Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Teaming Up
Ye Zhiyao hadn’t expected Gu Jue to be so good to Lu Sangjiu.
’The woman is dead, yet he’s going to ignore the Thousand-year-old Cold Iron Ore right in front of him and go collect her body first?’
Deep down, she couldn’t suppress a surge of jealousy.
But Ye Zhiyao had never been one to face the ugliness in her own heart. She did her best to ignore the jealous feelings, remarking with a sigh, "Senior Brother Gu truly is a good person."
"Actually, I had originally planned to bring Junior Sister Lu’s body back as well, but..."
She glanced hesitantly at her teammates. "It’s one thing for you, Senior Brother, but I can’t delay these two fellow cultivators for my own selfish reasons."
"As you can see, Senior Brother Gu, this Thousand-year-old Cold Iron Ore is very difficult to mine. It requires the four of us to work together."
"This Secret Realm is only open for a month. It’s a rare opportunity for everyone. If I were to delay them over my personal matters, I would feel terribly guilty..."
Hearing this, her other two teammates were instantly moved. ’Immortal Ye is so considerate,’ they thought. ’She never puts us in a difficult position!’
And when Gu Jue heard her say she had also planned to retrieve Lu Sangjiu’s body, the look in his eyes softened slightly.
Ye Zhiyao, of course, didn’t miss this subtle change in his expression and inwardly rejoiced.
She then struck while the iron was hot. "I see there are only two of you, Senior Brother Gu. It must be difficult to mine the ore. Why don’t you team up with us? We can finish faster, and then we can all go look for Junior Sister Lu’s remains together. How about it?"
Ye Zhiyao’s proposal was perfectly reasonable. Although Liu Xi was extremely unhappy and kept tugging on Gu Jue’s sleeve, he still nodded and agreed.
"Alright. We’ll do as Ye says."
Liu Xi fumed. ’Senior Brother, how can you be so blind, believing Ye Zhiyao’s nonsense like that?
’Does she think I can’t see it? Whenever she looks at Gu Jue, her eyes are full of affection. It’s obvious she’s interested in him.
’Now she’s using Lu Sangjiu as an excuse. It all sounds so noble, but she’s really just trying to get close to Gu Jue!’
But no matter how angry Liu Xi was, she had just caused all this trouble with her own willfulness, so she didn’t dare continue to make a scene.
She could only shoot Ye Zhiyao a venomous glare and say no more.
In the two days that followed, the six of them took turns, working together to mine the ore. Their efficiency was actually quite good.
However, contact between Liu Xi and Ye Zhiyao was inevitable. Ye Zhiyao, in particular, acted as if she couldn’t take a hint, always sidling up to Liu Xi, speaking in a soft, gentle voice and feigning infinite patience.
Liu Xi bit her tongue a few times, but finally couldn’t hold back her temper and ended up arguing with her.
Then Gu Jue would frown and tell her not to be so willful.
Ye Zhiyao, meanwhile, would stand to the side looking aggrieved, yet still gently persuade Gu Jue not to blame Liu Xi.
Seeing this, the others would all praise Ye Zhiyao for her kindness and magnanimity, while Liu Xi, by contrast, became a willful, unreasonable brat.
Liu Xi was seething with rage but could do nothing about her, so she could only tell herself to endure it a little longer.
Just as Liu Xi sat down to take a break, Ye Zhiyao sidled over again.
She wore a sweet smile on her face. "Liu Dao You, you’ve been working hard. Come have a piece of fruit to soothe your throat."
The moment Liu Xi heard her voice, she grew agitated. ’This woman is unbelievable. No matter how we’ve argued, she can always come over afterward as if nothing happened and keep fawning over me.’
Now, just hearing Ye Zhiyao’s voice was enough to set her off.
Liu Xi knew that perhaps if she just pretended nothing was wrong, accepted and thanked Ye Zhiyao for her kindness, then everything would be fine.
But she honestly couldn’t do it... For her, even suppressing her temper was already incredibly difficult!
Taking a deep breath, Liu Xi coldly refused, "No thanks, I’m not thirsty."
As if she didn’t understand, Ye Zhiyao’s smile remained, and she pushed the fruit a little closer. "Have one even if you’re not thirsty. This fruit is very sweet."
A vein throbbed on Liu Xi’s forehead. "I said I don’t want it! Are you deaf?!"
She was already holding herself back; she just couldn’t help but raise her voice a little.
Qin Yu immediately jumped to her defense. "Junior Sister, why are you bothering with someone so ungrateful?"
"We’ve been teamed up for days, and she’s been causing a scene every single day. Does she really think the whole world has to put up with her crap!"
Liu Xi was furious. "I was resting here by myself, and she insisted on coming over, but now it’s my fault? Are you people insane?!"
Ye Zhiyao quickly interjected, "Senior Brother, don’t say that. Liu Dao You is just in a bad mood... She’s definitely not targeting me. I understand."
Hearing that just made Liu Xi even angrier. She roared, "Who says I’m not targeting you? I *am* targeting you! I can’t stand you! I hate you more than anyone in the whole world!"
A flash of fury crossed Qin Yu’s eyes, and his longsword was already half-drawn. "Are you looking to die?"
Liu Xi was completely unafraid. Her brows shot up, and she was about to speak again.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, her eyes widened at something behind Qin Yu, and her face filled with disbelief.
Seeing her reaction, Qin Yu found it a bit strange but didn’t think much of it. He just sneered mockingly, "What’s wrong? Scared now?"
Catching sight of Gu Jue approaching out of the corner of her eye, Ye Zhiyao quickly spoke up. "That’s enough, Senior Brother. You’re going to put Senior Brother Gu in a difficult position... Just let it go!"
After saying this, she acted as if she had just noticed Gu Jue’s arrival. She lifted her head and gazed at him with tender affection. "Senior Brother Gu, please don’t scold Liu Dao You anymore. Look, I’m not..."
The word "hurt" was on the tip of her tongue, but the smile on Ye Zhiyao’s face suddenly froze, and the word got stuck in her throat.
Because... Gu Jue walked right past her without pausing at all. He didn’t even seem to hear her, simply bypassing her and continuing forward.
Ye Zhiyao didn’t understand. Then she saw Liu Xi, who was standing opposite her, suddenly snap out of her daze and run after Gu Jue, a look of immense, pleasant surprise on her face.
Now she finally sensed that something was wrong. Her heart skipped a beat, and she whipped her head around.
The moment she saw the scene clearly, Ye Zhiyao’s pupils shrank, and a look of disbelief appeared on her delicate face. ’How could it be!’
Thankfully, no one was paying attention to her at that moment, so no one saw the trace of jealous hatred she couldn’t help but reveal after her initial disbelief.
Because... she saw that Lu Sangjiu, whom she had thought was dead, had appeared once again!
By this time, Gu Jue and Liu Xi had both reached Lu Sangjiu.
Gu Jue was never a man of many words. Seeing that she and Chi Yan were both safe and sound, his eyes showed a hint of joy, but after a long pause, all he managed to say was, "...As long as you’re okay."
Liu Xi, on the other hand, made no effort to hide her delight. "This is wonderful! You’re alive!"
’Heaven knows how the guilt and self-blame have been torturing me these past few days... Thank goodness, they’re both alive. I didn’t get them killed!’
