Involved in an Interesting Matter

Chapter 5: Entangled in Something Quite Interesting

After finishing the roasted rabbit, the two continued to traverse mountains and cross ridges.

This mountain range was relatively safe, with no fierce beasts appearing.

Based on their current pace, Ji Hongxue estimated they would reach Autumn Moon City in just three days.

They had traveled three hundred li when it was already late at night. Ji Hongxue was quite tired and suggested they rest until tomorrow before continuing their journey. An Bulang was indifferent; he was here to find himself and wasn't in a hurry, so he nodded in agreement.

The two found a clearing, chopped some firewood to start a bonfire, and then sat around it. Watching the bonfire crackle, its warmth was a rare and precious thing in the cool night air, lending a sense of inexplicable coziness.

An Bulang looked up at the night sky.

Stars were like a sea, and the moonlight was bright and clear.

From this spot, the stars seemed exceptionally high, like distant, unreachable gems. Unlike in the Immortal Emperor Palace, where the stars were too bright, with some below their feet and others in the sky. Beautiful, yes, but they all felt within reach.

"Distance creates beauty. Looking at the stars like this is also nice," An Bulang said with a smile, resting his arms under his head and lying on the grass.

"Looking at the stars like this? How else can you look at stars? Isn't this how everyone looks at them?" Ji Hongxue tilted her head, her beautiful eyes glancing at An Bulang. The bonfire's light cast a halo on her snow-white cheeks, making her appear exceptionally radiant and captivating.

An Bulang blinked, shifted his position, and propped his head up with his hands, his eyes fixed on the night sky. "I can look at stars like this."

Then he lay down on the ground, resting his chin on his hands, his eyes glancing at the night sky. "I can look at stars like this too."

Seeing this, Ji Hongxue rolled her eyes. "Boring..."

An Bulang walked over to Ji Hongxue, resting his head on her soft and slender thigh. "I can look at stars like this."

"It just blocks the view a bit." He found Ji Hongxue to be very attractive from this angle.

Ji Hongxue was stunned, her mind going blank for a moment, followed by thunderous rage. "Get lost!"

She slapped An Bulang away.

"Ouch!" An Bulang clutched his face and rolled to the other side of the grass, complaining, "Why did you hit me?"

"You, you still have the nerve to ask?" Ji Hongxue's chest heaved with anger, her fair cheeks flushed red. Her trembling finger pointed at An Bulang. "Pervert!"

An Bulang mused, "Is resting my head on a girl's thigh in the mortal world considered being a pervert?"

He often rested his head on the thighs of fairy sisters in the Immortal Realm.

"I'm sorry!" An Bulang suddenly lowered his head and apologized sincerely.

Ji Hongxue had expected An Bulang to deny it or make excuses, but she didn't anticipate him apologizing so readily and decisively. Although she was very angry, seeing his sincere and earnest demeanor, she found it difficult to continue being upset...

The woman could only continue to sit by the bonfire, sulking.

This young man's strength was terrifyingly high, so why was he so improper?

An Bulang? More like An Lang!

What a lecherous scoundrel!

Seeing Ji Hongxue purse her lips and look unhappy, An Bulang realized how serious his mistake was in looking at the stars earlier. He quickly stepped forward. "Don't be angry anymore. It was my fault. Tell me what I need to do to make you not angry anymore?"

Ji Hongxue had intended to stay angry, but her eyes darted around, and she said, "How about this: If you honestly answer one question for me, I won't be angry anymore."

"Alright, ask away," An Bulang replied.

Ji Hongxue, rarely having the chance to probe the mysterious young man's secrets, felt a bit nervous and excited. She moved closer to An Bulang and whispered, "Confess honestly, which sect are you a disciple of?"

"Not a sect. I cultivate at home," An Bulang answered truthfully.

"Cultivating at home?" Ji Hongxue was shocked. This was different from what she had imagined. "Then your parents must be very powerful."

An Bulang smiled. "Indeed, they are."

Ji Hongxue didn't pry further into family secrets, merely sighing with emotion. "To kill a Heaven-grade assassin from the Other Shore Pavilion at sixteen, and to instantly kill an eighth-level Mystic Body expert while only being at the third level of the Mystic Body, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I truly wouldn't have believed it."

An Bulang blinked and smiled without saying a word.

The cultivation realms were divided into six major realms: Mystic Body, Spirit Gathering, Heavenly Origin, Divine Sea, Seeking the Dao, and Tribulation Crossing. The Mystic Body stage had nine levels. As one absorbed spiritual energy into their body, continuously refining qi and blood, forging bones and muscles, and expanding meridians, they would become stronger.

If Ji Hongxue knew that he could have killed a ninth-level Mystic Body expert with a puff of baby breath when he was just born, she would have been astonished.

An Bulang, with his Innate Chaos Immortal Physique, reached Spirit Gathering at one year old, Heavenly Origin at three, Divine Sea at five, Seeking the Dao at ten, and entered the Tribulation Crossing realm at fifteen. At sixteen, his father had slapped him back to the Mystic Body realm...

His father said he broke through too quickly and wasn't suited for Tribulation Crossing, so he made him re-cultivate.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh again.

What a joke, re-cultivating! It was like going back to square one, sixteen years of effort washed away!

The key was that An Bulang didn't even have the chance to resist; all he could do was whimper and whimper.

"So... you ran away from home? Judging by your expression, you miss home?" Ji Hongxue recalled An Bulang saying he was homeless before and saw his current melancholic and dejected look, immediately connecting it to this.

An Bulang replied, "I did run away from home, but I don't miss it. I still want to roam outside... no, I want to see the prosperity of this world, be my true self, and realize my self-worth!"

Ji Hongxue blinked her bright eyes, feeling that his words were rather insincere.

"Then what are you planning to do now?" Ji Hongxue asked again.

"I don't know. I'll look around first," An Bulang felt that the mortal world was novel everywhere, and for now, his focus would be on various sightseeing and experiences.

Ji Hongxue's eyes gradually brightened, reflecting the boy in snow-white clothes. She propped her chin with her hand and smiled lightly. "If that's the case, how about you become my bodyguard? Room and board provided, esteemed status, high position, and good salary."

An Bulang extended a finger: "One more condition, I can choose to leave at any time."

Ji Hongxue's expression faltered for a moment, then she nodded, "Alright!"

"Okay, so I'm a bodyguard now. Will the Third Princess tell me who exactly wants to kill you?" An Bulang asked again.

Ji Hongxue was, after all, a princess of a nation. Who would be so bold as to try and assassinate her?

Mentioning this matter, a trace of worry finally appeared on Ji Hongxue's face.

She had been hesitant at first, but seeing the youth's clear and bright eyes, she finally chose to trust him and said, "The person who wants to kill me is my royal brother, the current Crown Prince. I obtained evidence of his intention to rebel, and he wants to eliminate me. My father the King's power has been subtly undermined, and he is unable to stop my brother. Now, I want to rush to Autumn Moon City to deliver this evidence to my Second Prince, who possesses great military power."

An Bulang's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing Ji Hongxue's words.

This kind of plot, though cliché, seemed so exciting!

Had he been dragged into something major?