The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 21
by Little Panda“Then let’s begin!”
Song Linlin said impatiently. Her continuously rising body temperature made her not dare to delay any more time. She could feel a powerful force coursing through her body. Compared to that force, her original magic power was truly insufficient, only able to huddle and tremble in a corner within her dantian.
“How do we do this? Are there any preparations needed?”
Song Linlin continued to ask, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on Chi Qianning. Her dark blue eyes were filled with nervousness and worry.
It was clear that she was truly afraid of death.
“No preparations are needed.”
Chi Qianning gazed deeply into her eyes for a few seconds, then looked away. She confirmed that Song Linlin truly didn’t understand even a bit of knowledge about dual cultivation, nor did she understand the implications.
She extended her hand, her index finger hooking onto the other’s sash. With a gentle tug, the restraint came loose. The sash at her waist loosened, and the outer layer of clothing naturally became loose and unstructured.
Song Linlin watched her actions. Although the outer clothing had come undone, there was still a thin inner garment underneath, so it wasn’t as if they were completely exposed to each other.
“What… what are you doing?” Song Linlin asked doubtfully.
Chi Qianning raised her eyes, meeting the other’s confused gaze. Her hands didn’t stop moving as she helped the other person remove her outer garment. “Do you sleep wearing this many clothes?”
“Alright.”
However, Song Linlin suddenly reacted. Shouldn’t dual cultivation be, well, cultivating? How did it involve sleeping?
She had doubts in her heart, but she didn’t ask. After all, taking off a piece of clothing didn’t seem like a big deal, and moreover, she would soon find out what exactly this dual cultivation was about.
Chi Qianning casually folded the outer garment a few times and tossed it to the foot of the bed. After doing all this, she looked at Song Linlin, who clearly didn’t understand anything, and remained silent for two seconds before saying, “Lie down.”
“?”
Song Linlin tilted her head, unsure if she had misheard, and looked at Chi Qianning with a puzzled expression.
“You didn’t mishear. Lie down,” Chi Qianning repeated.
“Oh… alright…”
Although the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed, Song Linlin obediently lay down. The atmosphere became strange, and she felt awkward asking why she needed to lie down.
Chi Qianning looked at the supine [lying face upward] Song Linlin and her nervously clenched fingers on the edge of her robes. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Do you want to cover yourself with a blanket?”
“Yes!”
Just lying flat on the bed felt odd. Song Linlin didn’t even know what to do with her hands and feet. Having a blanket to cover herself with was naturally better than nothing.
Chi Qianning pulled the blanket that was piled in the corner. Song Linlin quickly grabbed a corner of the blanket, spreading it out and covering herself completely.
She held the blanket with both hands, revealing only half of her head. Her eyes looked towards Chi Qianning, who was sitting at the side, and then she saw the other person lift the blanket and lie down not far from her.
A space remained between the two. Song Linlin quietly turned her head to look at her, only to find that the other person was also looking at her.
“Song Linlin,” Chi Qianning turned to lie on her side, softly addressing the person beside her. Her usual speech was cold and emotionless, but now, surprisingly, her tone was relatively gentle.
“Hmm? What’s wrong…?”
Song Linlin, who had originally wanted to avert her gaze due to the awkwardness, could only continue staring at her after being addressed. Chi Qianning’s silver hair was tucked behind her ears, but because of her lying position, a lot of it scattered across her chest. Her red eyes weren’t as icy as usual either.
Chi Qianning continued softly, “Come a little closer…”
“Aren’t you hot?”
Huddled under the covers, Song Linlin was momentarily stunned, feeling like she was experiencing an auditory hallucination. She was indeed burning up; her entire body was already hot, and the temperature was still rising.
Now covered with a thick blanket, that feeling of dryness and heat deepened. The air she exhaled onto the blanket was scorching, faintly carrying some moisture.
The person opposite her, however, felt cool all over. She was lying down not far away, inviting Song Linlin over.
