My Five Bigshot Seniors: I am The Most Coddled Junior!-Chapter 112 - 64: Encountering Si Lin

[I wonder how the other brothers are doing? This Secret Realm is still very dangerous. Even though the brothers are highly cultivated, I’m still a little worried since we haven’t seen them!] Every day without seeing the others made Gu Qingqing very anxious, though she didn’t show it outwardly on regular days.

"Don’t worry, they’ll be fine!" Rong Ye gently ruffled Gu Qingqing’s hair, comforting her tenderly for once.

"Brother Rong is right, your brothers will definitely be okay!" For once, Jun Wu agreed with Rong Ye and also comforted Gu Qingqing.

This was the first time since their reunion that Jun Wu called Rong Ye "Brother," making Rong Ye glance at him in surprise. He was met with a threatening look, quickly realizing that Jun Wu was only calling him that for Gu Qingqing’s sake, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Knowing they were concerned for her, Gu Qingqing nodded, indicating that she was fine.

Unable to contact the others immediately, they continued their journey, hoping to meet the others upon reaching the Secret Realm Center.

"Kid, don’t you think there are too few demon beasts around here?" Rong Ye gazed at the surrounding dense forest, asking suspiciously.

They had been walking in this forest for several days, encountering demon beasts every so often, sometimes low-level, sometimes high-level, but they hadn’t seen a single demon beast for about half an hour, which was unusual.

"Maybe we’ve entered the territory of a particularly powerful demon beast?" Jun Wu frowned and looked around, speculating.

The two exchanged a glance, growing tense and cautiously watching the surroundings.

[But Little Yu hasn’t given any alarm. It’s a demon beast and the most sensitive. If there really was a particularly powerful demon beast, Little Yu would surely react!] Gu Qingqing, having heard their conversation, looked around and then at the sleeping Little Piqiu in her arms, signing.

Upon hearing this, Jun Wu and Rong Ye paused, their gazes focusing on the slumbering Little Yu in Gu Qingqing’s arms. Seeing it fast asleep, they fell silent, saying nothing further.

After walking for about another quarter of an hour, Rong Ye spoke again.

"I smell blood." He stopped, frowning and looking around.

Jun Wu also stopped, nodding to indicate he smelled it too.

Their eyes unconsciously fell on Little Piqiu, who sniffed the air groggily, then opened its bleary eyes, a hint of disdain clearly showing within.

At this, the two again surveyed the area, searching for the source of the blood scent.

Little Piqiu suddenly leaped out from Gu Qingqing’s embrace, running off in one direction. Gu quickly followed, as did Rong Ye and Jun Wu after exchanging a quick glance.

...

Si Lin was meditating, healing his injuries. Not far from him lay the corpse of an eight-tailed fox, the air thick with the scent of blood.

Just as he felt his cultivation had almost recovered, the sound of footsteps approaching made him open his eyes quickly. He stood up, gripping the Dragon Capturing Sword, and looked toward the source of the sound.

The first to appear before him was a beautiful little beast, rushing toward the eight-tailed fox corpse. The little girl appearing right after took his breath away.

"Geng Geng." He couldn’t help but call to Gu Qingqing.

Hearing the voice, Gu Qingqing stopped, looked up, and was momentarily dazed to see Si Lin. Then, with delight, she ran towards him.

"Senior Brother!" she called out, overly excited, running into Si Lin’s arms.

Si Lin opened his arms, allowing Gu Qingqing to bury her head against him, her arms encircling his waist. He reached out, placing a hand on her head and gently patting it, his expression softening significantly.

When Rong Ye and Jun Wu arrived and saw Si Lin, they too were surprised, Rong Ye rushing straight up to him.

"Boss, it’s great to see you again!" Although Rong Ye had great confidence in Si Lin’s cultivation, he, like Gu Qingqing, was very worried until seeing them. He hadn’t shown it to prevent making Gu Qingqing sad. Seeing Si Lin now released all the emotions he had restrained.

"Little Wu." Si Lin looked at Rong Ye, a bit moved as well.

Gu Qingqing didn’t hold on to Si Lin for too long because she smelled blood on him.

[Senior Brother, are you hurt?] She asked nervously, holding onto Si Lin’s sleeve and looking up at him.

