Chapter 268: A Journey Through Time? (2)
Ji Ling shook his head. "No one could really say."
A sense of regret appeared on the girl's face. "Speaking of which, it was Qiao Wan who stopped Mei Kangping back then. It would have been so nice if Qiao Wan were still here."
"You don't know something," added Ji Ling, "In the past, Qiao Wan used the Evil Sword Book to resist the demon realm. She was seriously injured and had to sleep to heal. However, during those years she was asleep, the demon realm invaded and Qiao Wan was taken away, and no one knows where she is."
The young boy named Hu Yue sighed, "Everyone thinks that Taoist Friend Qiao is in great danger."
It's strange to have someone with the same name become a legend in the martial arts world.
Seeing that her bowl was empty, Hu Yue stood up and said, "Hey, let me pour you another bowl. It's cold, so drink warm water to warm yourself."
Qiao Wan didn't refuse and politely thanked him.
Just as Hu Yue picked up the pot, Shi Jinyi, who had been friendly and smiling without saying much, suddenly said, "Yue, come with me, I have something to discuss. Ling, please pour this young lady a bowl of water."
Confused, Hu Yue followed Shi Jinyi to the back of the carriage.
The young man looked at the girl sitting in front of the bonfire. The flickering firelight reflected on her face. Qiao Wan looked down, like she was lost in thought. Shi Jinyi's face turned serious and he asked, "Yue, what do you think of this girl?"
What did he think?
Noticing Shi Jinyi's change in expression, Hu Yue's face also grew heavy. "To be honest, Brother Yi, I think she's lying," he said.
Shi Jinyi didn't show surprise on his face, but sighed instead. "That's why I asked you to come here."
"This... She says she's from overseas, but she's dressed in modern clothes," Hu Yue said.
The trend of women wearing makeup started because of Taoist Friend Qiao.
"This person knows nothing about Qiao Wan, yet she's dressed like her. Unless..."
Hu Yue laughed, "Unless she is Qiao Wan."
This made Shi Jinyi laugh out loud, "Why are you making jokes at a time like this?"
Hu Yue also laughed: "Alright, alright, I know what you're worried about, Brother Yi. Nowadays, there are many demons disguised as ordinary people who harm others."
Shi Jinyi frowned again, his eyes reflecting the fire not far away, his gaze slightly somber: "If it really is a demon, we will kill it and make sure it doesn't harm anyone. If, as she said, it's a mortal from overseas, then we will take care of her for one night, just this one night."
Originally, Shi Jinyi thought she was a fellow disciple who came to the mountain to pay respects to the teacher. At this dangerous moment, there were very few people who had the courage to come up the mountain and resist the demon realm with their blood and determination. If they met on the way, they would definitely take care of each other. But mortals were different; they had a different path and would inevitably slow them down on the journey. Taking care of her for this one night was already the best they could do.
After all, human life is as cheap as grass and leaves in this world.
Thinking of this, both of them suppressed their laughter and silently looked at each other.
Shi Jinyi said, "Be careful later and talk to Aling and the others. Aling is naive, and I'm worried she might be deceived."
Hu Yue replied, "I understand, Brother Yi, don't worry."
...
This girl Ji Ling seems to be a big fan of Qiao Wan. She talks nonstop about Qiao Wan and Pei Chunzheng and others.
Qiao Wan, in order to survive in this world, listened attentively with her head tilted.
"You don't know, this Demon Realm's demon lord Pei Chunzheng was once Qiao Wan's Taoist companion. He used to be a pure demon, but suddenly became the demon lord of the Demon Realm during Qiao Wan's disappearance," said Ji Ling. "It is said that he became the demon lord in order to find Taoist Friend Qiao, but his rise to power is definitely related to his uncle."
"Not only Pei Chunzheng, but in the past few years, Demon Emperor Jia Yin has also tried to find Taoist Friend Qiao several times, but unfortunately, he didn't find anything."
The more Qiao Wan listened, the more embarrassed she felt.
Did she really not wear shoes? The Demon King and Demon Emperor, this person named Qiao Wan, they sound just like a perfect Mary Sue.
In the middle of the conversation, Shi Jinyi and Hu Yue suddenly turned back.
Shi Jinyi walked up to them and smiled, "Ah Ling, it's getting late and the lady needs to rest, don't bother her too much."
Then he turned towards Qiao Wan with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Ah Ling talks too much and bothers you."
Qiao Wan quickly shook her head, "Ah Ling has a lively and interesting personality, I really enjoy listening to her talk."
For some reason, when she said that, both Shi Jinyi and Hu Yue's expressions slightly changed.
Qiao Wan could faintly sense that the young man named Shi Jinyi seemed a bit... wary of her. But she couldn't be sure if it was just her imagination. Either way, she was grateful that they were willing to take in a single woman with an unknown background.
Qiao Wan put down her bowl and politely returned the gesture, saying, "Not only Miss Lu, but I also want to thank our Taoist friends for accommodating us tonight."
Shi Jinyi's face relaxed slightly and he started to arrange a place for her to stay. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, "By the way, I haven't asked for the young lady's name."
Qiao Wan hesitated for a moment, and then blurted out a random name, "Um... I am Lu Wan."
