I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 23.2

Tang Shanshan’s heart nearly stopped. Qi Yan was being reckless using her bare flesh to block like that would surely cost her the entire left hand!

But the feared outcome didn’t happen. A brilliant white light erupted from Qi Yan’s left hand, accompanied by a piercing metallic clang, clang! and in that flash of light, Tang Shanshan once again saw the celestial maiden.

Her jaw dropped in shock.

This time, she was close enough to see clearly, the celestial maiden had emerged from the ring on Qi Yan’s finger!

Born from that dazzling white radiance, she broke free from the light and shielded them from the ghost’s attack.

Qi Yan seemed to regain her soul in that instant, exhaling sharply as if she had just run a marathon, panting heavily from exhaustion.

“Haha, finally!” Qi Yan grabbed Tang Shanshan’s arm. “Quick, fly farther away!”

“Oh, okay, got it!” Tang Shanshan snapped out of her daze upon receiving the instruction and quickly pulled Qi Yan a bit farther away.

Qi Yan glanced at Bai Qing, who had completely subdued Cuilan, then looked down at the disheveled Huo Zheng scrambling below. Hurriedly, she said, “Quick, quick! Let’s go down! We need to help him!”

Tang Shanshan’s mind was still in a fog, so she basically followed Qi Yan’s lead without question. Adjusting the crow-feather cloak, she immediately dove toward Huo Zheng.

Meanwhile, Bai Qing, who was relentlessly hacking at Cuilan, sent a telepathic message to Qi Yan: “Kid, beneath the ancestral tablet altar in the shrine that’s likely the ‘eye’ you’re looking for.”

Qi Yan, her mouth full of wind from the rapid descent, barely had her feet touch the ground when she heard Bai Qing mention the “eye” under the altar. She didn’t even have time to catch her breath, nearly choking on the wind and her own gasp.

“Xiao Tang! Xiao Tang!” Qi Yan sprinted toward the shrine as soon as she landed, shouting, “The ‘eye’ is under the shrine’s altar! I’ll go find it, you and Brother Huo hold off that ghost!”

The three of them had traveled together this far, and their trust in each other had silently grown to a considerable degree, even if they hadn’t fully acknowledged it yet.

Tang Shanshan nodded repeatedly. “Go, go! Brother Huo and I will handle this. Once we find the spot, we’ll regroup with you!”

Qi Yan urged, “Don’t get too caught up in the fight run if you can!” She pointed at Bai Qing. “She’ll cover you!”

Bai Qing had Cuilan completely pinned down. Even though the ghost had long since descended into madness, she was still no match for Bai Qing.

The proud Demon King was deeply frustrated. At her full strength, she could have annihilated this ghost with a single strike, why was it taking so much effort now?

On top of that, her recent battle with the Teng Snake had drained her significantly. With less than twenty percent of her spiritual power remaining, she was beyond irritated!

Qi Yan rushed into the shrine, ignoring the blood and chaos strewn across the floor. She yanked off the altar cloth and ducked underneath.

It was pitch black beneath the altar. Qi Yan fumbled for the small flashlight Tang Shanshan had given her earlier and began frantically searching in the darkness, sweat beading on her forehead.

Kneeling on the ground, she knocked around blindly but couldn’t find any sign of an exit. A wave of intense dizziness hit her. Clutching her head, she straightened slightly, her hand accidentally bumping against a wall in front of the altar.

Thud!

Qi Yan’s eyes snapped open. The sound was hollow not the solid thump of a normal wall!

It’s here! It has to be here!

Gritting her teeth against her body’s discomfort, she raised her hand and began slapping the wall in front of her.

Thud!thud!

After several strikes, she finally threw her shoulder into it.

Crash!

The wall shattered, revealing a dark cavern hidden behind it. Losing her balance, Qi Yan tumbled forward.

Her upper body passed through the broken wall, and she saw what lay beyond, a pitch-black passage. At the end of it was something resembling an eye. Sensing her presence, the eye slowly opened, its black pupil rotating once before a click sounded, as though some mechanism had been triggered. The pupil froze, then split down the middle, parting to reveal a door at the end.

Qi Yan’s heart surged with wild joy. She let out two exhilarated shouts, venting the overwhelming rush of emotions inside her. But she wasn’t so overjoyed that she forgot about Bai Qing and the other two. Quickly, she hunched over and backed out of the hole, scrambling from under the altar and dashing to the shrine’s entrance.

“Hurry hah, come quick! Found it! I found the ‘Eye’!”

At this moment, she was dizzy beyond belief, but she still mustered all her strength to call out to her companions.

Bai Qing heard her voice, and her gaze instantly sharpened. Channeling all the spiritual energy she had left, she swung her sword, shattering Cuilan’s firewood cleaver in one strike, then kicked Cuilan flying with a swift motion.

Excessive use of spiritual energy would bring severe consequences Bai Qing knew this well. She no longer lingered in the fight, leaping down toward the ancestral hall, ready to take Qi Yan and leave.

In that brief moment, the little one was already on the verge of collapse, slumped weakly against the entrance of the ancestral hall.

