Han Shuangjiang couldn't understand why Chu Huaixu wanted to enter the same entrance with her. This wasted an entrance for no reason, which, from a uncertain
standpoint, was not a good thing.
If he was afraid of facing a trial alone and being unable to cope, that shouldn't be the case either. Since the predecessor had designed ten entrances, the original intention was likely one for each person, right? If one's ability was outstanding enough, they should be able to withstand the trial.
And so, after a moment of contemplation, she said, "Why don't we still split up? If I gain anything in here, I will bring it out for you."
Before entering the secret realm, she had already made up her mind. If she really obtained anything, she would just give it all to Chu Huaixu. The previous trouble had started because of her, and all the problems had been solved by him. She was always very clear about these things. She had wanted to give him the Jade Tablet Fragment from the very beginning, but he had refused.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing her words, Chu Huaixu still insisted on his own opinion and shook his head.
"Listen to me, we go together," he said.
"Alright." Han Shuangjiang did not insist further.
The experienced Chu Huaixu knew very well that so-called fated opportunities were not something you could necessarily share just because you wanted to. He had no intention of gambling on probabilities or trying his luck. He would rather believe that the young woman before him, who carried great fortune, was his personal koi fish.
—Watch closely, this is how you use a World Protagonist!
Before entering the seventh cave, Han Shuangjiang glanced at the eighth cave next to it, feeling a slight sense of pity.
"Don't look. Trust your first instinct," Chu Huaixu said.
"I also trust you. Perhaps you'll bring me good luck," he said, directly using the World Protagonist as a "treasure-hunting mouse."
Hearing this, the cold-faced girl pursed her lips slightly, feeling that this cheeky fellow was putting pressure on her.
There was no time to delay. The others were rushing into their caves, fighting for every second, so they couldn't waste any more time either.
The two walked inside. It was very narrow. It felt a bit like the scene from "The Peach Blossom Spring": at first it was extremely narrow, allowing just one person to pass. After walking a few dozen more steps, it suddenly opened up into a wide space.
But not long after it widened, two small paths appeared before them again.
"Feels like a maze," Chu Huaixu said, his eyes narrowing.
Han Shuangjiang nodded and suggested, "Then should we make a mark?"
"That works," Chu Huaixu said nonchalantly. Whatever she wanted to do, she could do. For him, it wasn't necessary because he had the [Map] function. As long as it was a place he had been, the map would be revealed and could be checked later, so there was no need to leave a mark. However, one couldn't get a precise location within a dungeon, unless one's level was overwhelmingly higher.
Soon, Han Shuangjiang felt that this man was putting pressure on her again.
"Which way?" he asked.
The ice mountain felt helpless. After looking left and right, she chose the right side.
"Ok, let's go," Chu Huaixu subconsciously said in English, leaving Han Shuangjiang completely bewildered, but she quickly followed. (T/N: In the original, he says a phonetic transliteration that literally means "come eat dog.")
As expected, not long after they walked, another fork appeared, this time splitting into three paths.
"Pick one," Chu Huaixu said again.
Han Shuangjiang glanced at them and suggested, "How about... the middle one?"
"Good, we'll take that one!" he readily accepted.
Then, Chu Huaixu walked inside without stopping. This left Han Shuangjiang alone at the fork to make her mark. By the time she was done, he was already far ahead. She could only purse her lips again, look at his striding back, and then jog to catch up.
Just like that, the two passed through ten forks in the road in one go. Then, they walked into a large open space with a full six paths ahead!
Chu Huaixu started putting pressure on Han Shuangjiang again.
"Choose."
The cold-faced girl's face grew even colder. She was a little unhappy now.
"Can't you choose one yourself?" she asked with a frown.
We clearly agreed that all the opportunities would be yours. You can't let me make all the decisions. Don't blame me later if we go the wrong way.
"I can't," Chu Huaixu said, rather shamelessly.
"Let me tell you, I have a terrible sense of direction," he began to spout nonsense.
Han Shuangjiang was, after all, still a young woman. Hearing this, she became even more unhappy. "Then why aren't you making any marks?"
She felt a little wronged, feeling as if she were doing all the menial work while he just strode forward on his own, not even pausing.
"Wasn't I deliberately walking in front to scout the path? How do you know there's no danger here? What if it's not just a maze?" Chu Huaixu said, his reasoning sound and his tone righteous.
Han Shuangjiang stared at him, dumbfounded, and couldn't help but curse in her heart, "This shameless dead fox!"
As it turned out, while she was giving him a nickname, the other party had the same tacit understanding.
"You already have a cold face all day long. Now that you're angry, you're even colder. Big Ice Cube, hurry up and choose. Which of these two paths?" Chu Huaixu was exceptionally impatient and began to urge her.
"B-Big Ice Cube?" Han Shuangjiang was stunned, thinking only one thing: "What an awful nickname!"
Little Ice Cube might sound a bit cute, but Big Ice Cube just sounds dumb and clumsy.
