chapter 1094 - five doors
he looked at the immortal gra.s.ses and herbs longingly, but he knew he couldn’t touch them. nevermind the rest; even just counting ingredients needed for sea condensing pills, there were enough herbs to make dozens of pills with supplies left over.
there were also countless medicinal herbs not even he recognized, but just a single sniff was enough to calm his nerves and make his pores widen in contentment.
“endure. i have to endure!’ he forcefully suppressed his greedy hands. heart full of longing, he followed after grumpyface. he couldn’t freely touch these immortal medicines. chi mei had already demonstrated how dangerous they were. so long as he reached out his hand, it would wind up just like that rock: it would say “goodbye” to the rest of his body forever.
the cobblestone path looked like it was only a few hundred meters long, but they walked for over an hour before reaching the end.
when grumpyface stopped at the end of the road, the courtyard’s constant drizzle disappeared without a trace. however, just a few meters behind them, the rain was falling as usual.
the end of the path was different from an ordinary residence. normal courtyards ended in a main hall, but this one had a long chamber with five doors. each was marked with a different character: wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and fire.
grumpyface said nothing at all. he simply walked straight up to the door marked “thunder,” pushed it open, and left without saying a word.
when he saw that grumpyface had left, ye zichen couldn’t help but ask, “should we go in with him?” so far, chi mei seemed like the type who felt compelled to answer every question she was asked. she’d answered every single one of his questions.
“he went into the thunder room because that’s his elemental affinity. is that yours too? in that case, you should go in that room too.”
“.....” ye zichen didn’t quite get it.
when she saw his dazed look, chi mei couldn’t help but smirk and put her hands behind her back. “from here on, we have to split up and pursue our portion of the good fortune separately. there are five doors here, one for each of the five elements of heaven and earth. you need to choose the one corresponding to your element. don’t worry, it won’t be dangerous inside. well, probably…..”
ye zichen understood the first part. they no longer needed to move as a group of three; they’d each go off on their own to pursue their own good fortune.
but that last word, “probably,” set his heart on edge…...
could it be that, after going inside, he’d encounter impossible-to-predict dangers?
“don’t scare me,” said ye zichen. this was no time to act like a tough guy. if he had to look cowardly, so be it. he looked at chi mei nervously and frowned, “i’m rather attached to my life. i told you that when we got here. i can take or leave the good fortune here, but i absolutely can’t die….. didn’t you say that if we wanted to leave, we had to leave through here? hurry up and tell me how to leave. i don’t need any ‘good fortune.’”
“go on in, then,” said chi mei, crossing her arms and gesturing at the doors with her lips. “there is a corresponding exit beyond each door. you can leave this place when you’re done. a.s.suming you"re still alive, of course.”
her tone carried a vague hint of danger, but now she was deliberately exaggerating it.
ye zichen stared at her for a while, then licked his lips and took her by the hand. finally, in that same cutesy demeanor she’d used before, he batted his eyes and shook back and forth, “sweetie, you know this place so well, don’t scare me, okay? you’re so pretty, one look at you and i can see you’re a kindhearted angel. can you give me just a little bit of guidance?”
as he finished his sentence, he c.o.c.ked his head to the side and batted his eyes repeatedly. his eyes practically sparkled.
when she saw this, chi mei was simultaneously amused and irritated. this guy was imitating her on purpose! imitating her was one thing, but if he wanted to act like her, couldn’t he do a better job of it?
earlier, when she’d acted cute, was she anywhere near as disgusting as this?
however, when she recalled how coldly ye zichen had treated her earlier away, she smacked his hand away. “figure it out for yourself!”
“sweetie! sweetie!” ye zichen grabbed desperately at chi mei’s arms and shook about coquettishly. chi mei, who hadn’t been that hard-hearted to begin with, softened as she watched him waggle about. she decided not to make trouble for him, and sighed, then pointed at the frontmost of the five doors.
“these rooms, in truth, are all somewhat dangerous, but some are more dangerous than others. thunder is the most dangerous, but it also has the greatest reward. next comes fire, and wind….. the most gentle ought to be rain. which element are you?”
which element was he?
all of them!
ye zichen could go into any of these doors, but when you were out and about, you had to be careful. in the face of this unanswerable question, he simply smiled and squinted.
she could see he didn’t want to answer, so she didn’t push the matter. instead, he said, “you have your own secrets. i won’t force you to tell me. stay here and decide whether to go inside or not for yourself. grumpyface has been inside for so long, i’d better go in too.”
with that, she pushed open the door marked “fire” and disappeared without a trace.
ye zichen looked at the rooms, dazed, for a long while. if he put safety first, he’d definitely go into the rain room. chi mei said it herself: the rain room was the safest.
if he wanted to try for the best possible reward, he’d naturally choose the thunder room. danger and profit went hand in hand. so long as he survived, he’d absolutely become an outstanding figure.
ye zichen didn’t think of himself as that sort of extreme person. wouldn’t it be better to go into the rain room instead?
but the instant he reached out and touched the door, all the doors vanished. ye zichen stood, dazed, staring at the spot the doors used to be in wide-eyed shock…..
“hey, no way…..”
where did the doors go? what was going on? how was he going to leave now!?
just as he started to panic, another door appeared. this door was unmarked, so it was impossible to say which of the five elements it corresponded to.
that, combined with the way it appeared only after the other doors vanished, seemed to imply that it had been prepared just for ye zichen.
too freakin’ strange!
ye zichen stood in front of the door and licked his lips. he didn’t want to touch this kind of unknown danger with a ten foot pole. chi mei and wu yi had already gone. if they could leave, especially chi mei…..
if she wanted a sea condensing pill, she’d definitely come back for him.
since that was the case, ye zichen simply decided not to go on. he didn’t want to encounter that sort of unknown danger. who knew what bizarre situations waited for him inside?
he faced away from the doors and sat casually on the ground. his gaze never left the herb garden. his eyes darted back and forth……
if chi mei and wu yi inherited the courtyard and eliminated the restrictions, the instant the seals lifted, he’d rush in and steal some of the herbs. they’d have no idea what hit them. wouldn’t that feel great?
little did he know that just as he was pondering how many immortal medicines to steal, the door behind him…...
opened!