Chapter 260: Where Is This?
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“Are you happy now?” Lu Mingshu asked.
Ying coughed and looked at her with a poker face.
“Can you tell me your name now?”
“Didn’t I already tell you? It’s Ying.”
Lu Mingshu stared at her for a while. “Beiming is rather far from Xichuan, right?”
Ying nodded, but after realizing she Lu Mingshu just said, she turned to her and gave a deadly glare.
But Lu Mingshu was just smiling thinly at her, and her dimples could be seen.
“How did you know?” Ying stared at her fiercely.
“How could I not tell?” Lu Mingshu raised her eyebrows. “I grew up there too.”
“Where did I make a mistake?” Ying probed, not wanting to give up.
Lu Mingshu sighed and pointed to Ying’s hand. “No matter how hard you try to change them, your skills are the same as mine, so you’re obviously from Nine Jade Palace.”
Ying didn’t respond. The three words “Nine Jade Palace” made her heart clench.
“So, what’s your name?” Lu Mingshu repeated her question.
There was no reply right away. Ying stared at her feet for a moment before answering, “Zhou Ruying.”
“Zhou… Ruying?” Lu Mingshu paused after her surname before continuing.
Zhou Ruying looked up, and it was unclear whether she was tired or relieved. “Yes. Zhou Miaoru’s Zhou.”
“So, my stepmother sent you here, huh?” Lu Mingshu looked at her calmly.
“Yes, here to kill you.” Zhou Ruying nodded.
“Why didn’t you?”
Why didn’t I? Ying bit her lips. She couldn’t really answer.
The Pure White Grace Pavilion was bribed by the Ye Family into finding someone to deal with Lu Mingshu, and Ying needed a chance to fulfil her mission, so she used the name of the Pure White Grace Pavilion to get into Jasper Sun Mountain.
At the start, she was really set on dealing with Lu Mingshu. Ying was glad that they became partners, as it would give her a great chance.
But unconsciously, she became used to cooperating with Lu Mingshu and started focusing on the test instead.
Soon, they were in the cave, and she no longer had a chance.
Actually, that wasn’t completely accurate; if she had chosen to join forces with Ling Wuxia, Lu Mingshu would’ve surely been dead by now.
But Ying didn’t do so.
“Because I didn’t. Even if I want to now, it’s too late, isn’t it?”
Lu Mingshu nodded. “Of course, I wouldn’t have let you have a chance anyway since I already knew about it. However…” she looked at Ying, “can you go back without killing me?”
Zhou Ruying continued to stare blankly into space, not answering.
“Zhou Miaoru won’t let you off, will she?”
Lu Mingshu didn’t even need Zhou Ruying’s answer to know the consequences she would face. “If I’m not dead, you’ll be homeless.”
Zhou Ruying remained silent.
Growing up in the Zhou Family, Zhou Ruying knew Zhou Miaoru like the back of her hand. The gentle and caring mother was just a mask, hiding the disgusting and selfish side of her.
That was what the Zhou sisters were like.
For example, she was born way more talented than her sisters. On the other hand, Zhou Yinru’s cultivation was stagnant at the Harmonization Realm. Seeing Zhou Ruying about to break through to the Spirit Realm, Zhou Yinru was overtaken by jealousy and sabotaged Zhou Ruying’s medicine, causing Zhou Ruying’s body to be damaged and forever remain in the Harmonization Realm, ruining her future.
Zhou Miaoru knew about this, but not only did she not care, she even took the opportunity to turn Zhou Ruying into a killing machine that worked for her.
Zhou Ruying didn’t even know how she had survived the past few years.
How will Zhou Miaoru punish me for failing my mission? Perhaps kick me out because I’m no longer useful to her anymore?
“How does Zhou Miaoru control you?” Lu Mingshu asked sincerely. “Poison? Will you die if she does not give you the antidote?”
“No.” Zhou Ruying shook her head.
“Then why are you still listening to her?” Lu Mingshu asked again. “The world is a big place. No matter what, you’re a Harmonization Realm cultivator. You would surely be able to survive out there.”
Zhou Ruying didn’t respond. That question had never crossed her mind, and it probably never would have if she hadn’t failed her mission today.
She was an orphan taken in by the Zhou Family. Since she was about Zhou Yinru’s age, she grew up with her, so it never crossed her mind.
Seeing her not responding, Lu Mingshu stopped asking. Well, being in that environment, she has her own difficulties. It’s not right to keep probing.
“She finally couldn’t take it anymore, huh?” Lu Mingshu said mockingly. “I thought she would be smarter, but I guess she’s just an idiot.”
Even though it sounded crude, it was actually a very good idea. If Zhou Ruying killed Lu Mingshu, all of Zhou Miaoru’s problems would be solved. However, what happened afterwards might not be as pleasant as Zhao Miaoru hoped.
“Whatever, let’s talk about it later.” Lu Mingshu looked up. “Let’s figure out a way to deal with this.”
As she was talking, somebody walked in.
Some guys wearing the same kind of clothes came in. As if they were choosing animals, they took most of the people in the hall, leaving only three: Lu Mingshu, Zhou Ruying, and… Ling Wuxia.
Zhou Ruying would’ve laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious.
Zhou Ruying was different; what had she not gone through while working for Zhou Miaoru? On the other hand, Lu Mingshu and Ling Wuxia… an icy lone wolf and an immortal fairy in a mortal’s world who had always been worshipped. When had these two been in such an embarrassing situation? Such sorry figures, with a bunch of people looking at them like they were trash. It was such a joke.
“Do you know where we are?” Zhou Ruying asked.
Lu Mingshu shook her head. “I only woke up slightly earlier than you.”
“So, we…”
“I asked someone. It’s something like, we were on the road and some human traffickers picked us up as slaves to sell.”
Zhou Ruying really wanted to laugh out loud. Was this considered good luck or bad luck?
“This doesn’t look like Beiming.”
“No need to guess; this is another world,” Lu Mingshu told her frankly.
“Another world?” Zhou Ruying felt chills down her spine. “What are you talking about?”
“In other words, we are in a different dimension.” Lu Mingshu picked up a stick and started drawing on the ground. “This circle is where we were.” She then drew another circle, connected to the previous one. “This is another world. They’re connected somehow, but they are two different worlds.”
“…” Zhou Ruying stared at her blankly. “How do you know so much?”
“Have you forgotten where I grew up? Heavenly Ascension Pavilion is filled with books.”
Zhou Ruying bit her lips.
“So, what do we do? Can we go back?”
“I don’t know.” Lu Mingshu took out the mirror. “Let’s see.”
Suddenly, a white shadow pounced over. It was Ling Wuxia. “Give me that!”
Lu Mingshu jumped up and tried to kick her.
However, Ling Wuxia dodged it.
Even without mystic force, the skills of a martial artist wouldn’t just disappear.