Heavens' Laughter

"Ah~ finally found you!" Feng Shen called out, his voice carrying a hint of amusement as he looked up into the branches of a tree.

High above, his personal servant was clinging tightly to a branch, eyes wide with a mixture of relief and terror.

"Second Young Master! Thank the heavens you found me!" Yùn Yì called back, her voice trembling as she glanced down.

She clung desperately to the branch, feeling her grip weaken with each passing second. A surge of panic flickered in her eyes—she looked as though she might slip at any moment.

"Could you… maybe help me down?" Yùn Yì added. She held on for dear life, hoping the Second Young Master wouldn't keep her hanging for too long.

After all, her knuckles were white from gripping the bark, and her face was pale, as if she had been holding her breath the entire time.

Feng Shen smirked, crossing his arms as he watched his personal servant struggle to steady herself.

"You look comfortable up there," he teased, clearly enjoying the sight.

Honestly, if it weren't for her special physique, Feng Shen would've simply found a comfortable spot to sit and watch, waiting for her to eventually fall.

Maybe even tossing a few rocks her way from time to time, just to hurry things along.

"Second Young Master, you're such a tease! Please, just get me down!" Yùn Yì let out an awkward laugh, her voice tinged with a little desperation.

She shifted uncomfortably, her fingers tightening around the branch as she tried to steady herself.

The sooner she was on solid ground, the better—Yùn Yì couldn't take much more of this.

"Alright, alright," Feng Shen chuckled, clearly amused by her discomfort. In the blink of an eye, he used Shadow Step, and suddenly, he was standing effortlessly on the same tree branch, perfectly balanced:

He gave her a small smile, his eyes gleaming with a mix of impatience. "Well, grab on." He didn't want to waste too much time, after all.

Feng Shen knew he still had to figure out what the trial was truly about.

So far, he suspected it was simply about surviving for a set period of time, and eventually, they would all be brought back.

After all, the first trial shouldn't be so confusing or challenging—Feng Shen had assumed it would be a simple matter of survival.

Nothing too complicated, just endure for a while and they'd be done.

'Ah~ if only this little ant wasn't around, I could just go around and kill everyone,' Feng Shen thought, a small smirk forming at the thought.

It would speed things up, he reasoned. If only one person remained, they would have no choice but to welcome him in.

That way, Feng Shen could pass the rest of the trials and skip all the unnecessary complications. The idea almost tempted him, but he knew better than to act impulsively—at least for now.

"Umm… Second Young Master… I kind of can't grab onto you…" Yùn Yì replied, her voice filled with discomfort. "I would love to, but seeing as if I let go at all, I'll fall to my death, and that wouldn't be so nice…"

Each passing moment made her feel more out of breath, her fingers starting to ache from clinging to the branch.

However, Yùn Yì didn't want to come off as rude or rush him—after all, that would be terribly impolite on her part.

'How could I rush the Second Young Master?' she thought, a pang of guilt settling in. She couldn't shake the memory of when she had promised him she wouldn't be a burden.

And yet, here she was, clinging desperately to the tree, feeling like nothing more than an obstacle. The weight of Yùn Yì's own words felt heavy now, and she couldn't help but feel bad for putting him in such a position.

'I'm such a bad personal servant…' she thought, the self-criticism washing over her.

Yùn Yì couldn't help but feel awful, especially now that she was being helped out of this situation instead of managing it herself.@@novelbin@@

It made her feel small, like she was failing in her duty.

Helping his personal servant, carefully, Feng Shen carefully placed her on his back. As he adjusted her, he glanced down at the sleeping snake coiled on the forest floor.

"By the way, when were you going to tell me about the Xiangliu?" he asked, pointing at the creature. He wasn't particularly worried about it, though.

The snake was a notoriously difficult snake to wake up, as once it fed, it entered a deep sleep mode to cultivate. As long as it wasn't disturbed, it would remain in that state, undisturbed and unaware of anything around it.

Of course, if you tried to attack it, the Xiangliu would immediately wake up and react. It was incredibly quick, and if you didn't manage to kill it with a single strike, you'd be in a life and death battle.

Its scales were as hard as steel, making it nearly impossible to penetrate without immense strength or precision. Overall, it was a creature that demanded respect—underestimating it could be fatal.

Though Feng Shen viewed the creature before him as inferior, he couldn't help but enjoy the challenge of fighting its higher-level, evolved versions that resided in the Nine Heavens.

Those Xiangliu were colossal, towering as tall as the skies themselves. Their strength was unparalleled, and the battles with them were always fun.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Yùn Yì apologized hurriedly, a flush of embarrassment rushing to her face.

She felt as though she had just been splashed with cold water, suddenly remembering the snake again.

Looking down at it, Yùn Yì couldn't help but feel incredibly dumb.

She had almost forgotten about the creature's presence entirely, and now that she was reminded, the weight of her oversight made her want to hide away.

"It's fine, it's fine." Feng Shen rolled his eyes, clearly showing he didn't care. He didn't, not really.

The constant apologizing greatly annoyed him—especially since, in his experience, those who apologized too much usually ended up dying by his hands.

The thought of it barely registered; Feng Shen had no patience for weakness, especially when it came in the form of endless apologies.

With a swift motion, he used Shadow Step, vanishing from his position and reappearing back on the forest floor, a little distance away from the snake.

Feng Shen glanced backward at the Xiangliu, a thought flickering through his mind. 'Hmm, I could use that little snake...'

If he killed the snake, he could obtain its core—the condensed energy accumulated over time by the monster.

This core was a powerful source of Qi, and if he forced his personal servant to consume it, her body would have to adapt to the immense energy contained within.

The process would force her meridians to open, a painful and grueling experience.

'It's fine… She'll live… It wasn't that painful when I did it...' Feng Shen thought to himself, recalling his past life when he had undergone similar processes with other monsters, in order to grow his cultivation.

The Qi would simply flood her body, enhancing her cultivation potential.

Without knowing what the Second Young Master was planning for her, Yùn Yì found herself unknowingly leaning in, her face brushing against his neck.

Sniff… Sniff… Sniff… Sniff…

The scent of the Second Young Master was calming, and Yùn Yì couldn't help but inhale deeply, feeling a strange sense of security.

As she nestled against him, the world seemed a little less overwhelming.

Yùn Yì had always felt a sense of safety around the Second Young Master, even without understanding why.

'I hope this never ends—' Yùn Yì's thoughts were abruptly interrupted as she was suddenly flopped onto the ground.

She let out a small gasp, the world spinning for a brief moment before she found herself lying on her back, staring up at the dark sky.

Leaves rustled above Yùn Yì, partially obscuring her view of the stars.

For a moment, all she could do was blink in confusion, the warmth and security of being on the Second Young Master's back now replaced with the cool, hard earth beneath her.

"Why did you suddenly let go?" Feng Shen asked. A hint of confusion colored his voice as he lowered his gaze to meet the eyes of his personal servant. "Are you okay?"

One moment she was secure on his back, and the next, she had slipped off, landing on the ground.

Feng Shen really felt like face palming.

Yùn Yì, on the other hand, felt an overwhelming wave of embarrassment wash over her. She was practically dying of mortification.

Every time she was near the Second Young Master, it seemed she found some new way to humiliate herself.

The way she had slipped off his back and landed unceremoniously on the ground was just another addition to her ever-growing list of awkward moments.

Yùn Yì could feel her face burning as she lay there, not knowing how to explain herself or how to undo the awkwardness:

"I—I… I'm sorry…"