Song Linlin readily chose to move over, getting closer to Chi Qianning and leaving her own now-warm spot under the blanket. Upon reaching Chi Qianning’s side, she indeed felt much cooler.
At this moment, the distance between the two was very close, so close that Song Linlin could clearly see her own reflection in the other’s eyes.
At the same time, Song Linlin could also hear the sound of her own accelerating heartbeat. In this quiet environment, she tried her best to breathe deeply, wanting to calm herself down, but Chi Qianning’s hearing was so good that she suspected the other must have heard it too.
Chi Qianning naturally heard the abnormal heartbeat of the person before her. She spoke, her voice encouraging, “Mm, a little closer… come… hug me…”
As soon as she finished speaking, a burning-hot body squeezed into her embrace. The other person wrapped their arms around her waist, their head buried by her neck. Chi Qianning slightly raised her head, her chin resting on the other’s head. She raised a hand, placing it on the other’s shoulder, and gently stroked the smooth, black hair at the back of her head.
Song Linlin’s entire body was burning hot. She hugged Chi Qianning tightly, the contact between their bodies, through two thin layers of clothing, bringing her a cool sensation.
Too preoccupied with the heat to care if there was anything inappropriate about embracing like this, Song Linlin couldn’t bear it any longer and just wanted to lower her temperature first, especially since it was what the other person had asked for.
Her hot breath brushed against the other’s collarbone. Song Linlin’s feverish cheek pressed against the other person’s skin, cooling herself down. Her breathing unsteady, she asked, “Is this also part of the requirements for dual cultivation?”
The other person let out a soft chuckle, a very light laugh. The sound of her voice resonated in her chest, sounding muffled to Song Linlin’s ear pressed against it. At the same time, a pleasant voice sounded above her head, “Of course it is.”
Song Linlin slightly raised her head, but she couldn’t see Chi Qianning’s face, only the other’s throat moving up and down as she spoke. Staring at that spot, Song Linlin inexplicably felt the urge to bite it.
It was probably because she had sucked the other person’s blood before. Previously, she had never been able to smell anything particular about Chi Qianning, but after drinking the other’s vital essence blood today, she realized it was incredibly fragrant.
No wonder Chi Qianning liked to bite her before.
That knife wound hadn’t healed and was still continuously emitting an alluring, fatal fragrance, and it just so happened to be very close to Song Linlin.
When the other person finished speaking, the pale neck before her stopped moving, the throat slightly protruding. Filled with the fragrance, Song Linlin couldn’t help but lean forward a bit, tilting her head and opening her mouth to bite the most prominent part of the other’s throat, the Adam’s apple.
Chi Qianning couldn’t see her actions and naturally didn’t expect Song Linlin to be so bold as to bite her. Lips covered skin, teeth grazed the slightly protruding cartilage, but because the protrusion wasn’t large, she didn’t manage to bite down. Her teeth scraped against the skin, leaving only a trace of itchiness and moisture.
Having failed to bite, and since she had already been discovered, Song Linlin couldn’t bring herself to bite a second time. She could only look regretfully at the slightly reddened skin where her teeth had grazed.
“Don’t bite.”
Chi Qianning didn’t pursue the matter further. Recalling how Song Linlin had been when they first met, clearly scared to death of her, and now daring to take a bite, she said, “You’ve certainly become bolder.”
“Oh…”
Song Linlin avoided looking at the spot she had just bitten, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to resist taking another bite. She couldn’t guarantee that the other person would tolerate her now, or if she would bite back next time.
Thinking this, her cheek nestled back against that cool embrace, her arms tightening slightly around the other person. She forced herself not to look, not to think about those strange things.
Feeling the hand on her head move, the other person stroking her hair, Song Linlin heard her slowly speak, her tone ambiguous, “Song Linlin, how old are you?”
Hmm?
A question mark popped up in Song Linlin’s mind. However, it wasn’t a particularly strange question, so she didn’t think much of it and subconsciously replied, “Twenty-one, I guess?”
The person opposite her just chuckled softly, the stroking motion on her hair continuing. “Nonsense.”
