Chapter 399, 400
Chapter 399, 400
399: Meeting Zi Cheng Again (DRAFTED 3/6)
The desert at night was just as extreme as the desert in the day. Temperatures were as high as 40C in the day, but dropped as low as -10C at night.
They were wearing thin summer clothes. A few had extra thermal properties to their clothes, but it didnt stop their teeth from chattering.
Feng Wu had been using her martial qi to create a barrier against the cold; her clothes alone would not have been enough to keep her warm.
Ming Xi seemed unaffected and he appeared in good physical condition. It was as though he wasnt even feeling the cold. That the cold wasnt bothering him made Ailuna and the others wonder just how powerful he was.
They didnt know it was the moon that was giving Ming Xi so much strength. The sun and moon here werent artificially created by the sea god they were real. The sea god had used his divine powers to borrow a trace of the sun yang from the hot lands and a sliver of moon yin from the cold, bitter northern lands. That was why there were two orbs in the sky that were just like the sun and moon in the outside world.
Ming Xi would be the next emperor of the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, so he would be protected wherever there was a moon. The cold air didnt hurt him in the slightest.
Ailuna didnt know this so she assumed he was a hidden master.
The group walked through the unrelenting wind and sleet. They didnt know how long they had walked, and although the wind and sleet didnt increase, it didnt let up either.
After much difficult walking, a small rocky mountain came into view. The glow of a fire could be seen from the cave under it.
Ming Xi knew the group wouldnt be able to keep going. It was so cold, even if all of them had various forms of protection with magic and martial qi, it was still impossible to go too far. Both things were consumables and could only be replenished one of two ways: by resting or by taking medicine.
It would have been foolhardy to try to rest and replenish their magic and martial qi in the bitter, windy cold. They would turn into ice sculptures before they regained enough.
Medicine was expensive, and besides that, they didnt have that much to use.
The group was exhausted and at their limit after such a long walk. The had to find a place to rest.
After some consideration, everyone agreed to head toward the mountain cave to get out of the wind and cold. Any distance lost could be made up the next day.
They could feel the faint warmth reflected from the fire as they entered the cave.
Who was inside? They could only guess.
It didnt matter if there were others already inside the cave or not, they were all unbearably cold. It wouldnt be an issue to squeeze a few more people into the cave.
After making up his mind, Ming Xi took the lead, followed by Feng Wu, Ailuna and the rest of the group.
They entered the cave cautiously.
There were people inside, and the people were familiar too it was Zi Cheng and Yifu The two girls had been lucky, managing to remain together since entering the tomb.
Aside from the girls, there were two other guys in the cave as well. One had a long sword by his side, while the other had nothing. It was clear, based on the robe he had on, that the one with nothing was a magician.
Ze Ye, the one with the sword, was a direct descendent of the ruling royal family in the ancient east. The other was Caesar. Of course Caesar would be with Zi Cheng. As her leading man, how could he possibly be separated from her?
They remained together even after two messy teleportations. Along the way, their feelings had developed more and Caesar, though not at a full one hundred percent, was at a good ninety percent favorability rating toward Zi Cheng.
Zi Cheng knew the more self-possession and self-control a person had the more difficult it was to gain favorability points. She wasnt concerned though. She was certain she would be able to get Caesar.
The four people in the cave were shocked at the appearance of the new arrivals, Zi Cheng especially. She didnt expect to meet the people she least wanted to see so soon.
Back on Demon Wind island, she had released an ancient demon general in an effort to get the sword sealing him away. The whole thing had nearly created a catastrophe of epic proportions. And Ming Xi, who had witnessed the entire thing, would report it to the academy, which would then mete out her punishment.
Zi Chengs face lost some color when she saw Ming Xi. Neither Yifu nor Caesar noticed, as all their attention was focused on Ming Xi and the group of new arrivals who had just entered the cave.
Were sorry to inconvenience you, but its too windy outside. Is it alright if we rest here for the night? LeChen asked.
Of course. Ze Ye nodded. Though he looked reserved and aloof, it was obvious from the way he spoke that he was not an indifferent person.
Thank you. LeChen sincerely thanked him on behalf of everyone.
Ze Ye nodded his head indifferently and stopped paying attention to them.
Ming Xi and his group walked to a side of the cave and started building fire. It was fortunate that everyone carried fire building items.
They were all tired and hungry, so after building the fire they all sat down and took out the parcels they purchased from Feng Wu earlier. They took big bites of their food, not caring that there were outsiders nearby.
Senior Ming Xi! I didnt expect to see you here! Yifu looked at Ming Xi with surprise.
Yifu had learned to be smarter. Instead of rushing at Feng Wu and screaming wildly at the other girl, she now ignored her.
Hm. Ming Xi gave her a shallow smile. Anyone familiar with him would have recognized it was a habitual smile that never reached his eyes.
Yifu didnt know this and the smile encouraged her enough to give Feng Wu a defiant look. She knew Feng Wu was interested in Ming Xi, so if she could snag Ming Xis heart, Feng Wu would be heartbroken.
The more Yifu thought about it, the more feasible it became. Her eyes turned soft as she gazed at Ming Xi, herself becoming a little shy.
Yifu wanted to get Ming Xis attention to get revenge against Feng Wu, seeing her nemesis in pain would be delicious, but the most important thing was Ming Xi was extremely attractive husband material.
