Of course, every opportunity cos with its share of danger.
At that mont, she was abruptly pulled by a mysterious force and lost consciousness.
When she woke up, she found herself in a pitch-black, cramped space.
Her head and dantian felt like they were about to explode—agonizingly unbearable.
Even though she was in a soul state, the sensation was overwhelmingly intense.
Moreover, she distinctly rembered that just before passing out, there had been an anomaly in the space around her.
As if sothing had been scorched.
Guided by mory, she reached for the object in that spot.
It turned out to be the small triangular pouch given to her by Qu Xiaobei’s father.
Puzzled, she opened it and saw that out of the three gleaming talisman papers inside, only two remained.
One had already turned into charred ashes.
Her heart raced with shock.
Though she didn’t understand exactly what had happened, she guessed that the destroyed talisman might have been what saved her from outright death.
It was surreal!
But compared to her rebirth, this didn’t seem quite as unbelievable.
Once she grasped why she hadn’t died, she began searching for a way out.
Just then, she suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of energy flooding into her body from beneath her.
How to describe the sensation?
...It was like being stuffed to the point of bursting...
And indeed, she imdiately collapsed in agony, feeling as though her soul might explode at any mont.
Then, the small pouch grew hot again.
Though she was still in pain, the intensity had lessened significantly.
At least she could breathe now.
Gradually, the rampaging energy began to stabilize, allowing her to truly absorb it.
This state continued relentlessly.
She had no idea how much ti had passed.
But by her estimate, it couldn’t have been more than five days.
By the ti she fully absorbed the energy, the giant clam shell opened on its own.
Yun Xiaoxiao stroked the pearls inside, her eyes sparkling with delight.
These were truly treasures!
Though they no longer held any use for her, they’d be perfect to bring back for her elder brothers.
With a faint smile, she waved her hand, and the enormous shell vanished into thin air.
Yun Xiaoxiao then turned her gaze toward the sea.
She’d been gone for so long—she could only imagine how worried her elder brothers must be.
She had to hurry back.
**On the shore.**
Ci Wan carefully poured a small amount of the last remaining bottle of spiritual spring water into its cap.
Zheng Yuner supported Yun Xiaoxiao’s physical body as Ci Wan brought the cap to her lips, gently parting them to let the water trickle in.
*"Sigh~ Xiaoxiao, when are you coming back? It’s so boring without you to play with."*
Qu Xiaobei sat nearby, chin propped on her hands, letting out a dejected sigh.
The mont she finished speaking, a hoarse voice responded.
*"Hmm, I’m back."*
*"Who said that? Am I hallucinating?"*
Qu Xiaobei’s eyes widened as she looked between Ci Wan and Zheng Yuner—only to find them both staring at Yun Xiaoxiao’s body in astonishnt.
*"Aaaah! It was Xiaoxiao, wasn’t it?! That was her voice! You heard it too, right?!"*
Qu Xiaobei practically vibrated with excitent.
*"You really haven’t changed... still so chatty."*
Yun Xiaoxiao pushed herself up, opening her eyes with a resigned expression.
*"Aaaah! Xiaoxiao, you’re finally back!"*
Ignoring the remark, Qu Xiaobei lunged forward and crushed her in a bear hug.
*"Cough... ease up, or you’ll squeeze to death."*
A dull ache throbbed in Yun Xiaoxiao’s forehead.
*Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything...*
*"Alright, alright, Xiaoxiao just woke up—her body’s still weak. Don’t hug her so hard; you might break her!"*
Zheng Yuner laughed, tugging Qu Xiaobei back.
Only then did Qu Xiaobei sheepishly straighten up.
*"Oops, forgot about that."*
Yun Xiaoxiao’s sudden return was an imnse relief to everyone.
Those still onshore quickly gathered at the sound of Qu Xiaobei’s dramatic wailing, crowding around Yun Xiaoxiao with excited chatter and warm concern.
Lei Ming swiftly radioed Lu Chen and the others.
After delivering the octopus eggs to the shore, Lu Chen’s group had dived back into the sea to continue searching.
At first, the radio remained silent—likely because they’d ventured farther this ti.
So Lei Ming kept trying every few minutes.
Finally, after nearly half an hour, he got through.
When Lu Chen heard Yun Xiaoxiao had returned, the line went quiet for a beat.
Then, even the usually composed Lu Chen’s voice trembled slightly.
*"Coming back now."*
Nie Yizhou, on the other hand, erupted into a flurry of excited exclamations.
However, in the end, Lu Chen rcilessly turned off the walkie-talkie.
Perhaps...
he just found him too annoying...
"Kid, I’ve missed you so damn much!"
The mont Nie Yizhou reached the shore, he bolted toward Yun Xiaoxiao.
He spread his arms wide, as if ready to sweep her into a massive bear hug.
But his plan was thwarted before it even began.
Xiao Feng grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him backward.
"Hey! What the hell are you pulling for?!"
Nie Yizhou whipped his head around, glaring at Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng rolled his eyes. "Could you act a little more mature?"
"How am I not mature?!" Nie Yizhou roared in frustration.
While the two bickered, Ling Jing slipped past them in a flash.
In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of Yun Xiaoxiao.
"Little one, don’t go disappearing on us like that again, alright? Your big brothers here can’t handle the scare."
He ruffled Yun Xiaoxiao’s hair, his expression full of affection.
Lu Chen also approached Yun Xiaoxiao.
He looked at her and, for once, allowed a smile to cross his face.
"Glad you're back."
The smile carried joy and a quiet sense of relief.
Yun Xiaoxiao’s return had lifted everyone’s spirits.
That night, they lit a bonfire, slaughtered a few vicious mutated fish, and held a small celebration.
They feasted on grilled fish, shared stories, and reveled in the warmth of the mont.
Ci Wan noticed Bai Hongting glancing repeatedly at Yun Xiaoxiao from a distance, wearing a foolish, almost fatherly grin.
Leaning close to Yun Xiaoxiao’s ear, she whispered, "While you were gone, Chief Bai transferred his spiritual energy into you every single day. The slightest rustle near your tent, and he’d co running."
She had seen firsthand how deeply Bai Hongting cared for Yun Xiaoxiao.
She felt the girl deserved to know—what she did with that information was up to her.
Hearing this, Yun Xiaoxiao cast a brief, indifferent glance in Bai Hongting’s direction.
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