Ruoning felt something was off about the Azure Forest.
First strange occurrence: after entering the secret realm, she encountered a herd of red-eyed, maddened wild oxen. These beasts seemed agitated by something, charging through the forest in groups. Fortunately, Ruoning flew up in time – any cultivator of lower cultivation would likely have been trampled into paste right at the start.
But besides the inexplicable ox herd, another thing that disturbed Ruoning was—
“Where exactly is this device pointing?”
After the herd passed, Ruoning descended from the sky.
She lowered her head, hesitantly following the direction of the device’s pointer, but felt very lost as she faced the dark, lightless path ahead—
“How strange.”
“I entered the secret realm in the same batch as Yino, so we shouldn’t be more than three kilometers apart.”
“And this tracking device… I made it from hair I collected from Yino’s bed at the Grand Tutor’s Mansion…”
“But…”
“Why haven’t I seen even a trace of Yino’s aura after following the pointer for so long? I haven’t even spotted any righteous cultivators!” Ruoning found it very bizarre. She stopped to think carefully.
Though Ruoning had little sense of direction in the forest, she understood enough basics – even if Yino could fly, she should have found some clues within three kilometers. Now, as the spiritual energy grew denser, Ruoning could clearly feel she was heading toward the Azure Forest’s depths rather than toward Yino’s location.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, Ruoning remembered a certain woman from the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, her eyes widening.
“Could it be…”
“The hair I collected from Yino’s bed… might not necessarily be Yino’s?”
Realizing this, Ruoning sharply sucked in a breath.
She hurriedly opened the device’s cover and carefully picked up the fine strand of hair.
Ruoning held it up toward the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy. The dark, delicate strand subtly reflected a faint golden hue in the sunlight.
Instantly, Ruoning angrily threw both the hair and device to the ground.
“Xinyao—!!!”
“Why was YOUR hair on Yino’s bed?!”
The forest fell into a long silence.
Ruoning pressed her hand to her forehead, leaning against a tree, gradually feeling exhausted.
“Sigh… Just my rotten luck!”
“Not only am I being picked on by those Wuji Sect women, even that old fox Xinyao is bullying me! And now I’ve lost Yino’s trail!”
“Damn it…”
“What did I do wrong? How did things end up like this?!”
The more Ruoning thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She crouched down, her dejected face showing helplessness at her predicament.
Now without the tracking device, finding Yino in the million-hectare Azure Forest would be like finding a needle in a haystack!
The only option seemed to be waiting at the secret realm’s exit.
But once Yino left the realm, Yuyan would surely take him back to Wuji Sect. What could Ruoning do even if she saw Yino then?
“Even that heartless Yino is bullying me…”
“If this was when we were young, he definitely wouldn’t be angry at me. He would have come looking for me in the mountains first… Brother Yino wouldn’t have left me alone in this wilderness…”
“But now, he has other woman… he doesn’t care about me anymore…”
Gradually, the girl muttered to herself, her heart growing sour. She bit her lip, crouching by the tree with her face buried in her knees.
But just when she was at her most helpless, a white-bandaged, fair and delicate jade hand silently emerged from behind, soundlessly gripping her shoulder—
“How pitiful, abandoned in the forest by your fiancé?”
The voice was elegant and gentle, like a mother comforting a child.
But her words were like daggers, stabbing straight into Ruoning’s heart.
“Uuu…”
Ruoning’s heart ached, and she buried her head deeper, her quiet sobs becoming more apparent.
Beside her, the blue-white haired, bandage-wrapped gentle beauty smiled faintly:
“Poor thing. Why don’t I take you to find Yino?”
“You? Wait, you’re—!”
Ruoning suddenly realized something was wrong and turned back in shock.
But before she could clearly see the sickly beautiful face under the hood, that bandaged fair hand suddenly clamped down hard on her throat—
Your journey continues at empire
“Mmph—!!!”
“Stay still. My vines have thorns.”
“If you’re not careful and your face gets ruined, you’ll truly only have breeding value for your fiancé’s bloodline.”
….
“Achoo—!”
At the border of the Azure Forest, Yino suddenly sneezed.
Since entering the secret realm, he had been too busy fooling around with Yunjin and Jinyue in one spot, and still hadn’t delved deeper into the Azure Forest to investigate.
Just now, after Jinyue stole a kiss, she began showing off proudly. Seeing this, Yunjin became anxiously distressed, looking at Yino with tearful puppy eyes.
Having no choice and not wanting to show favoritism, Yino took advantage when Yunjin wasn’t paying attention to reluctantly claim her first kiss.
He had to admit, the soft sweetness was truly pleasant.
Compared to Jinyue’s obvious seductive passion, Yunjin’s taste was more fresh and sweet. Yino felt it was like the faint milk fragrance he smelled that night while sleeping, though it could just be the difference in lipstick flavors.
After the kiss, Yunjin’s face turned bright red, her previously pitiful expression becoming sunny and bright again.
The little ahoge girl was too excited about her own joy to bother competing with Jinyue anymore.
Meanwhile, Jinyue seemed to have calmed down from her earlier impulse.
She stared at Yino’s face for a long while, but whenever Yino turned to look at her, Jinyue would immediately turn away, pretending nothing had happened.
Compared to Yunjin’s small happiness, Yino still couldn’t understand Jinyue’s state of mind.
“Regret it already?”
Yino suddenly asked.
The fox demon girl’s body trembled, but she still puffed up her cheeks and coldly snorted, pretending not to care: “What’s there to regret? Just consider it repayment for you saving me at the Mountain Temple that day.”
“Is that so? Then give me another kiss – I couldn’t quite taste it properly last time.”
Yino narrowed his eyes, speaking playfully.
With those words, Jinyue’s delicate face instantly flushed red, her seductive eyes reflecting embarrassment—
“Hmph, dream on! This young lady only owed you one favor, and now that I’ve kissed you, we’re even!”
“Oh? Is your kiss really worth that much? One kiss equals a life saved?”
Yino asked teasingly.
But the more directly he spoke, the more unbearably embarrassed Jinyue became—
“Th… That was my first kiss!”