Chapter 413 - 409: Leaving

Chapter 413: Chapter 409: Leaving

Gu Nuan Nuan turned her head away and shoved Luo Hongyi, saying with a hint of anger, "If you want to talk, then talk properly. If you keep this up, I’m leaving."

"You’re leaving? Aren’t you going to wait here for me to come back?" Luo Hongyi asked, startled.

"Aren’t you leaving for your mission tomorrow? What would I stay here for? Of course I’m going back to keep digging my gold mine," Gu Nuan Nuan said matter-of-factly, setting up a Barrier around the two of them.

"Huh?"

Luo Hongyi stared at Gu Nuan Nuan for a long moment. "You aren’t planning to secretly follow us, are you?"

"I’m not. Since you already said all that, why would I follow you? Besides, it’s not like you’re short on life-saving items. I’ve thought about it—which of your future missions *won’t* be dangerous? I can’t just find a way to tag along every single time I’m worried!" Gu Nuan Nuan shook her head. Seeing his disbelieving expression, she said angrily, "You don’t believe me?"

"I do, I do! I believe you," Luo Hongyi said, panicking when he saw she was truly angry.

"That’s more like it." Gu Nuan Nuan’s expression finally softened. She took out a small cloth pouch and handed it to Luo Hongyi. "Inside are paper cranes for communication. When you complete your mission and are about to leave, send me a message. Just take out a crane, unfold it, and hold it while speaking the words you want to say to me. When you let go, it will find me on its own and deliver the message."

"It’s that magical? Is this how you find me, too?" Luo Hongyi asked as he opened the pouch. Inside were five folded paper cranes. He looked a little disappointed, staring at Gu Nuan Nuan with pleading eyes. "Nuannuan, only five? How is that enough? Can’t you give me a few more?"

"That’s all there is. Take it or leave it." Gu Nuan Nuan reached out as if to snatch the pouch back. Startled, Luo Hongyi flipped his hand over, and the small pouch instantly vanished. "Alright, five it is."

"Don’t talk for more than ten minutes. The message won’t go through if it’s any longer," Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but add, seeing his expression.

Her concern was justified. As soon as he heard that, Luo Hongyi sighed in disappointment. "There’s a restriction like that, too?"

"That’s not all. These cranes can only be used for you to contact me. I have no way of sending messages to you."

"Ah, why?" Luo Hongyi was even more disappointed. He thought he could use it like a cell phone from now on, but it turned out to be one-way?

"Because you have no Spiritual Power fluctuations. The paper cranes have no way of identifying who is who," Gu Nuan Nuan explained, then added, "In a bit, I’ll teach you how to retrieve and set up the Array Plate. When you all are leaving, you can pack up this set. Keep this Array Plate for your own use from now on. The Spirit Stones on it are new, so it should last for several years. Keep an eye on them. If the light from the Spirit Stones grows dim, it means the Spiritual Power is running low. Once they crumble to dust, the Array will collapse."

"What about you? Besides the one at the gold mine, do you have another Array Plate for yourself?" Luo Hongyi asked.

"I have a few more sets."

"Okay, then I’ll keep this set," Luo Hongyi said, nodding in relief.

Gu Nuan Nuan then pulled him down to a squat and began explaining the basic principles of the Array, using stones on the ground to demonstrate. Luo Hongyi was so intelligent that he grasped it in no time, which completely surprised her. Still, she wasn’t fully at ease. She ended up taking him outside, pulling out another new Array Plate, and watching him set it up himself. Only after she saw him do it without any mistakes did she feel comfortable enough to leave.

Before she left, she remembered her promise to Zhang Huai and the others. She made a point to remind him, "Oh, right. I promised them they could watch when you take down the Array Plate. Don’t forget and make me go back on my word."

"I won’t." Having gained some understanding of the Cultivation World, Luo Hongyi knew how seriously Cultivators took their promises, and he nodded gravely. Only then did Gu Nuan Nuan give him one last look before turning to leave.

Back at the gold mine, Gu Nuan Nuan instructed Cao Cao to keep an eye on Luo Hongyi’s group. As long as they weren’t in mortal danger, it was to not interfere, nor was it to relay any news about them. Then, she returned to her routine of mining, refining Gold on the side, and restoring her energy through Cultivation.

About seven or eight days passed before she finally received a paper crane from Luo Hongyi reporting that he was safe. He also specifically mentioned that he had buried a topographical map of Nan’an Country for her under the large boulder by the creek. Knowing that Luo Hongyi and his men were all fine, a great weight was finally lifted from Gu Nuan Nuan’s heart. She stopped paying attention to his situation and simply told Cao Cao to go retrieve the map.

After that, she and Cao Cao began digging with all their might toward the location of the Gold Attribute Spirit Stones. It took another four or five days before the two of them finally managed to secure the Spirit Stones.

With the Spirit Stones excavated, Gu Nuan Nuan saw that she had also accumulated a sufficient amount of Gold in her storage ring, so she stopped mining. She took out a small portion and melted it down into ten-tael and one-tael gold bars to have on hand. Only then did she finally have the time and inclination to open the topographical map from Luo Hongyi and study it carefully.

Seeing that Luo Hongyi had even specially marked the locations of Nan’an Country’s major mines on it, Cao Cao pouted and muttered resentfully, "How thoughtful. But being so attentive for no reason means he has an ulterior motive."

"I wonder who it was that kept singing his praises before? What are you so sour about now?" Gu Nuan Nuan said, glancing at Cao Cao with amusement.

"I want to take it all back, okay?" Cao Cao grumbled in a small voice, staring at Gu Nuan Nuan with a particularly wronged and mournful expression. And it had every right to feel wronged! The thought that its master had restricted its freedom to enter and exit the space several times while meeting with Luo Hongyi was just too much to bear.

’When had its master ever kept secrets from it? Other than when she was bathing, this kind of thing had almost never happened before. But who knew that things would change completely the moment Luo Hongyi appeared? It used to read about people who "chose lovers over friends" and thought it would never apply to its master and itself. It and its master were the closest! Who could have imagined it would be proven so wrong, so quickly?’

’WAAAAH—’

’Did I just let the wolf into the house?’

Gu Nuan Nuan was speechless.

At first, she was confused. Then, looking at Cao Cao’s increasingly wronged and mournful little face, she suddenly realized what it was upset about. Gu Nuan Nuan instantly grew exasperated. ’Isn’t it just because I was worried Luo Hongyi might suddenly do something... "inappropriate for children"... and that Cao Cao would see it? That’s why I restricted it to the space, unable to come out or see what was happening. Does it really need to be this upset over it?’

She turned her head away, ignoring Cao Cao. ’This wasn’t the kind of thing she was about to explain to it. Besides, if she really did marry Luo Hongyi in the future, this would become a regular occurrence. So, whether it understood or not, it was better to start getting used to it now.’