Chapter 225: Nothing Like What I Imagined
“You’d better not be thinking of selling me.” Zhou Shiqing’s voice was icy cool, and even the way he looked at Xuan Xia was like he was glaring at her.
Xuan Xia felt no guilt at all. “Don’t say such untimely words. What would I sell you for?”
At most, she just wanted to borrow his honey trap.
Zhou Shiqing: “……Heh.”
Xuan Xia ignored his sarcastic heh laugh and explained, “Don’t be so sarcastic. This is a critical moment, and you are a key figure.”
Zhou Shiqing had a speechless expression.
He didn’t know what critical moment it was, but he clearly understood that no matter the time, some promises couldn’t be made lightly.
Especially those concerning himself.
An Qi and Gu Sun had been in a daze since Xuan Xia’s conversation with Shi Mei earlier, and now they didn’t quite understand what the two of them were debating, so they just silently watched from the side without offering any opinions.
Shi Mei reacted, however, furrowing her brows as she asked, “Are you two deceiving me? You don’t actually want to take me away at all?”
Her voice had also cooled down.
But her coolness and Zhou Shiqing’s coolness were on completely different levels.
“No.” Xuan Xia immediately replied to her at once. “You don’t need to doubt our sincerity.”
After dealing with Shi Mei, Xuan Xia turned her gaze back to Zhou Shiqing.
She had originally wanted to sternly demand that he act according to her words, but when she met Zhou Shiqing’s eyes again, the words she had prepared wouldn’t come out.
She thought quickly for a moment, then asked Zhou Shiqing, “You’re really not planning to make use of your value?”
Hearing her say that, combined with her soft tone, Zhou Shiqing couldn’t help but hesitate along with her.
It had nothing to do with value or not; he was just soft-hearted.
But before he could hesitate to a conclusion, Xuan Xia continued, “Alright, I respect you.”
The simplest honey trap was no longer usable, but it didn’t matter; there were plenty of methods.
Xuan Xia had a good mindset and promptly shifted her line of sight, smiling gently at Shi Mei. “Alright, Shi Mei, take us away from here.”
The conversation returned to the main topic.
And with Xuan Xia’s words, An Qi and the others all looked toward Shi Mei.
This made Shi Mei’s corner of the mouth twitch slightly as she said in a nearly stiff tone, “What are you talking about, take you away? You’re supposed to take me away.”
Xuan Xia hummed in acknowledgment and naturally continued, “You take us away from here, and we’ll take you away from here. We mean what we say.”
The two sentences sounded like a tongue twister, leaving An Qi and Gu Sun half-understanding, their brows deeply furrowed.
Zhou Shiqing had experienced one more day and night than them, and with Xuan Xia saying it twice, he quickly realized that Shi Mei might truly be the key to ending this absurdity.
Not turning the corner was one thing, but now that he had, he slightly regretted not cooperating with Xuan Xia earlier.
But it seemed too late now.
Her smile frozen on her face, Shi Mei’s expression looked somewhat distorted.
The moment An Qi and Gu Sun noticed, they immediately shifted their steps, moving even closer to Xuan Xia.
On the other side, Chang Xi shook out the long sleeves wrapped around Xie Yun, looking casually idle on the surface, but only the water sleeves swayed back and forth in small amplitudes.
Shi Mei looked over the group, her line of sight lingering two seconds longer on Zhou Shiqing before returning to Xuan Xia, her stiff corner of the mouth twitching upward. “If we don’t leave soon, they’ll catch up.”
No sooner had the words fallen than those men’s figures appeared distantly, expected to reach them in no time.
“Xuan Xia!” An Qi hurriedly pulled Xuan Xia, afraid she hadn’t noticed the group.
But Xuan Xia calmly watched Shi Mei.
Watched by her, Shi Mei quickly added, “You know nothing about the Sea God. If He doesn’t get the sacrifice today, He won’t let it go. This sea is all the Sea God’s domain. If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to escape.”
With that, the calm sea surface suddenly surged with waves, and the three-headed “Sea God” burst through the sea, snarling with claws and fangs, stirring the seawater into a massive vortex.
“Gah—” Gu Sun and An Qi were startled suddenly.
An Qi even directly pressed close to Gu Sun, while Gu Sun supported her and edged closer to Zhou Shiqing’s side.
Zhou Shiqing was fine, though.
He had seen the three-headed snake several times already and was nearly immune.
Moreover, the timing of this three-headed snake’s appearance was too coincidental.
Just like those pursuing men, it appeared right after Shi Mei spoke.
Unless Shi Mei had a crow’s mouth, how could it be so coincidental.
But Zhou Shiqing knew she hadn’t had that crow’s mouth ability before.
So this coincidence was better attributed to her having the power to make things happen with her words.
With this thought, Zhou Shiqing suddenly wanted to say something.
But before he could open his mouth, the quick-eyed Xuan Xia stopped him.
Xuan Xia signaled with her eyes for him not to say anything.
Zhou Shiqing could only cooperatively shut his mouth.
Xuan Xia looked sincerely at Shi Mei, paying no mind to the pursuers or the three-headed snake. “If you want to leave here, that shouldn’t be fake, right?”
“The opportunity is right in front of you now; it depends on you. If you’re willing to leave with us, we absolutely won’t deceive you or abandon you. If you’re not willing…”
Xuan Xia didn’t continue, but extended her hand toward Shi Mei to show her sincerity.
Shi Mei looked at Xuan Xia’s outstretched hand, her expression showing contemplation.
Xuan Xia didn’t urge her, patiently waiting for her decision.
As if to avoid disturbing her decision, the increasingly close pursuers began running in place, and the three-headed snake in the sea maintained its intimidating snarling pose without any actual advance.
Now there was no need for explanation; even the self-proclaimed slow An Qi and Gu Sun understood the key point.
In this quiet moment, Xie Yun, who had been unconscious for half a day, suddenly awoke, and the first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was the three-headed snake in the sea.
“Ah—”
Xie Yun screamed in fright, flailing her hands and feet backward to escape.
“So noisy.” Chang Xi chided lightly, waving the long sleeves in his hand to wrap her tightly from head to toe. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”
Xie Yun was wrapped into a zongzi, unable to open her mouth to scream now, only muffled whimpers from her throat.
An Qi, Gu Sun: “…”
Who is she?
Is she human?
Xuan Xia didn’t pay attention to the little interlude with Chang Xi, focusing entirely on Shi Mei.
Shi Mei paid no attention either; she seemed to have finally made a decision, lifting her chin slightly. “But I want to go with him.”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate.” Xuan Xia rejected directly.
Shi Mei’s brows furrowed.
Zhou Shiqing also furrowed his brows.
Xuan Xia continued, “I can see you really like him. If you like him, shouldn’t you not hurt him? If you insist on going with him, you’ll hurt him, even if you don’t want to. Do you understand?”
With Xuan Xia’s words, Shi Mei showed a contemplative expression again.
Xuan Xia still didn’t urge her.
So Shi Mei contemplated for a long time, but in the end, she placed her hand in Xuan Xia’s palm.
“Alright then.” Shi Mei sighed softly. “It’s completely different from what I imagined, but… let’s go.”
The final “go” had just fallen when the entire world suddenly went dark.
