retorted instinctively. “But she knows nothing except about fighting.”
Ha-ha, that’s true, but you best not let Zhou Hongyu hear you say that.
“Anyway, that’s not the point,” Yan Yu said. “The point is that we must find a way to break the Formation, otherwise we’ll be trapped here.”
“Can’t we ask the Pingxi Army outside for help?” Tang Xiaolian became slightly scared as she said this. “I really don’t want to stay in a place like this!”
“How would you contact them?” Yan Yu countered. “You didn’t bring a live broadcasting camera.”
“But you must have a way, right, Captain Yan?” Tang Xiaolian asked hopefully. “You are the captain.”
“Hmm.” Yan Yu just hummed, not addressing her further and continued pondering with his chin in hand.
Tang Xiaolian grew increasingly uneasy, thinking that if Captain Zhou were here, although she might not have a good solution either, at least she would say something encouraging. Captain Yan’s silence was truly frightening!
If I and Captain Yan are stuck here indefinitely, like for three or five years… We wouldn’t die, since I have mastered Fasting and don’t need food or drink, but surely I’d go stir-crazy.
If Captain Yan were overcome by primal urges and sought to entertain himself in disgraceful ways, how could I refuse?
It seems I couldn’t refuse, after all, I can’t beat him!
Should I use sorcery on him now?
How could I! If I incapacitated Captain Yan, there’d be even less chance of getting out of here by myself!
“Ah, ah,” seeing Yan Yu remained silent, Tang Xiaolian called out a few times. “Ah, ah, ah, ah.”
“Stop it, I’m thinking.”
“Has Captain Yan thought of anything yet?” Tang Xiaolian asked.
“With you disturbing me like this, I definitely can’t think of anything,” Yan Yu responded.
“If you hadn’t rushed in here recklessly, I wouldn’t have had to follow and we both wouldn’t be trapped in this Mysterious Realm now!” Tang Xiaolian started freaking out.
“Why don’t you say, if you hadn’t followed me, none of this would have happened?” Yan Yu glanced sideways.
“Fine, fine, it’s all my fault,” Tang Xiaolian resigned herself, no longer caring about dirtying her clothes, and just sat down on a moss-covered rock, covering her face and pretending to wipe tears.
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Yan Yu observed her discreetly. Despite her whining, there were no tears on her face, and she was secretly peeking at him through her fingers.
Turning his gaze back to the front, since the elder with long eyebrows had sent him here, this Mysterious Realm must be related to swordsmanship and was likely a testing type. It wouldn’t pose unsolvable problems.
A test… A test?
A test for a Sword Immortal, then?
Yan Yu secretly pinched the Sword technique, and the Huang Tingjian sword suddenly flew out from behind, hacking around at the surrounding cliffs.
Tang Xiaolian was immediately startled by his action, half expecting Captain Yan to next say, “Annoying woman! Watch me not chop you up,” and instinctively covered her head with her hands, crying out in defense, only to hear another sound like a mountain splitting and the earth shattering.
She hurriedly opened her eyes, only to see Yan Yu on one side of a rock wall, forcefully shattering it with the Sword Control Technique and revealing a deep cave entrance.
“That’s it.” Yan Yu observed the cave entrance for a moment, nodding in satisfaction. “I said, why the rock wall here is different from other places, why it’s especially smooth—turns out it was a stone door, just previously covered with moss and not visible.”
He calmly walked forward, and Tang Xiaolian quickly got up to follow.
The cave was very deep and without any source of light, so Yan Yu turned on his phone’s flashlight mode to lead the way ahead.
Following behind, Tang Xiaolian, scared by the creepy atmosphere, couldn’t help but reach for Yan Yu’s arm, then, feeling it was too forward, grabbed onto his sleeve instead.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Yu asked without turning his head.
“Watch out, there might be an ambush ahead.” Tang Xiaolian, embarrassed to admit she was scared, said solemnly, “It’s better for the two of us to stick close together, so we can look out for each other.”
“Hmm.” Yan Yu thought this made sense since he wasn’t afraid of any ambush or sneak attacks, but as a cultivator of insects, well-known for the weak Envoy profession that heavily relies on teammates’ protection, her instinct to stick close to him was only natural.
He continued marching forward briskly, Tang Xiaolian unable to keep up with his pace, pleaded:
“Slow down a bit, Captain Yan, slow down!”
“Or you could walk a bit faster,” Yan Yu suggested.
“I’m wearing a skirt, it’s inconvenient to walk fast!”
“Then take off your skirt.”
Tang Xiaolian, left without a choice, started rustling as she took off her skirt in the surrounding darkness.
“Don’t use your Divine Sense to scan me secretly,” she suddenly reminded.
“What’s there to scan?” Yan Yu frowned, “Aren’t you wearing clothes inside? Just removing the outer one will do, and nothing will be exposed!”
“I’m afraid the sound of me undressing might provoke improper thoughts in you,” Tang Xiaolian explained.
“Are you always this troublesome in the team?” Yan Yu curiously asked.
“Of course not!” Tang Xiaolian defended. “In the team, everyone takes care of me!”
“Well, you should know—I’m not the type of captain who looks after his teammates,” Yan Yu chuckled coldly.
“Then what type of captain are you?” Tang Xiaolian, having removed her skirt, casually asked.
“My leadership style is primarily strict,” Yan Yu responded, “A little misstep during regular practice means either beating or cursing, no mercy shown! Later, if we encounter any situation, you must follow my command. Don’t think of crying after causing trouble and getting forgiven—that won’t work with me, got it?”
“Got it,” Tang Xiaolian tied her skirt around her waist, securing a knot that wouldn’t hinder movement, and muttered under her breath.
Beating or cursing? I don’t buy it. How could you be harsh with the girls in your team?
Hmm, speaking of which, Captain Yan came to explore this Mysterious Realm alone; why didn’t he bring his teammates along?
“Captain Yan, Captain Yan.” After following Yan Yu for a while, Tang Xiaolian couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked, “Why did you come here alone this time?”
“Because it’s quieter to work alone,” Yan Yu answered.
“Not really, I think more people would be safer, able to handle all kinds of emergencies,” Tang Xiaolian objected.
“Too many girls get noisy, giving me a headache,” Yan Yu remarked.
“So in your eyes, am I also one of those noisy types?” Tang Xiaolian asked.
“You’re the kind that goes ‘quack quack quack quack,'”
“What, Captain Yan, do you think I sound like a duck?” Tang Xiaolian expressed her dissatisfaction.
“I mean you’re not helpful at all in a situation, just going ‘quack quack quack,’ waiting for me to randomly kill,” Yan Yu teased her.
Tang Xiaolian puffed up her cheeks in anger, but recalling her performance while they were trapped in the rift, she indeed didn’t have much to argue with.
Hmph, later I must perform well and make you take back those disrespectful words, Captain Yan!