After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by a Crazy and Beautiful Villain - Chapter 57.2

Zhang San lifted her chin and generously told Song Linlin, “Alright, take all these pills! Whether you keep them yourself or sell them is up to you. After all, when we went down the mountain, we used all your money. Consider this compensation!”

The expenses during their time down the mountain were mostly covered by Song Linlin. However, she had already earned all that money back, and much more, just by selling one batch of herbs at the medicine shop. Song Linlin hadn’t truly cared about the money she initially spent.

Song Linlin could only grasp Zhang San’s arm and sincerely say, “Zhang San, you truly are a good person.”

“You’re leaving this afternoon. Don’t move anymore. Go and rest while I help you pack,” Song Linlin was usually lazy, but having accepted so many good things from her, she naturally had to do some work for her, or she wouldn’t feel comfortable taking the goods.

Zhang San remained seated on the floor and just looked at Song Linlin, saying helplessly, “Do you know what these things are and how to categorize them?”

“Uh…”

Song Linlin looked at the pile of miscellaneous items in front of her. She really didn’t recognize most of them. “I don’t know…”

Zhang San shook her head and said, “You’d better just lend a hand on the side.”

Song Linlin didn’t insist, but her movements became noticeably more earnest than her initial half-hearted effort. “Alright then.”

Zhang San had a vast number of miscellaneous items, and even with both Song Linlin and Zhang San packing, they were busy until noon before they finally finished.

Once they were done, Song Linlin took Zhang San to the dining hall for lunch, and they agreed that Song Linlin would go to see Zhang San off in the afternoon, which would also be a chance to welcome the return of Ye Tingran, Zhiyu, and the others.

Song Linlin returned to her residence after lunch. It was still early, about an hour before her appointment with Zhang San. Also, having been gone all morning, she should tell Chi Qianning what she had been up to.

“So, Zhang San is leaving this afternoon. Do you want to come with me to see her off?” Song Linlin lay on the bed, finished explaining the morning’s events to Chi Qianning, and then asked.

Chi Qianning sat next to Song Linlin and didn’t answer immediately. After thinking for two seconds, just as she was about to speak, Song Linlin suddenly interrupted her.

“Wait, you can’t go.”

Song Linlin rubbed her chin, analyzing, “There will definitely be several powerful elders there, and Zhang San’s grandfather will be present too.”

“This time is not like the previous Sect Competition. There were so many people there, and it wasn’t obvious that you were hiding in the crowd. This time, there will only be a few people. You should stay in the room!”

Chi Qianning opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Song Linlin had already made the decision for her. In the end, she could only sigh.

“Alright.”

She had originally wanted to see Zhang San off, but since Song Linlin said so, and the afternoon sun was quite strong, she decided to stay in the room.

Song Linlin led Zhang San to the inner sect’s teleportation array. The two found a spot under the shade of a tree to squat down. The temperature had been gradually rising recently. Fortunately, they were in the mountains, where the temperature was much lower than down the mountain, but the sun was still dazzlingly bright.

The two had been waiting here for quite a while. Song Linlin squinted and looked at the array. There was still no movement inside the array.

Song Linlin’s legs were numb from squatting. She stood up, bent over, and massaged her numb calves, asking Zhang San next to her, “What time did your grandfather’s letter say they would arrive?”

“It said this afternoon.”

Zhang San took the letter directly from her pocket, read it carefully again, and after confirming she hadn’t misread it, she held out the letter to Song Linlin, stating matter-of-factly:

“You can see for yourself. It clearly says this afternoon.”

Song Linlin took the letter and looked at the spot Zhang San had pointed to. The content of the letter did indeed state that the group was expected to arrive at Xuan Cloud Sect at noon today.

“Well, it’s unavoidable that the estimated time is later than the actual time. Maybe something delayed them on the road. We’ll just keep waiting,” Song Linlin sighed and leaned against the tree trunk.

Zhang San also stood up from her squatting position and stretched her numb calves. Waiting in the high noon sun was bound to make one feel irritable. Although Zhang San secretly didn’t want to be taken back to the sect so soon, she now wished her grandfather would arrive quickly.

