The Otherworldly Adventures of a Super Naive Girl

479: Ancient Mansion in the Rain

Their hearts were heavy and depressed from the deep sense of loneliness that permeated the atmosphere in the wasteland. They couldn’t rest well at all night night.

They set out early the next morning and quickly enough encountered other teams on the road, which really wasn’t a surprise considering the recent uptick in traffic to the wasteland.

The groups eyed each other warily and stayed on the alert for an attack. No one was in a mood to chit chat. The treasure hadn’t been spotted yet, but they were all there for the same thing. Fortunately, few people were stupid enough to start trouble so early on.

The wasteland was a massive area and the treasure’s location was unknown, but most headed toward the center because the popular guess was that it would somewhere in that area.

Two months later and they were most of the way there. Their otherwise normal day was upended when a dilapidated and clearly damaged mansion appeared out of nowhere in front of everyone.

“Why is a mansion here in the middle of nowhere?” Geente looked suspiciously at the mansion.

In the two months since they started their journey, they hadn’t come across a single creature, any buildings or even any kind of building debris. A mansion out of nowhere was naturally suspicious. It was a dilapidated mansion, but it was a substantial building.

“Should we go in and take a look?” Tang asked Mogefei.

To this Mogefei shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about it; it’s safer to not go in.”

As captain, Mogefei prioritized their safety above curiosity.

“There’s something not right about that building. We haven’t seen any kind of structure for two months and suddenly this mansion appears out of nowhere? It’s strange no matter how you look at it.” Ming Xi voiced his opinion.

“Yaoyue, what do you think?” Huozhou turned to Yaoyue.

Instead of answering, Yaoyue took out her staff and chanted a spell. Brilliant white light rushed into the mansion. She frowned when the light failed to trigger anything.

The lack of reaction was odd. She for sure felt dense yin energy coming from the mansion.

“What’s the matter?” Mogefei asked.

“I don’t know. My magic didn’t sense anything.”

“Are we going in then?” Ai Lin asked. She remembered the heroine faced great danger from a mansion just like this one in the original story line. The heroine would reunite with her leading man inside and the shared experience would deepen their feelings for each other.

This time though, the team make up was different. Would they still go inside the mansion? She had wanted to complain when she read the original story. A mansion out of nowhere in such a dangerous place, it was just too weird. On top of that, the heroine and her group went inside to rest without even thinking about it? Did they have eggs brains or something?

“No, we leave.” Mogefei said.

Ai Lin breathed a sigh of relief at his words. It looked like they would escape disaster this time. It was too dangerous in the mansion, so as long as they didn’t go in, they would be fine.

They were about to leave, when without any warning, they sky turned dark and heavy rain poured down. It wasn’t ordinary rain. Whatever kind of rain it was, it was working through their shields made of magic and qi. They had to find shelter before their shields completely disintegrated. Who knew what would happen if the rain touched them!

They had no choice but to take shelter in the mansion they were trying to avoid.

The interior was in the same condition as the exterior – dilapidated and dusty from neglect. Clearly the mansion had been abandoned long ago.

Zi Cheng and Ai Lin used magic to tidy a spot for them to rest. The group sat down without a word. There was doubt in Feng Wu’s eyes as she swept her gaze around from time to time. She didn’t say a word though. Ming Xi silently took Feng Wu’s hand.

The sudden rain made them uncomfortable. It was like the rain was designed specifically to keep them in the mansion. But who was behind it?

“It’s raining so much! Luckily we ran fast, otherwise our shields would have melted!” A man, carrying a light sword and obviously flustered by the rain, rushed into the mansion. The people behind him cut sorry figures.

“This rain isn’t right,” said one of the men.

“No kidding! What kind of rain damages shields made from qi and magic?” The man in the front said disdainfully.

“You know what I mean. . . ” The guy frowned a little and was about to say something back when he noticed they weren’t alone inside the mansion.

Other people in his group also stopped talking when they noticed other people were there. They found an unoccupied corner and silently sat down as a group.

Mogefei ignored the newcomers. His group didn’t own the mansion, so they had no right to tell anyone to leave. His only concern was the people in his team; what anyone else did, didn’t matter to him.

Two minutes later another group rushed in.

Ai Lin immediately recognized the male protagonist.

“Zi Cheng!” Caesar found Zi Cheng easily.

Ai Lin touched her chin as she locked eyes with Zo. His face was neutral but his eyes were definitely disturbed.

Her eyes said: Look at that. Your brother is about to become the heroine’s puppet. Are you sure you can stop it?

I can only try my best, was Zo’s silent reply.

Zo wanted to get his big brother back. He wanted Caesar to forget about Zi Cheng and he wanted Caesar to treat his fiancée better, but unfortunately Caesar was stubborn. And he knew it would only backfire if he forced it.

480: Caesar and Zo

No one noticed the brief non-verbal communication between Zo and Ai Lin.

