Crush's Cold Senior Sister is Actually Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: “Because You’re Very Important In My Heart.”

An Jin wasn’t in much of a hurry. She had planned to wait for Liao Huan or others to go together, but after waiting for a long time and seeing no one arrive, she could only get up and push open the next stone door. Then, the next second, she closed the door again.

Although she knew that after passing the illusion gate, it would be the real Wuxu Secret Realm and there would be no more traps, who was going to tell her why there were raging flames outside the stone door?! As soon as the door opened, crimson flames rushed directly towards her, looking very enthusiastic, as if afraid she wasn’t troubled enough. But even so, as an immortal, she wasn’t actually afraid of fire. An Jin mentally prepared herself, opened the door, and rushed out.

What greeted her was a scorching heat, but it wasn’t too hot. Lava flowed in the cracks of the ground, but there was no burning sensation when she stepped on it. After walking out of the flames, An Jin saw the same cave as when she first entered the secret realm. Fortunately, there was an oil lamp every few meters along both sides of the cave, barely illuminating the path.

She walked for a long time along this single path. An Jin saw the legendary Sword Mound, but hadn’t even seen a single person. The surrounding rock walls and oil lamps seemed to be copied and pasted, showing no change along the way. For a few moments, she even wondered if she was caught in a ghost wall, and if she was actually moving forward at all.

After passing dozens more oil lamps, a few figures vaguely appeared ahead.

“Senior Ying!” An Jin was almost overjoyed to see people at last. Ahead were Senior Ying and the others who had entered from the East Gate, but a few were missing. An Jin didn’t pay much attention; after all, her own team had already disintegrated, and she had even reached this point alone, so she was hardly in a position to ask why their group wasn’t complete.

When Ying Baizang saw her, her eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in them: “Aren’t you with Ling Qi?”

“A fellow disciple wasn’t feeling well, so Senior Sister sent her out first.” An Jin didn’t elaborate, giving a simple explanation. Hearing the address “Senior Sister,” Ying Baizang’s gaze towards her became even more complex.

Ying Baizang nodded obscurely at An Jin, gesturing for her to follow behind her. The Vermilion Bird Lord beside her, taking advantage of no one paying attention, quickly winked at An Jin. An Jin was momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond, and could only purse her lips and smile, quietly moving to the back of the team.

Although Senior Ying was cold, the other disciples of Youhan Palace behind her were very enthusiastic. Two purple-clad women surrounded her, one on each side, seemingly Senior Ying’s Junior Sisters. “Friend An, what brings you to Wuxu this time? What do you seek?” Saying this, one of them even reached out to put an arm around An Jin’s shoulder.

An Jin subtly shifted, gracefully evading, then gave an awkward laugh and said, “What else could it be for? Isn’t it all for the chance to ascend?” She couldn’t very well say it was for Senior Sister… She couldn’t think of any other grand excuse at the moment.

“True, I’ve cultivated for over a thousand years and haven’t even touched the edge of a lightning tribulation.” The purple-clad woman on the right chimed in, expressing great understanding.

“Then I’ve definitely been cultivating for longer. I really don’t know when I’ll be able to ascend.” An Jin echoed her lament.

The Vermilion Bird Lord in front heard this, and her steps paused, stopping without warning. An Jin was tilting her head, deep in conversation with the purple-clad woman, when she unexpectedly bumped into the Vermilion Bird Lord’s shoulder, hurting her forehead a little.

“Ah…” An Jin rubbed her bumped forehead. She hadn’t expected the other party to stop so suddenly. The two purple-clad women beside her also bent down to check if her forehead was red.

“You want to ascend to True Godhood?” the Vermilion Bird Lord turned to her and asked. For some reason, An Jin felt her expression was very subtle, and she seemed hesitant to speak.

“Yes, who wouldn’t want to ascend?” An Jin looked at her, blinking, not quite understanding what she found surprising. Didn’t everyone in the Upper Realm hope to ascend to True Godhood soon? Surely this couldn’t be wrong?

The other party’s pupils twitched slightly at her words.

An Jin: “?” Is it that exaggerated?

Before the other party could speak, suddenly there was a “thud,” and a piece of gravel hit An Jin’s shoulder, sending a jolt of pain. The gravel then rolled to the ground. If you think what she’s saying is outrageous, just don’t listen, why throw things at her… An Jin covered her bruised shoulder, somewhat confused, but looking up, she saw that everyone else’s expressions were just as puzzled as hers.

She turned around blankly, only to see more stones falling from above. “Thud! Thud!” Several crashes echoed as they hit the ground, too fast to even see clearly. An Jin was about to draw her sword when the Vermilion Bird Lord abruptly pulled her behind her.

Boom— Before they could react, a loud bang erupted, and a half-human-sized rock crashed onto the empty ground where An Jin had just been standing, raising a cloud of dust. The surrounding people instantly took action. The sound of swords being drawn filled the air, and various spells intertwined and flew. Rocks were pulverized into debris before they could fall, but the speed of the secret realm’s collapse did not diminish.