Si Lin paused, silently moving his hand back. He hadn’t expected to encounter Gu Qingqing here and had been so focused on his internal injuries that he forgot to apply medicine to his external wounds!

Gu Qingqing, always watching Si Lin closely, noticed his arm movement immediately, grabbing his arm and pulling it in front of her. Upon seeing the scratch marks, she felt deep regret and quickly took out medicinal herbs to sprinkle on Si Lin’s arm.

"Don’t worry, it’s just a minor injury; it’s okay." Si Lin quickly assured, fearing she’d be upset.

Gu Qingqing gave Si Lin a stern look, carefully bandaging his wound before stepping back and looking at him.

"Senior Brother, you have to be careful not to get hurt in the future!" She wasn’t one to be unreasonable—whatever had injured Si Lin must have been very powerful, and against such opponents, avoiding injury was difficult for him, so she wasn’t angry, just admonished him.

Si Lin couldn’t refuse, nodding repeatedly, "Don’t worry, I will."

Only then did Gu Qingqing seem a bit satisfied.

"Boss, which demon beast injured you?" Over the years, Rong Ye rarely saw Si Lin get injured, making him somewhat curious.

"It was an eight-tailed fox." Jun Wu answered for Si Lin. Having wandered over to the nearby corpse because he didn’t want to watch Gu Qingqing fussing over others, the eight-tailed fox with its distinctive tails was easily identifiable!

"There’s actually an eight-tailed fox here?" Rong Ye was somewhat surprised. The eight-tailed fox held high status among the Fox Clan and was generally hard to come by. Even in the Sub-immortal Realm, very few had seen a real eight-tailed fox. Unexpectedly, there was one in the Secret Realm!

"The Secret Realm can’t be judged by common sense, or you’ll meet a tragic end!" Si Lin walked over to the fox’s body, looking at it as he spoke to Rong Ye.

Thinking of the demon beasts they had previously encountered, Rong Ye nodded in deep agreement.

"What should we do with the eight-tailed fox’s body? It’s a ninth-order demon beast, yet Little Yu has already eaten its Demon Core." Jun Wu asked while looking at the body on the ground.

"Who is Little Yu?" Si Lin, unaware of the Little Pixiu, asked in confusion.

"Little Yu is it, a Little Pixiu." Rong Ye pointed at the Little Pixiu grooming its fur beside them and explained to Si Lin.

Hearing this, Si Lin looked at the Little Pixiu in surprise, then at Rong Ye, "Are you sure it’s a Little Pixiu?"

Rong Ye was taken aback for a moment, suddenly remembering the Word Spirit Technique cast on the Little Pixiu by Gu Qingqing, quickly explained to Si Lin, "To prevent it from being discovered and causing unnecessary trouble, Geng Geng used the Word Spirit Technique on it so that others can’t tell it’s a Little Pixiu."

Si Lin understood, "If it consumed the Demon Core, it consumed it. Keep the rest for now, we’ll talk about it later!"

"Alright!" Rong Ye responded, waving his hand to store away the corpse of the Eight-Tailed Demon Fox.

"Geng Geng, how have you all been these days? Has everything been alright?" Si Lin returned to Gu Qingqing’s side and asked her gently.

Gu Qingqing recounted her general experience since entering the Secret Realm to Si Lin, who nodded with satisfaction, "It’s fortunate your luck was a bit better."

Thinking about the situations he had faced, he felt a sense of relief that Gu Qingqing hadn’t encountered them.

"We still have no leads on Second and Third Brother’s whereabouts, so we plan to head directly to the mountain at the Secret Realm Center; they are likely heading there too." Rong Ye supplemented as Gu Qingqing explained.

Si Lin nodded, "I was initially planning to head there too, expecting to find you. Didn’t expect we’d meet here."

Not only Si Lin was surprised, but Gu Qingqing and the others were as well, leading to a shared smile.

"Boss, how are you feeling now? Why don’t we rest here for a day before continuing?" Having met Si Lin, Rong Ye wasn’t in a rush, concerned about Si Lin’s injuries, he directly suggested.

[Brother Rong is right, Senior Brother, let’s rest here for a day, then travel together.] Gu Qingqing too worried about Si Lin’s injuries, didn’t want him traveling while hurt, so she quickly interjected.

