Chapter 307

Ning Ning stood expressionless at the entrance of the vast desert, gazing into the hazy horizon where the sky met the earth.

To prevent the deathly energy from seeping out, a barrier had been set up by the immortal sects around the perimeter of the Tianhe.

On her side of the invisible barrier, the bright sun shone down, casting golden rays everywhere, while on the other side, black mist engulfed everything, with only a faint glimpse of the sky visible.

Under the demonic energy, the layered sand dunes stretched endlessly, like frozen waves suspended in midair.

The yellow sand spread in every direction, and occasionally a vague black shadow would sweep across from afar—perhaps a bird rushing across the sky or the fleeting shadow of a demon.

Tian Xianzi and the others still hadn’t arrived.

Earlier, just as Ning Ning finished speaking, the perfectly calm carriage driver suddenly transformed into an enraged bull, breathing heavily as he yanked the reins and charged forward.

Inside the carriage, she and two others were thrown about, completely unprepared, falling backward.

She expected to hit the wooden boards, but instead, her head landed on something soft and warm.

It turned out that Pei Ji had extended his hand to gently cushion her head.

Ning Ning wanted to ask if her fall had hurt his hand.

But before she could react, she was suddenly pulled into his arms without warning.

Pei Ji’s body was cold, but his breath was hot.

Ning Ning was pulled close, her lips landing just near his collarbone.

With every slight breath she took, the air echoed softly in the hollow of his neck, while the hand on her back subtly tightened its grip.

At that moment, she didn’t dare speak or move, especially since Lin Xun was still in the carriage.

Ning Ning: “…”

She no longer wanted to see Lin Xun’s expression.

Given his temperament as the little white dragon, he was probably already blushing furiously, even more embarrassed than she, the one directly involved.

This three-person situation was excruciating.

The moment Ning Ning reached the Tianhe, she hurriedly fled.

However, the other carriage had not yet arrived, and as she waited, bored, she struck up a conversation with the driver: “Uncle, how much do you know about this desert?”

“You mean the Tianhe?”

The driver took a puff from his pipe and glanced toward the barrier.

“It’s the battlefield between immortals and demons. A lot of people go in, but… not many come out.”

As he spoke, his eyes slowly circled around, his face blurred by the white smoke, and he asked with a hint of suspicion, “Judging by the way you all look, this must be your first time here. You’re unfamiliar with the place, and you’re just charging in like that—aren’t you afraid something might go wrong?”

Ning Ning shook her head.

“We’ve prepared.”

The Tianhe Desert was incredibly dangerous.

Their group had come here well-prepared, of course.

They had maps, knowledge of common beasts, and warnings to keep in mind.

Plus, with Wen Hemian, a walking encyclopedia, in their group, entering the desert shouldn’t pose too many problems.

After a pause, she asked again, “Has anything strange happened in the desert recently?”

“That, I don’t know.”

The man chuckled.

“We carriage drivers spend all day running back and forth between the towns; how could we know about the weird stuff in the desert? If you’re serious about finding out, you might want to ask those scavenger thieves—they spend their days in the desert, so they might know a thing or two.”

Scavenger thieves.

Ning Ning’s interest was piqued at the mention of these three words.

“Uncle, do you know a girl named ‘Lu Wanxing’?”

“Lu Wanxing?”

The driver looked at her steadily, frowning slightly.

“How do you know her?”

“Just a coincidence,” Ning Ning replied, noticing his odd expression and curiously asked, “What’s wrong with Lu Wanxing?”

“There’s nothing too serious—it’s just that girl… she’s a bit strange.”

They both had nothing better to do, and the driver, being a chatterbox who couldn’t keep things to himself, immediately started talking about Lu Wanxing: “During the war, some of the townspeople led the cultivators into the Tianhe Desert, but they were bribed by the demon cultivators, leading to the tragic deaths of all those cultivators. Have you heard about that?”

Ning Ning nodded.

“Lu Wanxing’s brother was one of those guides.”

The driver’s expression showed some disdain as he lowered his voice.

“But you know, working for demons—no matter how grand the rewards sound, do you think they’d actually give you anything good? No way!”

Ning Ning had thought it was just an old story with no relevance to the present, but this new twist intrigued her even more.

“What happened to them?”

“Oh yes! They came back with loads of gold and jewels, planning to flee with their families overnight, but before they could even step out of their homes, boom—!”

His storytelling grew more animated, taking on the air of a storyteller.

“One by one, they collapsed, their life force sucked dry by the demonic energy, turning into dried-up corpses! And the treasures they got from the demon cultivators? All of it turned to rot and filth—pure karma!”

“So,” Ning Ning mused, “the demon cultivators had already cursed them, planning to wipe them out completely.”

“Exactly!”

The driver nodded repeatedly.

“You can never trust demons, no matter how enticing their promises—they always have something sinister in mind. Oh! We’re getting off-topic; weren’t we talking about Lu Wanxing?”

At that moment, Pei Ji and Lin Xun stepped out of the carriage as well.

Lin Xun, still flustered by what he’d witnessed earlier, kept his head down the entire time, his dragon horns tinged with a faint pink.

Ning Ning ignored them, trying to distract herself by continuing the conversation with the driver.

“Yes, Lu Wanxing.”

“Her father passed away a long time ago. She, her brother, and her mother relied on each other. After that incident, it was just Lu Wanxing and her mother left.”

The driver said, “What’s strange is that even though her brother’s actions ruined their reputation in Pingchuan, and the other families involved all moved away, only the Lu family stayed behind. I really don’t know what they were thinking.”

“Her father was quite a figure, though. He was known as an honest and upright town chief here. Unfortunately, he died in a fire while trying to save people.”

The driver sighed.

“He left behind a son and daughter. The son colluded with demons and died, and as for the daughter… Lu Wanxing keeps going in and out of the desert, dealing in stolen relics. I’ve seen her sneaking around with strangers, probably making shady deals. What a shame, really.”

After listening for a while, Pei Ji suddenly spoke up, “Has she ever stolen from the living?”

“Huh?”

The driver was startled.

“Steal from the living? I don’t think so. She may be wild, but not to that extent.”

The conversation ended there.

In the distance, the sound of a high-pitched horse neigh echoed as the carriage carrying Tian Xianzi and the others finally arrived.

The exhausted horse rolled its eyes as it was suddenly reined in, kicking up clouds of yellow dust when it stopped.

A jelly-like humanoid figure tumbled out of the carriage, collapsing limply on the ground as if dead—revealing none other than He Zhizhou.

The driver’s eyes narrowed.

“Chased so quickly? Impressive, impressive. The youth are truly remarkable.”

The young man sitting on the carriage had a grim expression.

“Who are you, to possess such incredible skills? Damn it, this time I lost.”

Ning Ning: “…”