Chapter 70: Shoulda Known Better Than to Pout at Him!

“Wait, wait, hold on!” Jiang Jinyue’s eyes widened. “You said this compass has a… a sensor?!” Hearing Chen Jianxin’s explanation, the real solution finally clicked.

Whoosh! The dark, swirling sigils in her right eye vanished instantly. She blinked rapidly, first darting a wary glance at He Yimo – confirming his zoned-out expression meant he hadn’t noticed her brief eye-color change – before quickly, experimentally, plucking a strand of her own pink hair and carefully placing it under the compass needle.

Zip! In an instant, the previously erratic needle snapped back into place, pointing precisely… at Jiang Jinyue.

“HE! YI! MOOOO!” The fox girl whirled around, her realization exploding into pure, teeth-grinding fury. She looked like a tiny, vicious puppy whose favorite meat bun had just been smacked out of its mouth, her enchanting eyes blazing with a mixture of humiliation and adorable rage as she glared daggers at He Yimo. Grrrrrrr!!! Jiang Jinyue felt like her intelligence had just been spat on! But what made her truly boil with helpless fury was that she’d actually fallen for such a childish trick! She’d been so scared she almost burst into tears (sniffle) and nearly unleashed her ultimate Abyss Illusions! Uuuugh!

“Ahhh~ So that’s how it works,” He Yimo mused aloud, pointedly looking away and whistling nonchalantly. “Guess you must’ve accidentally dropped some of your hair on it before, huh? Whoopsie~”

“Hmph!” Jiang Jinyue puffed out her cheeks furiously. She snatched He Yimo’s hand – the one he’d been trying to hide behind his back – and sure enough, tangled between his fingers were several strands of familiar pinkish-red fuzz.

“HE YIMO!” she shrieked, standing on her tiptoes and shoving the evidence right in his face, practically vibrating with indignant rage. “When the HELL did you pluck these off me?! TELL MEEEE!”

He Yimo just blinked, his gaze drifting somewhere over her shoulder, refusing to answer. Hmmmm~?

But he didn’t need to answer. As Jiang Jinyue thought back, fragments of memory surfaced… those frequent, ‘accidental’ close encounters back at the Mountain God Temple… He Yimo constantly trying to spook her, pointing at the Buddha statue, whispering about its eyes moving, staring right at her… Jiang Jinyue getting so freaked out she stumbled right into his arms multiple times… Then later, down in the dungeon, him massaging her injured foot… carrying her piggyback when she couldn’t walk, stopping and starting abruptly… All those ‘coincidental’ contacts… all that skin-on-skin friction… Argh!

At the time, Jiang Jinyue had just figured He Yimo was a typical pervert, using any excuse to cop a feel. Since he had saved her life, she’d mostly let it slide. Buuuut now…? It turned out the bastard was playing 4D chess! Even the pervy act was just a cover… purely a way to secretly harvest her precious fox fur! THAT SNEAK!!!

“YOU!” she hissed, clutching the incriminating fluff, her voice trembling with rage. “You… You despicable, two-faced, feeling-manipulating… PERVERRRRT! Just you WAAAAIT!” She shot him one last venomous glare. Then, deciding she was done with him, she huffily turned her back, snatched the compass, and handed it pointedly back to Chen Jianxin, pausing only to throw another furious glare over her shoulder at He Yimo. Stomp stomp!

Jiang Jinyue was officially spooked now. Her original plan had been for He Yimo to lead the charge against Gu Wanglan back at Wuji Sect’s rear mountain. But with his current ‘playing dumb’ routine, it was painfully obvious he wasn’t going to cooperate.

Fine! If he wanted to be like that, Jiang Jinyue wasn’t going to waste her energy trying to coax him! `You don’t wanna go? FINE! I’ll just get Chen Jianxin to do it!` As long as she managed to lure Mo Yuyan to the rear mountain before Gu Wanglan actually killed Chen Jianxin… Gu Wanglan would be dealt with, Chen Jianxin would survive, and the Organization’s prophecy and mission would be derailed anyway.

