Douluo Continent: Bibi Dong's Start with the Secret Chamber and Qian Xunji

Bibi Dong released the intelligence.

Outside the window, the setting sun was like blood.

She stood up, walked out of the study, and summoned the servants who were guarding outside the hall.

"I need to go into seclusion for a few days to break through a minor bottleneck." Her voice was calm as usual. "No one is allowed to disturb me during these days, and Elder Yueguan will handle my daily affairs for the time being."

The attendant respectfully replied, "Yes."

When Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan received the order, he didn't think much of it. It was common knowledge that Her Highness the Holy Maiden was diligent in her cultivation, and it was perfectly normal for her to go into seclusion for a few days occasionally.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will handle the affairs these next few days well," Yue Guan said with a smile.

Bibi Dong nodded, turned around and walked into the quiet room.

The stone gate closed.

She did not stay in the quiet room, but left through the side door.

As night fell, she had already left Wuhun City.

……

wilderness.

The campfire flickered in the night.

Yu Xiaogang sat by the fire, holding his ever-present notebook of martial spirit theory, writing something by the firelight.

Flander leaned against a tree a few steps away, his hands behind his head, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, staring blankly at the starry sky.

Liu Erlong sat opposite Yu Xiaogang, poking at the fire with a twig.

"Xiao Gang, are you writing those theories again?" Liu Erlong's voice carried a hint of teasing. "You've been fighting all day, aren't you going to rest at night?"

Yu Xiaogang didn't even look up: "The soul beast we encountered during the day had a rather unique attack method, and I need to record it."

"You," Liu Erlong shook his head, but there was no blame in his tone.

Flander clicked his tongue beside him: "Never mind him, he's just a bookworm. Erlong, get some rest, we have to travel tomorrow."

"understood."

The conversation between the three gradually came to a halt.

Late at night.

The campfire's light gradually dimmed, leaving only a pile of dark red embers.

Flander had fallen asleep against the tree, his breathing even. Liu Erlong was also leaning against the other side, her eyes closed.

Yu Xiaogang put away his notebook and stood up.

He glanced at his two companions. Flander was fast asleep against the tree trunk, and Liu Erlong also had his eyes closed, breathing evenly.

They were not alerted.

He turned and walked toward the bushes in the distance.

The night breeze was slightly cool.

The cold moonlight bathed the wilderness in a silvery-gray hue.

Yu Xiaogang walked to a secluded spot and loosened his belt.

A moment later, he straightened his robes and turned to leave.

A gust of wind swept past behind me.

Before Yu Xiaogang could react, a hand was already on the back of his neck.

That hand was cold but strong.

A powerful surge of soul energy sealed his throat, silencing the words he hadn't yet uttered.

His consciousness was plunged into darkness in the next instant.

Bibi Dong caught his limp body.

Under the moonlight, Yu Xiaogang's face was almost within reach.

She's thinner than she was a few months ago. There's still that familiar stubbornness in her brows, but a few fine lines have appeared at the corners of her eyes.

She looked down at him.

The emotions in her purple eyes surged for a moment, then were suppressed.

She raised her hand, her fingertips touching his cheek.

It was cold.

From the brow bone to the cheekbone, from the bridge of the nose to the jaw.

Lingering there repeatedly.

A night breeze blew by, lifting the hem of her cloak.

After a while.

She picked up Yu Xiaogang and her figure disappeared silently into the night.

Flanders rolled over by the campfire and mumbled something in his sleep.

Liu Erlong kept her eyes closed.

No one noticed that one person was missing.

……

Wuhun City.

A confined space.

Qian Xunji spared no expense when he renovated this place. In addition to the main secret room, there are several other independent secret rooms, each with its own purpose.

Bibi Dong has become very familiar with this place over the past few months.

She avoided all the patrolling guards; she knew their shift change times, patrol routes, and blind spots better than they did themselves.

The dark room at the deepest part of the east side was one she had prepared long ago.

The stone door was pushed open.

The interior furnishings were simple: a bed, a table, a chair, and an oil lamp. Ventilation holes were embedded in the walls, preventing the air from becoming stuffy.

Bibi Dong placed Yu Xiaogang on the bed.

His body sank into the thickly padded bed, his brows furrowed slightly, never relaxing even in his unconscious state.

Bibi Dong did not leave.

She sat down on the edge of the bed.

The light illuminated Yu Xiaogang's face.

She reached out and touched his brow with her fingertips.

That faint vertical line was a little deeper than Bibi Dong remembered.

Her fingers slid down his brow bone, across his tightly closed eyelids, and landed on Yu Xiaogang's cheek.

His skin was rough, bearing the marks of a life spent outdoors exposed to the elements.

She got up and wrung a towel out of the basin of water in the corner.

A warm cloth was placed over Yu Xiaogang's face. She wiped it slowly, from his forehead to his brow, from the bridge of his nose to his chin, gently removing the dust and grime from his face over the past few days.

Rinse the towel with water, wring it out, and wipe again.

The movements were so gentle, as if afraid of waking Yu Xiaogang.

After wiping her face, Bibi Dong sat down again.

My gaze fell on Yu Xiaogang's hand resting on the edge of the bed. There were several fine scratches on the back of his hand, marks left by twigs or blades of grass.

She grasped that hand, her thumb tracing the scars.

Late at night.

Bibi Dong sat and watched Yu Xiaogang all night.

As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, a sliver of light pierced through the ventilation crevices high above.

Yu Xiaogang's eyelids twitched.

She first frowned unconsciously, then slowly opened her eyes.

His gaze wandered for a moment before landing on the unfamiliar stone wall above him.

He sat up abruptly.

He moved too quickly and his vision went black for a moment. He braced himself against the edge of the bed and waited for the dizziness to pass before his vision refocused.

Then he saw Bibi Dong.

She sat on the chair by the bed, quietly watching him.

Yu Xiaogang's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Bibi Dong?"

His voice was hoarse, dry from just waking up. He subconsciously looked around; an unfamiliar stone chamber, a closed door, no windows, only a sliver of light filtering in from a high vent.

It's not a dream.

He went out to relieve himself last night, and then...

"It was you." His gaze was fixed on Bibi Dong's face. "It was you last night."

Bibi Dong did not deny it.

Yu Xiaogang gripped the mattress beneath him tightly.

"Where is this?" His voice deepened. "What do you want?"

Bibi Dong looked at him. His eyes were exactly the same as they had been months ago, the kind of look one only shows when betrayed by the person they trust most. Shock, confusion, and anger suppressed deep within.

"Wuhun City," she said, "my place."

That's not what I was asking.

Yu Xiaogang stood up, his movements slightly unsteady. He steadied himself and looked directly at her.

"What I'm asking is, why did you bring me here?"

Bibi Dong also stood up.

The two stood facing each other, no more than three steps apart.

"I want you to stay with me," she said.

Yu Xiaogang's expression was as if he had heard something absurd.

"To stay by your side?"

His lips twitched slightly, but it wasn't a smile.

"Do you remember what you said to me at the Spirit Hall a few months ago?"