Chapter 145: A fruit!

Jin Wei glanced over at Zhang Yuan and with a smile on her face, she walked towards him.

Behind her, Chen Zin let out an exasperated sigh but followed closely, her eyes flicking back and forth between the people gathered.

Ming Yuelin who noticed them raised her gaze as a frown appeared on her face "Master..."

"Um, Senior Taoist..."

Hm? Zhang Yuan passed the beast core to Xue Hua's hand and she stored it in her storage ring.

With a slight bow, Jin Wei spoke in a respectable tone "Thank you for helping me earlier, Senior Taoist."

Zhang Yuan smiled faintly and gave the sword back to her "Not really, you are the one who saved everyone."

Jin Wei accepted the sword, her fingers brushing the hilt as if it brought her some comfort.

After a moment of silence, she looked up with a bit of hesitation, "Senior Taoist... have you also comprehended the Dao of the sword?"

Zhang Yuan gave a simple nod. "Yes."

A soft smile appeared on Jin Wei's face as she admired anyone who uses sword intent and uttered "It is really rare to come across someone who uses sword intent. I am glad I met you..."

As they were speaking, Ming Yuelin glared at Chen Zin and she shot back with the same glare.

Chen Zin's lips moved without sound, her eyes sharp as daggers. 'If your master hadn't shown up... I would have torn you apart, you little cunt.'

Seeing her lip movements, Ming Yuelin understood her words and smirked 'If my Master didn't come... that woman would have been dead by the beast.'

'You should be grateful, you useless bitch...'

Chen Zin gritted her teeth in frustration 'You damn.. see what I am doing to you later...'

Keeping her smirk, Ming Yuelin raised an eyebrow 'What can you do whore?'

Chen Zin shot back 'I am not a coward like you... hiding behind your Master's back.'

'HUH? Who is hiding behind Master's back...'

Hearing this, a grin appeared on Chen Zin's lips 'Then you dare to challenge me on a one on one?'

A cold glint passed through Ming Yuelin's eyes 'Of course bitch... Just wait.'

'Tch... bitch.'

'Watch your mouth. You'll regret it later.'

Chen Zin shot back, 'Try me. I'll be waiting, whore.'

Xue Hua could see the tension between Ming Yuelin and Chen Zin as she sighed in her heart 'I hope things will get better...'

Zhang Yuan glanced at her clothes which had been stained by her blood and spoke "You should treat your internal injuries... and change your clothes."

Jin Wei looked down at her blood stained clothes and gave a nod "Yeah... I need to rest, and I'm also starving," she added with a small laugh.

"Um, Senior Taoist.. if you don't wind after cleaning ourselves, can we have lunch together?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan gave a nod and glanced at Ming Yuelin "I am okay with that, Lin'er, Hua... what about you?"

...

As the afternoon light began to dim, Ming Yuelin and Xue Hua walked through the dense forest cautiously.

The soft rustle of leaves under their feet was the only sound in the quiet surroundings.

The forest, usually alive with the sounds of beasts and creatures, was eerily silent.

"Haah, there are no beasts.. haha.. so silent."

The air grew cooler the further they went, and the trees themselves seemed to change, gnarled, ancient trunks twisted in strange patterns, their bark etched with claw marks.

The path grew narrower as they walked, the trees pressing closer together.

Sunlight filtered through the dense roof above, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the forest floor.

The deeper they went, the more the atmosphere seemed to change and the air grew heavier, almost suffocating, and an odd scent lingered, sweet, yet unfamiliar.

Ming Yuelin glanced around at the place and muttered "Junior Sister, is this the place?"

Xue Hua nodded her head "Yeah... that day, while running away from the guards in the city and trying to hide in the forest, I found this place."

"However, after seeing the beast I immediately retreated and... then master found me."

Ming Yuelin still remembered the night when she was having a usual walk with her Master and a sudden corpse fell from the tree 'That was a scary experience.'

After what felt like some minutes, they finally spotted the mouth of a cave, half-hidden by vines and foliage.

The entrance was so dark, with only the faintest hint of light coming from deep within.

Ming Yuelin smiled dryly 'She is bold to enter a dark cave like this at night... for shelter.'

Without a word, Ming Yuelin and Xue Hua exchanged a glance as they silently stepped inside.

The cave was vast and the sound of their footsteps reverberated through the hollowed stone.

*woosh* The air was cool, and a faint breeze seemed to flow through the tunnel, guiding them forward.

As they ventured further, the natural light from the entrance began to fade, replaced by a strange, soft glow emanating from the deeper part of the cave.

"There's light ahead," Xue Hua said quietly, her voice almost swallowed by the cave's vastness.

They continued on, navigating the twists and turns of the tunnel.

The deeper they went, the more the air seemed to change, growing fresher, almost fragrant, as if the cave itself was alive.

Finally, after some minutes of walking, they emerged into an open area at the very heart of the cave.

At the far end of the cavern, sunlight streamed in through a wide opening in the ceiling, illuminating a single, magnificent tree.

And what truly caught their attention was the fruit hanging from one of the branches.

It was a single, large, reddish orange fruit with some strange featherlike patterns on it "is that it?"

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I hope you guys liked this chapter!