“The 1,246th sheep, the 1,247th sheep, the 1,248th sheep…”
A flat, emotionless voice echoed through the space, like a chant—no, even more tormenting than chanting.
“Enough! Human boy! First you carved the Zheng character wall, and now you’re counting sheep here. This old man’s head is about to explode!”
The Divine Dragon said angrily.
Last time Qin Mu stayed here, at least he chatted with him.
But this time, he just carved “Zheng” characters alone, and after filling the wall, he started counting sheep.
“The 1,279th sheep, the 1,280th sheep… Ahhh! Why can’t I get out yet!?”
Qin Mu, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly flopped up like a fish flipping over and sat up.
“I’m so bored! So incredibly bored!”
He looked at the wall densely covered with “Zheng” characters—all his own handiwork.
“Kid, if you’re bored, go to sleep. Just don’t bother this old man anymore!”
The Divine Dragon had previously thought being alone was dull, and this human kid would occasionally come in to chat with him, which helped pass the time.
But now, the Divine Dragon just wanted Qin Mu to get out quickly.
“Sleep? But I can’t fall asleep!”
Qin Mu had wanted to do that long ago, but whenever he closed his eyes, no matter how long passed, he couldn’t feel any drowsiness—he was wide awake.
Maybe he could… self-indulge?
A scene of “ships burning and oars turning to ash” would surely help him sleep well.
But there was nothing lewd here—not even words—only Divine Dragon Senior. Doing that kind of thing in front of Divine Dragon Senior…
‘Thinking of this, Second Master Qin suddenly felt deflated. Eh!! How could he think of such a scene! Sins upon sins.’
“Divine Dragon Senior, am I really still not allowed to go out?”
Qin Mu was nearly bored to death.
This was even more boring than secluding oneself deep in the mountains—at least there one could enjoy the scenery and cultivate one’s mind.
What about him? Chatting with Divine Dragon Senior, exchanging thoughts and feelings?
They had no common topics; any conversation would just be awkward.
“Kid, this old man has already told you: your body is too severely injured. If your consciousness returns now, it might be damaged. Wait until the Divine Dragon Blood has healed your body enough, and then you can go.”
“When will that be?!”
“Soon, soon.”
“You’ve said that many times already, Divine Dragon Senior.”
Qin Mu stood up, patted his butt, touched the wall carved with “Zheng” characters, and asked, “Divine Dragon Senior, what exactly is this wall?”
“Consider it a test for you.”
“A test?”
“That’s right. There are nine such walls in total. If you can break through all of them, you’ll be able to release the Divine Dragon Power. Although you have Divine Dragon Blood in your body and can temporarily withstand this old man’s power, that’s only temporary and will cause great damage to your body.”
“You mean, as long as I break all the walls, I can experience a full-time, side-effect-free… plugin?”
“… You could say that.”
Hearing this, Qin Mu instantly became interested.
You talk about this, and I’m no longer sleepy.
Rolling up his sleeves, Qin Mu said with full motivation, “Divine Dragon Senior, what do I need to do to break the wall? I can’t wait!”
“Don’t rush. First, listen to my words. First, stretch your muscles and bones.”
Qin Mu did as instructed.
After finishing, he asked, “Then what?”
“Second, remember to take deep breaths.”
Qin Mu did as instructed again.
After finishing, he asked, “Then what?”
“Then, the warm-up is complete. Next, you should… ahem, I digress. Then there’s no ‘then.’”
“Huh? Divine Dragon Senior, you’re messing with me!?”
“Brat! What are you saying!? How could this old man mess with you? If you don’t warm up properly, what if you pull a muscle?”
Well, thank you so much, old man.
If I weren’t a cultivator, I might actually believe that.
I’ve never heard of a cultivator who’s entered the path pulling a muscle—only of those who made a mistake in their Qi circulation.
“Actually, human kid, this old man thinks it’s still too early. When you’ve reached the Golden Core stage, then come challenge the first wall.”
“Then why did you tell me so early, Divine Dragon Senior? Got my hopes up for nothing.”
Qin Mu said helplessly.
He actually thought he was about to rise up.
It turned out he’d been doing sit-ups all along.
When Divine Dragon Senior possessed him, his combat power skyrocketed; when the possession was lifted, he was just a small shrimp anyone could bully.
Boo-hoo. Time to listen to some sad music.
Just as Qin Mu was about to emo again, outside—
Luoye Elder had spent some time cleaning up the mess left by Kumu Elder, and also freed all the tribesmen who had been forcefully taken.
In a short time, Luoye Elder’s reputation skyrocketed.
“Heh heh, how are the two Holy Maidens finding their stay here?”
Luoye Elder poured two cups of tea.
With a slight movement of his fingers, the cups flew to Qin Ruoshuang and Qin Mengyu standing opposite him.
Not far from the three, Qin Mu was lying on the bed, still showing no signs of waking.
Qin Ruoshuang and Qin Mengyu were also distracted, looking much haggard these past few days.
Seeing the two women out of sorts, Luoye Elder could only give an awkward smile, then looked at Qin Mu on the bed and said, “Young friend Qin Mu’s aura has stabilized now, and his internal injuries have greatly improved. He should wake up soon.”
Luoye Elder had also wanted to treat Qin Mu earlier, after all, it was Qin Mu who released him, so he owed Qin Mu a favor.
But when he probed Qin Mu’s internal injuries, a force blocked his investigation.
That force was very strong.
Although it wasn’t at its peak, forcibly dispelling it would cause even more severe damage to Qin Mu’s already bad internal injuries.
So Luoye Elder had no choice but to wait patiently.
Now it seemed that this force was continuously healing Qin Mu’s internal injuries.
“This old man must apologize for the discourtesy shown to the two Holy Maidens.”
When Luoye Elder learned the identities of the two women, he was also startled.
He never expected that Holy Maidens from a superpower far away in the Eastern Region would personally travel thousands of miles to the southernmost Wildlands of the Southern Region.
Among the Qin Family sisters, Qin Ruoshuang had never liked to interact with others, so this time, it was still Qin Mengyu who did the talking.
“This incident is not actually Elder Luoye’s fault. We sisters can still tell the difference.”
Qin Mengyu took a small sip of tea, her beautiful eyes lighting up.
“Excellent tea!”
“Haha, as expected of Her Highness the Holy Maiden. This tea is a specialty of our village, made from the petals of the Withered Lotus through a special process.”
Luoye Elder took out a can of tea leaves and pushed it forward.
“If Your Highness likes it, please take it.”
But Qin Mengyu pushed it back, shaking her head.
“Elder Luoye is thoughtful, but this tea doesn’t really suit our tastes.”
Hearing this, Luoye Elder was startled, then laughed.
“This old man was remiss. Indeed, outsiders are not used to this tea. My oversight.”
Just then, Qin Mu, who was lying on the bed, suddenly moved his finger.
The next moment, the eyes of all three people turned to him.