Zanxing (Retranslated)

The sand beneath their feet surged faster and faster, rising past their ankles as the ground tilted, making their running unsteady. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a problem, but now their elemental powers were depleted. Not only that, but it seemed their physical strength was rapidly draining, making it difficult to keep running.

Gu Baiying reacted swiftly. Since the stairs were no longer an option, he led them down another narrow passage. Despite the square appearance of the hall, it contained numerous narrow corridors and passageways. Gu Baiying tried to head towards higher ground, while Zanxing followed closely behind. Looking back, she saw dim torches casting shadows as golden sand flowed continuously from deep within the corridor. The sand was dry and even vibrant in color, yet strangely eerie.

The sand seemed alive, chasing after them like snakes.

At this thought, Zanxing suddenly stumbled. She looked down and realized the yellow sand had silently crept up to her calves. Trying to pull her leg free, she found her feet stuck as if caught in thick liquid, as if something was pulling her towards the center of this sandy mass.

“Senior Uncle,” she instinctively called out ahead. “I think I can’t get out.”

Gu Baiying abruptly turned around. In the next moment, Zanxing felt someone yank her arm hard. Suddenly feeling lighter, Gu Baiying scooped her up and ran forward.

The path ahead remained rough and unstable. His robes were cold, but his embrace was warm. Despite the urgency of their situation, the youth’s face remained calm, his steps steady, giving Zanxing an unusual sense of reassurance.

“I…” Zanxing began.

“Be quiet,” he said without looking at her, racing towards the darkened passage.

Behind them came a muffled rush of wind, mixed with a strange, faint sound. They ran for what seemed like ages until Zanxing felt the slope of the ground gradually easing. Looking back, she saw that the yellow sand had not followed them.

Gu Baiying also realized this and came to a stop.

Zanxing said, “Senior Uncle…”

Gu Baiying suddenly let go, and she found herself sitting abruptly on the ground, caught off guard.

Mimi let out a meow, licking the sand off her paws. The cat seemed quite clever; when Zanxing was trapped by the sand around her calves, Mimi had climbed onto Gu Baiying’s shoulder, using him as a makeshift human vessel. It was quite a feat for Gu Baiying to carry two burdens without being caught by the peculiar sand tide.

Considering this, Zanxing decided not to dwell on his rude action.

After getting up from the ground, Zanxing looked around. They had been running so haphazardly that they didn’t know where they were now. The hall where the Snake Shaman had placed the altar looked square from the outside, but inside, it contained many narrow corridors and passages. They were currently at the end of one such passage, facing a small hall or rather, a secret chamber. Totems were carved into the walls, and on the floor lay scattered gold and silver jewelry, resembling a treasure map’s hidden spot.

“No way forward,” Zanxing muttered. “Senior Uncle, how do we find Senior Brother and the others?”

This chamber seemed to be the only way out. If they wanted to meet up with Tian Fangfang and the others, they had to head in the opposite direction. However, the entire hall was tilting towards one side. They were currently at a higher point. If they turned back and encountered another surge of sand, they might be buried alive here before finding Tian Fangfang and the others.

“There’s something wrong with this place,” Gu Baiying frowned. Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly grasped his left shoulder, inhaling sharply in pain.

Zanxing was alarmed. “Senior Uncle, your wound!”

She remembered Gu Baiying’s wound, which he had sustained during the confrontation with the Jinhua Tiger in the outskirts of the secret realm. At that time, while they were in the thatched hut, Gu Baiying had taken care of the wound himself, and it had seemed to heal quite well. How come now, at this moment, the old injury was acting up again?

Zanxing realized something and looked down at her own palm. Sure enough, the abrasion on her palm from the thatched hut in the realm had almost healed. She had removed the bandage Gu Baiying had applied before sleeping last night, and now, that nearly healed scar had unexpectedly become inflamed again, reminding her with a burning pain that the wound had relapsed.

Something was indeed amiss in this place.

“Could it really be a curse left behind by the Snake Shaman clan, turning the entire Wufan City into a manifestation of malevolent spirits?” Zanxing pondered aloud. “Then what about Douniang?”

“I have a feeling it’s not malevolent spirits,” Gu Baiying said wearily, leaning against the wall with his Xiu Gu Spear.

He looked somewhat exhausted.

Zanxing crouched down beside him. “Senior Uncle, how are you feeling? Is the wound serious?”

Gu Baiying brushed aside her outstretched hand impatiently. “Mind your own business. This minor injury isn’t worth my concern. You should worry about yourself more!”

Zanxing sighed, watching her hand being brushed aside. “Why are you so difficult?”

“How am I difficult?”

“You clearly care about people, yet you act like you want to keep everyone at arm’s length,” Zanxing said. “Just now, when I was almost swept away by the sand, you didn’t abandon me and escape alone, did you?”