“Let’s go, quick.” Bai Qing grabbed Qi Yan’s arm, only to be stopped by her.

“Go help them!”

Bai Qing frowned. “You’re barely standing yourself, and you still care about others?”

“Still have to help them.” Qi Yan clutched Bai Qing’s hand tightly, lifting her gaze to meet hers. Her lips were pale from exhaustion. “We’ve come this far, it’d be such a waste not to bring them out.”

Bai Qing lowered her eyes to their intertwined hands and finally sighed in resignation. “Fine.”

She turned and charged forward, her sword flying from her hand with a piercing whistle, embedding itself straight into “Song Yu’s” chest.

Thanks to Bai Qing’s intervention, the flustered duo finally caught their breath. Without wasting a second, they turned and sprinted toward the ancestral hall.

Seeing the two rescued, Qi Yan finally relaxed completely. Her weakness made her sway, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Bai Qing reacted the fastest, catching her in one swift motion and pulling her into her arms.

“Th-thank you.” Qi Yan couldn’t even open her eyes, but the familiar, soothing fragrance from Bai Qing’s embrace brought her comfort.

Bai Qing pressed her lips together, flicking her sleeve to overturn the ancestral hall’s altar table. Beneath it, a hidden cave in the wall was revealed.

“Go.”

She uttered the single word coldly, letting Huo Zheng and Tang Shanshan pass through the cave first before carrying Qi Yan in last.

Before leaving, she glanced back at Hong Jie, who now stood before the ancestral hall.

Hong Jie stood with her hands behind her back, waving leisurely as if bidding farewell to an old friend.

Bai Qing’s eyes frosted over. She turned and stepped through the cave, leaving this place behind.

Watching as all three escaped without a single one left behind, Hong Jie tilted her head skyward, utterly indifferent. “It’s been a while since three people made it through.”

Passing through the now-open “Eye,” Tang Shanshan turned back worriedly to look at Qi Yan. She opened her mouth to say something, but Qi Yan, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, couldn’t see or hear her in time.

Amidst a dizzying whirlwind-like sensation, Qi Yan opened her eyes again to find herself seemingly back at home.

Bai Qing materialized beside her, looking down at her with a steady gaze.

Qi Yan suddenly broke into a silly grin, mumbling, “See? We made it out! First time. finally out! Alive! Isn’t that great?”

Bai Qing hummed in agreement. “Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

Qi Yan’s eyelids grew heavy, but she forced herself to murmur, “Stinky fox am I dreaming?”

Bai Qing snorted, merciless as ever. “Yep, so hurry up and wake up already. Stop daydreaming.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst. I won’t wake up. I’m gonna sleep now.”

In the dungeon, she had exhausted her own vitality to keep Bai Qing alive with a surge of spiritual energy, barely holding on all this time. Now, finally free from the storybook and back home, lying in her familiar bed, drowsiness threatened to swallow her whole in an instant. Yet, she kept her eyes open, staring at Bai Qing, as if genuinely afraid this was all a dream that if she closed her eyes and opened them again, she’d find herself still trapped in the storybook.

Bai Qing grew increasingly impatient under her gaze and bluntly said, “If you keep staring at me like that, believe me, I’ll knock you out cold.”

Qi Yan shuddered. She knew Bai Qing meant every word. Without another thought, she buried her head in the pillow and fell asleep.

But Bai Qing remained seated beside her, watching her for a long time.

Remembering how the little one had risked everything in the storybook to ask how to help restore her spiritual energy, Bai Qing curled her lips into a faint smile and gently brushed her fingers against the girl’s cheek.

Hmm. Truly a 22-year-old youngster, full of youthful vigor, with soft, tender skin brimming with collagen.

“Sleep well,” Bai Qing murmured, preparing to return to the ring. Her spiritual energy was depleted, and she needed a long time to recover.

But before she could leave, the sleeping girl grabbed her hand.

Frowning, the little one seemed restless, mumbling something in her sleep.

Bai Qing perked her ears and caught the word “cold.”

Isn’t this her own home? How could she be cold?

But now that she thought about it, there did seem to be a draft.

Bai Qing glanced toward the corner of the room, where a white object was continuously blowing out air. What was that?

The thousand-year-old Demon King had never seen such a thing before. Did this girl live in poverty? Why else would her house be so drafty?

With the wind seeping in constantly, no wonder she felt cold.

Her hand still held captive, Bai Qing couldn’t bring herself to return to the ring just yet. She decided to stay by the girl’s side after all, she could cultivate here just as well.

Bound by a spiritual contract with the little one, as long as she stayed close, her cultivation would be twice as effective.

At first, Qi Yan slept fitfully, her dreams still haunted by the life-or-death scenarios from the storybook, and she shivered as if underdressed for the cold.

But then, somehow, the discomfort faded. It felt like a warm heat source had appeared beside her or perhaps, a massive, incredibly cozy blanket.

Humans instinctively seek warmth, and the sleeping Qi Yan followed her instincts, rolling straight into the embrace of the “blanket.” She slept soundly, completely unaware that the “blanket” had cracked open one eye, giving her a faint, sidelong glance.

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