CH 399

399: Meeting Zi Cheng Again (DRAFTED 3/6)

The desert at night was just as extreme as the desert in the day. Temperatures were as high as 40C[notes] in the day, but dropped as low as -10C[notes] at night.

They were wearing thin summer clothes. A few had extra thermal properties to their clothes, but it didn’t stop their teeth from chattering.

Feng Wu had been using her martial qi to create a barrier against the cold; her clothes alone would not have been enough to keep her warm.

Ming Xi seemed unaffected and he appeared in good physical condition. It was as though he wasn’t even feeling the cold. That the cold wasn’t bothering him made Ailuna and the others wonder just how powerful he was.

They didn’t know it was the moon that was giving Ming Xi so much strength. The sun and moon here weren’t artificially created by the sea god – they were real. The sea god had used his divine powers to borrow a trace of the sun yang from the hot lands and a sliver of moon yin from the cold, bitter northern lands. That was why there were two orbs in the sky that were just like the sun and moon in the outside world.

Ming Xi would be the next emperor of the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, so he would be protected wherever there was a moon. The cold air didn’t hurt him in the slightest.

Ailuna didn’t know this so she assumed he was a hidden master.

The group walked through the unrelenting wind and sleet. They didn’t know how long they had walked, and although the wind and sleet didn’t increase, it didn’t let up either.

After much difficult walking, a small rocky mountain came into view. The glow of a fire could be seen from the cave under it.

Ming Xi knew the group wouldn’t be able to keep going. It was so cold, even if all of them had various forms of protection with magic and martial qi, it was still impossible to go too far. Both things were consumables and could only be replenished one of two ways: by resting or by taking medicine.

It would have been foolhardy to try to rest and replenish their magic and martial qi in the bitter, windy cold. They would turn into ice sculptures before they regained enough.

Medicine was expensive, and besides that, they didn’t have that much to use.

The group was exhausted and at their limit after such a long walk. The had to find a place to rest.

After some consideration, everyone agreed to head toward the mountain cave to get out of the wind and cold. Any distance lost could be made up the next day.

They could feel the faint warmth reflected from the fire as they entered the cave.

Who was inside? They could only guess.

It didn’t matter if there were others already inside the cave or not, they were all unbearably cold. It wouldn’t be an issue to squeeze a few more people into the cave.

After making up his mind, Ming Xi took the lead, followed by Feng Wu, Ailuna and the rest of the group.

They entered the cave cautiously.

There were people inside, and the people were familiar too – it was Zi Cheng and Yifu[notes] The two girls had been lucky, managing to remain together since entering the tomb.

Aside from the girls, there were two other guys in the cave as well. One had a long sword by his side, while the other had nothing. It was clear, based on the robe he had on, that the one with nothing was a magician.

Ze Ye, the one with the sword, was a direct descendent of the ruling royal family in the ancient east. The other was Caesar. Of course Caesar would be with Zi Cheng. As her leading man, how could he possibly be separated from her?

They remained together even after two messy teleportations. Along the way, their feelings had developed more and Caesar, though not at a full one hundred percent, was at a good ninety percent favorability rating toward Zi Cheng.

Zi Cheng knew the more self-possession and self-control a person had the more difficult it was to gain favorability points. She wasn’t concerned though. She was certain she would be able to get Caesar.

The four people in the cave were shocked at the appearance of the new arrivals, Zi Cheng especially. She didn’t expect to meet the people she least wanted to see so soon.

Back on Demon Wind island, she had released an ancient demon general in an effort to get the sword sealing him away. The whole thing had nearly created a catastrophe of epic proportions.[notes] And Ming Xi, who had witnessed the entire thing, would report it to the academy, which would then mete out her punishment.

Zi Cheng’s face lost some color when she saw Ming Xi. Neither Yifu nor Caesar noticed, as all their attention was focused on Ming Xi and the group of new arrivals who had just entered the cave.

“We’re sorry to inconvenience you, but it’s too windy outside. Is it alright if we rest here for the night?” LeChen asked.

“Of course.” Ze Ye nodded. Though he looked reserved and aloof, it was obvious from the way he spoke that he was not an indifferent person.

“Thank you.” LeChen sincerely thanked him on behalf of everyone.

Ze Ye nodded his head indifferently and stopped paying attention to them.

Ming Xi and his group walked to a side of the cave and started building fire. It was fortunate that everyone carried fire building items.

They were all tired and hungry, so after building the fire they all sat down and took out the parcels they purchased from Feng Wu earlier. They took big bites of their food, not caring that there were outsiders nearby.

“Senior Ming Xi! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Yifu looked at Ming Xi with surprise.

Yifu had learned to be smarter. Instead of rushing at Feng Wu and screaming wildly at the other girl, she now ignored her.

“Hm.” Ming Xi gave her a shallow smile. Anyone familiar with him would have recognized it was a habitual smile that never reached his eyes.

Yifu didn’t know this and the smile encouraged her enough to give Feng Wu a defiant look. She knew Feng Wu was interested in Ming Xi, so if she could snag Ming Xi’s heart, Feng Wu would be heartbroken.

The more Yifu thought about it, the more feasible it became. Her eyes turned soft as she gazed at Ming Xi, herself becoming a little shy.

Yifu wanted to get Ming Xi’s attention to get revenge against Feng Wu, seeing her nemesis in pain would be delicious, but the most important thing was Ming Xi was extremely attractive husband material.

She didn’t know his pedigree, but just based on his temperament, he had to, in the least, be nobility. Weren’t their identities quite compatible? This way, not only would she get one over Feng Wu, but she would also get herself a beautiful man in the process. How could Yifu not be interested?

She could already see how jealous all of Ming Xi’s admirers would be when she snagged him.