Gu Baiying snorted softly, “You’re Xuan Lingzi’s direct disciple, from the Taiyan Sect. At least call me Senior Uncle. I can’t just watch the younger generation die before my eyes.” He emphasized, “Yang Zanxing, I advise you not to overthink, and certainly not to be presumptuous.”

“And what about the incident at the Ji She Festival, where they forced people to dance with me?” Zanxing looked calmly at him. “Was it also because the elders couldn’t bear to watch?”

Gu Baiying was momentarily stunned, unable to respond immediately.

Zanxing lowered her head. “Senior Uncle, did you think I’m pitiful, so you secretly arranged for someone to invite me to dance?”

“Nonsense, who said I pity you?” The young man retorted immediately.

Zanxing smiled faintly but didn’t say anything.

The atmosphere grew silent when she stopped talking.

Gu Baiying glanced at her and cleared his throat lightly. “About the scar on your face… I heard your fiancé broke off the engagement because of it?”

“Yes,” Zanxing admitted frankly. “Not only that, but he and his new lover mocked me publicly at the time.”

Gu Baiying frowned slightly. “Rubbish. Let me tell you, having a scar on your face is nothing. You should focus on cultivating well. If anyone dares to point fingers at your face again, just knock them down.”

As he spoke, he seemed a bit resentful and indignant. Zanxing found it amusing and deliberately leaned closer, feigning sadness. “Is it really that ugly?”

Suddenly, the woman leaned in closer. In the dim light, the scar on her cheek appeared blurry, like a dark and exotic flower, while her eyes were clear and lively, shining with a bright vitality.

He paused for a moment, pushing Zanxing away abruptly and warning, “Don’t get so close to me!”

Zanxing couldn’t help but inwardly laugh, increasingly seeing this young senior uncle as a paper tiger. Afraid that Gu Baiying might misconstrue her amusement as mocking, she kept her head down. Little did she expect that in his eyes, her reaction seemed more like a response to his recent actions.

The young man turned awkwardly away, softened his tone, and casually remarked, “That scar, no one would notice if they didn’t look closely.” Pausing, he added, “I don’t think it’s ugly either.”

Zanxing was taken aback, looking up at him.

He was sitting against the wall, his tone casual but his gaze serious. Despite being in a dimly lit secret chamber and visibly injured, at this moment, he seemed as radiant and unyielding as the embroidered bone spear lying beside him.

Zanxing felt a slight flutter in her heart, and it wasn’t just because of the Xiao Yuan Pearl’s influence.

She questioned herself inwardly: Was it the suspension bridge effect

¹? It must be the suspension bridge effect! Though Gu Baiying’s appearance and temperament were indeed to her liking, this wasn’t the time for such thoughts, not when danger could erupt at any moment.

She was truly befuddled.

Seeing Zanxing still silent and lost in thought, Gu Baiying frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Zanxing snapped out of her reverie, changing the subject. “I was just thinking about how to handle things with Senior Brother next.”

Rubbing her stiff knees, she stood up and looked towards the passage leading out of the secret chamber, commenting, “The road ahead won’t be smooth…”

Zanxing’s voice abruptly stopped.

When they arrived, they had fled down the passage to this place. There was only one straight passage, no forks, Zanxing remembered clearly. But now, in front of her, the dark corridor lit only by torches had vanished. Instead, she found herself in an unfamiliar place, resembling a hall in a mansion. Paintings adorned the walls, and there were two redwood chairs in the foreground.

“Senior Uncle, look…” Zanxing turned around, only to freeze again.

Behind her was empty, without Gu Baiying’s shadow. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared into thin air.

The changes did not end there.

The treasury, once casually stacked with gold and silver, had transformed into a lady’s chamber. The room was decorated with a pale yellow canopy, delicate embroidery on the bedding, and a wooden table with makeup scattered on top. Half-finished embroidered sachets lay on the chairs.

What did this mean, some sort of teleportation?

Gu Baiying had vanished, along with everything else. In this eerie place, Zanxing found herself alone in an instant. The Xiao Yuan Pearl within her chest remained silent. She dared not act rashly, gripping the floral-patterned staff tightly as she scanned her surroundings.

Was this an illusion? She pondered, hesitating for a moment before cautiously using the staff to prod at the half-finished sachet on the chair.

The staff touched the sachet softly, confirming its tangible presence. It didn’t feel like a hallucination.

But what was going on here?

Zanxing took two steps forward. Suddenly, in the deathly silence, footsteps echoed clearly, someone calling out, “Zanxing.”

She startled, immediately turning around. Then she froze in place. “Why is it you?”

Footnotes

1. 
   
   

   The suspension bridge effect refers to a psychological phenomenon where people may misinterpret their physiological arousal (such as increased heart rate or nervousness) as romantic attraction, especially in situations of high anxiety or danger.