Catching Up

After successfully escaping that area, Shen Ge immediately reunited with Li Xue. On a hilltop, Shen Ge looked at Li Xue, whose beauty was as serene as the sea, and stepped forward to thank her, saying, "Thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you, I might not have been able to obtain the Lightning Origin."

Li Xue turned around and waved her hand, instantly obscuring the two of them with a mist. Then she spoke, "Shen Ge, long time no see."

Shen Ge was taken aback. Hadn't they just met before? How come it's been so long?

Oh, this should be a formal greeting.

After realizing what was happening, Shen Ge smiled and replied, "Li Xue, long time no see."

Li Xue smiled slightly and said, "It seems our fate isn't over yet."

Shen Ge didn't answer the question. Instead, he took out the Lightning Origin he had obtained earlier, split it in two, and handed one half over. "This is yours."

Li Xue didn't stand on ceremony. Although she wasn't particularly interested in it, she accepted it since Shen Ge had offered it to her.

When did you arrive?

"It's been almost a hundred years." Shen Ge sighed softly, then suddenly asked, "By the way, the reason you didn't leave with them back then was because you were waiting for me?"

"You could say that," Li Xue glanced at Shen Ge and continued, "Back then, you disappeared without a trace, and I thought you were dead."

"If I hadn't witnessed you come back to life with my own eyes, I would have really thought you died in some remote corner."

"No, why are you waiting for me? We may be on good terms, but if I really died, you could just pour me a drink. There's no need to insist on seeing my body, dead or alive, right?"

"Besides, if you were really waiting for me, you wouldn't have left at that time."

"I was angry," Li Xue said calmly. "You suddenly disappeared without a trace for over a hundred years. Do you know how many places I searched to save you when you first disappeared?"

"Although I don't believe you're dead, those times of not being able to find you and having no news at all were truly unbearable." Her tone already carried a hint of resentment.

Shen Ge's body trembled slightly, and he unconsciously pulled away a little. Although his reason told him that he should end the topic, he still asked the question as if possessed.

"When did our relationship become worth you going to such lengths for me?"

Li Xue glanced at Shen Ge, who had moved a little further away, chuckled, and said, "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid you don't know how to refuse me?"

Shen Ge did not answer; he neither wanted to nor dared to answer.

Seeing that Shen Ge remained silent, Li Xue didn't mind and continued, "Shen Ge, do you know, during that time, my heart was dead."

Shen Ge remained silent for a few moments, then sighed and replied, "I know, your master and your brother both perished in that great war between good and evil."

"They're dead, and my heart is dead too. I'm suddenly tired of this world of cultivators."

"Originally, I planned to find a small island in that sea to quietly await the end of my life, but I met you, who had come back from the dead, halfway there."

"I really have to thank you this time. If it weren't for you, things might not have gone so smoothly for me during the time I was forming my physical form," Shen Ge said sincerely.

Li Xue ignored Shen Ge's interruption and continued, "After that, we went through a lot together. Originally, I just felt sorry for you because you were more pitiful than me and wanted to comfort you."

"But without realizing it, your persistence and your optimism seemed to have entered my dormant heart, restoring some vitality to it."

"Let me clarify something here. I wasn't being optimistic; I was just enduring it because I didn't yet have the ability to take revenge. Although I usually joke around, that's just a compromise and avoidance when I'm completely helpless about something."

Interrupted, Li Xue didn't want to continue the conversation, "Say what you want. Anyway, Shen Ge, I don't know how you entered my heart, but now you're in my heart. What do you say we do about it?"

"This..."

Isn't this just being unreasonable? It's like you're pregnant with my child! What am I supposed to do? What can I do?

Shen Ge mentally scoffed before cautiously looking at Li Xue and tentatively saying, "How about... you kick the 'me' out of your heart?"

"Shen Ge!" Li Xue suddenly shouted, "You're still running away! Do you think you can escape some things by running away?!"

"Let me tell you, I've really taken a liking to you. If you try to run away, believe me, I'll do it to you right here and now!"

These words left Shen Ge speechless. Was this really the Li Xue he knew? When did she become so fierce?

But there is no answer to this question, and no one will answer it for Shen Ge.

"Um, how about..."

"What, what excuse are you coming up with? Let me tell you, now that I've calmed down, I'm not going to let you go."

Shen Ge was backing away when he suddenly bumped into a barrier behind him. He said in a slightly flustered tone, "Look, why did you do this? You even set up a formation. I'm not going to run away."

"How would you know there was a formation if you didn't run?" Li Xue pressed on, "Shen Ge, I'm not forcing you, but there are some things I need to decide for myself."

"No, just talk, don't come any closer." Shen Ge said, sweat beading on his forehead, "You know I still have someone in my heart, Li Xue, can't you be a little bit rational?"

Li Xue stopped in her tracks, letting out a soft sigh with a hint of disappointment, "I knew it."

"Fine, I'll let you off this time."

Li Xue dispelled the formation with a wave of her hand, but the previous mist formation remained.

After regaining his freedom, Shen Ge's heart gradually settled back into his stomach. He cautiously glanced at Li Xue and felt that he should retreat.

"That..."

Before Shen Ge could finish speaking, Li Xue suddenly interrupted him, "There's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time. I heard that Bai Lili from the Hehuan Sect knows your Samsara Method. How did she obtain it? Were you ever captured by her?"

These words darkened Shen Ge's face. He said with a sullen expression, "Don't mention this. Just thinking about how I fell for her trick makes me angry. If she weren't Fenghuo Huo's daughter, I would have skinned her alive if I saw her."

"You were really caught by her? When?" Li Xue frowned and analyzed, "Was it on the Ice and Snow Plateau?"

"That's right. The only place you were most likely to hide in during that period was the Ice and Snow Plateau, and the reason you chose that location for your cave abode was precisely to make it easier to hide in the Ice and Snow Plateau."

"I said, can we not talk about this anymore? Is it really meaningful for you to rub salt into my wounds in front of me?" Shen Ge, somewhat angry and speechless.

"When I came to Azure Vastness Province, I heard news about Bai Lili. She was in the Bright Moon Region and it seemed she was being hunted down by a small sect."