Chapter 65: Mistaken Turns

( ) Chapter 76: Mistaken Turns

Yue Ji searched in the forest for a while, but could not find Li Bucai and the others, so she went to the Heavenly Altar to first check on a few sisters.

On the Heavenly Altar, six maidens lay like flower petals, each head turned toward a different direction, lying flat on the Prayer Altar, all looking gaunt, panting heavily, yet still conscious. They were exactly the six maidens Li Bucai had seen earlier; knowing they were poisoned with a great toxin and fearing they would endanger other clan members, under the elder's instruction they, while still able, came here on their own.

"Shan Ji, Jing Ji, Yin Ji, how are you?" Yue Ji leapt onto the Prayer Altar, calling out their names.

"Yue Ji? You…" The six, seeing her appear suddenly, struggled to sit up, and in a weak voice said, "Weren't you taken away by the heavens? How…"

When the six arrived here, they should have seen Yue Ji, but there was no one, so they thought she had been taken by the heavens.

"I was rescued by a few people from a foreign tribe; I'm probably fine now. How are you all?" Yue Ji said anxiously.

"Foreign tribe? Your poison cleared?" Seeing her expression almost normal, the two nearest to her involuntarily stepped back, fearing the toxin might spread to them; after stepping back a short distance, they felt completely weak and collapsed, unable to move.

It seemed already serious, so Yue Ji hurried to support the two, preventing them from moving, and said, "Stay here and wait for me. I'll go find them and bring them back; they're good people and will surely cure your poison. Promise me, no matter what, you must hold on until I return."

The six weakly nodded.

Yue Ji dared not linger; she immediately leapt down from the platform, descended Evil Cloud Mountain, and stood at the lake shore, bewildered and at a loss, not knowing which direction the others had gone. She hadn't seen them on the way in, assuming they headed toward the valley mouth. It was still early morning, and she guessed she could catch up soon, so she sprinted toward the valley mouth, glancing to both sides, until she circled the lake; ahead she could already see the forest at the valley mouth from afar, yet still saw no sign of them, and she stopped.

By now it was past noon; she had encountered no threats along the way. They could not be using lightness skill, so they must have been walking leisurely. At her pace, if they intended to exit the valley, she should have caught up already, so it seemed they had taken the wrong direction. She turned around and headed back.

Little did she know, her back-and-forth had already left her more than a day's journey behind Li Bucai and the others.

After Yue Ji left, Li Bucai and his group instructed Rui Tong to deliver food along the path Yue Ji had taken. When she returned, the sky was already bright; after breakfast, they dismantled the tents and continued deeper into Shadow Valley, searching for two kinds of timber.

The group searched the woods on both sides while moving forward; naturally their speed could not match Yue Ji's on foot. That day they covered only a dozen or so li before night fell, and they set up camp in the forest to rest. The next day, after another dozen li and setting camp again, night fell just as Yue Ji turned back; because it was dark, they missed each other. By the third day's noon, when Yue Ji had walked half a day toward the valley mouth, Li Bucai's party had already reached a point only half a day's journey from the Undead Tribe's settlement. To catch up now, even at full speed, would require another day and night.

……

At dusk, Li Bucai came down from North Mountain, leaving Luo Ye and others to set up a tent in a hidden spot in the woods; he stood on a high ground and waved to the people in South Mountain, calling Rui Tong and the other three back.

Rui Tong was the first to return and report: "Master, there is a small valley over there; the trees are oddly shaped, it might contain the two kinds of timber."

From this spot he could see the valley mouth; Li Bucai nodded and said, "It's already late today, let's rest for the night and go explore the valley properly tomorrow. Come, let's go up the mountain first and see what's actually in that valley."

The two climbed to the north mountain summit and gazed at the small valley, but the valley slanted southeast, allowing only a glimpse of a small part of the mouth; the interior was blocked by the mountain ridge, so they decided to wait until early tomorrow to venture deeper.

……

At night, inside Li Bucai's tent, Li Bucai was chatting with the others outside; Xiaoxiao had already returned to the tent to make his bed. Wan'er followed in afterward.

"Sister Wan'er?" Xiaoxiao greeted her, saying, "Why aren't you outside keeping the master company?"

"It's time to rest," Wan'er replied, sitting on the bed beside Xiaoxiao, resting her chin on her knees, thoughtfully saying, "These past few days, you've been the only one caring for the master; it must be very hard."

"No, the master doesn't need me for anything; I only have to help make the bed each day, which is a drop in the bucket compared to what I did at home." As a personal maid who had handled many household chores since childhood, it was very tiring.

Wan'er suddenly laughed, "Then, tonight I'll serve the master for you; you go sleep on my bed. I… I have some matters I want to discuss with the master."

"Oh, I see, then fine." Xiaoxiao never asks many questions.

Wan'er happily grasped Xiaoxiao's shoulders, saying, "I always knew Xiaoxiao is the best; I've noted this favor and will definitely repay you later."

Xiaoxiao looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she pushed him out the door.

"My bed is already made; you go first. I'll take care of this side."

She escorted Xiaoxiao out the door; until she entered another tent, Wan'er quietly rejoiced, returned to the bed, carefully tidied the bedding. Since that day, she hadn't found another chance to be alone with the master, which made her feel quite pleased. Seeing that Li Bucai still hadn't returned, she simply took off her outer clothes, slipped into the quilt, and covered her head.

Outside, voices gradually thinned as people dispersed one by one, and Li Bucai also returned to the tent.

Upon entering the tent, he glanced at Xiaoxiao's bed and thought to himself, "Where's Xiaoxiao? Didn't she just say she'd come back to make the bed?" Then his eyes fell on his own bed, the quilt puffed up: "Um… she… maybe wants… also?"

So he stripped off his clothes, turned off the lamp and fan, and slipped into the quilt, not knowing who that person actually was, and began to examine her body meticulously, causing her to whimper continuously, stretching her body fully, allowing him to manipulate her without resistance, even constantly accommodating, quickly bringing the long‑desired pleasure to its peak, wave after wave, one wave overtaking another…

After a long while, when the climax subsided, Li Bucai gently ran his fingers through her silky hair, ushered her into a dreamlike sleep, then embraced her peach‑like body and lay down.

Just as he was about to lie down, faint sounds of fighting drifted from afar; the noise was low yet noisy, indicating the battle was far away and involved many combatants.

He hurriedly got out of bed, hastily pulled his clothes on, and left the tent; at that moment Rui Tong also heard the sound and stepped out, and both turned their gaze southward, where the noise came from the valley.

Rui Tong said, "There are fighting sounds there; could it be the Undead Tribe's settlement?"

"Perhaps. Call Xianghong and go take a look."

As they spoke, Xianghong already emerged, ordering the remaining awake people to keep watch here, leading Rui Tong and Xianghong swiftly through the valley to the foot of South Mountain. They did not enter the valley directly, but moved from the valley edge up the mountain, looking down from the height; many flames appeared in the forest—over two hundred Goblins brandishing torches—advancing through the tangled trees at the valley mouth, preparing to attack the Undead Tribe's settlement, but were blocked by more than three hundred Undead guards.