Chapter 483: Hong'er (Part 2)
This little girl had no physiological signs of life, yet she was hopping around energetically. She was clearly hungry, but refused to eat dry rations or meat... Yun Che now strongly suspected that this little girl wasn't human at all.
But her appearance was clearly human, and even if she were a beast transformed into human form, she wouldn't refuse both dry rations and meat!
What drove Yun Che to the brink of collapse was that this little girl, whose stomach was growling with hunger, didn't even know what she liked to eat!
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
A deep rumbling sound suddenly rang out, and the space began to tremble slightly.
"Ah? What's that strange sound... The ground is shaking! Is something fun about to happen?" The unusual tremor of the space instantly excited the girl. She blinked her vermilion eyes and looked around wildly, her excitement even making her momentarily forget her hunger.
"Space tremor... it's the precursor to the Primordial Mystic Ark's aura arrival! Leave immediately!" Mo Li said quickly.
The moment the space began to quake, Yun Che's mind had already tensed up... When the space started to tremble, there was about half an hour left before the Primordial Mystic Ark would release its repelling aura. This aura was also his only way to leave the Primordial Mystic Ark!
And this timing could be said to be just right! If he had delayed even one more day in leaving that stone chamber, he wouldn't have been expelled by this aura, and the consequence would be falling into another eighteen-year-long spatial turbulence!
Yun Che shot up swiftly and in a blink, he reached the gap he had created with his Ice Flame. Just as he was about to go out, a girl's anxious shout came from below: "Ah! Big brother, where are you going? Take me with you... take me with you!"
Yun Che turned his head to look at the girl and asked doubtfully, "You can't fly?"
"Fly?" The girl tilted her head and thought seriously for a long time, as if she only then understood what "fly" meant. Stomping her feet, she said, "I'm just such a tiny beautiful girl, how could I possibly know how to fly!"
"..." Although this little girl was extremely strange in physique and personality, on the surface, she really did seem like an ordinary little girl, and she was also extremely clingy and tsundere. He really couldn't just leave her here and ignore her. Yun Che had no choice but to fly down and pick her up.
"Wait! Bring that Eternal Pivot! That's an extraordinary treasure." Mo Li reminded.
Yun Che flew down again, put the Eternal Pivot into the Heavenly Poison Pearl, then shot up through the gap and returned to the first floor of the mysterious ancient castle.
"Wow! What place is this? It's so big!" The little girl squirmed in Yun Che's arms, looking around in all directions, as if she wasn't worried at all about falling.
"You have no impression of this place at all?" Yun Che asked.
"Impression? Not at all. I don't remember anything!" The little girl shouted in a crisp voice, especially the line "I don't remember anything," which she actually said with a sense of... pride!
What exactly was this little girl's personality like?! What kind of parents raised her!
Forget it!
First, let's get out of here!!
Yun Che accelerated and rushed all the way toward the castle's main gate. This castle was truly enormous. Although his current top speed far exceeded his past, it would still take at least a quarter of an hour to go from the castle's end to the exit. There were still about four quarters of an hour before the repelling force field appeared, so it was more than enough time, but he still went all out to avoid any accidents.
Soon, exactly a quarter of an hour later, Yun Che saw the castle's exit... And during this entire journey, Yun Che's ears were filled with the little girl's shouts and exclamations, which barely stopped for a moment. If he hadn't had enough compassion, and if the little girl didn't have such an incredibly world-defying appearance, he might have already thrown her out.
Yun Che's figure shot out like an arrow, passing through the castle's main gate and instantly arriving at the outside world.
The light became brighter. Yun Che slowed down, and when he saw the scene ahead, he was momentarily stunned.
Back then, he had entered the castle from a very flat and empty wasteland... That wasteland was a pure wasteland, barren and empty being its only features, hard to forget.
But now, what appeared before him was a yellow-green grassland. In the distance, towering ancient trees were scattered everywhere, except that the trunks and leaves of these ancient trees were mostly dark greenish-black, lifeless.
"What's going on? This is definitely not the place where I entered the castle." Yun Che turned around and looked up at the tall ancient castle that towered into the clouds. He frowned and said, "Could it be that the castle itself has moved to a different place?" He didn't dare believe it, but this was the most likely explanation. He shook his head and said to himself, "Forget it. It's the same wherever I go. Since the repelling aura is about to appear soon, it doesn't matter where I am. I just need to wait to be sent out."
"Hmm? The stone bricks here look really weird..."
Before he could finish his self-talk, a clear, childish voice came from behind him. Yun Che's face froze, and he almost forgot that there was still a little girl by his side.
The little girl's eyes were wide open, staring at the "weird" ancient castle in front of her, making a thoughtful expression.
