Chapter 5.1

The Last Map Fragment (1)

Ji Qingzhou turned her head and met Ying Xiu’s eyes.

In the daytime sunlight, her porcelain white face reflected a priceless piece of artwork. Under the eyes outlined flawless contours; her long eyelashes were slightly drooping, and she seemed to be indifferent to everything. She was indisputably gorgeous.

The moment Ying Xiu saw Ji Qingzhou, she was stunned for a moment despite being a court lady in the palace who had seen countless beauties.

How did I get here? Why should I tell you?” Ji Qingzhou’s tone reeked of suspicion.

If she had swum over by herself, she would not have begrudged sharing the way she reached the shore, but then, it was really a bit humiliating to say that Shen Rongyu had brought her over. Moreover, Ji Qingzhou was embarrassed to speak of it.

“Our Princess is asking you. Mind your place.” Although Ji Qingzhou’s tone was soft, Ying Xiu still thought she was provocative.

At this time, Qiu Mingxue stepped forward and was about to ask Ji Qingzhou how she reached the other bank when she saw her face.

“You…” Little Beggar…

She couldn’t completely utter the two words ‘Little Beggar’. With a face like Ji Qingzhou’s, no matter how blind she was, she couldn’t call her Little Beggar anymore.

“You are a mortal, why did you come here?” Qiu Mingxue was taken aback by Ji Qingzhou’s appearance, but it only lasted for a moment and she continued.

Although Qiu Mingxue carried some immortal fate, her aptitude was not considered top-notch, so in the second half of her swim across Mount Jian Lake, she felt pain all over her body.

She had suffered to such an extent, but why didn’t the lake swallow the Little Beggar?

“I just came here, that’s it. It seems meaningless to ask why I came here.” Ji Qingzhou walked out of the body cleaning array. She ignored the two people and just brooded over her next step.

She couldn’t swim, so she could no longer dive down the lake. If she recklessly entered the Peach Blossom Mist with no map in hand, would she be in danger?

Anyway, since the system told her to go, she could just take a walk around.

“Did you cheat to get here?” Qiu Mingxue caught up and continued to ask her. She didn’t believe that Ji Qingzhou didn’t suffer from the Mount Jian Lake water.

“Yes,” Ji Qingzhou admitted it honestly. It was because, strictly speaking, she didn’t swim across by herself.

“Is this how your Xuanyun Sect screens new disciples?” Qiu Mingxue questioned the Xuanyun Sect disciples guarding the shore.

The disciples had watched Shen Rongyu bring Ji Qingzhou up. The original purpose of the Mount Jian Lake water was to test the immortal bones and hearts of the immortality seekers. In the eyes of these immortals, there was no problem that some people couldn’t swim. As long as Ji Qingzhou could withstand the Mount Jian Lake water cleansing, then she passed this hurdle, so they did not raise any objection.

“Miss, she’s fine.” A Xuanyun Sect disciple nodded to Qiu Mingxue. “She just doesn’t know how to swim.”

Qiu Mingxue was dumbstruck, but Ji Qingzhou had already run to the shore, because she still remembered something on the other side.

Maomao, whom she had pushed to the shore, was standing on the other side. It seemed to be looking at Ji Qingzhou, but in fact, she was not in its sight. It had been blindfolded all its life and had poor eyesight.

Maomao stepped into Mount Jian Lake while others were not paying attention.

While Qiu Mingxue was still thinking about how Ji Qingzhou arrived on the other bank, Maomao had already swam over from the other side without anyone noticing.

Ji Qingzhou and Qiu Mingxue stood embarrassedly on the shore, and the two had a strange tacit understanding at this time.

Is she even worse than a donkey?

Maomao was at ease in the water, and Ji Qingzhou regretted it. If she had known that Maomao was unaffected, she would have shamelessly ridden it at the beginning.

Shen Rongyu had collected all the map fragments, and when he went ashore, he happened to run into Maomao.

The old donkey swam towards him. Shen Rongyu had never seen a donkey that could swim, so his gaze stayed on Maomao a bit longer.

Just then, Ji Qingzhou rushed into his sight. She hugged Maomao’s neck. The donkey accompanied her all the way, and now that it had crossed, everything was great.

After Shen Rong Yu went ashore, he didn’t have to go into the cleaning array. The water stains around his body had been dried up by the spell he cast himself. At the moment, he was pure and dust-free, his posture impeccable.

Ji Qingzhou patted Maomao’s neck, and then saw his hands hanging on his side.

His fingertips had turned white, not because he had been in the water for too long, but because of the constant bone-chilling pain.

She was stunned for a moment, and her hand that was patting Maomao’s neck also stopped. Her feet were pinned in place, and despite wanting to move, she was at a loss about what to do.

“Is the spiritual harness I gave you of no use?” Shen Rongyu surprisingly spoke first. Because he had just left Mount Jian Lake and the purgatory-like water, his tense nerves immediately relaxed, which made him feel better. He also found Ji Qingzhou pleasing to the eye.

“No.” Ji Qingzhou was partly bending, and her long hair fell down like a waterfall on her shoulder. She explained seriously, “It seems that it isn’t keen on being restrained.”

Shen Rongyu didn’t speak any more. He just held the sword in his hand and walked into the Peach Blossom Mist. He walked in front of Ji Qingzhou, and the seemingly bone-penetrating soul fragrance permeated her nose again.

Ji Qingzhou’s delicate nose wrinkled, and she thought that the fragrance was pleasant to the nose.

After Shen Rongyu left, Ji Qingzhou turned her head to look at his back. His white clothes were hidden in the thick white fog, while peach petals brushed past him.

The confident immortality seekers had already entered the Peach Blossom Mist, and the ones left hesitating were mostly thinking about whether to dive into the water to find a few more map fragments.