All it meant for Jiang Jinyue was cutting He Yimo out and reverting to her earlier, simpler plan. Disrupting the prophecy was priority number one; He Yimo’s involvement was just supposed to be a nice bonus.

“Ungrateful JERK!” she muttered furiously under her breath, stealing another resentful glance at He Yimo from beside Chen Jianxin. “And here I even redesigned my whole plan just for YOU! Thinking you could kill Gu Wanglan instead of Mo Yuyan and get all the credit! Hmph!” The more she thought about it, the more wounded she felt. Pout pout.

Meanwhile, seeing Jiang Jinyue finally give up on him, He Yimo let out a huge, internal sigh of relief. Phew.

But the ahoge girl beside him looked increasingly worried. “Young Master He…?” Yun

“If that… that Nine-Colored Compass can track targets using different materials… ” she continued, her small face etched with concern for the missing deer god, “Then… if we just find some of the Divine Deer’s fur here in Snow Village… couldn’t we use it to find where the Deer is now…?” Compared to Chen Jianxin’s focus on glory, Yun Jin’s urgency was pure and genuine; the missing Deer God had actually saved her grandparents’ lives once.

“Hmm… You’ve got a point there, ” He Yimo conceded. Seeing Yun Jin so genuinely anxious, he couldn’t keep brushing it off. “Alright. Since they’ve found the compass… how about we go look for some materials left behind by the Nine-Colored Deer around here?”

“Oh! Yes! Good idea!” Yun Jin nodded eagerly. “We can split up from Senior Sister Jiang!” She obediently fell into step behind He Yimo.

He Yimo scanned the dilapidated shrine. Seeing Jiang Jinyue and Chen Jianxin still engrossed with the compass near the entrance, he decided to lead Yun Jin towards a collapsed, snow-covered, open-air ruin deeper within the shrine complex.

However, while He Yimo knew the solution from his past life’s walkthroughs… actually standing amidst the real-life devastation of the Divine Deer Shrine was another story. The place was an absolute wreck. Back in the game, you just tapped the screen, and poof, the giant wooden pillar blocking the way would conveniently move aside. Now? He Yimo had only his own two hands, and staring up at the massive, sky-pillar-sized wooden beam… he felt a serious headache coming on. Ugh.

“Yimoooo…” Yun Jin asked hesitantly, standing at the edge of the rubble pile, looking equally helpless. “Are you sure… there’d be deer fur… in these ruins?” She didn’t understand why He Yimo had brought her here. As just a physician whose contracted spirit beast was a bird, Yun Jin was utterly useless when it came to heavy lifting. Besides, there were plenty of other ruined buildings in Snow Village; why search for fur specifically in the shrine?

“My Wangxue says… she smells the Divine Deer’s aura down there…” He Yimo explained, rolling up his sleeves, preparing to tackle the obstacle head-on. “Sooo~… gotta trust the nose of a fellow deer, right? Yun Jin, stand back a bit, okay?”

Behind him, hearing the name ‘Wangxue’, Yun Jin perked up, remembering the adorable, miniature version of the Divine Deer. He Yimo glanced back, making sure Yun Jin was at a safe distance and that none of the other Wuji Sect disciples could see this spot. Then, concentrating, he slowly materialized the Abyssal Dragon Armguard—a terrifying gauntlet of black and red scales—onto his left arm. He didn’t show it off, though; he quickly pulled his sleeve back down, concealing its appearance.

Taking a deep breath, he slammed his armored left hand onto the massive wooden pillar lodged in the rubble… and with a grunt, putting every ounce of strength he had into it, he heaved the multi-ton beam upwards. NNNNNGH!

“Holy crap…” He Yimo muttered, genuinely surprised, staring up at the pillar he was somehow holding aloft with one hand. “I’m… actually this strong?!”

