Chapter 180: Illusion and Reality

What's going on?

One call after another, from somewhere unknown, made Mu Yuanzhi gradually calm down.

She then looked at Gu Rongjin on the ground, only realizing belatedly that although he was bleeding profusely, she couldn't smell a trace of blood.

Yes, she couldn't smell even a hint of blood.

Moreover, whether she took his pulse or checked his breath, she could find nothing at all.

It was too strange; the only possibility she could infer was—an illusion!

She had fallen into an illusion!

This illusion was so real that she couldn't tell false from real for a moment.

Rongjin might not be able to hear her shouting.

Then how could she break the illusion?

Mu Yuanzhi tried pinching herself hard; it hurt so much tears fell, but it did nothing.

She was still trapped in this seemingly illusory world.

Was it just her trapped in the illusion, or everyone?

If the National Teacher were here, he'd surely have a way, right?

Now she could only think of a solution herself.

Mu Yuanzhi struggled to ignore Gu Rongjin lying on the ground, recalling the various medical texts she had seen before; something flashed in her mind, and she suddenly thought of a method!

Although she didn't know how powerful this illusion was, she could only give it a try!

Having made up her mind, Mu Yuanzhi raised her hand and bit down hard until she drew blood.

At that moment, her head swam, the world spun, and then she knew nothing.

"Rongjin!" Mu Yuanzhi sat up suddenly, panting as she looked at the worried Gu Rongjin before her; her eyes went from blank to delighted, and she felt the relief and excitement of having survived a disaster.

"Great, little... Yuanzhi?"

Suddenly embraced by his beloved, Gu Rongjin was flattered, overjoyed, and returned the hug to Mu Yuanzhi, but he quickly noticed she was trembling in his arms, uneasy.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Gu Rongjin patted her back and gently stroked, "It's okay, Brother Rongjin is here, don't be scared, it's okay."

Leaning against his chest, she clearly heard his heartbeat, his breath enveloping her—so clear, so real.

Mu Yuanzhi's heart calmed considerably, yet she still felt lingering fear.

She clung tightly to Gu Rongjin, afraid he might suddenly vanish.

"I thought you were dead..."

Mu Yuanzhi's tearful voice reached Gu Rongjin's ears; he felt heartbroken and hurriedly coaxed, "I'm still here—how could I possibly die with how strong I am? My little wife is still here; how could I bear to die?"

"You're unharmed, that's truly wonderful, Brother Rongjin..." Mu Yuanzhi just buried her face and cried, soaking Gu Rongjin's clothes with tears.

Gu Rongjin comforted her, repeatedly telling her he was fine; after a long while, the person in his arms barely stopped crying, "Brother Rongjin, I like you! I love you!"

She feared that if she didn't say it now she'd lose the chance—love should be spoken in time, without regret.

Mu Yuanzhi lifted her gaze, tearful eyes looking at him, the deep affection in them overflowing.

Gu Rongjin's whole body seemed to have been struck dumb, frozen.

She said she likes me? Loves me?!

Gu Rongjin doubted he had heard wrong.

He actually heard his little Yuanzhi say she loves him?

She looked at him with such deep feeling!

Happiness came too suddenly; he was completely stunned, at a loss.

Mu Yuanzhi saw his dazed look, frightened she worried he might be hurt somewhere, and hurriedly checked: "Brother Rongjin, what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere and feeling unwell?"

"I'm not hurt, don't worry." Having come to his senses, Gu Rongjin quickly grasped Mu Yuanzhi's hand, holding it in his palm, gazing lovingly at his most beloved, and reached out to wipe away her tears.

Hearing he wasn't hurt, Mu Yuanzhi's heart finally settled back into place.

Thank goodness, he's still here, he's not hurt!

How good, heaven didn't take away her most important person!

"Brother Rongjin, I dreamed you died… you abandoned me and died…" Just recalling that scene made Mu Yuanzhi's heart ache.

It felt so real!

"It's just an illusion, don't be sad—I won't abandon you." Gu Rongjin cradled her face, heartbroken, "I swear."

Mu Yuanzhi nodded, choking up.

Gu Rongjin leaned in and kissed her cheek, very cherishing and careful.

Only then did Mu Yuanzhi think of the others; she looked left and right, saw no one else, and asked, "Where are Qilin and the others?"

Gu Rongjin shook his head, his expression turning grave: "I don't know; when I woke up, they were gone—only you were here, still unconscious, which scared me half to death."

He was so anxious he was at a loss.

"Could it be that we're actually still in an illusion?" Mu Yuanzhi suddenly wondered.

"I don't know either; if that's the case, wouldn't you be trapped in a double illusion?"

"An illusion within an illusion—whoever set this up must be incredibly powerful."

"Have you looked? Did they leave any clues?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

"I've only been looking after you—I had no time to search for clues; let's look now." Gu Rongjin said.

Mu Yuanzhi nodded.

"If this isn't an illusion, they'd definitely have left clues." The monk and the National Teacher should be that careful sort of people.

"What is this...?" Gu Rongjin picked up some earth of a different color from the surrounding soil, held it to his nose and sniffed: "This smells like... I've smelled it on Qilin before."

Hearing that, Mu Yuanzhi leaned in; a single sniff told her: "It's the scent of Hundred Spirit Grass!"

Is this a mark left by the Qilin?

"There's more ahead!" Gu Rongjin looked into the distance, and about ten meters away there was another one.

They continued along this path, and every few steps they could see these differently colored soils; however, after walking about a hundred li, these differently colored soils never appeared again.

"It's broken!" Mu Yuanzhi unwillingly continued to search the soil with her gaze.

"It might also have been covered up and washed away by something; it seems to have rained here." Gu Rongjin could smell the especially clear scent of rain in the air.

"This forest is too strange; we've been here for a day and a night, yet we haven't seen a single living creature." Mu Yuanzhi said.

Aside from the strange bird she saw in the illusion, she hadn't seen any other animals.

Not even having fierce beasts would be bad enough, but not even hearing ordinary bird calls—it's really too strange.

The giant-veined dragonfly that the Qilin caught was also encountered when they first approached the forest.

"Could we have already entered the illusion long ago?" Mu Yuanzhi asked Gu Rongjin.

Gu Rongjin looked at Mu Yuanzhi, "It's quite possible."

Is it man-made or a natural barrier of this forest?