NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24 - Why are you trembling?
Before them was a calm, ripple-less lake, like a stagnant pool of dead water.
This secret realm hadn’t been cleared by many, and the lone player who had cleared hadn’t shared any guides, so no one knew what lurked beneath this green diamond-marked lake.
Now, with the carries gone and only Jiang Zi, a complete newbie to the game, at her side, Tang Yuan felt it was her duty as a seasoned Nascent Soul player to step up.
“Be careful, sister, stay close. Let me check out what’s hidden here.”
Jiang Zi walked to the lake’s edge, stopping beside a particular tuft of grass. “This one’s a little shorter than the others.”
Jiang Zi didn’t consider herself a good actor, but she hadn’t expected Tang Yuan to be this unsuspecting.
Seeing Jiang Zi unafraid and not taking the game too seriously herself, Tang Yuan felt leisurely calm. She squatted by the grass, touching its leaves. “You’re right, it is a bit shorter. Look closely—the leaf patterns are different, too.”
Jiang Zi squatted down with her, watching as Tang Yuan simply admired the grass. Once she was done, she stood up without a second thought and began looking for other clues.
Jiang Zi let out a barely audible sigh and reached out, pulling the grass out by the roots.
The moment it was uprooted, the lake’s still waters suddenly reversed, roaring as the entire lake drained.
Tang Yuan instinctively pulled Jiang Zi behind her in a protective stance.
Almost instantly, the massive lakebed dried up, and a mud-carved palace rose majestically from the ground.
Tang Yuan: “…Eh?”
“This… Is our luck really this good today?”
Jiang Zi: “…I don’t know. The palace appeared so suddenly.”
Meanwhile, the three carries, trapped in the deadly trap and suffering greatly, fell silent. The map restriction prevented them from seeing the boss’s current situation, but they could still hear their teammates through the voice channel.
Because they were hired carries, they couldn’t just escape, and the trap was too difficult to break free; they were stuck enduring relentless lightning strikes, their health bars gradually depleting—torture in every sense.
While they struggled, the boss had already made it into the legacy palace.
This mud-carved palace was the residence of the powerful figure who had created this secret realm. Through it, challengers could obtain legacy cultivation techniques and the Weak Water Divine Sword.
A divine sword—priceless and rare.
Tang Yuan led Jiang Zi into the palace, and their progress was smooth and unobstructed. Tang Yuan was in high spirits.
“This dungeon is actually quite average. I haven’t even had to make a move and already gotten a legacy.”
Tang Yuan picked up the Weak Water Divine Sword and handed it to Jiang Zi instead of claiming it for herself.
“Sister, here you go. Welcome to the game.”
Before Jiang Zi could even reach for it, the divine sword showed its displeasure. It looked down on Jiang Zi’s character’s innate talent, so when Jiang Zi approached, the sword’s pickup option didn’t appear—she couldn’t even pick it up.
Tang Yuan was taken aback. “No way? The game is this intelligent? Even the divine sword’s settings are picky about character innate talent.”
Not only that but when Tang Yuan tried to pick up the divine sword again, a line of text appeared on the screen.
“Would you like to bind with the Weak Water Divine Sword? a: Yes. b: Agree.”
Tang Yuan: …
Seeing Tang Yuan’s stunned reaction, Jiang Zi found it amusing and helped her select the option.
“Alright, we’re done with the mud-carved palace. Do you want to go anywhere else?”
A secret realm of this size surely has more than one treasure spot.
However, Tang Yuan shook her head. She didn’t feel confident about leading Jiang Zi into more dangerous areas, so she chose to exit the secret realm.
Even though the carries were useless for this run, Tang Yuan still paid for their services.
Tang Yuan set the tablet aside, climbed off the bed, and went to get some water.
Jiang Zi, looking at the lit screen, had a thought. She opened the leaderboard, glanced at Tang Yuan’s back as she drank, and sent a friend request to the top-ranked player, Skyward Era.
After completing this, Jiang Zi calmly switched back to the main lobby page just as Tang Yuan returned.
“Sister, It’s still early. How about I help you rank up?”
“This Thunder Realm is open for seven days. I’ll help you rank up, and later, we can find some reliable carries and dive back into this realm to gather more loot.”
Jiang Zi looked at her new character with a hint of disdain in her eyes.
The account is too new, lacking even a decent set of clothes.
Tang Yuan, dressed in dazzling gold like a celestial maiden from the Nine Heavens.
Standing beside her, she looked worse than a beggar.
“No.”
“Ah?” Tang Yuan was surprised by Jiang Zi’s refusal and froze momentarily.
“Then…” Tang Yuan hesitated. She thought Jiang Zi didn’t like the game, but she wanted Jiang Zi to play with her, so she proposed, “How about I buy a high-rank account for you? That way, we won’t need to rank up.”
It sounded like a good solution.
“No need.” Jiang Zi declined. “I’ll just use this account.”
Raising another account wasn’t difficult.
“Okay, then, should we find an account booster?” Tang Yuan thought Jiang Zi’s refusal just now might be because it seemed too troublesome to rank up, so finding a booster to help out would solve the issue.
“No need for a booster. I don’t care much about the rank”, Jiang Zi said, realizing that Tang Yuan preferred to use money to solve problems in the game rather than endure any hardship herself.
As Jiang Zi lost focus momentarily, Tang Yuan leaned closer, her gentle fragrance filling the air, causing an involuntary pause in Jiang Zi’s breath. The faint, sweet scent of spring peach blossoms lingered, and her face, both enchanting and innocent, had eyes like a serene autumn lake rippling with emotion.
With a slight pout and a hint of reproach in her eyes, Tang Yuan asked softly, “Do you not like this game?”
“Do you think I’m childish?”
Jiang Zi didn’t respond or react, leaving Tang Yuan feeling unsettled. She moved even closer, staring straight at Jiang Zi’s pitch-black pupils.
Just as she was about to speak again, a cold finger pressed against her lips.
Jiang Zi’s eyes swirled with lust, unable to hear what Tang Yuan was murmuring.
All that could be heard was her voice, soft and sweet, with a scent of intoxicating fragrance filling the air. Her skin was white, delicate, and smooth.
Instinctively, Jiang Zi pressed her thumb against Tang Yuan’s slightly parted lips. She didn’t apply much pressure, her palm cradling Tang Yuan’s cheek as her thumb lingered on those tempting lips.
Tang Yuan didn’t know how to react, but she was aware of the sensation of Jiang Zi’s touch, from the gentle caress of her lips to the lingering contact at the corner of her mouth.
Jiang Zi’s eyes were half-closed, hiding the growing obsession within them. Her lips curled into a faint, predatory smile like a wild beast staring at its prey. Her slender fingers traced Tang Yuan’s outline, her thumb brushing repeatedly over the soft, rose-like lips.
The rose shivered under her touch.
Her voice was languid, with a teasing, icy undertone. “Why are you trembling?”
Tang Yuan was held in place, unable to remember her initial intent of moving so close. Now, it seemed the situation had taken an unexpected turn.
Jiang Zi’s grip was light, and Tang Yuan could easily shift away if she wanted to. But instead, she felt as though she was under a spell, eagerly awaiting Jiang Zi’s next move.
The heat from Jiang Zi’s fingertips intensified, growing increasingly overwhelming with time.
Jiang Zi struggled internally; Little Tang Yuan, how could you let me indulge so freely?
‘Thud—‘
Accompanied by a strange sound, the room was plunged into complete darkness.