“How about we stop waiting here?” Zhang San looked at the unresponsive teleportation array and began to regret why they had rushed here so early.

She suddenly realized something, belatedly saying, “It seems we didn’t need to come over in the first place. Someone will surely notify me when they arrive at Xuan Cloud Sect that I should leave.”

Song Linlin looked equally enlightened after hearing her words, “You’re right! Doesn’t that mean we came over here for nothing?”

“How about we go back now!” Zhang San suggested.

Song Linlin silently thought about the distance from the teleportation array to Ziting Residence. It was too far. They had walked all this way here, and walking back would be too tiring. She advised, “Let’s forget it. Look, we’ve already come all this way, and we’ve waited for so long. It won’t hurt to wait a little longer.”

“Hmm… okay then.”

Zhang San nodded. They had been squatting under this tree for so long. If they just left now, wouldn’t all that waiting have been for nothing?

The two continued to stand leaning against the tree. Just as Song Linlin was about to fall asleep from waiting, the teleportation array finally showed some movement. Song Linlin was awakened by the sudden sound. She opened her eyes wide and immediately saw the array glowing, a clear sign that it had been activated.

Song Linlin quickly nudged the drowsy Zhang San leaning against her, forcefully waking her up, “Zhang San, wake up, don’t sleep!”

“Ah, what is it?” Zhang San opened her eyes, shaking her head and looking around.

“Look over there!” Song Linlin pointed in a direction, saying, “They seem to have arrived!”

Zhang San followed Song Linlin’s pointing finger and indeed saw the illuminated teleportation array. As the light grew brighter, a team of people finally appeared within the array. These were the same team that had set off for the Moon Mirror Secret Realm earlier. At the very front, besides the elder leading the team from Xuan Cloud Sect, stood a white-haired old man in a Daoist robe.

Zhang San naturally recognized this white-haired elder at a glance; it was her grandfather.

Song Linlin looked in that direction, and she acutely noticed that the size of the team seemed much smaller. The scale of their departure was much larger than this. Yet, after all these days, only about half of them had returned.

The most noticeable person among them was, naturally, Ye Tingran. Zhiyu stood right beside her. Song Linlin didn’t see Shen Wanyi at first, and her heart skipped a beat. Although Shen Wanyi hadn’t reached the Golden Core stage and only managed to get one of the twenty spots through bribery, she was from a major cultivation family and couldn’t possibly lack life-saving trump cards.

This person had, after all, given Song Linlin five thousand spirit stones, a kind act. Song Linlin squinted and searched carefully, only then noticing Shen Wanyi’s figure at the very end of the team. She looked incredibly haggard right now and was standing in the back, so Song Linlin hadn’t recognized her immediately.

Song Linlin and Zhang San walked towards their location. After so many days apart, Zhang San naturally went to talk to her grandfather, while Song Linlin first greeted Ye Tingran and Zhiyu.

“Senior Sister Ye, Senior Sister Zhiyu.”

As Song Linlin approached, she realized that most of the disciples looked relatively worn out and pale. Ye Tingran noticed Song Linlin walking over and nodded to her, “Junior Sister Song.”

“Are you… alright? How was the Moon Mirror Secret Realm?” Song Linlin sized up Ye Tingran. Her face was pale and lacked color. Zhiyu next to her wasn’t much better.

Ye Tingran sighed, “I sustained some injuries, but they’re nothing serious. I just need some rest later.”

“As for the Secret Realm… it’s hard to describe. In short, it was much more dangerous than any of us imagined.”

Although Ye Tingran didn’t elaborate, their appearances were enough to tell that it hadn’t been easy. Song Linlin nodded fearfully. Good thing I didn’t go to the Moon Mirror Secret Realm! If people stronger than her returned looking so haggard, Song Linlin felt she likely wouldn’t have made it back!

“Senior Sisters, I’ll excuse myself for a moment. I’m going to talk to Shen Wanyi,” Song Linlin planned to ask Shen Wanyi about the specific situation. This person was most likely to tell her everything.

Song Linlin went to the end of the team. Shen Wanyi, who usually had many valuable magical artifacts and ornaments on her, now only had the string of bells on her wrist and the jade pendant hanging from her waist. Everything else was gone. She was clearly still a bit absent-minded, and her hair was messy, showing she hadn’t bothered to comb it.

