Chapter 173 : I Don't Know
The little white tiger wasn't a stingy tiger, and besides, the dragon skeleton was over a hundred feet long. After sharing some with everyone, what remained would still be more than enough for her and Senior Sister. So she hadn't planned to conceal information about the dragon bones and was about to tell everyone.
However, before the words left her mouth, she felt a cool hand gently pinch her ear.
Having spent considerable time with Senior Sister, the two had developed a certain rapport, so she immediately swallowed her words. Her tiger eyes swept across the people around the bonfire, suddenly noticing two outsiders—besides the Buddha Sect pair who had joined in the treasure hunt, You Yi and Ruan Le were also present. Although Ruan Le was still unconscious, news about the dragon bones shouldn't be disclosed to a third sect.
But then again, even the little white tiger knew this precaution, yet Su Hao seemed unconcerned. Was he too trusting of You Yi's oath, or was he so anxious about the missing dragon bones that he had lost his composure?
Various thoughts spun through her mind, though in reality only a few breaths had passed since Su Hao spoke. The little white tiger abandoned her candidness and lay listlessly in Senior Sister's embrace, weakly asking: "What do you want to know?"
Su Hao was indeed anxious—after all, it was such a massive dragon skeleton. Even if the tiger took the lion's share, and the remainder was divided equally among everyone else, his portion would still be enough to sustain his cultivation all the way to the Void Crossing or even Spirit Division realm. With such an enormous opportunity landing in his lap, only to slip away before his eyes, how could anyone maintain their composure?!
Taking a deep breath, Su Hao still asked, though somewhat vaguely: "Jianbing, those things at the bottom of the lake, do you know where they went?"
Following Senior Sister's hint, the little white tiger had changed her mind, but inventing an excuse to deceive everyone wasn't easy. So she tilted her head and simply played dumb: "I don't know."
Su Hao's breath caught, and his voice took on an urgent tone, though he still struggled to maintain outward calm: "Jianbing, weren't you guarding the lake bottom the whole time? How could you not know?"
The little white tiger raised a paw to scratch her nose, her gaze wandering: "I wasn't guarding anything. I was just sleeping."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions subtly shifted, and they looked toward Tan Xin and Yun Qingyue. Yun Qingyue, as the little white tiger's half-owner, lowered her eyes and remained silent, offering no comment. Tan Xin, having no particular concerns, nodded when everyone looked at him and explained: "Perhaps due to the abundant spiritual energy at the time, Jianbing was indeed drowsy when we left."
This explanation was absurd, but it came from Jianbing—Xuanqing Sect's future guardian divine beast. Most present were from Xuanqing Sect; aside from exchanging bewildered glances, could they really force Jianbing to provide an explanation?
Su Hao knew further questioning was futile, and the brothers all felt somewhat empty inside.
Fortunately, as the sect's next generation of leaders, they had been cultivated with proper temperaments and didn't harbor any ill thoughts. In their disappointment, however, they couldn't help but glance toward Tanming and Tan Xin—regardless, Jianbing, as Xuanqing Sect's future guardian divine beast, was on their side. Even if she concealed information and privately kept the dragon bones, perhaps they could still benefit when they returned to the sect.
But Tanming and Tan Xin were different—if they didn't pursue the matter now, the dragon bones would be completely lost to them. Especially Tan Xin, who had personally seen the dragon bones—could he really calmly choose to abandon them?!
In fact, the monks' temperaments proved even more stable than theirs. Not only had they not asked a single question from beginning to end, but they showed no change in expression now. This actually made the Xuanqing Sect disciples somewhat uncomfortable—they hadn't obtained the dragon bones either, yet somehow felt they had shortchanged the others.
The atmosphere around the bonfire suddenly became oddly subdued.
You Yi's gaze moved from one person to another, unable to decipher their silent puzzle.
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When Ruan Le awoke, the sky was still dark. The bonfire flickered, no longer burning as vigorously as it had at midnight. At some point, a large pot had been set up over the fire, stewing the Silver-scaled Black Python. The aroma of meat soup permeated the entire maple forest.
With the rich meat fragrance at her nose and the brilliant starry sky above, the newly awakened Ruan Le experienced a moment of disorientation, unsure of when or where she was.
Vaguely, she remembered being pursued by demonic cultivators with her senior brother. Her cultivation wasn't sufficient, and the resources she had accumulated over many years had been depleted in the secret realm. She could do nothing but hold her senior brother back. So when the demonic cultivators caught up again and they had reached a dead end, she chose to self-destruct her Golden Core. Her only dying wish was for her senior brother to escape, and if she could take down two demonic cultivators as casualties, all the better.
She couldn't remember what happened afterward. Had she died and somehow transformed into a ghost cultivator by coincidence? But even if she had truly become a ghost cultivator, where was she now? And what had happened before she woke up?
Various thoughts churned in her mind as she instinctively tried to circulate her cultivation technique. Only then did she discover that her dantian had been sealed, her cultivation completely gone, instantly reducing her to the same level as an ordinary mortal—this was even more terrifying than having self-destructed and become a ghost cultivator. Cultivators who had practiced since childhood viewed their cultivation as everything. Shocked, she disregarded her physical weakness and abruptly sat up.
