Chapter 135: Three Provinces and Three Prefectures

"Achoo!" Deep within the bronze hall, Bai Qi suddenly let out a violent sneeze, muttering to himself, "Who is thinking of me behind my back? This sneeze felt surprisingly refreshing." With a shameless grin, he turned his head to look at Xietu beside him, his eyes flashing with a wretched, suggestive glint, as if silently telling her, "You know what I mean."

To Xietu, however, this expression was nothing more than another instance of Bai Qi acting obnoxious. Glancing past him at the crow looking ahead, she couldn't help but ask, "Hey, how long before we can get out of here? Are you just blindly fumbling around?"

Knowing his own limitations and catching Xietu's dismissive look, Bai Qi reined in his behavior. He turned back around to look at the bird, whose body was covered in lush feathers, though its wings were somewhat bald...

In truth, when the crow had attacked him in the main hall, those countless feathers had been razor-sharp. Had Bai Qi not prepared in advance, those feathers would likely have riddled him like a sieve. Now, the two humans and one bird were grasshoppers tied to the same rope, each secretly weighing their options and waiting for a suitable excuse to return the items.

Those feathers were indispensable to the crow. It had only been careless for a moment, allowing Bai Qi to take advantage of the situation. It kept wondering when it could get its belongings back from that brat.

Under normal circumstances, it would have easily recalled them. However, the mysterious sealing art Bai Qi had placed upon its feathers suppressed its spiritual sense as firmly as the Heavenly Dao itself—and that was the primary reason. The crow wanted to understand the supreme deity who had imparted such sealing arts to Bai Qi; perhaps from that entity, it could recover some fragments of its forgotten past.

As the man and the bird were lost in these thoughts, Xietu's sudden shout shattered the silence: "What are you two staring at each other for so long? Instead of doing anything proper, what on earth is going on in your heads?"

Assailed by Xietu's rapid-fire questioning, both the man and the bird abruptly realized their mutual awkwardness and immediately averted their gazes.

Waving its bald wings, the crow hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "Well, if this sage remembers correctly, the exit is the entrance, and the entrance is the exact node through which you two came in. However, this node requires a key to summon and open. But how come I don't sense any key on either of you?"

"A key? What shape is this key you speak of?" Bai Qi asked.

"This key doesn't seem to have any fixed shape. In my memories, this thing appears to be related to what you mortals call 'affection' or 'emotions.' In fact, it's very similar to the look that beautiful maiden gave you earlier—extremely close to that. As for the node, I calculate it's about a day's journey away, located at the altar," the crow said with a deadpan, serious expression.

Yet Xietu, who had been listening intently just a moment ago, instantly flushed crimson, looking like a young woman experiencing love for the very first time, and hurriedly turned her back to them.

Bai Qi, on the other hand, listened with great relish, feeling quite pleased with himself. *Well, well, it seems my charm as a handsome fellow hasn't diminished at all even after transmigrating here, still capable of capturing a beauty's heart.*

Jokes aside, Bai Qi quickly composed himself and said to the crow, "Let's cut the nonsense. Take us to that altar first; there might be another way to resolve this. Otherwise, since the Bronze Immortal went to such great lengths to leave behind this bronze hall, it shows he cared deeply about preserving his legacy. There just might be alternative ways to enter and exit."