But his moment of self-congratulation was short-lived. He felt the blood-red spiritual energy fueling the armguard start to flicker, threatening to cut out. Uh oh. Clearly, this burst of power wasn’t entirely his own.

“Y-Young Master He! Be careful!!!” Yun Jin squeaked from nearby, her face pale with fright as she watched the massive pillar wobble precariously.

Feeling the power in his left arm rapidly draining, He Yimo frantically activated the golden Sacred Mark  on his right hand, desperately squeezing out the last dregs of spiritual energy from the Nine-Colored Deer recuperating within its seal.

`Meee~?! Myaaaaah?!` The Nine-Colored Deer jolted awake from its healing slumber, utterly bewildered. The tiny bit of energy it had just managed to recover… gone again, squeezed dry by He Yimo before it even had a chance to warm up! It instantly wanted to unleash another hour-long tirade of angry bleats at him. `Meee! Meeeeh!`

But as He Yimo strained with all his might, bracing the teetering pillar with both hands now, the poor Deer found itself too drained to even muster the energy for a proper argument. `Meeeeh… you… meeeh meeeh…` Its bleats were weak and pathetic, though the golden Sacred Mark pulsed faintly with its furious, helpless curses.

Feeling the pillar about to give way completely, He Yimo stumbled backwards, directing the massive beam to crash down into an empty patch of ground.

KRA-KOOOOM!!!

The impact shook the entire shrine, sending tremors through the already crumbling ruins and making the distant Wuji Sect disciples jump in alarm.

“Whoa! What was that?! What’s Young Master He doing?!”
“Looked like he was clearing those ruins deep inside the shrine!”
“That massive pillar?! We couldn’t even budge it earlier! He lifted it… alone?!”

Hearing the crash, the disciples peered towards the inner ruins. Though confused about He Yimo’s actions, the sheer power displayed left them deeply impressed. After all, they were only Qi Refinement cultivators. While stronger than ordinary mortals, they weren’t that strong. He Yimo’s feat seemed like pure, brute force, demonstrating terrifying physical power beyond just skill.

“No wonder…” someone murmured thoughtfully, “…when Senior Sister Mo made Young Master He take his shirt off last night… his muscles looked so good…”
“Yeah… Young Master He’s training must be totally different from ours…”

A wave of understanding (and perhaps a little envy) washed over the group. They stopped wondering why He Yimo received special favor from Kensei Mo. With his high cultivation, exceptional sword skills, and terrifying physical strength? He clearly deserved it.

“Tch. Big deal. Moving some rotten wood! What’s the point?!” Chen Jianxin scoffed loudly from the entrance, though the raw power He Yimo displayed had clearly unnerved him, visible in the sheen of cold sweat on his forehead. “Senior Sister Jiang and I already searched this shrine thoroughly! And we found the crucial Nine-Colored Compass… What valuable treasure could he possibly dig up from that pile of garbage?!”

Beside him, Jiang Jinyue’s brow furrowed slightly. She didn’t understand He Yimo’s actions either… but thinking back… the Nine-Colored Compass had originally pointed towards the Wuji Sect’s rear mountain. Now that its sensor was reset… they did need new material from the Deer to track it again.

`Could it be…?` she wondered. `He and Yun Jin are looking for… materials? Wait a minute!` The Nine-Colored Deer was literally living inside He Yimo, wasn’t it?! Why would he need to dig through ruins for materials?! Couldn’t he just summon the Deer and pluck a hair?! The more Jiang Jinyue thought about it, the more confused and anxious she became, tapping a finger against her cheek. She felt an overwhelming urge to run over and see what He Yimo was doing… but just moments ago, she’d sworn she wouldn’t chase after him anymore! She’d sworn she could execute her plan without him! If she ran over there now, wouldn’t she look like a total idiot?! Ugh!

