If you are not a white rabbit, then what are you?

Bai Tu’s heart skipped a beat, and he did not recover from his shock for a while. 

‘What does he mean? What do you mean by… different from them?’

Yun Ye rarely displayed an unsmiling expression. His dark eyes hung such heavy emotions that Bai Tu found it hard to comprehend, almost making him breathless from unease.

Bai Tu stuttered. “You… you mean…”

“What do you think?” Yun Ye chuckled and cast his eyes on the scenery ahead. “Shizun is kind to me. I like him, respect him, and appreciate him. Naturally, it differed from the superficial likes of others.”

Bai Tu was stumped for words. After a while, he let out a low “Oh.”

‘Ah, so this is what he meant. What a false alarm.’

Yun Ye glanced at him and walked forward. “If you just stand there, little idiot, we won’t be able to get out of this forest when  it gets dark.” 

“Don’t. Call. Me. Little. Idiot!”

“Sure, sure. Let’s go, lah.”

“….”

When they emerged out of the woods, the sky had already darkened, and pulsing flames from what appeared to be a bonfire could be seen not far away. The couple followed the throbbing glow of the fire, and as they got closer, it turned out to be a fire from a temporary camp.

A crowd huddled around the burning firewood, and their depressed expressions and rugged appearance stood in stark contrast to the lively pulsation of the fire. The light also revealed wounds on some people’s bodies, showing their struggle in a tough fight.

Someone approached Bai Tu and Yun Ye as they walked up to the camp. It was the baby-faced teenager they first met when they entered the realm.

The baby-faced seemed to be nervous. “You…why did you come here?”

Bai Tu said, “We followed the fire. It’s already getting late. Can we stay the night at the camp too?”

“This…” The boy showed a hesitant look on his face. “There are too many people here. I’m afraid that there won’t be enough tents. You might as well—”

“What’s the matter?” A voice sounded behind the boy, and soon, a figure came out behind him. It was the youngster surnamed Yin who led the group earlier. 

The doll-faced boy shrank and whispered, “Yin-shixiong, they just found the place….”

The juvenile looked down at them. “Since you’re here already, just stay.”

Behind them, someone sitting beside the fire also remarked. “That’s right; I can give up a tent here. But you have to squeeze together.”

“It’s also dangerous to wander around at night. If everyone’s here, then we should be able to protect each other.”

Bai Tu and Yun Ye looked at each other simultaneously and saw the same concerns reflected in their own eyes. Yun Ye nodded at him imperceptibly. Bai Tu turned his head toward the two individuals. “Thank you.”

Everyone sat down. The throbbing of the fire seemed to emanate a calming effect as they all let out sighs. Once they were set in, they talked about the experience they had encountered in the past two days. 

The people in the group suffered from the attacks of monsters. It was a stroke of luck that some had basic cultivation skills and escaped the claws of death. Unfortunately, those who had no martial arts training were eliminated as early as a day ago.

Someone rebuked, “I have heard that Tianyan Sect’s entry assessment is difficult, but I didn’t expect it to be this hard. How many people can leave the secret realm alive if this continues?”

“Perhaps because they want to harvest good seedlings, the trial’s difficulty increased.”

“How could there be such an increase in their method? Is the Tianyan Sect not planning to recruit disciples this year?”

“Stop the idle chatter.” Beside Bai Tu, the youngster surnamed Yin threw his words without care. “With this free time, it’d be better to rest and await the next assessment.”

Yin Shaoyang was the name of this individual. He had been practicing in an obscure little cultivation sect with the baby-faced boy with whom he shared the same class since he was a child.

Two of them had a foundation in cultivation because of their time spent learning at an early age. They also took the lead in temporarily establishing this camp and gathered the disciples who were still alive within a hundred-li radius to look after each other.

After hushing the other disciples, Yin Shaoyang assigned a few people to take turns as night watch vigils while the rest of the unselected returned to their tents to rest.

The baby-faced boy kept his head down and said nothing the entire time. Only when everyone entered their temporary sleeping quarters did he stand up and trod to the tent where he stayed.

Bai Tu looked pensive as he watched the small back of the departing figure. He followed. “Jing Yan.”

The boy, whose name was called, paused in his steps and turned around. “What’s the matter, Young Master Tu?”

Bai Tu: “In the woods where we teleported before, everyone died from the mouth of the tiger demon. Why are you the only one who retreated?”