Shi Jinyi replied, "Miss Lu."
"Miss Lu, would you like to sleep here tonight?" Shi Jinyi pointed to the carriage in front of them.
Qiao Wan was surprised and asked, "If I sleep here, where will the others sleep?"
Shi Jinyi smiled and said, "Miss Lu, there's no need for you to worry. We are cultivators and don't need to sleep in carriages. But since you are a mortal, it will be difficult for you to stay through the windy night without the carriage."
Qiao Wan felt a bit uncomfortable and scratched her head, saying, "Um... Can I sleep with Miss Lu?"
Qiao Wan couldn't help but complain about the treatment. She felt a little uncomfortable with such good treatment, especially since the others were sleeping outside while she got to sleep in the carriage...
But Shi Jinyi stubbornly smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss. Ah Ling is lively and she has been sitting in the carriage the whole way. She has been complaining and doesn't want to stay inside. Otherwise, I would have asked Ah Ling to come and keep you company."
Since it had come to this, Qiao Wan couldn't refuse anymore.
After Shi Jinyi left, Qiao Wan opened the curtain of the carriage and looked outside. Her heart sank.
It wasn't her imagination. This taoist friend really had a chip on his shoulder against her and intentionally tried to separate her from his companions.
But that's normal, Qiao Wan comforted herself. After all, she was an unknown person with many flaws in her story.
The senses of this body are much sharper than hers. Just now, Qiao Wan didn't pay much attention, but now that she focuses, she can even hear Shi Jinyi talking with his companions, hear the rustling of the dry grass being blown by the night wind, and hear the birds flapping their wings in the bushes. Not only that, she can even clearly see Ji Ling 's hair at the corner of his forehead not far away.
From being frightened and worried when she first realized she had traveled through time, to now being in this warm dreamlike place, Qiao Wan was indeed a little tired. Leaning against the car wall, she closed her eyes.
Just as she was dozing off, as if in a daze, and the figure of Teacher Ma Zhe was faintly appearing before her eyes, suddenly, a loud thunder woke her up unexpectedly.
The sky was filled with rolling thunderclouds, and strong winds were blowing. In an instant, heavy rain poured down.
It was raining.
With this thought, Qiao Wan felt her sleepiness disappear, and immediately stuck out half of her body to take a look.
Shi Jinyi and the others somehow found a grass shed, and they were all sitting under the shelter, laughing and chatting to hide from the rain.
Qiao Wan, who used to read online novels a lot, quickly realized that this must be something taken out from the "storage bag." So she decided not to disturb anyone and quietly retreated.
But she couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
She couldn't sleep at all.
Qiao Wan woke up in agony, feeling a slight itchiness on her hand.
Instinctively, she looked down at her fingers and was shocked to see something. Her scalp tingled.
On her fingertips, there was a faint blue electric light, like a dancing dragon, swirling and floating around her fingertips. The pale blue electric light stood out in this dark carriage.
What... is this some kind of magic?
This shocked Qiao Wan, a college student who believed in materialism, like nothing else. After going through the experience of being transported to another world and now seeing herself produce electricity, she felt like her worldview had started to crumble overnight.
Does her body really hold some secret?
Qiao Wan didn't feel very excited when she discovered that she might be a "Pikachu".
Secrets usually mean trouble. Just the thought of her bleak and gloomy future made Qiao Wan silently burst into tears.
Before Qiao Wan could even finish her surprise, there was suddenly a commotion outside the car.
"It's a monster!"
"A-Ling, be careful!"
"Don't move! Dare to take another step and see what happens!"
Immediately after, a unfamiliar male voice followed with a laugh, saying, "I mean no harm, fellow taoist friends."
"Monster, go away! Otherwise, don't blame us for being unfriendly!"
The male voice then said, "I just wanted to borrow some money from you, fellow taoist friends. Why be so wary?"
Qiao Wan's heart skipped a beat. Without waiting for her brain to catch up, her body leaped up and she pulled back the carriage curtain.
Suddenly, someone blocked the curtain back.
Shi Jinyi's voice sounded from the front of the carriage, speaking in a hushed tone, "Miss Lu, there's danger. You're a mortal, so stay inside and don't come out."
After confirming that the girl in the carriage was not moving, Shi Jinyi finally looked up at the several demon cultivators in front of him.
These demon cultivators were wearing black cloaks, standing in the rain-soaked night, almost blending in with the darkness.
The leader of the group opened his cloak, revealing half of his face, smiling politely as if he was bowing respectfully.
Shi Jinyi's gaze fell on the sword at this person's waist, the hilt of which was engraved with the elegant characters "Azure Waves".
A hint of disgust flashed in the young man's eyes.
Since the demons invaded from the demon realm, with the collapse of the cultivation world, many opportunistic sects surrendered to the demon realm.
It is likely that this person in front of him was a disciple of one of those sects who switched sides and is now showing off his power here.
Shi Jinyi and his friends all carried a burning passion, willing to restore peace to the world. That's why they had made a pact to enter Buping College. Now, there were two or three fully-fledged demon cultivators standing in front of them, with faces filled with anger and gritted teeth, almost drawing their swords.
"Brother Yi, don't be polite with them. These scoundrels, why waste words with them? Just draw your sword!!"