“A twenty-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn’t become an inner disciple of the Xuanyun Sect.”
After she said this, Song Linlin finally realized that the other person was asking about the specific age of this body. She thought for two seconds before replying, “I just turned eighteen a few days ago.”
“Mm. Are you betrothed to anyone?” Chi Qianning continued to ask.
Song Linlin shook her head firmly. “No.”
She still remembered this point clearly. The original owner of this body came from a very ordinary merchant family. No one in her family could cultivate. Her being chosen by the Xuanyun Sect at the age of thirteen to become an outer disciple was equivalent to incredibly good luck. The sect gave her family some benefits, and then Song Linlin was immediately packed off and sent to the mountain gate, from then on having no further ties with her original family.
“Mm.”
It sounded like the other person was rather satisfied. These census-like questions felt strange to Song Linlin. Hugging Chi Qianning had cooled her down quite a bit, but her body temperature was still scorching. Her meridians were filled with a surging power, not to mention her lower abdomen’s dantian; that area was the hottest part of her entire body, radiating an undeniable heat.
Song Linlin couldn’t help but clutch Chi Qianning’s clothes tightly, the thin fabric crumpled in her palm. She tugged lightly, raising her head to urge again, “Are we not starting the dual cultivation yet?”
“We’ll start now.”
Chi Qianning lowered her head, her red eyes looking at Song Linlin’s flushed face. The other person, presumably for the convenience of hugging, had practically shrunk into her embrace, their bodies pressed tightly together. That scorching body heat could be felt even through the layers of clothing.
“Move up a little,” Chi Qianning said.
This current position was truly inconvenient.
Song Linlin loosened her tight embrace slightly and shifted upwards a bit, her head now level with the other person’s. She no longer needed to look up to see the person beside her.
Now the distance between them was truly too close. Song Linlin could even feel Chi Qianning’s light breaths. Looking at her face from such proximity was undoubtedly making her dazed.
Although Chi Qianning’s complexion was much better than the pale and weak appearance at the beginning, it still couldn’t be described as rosy. It remained excessively pale, her lips lacking much color. The most striking features were naturally her red eyes beneath white lashes. Her silvery-white hair was scattered around her face and chest. In this dimly lit environment, she inexplicably gave off a frail, fragile feeling.
Staring blankly like this for several seconds, Song Linlin silently swallowed. If she weren’t about to be overcome by the heat, it would be hard not to entertain some strange thoughts.
Chi Qianning leaned closer, her forehead touching Song Linlin’s feverish one. She opened her mouth and softly instructed, “Close your eyes.”
“Mm.”
Song Linlin didn’t dare look any longer. The already close distance had lessened considerably, the other person’s breath even directly brushing against her face. She hurriedly closed her eyes.
Her ears were filled with the sound of her own rapidly beating heart due to nervousness. Her mind was also full of the other person’s appearance. Then she felt Chi Qianning lightly pat her back, her voice sounding close by, “Relax, calm down.”
“Empty your mind, there’s no need to be so tense. Let your soul remain in a relaxed state.”
Hearing the other person’s voice with her eyes closed, Song Linlin took a deep breath and tried to silently recite the mantras in her heart that had a calming and focusing effect. Only then did her heartbeat gradually slow down.
Her consciousness gradually emptied, and even her soul began to feel light and airy. She suddenly sensed another consciousness right beside her own, so close that she felt she could touch it just by moving a little closer.
Chi Qianning’s voice continued, her tone unusually gentle and encouraging, “Do you see it? Come, move closer to me…”
Song Linlin’s soul tentatively moved closer, gradually touching the other consciousness. The instant they made contact, a strange sensation immediately spread through her.
The other person’s soul was truly peculiar. Upon initial contact, she could feel a wave of coldness, which was fine for Song Linlin. A pure yin constitution had a high tolerance for yin energy. It could even be said to be quite comfortable. But immediately following that was a wave of heat. The sensations of cold and heat coexisted, alternating.
Song Linlin furrowed her brows, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly. She almost opened her eyes.
