Feng Shui Chapter 113: The Lost Immortal Master’s Adventure – Part Two

Brother Li said to Chen Xiao, “Don’t worry, Immortal Master Tong is probably just taking a bathroom break.” After all, cultivators who drink water and eat food have to visit the place of the Five Grains’ cycle. So Brother Li didn’t think much of it and even patted Chen Xiao’s shoulder with a smile. “Fellow Daoist, no need to worry. He’ll probably show up any moment from somewhere.”

Chen Xiao couldn’t bring himself to tell Brother Li that Tong Nuonuo was the kind of weirdo who could get lost just by glancing the wrong way. He could only force a smile and walk away.

The Shi Ming group was busy harvesting and processing the black-tailed macaques, so Chen Xiao couldn’t bother them to help search. He had no choice but to search on his own through other parts of the White Spirit Fruit forest. At first, he held onto hope, maybe Tong Nuonuo was simply hidden by the thick branches of the large Bai Ling trees. But as dusk fell and he combed through the entire forest without a trace, he had to admit the truth: Tong Nuonuo was genuinely lost.

With nightfall, Chen Xiao had to give up the search and hurried back to the group. When he arrived, Shi Ming was already preparing to have everyone pull back and set up camp at the original site. Although the White Spirit Fruit Forest was temporarily safe, it was still within the territory of the cat beasts. During the macaque harvesting, Xi Yunqing and others had been taking turns guarding the perimeter to prevent any sudden attacks.

On the way back, both groups converged, and Chen Xiao found a chance to tell Xi Yunqing what happened. This was the first time Tong Nuonuo had completely disappeared right in front of him. In the past, Tong Nuonuo had always been found while still lost or after he realized he was lost. Now, Chen Xiao felt a helpless confusion, like a parent whose child had gone missing.

Xi Yunqing had known Tong Nuonuo was a bit scatterbrained and always had company on outings, but he hadn’t realized just how severe Tong Nuonuo’s sense of direction problems were. Seeing Chen Xiao so anxious, he gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Brother Xiao. Tong Daoist is not an incapable child; he can take care of himself. Tomorrow, I’ll go search with you.”

Xi Yunqing’s reassurance eased Chen Xiao’s mind somewhat. After all, Tong Nuonuo wasn’t new to losing his way, he had plenty of experience surviving alone in the wild. Plus, Chen Xiao had told him beforehand that if he ever got lost, he should find a safe spot and light a smoky fire as a signal. Though he couldn’t start a fire at night, once daylight came, climbing to the treetops would surely reveal Tong Nuonuo’s smoke signal.

That night, only Chen Xiao and Xi Yunqing remained at camp. Without Tong Nuonuo to take a shift, they merged their camp with Shi Ming’s group. Chen Xiao wasn’t in the mood to keep watch all night, and Xi Yunqing had already ruled out letting him do so. After spending a day together, Xi Yunqing felt Shi Ming’s group was trustworthy.

Shi Ming was welcoming and curious about the missing member. Chen Xiao was a little out of sorts and couldn’t give a proper answer. Xi Yunqing tactfully said Tong Nuonuo had temporarily left the team but would return soon. Every group of adventurers had its secrets; Shi Ming wisely didn’t press further and instead talked about the day’s harvest.

“We collected a good amount of White Spirit Fruit today, as well as black-tailed macaque pelts and the demon core from the macaque king." Shi Ming reported. “According to our prior agreement, the demon core belongs to the barbarian cultivator, and the pelts will be split in two. Due to the fierce battle, there aren’t many undamaged pelts. Still, considering it’s extra income, this amount is quite decent.”

Xi Yunqing replied calmly, “When my companion returns, give him the pelts for us. He’s an engineer; those pelts should come in handy.”

After chatting briefly, the two went to rest. Shi Ming’s group was large enough to handle night watches without them. Without Tong Nuonuo and no extra blankets, Chen Xiao had planned to return one blanket to Xi Yunqing, but Xi Yunqing refused.

“No way." Chen Xiao insisted. “After midnight, the temperature drops a lot. You’ll catch a chill if you don’t cover up.”

Actually, with Xi Yunqing’s cultivation level, spending the autumn night uncovered wouldn’t be dangerous. Though the air would feel cold, his true energy inside would protect him from illness. But Chen Xiao couldn’t help but project his own human limitations, he didn’t practice cultivation and didn’t believe cultivators were truly impervious to cold.

Xi Yunqing was a bit helpless at Chen Xiao’s stubbornness. Arguing further risked drawing Shi Ming’s attention, so Xi Yunqing quietly said, “Alright, then tonight we’ll share this blanket.”

Fortunately, their resting spot was near the edge of camp and out of sight unless someone walked by intentionally.

Chen Xiao hesitated, looking at Xi Yunqing. “Is this okay?” Though he wasn’t bothered himself, he couldn’t quite imagine someone as lofty as Xi Yunqing sharing a blanket with another person overnight.

Xi Yunqing’s expression turned slightly serious. “If not, then we’ll do as I said before.”

Chen Xiao accepted. After Xi Yunqing heated the ground, Chen Xiao spread his blanket down, then covered himself with Xi Yunqing’s. Snuggled in the warmth, Chen Xiao soon felt Xi Yunqing leaning closer. The blanket was narrow and difficult to wrap even one person, so it was impossible to cover two fully. Xi Yunqing purposely draped most of it over Chen Xiao, covering only half his own body.

Chen Xiao asked, “All covered?”

Xi Yunqing said, “All covered. Now get some sleep, tomorrow we have to find Brother Tong.”

