Chapter 75: Gardener

"You have seen my sincerity, and besides, my injuries have not yet fully healed. If you let me go out first to recover, wouldn't I be able to do more for you?" Junior Brother Bai Ming felt a bit uneasy, but he did not avert his gaze.

The Giant Lizard's blue eyelids opened and closed, and its tongue kept making hissing sounds.

The behemoth was inches away, and it seemed as if it would bite down at any moment.

Enduring the hot air from the Giant Lizard's mouth, Junior Brother Bai Ming was tense all over, his face covered in the Giant Lizard's saliva.

The Giant Lizard stopped flicking its tongue and swung its sharp claws.

A blue scale detached from its body and flew slowly toward Junior Brother Bai Ming on the ground.

Just as it was about to touch Junior Brother Bai Ming, the blue scale rapidly shrank and became translucent.

The scale turned into a flash of light and vanished. Junior Brother Bai Ming looked down at his right hand, where a pale blue mark had appeared on his wrist.

That scale had already merged into his hand.

Touching the mark on his wrist, Junior Brother Bai Ming could feel that a subtle connection had been established between him and the Giant Lizard.

"It wants to track my location."

"It's really cautious, so afraid that I won't come back once I leave."

Junior Brother Bai Ming raised his right arm to show the mark to the Giant Lizard. "I can go now, right?"

The Giant Lizard nodded in satisfaction, the hostility in its golden pupils diminishing.

Retracting his hand, an idea formed in Junior Brother Bai Ming's mind.

"Does this thing have the effect of telepathic communication?"

To confirm his suspicion, he thought of some probing words in his mind.

"Little Lizard."

Junior Brother Bai Ming quietly observed the Giant Lizard's reaction, his heart beating a little faster.

The Giant Lizard flicked its tongue, its golden pupils showing no reaction.

"Phew, that's good."

"Then, goodbye."

Junior Brother Bai Ming walked toward the exit of the cave without looking back.

Watching Junior Brother Bai Ming's retreating figure, the Giant Lizard curled its lips slightly, its golden pupils rolling once, its gaze filled with hidden meaning.

"Hiss."

…

Ripples appeared on the mirror-smooth surface of the water, and some bubbles floated up.

Detecting the anomaly on the lake, Senior Brother Wei Yu reacted quickly, hovering in the air while holding a light spear.

A delicate-looking young man emerged from the lake, soaking wet, his hair dampened by the lake water and hanging loosely in front of his face.

Upon seeing the figure clearly, Senior Brother Wei Yu's eyes narrowed, his voice trembling. "Junior Brother."

Hearing the voice, Junior Brother Bai Ming pushed the hair covering his vision to both sides, finally seeing Senior Brother Wei Yu standing before him, holding a light spear and still maintaining a defensive posture.

He was a bit surprised. "Senior Brother Wei."

Senior Brother Wei Yu reached out his hand. "Let's leave this place first."

"Alright." Junior Brother Bai Ming took Senior Brother Wei Yu's hand.

A golden light carried the two of them rapidly away from the valley.

The two were silent the whole way, the worry between Senior Brother Wei Yu's brows dissipating as he glanced at Junior Brother Bai Ming beside him.

He had many questions in his heart.

How did Junior Brother survive, and what had he suffered during this time?

But it was clearly unwise to ask here.

This was, after all, the territory of a Golden Core Stage spirit beast.

He could only suppress the excitement in his heart and take Junior Brother Bai Ming away from here at maximum speed.

As they got closer to the valley exit, the light from outside the valley shone on them, revealing the blurry silhouette of a young girl.

Senior Brother Wei Yu sighed, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips; clearly, he was somewhat surprised by the girl's appearance.

Seeing the two appear, Senior Sister Tao Yu put away the exquisite small lock she had been toying with.

"Junior Sister, didn't I tell you to go back first?" Senior Brother Wei Yu extended his left arm.

Senior Sister Tao Yu hugged his arm. "Is that so? I thought I heard you tell me to wait outside the cave."

Senior Brother Wei Yu chuckled twice. "It's good that you're fine. This place is not suitable for a long stay; let's go back and talk."

Clutching Senior Brother Wei Yu's left arm, Senior Sister Tao Yu's beautiful eyes glanced at the soaking wet Junior Brother Bai Ming on the other side.

Her gaze was calm; she didn't seem very surprised by Junior Brother Bai Ming's appearance, but she was rather curious about his experiences.

Senior Sister Tao Yu said softly, "Welcome back, Junior Brother."

