Chapter 296
The Kunwu Mirror’s surface was only palm-sized.
But when the girl reappeared before Chen An, holding the bronze mirror, it almost covered her entire head.
This was thanks to its frame, which was several times larger than the mirror surface.
It was clear the Kunwu Mirror was very heavy, making it strenuous for her to hold. With every step, she had to turn her head to the side to see the path ahead.
Finally, Lin Jingq walked up to Chen An.
She complained in a low voice, “What a heavy mirror…”
Chen An took it from her hands.
His slender, fair hand caressed the bronze mirror.
The bronze mirror seemed to possess a spirit, trembling slightly with his touch and emitting a faint whimper.
To Lin Jingq and Zheng Qing, it inexplicably gave a rather suggestive illusion.
“You need to be quiet.”
As if to prove the young man’s words, the whimper abruptly stopped, and the bronze mirror returned to its calm state.
“How magical…”
Seeing this, the girl’s eyes widened.
However, on second thought, considering all the magical things that had happened to Chen An, she didn’t find it that surprising.
Chen An lowered his head, his slender fingers slowly tracing the bronze mirror.
As he touched the ancient inscription, he paused and asked, “Don’t you want to leave?”
Upon hearing this, the bronze mirror trembled again.
It clearly hadn’t spoken, yet the meaning it conveyed was understood clearly by all three present.
It wanted to stay here.
Chen An nodded. He never liked to force others, so he let go of the mirror.
Seeing this, the Kunwu Mirror revealed its spirit.
It was a little girl, about seven or eight years old, wearing a light green skirt adorned with faint plum blossoms. Two “funny” hair buns were tied on her head, and her eyes were lively, though one could faintly sense a lingering resentment about her.
It was as if she had just been molested by someone unreasonable.
Moreover, she was only palm-sized, appearing very petite and cute, like an exquisite doll.
Such cute things were often favored by girls.
For instance, the girl beside him was now staring with sparkling eyes, wishing she could immediately pick it up and play with it.
The Kunwu Mirror subtly moved away from her, then bowed to Chen An in thanks, and turned to leave.
However, she soon stopped.
Because the young man’s gaze was quietly fixed on her.
There was no emotion in his eyes; it seemed as if he were simply watching her go.
The little figure took a couple of steps, then looked back.
After a moment, she sighed to the sky, her face like a bitter gourd, and silently walked back.
Chen An extended his hand, and she willingly jumped into his palm.
“See? You’re the one who doesn’t want to leave,” he said gently.
The little girl’s head nodded rapidly, like a woodpecker.
“Turn back now.”
He said again.
Confirming it was voluntary, Chen An casually handed the Kunwu Mirror, now back to its original form, to the girl beside him, who was watching with great interest.
“It’s the true ‘key’ to this secret realm. If you want to save someone, you can let it help you.”
Hearing this, Lin Jingq’s eyes lit up.
She quickly shook the bronze mirror in her hand and said sternly, “Mirror Mirror, hurry up and change for me!”
…
…
Run!
Feeling the earth-shattering, terrifying sounds from behind, Chang Hao had only this one thought in his mind.
Under his armpits, he was holding one junior brother each.
He was the only one in the team with the highest cultivation, so he still had enough spiritual energy to run.
As for the sword he had been holding earlier, it was long gone.
Since it couldn’t break the monster’s defense anyway, he figured having a weapon wasn’t important.
But… just running like this, leading the monster in circles, might bring a night of peace.
However, once their spiritual energy was depleted, where would they go?
What’s more, besides spiritual energy, there was a crueler reality facing them now.
That is, there wasn’t much time left.
After entering the secret realm, the hourglass used for timing had been flipped twelve times.
This meant that the time left for them to figure out a solution, no, for their teachers and elders to save them, was only the last day.
Otherwise, once seven days passed, and the secret realm’s sun and moon would change, plunging into dead silence and darkness, Chang Hao didn’t think he could hold on.
Large beads of sweat dripped from his chin.
Running for a full day and night had already soaked his back.
Now, they were like frogs being boiled in warm water, and they would eventually be unable to run anymore.
Their limbs were becoming increasingly sluggish.
Every jump felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of the young man he met when they first entered the secret realm.
And the girl’s persistence, Zheng Qing’s sudden departure.
He wondered if Junior Sister Lin and the others had triggered the trial…
Once a trial was initiated, it would define a boundary, preventing anyone else from entering or leaving. Otherwise, he would have long wanted to run further away to see if other people participating in the trial were like them, or if only their team was so unlucky.
“Senior Brother Chang, why don’t you just put us down…”
Extremely bitter words came from below.
Chang Hao frowned. “Wang Shaojie, if you say that again, do you believe I’ll reveal your glorious deed of wetting the bed at twelve years old?”
“What?! Wang Shaojie, how dare you laugh at me for wetting the bed at nine when you yourself…”
As soon as Chang Hao’s voice fell, he heard another junior brother’s indignant question.
So that bitterness instantly turned into indignation.
“Senior Brother Chang, you…!”
Wang Shaojie looked like he had nothing to live for.
Didn’t you just reveal it already?!
Chang Hao dodged the monster’s pursuit from behind while casually saying, “And you, Wu Yong, attained enlightenment in a melon field at seven, calling yourself the Melon Emperor, and at eight, you ruled the realms eternally. I still have a video of you from that time on my phone.”
“If you two don’t want to be shamed when we get out, then lie down obediently and stop saying disheartening things.”
The two fell silent obediently.
As the eldest disciple of Mount Qingcheng, Chang Hao had successfully subdued his two junior brothers with just a few words.
However, jokes aside…
Feeling the dwindling spiritual energy within him, Chang Hao’s heart sank to the bottom.
Damn it, if I had known this would happen, I should have just stayed put and waited.
Although this regret seemed very pointless, for Chang Hao at the moment, it was a genuine thought flashing through his mind.
After all, besides these two idiot junior brothers, who else could he rely on?
He couldn’t possibly count on that junior sister who was just in Qi Refining, could he?
Just as he was thinking this, Chang Hao suddenly heard a familiar, lively female voice.
“Mirror Mirror, hurry up and change for me!”
“Mirror Mirror, what’s wrong with you? You can change in front of him, but not in front of me?! You’re so biased!”
Chang Hao couldn’t help but be stunned.
What the heck?
(End of Chapter)
