“Don’t look at me with those eyes. I admit I’m strong, but if you keep staring like that, you’re going to make me conceited.”
Sakurai Mei hugged Su Mo’s arm, her eyes sparkling. “I really didn’t expect our Chiba to be such a smooth talker—you actually managed to trick—”
“Hold on, this isn’t trickery, alright? Old Snake willingly gave all that to me. If I hadn’t deliberately played dumb and acted like I had nothing left to say, the poor guy probably would’ve gone bankrupt.” Su Mo cut her off, correcting her.
“Sigh, what can I say? I’d love to keep a low profile, but my strength just won’t let me.”
It’s easy to get carried away when people keep praising you, and Su Mo was no exception right now.
Sakurai Mei didn’t spoil his fun and joined in his madness for a while before reminding him, “Many of the things you found are priceless treasures, but according to custom, Master Nishimura will definitely have to hand over a portion of them.”
Su Mo nodded. “Of course. I’ve been away for so long—it’s only right that I prepare a proper meeting gift.”
“By the way, where have you been all this time? I didn’t ask earlier because there were too many people around. I honestly thought you were dead.” Sakurai Mei held onto Su Mo’s arm like they were just ordinary girlfriends.
Su Mo smiled but said nothing. His eyes darted to the side, and Sakurai Mei immediately clammed up. “Right, let’s talk about it later—don’t want certain people overhearing.”
Kusanagi Aka: “???”
Su Mo had already completed his main objective for this trip; whatever came next would just be by chance. His top priority now was to find Ye Qingyi.
But before that, he wanted to learn more about this temple’s secret realm.
Both Sakurai Mei and Kusanagi Aka had undergone training before coming here and knew a lot of things that other non-samurai cult trainees didn’t. Originally, Su Mo was also entitled to that information, but he never got the chance.
So when he asked, Sakurai Mei didn’t hesitate to fill him in:
“This year’s trial is completely different from previous years. From what I know, in the past there weren’t eight realms—only eight sacred mountains, and there were a lot more temple personnel too.
Not only have the rules changed drastically this year, but even some of the temple’s moves don’t quite make sense.
First, Yuan Tianxiu skipped the preliminary tests and went straight into the core trial zone. Then right after that, the Serpent Pillar started acting up…”
She went on for a while, and the more Su Mo listened, the more uneasy he felt—even a little anxious.
It was just intuition, pure subconsciousness.
But Kusanagi Aka chimed in, “You two don’t need to worry too much. With the temple high priest’s power, killing anyone would be as easy as a slap. There’s no need to go through all this trouble just to set a trap for us. Unless we have something he desperately wants but can’t get—but is that even likely?”
“Something he wants but can’t get?” Su Mo muttered to himself, and for a moment, he really couldn’t think of anything worth coveting.
Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat as a terrifying guess surfaced: It’s not the high priest—it’s Yamata-no-Orochi. He wants to devour the divine consciousness inside the chosen ones!
If that were the case, everything would make sense. Otherwise, why would Qingyi have been attacked?
He had chopped off one of Orochi’s heads, yet the serpent not only didn’t seek revenge but kept tossing lucky encounters his way along the journey. There was no way that was out of sheer benevolence.
Absolutely impossible!
His heart raced with anxiety. All he wanted now was to find Ye Qingyi as soon as possible, then figure out a way to regroup with Black and Weil.
As for Yuan Tianxiu… he was already Orochi’s chosen heir. Not only would nothing happen to him, but he might even end up as the biggest beneficiary.
“Mei-jie, I think we might have to split up.” Su Mo suddenly said.
Sakurai Mei immediately understood what he meant. “I know what you’re worried about. But you can rest assured—she’s doing just fine. I even ran into her earlier.”
Su Mo of course knew she was fine, and that she’d already woken up a while ago.
“But… I’m still worried about her.” Su Mo put on a bashful act.
Sakurai Mei clicked her tongue a few times, then said with heartfelt sincerity, “His heart isn’t with you. No matter how much you do for him, it’ll all be in vain.”
Su Mo immediately welled up with tears. “Mei-jie is right—I know that too. But I just can’t help thinking about her…”
Kusanagi Aka, feeling like a third wheel, distanced herself and walked off alone.
Sakurai Mei let out a sigh, then suddenly hardened her tone. “For the sake of a good sister, I’ll help you out this once. Here’s the plan: we’ll tie him up, find some remote cave, and make sure the deed is done. I’ll stand guard at the entrance for you…”
Su Mo: Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ
“Why are you making that face? Already feeling sorry for him?” Sakurai Mei, despite being single herself, acted like she knew it all. “Men—sometimes you’ve just got to show them who’s boss. When the time comes, you take a whip and…”
Su Mo couldn’t take it anymore. He covered her mouth with his hand. “Mei-jie, maybe watch fewer of those short videos. They’re leading you astray.”
Sakurai Mei hadn’t expected him to call her out so bluntly. Her face instantly flushed. “I do not watch those!”
Su Mo chuckled—it was rare for him to get the upper hand with her. “Then why are you blushing?”
“Hmph, I’m not talking to you anymore! I was thinking of you every step of the way, and you just—ah, forget it. Su Mo-ge is definitely way better than you… tsk tsk tsk.”
The two traded jabs like they always did, and their moods immediately lifted.
“You’re really going to look for him?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… alright then. If he bullies you, just tell me. Once we get out, I’ll get revenge for you!” Sakurai Mei shook her fist.
Su Mo felt a genuine warmth in his heart. “Thank you, Mei-jie.”
Sakurai Mei smiled helplessly. “Go if you want to. Who hasn’t been young and impulsive?”
“Oh, you too—”
“Scram.”
“On it.”
After Su Mo left, Kusanagi Aka sidled over and said meaningfully, “You two seem pretty close.”
Without thinking, Sakurai Mei replied casually, “Of course—she’s the one I personally rescued.”
Kusanagi Aka gazed at her smug expression, was silent for a long moment, then suddenly said, “What if—just what if—something went wrong with her? Do you think your relationship would still be the same as it is now?”
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy. Sakurai Mei pursed her lips and shrugged dismissively. “What could possibly go wrong with her…”
“Have you noticed that after she disappeared for a while, her relationship with Su Mo seems a lot closer than before? That wasn’t how it used to be.”
In response to Kusanagi Aka’s doubts, Sakurai Mei gave a cold laugh. “Aren’t all you men like that? Once you get bored of one, you want something fresh. And when the fresh one loses its appeal, you go back to the old one—back and forth, on and on.”
“That’s not—I’m trying to talk about something serious here. How did you even get to that?” Kusanagi Aka frowned slightly.
Sakurai Mei let out a sigh, then suddenly smiled. “She’s been gone so long that who she is no longer matters. The fact is, we’re already friends—and that’s undeniable. Don’t you think?”
Kusanagi Aka didn’t answer.
