CHAPTER 65: CAN’T TRUST ANYBODY THESE DAYS

"You’re telling me that Little Kai might be one of the demonic cultivators we’ve been looking for? Goodness, what has happened to this world? Truly, the jiang hu is a brutal place. You can’t trust anybody these days!"

Mu Ran stared at the spot where Shen Kai had disappeared, and his face gave off the impression that he was undergoing some sort of profound character development. Han Xuhan distinctly heard him mutter in a daze,

"This is why I told you it’s better to be a loner. Never trust, never befriend, and never form a relationship..."

When the hell did he tell me these things?

Why don’t I remember?

Han Xuhan was left confused. Seeing that things were taking an unfavorable turn, especially for their relationship, he decided to kick Mu Ran’s development back into a more... suitable track.

"Boss, how can you say that? If the two of us didn’t work together today, perhaps you would be the one to get ambushed suddenly. I only survived by a fluke, but if you were a loner, death would be the only outcome!

"Since the jiang hu is so brutal, it is actually important that we righteous cultivators stick together and fight off evil as a united front! As they say, apes together, apes strong!"

Mu Ran laughed uproariously as if he had just heard a hilarious joke.

"Underling, your argument is so flawed! We’re MEN, not apes. And if YOU are lucky enough to survive a sneak attack, then I don’t think I need to be worried, really, because even my shit fortune is better than yours."

Han Xuhan curled his lips, feeling too complex a range of emotions to respond. He wasn’t even annoyed by Mu Ran’s childish logic. Just hearing his boss compare their fortune under the same category was beyond infuriating.

His skeleton soldier Zhanxian, wearing the dark cloak Han Xuhan had lent him, stood idly beside them, busy picking his nasal cavity using a stick.

No, he didn’t have an itch there. He just liked doing it.

The aura-emitting marble in Zhanxian’s robe was still glowing faintly under the night’s bleak light, stimulated by the remnants of Han Xuhan’s refined qi. This was Han Xuhan’s final trump card in the battle. This was the source of the powerful aura that had scared Shen Kai shitless.

Han Xuhan really wanted to see what Shen Kai’s reaction would be after learning that he had been frightened off by a skeleton that wasn’t even as strong as Han Xuhan himself. His expression after losing was already entertaining enough.

It would be such a precious sight! If they really ever met in the future again, Han Xuhan would surely reveal this small information during a critical moment. Maybe it would give that bastard a heart demon for the rest of his life, hahahah!

Looking back, their combat had been the most intense struggle of his life. Had he failed to deceive Shen Kai just once, his fate might have been sealed. It was thrilling and frightening at the same time, and the prideful euphoria he felt after winning was just indescribable.

Like an adrenaline junkie, he felt almost tempted to experience something similar again.

That said, Han Xuhan vaguely felt that Shen Kai originally hadn’t wanted to kill him. The spot where he had tried to stab him during his first move was far off from the position of his heart. Even if the dagger had entered his body, it wouldn’t have damaged any of his core organs.

There was another factor contributing to this theory. The Bronze Token he had purchased from his system was supposed to automatically detect any threat to his life. Yet, that token hadn’t been activated while Shen Kai was attacking him.

Han Xuhan couldn’t think of a reason why Shen Kai would bother to just maim him in such circumstances. If the weird portal here was a trap, a weakling like him would have died rather easily after gaining entry.

Unless of course, if there was a possibility that the portal wasn’t a trap, but a clue to what the demonic cultivators were up to. That could explain why Shen Kai suddenly went berserk despite his well-prepared disguise.

No wonder he had offered to go inside first, despite how dangerous it seemed to Han Xuhan and Mu Ran!

But then, why would such an important clue like the portal be exposed here like this? Was it really not a trap?

If it wasn’t, then it must have been disguised a lot better. Someone like Mu Ran couldn’t have easily discovered it within a few minutes of search...

...Unless, Mu Ran had lied about how he had found the portal. Logically, the only oddity here was Mu Ran, a protagonist tier character who ’accidentally’ found out about the portal. This would explain why Shen Kai had become so desperate!

Looking at how enthusiastic Mu Ran was about venturing inside this suspicious underground layer, Han Xuhan guessed that some sort of precious treasure or a big secret was involved here.

Han Xuhan didn’t want to compete with Mu Ran for such treasures. But seeing how much risk he had been forced to take, he felt that he deserved some remuneration.

"Boss, what’s on the other side of the portal? Since you managed to return unscathed, I’m guessing it’s not a trap."

Mu Ran’s introspection was broken. A strange smile formed on his face as he replied.

"Oh it’s definitely not a trap. No riffraff demonic cultivators could have arranged what’s inside, or more accurately, what’s on the other side of the portal!"

"The other side of the portal?" Han Xuhan noticed the phrasing, and a premonition rose in his heart.

"Doesn’t it lead underground?"

"No." Mu Ran’s mysterious smile got more pronounced as he shook his head.

"It leads to an entirely different world! A severely restricted realm hidden from our perception!"

Han Xuhan’s eyes grew wide. Now this... This was getting interesting!

His gaze flickered towards the minimized system panels in a corner of his vision. When he set out this morning for the task, he was issued his second Main Storyline Quest. One of the rewards of that quest was access to a hidden realm.

Could this be the hidden world the quest was referring to?