"Phew... I'm exhausted," I collapsed onto the ground, gazing at the unmoving ice mountain in the distance, like a deflated balloon, completely drained of strength.
I hadn't eaten or even had a sip of water since last night, and I'd just run a half-marathon. This time, it had completely squeezed out the last bit of energy I had. Su Dan Novel Network.
After catching my breath for a while, I realized I hadn't heard Wu Gege's voice. If she hadn't reminded me to run, I would have frozen to death by that ice mountain.
I had wronged Wu Gege this time. I initially thought the ice mountain was her doing, but now it seemed it was the senior in the black robe, who had been hidden in my sea of consciousness, who had done it.
Calming my breathing, I sat down cross-legged, preparing to have a proper conversation with Wu Gege. I had too many questions and too much confusion, and I urgently needed her to answer them.
"Wu Gege, are you there?" Wu Gege had been guiding me away from the ice mountain earlier. I thought she was still paying attention to my movements, so my voice was very sincere.
"Yes! I'm always here."
Hearing a positive answer, my face lit up with joy. Then, I felt something was off. What was going on? Wasn't Wu Gege in the semi-yin realm? During our earlier communication, she only reminded me in my sea of consciousness about the direction to run. How was her voice coming from behind me now? Could Wu Gege also appear in the mortal world like the senior in the black robe?
Impossible. Wu Gege's strength was definitely not as strong as the senior in the black robe. She couldn't appear in the mortal world during the day. Could I have misheard?
I turned around.
My heart skipped a beat. Without me realizing it, Wu Gege, dressed in simple white, stood silently behind me, presenting a graceful profile.
Clearly, the previous answer had come from Wu Gege. But how could she appear in broad daylight? I knew her strength very well. The Fifth Prince had told me she had the power of a ghost king. However, because she had never participated in any battles, her strength was only achieved through the accumulation of time and the unique properties of the Yin Bamboo Forest, making her true strength likely at the peak of a ghost general.
I looked up at the still blinding sun, then slapped myself to confirm I wasn't hallucinating from the escape. With a head full of questions, I asked, "Wu Gege, how did you get out of the semi-yin realm? Aren't you afraid of the sun?"
Wu Gege didn't move, still facing the black ice mountain. She replied softly, "The sunlight doesn't harm ghosts, but the environment here is special, allowing me to temporarily not fear the sun."
Special environment? Where was it special? I looked around but found nothing special. Apart from the heavier yin energy than other places, I couldn't find what Wu Gege called special.
"How did you get out? Didn't you seal the entrance to the semi-yin realm?"
Wu Gege had personally said earlier that she had sealed the entrance to the semi-yin realm, otherwise, even a trace of yin energy would make my heart feel very uncomfortable.
Could it be that I was only focused on escaping earlier and didn't notice any abnormalities in my body?
"You were only thinking about escaping earlier, and your heart was beating wildly. I opened a small crack when you weren't paying attention and came out. Otherwise, do you think I have clairvoyance and could direct you to run so fast from the semi-yin realm?" Then, changing the subject, she continued, "Who is that person in the black robe? How do you know him?"
Looking into the distance, at the small valley now covered by black glaciers, I organized my thoughts and explained, "He is Senior Black Robe. I suppose we know each other!"
"'Suppose we know each other'? Either you know someone or you don't. What do you mean by 'suppose we know each other'?" Wu Gege's brows furrowed, and she looked at me with some dissatisfaction.
"I don't know how to explain it!"
"Then explain it from the beginning. I want to know the entire process of his appearance."
Seeing her determined attitude, I recounted to her in detail how Senior Black Robe appeared, how I fell into a predicament, and how he helped me.
After hearing my account, Wu Gege's brows furrowed even deeper. Her eyes would occasionally glance at me, then at the ice mountain in the valley, as if she were contemplating something.
Seeing this, I didn't disturb her. Instead, I looked around for water to drink. My throat was so dry it felt like it was about to catch fire. If I didn't drink water soon, I would surely die of thirst.
A jade hand offered a bottle of mineral water to me.
"Where did you get mineral water? Do they sell this in the semi-yin realm?" I took the mineral water from Wu Gege, asking her how she got it while gulping it down.
"I was saving it for myself, but seeing how thirsty you are, I'm giving it to you first," Wu Gege explained in a light tone, as if she had done a trivial thing.
Deceiving ghosts! You are a soul, you don't need to drink water. Just say you care about me; if you're going to make an excuse, at least make it a good one. This excuse is really...
Not wanting to dwell on this topic, I asked, "Wu Gege, you were looking in the direction of Senior Black Robe earlier, lost in thought. Do you know him?"
Wu Gege slowly shook her head and said, "No, but I recognize his aura."
"Aura?"
"Yes! Last night, I intended to open a small passage in the semi-yin realm to purge the yin energy in your body. But suddenly, another force suppressed the power I was using to control the semi-yin realm... The rest is as you know it: your soul was expelled from your body, and the semi-yin realm merged with you." At this point, Wu Gege looked at me apologetically. Seeing that I didn't seem to mind, she breathed a sigh of relief.
I hadn't paid attention to Wu Gege's subtle movements at all. Instead, I found the part where her power was suppressed while guiding the semi-yin realm somewhat peculiar. The person who could suppress Wu Gege's power was undoubtedly Senior Black Robe. But what was his purpose in doing so?
Was it really to find me a treasure, as he claimed?
We have no kinship, and we don't know each other. I don't even know how he hides in my sea of consciousness. Even if he wanted to "pay rent" to me, the landlord, isn't this rent payment a bit too... much?
Although Senior Black Robe told me a lot about the benefits of having a small world, I needed to be able to handle those benefits! Now, the exit of the semi-yin realm is located on my heart, which is simply a ticking time bomb. If Wu Gege fails to guard the portal one day, won't I be blown to bits?
Thinking of this, I looked at Wu Gege. Seeing my gaze, she quickly withdrew her eyes and turned her attention back to the direction of Senior Black Robe.
"Wu Gege, I sincerely apologize. I wronged you earlier. Please don't blame me."
Wu Gege nodded slightly and said, "No need for apologies. We don't need to apologize to each other, nor is there any reason to. The reason I'm telling you all this is to let you know that this person in the black robe is very dangerous. We need to find a way to seal him, otherwise, things like what happened last night could happen at any time."
Thinking of my physical body being frozen, my soul being expelled, and nearly being burned to ashes by the sun, the mere thought of that scene made me feel a chill. I never wanted to experience it again.
"I agree to seal him, but how can we seal him?"
"As long as you agree, I'll handle the rest."