Chapter 1837: Right By His Side

“Why do your words sound weird somehow?” Zu An asked with a gloomy expression.

“Either way, you have to take responsibility,” Dark Jing Teng replied with a fearless expression.

“Of course I have to bring you… two with me,” Zu An said. When he saw Dark Jing Teng’s threatening look, he could only include her too. “However, your injuries are too serious. Both of you might really die if there’s any outside disturbance…”

Even though Dark Jing Teng was quite fierce, her body was too weak. They could very well be unable to walk normally. If he ended up bringing them with him out of selfish desire, but ended up harming them later on, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“Are you really going to abandon us because of a little danger?” White Jing Teng asked, staring at him.

Zu An was speechless.

Mi Li appeared and said, “It’s actually not that hard to bring them with you. Didn’t you obtain a jade coffin from Lord Sui’s Tomb? That jade coffin is quite special and will allow them to sleep inside of it without any danger of their flesh rotting. You can just open it once you find a way to save them.”

White Jing Teng was startled. When she learned that Mi Li was Zu An’s master, however, her attitude immediately became respectful. She even bowed and said, “I greet the master.”

“Mm, good girl,” Mi Li said. She took out a pair of earrings and gave them to White Jing Teng. “I don’t have much to give you, but these earrings are still rather pretty. They’re yours.”

She grinned, feeling quite good about the whole situation.

That brat Zu An has so many women, but it’s not often that one immediately greets me respectfully upon our first meeting.

It seems I should prepare some more gifts, or else it’ll be a bit embarrassing if I don’t have anything to give them once those other daughters-in-law come to pay their respects.

“Thank you, master,” White Jing Teng said, feeling surprised and happy. She caressed the earrings admiringly. They really were pretty, but what she was even happier about was that she had gotten the acknowledgement of big brother Zu’s master.

When she heard the word ‘master’, Mi Li’s eyes twitched. She thought, Strictly speaking, this woman might even be older than me…

Zu An took out the jade coffin. It was icy cold to the touch. When he obtained it back then, he had just been planning to sell it somewhere. He hadn’t expected it to be so useful.

“Do we have to just lay in a coffin forever? At that point, what’s the difference from being a corpse?” Dark Jing Teng asked, clearly unhappy. What was the difference between that and staying by the divine talisman? She wanted to wander this world of pleasures freely and didn’t want to live like that.

White Jing Teng frowned slightly; she actually felt the same way.

Mi Li explained, “Don’t worry. You’re not going to be locked away inside forever; that jade coffin is merely to store your flesh. Every so often, Zu An has to meet you and release his blood essence inside you in order to stabilize your injuries. Once he becomes strong enough or finds some incredible treasure, he can save you guys. Isn’t that better than staying in that talisman for tens of thousands of years?”

Both White Jing Teng and Dark Jing Teng blushed. Even though Mi Li had said so much, the only thing that stuck in their mind was ‘release blood essence inside’. After what they had just experienced, they naturally knew what kind of process that was.

“If I can stay at big brother Zu’s side if we do this, it should indeed be better than staying here,” White Jing Teng said quietly. She thought inwardly, This is so embarrassing, but I also… really look forward to it.

However, Zu An realized there was a problem and said, “Even so, the Brilliant Glass Bead can’t store living people…”

He had been able to just toss the jade coffin into the Brilliant Glass Bead before, but if Jing Teng was inside, wouldn’t she suffocate to death?

Jing Teng removed a pendant from her neck and said, “That’s not a problem. I’ll give you this pendant. Inside is a paradise cavern that can store the jade coffin. You can just wear this pendant with you. When you’re out in the wilderness, you can also stay inside to take shelter.”

Zu An’s eyes lit up. They had stayed inside that paradise cavern when they first met. It really was quite stunning.

“Where did you get this thing from?” he asked curiously. He thought too himself that if it was possible, he'd make more of them and give them to his sweethearts. That would solve the issue of them having to put up with the hardships of living outside.

“It was something that Immortal Ruler Baopu helped me refine in the past. His artifact refining skills were extremely formidable. He gave me this after asking me to help him find an inheritor, Jing Teng said rather proudly.

Zu An’s eyes lit up. So this was something Immortal Ruler Baopu had made! He wondered if the Baopu Sutra contained its refining method.

“Big brother Zu, let me help you put it on,” Jing Teng said. She smiled sweetly and put it around his neck. Suddenly, however, her eyes narrowed. She saw that he already had a beautiful fire-shaped pendant around his neck. She couldn't help but ask, “Was this something Miss Qiu gave you?”

“No, it was Manman,” Zu An replied absentmindedly, but he immediately cried out in regret. How could he tell her that kind of thing?

“Manman?” White Jing Teng repeated; she was a bit confused and didn’t realize who it was.

Dark Jing Teng said with a sneer, “It’s the one whose chest always sways around when she walks.”

“So it was her! Well, if big brother Zu is already wearing a necklace, you don’t need to wear anything else,” White Jing Teng said, pulling her hand back. She looked down so her face couldn't be seen anymore, but her tone was clearly sad.

Mi Li almost laughed out loud. She thought, I just love watching this kind of drama! It’s this kid’s fault for being so fickle.

