Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 55

“You made a friend,” Wang Xiaoling commented as he entered the dwelling.

“I wouldn’t say that. A neighbor I’ll wave at from a distance is a better description.” He closed the door before taking the seat across Wang Xiaoling, still holding the egg close to him. “But that’s not what you want to talk about.”

She pressed her lips together before sighing. “So, now you—”

“Before that, Elder Yu likely arranged for me to stay here. It should be safe, but there’s no reason to say that out loud. In fact, it should never be mentioned. Anywhere.”

“I wasn’t going to, but I’m happy to know you’re taking it this seriously,” Wang Xiaoling said grimly.

“I wouldn’t do anything less,” William paused. “Did you know about this before? How did you avoid… them for so long?”

“Is this what your precious elder asked you to find out?” She laughed harshly. “She really wanted you to take control, didn’t she? Let me guess, she also gave you more concealment tokens to do exactly that.”

Wang Xiaoling was right about the control and the tokens. He withdrew the two concealment tokens Elder Yu had given him from his ring and tossed them to her.

“That’s all Elder Yu gave me,” William said after Wang Xiaoling caught them. “Each will last a hundred days, so you have nearly a year’s supply in your hands. I have no control over Elder Yu’s intentions, but they are not the same as mine.”

She stared at the tokens momentarily before sliding them up her sleeve. He tilted his head before pulling out the token Rong Jun had given her to get in contact with her.

“You can have this back, too,” William said as he tossed it to her. “I assume you have a hidden storage pouch there”

“Storage pouch?” Wang Xiaoling scoffed. “You think I would risk the concealment tokens in something so unstable?”

“That answers my question,” William commented with narrowed eyes. It also confirmed that she knew far more than was reasonable, even for the most experienced mortal who always dealt with cultivators. A silly thought entered his mind, one that didn’t leave. “… Is it a spatial stone?”

“Hm,” she nodded, leaning back in the plush seat. “Got it recently for a good price. It was tricky to have to hide that I was a mortal when I was making the offer. Still, cultivators are usually smug shits that refused to believe a mortal would try to fool them.”

He ignored that she had likely insulted him in that sentence by indirectly calling him a smug shit. There was something far more confusing he was focused on.

“How can you even use a spatial stone? You need control over Qi, and you shouldn’t have spiritual pathways at the moment, let alone Qi.”

“I think that’s enough of trying to find out more of my secrets, don’t you think?” Wang Xiaoling said dryly.

“Alright, that’s fair,” William agreed. “… It leaves us with the same problem. You don’t trust me, and I can do little to change that.”

“I wouldn’t say I don’t trust you. It’s more like I can’t trust you,” she stressed before pausing. “Unless you happen to give me something equally as significant to hold over your head. That would be fair, right?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

William shifted uneasily as he thought over that option. Revealing the existence of the system was out of the question. Nobody would know about it while he drew breath.

There was another option.

He stared at the chest he was holding and thought about it. Was it worth the risk of letting her know?

“I guess you don’t have anything close,” Wang Xiaoling said after his silence. “That’s what I assumed, brat. Look, I don’t think you’re planning anything bad against me, but this isn’t something a simple talk can fix. I’ll need time to see your actions instead of mere words.”

That had to be the most sensible thing William had heard her say.

“So, in the meantime, my life is in your hands,” she ended with a strained smile, likely wanting to pass that off as a joke but failing miserably.

He made a snap decision, but he was not entirely sure whether it was a wise choice. He doubted Wang Xiaoling would ever use it against him, but nothing would ever be a sure thing. Still, he felt that she was owed this.

“If I do that, will you answer some of my questions?” At her raised brow, William expanded. “Elder Yu won’t hear anything about it. It’ll stay with me, I promise.”

“And whatever you’re going to tell me is worth that?” Wang Xiaoling asked with doubt. After he nodded, she shrugged. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

William sighed in acceptance. He would have gone through with it no matter what her answer was. If this was the best he would get, then so be it. “How much do you know about spatial stones?”

“Likely more than you,” Wang Xiaoling replied with a smirk.

He nodded, not doubting her for a second. He pulled on the chain the upgraded spatial stone was attached to, bringing it out from under his shirt. “Then you should know about this.”

William stored the chest in the stone under the wide eyes of Wang Xiaoling. She jumped off the chair in shock and looked like she was about to berate him for his stupidity before he brought it back out.

He opened the chest and showed her the egg.

“What the—How?” Wang Xiaoling gaped at the unharmed egg. “That’s only possible if—”

“Yes,” William cut her off. “So you know what it is. It’s nearly as bad as yours if it becomes known.”

She collapsed back on the chair and stared at him with intense eyes. “You’re an idiot for showing me this.”

“I know,” William accepted.

“… You’ve also proven me wrong. You earned my trust back without time being necessary.”

“I know,” he repeated with a smile. “And now I have questions.”

Wang Xiaoling nodded after a moment. “I’ll give you two. Ask.”

William shut his mouth before he wasted it. There were plenty of things he wanted to know about her.

Where did she come from? How could she build Rising Merchant House to such heights in only a few short months? Who and what was Fatty Xu? Why was she insane enough to wander into a sect full of cultivators that would want to kill her if discovered?

If only two would be answered, those would have to stay unknown.

“How are you stronger than me?” William asked eagerly. “Whenever I thought it would be the end, I found that you could still throw me around like a child.”

“Well, you are a child,” Wang Xiaoling teased before placating him when she received a glare. “Just because I’m not a traditional cultivator doesn’t mean I’m helpless. My parents gave me my way of gaining strength before I was exiled from my clan. You should give up hope of overpowering me any time soon.”

… That just created more questions, but it was technically an answer, so he accepted it. This could also be how she was able to use Qi without being a cultivator.

“You survived until now,” William stated. When she grimaced but stayed silent, he added, “How?”

“The answer isn’t pleasant,” Wang Xiaoling frowned. “By making sure anything within several hundred square miles of my birth no longer lived. Then some timely used formations to keep me undetected.”

“… What?” William blinked as he shook his head, unsure if he heard that right.

“You have your answer,” she shrugged before getting up. “Now, I’m going to do mortal things. Like sleep. It’s sorely needed after today.”

He stared after her in shock, wondering what her background was. It was likely either her parents or her clan had committed a massacre of disgusting proportions. An area the size of a city in his old world had been reaped of life to preserve hers.

… Then she was exiled.

William wasn’t sure how that made any sense. Nor could he figure out which clan could do something like that without harsh repercussions… unless it was the imperial clan itself. However, that didn’t seem likely since Rong Jun didn’t recognize her.

It could also be possible Wang Xiaoling came from outside the Tianxia Empire.

He frowned before reluctantly setting the matter aside, even though it was hard to do so. He wouldn’t know more without her telling him the details.