From Qing Qing, Xue Yi found out that they were currently in the Spirit Forest, that's the reason why everything was so much bigger and more bizarre than the other parts of this world. She also learnt about the Yin Spring in the cave and how it was very deadly to other creatures. Knowing that they were in what would be considered the most dangerous part of the world, excluding the demon realm made the weak and tiny Xiao Ji very distressed and nervous. On the other hand, Xue Yi was much more relaxed as she knew they had the protection of the giant snake. And if they were ever to encounter something Qing Qing couldn't defeat then they could just run away as fast as they could. As long as they were able to find food and water, they would be fine and could just wait until the story in this world was over to leave.
"Ah Qing, how powerful are you? Like what is your cultivation right now?"
"We spirit beasts don't use the same system to calculate our progress of cultivation the same way cultivators do. We just cultivate until we ascend into a God Beast. But Qing Qing is very powerful and Qing Qing would be useful to Xue Yi jie jie."
Qing Qing proudly raised his head to show his might, compared to that weak little chicken, he was obviously more superior. He felt that it wouldn't be long until Xue Yi left Xiao Ji behind and lived happily ever after with him.
For the next two days, Xue Yi and Xiao Ji stayed at the cave while Qing Qing went out to find food and supplies. Xue Yi didn't really have a plan on what to do yet, however, she felt her curiosity growing every time she saw the bundle of glowing vines. After a while, Xue Yi couldn't help herself anymore and decided to find out what was inside. However, when she tried to find help from Qing Qing, she was instead stopped and warned by him not to approach the glowing pool of liquid and bundle of vines at all.
"Xue Yi jie jie don't get close to the Yin Spring and definitely don't approach the weird glowing ball of vines. Qing Qing thinks that the Yang energy that was absorbed by the Yin Spring was used to feed the glowing thing. Qing Qing thinks it's too dangerous for Xue Yi jie jie."
After knowing Xue Yi's dangerous curiosity towards the bundle of vines, Qing Qing paid even more attention to Xue Yi's actions, preventing her from doing anything risky. However, since it was Xue Yi, of course she wasn't going to give up.
One afternoon, Xue Yi told Qing Qing that she wanted some more food to save up for a journey in leaving the forest. This wasn't exactly a lie as she planned on finding a village or any people nearby and from what she knew about the Spirit Forest, they would have to leave the deadly forest. But her main objective at the moment was to investigate the bundle of vines.
"Qing Qing, can you find more food? I plan on leaving this forest to find other people or maybe a village. I'm worried that there wouldn't be enough food and supplies."
Of course, being the dense and puppy-like snake that he was, Qing Qing obediently went out to complete Xue Yi's request. There wasn't a single part of him that had doubted her intentions.
After making sure Qing Qing had left the cave, Xue Yi immediately got ready for her investigation. Xiao Ji had a bad feeling when it saw her busying around the cave. It wanted to stop her but decided against it as it had learned from the past few days that nothing can stop Xue Yi from satisfying her curiosity. Instead Xiao Ji pretended not to see anything.
The vines grew from the cracks along the edges of the Yin Spring up to the bundle of glowing vines right above the middle of the spring. So if Xue Yi wasn't careful when climbing, she would fall straight into the Yin Spring and have her Yang energy absorbed. But that risk didn't discourage her, instead it fuelled her curiosity even more, wanting to find out what would be needing so much Yang energy to feed itself.
Thankfully, the vines were very thick with large sharp thorns on the sides. Even though the thorns looked menacing, if approached carefully, they could be used as leverages to climb along the vines. As Xue Yi was still wearing the white dress from before, she tied the end around her legs to ensure that it wouldn't get in the way and warped some cloth around her bare feet. Since Qing Qing never brought extra clothes back, she was still in the same outfit from being transported to this world. She put on the only pairs of gloves she found from the supplies brought back to protect her hands from the thorns. Even though the pair gloves were a bit worn out, it would be enough for her to achieve her goal.
Xue Yi got started and carefully climbed the vines towards the glowing bundle. Even since she had arrived in this world, she noticed her physical abilities had improved significantly more than the body she had before she died. Keep in mind that she never had to do anything physically demanding as technology was advanced and more convenient. Nevermind climbing to dangerous places without safety gear, she didn't even need to leave the comfort of her home at all. However, after arriving in this world, she felt much lighter and refreshed. Xue Yi theorised that even though the outer appearance was the same, the body was not the same one she had when she was alive. Maybe the reason for the increase in physical abilities was due to the body being formed by soul energy and shaped according to the nature of this world. Since this world was more dangerous, the body she had now would naturally improve to ensure her survival.
Climbing the vines was a gamble for Xue Yi as she was betting on her improved physical abilities to help her satisfy her curiosity. Luckily, the only difficulty she encountered was the alluring smell from the Yin Spring when she got close. Xue Yi covered her nose and breathed through her mouth to prevent her from being lured into the spring and swiftly climbed on top of the bundle of glowing vines.
