Quick Transmigration: The Mad Beauty Refuses to Be the Scapegoat!-Chapter 254 - 35: Berserk Junior Sister Refuses to Be Cannon Fodder (Part 35)
"Bang!"
He fell directly onto a soft grassy ground.
Looking around at the lush greenery and the sound of bird calls, there were no ants larger than his head or insects taller than a person. Everything in front of him appeared so normal, the flowers, grass, and trees looked just like those in the Human World.
Before he could react, another person fell down, landing solidly on top of him.
It was Du Furong.
"You, why did you come down too?"
"Wow... What is this place? Am I dead?"
Du Furong, still caught in the scare of barely escaping death, was captivated by the serene scene before her.
Fourth Senior Brother was equally confused, but he instinctively realized that Jiang Lai brought him down here for a reason, and the reason was exactly this, she knew there was more beneath the quicksand.
"Don’t worry, we’re not dead."
With sand still in his mouth, the feeling was too real to be death.
But where was Jiang Lai?
"Didn’t Jiang Lai come down with you?"
"She pulled me and jumped together... Could it be that she already knew we wouldn’t die jumping down?"
Fourth Senior Brother nodded.
"Most of the time you’re smarter than Zhang Qingqing."
Du Furong didn’t care about that, she only wanted to know where the Senior Brother was.
"Wow, look over there, what a large grove of fruit trees."
Both looked over together, stunned by the vast stretch of vibrant orange trees behind them.
They spread across the mountains and fields with no end in sight, like a picture painted on the earth, their vibrant orange was unreal.
Each tree grew exceptionally tall, looking upwards, the branches laden with oranges almost touched the ground and the tops were nowhere in sight.
Seeing so many strange things, a ten-meter-tall orange tree didn’t seem odd anymore.
The two walked closer, Fourth Senior Brother plucked one, peeled it, and popped it into his mouth.
"So sweet."
Truly sweet.
The dryness in his throat from the wind and sand was soothed.
"Jiang Lai?!"
Du Furong suddenly saw Jiang Lai walking among the fruit trees in the distance and hurried after her.
"Jiang Lai!"
Jiang Lai turned back, looking at them with calmness.
"Are the oranges good?"
Fourth Senior Brother nodded quickly.
"Delicious."
"Did you ever wonder who the owner of these oranges is before you ate them?"
"No."
With such a large grove, surely the owner couldn’t finish them all, missing one or two wouldn’t be noticed.
"Forget it, let’s go. Since we’re here, let’s find a way out."
Fourth Senior Brother shrugged dismissively, pointing back.
"Isn’t it just behind us, we came from that... Hey, wasn’t that place empty just now?"
Du Furong was equally puzzled.
"Yeah, how did more orange trees appear?"
They looked at Jiang Lai.
"What’s going on?"
"I told you, eating someone else’s oranges comes at a price. Now, they’ve trapped you inside, figure a way out."
Jiang Lai had been just as impulsive, plucking one immediately upon entry, and after eating, found herself surrounded by orange trees.
Fortunately, she had Pudding, the little one leading the way upfront meandering through the grove while Jiang Lai leisurely strolled, peeling and eating the oranges one after another.
Du Furong followed and asked.
"What is this place? Why did you bring us here?"
"To test it, staying in the desert would eventually mean death anyway, might as well jump down and see."
Du Furong’s eyes widened.
"So, you didn’t know there was more beneath the quicksand?"
"No idea."
"Then why... why did you bring me down with you!"
Jiang Lai chuckled.
"Even if we were all dead, did you think you could make it back? You said you’d go wherever I went, don’t worry, I won’t break my promise."
"..."
Thanks a lot.
Du Furong glanced quietly at Jiang Lai, increasingly convinced she might be mad, with no concept of fear.
At that moment, Pudding turned around, barking at Jiang Lai, then nudged an orange tree with its nose.
Upon closer inspection, a piece of black cloth was tied to a branch, likely left by the Senior Brother.
"Come on, let’s find the Senior Brother."
Pudding barked and then dashed off, with Jiang Lai in pursuit. After passing through several rows of fruit trees, they found another black cloth on one of the trees.
This time, there were words on the cloth.
"I’m off to find Second Brother, take care, Junior Sister."
It seemed Senior Brother also anticipated Jiang Lai’s eventual arrival, thus the markers in the woods.
Jiang Lai looked up at the sun, it was nearly setting in the west.
"Hurry up, the sun’s setting soon."
"Sunset or not, we have plenty of time."
Fourth Senior Brother tossed the orange in his hand, suddenly noticing something odd, curiously muttering.
"Why did the orange peel dry up so fast?"
He’d just picked it, yet it seemed like it had been plucked ages ago.
"If you don’t leave soon, you’ll grow old here, quickly, time flows faster here than outside."
A day outside possibly equated to ten days here.
Which means failing to exit this Secret Realm before nightfall would make it impossible to complete the trial in time, missing the Trial Gate’s opening, forcing them to stay another year.
Fourth Senior Brother realized the abnormality of the situation; indeed, the more serene and harmonious a place, the more peril lurked. If time indeed flowed faster here, they must hasten to leave enough time to return to the Trial Gate.
Soon, Pudding stood under an orange tree, barking at Jiang Lai.
This tree bore signs of a fight, and among the marks were the Senior Brother’s sword scratches.
At the foot of the tree, a phrase was etched.
"From death’s brink, life arises."
At that moment, Jiang Lai silently looked up at the sky.
Fourth Senior Brother inquired, puzzled.
"What are you looking at, besides the sun, there’s... Whoa, what’s that?!"
Directly above the orange tree was an inverted courtyard, from below it appeared as if floating, a mirage in water. So real yet so ethereal, it was impossible to discover unless standing here and glancing up that there was a courtyard overhead.
"How do we get up there?"
"Climb, of course."
"Climb?"
Saying this, Jiang Lai deftly climbed to the top of the orange tree. These orange trees were tall and slender, vastly different from ordinary orange trees.
Seeing Jiang Lai already up there, standing on the swaying treetop, swaying with the wind, was enough to make one’s heart pound.
Just as Fourth Senior Brother was about to ask what Jiang Lai intended to do, in the next moment, Jiang Lai on the treetop suddenly leaped up!
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