Furious, she once again relied purely on instinct and pointed randomly at the one on the left. "That one then!"
This time, she was the one who strode forward quickly, not making any marks either.
Chu Huaixu looked at the cold-faced girl throwing a tantrum but felt nothing, even finding it amusing. The colder she was, the more he inexplicably loved to tease her.
Relying on his [Map] function, Chu Huaixu had no intention of making any marks. He looked at Han Shuangjiang's slender and alluring back, at her superior hips swaying gracefully as she took large strides, and immediately quickened his pace to catch up.
But after catching up, he suddenly scurried back to the intersection to leave a mark.
The young woman he had called Big Ice Cube looked back, snorted softly, and felt much better in her heart, quite satisfied.
But she didn't know that at this moment, Chu Huaixu was secretly alarmed. The reason was simple: for the first ten intersections, the [Map] had recorded everything. But this intersection, it had not!
According to the system's [Map] function, the area ahead was pitch black, but as long as he walked forward, the path he had taken would appear on the map, recorded for later. However, this path did not. He had just walked a dozen steps, and it was still pitch black. No new path had appeared on the [Map]! On the map, there was only the large open space they had just passed. After the six-way choice, he had clearly chosen the second entrance, but no new path had been generated, as if it were stuck.
"Is my access level too low?"
Chu Huaixu was perplexed by this and felt it was better to make a mark first.
The two of them just kept walking, kept choosing, for nearly an hour. Han Shuangjiang began to grow less and less confident.
"This space under the cold pool is so huge!" she couldn't help but exclaim.
"And, we started by entering 10 separate entrances. After walking for so long, we haven't run into them, which means the paths are indeed not connected."
"Could it be that we actually chose wrong from the very beginning?" she looked at Chu Huaixu, voicing her thoughts.
"It's normal for you to be unconfident," Chu Huaixu said.
In his eyes, Han Shuangjiang had just come into contact with the cultivation world. She hadn't encountered any fated opportunities yet and didn't know that she carried great fortune, that she would have continuous fortuitous encounters in the future, as if the whole world revolved around her. It was like how many people think they have good luck; they have to constantly taste the sweetness before they realize their luck is truly good.
Chu Huaixu looked at her and directly changed the subject. "But I have confidence in you. Don't feel any pressure, Big Ice Cube."
Han Shuangjiang: "..."
Then you choose which path to take, you dead fox, you bastard!
The cold-faced girl took a deep breath and could only grit her teeth and continue to make choices. She still didn't understand why he had to let her choose. She felt she didn't need to be responsible for this.
Just like that, they walked here for another nearly half an hour. They still hadn't found their way out of the maze, nor had they returned to any marked intersections, meaning they hadn't repeated their path.
"Why don't you choose?" Han Shuangjiang was no longer slightly annoyed, but had become somewhat dejected.
Constantly choosing, constantly walking, as if there were no end to it. Throughout the entire process, you would constantly doubt yourself. She didn't know if she had chosen wrong, but she also didn't know if she was right. All that was left was endless confusion.
If it were just her alone, with her stubborn nature, she wouldn't have this kind of emotion. She might even compete with herself. But the problem was that she had been making choices for Chu Huaixu the whole time. A person's mentality changes because of this.
Hearing that she was unwilling to choose a path anymore, Chu Huaixu didn't answer her question, but instead asked, "Are you hungry?"
"Really, you choose. I feel like I've led you into a dead end," Han Shuangjiang ignored his question.
"It's noon already. How about we eat the biscuits we brought?" Chu Huaixu said.
"Why do you have to make me choose? What's the point?"
"Have a piece?" He directly took out two pieces of biscuit.
Han Shuangjiang was exasperated. Her beautiful eyes stared at him fiercely. The iciness gradually faded, and because of her anger, she seemed a little more alive, possessing a different kind of charming beauty.
Under her gaze, Chu Huaixu had already started to munch.
"You really not eating?" He handed the biscuit over.
"I'll eat," she said coldly with a straight face.
...
...
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two set off again.
After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Chu Huaixu noticed that Han Shuangjiang seemed to want to say something but was hesitating. He thought she didn't want to make choices again, so he didn't proactively ask. But after a while, she looked hesitant again, and seemed very uncomfortable.
Even though she had long, slender legs and could barely keep up with Chu Huaixu's striding pace when walking quickly, she was now walking slower and slower. This veteran companion was a person who paid great attention to detail, which was how he could provide his clients with high-quality service and abundant emotional value.
Chu Huaixu had some guesses and asked, "Don't tell me you..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Han Shuangjiang, a blush spreading across her face. This time, she hastily chose a path and said, "Let's take the middle one. You... you go first. I'll be right there. Don't wait for me."
"And, and don't look back!" she said, her voice growing softer and softer. She then raised her tone for the last two words and lowered her head slightly. She clearly didn't dare to look at him, yet her voice was filled with humiliation and indignation.
Chu Huaixu's guess was correct. She needed to pee.