Chen Xiao looked at Xi Yunqing with a hint of doubt. Xi Yunqing, however, remained calm and simply closed his eyes. Left with no choice, Chen Xiao did the same. He was truly exhausted. After the fierce battle during the day and rushing back and forth without rest, he had barely managed to sit down. Sleep overtook him before he even had time to settle in.

Once he was sure Chen Xiao was fast asleep, Xi Yunqing quietly got up. He was born with dual spiritual roots of gold and fire, those with fire-attribute true essence naturally had strong internal warmth. How could he possibly feel cold? Only Brother Chen would actually worry that he might catch a chill from the night wind. But being cared for like this… Xi Yunqing didn’t dislike it. On the contrary, he cherished it.

He looked at Chen Xiao’s sleeping face, completely unaware of the world, and gently tucked the blanket around him. Then he sat beside him, closed his eyes, and entered meditation.

The next morning, when Chen Xiao awoke, Xi Yunqing was already gone. He had no idea when the other man had gotten up. After washing up, Xi Yunqing returned, bringing steaming-hot breakfast. It had been freshly made by Shi Ming’s group, who had built a fire early in the morning. Being able to eat a hot, decently flavorful meal in the wilderness was rare. Having traveled for so long with Chen Xiao and Tong Nuonuo, even Xi Yunqing couldn’t refuse it.

After breakfast, the team once again headed to the White Spirit Fruit Forest. The black-tailed bat monkeys bore grudges, though they’d been temporarily repelled, once a new bat monkey king was chosen, they would definitely come back. And next time, the troop would be even larger. Even if the new king wasn't as skilled at commanding as the former demon-cultivator monkey king, sheer numbers alone would be overwhelming for their group.

So, they needed to seize the time and pick as many White Spirit Fruits as possible. Initially, they had only planned to harvest for about half an hour, an hour at most. Yesterday’s haul had already exceeded expectations. But people are greedy. In such circumstances, it was hard not to want more. Even the wounded Foundation Establishment cultivator in Shi Ming’s team was unwilling to sit out. After all, the cost had been steep: not only had they lost members, but their precious bee flute artifact had also been damaged or lost.

Chen Xiao didn’t care about whether Shi Ming’s group ever found the missing bee flute again. His only concern was any sign of Tong Nuonuo. That morning, Xi Yunqing had already arranged with Shi Ming to temporarily leave the group with Chen Xiao. Without a new bat monkey king, there was little chance of a feline beast showing up, so Shi Ming agreed to let them go.

After the two reached the White Spirit Fruit Forest again, they split up to search, but just like before, there was no sign of Tong Nuonuo. Chen Xiao stood there, lost, not even knowing which direction to start from. Who knew where Tong Nuonuo had wandered off to? All they could do now was hope for a signal.

As for Tong Nuonuo, at that very moment, he had no idea where he was either. He had stayed close to the injured Foundation Establishment cultivator, never leaving their side until the others returned. Only after Brother Li came back to the grove with Shi Ming and mentioned that Xi Yunqing had gone to look for Chen Xiao did Tong Nuonuo finally relax.

Even so, Tong Nuonuo stayed in place for a while. But after some people went to pick fruits and others went to deal with the bat monkeys, he began to feel awkward just standing there. When even the injured cultivator dragged themselves off to look for the bee flute, Tong Nuonuo couldn’t resist offering to help.

At first, he figured the flute must’ve fallen nearby, perhaps under a bat monkey’s corpse, and searching this area should be safe. So, head down, he joined the search. What he didn’t realize was that the others had gradually spread out. Seeing them rummaging through piles of dead leaves beneath old trees, he naturally followed suit. And so, wandering along while digging through debris, Tong Nuonuo, still looking down, got separated from the group. When he finally looked up again, not a single soul was in sight.

Even then, Tong Nuonuo didn’t immediately realize he was lost. He thought maybe the others had just moved on elsewhere and tried to retrace his steps. But that only made it worse, he lost all sense of direction. By the time he emerged from the grove, he finally realized something was wrong. The sky was already growing dim again, and tall unfamiliar trees surrounded him, making it impossible to tell which ones were White Spirit Trees and which weren’t. He had no way back.

When night fully fell, he had no choice but to find a place to rest. Fortunately, he always carried his mechanism box, his gear was all inside, so even if he ended up stranded alone, he wasn’t afraid. Still, he couldn’t help but worry that Chen Xiao would be anxious. Worse, he feared Chen Xiao might be angry.

Without making a fire, Tong Nuonuo drank some water, nibbled on rations, and got through the night. He was used to being alone. He set up a simple perimeter for safety, then curled up with his mechanism box and a blanket and went to sleep.

At dawn the next day, he finally got a good look at his surroundings, and realized he was nowhere near the White Spirit Fruit Forest. The terrain and trees around him were completely different. Thankfully, he remembered Chen Xiao’s advice. After a quick breakfast, he decided to gather materials that would produce smoke and burn easily to create a signal.

He cleared a patch of ground, dug a shallow pit, and ringed it with stones to make a fire pit. Then he strapped on his mechanism box and set off in search of damp leaves and branches. But he had overestimated himself. When he returned with a bundle of foliage in his arms, he was stunned to realize he couldn’t find the fire pit!

Frustrated and incredulous at his own carelessness, Tong Nuonuo berated himself. How could he be this foolish? Holding his bundle, he began retracing his steps to find the camp. That spot had been perfect for both camping and sending smoke signals. As he circled around and around, like a tireless donkey pulling a millstone, a voice suddenly rang out from above, sharp and clear:

"Are you stupid? You can’t even find your way back from such a short distance?!"