Chapter 39: Han Shuangjiang’s Shame and Anger
Han Shuangjiang couldn’t understand why Chu Huaixu had chosen to enter the same entrance as her.
Wasting an entrance like this was statistically not a good thing. If it was because he was afraid of facing trials alone and being overwhelmed, that shouldn’t have been the case either. After all, the predecessor who designed these ten entrances likely intended for one person per entrance. If one’s abilities were sufficient, they should be able to handle the trials.
After a moment of thought, she spoke up, “Why don’t we split up? If I gain anything here, I’ll bring it out for you.” Before entering the Secret Realm, she had already decided. If she truly obtained anything, she would give it all to Chu Huaixu. The previous turmoil had started because of her, and all the problems had been resolved by Chu Huaixu. She was always clear about such matters. She had wanted to give him the jade token fragments from the beginning, but he had refused.
Unexpectedly, Chu Huaixu still insisted on his own way, shaking his head. “Listen to me, we’ll go together,” he said.
“Alright,” Han Shuangjiang no longer insisted.
The experienced Chu Huaixu knew very well that so-called opportunities weren’t something you could simply share with others if you wished. He had no intention of gambling on probabilities or testing his luck. He preferred to believe that this young girl, who carried great destiny, was his lucky charm. —Watch closely, this is how you use a world protagonist!
Before entering Cave Entrance Seven, Han Shuangjiang glanced at Entrance Eight next to it, feeling a pang of regret.
“Don’t look, trust your first instinct,” Chu Huaixu said. “I trust you too, perhaps you’ll bring me good luck.” He treated the world protagonist like a treasure-hunting mouse.
The cold-faced girl pursed her lips slightly upon hearing this, feeling that this playful guy was putting pressure on her.
There was no time to delay. Everyone else was rushing into the caves, seizing every moment, so they couldn’t afford to dawdle any longer. The two walked inside, the space within being quite narrow. It felt a bit like the description in “Peach Blossom Spring”: “At first extremely narrow, just enough for one person to pass, then after walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a wide space.” However, after a brief period of openness, the path split into two smaller paths before them again.
“Feels like a maze,” Chu Huaixu narrowed his eyes and said.
Han Shuangjiang nodded and suggested, “Then should we make some markers?”
“Sure,” Chu Huaixu was indifferent; whatever she wanted to do, he would comply. For him, it was unnecessary because he had the [Map] function. Wherever he had been, the map would be revealed, and he could check it later, so there was no need for markers. However, in this instance, precise location positioning within the dungeon was not possible unless there was a significant level disparity.
Soon, Han Shuangjiang felt that this man was once again putting pressure on her.
“Which way?” he asked. The girl, who was like an iceberg, felt helpless. After looking left and right, she chose the right path.
“Okay, let’s go eat dog,” Chu Huaixu subconsciously said in English, confusing Han Shuangjiang, but she quickly followed. As expected, after walking for a short while, the two arrived at another junction, this time with three paths.
“Choose one,” Chu Huaixu said again. Han Shuangjiang glanced at them and suggested, “How about… the middle one?”
“Good, we’ll pick that one!” he readily agreed. Then, Chu Huaixu continued walking inward without pause. He left Han Shuangjiang alone at the junction to make a mark. By the time she was done, he was already far ahead. She could only purse her lips tightly again, look at his briskly striding back, and then jog to catch up.
Thus, the two passed through ten junctions consecutively. Following that, they entered a large open area with a full six paths ahead!
Chu Huaixu started putting pressure on Han Shuangjiang again. “Choose.” The cold-faced girl’s expression became even colder; she was a little unhappy.
“Can’t you choose one yourself?” she asked, frowning. We agreed that all opportunities would be yours, you can’t have me make all the decisions. Don’t blame me if we go the wrong way later.
“No,” Chu Huaixu said shamelessly. “I’m telling you, I have a terrible sense of direction,” he began to fabricate.
Han Shuangjiang, being a young girl, was even more displeased. “Then why aren’t you making any markers?” A part of her felt wronged, feeling like she was doing all the menial tasks, while he just walked ahead as he pleased without stopping.
“But I was walking ahead to scout, how would you know there isn’t any danger here? What if it’s not just a maze?” Chu Huaixu argued, his reasoning sounding solid and grounded.
Han Shuangjiang stared at him, dumbfounded, and cursed in her heart, “This shameless fox!” As it turned out, while she was giving him a nickname, he had the same unspoken understanding.
“You always have such a cold face, and now you’re even colder when you’re angry. Big Ice Block, hurry up and choose, choose between these two paths.” Chu Huaixu was extremely impatient and urged her on.
“Big Ice Block?” Han Shuangjiang was stunned, only thinking, “How unpleasant!” Little Ice Block felt a bit cute, but Big Ice Block sounded clumsy and foolish.
