Chapter 21 | A Socially Anxious Immortal Seeks Merit Online

Yuan Heng looked at Hongyun, who had just spoken, and then glanced at Zhenyuanzi, who was standing behind him with a helpless expression. “Fellow Daoists Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi, greetings.”

She cupped her hands, and the two returned the gesture.

Hongyun, the bright and cheerful guy, struck up a conversation. “Meeting you here must be fate. Why don't we travel together for a stretch?”

Looking at Hongyun, whose face was completely devoid of gloom, Yuan Heng's heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions. How could such a warm and enthusiastic person like Fellow Daoist Hongyun end up...

Sigh.

But since they had run into each other, traveling together shouldn't hurt. She was just starting to feel a bit bored, and it just so happened that the three of them could engage in a fun activity together~

“Sure.”

Yuan Heng agreed, and the three of them crossed the barrier between the Chaos Sea and the Primordial World together.

Along the way, Hongyun and Yuan Heng chatted up a storm, with Zhenyuanzi occasionally joining in.

She secretly stole glances at the famous Great Immortal Zhenyuan. No matter how she looked at him, he seemed to belong to the gentle and reserved type, giving off a steady and reliable vibe.

He didn't look like the kind of person who would become sworn brothers with a little monkey.

While Yuan Heng was lost in thought, Hongyun brought up another topic. “Fellow Daoist, Zhenyuanzi and I also saw your impressive display at Purple Heaven Palace that day.”

“Your actions were truly ‘extraordinary’~”

Yuan Heng: “...”

He must mean the magic treasure was extraordinary. Alright, Fellow Daoist Hongyun, don't think I can't hear the teasing tone in your voice.

Yuan Heng smiled. “It was only because he saw my low cultivation and underestimated me. I simply took advantage of his carelessness.”

She hadn't been in her human form for very long back then, and she was still lacking a bit in her cultivation methods, barely reaching the peak of the early-stage Daluo realm.

“Ah, a loss is a loss. No need to be so modest, Fellow Daoist.”

“By the way, when I was traveling through the Primordial World before, I also saw your spiritual butterflies... That was a truly noble deed.”

Yuan Heng's aura was gentle, her expression serene. “As living beings born and raised in the Primordial World, we naturally ought to give back to it.”

She looked up at Zhenyuanzi, then turned back to Hongyun. “Just like Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi using his Book of the Earth to organize the land veins, and Fellow Daoist Hongyun acting chivalrously to protect the weak... What we do is fundamentally the same.”

Zhenyuanzi & Hongyun: !!!

Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng actually understands us so well!

“Fellow Daoist...”

Hongyun's eyes were filled with the warmth of being understood, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. He and Zhenyuanzi... they were not alone on their path.

“Uh...”

A trace of embarrassment showed on Yuan Heng's face. Why were these two looking at her like that? Did she say something wrong?

Surely not?

After a moment, she took the initiative to change the subject. “My two fellow Daoists... since we still have plenty of time before we need to be at Purple Heaven Palace, why don't... we play something fun?”

Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi exchanged glances, their faces filled with curiosity. “What kind of fun?”

Yuan Heng gave a mysterious smile and took out fifty-four cards made from her spiritual energy.

“The name of this game is... Fight the Fiend—uh, Demon King, I guess.”

Never mind, she felt like saying that name near the Chaos Sea might not be the best idea.

Better tone it down.

Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi curiously examined the cards in Yuan Heng's hand. They were translucent, smooth, slightly cool to the touch, and carried a faint, refreshing fragrance of flowers and grass.

Hongyun took some. “How... how do we fight?”

Twelve of the suit cards were carved with various creatures of the Primordial World—birds with spreading wings, beasts on the prowl, and various plants. They were all incredibly lifelike.

Yuan Heng gave a simplified, Primordial World-themed explanation of Fight the Landlord and taught the rules to Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi.

Both of them were clever individuals. Once they heard the rules, they memorized them. Now, they just needed to play a practice round.

Yuan Heng softly reminded them, “Fellow Daoists, you cannot use magic power or divine abilities while playing.”

“The loser will have... paper strips stuck to their face as a penalty. Of course, the penalty doubles for bombs, and the same goes for the Demon King if they lose~”

Forget it. Since it was their first time, she wouldn't use natural treasures as stakes.

A mischievous smile played at the corners of Yuan Heng's lips. Hehehe, wasn't this the perfect opportunity for her to crush them?

Hongyun's interest was piqued. “Alright, Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng, let's begin.”

Zhenyuanzi nodded slightly. “I have memorized the rules. We can begin.”

Yuan Heng shuffled the cards first. Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi arranged their cards with curiosity and anticipation.

Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng... was indeed an interesting person.

After playing a few rounds, apart from taking some slight advantages in the first two rounds, Yuan Heng found her card luck getting progressively worse.

These two... while they were indeed pitted against each other when in different camps, they teamed up to beat her up even harder whenever she was the Demon King.

With mischief in his eyes, Hongyun looked at Yuan Heng, the Demon King, and exchanged a glance with Zhenyuanzi.

“Pair of Jacks, Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng, any takers?”

Yuan Heng casually tossed out two cards. “Pair of Queens! I'll take them!”

Zhenyuanzi chuckled and played four cards. “I bomb with four Tens! And... a pair of Threes.”

Yuan Heng hesitantly played her small cards. “Pair of Sevens...”

Hongyun blinked his large, mischievous eyes. “Apologies, Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng, I bomb again! And... a single Six.”

Yuan Heng looked at Zhenyuanzi, who was smiling silently without playing, and drew her largest single card. “Nine...”

Zhenyuanzi: “Joker bomb!”

Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun won the round.

Sniff, sniff... She didn't want to be the Demon King anymore. These two rascals had calculated everything perfectly.

Bomb after bomb, and even a Joker bomb... She, she, she felt so helpless, okay!

She would never play cards with these two best friends again.

After several more rounds, paper strips were plastered all over their faces. Yuan Heng grew increasingly bewildered... Wait, why did she have the most strips on her face?

Was she really that terrible at this?

She looked at the golden halo of merit behind her. Her luck shouldn't be failing her.

Yuan Heng retreated to a corner of her mind to draw circles on the ground, a dark raincloud quickly gathering over her head.

This wasn't scientific.

Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun got more and more into it. They dragged Yuan Heng to play for a long time, only letting her off when they were almost at Purple Heaven Palace.

Yuan Heng got off the lotus. Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of this journey, she used her trembling hands to peel off the paper strips from her face.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

These two looked so honest and upright, but they played so dirty~

Hongyun, especially, still had a lingering smile on his face as he leaned closer to her. “Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng, when you have time, come visit us at Wuzhuang Temple and we can play again~”

Hehe...

Yuan Heng wore a fake smile on her face. “Sure... next time, Fellow Daoist Hongyun. Definitely next time.”

There would be no next time!

Even if there was, she would bring allies!

Dammit, you two just wait and see!

A crowd had already gathered in front of Purple Heaven Palace. Most of them were clustered in groups of twos and threes, though there were also a few loners—such as Minghe, who carried a menacing aura with two swords on his back, and that unlucky fellow Randeng, whom she had accidentally crashed into before...