Chapter 101: Negotiations (1)

After a momentary bout of dizziness, Shen Jingbin appeared in front of White Cloud Temple’s gates once again. Pure Crane and his companions were nowhere to be seen, likely being transported back to where they were before they entered the Demonic Sect’s map.

Looking up at the sunny sky that was dotted with white clouds, Shen Jingbin felt that they gave off the feeling that everything was wonderful and couldn’t help but feel depressed.

The system really knows how to screw with people. It took a great deal of difficulty before they were able to discover this one clue, but immediately after, it booted them from the map. This was practically murder to someone like her who had an obsessive-compulsive disorder!

She opened her backpack and fished out the Demonic Sect’s entry token.

Should she go back in for another look?

But, it looked like the entry point for the Demonic Sect’s map was random, right? What would she do if she was sent to some other location?

And, what would she do if she happened to appear in front of the people from Life At First Sight? After all, she was at the top of Nine Ballads’ list right now.

After mulling over it for a time, Shen Jingbin quietly placed the entry token back into her backpack.

At this moment, a carrier pigeon came flying over with a letter in its beak, stopping in front of Shen Jingbin to allow her to retrieve the letter.

“Are you back? I and the others are at the entrance of Blood Soaked Hell. Do you want to come over and discuss what happened in Undying City with us?”

So it was a letter from Pure Crane.

Shen Jingbin thought for a moment before she replied, “Alright, I’ll be there in a bit.”

After sending her reply to Pure Crane, Shen Jingbin summoned Mascot and mounted it before she flew off towards the entrance of Blood Soaked Hell.

Blood Soaked Hell was situated within Swallow Hill, while Swallow Hill itself was near Zhongyuan1 and Jiangnan. A boundless savanna blanketed Swallow Hill. Riding atop Mascot, Shen Jingbin could see the verdant grasslands spotted with clusters of two to three white dots, making it seem particularly idyllic. It was only then that Shen Jingbin managed to get over some of her depression of being teleported out.

Upon reaching Blood Soaked hell, Shen Jingbin allowed Mascot to gradually descend before she finally came to a stop before Pure Crane and co.

Black Hawk had already spotted Shen Jingbin while she was in the air. After all, Mascot was far too eye-catching. After waiting for her to land, Black Hawk excitedly ran over to Shen Jingbin.

“Little Jing, is that your pet? It looks so cool!”

Delicate Flower and Cheshire Cat were far more concerned about the implications of Mascot’s presence than Black Hawk was. They more or less knew about the White Tiger incident, and they also had a rough idea of who Shen Jingbin was when they’d previously met her in Undying City. After all, Shen Jingbin’s appearance in the game was truly “unique”. Now, with the appearance of Mascot, they were able to immediately confirm her identity as they shot looks of astonishment at Pure Crane.

She’s the wife of Jade Sea Pavilion’s Guild Leader and yet you’re still acting so intimately with her?

Pure Crane raised an eyebrow at them but didn’t say a word. However, both Delicate Flower and Cheshire Cat understood the meaning behind this gesture. They shared a glance before they looked down, acting as if they knew nothing.

Pure Crane was the Vice-Leader of Sovereign’s Descent. Compared to their actual Guild Leader, Neverending Journey, Pure Crane’s presence held a little more importance in holding the guild together. However, that didn’t mean he cared about the guild.

Delicate Flower and Cheshire cat had always known that Pure Crane didn’t remain within Sovereign’s Descent out of his own will. To him, Sovereign’s Descent was a stepping stone to reach towards even stronger guilds.

It was more likely that he’d found an even stronger guild by himself.

As such, Pure Crane didn’t care about the fact that Nutjob was the wife of Jade Sea Pavilion’s Guild Leader, and neither did he give a damn about the hostilities between the two guilds at present. All that mattered was that interacting with Nutjob would be beneficial to him.

The four of them had been together ever since they were beginners in the game. They’d always known that Pure Crane would never settle for mediocrity. He would then go on to easily find his way into Sovereign’s Descent and subsequently rise through the ranks from a normal member to his current position as the guild’s Vice-Leader.

However, what warmed their hearts was that regardless of what Pure Crane thought or what schemes he came up with, he’d always treated the three of them as true friends.

To Delicate Flower and Cheshire Cat, this devotion to their friendship was all that mattered.

Black Hawk ran over to Shen Jingbin, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Mascot. Seemingly having noticed her gaze, Mascot raised its head and twitched its ears in a tsundere-like fashion, looking as if it was trying to say, “I look really cool, hurry up and praise me!”.

Unable to restrain herself, Shen Jingbin reached out and stroked Mascot. It might have been her imagination, but she felt that Mascot was taking on increasingly human-like attributes, to the point where it seemed unscientific. In fact, she’d already forgotten that Mascot was merely a set of data within the game.

“It’s a bit of a tsundere. Don’t bother about it.”

However, Shen Jingbin had underestimated the attractive force that furry cats had on young girls. Black Hawk’s pair of saucer-shaped eyes had already completely transformed into a pair of hearts.

“Can I…rub it?” Black Hawk asked as she pitifully raised her head to look at Shen Jingbin.

Shen Jingbin cast a glance at the tsundere named Mascot and said, “Mascot, shrink yourself down a bit.”

Shen Jingbin’s command was like a bolt from the blue as it came crashing down on Mascot. Mascot turned behind to look at Shen Jingbin, its golden beastly eyes filled with hurt. Its ears drooped down, giving the impression that it had suffered some great injustice.

Shen Jingbin knew it didn’t want to shrink itself. After advancing in rank, Mascot no longer enjoyed being small.

However, out of the corner of her eyes, she glanced at the little girl, Black Hawk, whose eyes sparkled even brighter. In the end, she felt that Black Hawk was more important, so she commanded Mascot once again, “Hurry up and shrink down.”

“Roar~” Mascot let out a soft cry towards Shen Jingbin, before it reluctantly shrunk down. She then picked Mascot up and deposited it straight into Black Hawk’s waiting arms. Black Hawk had a look of satisfaction on her face as she hugged Mascot and excitedly rubbed her cheek against its furry noggin.