In her frustration, she once again chose based purely on instinct, pointing randomly to the left one: “Then this one!”
This time, she was the one walking quickly forward, no longer making any markers. Chu Huaixu watched the cold-faced girl throwing a tantrum, yet he felt nothing but amusement. The colder she acted, the more he inexplicably wanted to tease her. Relying on his [Map] function, Chu Huaixu had no intention of making any markers. He looked at Han Shuangjiang’s graceful and alluring back, at her superior hips that swayed as she strode forward, and immediately quickened his pace to catch up. But after catching up, he suddenly ran back in a dejected manner and left a mark at the fork in the road. The girl, whom he had called Big Ice Block, looked back and let out a soft hum, feeling much better and quite satisfied.
However, she didn’t know that Chu Huaixu was secretly alarmed at this moment. The reason was simple: all ten previous junctions had been recorded by [Map]. But this one hadn’t! According to the system’s [Map] function, the path ahead was pitch black, but as long as he walked forward, the paths he had traversed would appear on the map and be recorded. However, this path hadn’t shown up. He had walked more than ten steps, and it remained dark; no new path had appeared on the map! The map only showed the large open area they had just passed. After choosing one out of six, they had clearly selected the second path, but no new path had been generated, as if it were stuck.
“Is my permission too low?” Chu Huaixu was puzzled by this and decided it was best to make a marker.
The two continued like this, walking and choosing, for nearly an hour. Han Shuangjiang’s confidence began to wane.
“The space beneath this cold pool is truly vast!” she couldn’t help but exclaim. “And we all entered through 10 different entrances at the beginning. After walking for so long, we haven’t encountered any of them, which means they are indeed not connected inside.”
“Could it be that we chose incorrectly from the start?” she looked at Chu Huaixu, voicing her thoughts.
“It’s normal for you to lack confidence,” Chu Huaixu said. In his opinion, Han Shuangjiang had only just begun to interact with the cultivation world. She hadn’t experienced many opportunities yet and didn’t realize she carried great destiny, destined for continuous adventures as if the entire world revolved around her. It was like many people who think they are lucky, only realizing how truly lucky they are after continuously tasting sweet success.
Chu Huaixu looked at her and abruptly changed the subject, “But I have confidence in you. Don’t feel pressured, Big Ice Block.”
Han Shuangjiang: “…” Then you shameless fox, why don’t you choose the path yourself, you scoundrel!
The cold-faced girl took a deep breath and could only grit her teeth and continue making choices. She still didn’t understand why she had to be the one to choose; she felt no need to take responsibility for this matter.
Thus, they walked there for another half hour. They hadn’t emerged from the maze, nor had they returned to a marked path, meaning they hadn’t retrod their steps.
“Why don’t you choose?” Han Shuangjiang was no longer slightly annoyed but had become somewhat dejected. Continuously choosing and walking, it felt as if there was no end. Throughout the entire process, one would constantly doubt oneself. She didn’t know if she had made the wrong choice, but she also didn’t know if she was right, only feeling endless confusion. If she were alone, with her stubborn nature, she wouldn’t have felt this way; she might have even stubbornly persisted. But the problem was that she had been making choices for Chu Huaixu all along, and a person’s mindset would change because of it.
Chu Huaixu, hearing that she refused to choose a path, did not answer her question but instead asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Really, you pick one. I feel like I’ve led you into a dead end,” Han Shuangjiang ignored his question.
“It’s also lunchtime. Shall we eat the preserved biscuits?” Chu Huaixu said.
“Why do you insist on me choosing? What’s the point?”
“Want to eat one?” He directly took out two biscuits. Han Shuangjiang was furious, her beautiful eyes fixed on him. The ice and snow began to melt; she even became a bit more lively due to her anger, displaying a different kind of beauty. Under his gaze, Chu Huaixu began to eat.
“Still not eating?” He offered the biscuit to her.
“Eating,” she said coldly, her face rigid.
After eating their fill, the two continued on their way. Walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chu Huaixu sensed that Han Shuangjiang had something she wanted to say but hesitated. He thought perhaps she didn’t want to make any more choices and didn’t ask proactively. However, after a while, she still looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, and her entire demeanor seemed uncomfortable. Although she had slender, jade-like legs, and could barely keep up with Chu Huaixu’s long strides when walking quickly, she was now walking slower and slower. This veteran support player was very detail-oriented, which allowed for high-quality service and abundant emotional value for their clients.
Chu Huaixu had a guess and asked, “You don’t possibly mean…” Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Han Shuangjiang, her face flushed with a hint of red.
This time, she was eager to choose a path and said, “Let’s take this middle one. You… you go first, I’ll be right behind you, don’t wait for me.”
“And, don’t look back!” she said the last two words with a rising tone, then lowered her head slightly. She dared not look at him, yet her gaze held both shame and anger.
Chu Huaixu’s guess was correct; she needed to urinate.