“But…” she fretted inwardly, craning her neck. “I reeeeally wanna get closer and see what he’s up to!” Watching He Yimo methodically clearing away planks from the rubble pile, taking this completely unexpected detour from the ‘plot’, was driving Jiang Jinyue absolutely crazy with curiosity. It felt worse than being ignored! Having witnessed He Yimo’s ingenuity at the Mountain God Temple, she knew he had a knack for finding bizarre hidden mechanisms she’d completely miss!

CRUUUNCH… RUMBLE…

With the last heavy beam finally shifted aside, a cold smirk touched He Yimo’s lips. He turned and beckoned to the ahoge girl watching anxiously from a safe distance. “Yun Jin~ C’mere and look.” He deliberately kept his voice soft, a gentle murmur only Yun Jin could hear, unlike a typical treasure discovery shout. This forced Jiang Jinyue and Chen Jianxin, watching from afar, to squint and try to guess what was happening based on lip movements alone. So frustrating!

Yun Jin nodded obediently and trotted over. Peeking into the cleared space beside He Yimo, her eyes instantly widened, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in astonishment. Gasp!

The two of them stood within the pit created by the removed rubble, completely hidden from the waist down by the surrounding debris. They continued whispering, making it impossible for Jiang Jinyue, even on her tiptoes, to see exactly what they’d found or hear what they were saying. It was like watching a silent movie!

“Let’s go down and check it out, ” He Yimo whispered again after a moment. Beside him, Yun Jin, caught up in the secretive atmosphere, nodded excitedly, her ahoge bouncing, fists clenched in anticipation.

As Jiang Jinyue watched, utterly bewildered, He Yimo and Yun Jin both crouched down within the rubble pit… and slowly disappeared from view, as if descending into some kind of hidden passage.

“Did… Did they find a basement?!” one of the disciples standing near Jiang Jinyue suddenly guessed aloud.

“Don’t be stupid!” Chen Jianxin immediately scoffed. “This is the Divine Deer Shrine! The most sacred place in Snow Village! And that area was the altar for worshipping the Deer! Why would the villagers dig a tunnel underneath the Divine Deer’s resting place?! Pfft! They probably just bent down to pick up some trash! Right, Senior Sister Jiang—?” He turned to Jiang Jinyue for confirmation, still sneering.

But the spot beside him where the pink-haired girl had been standing… was empty.

“H-Huh?! Where’d she go…?” Chen Jianxin blinked, looking around in confusion. When his gaze swung back towards the rubble pile… he saw Jiang Jinyue, who’d seemed completely uninterested moments before, leaping agilely onto the debris heap, her enchanting eyes frantically searching for any trace of where He Yimo and Yun Jin had gone.

“Senior Sister Jiang?! What are you—?!” The other Wuji Sect disciples, curious, started walking towards the ruins. They looked up at Jiang Jinyue perched atop the rubble pile… but she just looked equally confused, scanning the ground desperately, unable to find any sign of an entrance.

A sense of unease began to spread through the disciples.

“They… vanished?”
“H-How is that possible?!”
“Where did they GO?! Two living people can’t just disappear into thin air like that!”
They looked at each other, completely baffled.

After a moment, Jiang Jinyue leaped down from the rubble, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she began meticulously examining the ground where He Yimo and Yun Jin had been standing. Recalling how He Yimo had cleverly uncovered the hidden passage in the Mountain God Temple… a wave of intense regret washed over her. `Why?! Why did I have to get angry and go back to Chen Jianxin?!

Why didn’t I just stick to He Yimo like glue?!` She’d only looked away for a few minutes! And in that time, He Yimo had easily found another hidden mechanism! If she hadn’t stormed off in a huff, she’d be down there with him right now! Even she, with her knowledge of the Prophecy’s script, only knew the shrine held clues! She had no idea there was another hidden area besides the compass!

“He Yimo and Yun Jin might be in danger!” Realizing she couldn’t find the entrance on her own, Jiang Jinyue’s mind raced. She quickly turned to the bewildered disciples. “Quickly! Everyone spread out and search this area! ” she commanded, taking charge. “There must be some kind of hidden switch or trapdoor on the floor right here! Find it! NOW!”