This movement was substantial enough to disturb everyone who had been cultivating. You Yi exclaimed joyfully: "Junior Sister, you're awake?"
Faced with this unexpected scene, Ruan Le was somewhat dazed. Her gaze swept across everyone before finally settling on You Yi: "Senior Brother? Where is this? What happened? And my cultivation..."
Actually, she didn't need You Yi's answer once the question left her mouth. Ruan Le had already guessed most of it—with Xuanqing Sect and Buddha Sect people here, and she and her senior brother unharmed, they must have been rescued. As for her sealed cultivation, it was probably because she had attempted self-destruction, and to save her life, they had sealed both her cultivation and the Golden Core in her dantian.
Sure enough, after You Yi's explanation, the facts matched Ruan Le's speculation. What she hadn't expected was that their rescuers weren't senior disciples from the two sects, but merely Yun Qingyue and Tan Xin. Her gaze toward Yun Qingyue held not only gratitude but also admiration and aspiration.
Both were a pair facing enemies, yet she could only burden her senior brother, while Yun Qingyue and Tan Xin together could repel the enemy. Her senior brother wasn't much inferior to Tan Xin; ultimately, she was the one lacking... Then, as she continued looking, her gaze shifted from Yun Qingyue to the small beast in her arms. Even with Jianbing's habitual disguise, she recognized her at once.
"Jianbing..." Ruan Le murmured.
The little white tiger's ears twitched, and when she looked toward the source of the sound, her gaze carried a hint of grievance—what happened to the plan of transforming to hide her identity? Being immediately recognized by the Xuanqing Sect disciples was one thing, but how could even an unfamiliar outsider recognize her at a glance?!
Ruan Le didn't notice Jianbing's grievance in her eyes. She suddenly shifted her gaze back to Yun Qingyue and asked with burning intensity: "Back in the desert stone forest, it was Senior Sister Yun who saved me and my senior brother, wasn't it?"
Who would have thought this would be exposed too!
The value of spirit crystals was no less than that of dragon bones, perhaps even greater. Yun Qingyue's hand, resting on the little white tiger's back, paused slightly. She neither confirmed nor denied, merely asking: "What makes you say that?"
Ruan Le spoke without much thought, pointing at the little white tiger: "Back then, I accidentally provoked a swarm of Flame Fire Scorpions. My senior brother came to save me and was also implicated. When I broke through, I fell into a hole in the ground and thought my life was over, but I was unexpectedly saved. It was the same with my senior brother. When we woke up, all the Flame Fire Scorpions had retreated. We didn't know why at the time, but thinking about it now, it must have been Jianbing who intervened, right?"
Hearing her words, everyone had different thoughts, vaguely forming certain speculations.
Before You Yi could speak, she continued: "Senior Sister Yun, why didn't you reveal yourself after saving us? You just left, and if my senior brother and I hadn't searched the entire stone forest and discovered that sealed hole in the ground, I would have thought my earlier experience was an illusion."
Hearing this, the little white tiger tucked her tail into her embrace and shrank her head, feeling somewhat guilty.
You Yi finally interrupted her, privately concerned—his Junior Sister seemed a bit naive. When someone rescued them without revealing themselves, it clearly meant they didn't want their identities exposed. Though there were no energy residues under that hole, the hardness of the surrounding ore indicated there had definitely been treasure that was taken away. Now his Junior Sister was openly revealing all this in front of everyone. Fortunately, everyone here was Yun Qingyue's sect-mate; otherwise, who knows what kind of storm this might have stirred up.
Indeed, Ruan Le's remarks instantly made everyone understand that Yun Qingyue must have gained something in that desert stone forest. However, being sect-mates, no one pressed for details, though their gazes toward Yun Qingyue grew increasingly envious.
Everyone knew divine beasts had their ways of finding treasures, and Junior Sister Yun with Jianbing by her side was truly enviable.
Bei Luo immediately took out a large bowl, filled it with meat soup, and offered it to the little white tiger ingratiatingly: "Jianbing, would you like some? My soup-making skills are no worse than my grilling."
The little white tiger gave Bei Luo a complex look, surprised that among these cultivators, the seemingly most unrestrained Bei Luo had the best culinary skills... She smacked her lips, remembering the grilled snake meat from last night, and suddenly felt hungry. She slightly raised her chin with an arrogant expression, indicating Bei Luo should set down the bowl—she was practically patting his shoulder and telling him that following her meant good food!
Bei Luo obligingly set down the bowl, his clear brows and eyes containing a hint of amusement. The little white tiger immediately patted Senior Sister's arm, gesturing for her to hold the bowl and feed her. The latter helplessly became a pet owner, while the little white tiger ate with relish.
With this woman and tiger providing a distraction, no one further pursued the matter of the desert stone forest.
However, after hearing Ruan Le's account, everyone gained a new understanding of this brother-sister pair's streak of bad luck.
Su Hao cleared his throat and asked: "May I ask in which direction the Tiandao Sect disciples are? We don't have a clear destination either, so we could escort you both to rejoin your sect-mates."
You Yi strangely sensed a hint of disdain in these words. He smiled bitterly and replied: "Most of my sect brothers are to the north. If you don't mind, let's continue northward."