"You still haven't told me your name yet," Yun Che said, using a gentle tone as much as possible. Since he had brought her out, he had to be responsible for her. At least he had to somehow figure out her origin.
"My name..." The little girl tilted her head, thought hard for a good while, then shook her head in frustration. "I... I can't remember..."
"Can't even remember your name?" Yun Che was amazed. "Then what can you remember?"
"Remember? I... I don't remember anything!" The little girl pouted her lips, her expression pitiful. "I don't remember who I am, why I'm here, where I came from... I don't remember anything. The only thing I remember is that when I woke up, I saw you, big brother."
Her blank, pitiful eyes made it impossible to suspect she was lying.
"Forget it." Yun Che sighed. Not remembering her past wasn't necessarily a bad thing for her. He then asked, "I saved you, so you should at least tell me your name, right? If you don't have a name, I'll have to give you one."
"Ah, really? Give me a name?" The little girl's eyes sparkled, and her face lit up with excitement. "Then what name will you give me, big brother?"
"A name..." Yun Che's expression was full of meaning as he looked at the little girl, dressed in a striking red dress, with long vermilion-red hair and vermilion-red eyes, just like a little fiery elf. He said, "How about... Hong'er?"
"Hong'er? Hong'er... Hong'er..." The little girl repeated the name several times, her eyebrows curved like crescent moons, showing incomparable joy. "I like it! I like it! From now on, I'm Hong'er! Hong'er! Hehehe..."
A new chapter in his memories, starting with a beautiful little girl who didn't know her origins... When Yun Che thought about this scene, he couldn't help but have a strange feeling.
Soon, Yun Che's expression became serious. He asked, "Hong'er, you've been staying in this ancient castle for a long time... Do you know what this ancient castle is? Or what this place is?"
"Not at all. I'm completely clueless." Hong'er shook her head blankly. "I slept the whole time, so I don't know anything. But I do know that the place where I was sleeping was very, very comfortable."
"What about the person who put you here? Do you remember anything?" Yun Che asked again.
"Don't remember!" Hong'er shook her head again, and then, as if she had thought of something, she said very seriously, "But the person who imprisoned me here must be a very, very bad guy!"
"...Is that really something you can be sure of?" Yun Che felt it was hard to judge, but he didn't ask further.
"So, big brother, you actually saved Hong'er, right?" Hong'er looked up at Yun Che, blinking her big, intelligent, watery eyes.
"That's right," Yun Che said. "I saved you from inside."
"So that means... big brother is the greatest hero of Hong'er's life!" Hong'er raised her hands high, her eyes glowing with the light of reverence. "Hong'er will be with big brother forever and ever! We're never, ever separating!"
Yun Che's face stiffened, and he asked painfully, "Could it be that you plan to... cling to me from now on?"
"That goes without saying! Hong'er is such a beautiful, cute little girl. Having her with you must make you very happy, right, big brother?" Hong'er held her cheeks with both hands and put on a beautiful, adorable expression.
The corners of Yun Che's mouth twitched wildly. He had originally thought that the person trapped inside this ancient castle must be an unfathomably powerful expert. If he saved them, they might be grateful to him, and at the very least, they'd owe him a life-saving favor. For him, it would be an immeasurable benefit... Would they give him some world-defying treasure? Or use their powerful strength to fulfill some wish of his? Maybe they could even send him directly back to the Tian Xuan Continent.
But the result was that he didn't save some great expert, nor did he gain any benefit. Instead, it was this little girl! Even if it were a little girl, that would be one thing... But besides himself, there was no one else here, and this little girl had no trace of power aura. If he left her here alone, she would die for sure. And if he brought her along to leave this Primordial Mystic Ark...
Damn! Wasn't this just getting himself a huge ball and chain!
By himself, he could do as he pleased with no distractions and go anywhere, no matter how dangerous. But if he had such a big ball and chain...
Just thinking about it made Yun Che short of breath.
But if he really abandoned her... Sigh, after all, he had saved her, and he couldn't bear to do it.
Hong'er looked at Yun Che with tearful eyes but found him standing there dumbfounded, not noticing her pitiful look at all. She pouted her lips and said timidly with grievance, "Big brother, I fell and it hurts, and you don't even care about me..."
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Hong'er's stomach rumbled at just the right time. She covered her little belly, and her expression and eyes became even more pitiful. "Wah... I'm so hungry. I'm starving to death. Big brother, can you get me something delicious to eat?"
"Then at least you have to tell me what you want to eat." Yun Che said with a pained expression.
"Wah... I don't know..."
"How can someone not know what they want to eat when they're hungry?!"
"But I really don't know!"
Yun Che was going crazy.