“Shen Wanyi, what happened? Why do you look so miserable?” Song Linlin asked curiously.

Shen Wanyi finally noticed Song Linlin by her side. She snapped back to reality and immediately said, “Song Linlin, I really should have listened to you at first! I shouldn’t have gone to that Moon Mirror Secret Realm. It’s too dangerous! I almost died several times. It was terrifying!”

“What was the situation inside?” Song Linlin frowned.

“You definitely can’t imagine it. It’s hard to describe. In short, it was much more dangerous than the records stated. Twenty of us went in, and only eleven came out alive. Most of them are injured, and one Senior Brother is currently lying on a stretcher,” Shen Wanyi lifted her chin, gesturing for Song Linlin to look in that direction.

Song Linlin turned around and indeed saw a man lying on a stretcher, covered in bandages, and with one arm missing. It was truly tragic.

“Hiss—” Song Linlin couldn’t help but gasp.

It was clearly the correct choice not to go to the Moon Mirror Secret Realm. This was too frightening!

Shen Wanyi also looked horrified. This trip had depleted most of her life-saving items. Fortunately, she came from a major noble family; otherwise, without so many life-saving measures, she would surely have died in that Secret Realm.

“We are the lucky ones, after all, we are disciples of a large sect. The teams from the smaller sects were mostly wiped out or had only one or two survivors.”

“I’m never rushing to get involved in things like this again. It really is most comfortable staying in the sect.”

Shen Wanyi lapsed back into a daze. Song Linlin had learned about the Secret Realm’s situation as she wished and didn’t bother her anymore. This person would likely need to rest in the sect for a few days to recover.

The elder leading the team instructed two disciples guarding the teleportation array to carry away the heavily injured man on the stretcher, and then announced the team’s disbandment. The members of the team dragged their tired bodies away from the array.

There were still many other disciples gathered to watch their return. A crowd stood outside the teleportation array, inquiring and discussing the events inside the Moon Mirror Secret Realm. After all, there were only twenty spots, and most who wanted to go didn’t get the chance. Now that the people had returned, they naturally wanted to ask for information.

As for whether they felt relieved that they hadn’t been selected after hearing about the situation inside the Secret Realm, Song Linlin had no way of knowing.

Daoist Zhang Hengyi was currently bidding farewell to the elder leading the team from Xuan Cloud Sect. However, his seniority and status were clearly much higher than the team leaders, and everyone else was respectful toward him.

Zhang San stood next to her grandfather. Now that she was truly about to leave, she was naturally filled with reluctance. She waved at Song Linlin, her face distressed, “I’m leaving, Song Linlin. I’ll come back to see you if I can leave the sect later.”

“Alright, you’re welcome to come and find me whenever you have the chance.” Song Linlin also waved back. Although Zhang San was a bit clueless at times, she wasn’t bad-hearted and even gave her so many pills. Moreover, given her identity as an alchemist, Song Linlin should be the one trying to curry favor with her.

The relationship between the two sects was very good, but the disciples of the Medicine King Valley were still waiting down the mountain. Zhang San’s grandfather naturally couldn’t linger here. After exchanging a few simple words with the other elder, he was ready to formally leave.

The teleportation array lit up again. Once Zhang San’s figure vanished, Song Linlin’s tasks for the afternoon were complete. She leisurely walked back towards her residence.

When she passed by Ye Tingran, the latter suddenly called out to stop her, “Junior Sister Song, wait!”

“Hmm?”

Song Linlin recognized Ye Tingran’s voice. She turned around and looked at Ye Tingran behind her, asking doubtfully, “Senior Sister Ye, is there something you need?”

Ye Tingran took out a secret manual from the satchel she carried with her and said with a slight smile, “Junior Sister Song, I acquired an excellent sword manual in the Secret Realm. I’ve already mastered several sword techniques, so I’ll give this one to you!”

“Huh?” Song Linlin looked confused. She wasn’t interested in sword manuals. She quickly waved her hand, declining, “No way, Senior Sister Ye. This is something you painstakingly acquired in the Secret Realm. How can I take it?!”