An Jin broke out in a cold sweat. She was about to contact her Senior Sister on the communicator when she realized she had no idea how to use it. She had no one to contact; the few times she had communicated, Senior Sister had initiated it. She had no choice but to draw her sword as well, but the shattering rocks came one after another, impossible to cut through. In desperation, An Jin subconsciously heavily tapped the screen of the communicator in her hand with her index finger joint. When she realized what she had done, she felt so panicked that she was losing her mind, even taking her frustration out on the small communicator.

In a place An Jin couldn’t see, the communicator in her hand suddenly flashed with white light.

“Zhu Ming is dead, Baizang is autumn.” An Jin turned her head with surprise, only to see Ying Baizang’s solemn face. With a flick of her hand, countless dazzling golden lights simultaneously struck the surrounding rock walls. Enveloped in golden light, the speed of the rock fragmentation finally slowed slightly.

This was the first time An Jin had seen someone use a Chant. On her first day in Chongguang Palace, Senior Sister Cen had explained that every True God and immortal had their own unique Chant, and finding one’s Chant was a very important matter. A Chant could accelerate the circulation of divine power within the body, thereby unleashing one’s full potential and maximizing divine power. However, despite being said to be very important, very few people in the Upper Realm actually used them. For example, in the previous competition for Wuxu Secret Realm tickets, no one used a Chant. This was like everyone’s last trump card; no one knew if the other had a Chant, let alone what their Chant was, so no one dared to act rashly. No one was willing to reveal their ultimate move first.

An Jin, however, didn’t have such worries. —After all, she hadn’t even found her own Chant.

“What are you spacing out for?!” Ying Baizang rarely showed urgency. Seeing An Jin still unresponsive, she pushed her hard. Another rock narrowly missed them.

Ying Baizang’s Chant didn’t last long. The collapsing cave only paused for a moment, then continued to collapse with even greater intensity. But this time, the moment An Jin’s sword touched a rock, all the falling stones suddenly froze in mid-air. A white figure flew over, raised a hand, and sent a golden light into the rock wall. The violently trembling cave suddenly paused, and even the splashing debris was frozen in the air. It was as if time had stood still.

Before everyone could react, a flash of sword light passed, and with a “zheng” sound, all the suspended debris shattered. The fragments even conveniently avoided everyone’s standing places. The entire cave fell into a brief silence, and a few people’s eyes widened. Only Ying Baizang’s expression remained unchanged, though the tightly clenched fists at her sides quietly relaxed.

The white skirt floated to the ground, its hem still spotless. Ling Qi didn’t care about anyone else’s reactions; she just grabbed An Jin’s shoulders and examined her up and down. Her voice was full of regret and self-reproach: “I shouldn’t have bothered with Yang Anping. She could have fended for herself…”

An Jin: “…” Don’t let Master hear that.

“Since everyone is here, let’s go to the Sword Mound together.” Ying Baizang’s tone was never overtly forceful, yet it made people instinctively want to follow her commands. An Jin pulled her Senior Sister along, staying at the very back, not daring to ask where this “everyone is here” came from when so many people were clearly missing.

“How did you know I was here?” Afraid that the people in front would hear them, An Jin tiptoed slightly and whispered into Ling Qi’s ear. Feeling the breath by her ear, Ling Qi paused, and it took her a while to regain her composure. “Didn’t you send me an emergency communication?”

“How is that possible?! I don’t even know how to use that communicator!” An Jin instinctively retorted before remembering that she had indeed tapped the device earlier. Her expression was bewildered: “So, just by lightly tapping it, you can immediately receive a message and know where I am?”

“Yes… the communicator can set three emergency contacts. Tapping once, twice, or thrice corresponds to different contacts.” An Jin didn’t ask why she had emergency contacts when she hadn’t set them up. She only cared: “Senior Sister, who are your emergency contacts?”

“…I used to have them, but I don’t use them anymore.” An Jin said “oh,” reluctantly accepting the answer, but…

“Then, Senior Sister, do you want to set a new one now?” The word “new” was emphasized heavily. Her eyes were round and bright, staring directly at Ling Qi. Ling Qi felt her face flush slightly, and afraid of being seen through, she turned her face away. “Alright, I’ll set it when we get back.”

At the very front of the team, Ying Baizang’s pace suddenly quickened, making her two Junior Sisters behind her have to jog to keep up. They looked at each other, no one knowing what had happened.

“Then,” An Jin reached out and tugged at her Senior Sister again, “is the person you can contact with just one tap the most important person?”

Ling Qi’s expression stiffened, and she was silent for a moment. She remembered that person raising her communicator, looking at her as if seeking praise, saying, “Ling Qiqi, I set you as the first, even before my mom, you know.”

“You’re just worried that if you cause trouble, it’ll get reported to the Emperor, so you want someone to clean up your mess, right?” Ling Qi at the time wasn’t easily fooled. And Yuan Shunhua, though clearly guilty of being caught, still argued stubbornly, “How could that be! Of course, it’s because you’re the most important person in my heart!”

Ling Qi had to admit that even though she deeply knew that at most only three tenths of what the other person said was believable, she still couldn’t control her heart from fluttering. It was true then, and it was true now.

“Senior Sister?” Seeing Ling Qi silent for a long time, An Jin tugged at her sleeve again.

“Probably.” Ling Qi heard herself say.