She felt her scalp tingle, a strange feeling emerging from within her mind, stimulating her nerves and even making her body feel odd.
And this was merely the result of touching a small part of the other person’s soul. This made Song Linlin subconsciously want to run away.
However, just as she was about to escape, she heard Chi Qianning’s voice, the other person’s breathing a bit heavier, with a noticeable gasp, “Don’t hide… continue coming closer.”
“I can’t… I… I…”
Song Linlin didn’t know how to describe this feeling. They had only merged a little, yet she already felt her whole being becoming strange, as if her body was being forced open and fused with another person.
“If you don’t come closer, there will be no channel to alleviate the power within your body. In another half a shichen [an hour], your dantian will explode,” Chi Qianning said.
“What?!”
Song Linlin now felt like she was in a very difficult situation. If she didn’t continue, her dantian would explode in another hour. But if she did continue, she figured she would be tormented to death by what could only be described as pleasure…
Even if she was stupid, she could feel that this dual cultivation was way too strange! The merging of souls with the other person, the sensations it brought—it was all too much, and it seemed to be mutual…
Wasn’t this basically her sleeping with the other person in a roundabout way?
Although it was only on a spiritual level, Song Linlin reckoned this feeling was definitely more intense than the physical act. This kind of feeling was bidirectional.
Damn, so this was what dual cultivation was!
Having figured this out, Song Linlin became even more hesitant to move. “No way, I’m still a maiden. I’m going to die… I’ve never done this kind of thing before, how was I supposed to know it would be like this…”
This state of partial merging, yet not continuing, was very uncomfortable. Song Linlin felt tormented. Chi Qianning naturally wasn’t feeling well either. She breathed slightly raggedly, “It’ll be even more uncomfortable if we stay like this, understand?”
“R-Really?” Song Linlin was doubtful.
“Why would I lie to you?”
Chi Qianning grasped her arm and continued, “Don’t be afraid, come here.”
Song Linlin truly had no other choice. Not continuing was too agonizing, and if she kept delaying, she feared her dantian really would explode.
So, she could only steel herself and continue. Their souls, which had only partially merged, continued to intertwine, the merged portion growing larger and larger. Song Linlin felt like her body no longer belonged to herself, her mind about to burst. All kinds of sensations filled her, blending together, bringing a feeling she couldn’t put into words.
As the merging deepened, her thoughts gradually entered a strange realm. Besides being able to perceive her own physical sensations, she could unexpectedly also feel Chi Qianning’s current feelings and physical state.
Song Linlin would pause from time to time to rest, her mind a muddled mess, uttering nonsense like she was about to die. Chi Qianning could only pat her sweat-soaked back, encouraging her to continue.
To be honest, this was also Chi Qianning’s first time performing dual cultivation with another person. Although she had a premonition that the sensations during dual cultivation would be very intense, she hadn’t expected it to be this intense.
She could at least endure it, but Song Linlin didn’t have her willpower. Right now, she felt like she was going crazy, continuously uttering illogical words.
By the time their two souls had completely merged, Song Linlin was almost completely drained, covered in sweat, the clothes in many places dampened by the perspiration. She opened her eyes and looked at Chi Qianning. There were also light beads of sweat on the other person’s neck, but not as exaggerated as her own.
The feeling of complete soul fusion was wondrous, as if both body and soul had been completely opened up, each able to perceive the other’s complete physical condition.
The lingering pleasure in her mind remained, but after so long, Song Linlin had finally adjusted somewhat. She had a bit of spare energy to observe the new perspective she’d gained and sense Chi Qianning’s condition.
However, with this one look, Song Linlin was completely shocked. Comparing her own meager magic power to the other person’s, it was simply like a small pond encountering the vast ocean.
She stared wide-eyed at Chi Qianning, forcing out the words with her remaining strength, “You… what realm are you?”
“I don’t know.”
Seeing Song Linlin’s shocked expression, Chi Qianning thought for a moment and explained, “If I must use your human realm classifications, then I really don’t know what realm I’m in.”