Zu An reacted quickly and immediately clasped Jing Teng’s hands. He took the pendant and put it around his neck, saying, “Who says you can only wear a single necklace?” It still had Jing Teng’s fragrance and warmth on it.

White Jing Teng quietly said, “It’ll break if it keeps bumping into something else.”

Zu An was stunned, but he replied, “Don’t worry. Your pendants aren’t ordinary items, so they won’t break.”

When she saw how nervous he looked, a smile finally returned to White Jing Teng’s face. His reaction showed that he actually cared about her a lot.

When she saw that, Mi Li curled her lips, thinking that if every woman gave Zu An a necklace in the future, perhaps his neck would be so heavy he won’t even be able to raise his head anymore.

Hm? Why am I kind of looking forward to that day?

“Ahem, you two should lie inside and give it a try for now. I’ll arrange a formation so the jade coffin can take in the natural ki around it to nurture your body, and then I’ll put up another formation to keep you two pure and clean… Also, link your souls with Zu An’s. That way, when you wake up and feel bored, you can call him to meet you,” Mi Li said.

The two of them were spirits born from the Demon-Suppressing Talisman. If they didn’t eat or drink in the jade coffin and just absorbed the natural ki of the world to sustain themselves, there was naturally no need to worry about sanitary issues.

“Thank you, master!” White Jing Teng exclaimed happily when she heard that Mi Li had already thought things out so thoroughly. Even Black Jing Teng was starting to develop a good impression of Mi Li.

…

Soon after, Jing Teng started lying down in the jade coffin as Mi Li arranged all kinds of formations from the side.

White Jing Teng gave Zu An a reluctant look and said, “Big brother Zu, I really want to stay by your side forever.”

Zu An lowered his head and kissed her ice-cold forehead, replying, “Don’t worry, Tengteng. I’ll definitely do everything I can to find a way to treat you two.” Raising his strength to match that being in a short time didn’t seem too likely, so he had to try approaching the situation from a different angle.

White Jing Teng nodded and said, “I’ll wait for you.”

Black Jing Teng added just then, “Don’t forget to come in and mate with us.”

White Jing Teng’s face immediately turned red. She exclaimed, “Stupid girl, what are you saying?!”

Dark Jing Teng grumbled, “Isn’t that what you’re thinking too? You’re just too embarrassed to say it. Don’t forget that we’re sharing a body now. It’s not as if I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

White Jing Teng cried out in alarm. Her face was completely red as she retorted, “Stop speaking nonsense, why would I use that word?”

“Oh, I think the words you would use would be ‘visit Mount Wu together’. What are you acting all posh for? My wording is much simpler and easier to understand.” Dark Jing Teng harrumphed.

White Jing Teng was stupefied. She couldn't help but cover her face. She had really embarrassed herself today…

“Big brother Zu, I’m feeling weak, so I’m going to sleep to recover first,” she said. She didn’t dare to give Zu An another look and quickly lay down in the jade coffin, closing her eyes.

Zu An could vaguely hear the two sisters arguing inside, leaving him speechless.

“These sisters are pretty interesting,” Mi Li said after a while of being busy, stretching her body a bit. “The formations are done. Remember to put in some more ki stones every so often to keep them running.”

“Thank you, master,” Zu An said sincerely. Without her, he really wouldn’t have known how to save these two.

“Look at you. Your master even has to clean up after you when you chase after women.” Mi Li harrumphed. Still, she found it a bit strange. Why was she so excited while helping him with these things? Just who was the one chasing after women here?

“Ahem, your master used up quite a bit of energy to do these things and is going to sleep first. Right, remember to show filial piety to your master and offer up some high-level ki stones. It’ll aid in my recovery,” she quickly added.

“Master can refine ki stones directly?” Zu An asked happily. Previously, Mi Li could only slowly recover through absorbing some of the world’s mystical power by sleeping. He had never heard that she could use ki stones until now.

“I guess I’m making some progress step by step too. My soul body has already more or less stabilized and isn’t like before, when I would easily dissipate into nothing,” Mi Li said with a nod. “Of course, normal ki stones won’t do. The higher the grade, the better.”

When Zu An heard that, he immediately pushed a pile of ki stones at her, saying, “Take these for now. I’ll try and see if I can find some immortal or even deity-grade ki stones later on.”

“If I recall correctly, these seem to be what Yu Yanluo gave you, right? Look at you, using the belongings of one woman to gain the favor of another; what trash,” Mi Li remarked with a smirk.

Zu An said, “You are my master; you’re different from other women.”

“That’s more like it,” Mi Li said, her mood suddenly improving considerably. However, she suddenly felt that something wasn’t right and quickly added, “It’s normal for Yu Yanluo to show me filial piety, anyway.”

Afterward, she picked the largest ki stone and said, “I’ll take this for now. If I take too much, I won’t be able to handle it either.” She quickly returned to her special space. Zu An had no idea how she was able to take the ki stone into the special space with her.

Zu An took out some heaven-grade ki stones and placed them around the formation for it to replenish its energy source. Then, he moved everything into the cavern pendant. He made sure to place the coffin in the chamber Jing Teng had used before. A familiar environment would lessen the discomfort.

He stayed with her and talked to her for a long time before finally reluctantly leaving the paradise cavern.

…

After he emerged, he gave the divine talisman and Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation made of constellations one more look. With a deep sigh, he left this mysterious place.