Jing Yan evaded his gaze and cracked a smile with a guilty conscience. “I have learned swordsmanship with a Senior Martial Brother for a few years. Thus, it may be counted as good luck.”

A slight frown formed on Bai Tu’s brows. He just stared at the other and said nothing. 

“You’re here, ah, Xiao Bai.” All of a sudden, someone patted Bai Tu’s shoulder from behind. 

A familiar breath leaned over, and Bai Tu looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the disturbance was Yun Ye again. 

Yun Ye: “Leave first and go to bed. If you don’t, I’ll lock you out.”

Having said that, regardless of whether Bai Tu consented, he hooked an arm on Bai Tu’s and dragged him in the direction of their tent. 

Once the two entered the tent, Bai Tu pushed Yun Ye away. “Don’t touch me.”

The latter raised his eyebrows and messed around with him. “What’s the matter? We’re all men. Why can’t you be touched? Could it be that… you are a female cultivator?”

Bai Tu was flustered. “Where do I look like a female cultivator?”

“It’s not like that.” Yun Ye sat on the sole bed inside the tent, which was thin enough to house only one person. He propped his chin on his hand. “Or are you a Shuang’er?”

There’s a special kind of man in this world. They were like any other ordinary man, but they were able to bear children, which is called Shuang’er.

Bai Tu stared at him incredulously. “Naturally not!”

“Okay, lah. I’m just kidding.” Yun Ye reclined on the bed. He tilted his head to one side and said, “Come and sleep, little white rabbit.”

Bai Tu tossed his head toward the other. “What did you call me?”

Yun Ye cracked a smile. “Tu Bai, white rabbit. Aren’t you a little white rabbit?”

TL/N: 涂白(tu bai); smearing/colored white, 小(xiao); little, 白兔(bai tu); white rabbit 

Bai Tu: “…..”

The fire in the camp dimmed bit by bit as the night grew deep. Bai Tu had been lying on the bed for some time, but he could not sleep. He turned over, and as expected, Yun Ye was not asleep either. 

Bai Tu asked, “Why are you still awake?”

Yun Ye put his arms behind his head and deliberated. “Same reason as yours.”

When Bai Tu kept quiet, Yun Ye said, “What are you pretending for? Aren’t you suspecting something is amiss with that senior disciple?”

“Indeed.” Bai Tu divulged his suspicions. “Gathering all the survivors in one place—this may be no problem if they did this at the beginning. However, with the current situation… it looks like a deliberate plan shared between a few people.”

Yun Ye lightly sneered. “They want to catch them all in one net.”

Bai Tu remained silent, and Yun Ye assured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

Yun Ye stretched out his hand and poked at the other’s wrinkled forehead. “Why aren’t you going to sleep? If you become sick again like this morning, I won’t carry on my back, little sickly person.”

‘… Just how many nicknames does this man have to give me???’

Bai Tu gritted his teeth in anger and turned his back towards Yun Ye, ignoring him. 

He was worn out today and nodded off soon in his position. Not long before, a faint noise sounded outside the tent. 

Yun Ye snapped his eyes open, the corners of his mouth curling up. 

‘Finally.’

Within the camp’s perimeters, several white tigers prowled around the tents where everyone was resting. 

It was quiet in the temporary camp as all the disciples were snoring or drooling. The white tigers crept up on the sleeping disciples and murdered them in their sleep. The unfortunate disciples were then silently teleported out of the secret realm, oblivious to the cause of their death in the Realm. 

A white tiger trod to the tent where Bai Tu and Yun Ye slept. 

It was about to enter the tent when a cold sword blade pierced out and sank into the white tiger’s chest in a flash. 

The deeply sunken sword’s blade twisted inside the white tiger’s flesh and slashed through the other end in one fell swoop before the white tiger could utter a sound. In the end, the separated head could not utter a groan before falling to the ground.

The tent opened, and Yun Ye stepped out. His eyes glistened with a sly demonic light, and his voice was soft and low as he said, “Hush, be quiet. A little white rabbit is sleeping inside.”

 

The author has something to say:

Bai Tu: How many nicknames do I have?

Yun Ye: Little idiot, little white rabbit, little sickly person, Bai Xiaoruan, Wifey…

Bai Tu: How did you come up with the latter one???

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