“I only remember having great strength from the moment I was born. Every hundred years, I undergo a transformation, and my strength increases significantly, but I also fall into a period of weakness for a time.”
Song Linlin had some guesses and asked suspiciously, “So you are currently in a weakened state?”
“Mm. You begin cultivating.”
Chi Qianning didn’t want to chat about these minor matters any longer. Currently, the excess energy within Song Linlin’s body hadn’t been expelled yet. If they delayed any further, it really would explode. She instructed, “Circulate your cultivation technique, make the energy within your body circulate through your meridians. Then, this energy will similarly be transmitted into my body to circulate once, and I’ll help you absorb the excess.”
“Okay.”
Song Linlin hadn’t forgotten the purpose of dual cultivation. Moreover, her lower abdomen was getting hotter and hotter, making her heart race with panic. She feared her dantian would explode at any moment.
She silently recited her cultivation technique in her heart, striving to mobilize the energy within her body. The energy, which had originally been coursing around aimlessly, was now guided, flowing along specific pathways, and in the end, it really did flow into the other person’s body through their merged souls.
Chi Qianning helped her solidify this chaotic energy. The magic power that finally returned to Song Linlin’s body was of a much higher quality than her original magic power. Furthermore, Song Linlin felt that her overall strength seemed to have improved, and this was only the result of one circulation.
So having a powerful partner made dual cultivation this amazing?!
If Song Linlin cultivated by herself, who knew how long it would take to improve even a little? Yet it had only been this short amount of time, and she had already improved.
The only downside was probably not being able to focus on cultivating. Her mind was stimulated by that feeling. Song Linlin felt that the process of soul merging alone was tormenting enough; she didn’t have much energy left.
“Haah…aah…”
Song Linlin lay flat on the bed, gasping for breath. The blanket had long been thrown off. She was now covered in sweat, sticky and damp. Her mind was hazy, her body faintly trembling, her muscles occasionally spasming.
She felt like she’d never been this tired in her entire life. Even though her soul had already separated from the other person’s, that tingling, numbing sensation that filled her entire body still hadn’t disappeared.
Her entire body was drained of strength, her mind even more of a jumbled mess. Song Linlin didn’t even want to move a finger, as if she had just undergone a session of high-intensity exercise.
Using what little strength she had left, she turned her head and glanced at Chi Qianning. The other person wasn’t as disheveled as she was, but still looked like she’d expended a considerable amount of energy.
After just one glance, Song Linlin turned her head away again. She couldn’t quite look at the other person directly right now. She felt like she hadn’t actually done anything, yet at the same time, like she’d done everything.
It was hard to describe.
In any case, for this short while, she planned to play dead and sleep.
However, as soon as she closed her eyes, the other person’s hand reached out. They were already very close, so Chi Qianning easily grasped Song Linlin’s collar.
Half-propping herself up, Chi Qianning tugged at her, pulling Song Linlin back to her side. Breathing somewhat raggedly, she said, “Come here, continue.”
“No way! No way!” Song Linlin opened her eyes and said weakly, “If we do it again, I’ll really die…”
Chi Qianning frowned slightly. “It’s only been half a shichen.”
Song Linlin wanted to die even more. Half a shichen in ancient times translated to one hour!
High-intensity dual cultivation for an hour—she really couldn’t do it again.
“Aren’t you tired? I really can’t anymore. Let me sleep.”
Song Linlin collapsed where she was, unwilling to move. She looked at Chi Qianning. The other person actually didn’t seem particularly tired. In case she was grabbed and forced into another round of dual cultivation, Song Linlin decided to take the initiative. She reached out, wrapped her arms around the other person’s neck, and forcibly pulled her into her embrace.
“Alright, you’re also very tired. You should sleep too,” Song Linlin said to herself.
“I’m not…”
Chi Qianning hadn’t finished speaking when Song Linlin interrupted her again, “Don’t talk anymore. I know you must be tired!”
