CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31: COMPETING FOR FAVOR

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Seeing Gu Qingqing falling from the air, the three of Nan Hua quickly stepped forward to catch her.

"Little Qingqing, what happened to you?" Nan Hua held Gu Qingqing, seeing she was still conscious, quickly asked.

Gu Qingqing had just absorbed some more runes, feeling the seal within her body had loosened a lot. Hearing Nan Hua’s question, she shook her head, indicating she was fine.

Nan Hua examined Gu Qingqing’s complexion carefully and, finding no issues other than some paleness, released her with some concern, saying, "Little Qingqing, if you feel unwell, you must speak up and not endure it."

Gu Qingqing stepped back from Nan Hua’s embrace and nodded.

[Are you all alright?] Gu Qingqing gestured to the three of them and used hand signs.

"We’re all fine." Rong Ye, who hadn’t managed to catch Gu Qingqing before Nan Hua did, spoke up quickly upon hearing her.

Nan Hua and Jun Wu both shook their heads, indicating they were unharmed.

Only then did Gu Qingqing breathe a sigh of relief.

"The disappearance of the mist from the Mist Forest might have something to do with you, Little Qingqing?" Nan Hua looked at the small grove that had returned to its original state, recalling Gu Qingqing’s sudden appearance and the peculiarities about her, and couldn’t help asking.

"This is not the place to talk. Let’s leave first." Jun Wu, who hadn’t spoken, interrupted Gu Qingqing, signaling with his eyes for Nan Hua to observe the surroundings, and calmly said.

Nan Hua then noticed that the people on the ground were beginning to show signs of waking up, nodded, and the four of them, just as when they came, with Rong Ye carrying Jun Wu and Nan Hua carrying Gu Qingqing, left the grove.

The four didn’t return directly to Spirit Hidden Mountain but went back to the City Lord Mansion of Chasing Cloud City. When they learned from Lord Han that they had been inside for two days, they were all somewhat surprised.

"The mist in the Mist Forest has disappeared. Lord Han can now send people there to check. Those who went in earlier seem to still be there." As the spokesperson among the four, Rong Ye took on the responsibility of communicating with Lord Han.

Upon hearing this, Lord Han’s face immediately lit up with joy, "Thank you, lords, for letting me know. I will arrange for people to go at once."

"Arrange for us a courtyard. We need to rest for a while." Rong Ye looked at Gu Qingqing, who still looked a bit pale, and said to Lord Han.

"Alright, I’ll have it arranged right away. Please rest assured." Lord Han finished speaking, called the butler to attend to Gu Qingqing and the others, and quickly left.

The City Lord Mansion in Chasing Cloud City was quite large, and Lord Han had constructed it quite well. The butler led the four to a rather quiet courtyard and then left.

Upon entering the room, Rong Ye quickly took out a bunch of food prepared for Gu Qingqing from his Qiankun Ring and handed it to her, "Little Qingqing, you probably didn’t eat well inside. Eat up."

These were all things Rong Ye had specially prepared for Gu Qingqing, well-suited to her taste.

[Thank you, Fifth Senior Brother.] Gu Qingqing, feeling hungry, smiled sweetly at Rong Ye and, without hesitation, picked up a pastry and stuffed it into her mouth.

Rong Ye, happy with Gu Qingqing’s smile, froze as he saw her hand a pastry to Jun Wu, next to her. His smile stiffened on his face as he looked at Jun Wu with a gaze as if poisoned.

Although Jun Wu and Gu Qingqing were still young, in Rong Ye’s eyes, Nan Hua and the others were from the same sect as him, barely counted as his own people. He could reluctantly accept them vying for Gu Qingqing’s attention, but Jun Wu was completely an outsider. Despite also teaching Jun Wu, he was very dissatisfied with Jun Wu trying to draw Gu Qingqing’s attention!

Jun Wu directly ignored Rong Ye’s gaze, calmly accepted the pastry from Gu Qingqing, thanked her, and carefully placed it in his mouth. As Rong Ye glared at him, he turned away from Gu Qingqing and gave Rong Ye a slight smirk, almost causing Rong Ye to crush his fist.

Gu Qingqing was unaware of the standoff between Rong Ye and Jun Wu. After eating the pastry, she drank some Spiritual Dew and ate some other food, stopping only when she felt full.

Standing on the other side of Gu Qingqing, Nan Hua handed her a handkerchief to wipe her hands when she was finished. Gu Qingqing accepted it, smiling at him.

Rong Ye, having lost to Jun Wu, turned to see this scene and instantly became furious.

If not for Gu Qingqing still being present, he would have wanted to punch Nan Hua.

Nan Hua, much more brazen than Jun Wu, under Rong Ye’s murderous gaze, accepted the handkerchief that Gu Qingqing had used and put it away, then looked up and gave Rong Ye a challenging smile.

Rong Ye: "..." Wants to kill!

Jun Wu, standing on Gu Qingqing’s other side, pursed his lips and looked at Nan Hua with a deep gaze, making no other move.

At this moment, Gu Qingqing clapped her hands, and when the three of them focused their attention on her, she took out paper and pen from her Storage Bracelet and briefly wrote down the events that had occurred earlier.

"So, the Mist Forest this time was completely the work of a demon beast called ’Shen’?" Rong Ye was somewhat doubtful of life for the first time.

Gu Qingqing nodded.

"Were you injured when you killed the Shen?" Jun Wu wasn’t interested in the Shen; he was more concerned about Gu Qingqing’s body. Breaking his earlier calmness, he grabbed Gu Qingqing’s hand to check on her.

[I’m fine.] Gu Qingqing shook her head.

"So, Little Junior Sister, you’ve absorbed some more talismans. How is your seal now?" Nan Hua, like the others, was unfamiliar with the Shen, but now that it had been defeated by Gu Qingqing and she was unharmed, his concern shifted towards her internal seal, which was the purpose of their journey here.

[I feel it has loosened a bit, but more talismans are needed to completely break it.] Gu Qingqing wrote on the paper.

"That’s good; it wasn’t in vain that we came here." Rong Ye was delighted upon hearing this, feeling happy for Gu Qingqing.

Gu Qingqing nodded as well, revealing a sweet smile.

Upon seeing this, Rong Ye, Nan Hua, and Jun Wu all shared a knowing smile.

Previously, Nan Hua hadn’t taken Gu Qingqing out before, but, now that they had, he wanted to show her around properly. The customs in Chasing Cloud City were different from those in Qingfeng City, and today happened to be Chasing Cloud City’s annual Flower God Festival. With a lively Flower God parade in the evening, the four of them rested well before leaving City Lord Mansion together at dusk, heading to the bustling streets of Chasing Cloud City.

The people of Chasing Cloud City took the Flower God Festival very seriously. By the time the street lamps were lit, the streets were filled with people, shoulder to shoulder, bustling with activity.

With Rong Ye and Nan Hua being very handsome and of different types, and the culture of Xuantian Continent being quite open, they received countless handkerchiefs and sachets along the way.

There were even many ladies pretending to stumble, trying to fall into their arms, providing Gu Qingqing with ample amusement.

"The Flower God’s parade is starting!"