She pulled out a pocket knife prepared beforehand and immediately started hacking at the thick vines. Thanks to her newfound physical abilities, it only took her around two hours to make a hole large enough for her to see what's inside. Xue Yi unconsciously let out a gasp at the stunning sight inside, she was so shocked and surprised she had to slap her arm to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
Inside the glowing vines were golden wings wrapped tightly around a small figure. Xue Yi couldn't see what was warped inside the wings but the sight of the beautiful wings were enough to render her speechless. There were three pairs of golden wings, all equally stunning. Delicate and soft snowy feathers with golden edges, as though each individual feathers were lined with actual gold that shone a godly aura.
Xue Yi couldn't take her eyes away and slowly reached out to touch the pairs of wings unconsciously. True to its appearance, the wings felt fluffy and comfortable to touch, she couldn't help but gently stroke the beautiful pairs of wings. However, this action caused whatever was warped inside to awaken. Xue Yi quickly came to her senses and retracted her hands only to be grabbed and pulled into the bundle of vines.
Surprised, she fell through the hole she had made and into the bundle of vines. The space inside the bundle of vines was bigger than expected, however, she didn't have time to inspect anything before she was face to face with a pair of red eyes that seemed as if they were dripping with blood. They were hypnotizing and enchanting, Xue Yi knew something was wrong but she couldn't pull herself away.
Xue Yi felt the staring contest had lasted for an eternity before the red pair of eyes moved away first and gazed down at her hands that were still being grasped by a small pair of hands that belonged to a child. Looking closely, the pair of red eyes and wings belonged to a young boy who had pure white hair that went down to his waist and smooth fair skin that had no scars or blemishes. The young boy looked flawless and perfect. Adding the beautiful pairs of wings, it was as if an otherworldly angel had descended to earth.
"Are you an angel?"
Before she could stop herself, Xue Yi had unconsciously asked the ridiculous question to the young boy. Confused, the young boy didn't understand what this weird woman in front of her was saying. What's an angel? Where was he? And what happened? The innocent and dazed expression on the young boy was enough for Xue Yi to come to her senses.
"Do you want to get out of this hole first?"
The angel-like young boy agreed and flew out of the bundle of vines, while Xue Yi hoisted herself up before carefully climbing down. Seeing the weird lady being too slow, the young boy grabbed her by the arm without warning and flew towards the back of the cave. Xue Yi was startled by the young boy's actions and in turn tightly hung on to the boy's hand. She felt that getting along with this angel-like boy was not going to be easy in the upcoming days.
"Don't do that again! Do you want to scare me to death?"
Xue Yi lightly scolded the young boy when they landed. When they were back on the ground again, Xue Yi founded out that the young boy only went up to her chest. He also looked around ten years of age and hasn't had his growth spurt yet. Xue Yi frowned when she saw the young boy not responding to her but before she could say anything, the distressed shout of a certain tiny machine interrupted her and Xiao Ji came running towards them.
"Xue Yi! What did you do?!"
"Ah! Xiao Ji Rou, I found this kid inside the weird glowing vines."
"Don't say that so casually! What if he's dangerous? What if he's actually a monster that eats us? This is the Spirit Forest, it's basically the most dangerous place in this world. And you just casually went to unleash some unknown creature!"
��Relax, Qing Qing can save us if we are in trouble."
"But that snake is not here right now! What are we going to do if he plans on killing us?"
Xiao Ji and Xue Yi didn't notice the young boy's curious stare towards the tiny machine as they were busy arguing, until the young boy reached out and lightly picked up the palm-sized figure, inspecting it as though Xiao Ji was a toy. He had never seen such a creature and felt interested in what kind of spirit beast Xiao Ji was. Being picked up suddenly by the suspicious person, Xiao Ji tried to struggle to free itself but due to the strong grip, it could not helplessly shouted at the horrible person to let it go.
"Let me go! Let me go! I'm not a toy!"
Seeing the cute machine in danger, Xue Yi tried reasoning with the young boy to let the poor machine go. Thankfully, the young boy cooperatively let go of Xiao Ji and it immediately ran to hide behind Xue Yi just in case the boy wanted to grab him again. This world was too dangerous for a helpless weak machine…..wu wu wu.
When Xue Yi planned on asking the boy some more questions, a loud threatening hiss resounded from the mouth of the cave. They turned to see an angry serpent glaring menacingly at the young boy as though he was about to launch forward to brutally kill the small child. Qing Qing had come back.
It was at this moment that Xue Yi knew she f*cked up. She had completely forgotten about the large serpent and focused on the mysterious young boy. No doubt, Qing Qing must be livid at the moment to see some stranger in its own cave. However, there was nothing Xue Yi could do now except deal with the consequences.
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Small theatre:
Xue Yi: Go find more supplies
Qing Qing: Ok!
*Comes back to see the young boy*
Qing Qing: Xue Yi jie jie! Who is this?! (ﾒﾟ皿ﾟ)
Xue Yi: Why do I feel like a husband being caught with a mistress
Young Boy: …
Xiao Ji: …