"I see… Sorry to bother you…" Wang Xiuying sighed after being told off by Elder Shan, and she turned around with a dejected look on her face.
However, a stiff voice suddenly resounded, halting her steps.
"Wait."
"Huh?" Wang Xiuying turned around, and to her surprise, Yuan was looking at her, even walking in her direction.
"D-Disciple Yuan?" Elder Shan looked at him with wide eyes. He ignored all of the male cultivators when they tried to approach him, but when it came to a pretty young lady approaching him, he didn't mind it, even responding to her?
A few moments later, Yuan stood in front of the speechless Wang Xiuying.
He then extended his hand, almost like he was asking for a handshake.
Wang Xiuying stared at Yuan's hands in a dazed manner, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"You wanted a handshake, right?" Yuan asked her in a low voice so she won't easily recognize him, snapping her out of her daze.
"Y-Yes! Sorry for the delay!" Wang Xiuying nodded her head before she quickly reached for Yuan's hands, giving him a firm handshake.
'What a pair of beautiful and clear eyes— it reminds me of someone…' Wang Xiuying thought to herself when she looked at Yuan's bright eyes through the holes in the mask, feeling nostalgic for some reason, almost like she'd seen them before.
"Umm…"
Despite shaking hands for longer than one normally would, Wang Xiuying didn't remove her hands from Yuan, almost like she'd forgotten about it after seeing his eyes.
"Oh! Sorry!" Wang Xiuying hastily released her grasp once she realized the situation.
"Anyways, I am Healer Wang, and I'm from the Medicine Valley. It's an honor to finally meet you, Player Yuan! Thank you for shaking my hands, and good luck in the Mystic Realm!" Wang Xiuying gave Yuan her nickname, completely unaware that Yuan already knew her real identity.
'Healer Wang…?' Yuan raised his eyebrows at her name but he didn't say anything, merely nodding in silence.
Once Wang Xiuying left, Yuan returned to the others.
"Yuan, that girl was Doctor Wang's…" Meixiu also recognized Wang Xiuying since she visits Doctor Wang's hospital often with Yu Rou.
"Yes, it was Wang Xiuying," Yuan confirmed. "Just like you, she looked almost like she did when she was young, so I immediately knew it was her."
"So you knew her?" Elder Shan said.
Yuan nodded, "Yes, she's a good friend of mine."
Elder Shan became even more confused after hearing such words since it looked the complete opposite just now, almost like it was their first meeting, especially since Wang Xiuying didn't appear to know him.
Sometime later, they returned to their lodging.
Inside, Yuan spoke, "Since I cannot bring treasures inside, I won't be able to hide my face… Are there any methods to get around this?"
Long Yijun then said, "That's simple— you can just wear an ordinary mask inside."
"I see…"
"I can go buy one right now." Elder Xuan said.
"Thank you for your trouble," Yuan said to him.
Elder Xuan left the place shortly after to buy some masks for Yuan.
Long Yijun said afterward, "Here are the tokens for the Mystic Realm. Don't lose them or you won't be able to enter the Mystic Realm."
He then handed a blue token to each of the participants.
"As for your treasures, you can hand them to me now or before you enter the Mystic Realm tomorrow. I'll hold onto them for you." Long Yijun then said.
Gao Dongya and Xue Jiye handed their spatial rings and storage pouches to Long Yijun a moment later.
"What about you, Disciple Yuan? I can hold onto them for you, or you can let your Dao Companion hold it for you." Long Yijun asked him afterward.
'Xiao Hua will hold onto your treasures for you tomorrow, Brother Yuan.' Xiao Hua suddenly said to him.
"It's okay, Sect Master. I have someone else who will keep my treasures safe." Yuan said to him.
"If you say so…" Long Yijun nodded with a puzzled look on his face.
Someone else will hold onto his treasures? Who else besides Meixiu will do that?
Sometime later, Long Yijun dismissed them until tomorrow.
Yuan and Meixiu logged off the game to rest for the big event tomorrow.
While dinner was cooking, Meixiu checked the auction, but the price only increased by a few hundred thousand since the last time she checked.
'The auction has slowed down to almost a halt, but it'll pick back up on the final day,' she thought to herself.
After feeding Yuan dinner, Meixiu went to sleep. Yuan also went to sleep since he wanted to rest properly before the big day tomorrow.
Early in the morning tomorrow, way before sunrise, Meixiu woke up and prepared breakfast. After feeding Yuan, they both entered the game.
"Are you all ready?" Long Yijun looked at them.
"Yes, Sect Master!" They all nodded.
"Disciple Yuan, here." Elder Xuan handed Yuan a black mask, but it was made of ordinary material.
"Thank you, Senior Xuan!" Yuan quickly switched from his Black Jade Mask to this black mask made of some kind of marble, giving it a glossy appearance.
Sometime later, the Dragon Essence Temple made their way to the gathering area and stood in a formation like they did yesterday, and they proceeded to wait for Senior Nie to return.
Right before sunrise, Senior Nie returned to the scene and hovered above everyone there.
"Greetings, Senior Nie!"
All of the Sect Masters there bowed to him.
"I will give all of you thirty minutes to prepare before we officially begin the Mystic Realm. If you're prepared, you may stand over there." Senior Nie pointed to the empty area in front of the Mystic Realm.
Soon, participants began gathering at that spot.
"Are you ready, Disciple Yuan?" Long Yijun asked him after asking Xue Jiye and Gao Dongya.
"Give me a second," Yuan said.
Then he said, "Xiao Hua, Feng Feng, you can come outside now."
"Xiao Hua? Feng Feng?" Everyone there raised their eyebrows at these unfamiliar names.
Suddenly, the necklace on Yuan began to glow, and a small ball of flame came out of his chest.
A second later, a cute little girl and a beautiful lady appeared before Yuan like ghosts.
The moment Xiao Hua's presence appeared and Senior Nie sensed it, his eyes widened with immense shock.
"Spirit King?! Impossible!"
Without any hesitation, he immediately flew towards the Dragon Essence Temple.