If it were possible, Liu Buli would have preferred not to travel with Li Qingcheng at all.
After all, this woman was rather suspicious, and their first meeting hadn't been pleasant. Liu Buli was quite certain she would be wary of him for a long time.
Putting aside whether such a situation was conducive to cooperation, just the thought of having to guard against both the monsters in the secret realm and his companion made Liu Buli feel incredibly annoyed.
But he couldn't find Lu Wuming right now, and according to the novel, a person with Ghost Clan blood was needed to pass through this secret realm. Although Liu Buli had the heart Lu Wuming had given him, he wasn't sure if it would work. However, based on the novel's accounts, Li Qingcheng fit the requirements perfectly, which practically forced Liu Buli to travel with her.
Fortunately, Li Qingcheng wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Upon hearing Liu Buli's proposal, she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why do you want to go with me? Can't you go alone?"
"Of course, I can go," Liu Buli replied with a smile, his expression perfectly calm. He knew very well that he absolutely could not let Li Qingcheng know he understood this secret realm, nor could he let her think he was indispensable in this transaction. Otherwise, if they continued to interact, Liu Buli would be completely at her mercy.
With these thoughts in mind, Liu Buli maintained his smile and said, "It's just that you're very hostile towards me right now, and I'm a bit worried you might do something to me. If we act separately, while I'm guarding against the dangers of the secret realm, I'll also have to be distracted by guarding against you, wherever you might be. That would be too troublesome for me. So, it's better if we travel together. We'll both be in the open, and if things turn sour, we won't be too passive."
He had been too blunt.
Li Qingcheng thought about it and found it made sense.
After all, their relationship wasn't the only one where Liu Buli felt this way. She also worried if he might secretly attack her from behind. Therefore, having him close by to monitor him was indeed not a bad thing.
With that in mind, Li Qingcheng got up from the ground.
She stared into Liu Buli's eyes for a moment before finally nodding and saying, "I think you have a point. So, it's fine for us to cooperate for now. But remember, if you make a move against me, even if I can't defeat you, I'll fight to the death with you."
With your abilities, you probably don't even have the right to die with me.
Liu Buli thought to himself, but outwardly, he simply smiled calmly. He shook his head and said, "Although you won't believe me, I still want to say, rest assured."
With that, they had reached a temporary alliance.
Liu Buli knew that Li Qingcheng had little spiritual power at the moment and was incapable of attacking him. So, he relaxed his focus somewhat and began to observe their surroundings.
He was certain that when he entered the secret realm, given Lu Wuming's personality, he would have rushed in with him. But now, there was no sign of Lu Wuming anywhere. And the events unfolding were completely different from what was recorded in the novel. Therefore, from any angle, only one conclusion was possible—
He and this Li Qingcheng had been teleported to the wrong place.
Liu Buli couldn't quite figure this out. Even though he was just an extra in this novel, Li Qingcheng was at least the female lead. Even if the male lead had a bit of a harem, Li Qingcheng, with her ruthless and unique personality, had still secured a place in it.
Even considering that, they shouldn't have teleported the female lead to the wrong place, right?
With these thoughts, Liu Buli sighed. He released his spiritual power, sensed the changes in his surroundings, and then turned to Li Qingcheng, saying, "Have you sensed anything different nearby?"
As he spoke, Liu Buli saw Li Qingcheng frown.
Their cooperative relationship required both parties to contribute, a simple truth Li Qingcheng understood.
Glancing around, Li Qingcheng, like Liu Buli, released her spiritual power outwards.
After a moment, she nodded and pointed in one direction, saying, "I sense something different over there. Shall we go take a look?"
"Of course, we should. What else would we do in a secret realm?" Liu Buli shrugged.
In fact, he had asked Li Qingcheng not because he himself had no perception. It was because he wanted to test whether only Li Qingcheng could sense the difference, or if he, a half-baked human with some Ghost Clan organs, could also detect the anomaly.
In conclusion, Liu Buli was quite pleased.
When he had probed with his spiritual power earlier, he had already realized that the difference they were sensing wasn't a simple judgment based on spiritual power, as was usual.
It was a judgment influenced by the Ghost Clan blood deep within their bodies. If his companion had been someone like Shen Muzhi, who had no connection to the Ghost Clan, he certainly wouldn't have sensed any difference.
With these thoughts, Liu Buli took a few steps forward.
Noticing that Li Qingcheng hadn't followed, he raised an eyebrow and turned back to ask, "Didn't you point the way? Why aren't you moving?"
"No, I..."
Li Qingcheng clutched the hem of her clothes, a look of distress on her beautiful face.
She blinked, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Unlike Yun Xiang's pure and somewhat naive state, Liu Buli knew that Li Qingcheng was actually quite intelligent. It was precisely because of this that she must have sensed that the previous perception stemmed from the Ghost Clan blood.
So, her staring at Liu Buli now was merely her hesitating, wondering if Liu Buli knew about this.
But Liu Buli appeared completely clueless, making Li Qingcheng feel her concerns might be unfounded. Yet, her habitual suspicion prevented her from letting go of her doubts, so she continued to remain hesitant and conflicted, biting her lip and looking in Liu Buli's direction.
They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and Liu Buli pointed forward again, saying, "I'm in a hurry to find my disciple. Are you really not coming?"
"I..." Li Qingcheng didn't know how to answer.
Clenching her fist again, she finally voiced her doubts, "I told you where I sensed a difference, but you haven't told me what you felt. Where is the problem around here? Your cultivation is higher than mine, you should have sensed it more clearly, right?"
"No," Liu Buli replied with a smile, "I didn't sense anything at all."
His answer was impeccable.
Li Qingcheng was once again bewildered.
The next words tumbled out of her mouth, and she couldn't help but say, "Since you didn't sense anything, why did you believe what I said? Aren't you worried I'm lying to you?"
"You're a very strange person. We're in a secret realm now. If you point me down a dangerous path, at worst, we'll both perish. What do I have to worry about?" Liu Buli scoffed. "After all, I never said I wanted to go alone from the start. If you don't come with me, I definitely won't move. This secret realm probably appeared suddenly, and you don't seem very capable. In that case, I probably don't need to worry about you setting up any silly traps for me in the secret realm, right? So, if you understand, hurry up and go. I told you, I'm in a hurry."