49: Do you know each other?

"How is it? Did Lan Yu Baby reply?"

At this moment, outside the Secret Realm north of Flower City, within the dense crowd, the area around the two beauties seemed like a vacuum zone, with no one daring to approach.

One Girl, dressed in a Lolita uniform and having a cute appearance, spoke with a worried expression.

The Girl next to her was very beautiful, wearing a light blue long dress and straight black hair draped over her shoulders, looking very ladylike. Many people pretended to look at the scenery, but were actually just turning their heads for a glance at her. However, she was in no mood to pay attention to them. She put down her phone, shook her head, and her expression was quite poor.

"She really is something. It's not like we don't know she has max-level Directional Impairment, yet she still dares to go alone. It's driving me crazy..." The Lolita Girl's eyes were red with anxiety.

The long-dress Girl embraced her, gently patted her back, and comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay. Her Demon Tamers Beast is a Bronze 3 Heavenly Star Bird. She'll be fine. Besides, she said before that she would use navigation."

"But it's not nighttime right now. Her Heavenly Star Bird is only strong at night..." The Lolita Girl pouted, looking wronged and worried. "If she's using navigation, it's even more impossible for her not to see messages..."

"Alright, she's definitely fine. Once this little Girl who got silly from reading books comes back, we'll teach her a lesson." The long-dress Girl comforted softly.

These two were precisely Lu Bingyun and her best friend, Xiao Ya.

The two of them had arrived outside the Secret Realm early, but they couldn't get through to Lan Yu by sending messages or calling, which made them extremely anxious.

"Let's wait a little longer. If she still doesn't come, we'll go back and look for her."

Xiao Ya nodded.

Then Xiao Ya asked, "What about your Xie Ning? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

"What do you mean 'mine'? We don't have that kind of relationship," Lu Bingyun rolled her eyes at her, and then said, "He rescued someone in Hope Forest and is on his way here. He should be arriving soon."

"Oh. Hope Forest... That shouldn't be that silly Girl. If it were, her Directional Impairment must have gotten worse again." Xiao Ya replied... Xie Ning, whom the two women were talking about, still didn't know the identity of the person he had saved. At this moment, they were speeding through the woods, rushing toward the Secret Realm.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the huge rift of the Secret Realm could be seen in the distance.

The Secret Realm outside Flower City didn't look like a large gate, but rather a rift that resembled a tear in space. It was usually kept under Seal and guarded by the City Defense Bureau to prevent Yao Beasts from escaping and to stop ignorant people from approaching and getting themselves killed.

White Fang quickened its pace, sweeping across the space like a flash of white light, arriving at the edge of the large plaza outside the Secret Realm, attracting the attention of many people.

The two people dismounted from White Fang, and then Xie Ning put White Fang away.

"We've arrived at the Secret Realm. Let's part ways here," Xie Ning said.

The Girl nodded, bowed again, and made no attempt to hide her heartfelt gratitude: "Thank you again. If it weren't for you, I might have been finished. I will remember this kindness for a lifetime."

Xie Ning smiled. Just as he was about to speak, he saw two pretty figures running out from the crowd and said, "My partners are here. Goodbye."

"Mhm, okay. I see my Girlfriends too. Goodbye," the Girl replied with a smile.

After saying goodbye, the two of them walked in the same direction.

"What a coincidence, your partners are also over here."

"They are."

The two continued walking... "Maybe your partners and my Girlfriends even know each other."

"It's possible."

The two continued walking, still side-by-side... At this moment, they looked at each other and saw surprise in the other's eyes.

Could it be... Before they could speak this time, the two Girls approaching them spoke first.

"Why did you two take so long to get here?"

"Lan Yu Baby, why did you take so long to get here?"

Xie Ning and Lan Yu: "..."

After a moment, the two said in unison:

"Your partner is Bing Yun?"

"Your Girlfriends are Lu Bingyun?"

These words made Lu Bingyun and Xiao Ya, who had rushed over, even more confused.

Lu Bingyun asked, "Lan Yu, Xie Ning, don't you two know each other?"

Just then, Xiao Ya, worried about Lan Yu, rushed over and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face. She raised her hand to wipe away a tear, but found her vision stained red. Looking at her hand, she realized it was blood!

"Lan Yu, why are you hurt? What's with this blood?"

She frantically pulled Lan Yu, asking questions. It was only then that she noticed Lan Yu's dress was slashed in a dozen places, subtly revealing skin, and some of the rips on her back were stained with bloodstains the size of a bowl.

"What happened?!" Lu Bingyun's expression also changed, and she quickly pulled Lan Yu to ask.

Lan Yu, who was thought to have calmed down, let tears fall upon seeing her friends' concern. She hugged the two Girls tightly and choked out, "Wuwu~ I almost didn't make it back."

Lan Yu's crying attracted the attention of many people, and quite a few watched curiously.

Noticing that some people's gazes were inappropriate, Xie Ning frowned, took a long jacket out of his storage stone, and draped it over her.

Lu Bingyun gently patted her back and comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. If anyone dared to bully you, I'll help you teach him a lesson."

Xiao Ya also said, "That's right, quickly tell us, what exactly happened?"

Seeing the two Girls look over, Xie Ning was about to speak, but the weeping Lan Yu spoke first, haltingly recounting her entire ordeal to them.

When she mentioned getting lost and wandering off in the forest, Lu Bingyun and Xiao Ya glared at her exasperatedly.

When they learned that several scumbags had tried to assault her, the two Girls' faces turned pale with rage, radiating coldness, and their teeth ground audibly.

Then, when she spoke about having her hands and feet grabbed and feeling despair, the two Girls' hearts leaped into their throats. Seeing her face covered in tears now made them feel even more distressed and heartbroken.

After that, when she mentioned the flames coming from afar, Xie Ning appearing like a hero saving the maiden, and burning those scumbags to ashes, the two Girls finally calmed down and gave Xie Ning a look of appreciation and gratitude.

Xie Ning did not interrupt the entire process, as these emotions needed the two Girls to help her vent.

After a long while, Lan Yu's agitated emotions finally settled down somewhat. She took off her glasses, wiped away her tears, and revealed a shy smile on her tear-stained face as she spoke to Xie Ning:

"I never expected the person who saved me to be my teammate. This is wonderful. Let's reintroduce ourselves. I am Lan Yu, and I truly thank you very much."

Xiao Ya also extended her hand toward Student Xie Ning: "Student Xie Ning, my name is Xiao Ya. Thank you for saving Lan Yu Baby."

Lu Bingyun, standing nearby, didn't speak, but her heart was filled with lingering fear.

If Xie Ning had come with her today, Lan Yu might have... It seems inviting Xie Ning was absolutely the right move.

Xie Ning smiled, shook hands with Xiao Ya, and replied, "It was nothing, I just happened to be passing by. Besides, the thanks have already been said, so there's no need to repeat them."

Lan Yu nodded, pulling Xie Ning's jacket tightly around her, while Xiao Ya gave a thumbs up and said playfully, "Magnanimous!"

After the introductions, Xie Ning formally met Lu Bingyun's two best friends. Coupled with the fact that he had saved Lan Yu's life, he naturally blended into the group.

At this moment, Lu Bingyun said, "We haven't collected the mission yet while waiting for you two. The opening time is almost here, so we need to hurry up."