Chi Qianning: …
“If you can’t sleep, I’ll lull you to sleep. You should go to sleep now.”
After saying this, Song Linlin, regardless of whether the other person agreed or not, started humming a tune to herself, her hand lightly patting the other’s back.
Held in Song Linlin’s embrace, Chi Qianning looked up at her. Song Linlin’s eyes were closed as she hummed a strange melody. However, it wasn’t long before her voice grew softer and softer, and the hand on her back stopped moving. She had clearly fallen asleep.
“She ended up lulling herself to sleep…”
Chi Qianning gently shook her head and easily slipped out of the other’s embrace, lying down beside Song Linlin.
Since the other person had already fallen asleep, she couldn’t very well force Song Linlin to get up and continue dual cultivation, so she could only sleep as well.
Song Linlin was nudged awake by the person beside her. She opened her eyes groggily; the sky outside was still dark.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
She rubbed her eyes and couldn’t help but yawn. The next second, she wanted to close her eyes and continue sleeping.
It was already very late when they returned to the inn last night. Coupled with the dual cultivation with Chi Qianning, it was safe to say Song Linlin had been exhausted all night. Now, with the sky still dark, she must not have been asleep for long before being woken up.
“Get up. That Ye something has already left. Weren’t you going to help her?” Chi Qianning had already sat up, looking helplessly at the nearly-asleep Song Linlin.
“Ye something…”
Song Linlin drowsily heard these words, taking a few seconds to recall who she knew with the surname Ye. Finally, she belatedly remembered the name Ye Tingran, then suddenly woke up.
“You mean Ye Tingran?” Song Linlin’s eyes widened.
Seeing her exaggerated reaction, Chi Qianning felt inexplicably displeased. She turned her head and only gave a soft “mm” in response.
Song Linlin sat up, her hair a mess. There was no sleeping in now. Ye Tingran, logically, should have departed a bit later. For her to sneak out now, she must not want others to discover her leaving and try to stop her.
Her eyes searched the bed, then turned to look at Chi Qianning, asking blankly, “Where are my clothes?”
Last night, Chi Qianning had removed one of her garments. At the time, Song Linlin was completely overwhelmed by the heat and hadn’t paid attention to where her clothes had been tossed.
“At the foot of the bed.”
The other person only uttered these few words. Song Linlin didn’t sense anything amiss with her tone and crawled to the foot of the bed to search, finally finding her clothes under a pile of blankets.
She put on her outer garment, then stumbled into her shoes. Finding a comb, she quickly tidied her messy hair and, looking in the mirror, managed to tie a simple braid.
“Looks like I really need to learn some hairstyling skills.”
Song Linlin sighed, turning to look at Chi Qianning. “We both have our hair down all the time. Once I learn, we won’t look so disheveled. Then I’ll style your hair beautifully!”
“It doesn’t seem necessary. You’re already beautiful.”
Upon waking up, Song Linlin was particularly talkative. After a night’s sleep, the awkwardness from last night had clearly disappeared, and she chattered non-stop.
Ready to go out, she grabbed her sword. Song Linlin splashed some cold water on her face to wake herself up, then walked back to the bedside and said to Chi Qianning, “Let’s go. Once this is over, we can return to the sect. There won’t be so many troublesome matters back at the sect.”
Chi Qianning had changed her clothes at some point. Last night’s outfit had clearly been a thin gauze sleeping gown. Today, she wore a dress that was pure white on the top, gradually fading to blue on the bottom, with light blue embroidery at the neckline. Song Linlin didn’t know where she’d gotten so many clothes.
Just as they were about to leave, Song Linlin suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, if we’re leaving, we need to leave a message for Zhiyu, so she doesn’t wonder where I’ve gone.”
After saying this, she ran off to find paper and a brush, wrote a note, and left it on the table, weighing it down with a teacup to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.
Once all this was done, she finally left the inn with peace of mind.
Standing on the main street, Song Linlin looked at the still-dark sky. It would be a while before daybreak. The street was empty and deserted, with no sign of anyone else.
