The Junior Sister Isn't Flirtatious At All; It's All Their Fault for Being Too Seductive - Chapter 73

The following day, Jiang Luoyue, Lin Xi, and Jiang Luoxing disguised themselves as ordinary commoners and followed the local citizens up the mountain.

“Just arrived? No way to make a living yet, I take it?” an old man said warmly. “You’ve got a big group and you’re all young. Hunt some game, gather some medicinal herbs, and once you’ve saved up some money, set up a stall. You’ll make a life for yourselves in no time.”

“Thank you, Uncle. That’s exactly what we’re planning,” Jiang Luoxing replied. Having come from a poor background, he was intimately familiar with this kind of conversation.

They feigned gathering and hunting as they climbed higher. Several passing citizens kindly warned them not to go too far.

“You’re new, so you don’t know—the deep mountains are very dangerous.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Jiang Luoxing said with a smile and a nod.

They veered off toward the less populated areas until no one was left in sight, then continued their ascent. At the mountainside, a thick fog appeared, so dense that they could barely see their own hands in front of them.

“It’s demonic energy,” Lin Xi said, frowning.

“Should we go in?” Jiang Luoxing asked, looking toward Jiang Luoyue.

“Let’s head back and talk to the others first. We should observe for a bit and see if there’s a better entrance,” Jiang Luoyue replied. She didn’t intend to charge in blindly, especially since Luan Yao was already warning her in her mind: “If you go in, you won’t be able to use your spiritual power.”

Upon returning, they relayed what they had seen to Yue Wenqiu and Li Changting.

“The mountain is definitely suspicious, but we can’t be certain the missing cultivators are there. Our primary mission is to find them without causing unnecessary trouble,” Yue Wenqiu analyzed, eventually reaching a conclusion.

“Brother Yue is right,” Jiang Luoxing agreed.

They decided not to rush into the fog recklessly. For three consecutive days, however, their search yielded no results. It wasn’t until a few days later that they finally intercepted a disheveled-looking cultivator.

“Who are you?” The cultivator instinctively reached for his sword when he saw them, but his waist was empty. Finding himself weaponless, he could only watch them warily.

“I am Yue Wenqiu of the Dongyue Sect. Are you one of the captured cultivators?” Yue Wenqiu asked, moving quickly to reassure him. In the cultivation world, Yue Wenqiu’s name carried the most weight among their group.

“You are Young Master Wenqiu?! Are you here to save us?” The cultivator nearly wept with relief. “I am Jiang Xuan from the Beiluan Sect.”

“The demons captured us to refine us directly into pills. Eating them causes a massive surge in cultivation. Many cultivators have already been refined,” Jiang Xuan said, his face full of despair.

“Did anyone notice you escaped?” Lin Xi asked. Standing here chatting felt far too dangerous.

Jiang Xuan froze, then tried to pull them away. “I was spotted. They should be catching up soon!”

Li Changting handed him two bottles of pills. “We have a house at the foot of the mountain. Go hide there. These pills will help you recover; leave the rest to us.”

Jiang Xuan nodded. As a Golden Core cultivator, he still possessed basic self-preservation skills.

“Most of the captured are Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators. The demons involved are likely at the Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation stages—not invincible, but certainly not weak. You must be careful…” Jiang Xuan shared as much as he knew.

“Understood. Rest easy, Brother Jiang. Go now,” Yue Wenqiu said, patting him on the shoulder. Jiang Xuan gave a grateful nod and sprinted down the mountain without a moment’s delay.

“Let’s move,” Jiang Luoyue said. “The place where Brother Jiang Xuan emerged should be the entrance.”

Lin Xi nodded. “It is indeed here. I can sense the fluctuations of a formation.”

They stepped into the mist, and the scene shifted instantly.

Jiang Luoyue’s foot crunched down on a hard object. Startled, she looked down and saw a crushed soda can. She was back on a modern street, but the surroundings were in total chaos.

A guttural roar echoed behind her. Jiang Luoyue turned to find a zombie lunging at her.

Is this an illusion? Having been in the cultivation world for so long, Jiang Luoyue was certain she hadn’t suddenly traveled back in time. She reached for a magical tool, only to find her hands empty. She was wearing the same grimy, worn-out clothes from her time in the apocalypse.

Just as she momentarily dithered, the zombie’s head exploded.

Song Weiyuan tapped her on the head. “What are you dazing off for? The zombie was right on top of you.”

The Song Weiyuan before her looked nothing like the elegant Young Master Song from the cultivation world. He looked haggard and disheveled, but his eyes were still fierce with a desperate will to survive.

Song Weiyuan grabbed her hand and pulled her into a nearby convenience store. There were zombies inside as well, but he dispatched them with practiced, agile movements.

His grip on Jiang Luoyue’s wrist was so tight it hurt, which snapped her back to reality. The moment they entered, she slammed the door shut, dragging a nearby counter over to barricade it. Once the zombies inside were cleared, the two of them worked together to pile shelves against the entrance.

Exhausted, they slumped against the wall, gasping for air.

“Luoyue, the two of us traveling alone isn’t sustainable. We need to find a survivor base soon,” Song Weiyuan said.

“Yeah,” Jiang Luoyue nodded. She remembered this. Later, they would head to the Hope Base about ten miles away. It was during a supply run with the base members that Song Weiyuan would lose his life to save her.

In this apocalypse, being able to open your eyes to the next morning’s sun was a stroke of luck. Death was always expected.

“What’s wrong, Luoyue? You’re very distracted today,” Song Weiyuan asked concernedly.

“Just a bit hungry. Feeling a little dizzy,” Jiang Luoyue lied, forcing a smile.

“Let’s see if there’s anything to eat in here,” Song Weiyuan said, standing up to scavenge.

The store had clearly been looted multiple times; very few supplies remained, especially precious food. Fortunately, they found a few sausages and three bags of bread near the expiration date in a corner.

“There’s cat food and cat treats too. I wonder if humans can eat them,” Song Weiyuan said, pulling out everything he could find.

“Technically yes, but it probably tastes awful,” Jiang Luoyue said, her face twisting in distaste.

“True,” Song Weiyuan sighed regretfully.

Obviously, a few sausages and some bread wouldn’t fill two adults, but it was better than nothing. After a quick meal and a night’s rest, they hurried toward the survival base.

Due to their skills, the base welcomed them readily. In her previous life, they had indeed enjoyed a period of peace there. Song Weiyuan’s death had always been a knot in Jiang Luoyue’s heart; this time, she was determined to save her cousin.

When the critical moment of Song Weiyuan’s death arrived, Jiang Luoyue successfully saved him. Song Weiyuan and the other team members were left shaken.

“That scared the life out of me. I really thought I was a goner,” Song Weiyuan said, patting his chest and letting out a hearty laugh. He truly had felt the premonition of death just moments ago.

Jiang Luoyue reached out and covered his mouth. “Cousin, don’t say things like that.”

They had faced so many life-and-death moments, and the word “death” had been uttered countless times before, but Luoyue had never cared this much. Still, Song Weiyuan nodded.

“Alright, I won’t say it again.”