Si Lin initially wanted to say he was fine, and even with travel, he would be okay, but upon hearing Gu Qingqing’s words, he could only agree. Thus, the four stayed and rested for a day at the Eight-Tailed Demon Fox’s territory before resuming their journey.

...

Mu Chen, having landed near the center of the Secret Realm, reached proximity to the center in days while others were still en route seven or eight days in. He could see the towering mountain peaks and palaces halfway up the mountain.

Unlike Si Lin’s misfortune of encountering a ninth-level demon beast, the highest demon beast Mu Chen faced was eighth level. With his Flame Spear and the various elixirs he crafted, handling these encounters wasn’t particularly easy, but it was much simpler than for most others.

Of course, he also encountered some people along the way. For those somewhat righteous, he didn’t mind lending a hand. But like with Liu Fei, who previously tried to rob him, he had no qualms about eliminating them.

Finally, on the tenth day after entering the Secret Realm, he arrived at the foot of the towering mountain.

From there, only the grand palace hidden among the clouds was visible.

He hesitated for a while before deciding not to climb immediately, instead hiding at the mountain’s base, practicing alchemy while waiting for Gu Qingqing and the others.

The first day, no one came.

The second day, still no one came.

The third day, there was still no one.

It wasn’t until the fourth day that he finally saw people.

The newcomers were from the Nalan Family. Due to the dangers of the Secret Realm, they initially entered with around twenty people, now only about ten were left there, including Nalan Qing.

Nalan Qing had injured Nalan Xin that day and left her for demon beasts, leaving in a hurry. In her mind, Nalan Xin wasn’t highly cultivated and was injured, almost certainly a doomed fate, which filled her with satisfaction.

After some twists and turns over five or six days, she met up with the current Nalan Family members she was with. In their eyes, Nalan Qing usually presented herself well, and none would suspect she had harmed Nalan Xin, so they immediately accepted her.

Along the way, Nalan Qing kept improving her standing with them, eventually earning their complete trust. Once out of the Secret Realm, these people would become the backbone of the Nalan Family, elevating her standing within the clan!

"Ah, we’ve finally reached the base of this mountain. This journey was so tough," a girl beside Nalan Qing commented emotionally, tears filling her eyes as she gazed at the mountain.

Only she knew what she had experienced along the way, almost ready to give up, thinking she’d die. Luckily, her luck turned around, and she safely reached the Secret Realm Center.

"Yeah, this Secret Realm is like Hell mode. Had we not encountered each other early, we might’ve lost even more people!" a man walking beside the two couldn’t help but say.

Others nodded in deep agreement.

This Secret Realm certainly wasn’t fit for a lone venture. The risk was too high, with constant threats of danger, never knowing when disaster might strike!

"Alright, let’s rest for a bit. We’ve reached the Secret Realm Center, and it seems we’re the first ones here. Once you’re rested, we’ll start climbing, aiming to be the first to enter that grand hall!" one who seemed like their leader stepped forward to address the others.

"Yes, Brother Yin." The others clearly trusted this person, responding swiftly and finding places to rest.

"Brother Yin, are we really the first to reach here?" Nalan Qing sidled up to Brother Yin, curious with a hint of feminine allure.

Brother Yin frowned, moving away from Nalan Qing, "See for yourself if you want to know. I’m tired and need some rest."

Of the group, Brother Yin treated Nalan Qing the worst, indifferent to her advances, even showing a bit of dislike. The rest, out of respect for his authority, didn’t dare speak against him, only occasionally mocking Nalan Qing, inciting her anger.

Once, Nalan Qing had witnessed Brother Yin’s indulgence with Nalan Xin, doing anything she wanted, which sparked her competitive spirit to win him over, proving herself superior to the now presumed-dead Nalan Xin!

"Brother Yin, did I do something wrong? Why treat me this way?" With red-rimmed eyes, Nalan Qing looked at Brother Yin, her teary-eyed, vulnerable demeanor easily evoking sympathy.

"What did you do wrong? Don’t you have a clue yourself, Nalan Qing?" A slightly mocking voice suddenly rang out, changing Nalan Qing’s expression!