She didnt know his pedigree, but just based on his temperament, he had to, in the least, be nobility. Werent their identities quite compatible? This way, not only would she get one over Feng Wu, but she would also get herself a beautiful man in the process. How could Yifu not be interested?
She could already see how jealous all of Ming Xis admirers would be when she snagged him.
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Who knew where this girl got her confidence from, thinking that as soon as she hooked up with Ming Xi, he would be a slave to her skirt, as if hed never seen another woman before.
Zi Cheng had been anxious Ming Xi would say something and let the others know what shed done. Her reputation would suffer a blow if anyone knew and that was something she couldnt stand.
Unexpectedly, what she dreaded didnt happen. Neither Ming Xi nor Feng Wu said a word about what had happened on Demon Wind island nor did they take the initiative to talk to her. It made her both relieved and displeased at the same time. She wondered if they were looking down on her.
If she had known Ming Xi would discover her, she wouldnt have touched the sword. Compared to her reputation, which brought about an increase in her favorability with people, the sword was not worth it.
Senior this is a delicious sandwich Zi Cheng made. Please take it. Yifu brought out the sandwich in an attempt to get closer to Ming Xi and develop a stronger bond.
Unfortunately for her, Ming Xi refused her goodwill. No need Junior Sister Yifu. Food in the desert is precious, Junior Sister should take care to conserve them for yourself.
Ming Xi had rejected her offer in such a beautifully spoken way that Yifu had no idea of his dislike for her. She really believed Ming Xi was genuinely worried about her and afraid she wouldnt have sufficient food.
Yifu was overjoyed Ming Xi was treating her so favorably. She became bashful and replied back shyly that she still had a lot of food so if Ming Xi didnt have enough, she would be happy to share some with him.
Ming Xi still refused of course, but his rejection was a diplomatic and pretty one, so no one suspected he simply disliked Yifu.
Senior Ming Xi, I still have a lot of food. I can share some with you if you dont have enough. When Zi Cheng saw that Ming Xi wasnt going to criticize her in front of everyone, it emboldened her to speak our confidently instead of trying to hide.
But the fact that she didnt greet Ming Xi earlier left some wondering if they were on bad terms. Of course, no one voiced anything out loud.
There is no need. I have enough food on me. Ming Xis expression was light and his polite smile didnt waver, so it was hard for anyone to guess his thoughts.
Zi Cheng was disappointed Ming Xi didnt accept her generosity but she wasnt the kind to keep badgering people. She wasnt going to keep offering to him since he had already rejected her offer.
Xiao Cheng, is this your senior? Caesar had noticed Ming Xi as soon as Ming Xi entered the cave. His appearance was absolutely impossible to ignore. Although their world paid more attention to strength, no one would say that beauty was unimportant.
A man with such exceptional appearance, Caesar was trying to guess which young master he was, or which royal family he belonged to, but he never guessed the newcomer was Zi Cheng and Yifus senior.
This is our Xingguang Holy academys fifth-year representative, Senior Ming Xi. Zi Cheng made introductions.
Senior Ming Xi, this is my friend Caesar. She didnt say much about Caesars identity.
Ming Xi gave Zi Cheng face and greeted Caesar in a friendly way. They sat back down in their respective places without saying much after that.
In contrast, Ailuna and her group chatted with Zi Chengs group. They learned a lot about Ming Xi, while Zi Cheng learned a lot about their group and how they had met up with Ming Xi.
They even talked about the tombs secret that they learned from Feng Wu.
Ailuna and the others had their motives for sharing; they werent being foolishly kind. The more people they could bring along, the better it would be. They could already guess how dangerous the road ahead would be, so there was nothing wrong with recruiting more people to join their group.
Caesar and his group never expected there to be such a secret so they were shocked. They didnt think Ming Xis group was lying to them; what reason was there to do such a thing?
Upon learning the tombs secret, Caesar and his group became gloomy. It was a development beyond their imagination. They never the sea god was such a vicious and merciless god.
The two groups formed a tentative alliance.
The wind and sleet outside were still very strong, but it was warm inside the cave. Feng Wu took a quilt out of her space ring then sat in front of the fire as she leaned against Ming Xi, the quilt covering both of them.
He had wanted to say no, but seeing her small aggrieved and serious expression, he really couldnt say it.
They leaned against each other and the warmth from her body softened his heart just a little bit.
Ailuna, Mayleen, and Yifu were uncomfortable witnessing the scene. Their hearts constricted, but there wasnt anything they could do other than watch sullenly. They mentally scolded and cursed Feng Wu for having no shame or honor, to seduce a man in public, and so on and so on. They had hundreds of curses.
The night passed slowly for the group as their circumstances weighed on their minds.
The next morning was so hot, Feng Wu and Ming Xi were awakened by the heat. Ming Xi was surprised he slept so well hed actually fallen asleep despite the dangerous situation!
Ming Xi couldnt imagine what would have happened if someone had wanted to kill him for his valuables. You couldnt really be sure in a place like this, he could have really died. Luckily nothing happened.
He was relieved and determined to not have it happen again in the future.
The morning sun was relatively mild and the temperature was only 30C. They ate breakfast at their own pace. Once done, they immediately set out to look for clues about the ancient desert city.
Fortunately, their group was filled with smart people so finding the city wasnt going to be a problem for long. They walked in the correct general direction.
After ten days walking, they still hadnt found a single structure that resembled a city. They did find an oasis they had to steer clear of. They did not approach it because Feng Wu said it was surrounded by evil spirits.
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