Tangerines

Watching Qingluan secretly bare her teeth at him again, Shen Gui sighed helplessly.

Although Qingluan had not sent a voice transmission this time, Shen Gui could tell from her lips that she probably meant, "I'll settle the score with you later."

Qingluan was at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm and had to be at least tens of thousands of years old, right? Why was she still so childish?

At that moment, a thought surfaced in Shen Gui's mind again—could Nuwa really have some sort of aura around her?

That remained open to debate.

Shaking his head, Shen Gui picked up the emptied fruit basket from the stone table and said to Qingluan, "Stay here and don't move. I'll go pick some tangerines for you."

Qingluan narrowed her eyes. Now that was more like it.

But then she seemed to remember something and said to Shen Gui, "Little Turtle, you went into seclusion as soon as you arrived here. Do you even know where the spirit fruit orchard is?"

"If I don't know, can't you just tell me?"

Qingluan blinked.

"Huh? That makes so much sense!"

As she spoke, Qingluan sent a streak of green spiritual light flying toward Shen Gui.

After putting away the green spiritual light, Shen Gui seemed to hear Golden Phoenix sigh helplessly as well.

With that said, Shen Gui carried the fruit basket out.

Only after Shen Gui had left the cave did Qingluan suddenly remember something. "Right, what kind of spirit fruit is a tangerine? Sister Jin, do you know?"

Golden Phoenix was stunned as well. "Didn't you manage the spirit fruit orchard, Sister Qing'er? Don't tell me you don't know either?"

Qingluan frowned and thought for a moment. "That shouldn't be the case. I don't remember any spirit fruit in the orchard being called a tangerine. Besides, Shen Gui has never been to the orchard."

Golden Phoenix shook her head. "I don't know, either. Ask him when he gets back."

If Shen Gui had heard Qingluan and Golden Phoenix's conversation, he definitely would have scoffed.

How could you possibly understand the linguistic culture of my great China?

No more need be said.

Following the map of the valley Qingluan had given him, Shen Gui quickly arrived at the spirit fruit orchard deep within the valley.

Nuwa's spirit fruit orchard was truly something else. Although Shen Gui did not recognize most of these strange fruits, the dense spiritual energy emanating from them alone showed that they were far from ordinary.

In Shen Gui's estimation, these fruits would be greatly beneficial to the cultivation of cultivators below the True Immortal realm.

For Golden Immortal cultivators like Shen Gui, though the fruits no longer helped much with cultivation, they could still replenish some magic power and satisfy one's appetite.

Since he did not recognize the fruits anyway, Shen Gui casually picked a few kinds and returned.

When Shen Gui returned to Qingluan's cave with the fruit basket, Qingluan impatiently stood up and took it from his hands before he could even set it down.

Shen Gui was slightly taken aback.

Was that necessary?

Logically speaking, since Qingluan stayed by Nuwa's side, she should have eaten the fruits from this orchard often enough.

Could it be that although Nuwa seemed to have a good relationship with them, she had actually been mistreating them all along?

Subconsciously, Shen Gui's imagination ran wild again.

Then he realized that Qingluan had not taken the basket to eat the fruit.

After repeatedly examining the several kinds of spirit fruit in the basket, Qingluan's face filled with confusion.

She had seen these fruits countless times before. Where were the tangerines Shen Gui had mentioned?

"Where are the tangerines?"

Turning around, Qingluan looked at Shen Gui in confusion and asked.

"What tangerines?"

Shen Gui was stunned as well. He had long since forgotten the teasing remark he had casually made earlier.

Seeing Shen Gui's expression as though he had no idea what she was talking about, Qingluan wrinkled her nose. "Didn't you just say that Sister Jin and I should wait here while you went to pick some tangerines?"

Shen Gui froze, then remembered what he had said earlier.

I only said that casually. You really took it seriously?

However, faced with the equally questioning looks from Qingluan and Golden Phoenix, Shen Gui could only force himself to explain solemnly, "Oh, I forgot that this is Empress Nuwa's abode. Tangerines are spirit fruits that grew on a spiritual root atop the mountain where I took form in Northern Kurukshetra Continent. I used to eat them often when I was still in Northern Kurukshetra Continent, but there aren't any here now."

"I see." Qingluan looked enlightened, but she could not help asking, "Are tangerines delicious? You still remember them after so long."

"Mm, they taste all right. They're sweet and sour, but you have to peel them before eating, which is rather troublesome."

"Troublesome?" Qingluan was confused again when she heard that.

It was only peeling a fruit. Shen Gui was a Golden Immortal, so how could he find that troublesome?

"Well, tangerines need to be peeled with a special method. Otherwise, the spiritual energy within them will leak away, so that's why I said they're a bit troublesome."

"Oh, there are spirit fruits like that? I never would have known if you hadn't told me. But if you ever get the chance, Little Turtle, you have to bring me a few tangerines to try."

"Of course, of course."

Shen Gui secretly wiped away a cold sweat. He did not even mind Qingluan calling him Little Turtle.

I finally managed to bluff my way through that.

Ah!

Nuwa Sister, please come back soon and put me out of my misery!

Why did Qingluan feel even more terrifying than Nuwa now?