"Fine, I'll go find you something to eat." Yun Che could only blurt out a sentence to calm her down, then walked forward to observe the surrounding terrain, looking for any unusual signs.
"Big brother, where are you going?" As soon as she saw Yun Che walking away, Hong'er immediately hurriedly followed, trailing behind him step by step. Wherever he went, she followed. When he stopped, she stopped too. Her vermilion eyes kept staring at his figure, as if afraid he might suddenly run away.
"You're not planning to stick with me like this from now on, are you?" Yun Che turned around and said with a pained expression.
"Of course! A beautiful, cute little girl like me following you must make you very happy, right, big brother?" Hong'er held her cheeks with both hands and put on a sweet, adorable look.
Yun Che bent down, put on an evil and sinister expression, and said in a low voice, "Little sister, I forgot to tell you, I am... a super big pervert who specializes in tricking little girls!"
"I can vouch for that," Mo Li said flatly beside him.
"Super... big pervert?" Hong'er bit her finger and blinked in confusion. "What's that? Can I eat it?"
"...It's a super big bad guy who bullies beautiful girls and even eats them up!" Yun Che gritted his teeth and put on a fierce expression. "Are you scared?"
"Umm..." Hong'er blinked blankly. "I still don't really get it, but it sounds impressive. Anyway, let's go find me something delicious to eat!"
"~!@#$%..."
A deep sense of helplessness washed over Yun Che. He had a premonition that unless he hardened his heart and abandoned this little girl to fend for herself, he wouldn't be able to get rid of this ball and chain.
The tremor in the space gradually became more intense. Yun Che walked over to an ancient tree, looked into the distance for a while, and found that the farthest point of his vision was still a stretch of wasteland. In the remaining time, he couldn't reach the end. So he sat down on the ground, thinking about the little girl while waiting for the repelling aura to arrive.
"Finally leaving this place..." Recalling the two years he had spent in the Primordial Mystic Ark, Yun Che sighed with emotion. The hardships he had endured in those two years were unimaginable to ordinary people. At the same time, his cultivation had improved immensely. But no matter how much he improved, he could no longer find the way back.
"That remnant soul said it controlled the ark to search for the Heavenly Poison Pearl in various worlds. So every time the ark stops, it should be in a world with many living beings, like Tian Xuan Continent, not a barren one... I hope so." Yun Che couldn't predict which world he would be taken to, so he could only comfort himself for now. But no matter which world he ended up in, what determined destiny and level would always be strength.
Thinking of this, Yun Che took out the two broken pieces of Dragon Gate and placed them in front of him. The breaking of Dragon Gate was a huge regret and loss for him. Without Dragon Gate, his combat power would inevitably drop significantly. Arriving in a completely new world, he had no confidence at all that he could find a weapon to replace Dragon Gate in a short time. Looking at the lifeless, broken Dragon Gate, he muttered to himself, "In the new world, the first thing I do is find a way to repair you..."
"Sniff... sniff sniff!"
Suddenly, heavy sniffing sounds came from beside Yun Che. The little girl, who had been listless from hunger, "whooshed" as she straightened up, frantically twitching her little nose: "So fragrant... so fragrant! I smell something delicious! Where is it, where is it, where is it..."
As the girl sniffed, drool dripped down from the corners of her mouth. She took a big gulp, but immediately it poured all over the ground again, impossible to stop. The little girl searched for a while, and when her gaze landed on the broken Dragon Gate, her eyes suddenly sparkled with brilliant light.
"Delicious... delicious!!"
The little girl shrieked and practically pounced on it, hugging Dragon Gate tightly. Her extremely strange actions made Yun Che's face twitch uncontrollably. He said weakly, "Don't be silly. It's very heavy... I... damn it!!"
After grabbing Dragon Gate, the little girl flipped over and actually lifted it up...
Lifted it up!!
Although Dragon Gate was broken and had lost all its power aura, its weight hadn't changed at all! Each piece weighed ten thousand jin! But this little girl, who got tired from walking and stumbled from time to time, casually picked up a piece of Dragon Gate, and from the looks of it, she didn't even seem to be straining!
Splash, splash...
Uncontrollable drool poured down from the girl's lips, wetting a large area of the dark gray sword body. The girl took another big gulp of saliva, then, with sparkling eyes, opened her mouth and bit down on Dragon Gate's blade.
Crunch!
The blade of Dragon Gate was bitten off a large chunk along the line where the girl's teeth landed. The girl puffed out her cheeks, chewing "nom, nom" as if she were munching on sweet candy beans, and then with a "gulp," she swallowed it down.
Yun Che stared at the tooth-mark-shaped gap on Dragon Gate's blade. His eyes widened, his entire body completely petrified, and his mouth opened wide enough to fit a full-grown yak.
...