She had taken some time getting ready to leave, so Ye Tingran was naturally long gone by now.
Song Linlin looked around in confusion, finally turning a pleading gaze towards Chi Qianning. “I’ve forgotten the way we took yesterday…”
Last night, when they returned, she had simply followed Ye Tingran and Zhiyu. Song Linlin hadn’t paid attention to the route, having been completely engrossed in conversation with Chi Qianning. She hoped Chi Qianning knew the way.
Meeting the other person’s pleading gaze, Chi Qianning had anticipated this happening, so she wasn’t surprised. She calmly said, “There’s no need to walk there. It’s too troublesome. I’ll take you directly.”
There was such a method?!
Song Linlin looked at her, inexplicably feeling like it made perfect sense. This was a cultivation world, after all. Why couldn’t they directly teleport to the other person’s doorstep? This would save her from walking such a long distance.
“But do you know where Luofeng Temple is?” Song Linlin asked curiously.
She didn’t recall Chi Qianning ever having been to that place. Even Song Linlin herself had forgotten the route.
“I can probably sense it.”
Chi Qianning explained, “That Xing Jiu has late-stage Gold Core strength. Within a twenty-li [里 | lǐ | 10 km or 6.2 miles] radius, I can only sense one human with late-stage Gold Core cultivation.”
“Then it’s probably correct.”
In this small, insignificant place where even Foundation Establishment cultivators could walk around unchallenged, that late-stage Gold Core fellow was definitely Xing Jiu!
Chi Qianning grasped Song Linlin’s wrist, not bothering to ask if she was ready. “Let’s go.”
The next moment, Song Linlin felt a wave of weightlessness, but thankfully, it quickly stopped. Furthermore, with Chi Qianning holding her wrist, she didn’t fall.
When she opened her eyes again, the surrounding scenery had completely changed. The previously wide street and the buildings on either side had all vanished, replaced by a dense maple forest. Before her was a red wall and a large wooden gate, a plaque above bearing the three large characters “Luofeng Temple” written in a bold, flourishing style.
“Amazing…”
Song Linlin couldn’t understand how the other person had done it. This was beyond the scope of her knowledge. Chi Qianning released her wrist and glanced in the direction of the gate before disdainfully looking away.
“One late-stage Gold Core, one late-stage Foundation Establishment, the rest are mostly ordinary people, with a small number of Qi Refinement stage.” She easily saw through the strength of the group inside.
Song Linlin pressed further, “How many people are there in total?”
“Thirty-something.”
“That many?!”
Song Linlin was startled. Even if most of them were ordinary people and Qi Refinement cultivators, there were still a lot of them. She and Ye Tingran together were only two people. Whether Chi Qianning would help depended entirely on her mood; they couldn’t count on her too much.
That late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator alone was enough to give Song Linlin a headache, not to mention the late-stage Gold Core Xing Jiu.
Just thinking about it made Song Linlin’s head spin. With a pained expression, she let out a difficult sigh.
Chi Qianning glanced at her and said exasperatedly, “You’re already at the Gold Core stage, what are you afraid of so many people for?”
“Me???”
“Gold Core stage?!”
This time, Song Linlin’s jaw truly dropped. She carefully examined her inner state and actually discovered that a Gold Core had inexplicably formed within her dantian.
She looked at Chi Qianning incredulously. “Did I advance during our dual cultivation last night? How come I don’t remember?”
She had gone from Foundation Establishment to early-stage Gold Core in one night’s sleep, directly skipping an entire realm. Happiness had come too suddenly. Sleeping with Chi Qianning had saved her five years of arduous cultivation.
Chi Qianning rolled her eyes. “At the time, you were only saying you couldn’t take it anymore, that you were dying. Of course, you don’t remember.”
If she hadn’t forced Song Linlin to continuously circulate her cultivation technique, Song Linlin would have given up long ago and wouldn’t have been able to reach the Gold Core stage so quickly.
“Cough, cough.”
