Chapter 31: This World is Very Human

“You don’t need to feel embarrassed about the Spirit Stones you gave me. I’m in the service industry—customers are my gods, got it?”

Hua Jian was very clear about her position. Right now, she was just Saintess Daren’s little companion.

Whatever Saintess Daren wanted, she would help with it. As long as she earned Spirit Stones, she didn’t mind putting in extra work.

“Besides, I’m afraid you’re trying to take advantage of me.” While pinching her fair calf, Hua Jian added.

As a knowledgeable youth who had crossed over from another world, she knew far more about all sorts of XP than Linglong did.

So her vigilance was high. Precisely because she knew she looked very pretty now, she was extra cautious in every way.

Having turned into a girl, she certainly wasn’t going to degrade herself like that. She had no intention of becoming that kind of person.

Linglong tilted her head slightly, feeling that Hua Jian was questioning her character once again.

She really had no ulterior motives—so why did Hua Jian always think she was a bad person?

“There’s a saying in the books I’ve read: ‘Never harbor the intent to harm others, but always be wary of being harmed.’ Whether you’re a good person or not, I won’t back down on this kind of matter.” Hua Jian resolutely made a big X in front of her chest.

Of course, she knew Linglong was most likely a truly pure and good girl, but this kind of thing was no gamble. If Linglong’s dragon nature suddenly flared up and pushed her away, that would be the end of it.

“Well, then you didn’t listen to the first half of the sentence…” Linglong was a little speechless. When it came to harming others, hadn’t Hua Jian been quite efficient?

So she only heard the second half and ignored the first half?

“That’s different. I don’t get those kinds of thoughts about other girls. Think about it— have I done anything these past few days that could be misunderstood?” Hua Jian immediately defended herself.

She was confident because she genuinely hadn’t developed any strange feelings toward Linglong.

But actually, her words were wrong— she had done things that could be misunderstood.

Under Linglong’s quiet gaze, Hua Jian recalled what she had done when Linglong wore her invisible spirit clothes that day.

Haha… that probably did cause some misunderstandings.

“Ahem, anyway, I can handle these kinds of things myself. You don’t need to worry about me!”

Feeling guilty, Hua Jian chose to end this uncomfortable topic.

“Why are you so wary of me?” But Linglong wasn’t ready to drop it yet.

She thought Hua Jian was like a frightened little cat. If she wanted to take Hua Jian home, she had to first gain her trust and make her stop fearing her.

“It’s not just you. I’m even more cautious with others. To survive in this dangerous world, what choice do I have?” Hua Jian pouted, resting her chin on her hand. “I’m not like you— I wasn’t born with parents.”

A flicker of something passed across Linglong’s face. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Did your parents abandon you?” After a long pause, she asked tentatively.

“I don’t know. Anyway, I can’t find them. If I weren’t clever and careful, you wouldn’t be seeing me here in the Secret Realm right now— you’d be seeing me in a Qinglou or somewhere else.”

Hua Jian didn’t think she would die. After all, with her physical condition here, the worst outcome was being captured and sold off.

That’s why she had developed her current personality. Even when facing Linglong, the trust she showed was far beyond normal.

After all, a Saintess is a Saintess. The aura and demeanor exuded a kind of convincing presence. Even Hua Jian had to admit that Linglong was probably a truly good person.

Still, she wasn’t willing to take the risk. Even if the success rate was nearly one hundred percent, she didn’t want to face the slightest possibility of failure.

“You pay me Spirit Stones to do things— that’s a transaction. It’s a very profitable transaction for me, so you don’t need to feel embarrassed about my actions.” Hua Jian thought Linglong just hadn’t recognized the nature of their relationship and mistakenly believed she was helping her out of kindness.

But that wasn’t the case. Everything Hua Jian did was part of their deal, and this time Linglong had even paid in full upfront.

A client like this only comes once in a century. Of course, Hua Jian would serve her well.

“Is it just a transaction?”

“Yeah. If you ever come across some troublesome Secret Realm that you want to explore, you can ask me for help. As long as you give me Spirit Stones, I’m willing to check it out… Ah, of course, it has to be a safe Secret Realm. I’m not looking to risk my life for nothing.”

“Most of the Secret Realms we get to enter for exploration are basically safe. Our masters wouldn’t send us as expendable resources to explore an unknown, danger-filled Secret Realm.” Linglong found Hua Jian’s idea somewhat strange.

If the safety of a Secret Realm wasn’t confirmed, even if Linglong wanted to go, her Master would grab her ear and make her give up the idea.

Which Sect Leader would be so reckless as to let their precious genius go adventuring in a perilous Secret Realm? That would be a total disaster.

All these talents cultivated with great resources can’t be wasted like that.

“Huh? Really?” Hua Jian blinked. This cultivation world was nothing like what she had imagined.

“Secret Realms with unconfirmed safety are first explored by Spirit Lords and Saint Level elders. After assessing the situation and eliminating dangers, the Secret Realm is then opened to lower-level disciples.”

Seeing that Hua Jian genuinely didn’t know the exploration process, Linglong explained step by step what she knew. “When we enter the Secret Realm, we carry a Space Stone like this. If we face mortal danger, it will send us out of the Secret Realm.”

“But the resources inside the Secret Realm are abundant. If you get sent out too early, you’ll lag far behind your peers who stay inside, so everyone is very careful about the decisions they make.”

After hearing all this, Hua Jian had only one thought:

‘Is your cultivation world a little too advanced?’

Weren’t they supposed to be raising poison bugs, with rivers of blood inside the Secret Realm, and only one genius could make it out alive? You’re not playing by the rules!

“So exploring Secret Realms is actually quite safe?”

“That’s right. When we’re allowed to explore dangerous Secret Realms, we’re at least capable Spirit Lords ourselves.” Linglong nodded.

“Won’t cultivators growing up in this kind of environment be too fragile?”

“Why would they be fragile? There’s still fighting inside the Secret Realms. The Space Stone only keeps you from dying, but the injuries you get and the pain you endure can’t be avoided. The cultivators who stand out from such trials certainly aren’t weaklings.”

Hua Jian was silent for a few seconds, realizing that Linglong made a good point.

This kind of training really was much better than deadly danger just for the sake of it, wasn’t it?