Junior Brother Bai Ming nodded. "Thank you, Senior Sister."

A sharp golden streak cut across the clear sky. After traversing the currents in the firmament, the golden streak reached its destination and descended toward the ground.

The golden light slowly dissipated, revealing the figures of the three.

Senior Brother Wei Yu could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart and placed a hand on Junior Brother Bai Ming's shoulder. "It is truly great that you could return, Junior Brother. This trip is all my fault, causing you to suffer such a disaster."

Feeling the concern in Senior Brother Wei Yu's words, Junior Brother Bai Ming smiled. "How could this be Senior Brother's fault? Under those circumstances, you already did well enough."

Senior Sister Tao Yu chimed in, "Isn't Junior Brother perfectly fine? Senior Brother, don't blame yourself too much."

"It's good that you're back. If you hadn't returned, I truly wouldn't have known what to do." Senior Brother Wei Yu's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Junior Brother Bai Ming patted Senior Brother Wei Yu's shoulder. "Thank you, Senior Brother."

Senior Sister Tao Yu's eyes flashed with curiosity. "By the way, Junior Brother, how did you actually manage to come back?"

Senior Brother Wei Yu's eyes gleamed; clearly, he was also extremely interested.

After all, that was a Golden Core Stage spirit beast. A Qi Refining cultivator whose spiritual roots had not fully healed had actually managed to escape from its mouth.

And that too, from the bottom of a lake of unknown depth.

Watching the inquisitive looks on their faces, Junior Brother Bai Ming frowned slightly, feeling troubled.

He couldn't exactly say that he had managed to get out by serving the spirit beast as a servant.

He still had the spirit beast's mark on his hand.

"This… it's a long story." Junior Brother Bai Ming hesitated, sounding somewhat reluctant.

He took out his storage bag. "However, Senior Brother should take a look at this first."

A clump of emerald green spiritual algae appeared in Junior Brother Bai Ming's hand.

Senior Brother Wei Yu followed his gaze. "This is jade algae of the blue spring! Junior Brother, how did you get this?"

Senior Sister Tao Yu gave a soft exclamation of surprise, a flash of astonishment crossing her eyes. "It is indeed jade algae of the blue spring, and of a very high quality at that. It seems you had quite an adventure this time, Junior Brother."

Junior Brother Bai Ming was slightly taken aback and handed over the spiritual algae. "I suppose so. Didn't Senior Brother want this spiritual algae?"

Senior Brother Wei Yu waved his hand. "This is Junior Brother's fortuitous encounter; how could I accept it?"

Junior Brother Bai Ming's tone was sincere. "Didn't Senior Brother also gift me a spiritual flower? What's the harm in this?"

"That would be rather disrespectful to refuse. But how can the cangyue heart flower compare to this jade algae of the blue spring? Next time, Senior Brother will definitely make it up to you." Senior Brother Wei Yu accepted it helplessly, his face showing a hint of shame.

Senior Sister Tao Yu's eyes were unreadable. "So, Junior Brother, how did you actually survive?"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid this question, Junior Brother Bai Ming first let out a long sigh and recounted it with some omissions, keeping it as vague and simple as possible.

He omitted the parts about the Qingming Storm Soul and being branded with the mark, retaining only the part about repairing the spiritual herbs.

"So the spirit beast captured you to act as a gardener?" A smile appeared on Senior Sister Tao Yu's face. "And then you were sent back after perfectly completing the task?"

"Taking care of spiritual herbs for a spirit beast; that is indeed a very unique experience." Senior Brother Wei Yu analyzed while resting his chin on his hand.

Junior Brother Bai Ming looked troubled. "I really don't want to recall it."

"Junior Brother, you really have quite the good fortune; even a spirit beast treats you so well." Senior Sister Tao Yu's tone was gentle, seemingly carrying an ulterior meaning.

"It's over."

He had encountered too many things and had momentarily forgotten Senior Sister's true nature.

A chill ran down his back, and Junior Brother Bai Ming moved slightly further away from Senior Brother Wei Yu in a natural motion.

"Alright, I assume you must be tired after going through all this, Junior Brother. It's getting late, so we won't disturb your rest." Senior Brother Wei Yu stood up, preparing to leave.

Senior Sister Tao Yu followed behind Senior Brother Wei Yu, turning back to glance at Junior Brother Bai Ming once.

Sensing that strange look in Senior Sister Tao Yu's eyes, Junior Brother Bai Ming's heart turned half cold, a hint of bitterness appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"It seems I have to go again tonight."