Song Linlin coughed awkwardly, her ears flushing as she recalled last night’s events. Towards the end, she had been practically delirious from the pleasure, so she didn’t remember many details and didn’t know how much nonsense she had uttered.
She could only look up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, forcibly changing the subject, “Look, it’s almost dawn!”
However, from that angle, the sky was still very dark.
Realizing she’d said something pointless, Song Linlin wisely stopped talking and leaned against a tree trunk. “Did we arrive too early?”
Ye Tingran clearly still needed to go to the Mountain God Temple to find Liu Zhi, and then bring Shen Jin back here. This journey wasn’t short.
Originally, if Song Linlin had walked the whole way, the timing would have been about right. But now, having been directly teleported to their destination by Chi Qianning, she suddenly had nothing to do.
Chi Qianning walked towards her, extended her hand, and said softly, “Let’s go, I’ll take you somewhere.”
Song Linlin naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately took her hand. Wherever they went, it would be more interesting than waiting here.
This time, Song Linlin was much more prepared and wasn’t as caught off guard as the first time. The scenery around them shifted, and in the next second, they arrived at the edge of a lake. Not far away was a pavilion in the middle of the lake; she didn’t know who had built it.
Song Linlin crossed the wooden bridge and entered the pavilion. The lake was filled with blooming lotuses, round lotus leaves connected one after another. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, causing the lotus seedpods to collide with each other, creating ripples on the water’s surface.
Chi Qianning sat down on a stone bench in the pavilion. Song Linlin leaned curiously against the railing and discovered quite a few lotus seedpods nearby. She immediately turned around and asked excitedly, “Chi Qianning, do you want to eat some lotus seeds?”
Without waiting for a response, Song Linlin turned back around and reached for the nearest lotus seedpod. “Wait, I’ll pick it right away and peel it for you.”
The words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue, but seeing Song Linlin working so hard to pick the lotus seedpod, Chi Qianning swallowed them back down. She simply rested her head on one hand and waited leisurely.
Song Linlin finally managed to pluck a lotus seedpod after considerable effort. She sat down on another stone bench, breaking open the seedpod and attempting to peel off the lotus seeds one by one as she asked a question that had been on her mind.
“By the way, you’re so powerful, why have I never heard of your name before?”
Logically speaking, in the cultivation world, anyone with great strength would definitely have a widely known name. Even reclusive experts would have some legends circulating about them.
But Song Linlin really couldn’t recall any rumors mentioning such a powerful being with silver hair, red eyes, and such stunning beauty.
“Because I’ve only told one human my name, and that’s you,” Chi Qianning said softly.
“Really?”
Song Linlin felt flattered. “Then I’m truly honored.”
She picked up a lotus seed, peeled off the outer skin, removed the bitter core, and then offered it to Chi Qianning. “Try it. I don’t know if it’s sweet or not.”
Chi Qianning lowered her head and took the white, round lotus seed from between Song Linlin’s fingers, chewing slowly as her thoughts drifted back to the past.
Many years ago, she did indeed have a resounding title. Because she never revealed her true appearance, no one had ever seen what she looked like, nor did they know her name. Those people gave her a nickname—Hong Ye [紅夜 | Hóng Yè | Red Night].
It was because, years ago, she had taken a liking to an extremely rare Wu Wang Snow Lotus [無妄雪蓮 | Wú Wàng Xuě Lián | meaning something like “Unforeseen/Undeserved Snow Lotus”]. The family living on the snowy mountain refused to give her the snow lotus. The next morning, from afar, the entire snow-capped peak was dyed red, as if it had rained red blood all night.
However, Song Linlin would never know these things. She didn’t plan to tell her.
Swallowing the lotus seed, Chi Qianning nodded slightly. “It’s alright.”
The author has something to say:
It is known that during dual cultivation, there is mutual sensory experience. What would happen if physical intimacy were added?
For a demon she is really quite nice about age and stuff like that. Gave her full warning
Let’s go! I hope there’s a lot more about her backstory, and man the dual cultivation is really something! I would kowtow to the author to give us another one.. 🙇♀️