“Caesar!” Zi Cheng never expected to see Caesar there. There were a lot of guys who were impressed by her, but she wasn’t interested in any of them. Caesar was the one exception. She was really happy to see him there.

“What a coincidence! You’re here too!” Caesar stepped forward.

“Yes, what a coincidence.” Zi Cheng smiled.

“Miss Zi Cheng, how nice to see you.” Zo gave a tepid greeting.

There was no way Zo would be happy to see Zi Cheng. Ai Lin was willing to bet on that.

“Hello Master Zo.” Zi Cheng greeted Zo with a friendly attitude. The fact that she had zero favorability points with him made her wonder.

It was a real mystery! She was sure she had never offended him before, so she didn’t understand the extremely low score. Did Zo hate her?!

She didn’t know where the problem lay, so she was going to ask Caesar when she had the chance.

“Xiao Cheng, who are these people with you?” Caesar looked at Ming Xi and the others. Each individual was imposing and unlike ordinary adventurers. He had a guess where they were from.

“These are my classmates and seniors from school. I heard rumors about a treasure materializing in the desert, so I tagged along.” It was impossible for her tell him about their mission.

She couldn’t share that detail right away him no matter how big a crush she had on him. Besides, the mission was a secret. Aside from them, only a few other teachers even knew about it. Zi Cheng couldn’t share information about the mission in such a public place with so many people around. She wasn’t stupid.

“Then we have the same goal.”

All the major families knew about the Heart of Wood and the seal’s expiration. The Heart was set to reappear soon and many were interested in getting it. The Heart was equivalent to a saint level or god level item.

None of the families wanted their rivals to get it.

“Feng Wu!” Zo hadn’t seen Feng Wu since the sea god’s tomb. They had been separated and he never got the chance to repay her for her grace in saving him.

“Zo. . . ?” Feng Wu tilted her head a little puzzled. “You’ve become amazing.” She offered the praise after sizing him up for a few seconds.

Zo wondered what was up with her relieved expression. Did she feel like an elder? Zo was a little embarrassed. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, but she was still the same.

Feng Wu wondered why Zo wasn’t happy. Every time she got stronger, what she liked most was her master praising her. Didn’t Zo like being praised too?

Feng Wu lowered her eyes in disappointment.

Seeing Feng Wu unhappy, Zo didn’t dare remain silent. “Thank you, you’ve become even more powerful.”

Sure enough, her eyes lit up immediately.

Feng Wu: I’ve been complimented, so happy!

Feng Wu pursed her lips and a glow of happiness shone all around her.

“Zo, it’s been a while. Your strength has grown a lot.” Ming Zi had also met Zo and knew Zo was a friend Feng Wu had made while in the sea god’s tomb. If it weren’t for Feng Wu’s guardianship, it was unlikely the teenager would have survived the tomb.

He had learned that Zo couldn’t cultivate despite coming from a family of cultivators. The teen had to be under immense pressure even if his family cloth and fed him well.

In a world were force was respected, it was difficult for a young man like that to not become dark.

“Ming Xi, you are here too. I apologize, I hadn’t noticed until just now.” Zo said a little embarrassed. His attention had been focused on Zi Cheng and Ai Lin initially. After that he was distracted by the sight of Feng Wu, so he hadn’t noticed Ming Xi until Ming Xi spoke.

Apparently Zi Cheng could still rattle him. Even though he knew she wasn’t a major player on the continent yet, he was still unnerved by her presence.

“It’s no matter.” Ming Xi didn’t mind. “You’ve made a lot of progress. It’s hard to imagine how far you’ve come since we last saw each other.” Ming Xi remembered when he first met Zo. Back then, the teen wasn’t strong enough to defend himself and had to rely on others for protection.

Now there was a certain strength emanating from Zo. Ming Xi guessed Zo must have found an opportunity, but he didn’t ask for details. Who didn’t have secrets? As the prince of the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, Ming Xi didn’t need to pry into other people’s business and be envious.

“I found some opportunities back when we were in the sea god’s tomb. It allowed me to have the strength I have now.” Zo left it vague and didn’t go into details. The Heart of Water was important and the fewer people who knew, the better it was.

The Heart of Water not only gave him affinity for water, it mutated his talent into ice magic. Unexpected, but welcome since ice was more powerful than water.

“So it was.” Ming Xi nodded with a smile.

Caesar brought more than a dozen people, all of whom were strong members. Amongst them were a few ladies who were romantically interested in the brothers. Daggers flew when the ladies saw Zi Cheng and Feng Wu interact with Caesar and Zo. If looks could kill, both girls would have already died a dozen times over.

“Master Caesar, Master Zo, we’ve cleaned a place for us to rest. Please go and rest for a while.” Two beautiful girls came over. The sweet shyness in their eyes when they looked at their masters disappeared the moment they looked at Zi Cheng and Feng Wu. It was replaced with a look of bitter hate, the kind reserved for enemies.

Zi Cheng:. . .  What did I do?

Feng Wu:. . .  Hm?