"He’s probably enjoying himself," she muttered, annoyed. "That place is filled with women and no men. They must all be chasing after him like bees after honey."
She turned to the side and puffed out her cheeks.
"He’s probably sitting there, smiling like a fool, letting all those women serve him tea and grapes."
The image in her head made her even more irritated.
"Forget it," she said. "Let him enjoy while it lasts. I’ll ruin his fun the moment I find him."
She smirked a little, thinking of the look on his face when she finally showed up. Still, she didn’t know how she was going to reach him.
The portal he was in... it wasn’t open to just anyone. Maybe she’d have to jump from one rift to another, like stepping stones, until she found the right one.
She didn’t care how hard it was. She would save him.
After all, his disappearance might have something to do with her.
Maybe everything had started because of her.
While Gu Jin was lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the dark stares from a nearby camp.
Not far from her, in a rough-looking tent with dirty tarps and old weapons lying around, sat three men, all of them staring at Gu Jin like wolves eyeing a rabbit.
"Did you see her?" one of the men whispered. "That girl in black. She’s a real beauty."
"Look at those legs," another one said, licking his lips. "I bet she tastes better than roasted beast meat."
"Why don’t we go talk to her?" The first one snickered. "Or better yet, skip the talking."
The oldest man leaned forward, smirking. "We’ll wait till night. She’s camping alone. That means no one’s going to help her."
"Who’s going first?" The second man asked.
"I will," The third man said. "But we can take turns. She’s got enough for all of us."
The group laughed lowly, their eyes burning with greed.
Meanwhile, in another world...
Long Yifan was hiding in a dark, narrow tunnel under a cliff. He had dug it himself using an old, chipped sword. His clothes were dirty, his hair messy, and his eyes full of stress and fear.
He had been hiding, running, and escaping for four whole months.
He couldn’t even use his cultivation.
The women in this strange world had done something to him. His mana had been sealed. Now, he couldn’t even use a basic fire spell to protect himself.
His spells were useless. Even his storage ring and artifacts, which were priceless treasures, didn’t work here.
It was like he had been thrown into a world where everything he knew had been taken away.
They weren’t normal either.
They were like wild animals with sweet voices and deadly hunger in their eyes.
He had tried to talk to them at first.
But then they started looking at him... wrong.
Like he was a walking dessert.
Some chased him. Some tried to trap him with sweet promises. Others just attacked him right away, trying to drag him into their palaces.
"I’m not a piece of meat!" he had shouted once.
But they didn’t care.
This world had many treasures, lava mountains that could increase fire cultivation, floating lightning lakes that strengthened thunder, and even pure chaos fog for rare energy training.
He could’ve become stronger if he used these.
Because if he showed his face for more than a minute, a group of crazy women would appear and chase him like bloodthirsty tigers.
He hadn’t eaten properly in days.
He hadn’t bathed in weeks.
He just kept running and hiding, trying to protect one thing:
He wanted to save it. For Gu Jin. For Grey. For someone he loved.
But today, as he hid in the tunnel, he heard footsteps above.
Two women were walking by, their voices clear in the air.
"Have you found him yet?" one said.
"No, but I know he’s nearby," the other replied. "Queen Cerseia said she wants to taste him by next week. She’s getting impatient."
"Oh please," the first one giggled. "Once I get my hands on him, I’m not sharing. He’s mine every alternate day."
"What do you mean alternate?" the second girl laughed. "I want him on my birthday, weekends, and holidays!"
Long Yifan’s face turned pale.
"They’re crazy!" he whispered, pulling his knees to his chest.
He started to shiver.
"If I have to lose it, it’ll be to Gu Jin only," he muttered. "No one else. Not even a queen. Not even if she bathes in perfume and rubs spirit jade on her face. I don’t care!"
"This is probably Heaven’s way of punishing me," he muttered. "Maybe I was too proud... too confident... so the heavens opened a rift and threw me into this nightmare."
He sighed deeply and stared at the stone wall.
"All these crazy women... maybe they’re meant to teach me a lesson. But what kind of lesson is this?!"
Then his eyes lit up as he remembered something.
"There is a way to leave this world," he whispered to himself.
Yes, he had heard from an old book he found near a ruined temple.
To escape, he had to trigger a spatial rift on his own. But to do that, he needed a huge amount of mana.
His mana was sealed... but not completely.
Every day, he found small spots, hidden places untouched by the women, where he could meditate and gather a tiny bit of mana.
"I need at least six more months," he said.
"If I can hide and gather just a little bit every day, I might be able to open the rift and leave this place."
But he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Can I survive that long?" he whispered. "They’re getting crazier every day. I’m not sure I can keep my purity safe for another six months..."
Just then, he heard footsteps above.
Two women’s voices floated down into the tunnel.
"Do you feel that energy?" one woman said.
"Yes," the other replied. "It’s the same strange mana we sensed before. He must be nearby."
Long Yifan’s heart jumped in his chest.
They were talking about him.
He needed to move. Fast.
Thinking quickly, he grabbed a small rock and threw it far in the opposite direction.
The stone clattered against some dry branches.
"I heard something over there!" one of the women shouted.
They ran toward the sound.
At that moment, Long Yifan slipped out of the tunnel and ran in the other direction, moving as quietly as he could.
"I need to find a new hiding spot," he whispered, breathing hard. "Someplace far away. Somewhere they’ll never find me."
.................................
Back in the foggy valley...
It was dark now. The fog was thick and cold. Gu Jin lay in her tent, wrapped in a thin blanket, fast asleep.
Her face was calm, and her long hair spilled over her pillow.
Suddenly, a shadow slipped into her tent.
The figure was silent, dressed in dark clothes, and moved like a thief.
The person looked at Gu Jin quietly for a moment.
Then, the figure waved their hand in front of her face, testing to see if she was awake.
Sure that she was asleep, the figure crept closer, step by step, until they were right next to her.
They reached out a hand, aiming for Gu Jin’s bag, maybe trying to steal something.
But before the hand could even touch her...
Gu Jin’s hand grabbed the figure’s wrist tightly.
Her eyes opened slowly, cold and sharp like ice.
"If you dare try to steal from me," she said in a low voice, "I’ll steal everything from you... down to your underpants."
The figure’s eyes widened in shock.
"Let me go!" she shouted, now clearly a woman. "I-I’ll bite your hand! I’ll scream! I’ll tell everyone you were trying to kidnap me!"
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, amused.
"You broke into my tent," she said calmly. "If anyone comes, maybe they should ask why you’re here first."
The woman began to struggle harder, but Gu Jin’s grip was strong.
"I’ll scream! I’ll tell everyone!" she shouted, her voice rising.
"Help! Someone help me! This outsider is trying to kidnap me!"
Her voice echoed through the valley.
Soon, footsteps came rushing from nearby camps. People gathered outside Gu Jin’s tent. Some even opened the flap and peeked inside.
They saw Gu Jin calmly sitting inside her tent, holding the wrist of a beautiful woman with fancy clothes and teary eyes.
"What’s going on here?" someone asked.
Another person gasped. "Hey, that’s one of our own!"
"Is this outsider trying to do something to her?"
Gu Jin looked around at the angry faces and chuckled lightly.
"Maybe you should ask her why she was sneaking into my tent in the middle of the night."