Book 5 Chapter 16 – Lianyun City (1)

　　"We… we've transmigrated?" As Li Yiming's group trailed the group of men through the forest, the road gradually widened.

　　Although Li Yiming expected something spectacular, he was still surprised by the sight of a giant stone statue of a man with a serpent's tail at the end of the road. Unlike the stone lanterns, even the most intricate of details were carefully sculpted onto the statue, including the veins on the man's arms and even the scales on his tail. When Li Yiming looked into the eyes of the statue, he had the feeling that it could become alive anytime.

　　"Hey, do you think that we transmigrated?" Lin Lu asked again with confusion. Behind the giant statue was an imposing wall built out of stone that has blackened with age. Even with modern technology, it would be quite the construction project to undertake.

　　'The strange occurrences, the whirlpool… and now transmigration? Are we in some kind poorly-written novel?' The sequence of events hammered away at Lin Lu's sense of reality.

　　"We should be careful." Li Yiming looked at the people walking through the city's gate. All of them wore blue clothing and cloth shoes. The villagers were carrying wood, stone, and fruits and vegetables with their wooden carts, just like the ones that Li Yiming was tailing.

　　Li Yiming exchanged a glance with Liu Meng and led the way back to the forest.

　　"Are we going inside?" Liu Meng asked.

　　"We have to." Li Yiming looked at Lin Lu, who still seemed distraught from the shock. He had recognized the statue: it was Teng She, a mythical creature related to Bai Xi. This meant that there was no mistake about them having entered a domain. 'I need to follow this lead and find Bai Ze.'

　　"How can you be so calm?" Lin Lu asked in shock.

　　"I've told you earlier that I've been through things like this, didn't I?" Li Yiming hesitated, but finally decided to reveal part of the truth to Lin Lu.

　　"You… you mean you've transmigrated before?" Lin Lu's eyes widened. She had her guesses about the reasons behind Li Yiming's recruitment for the mission, and she thought that she had given him enough credit already. 'Are you serious…'

　　"Yes." Without a better explanation, Li Yiming went along with Lin Lu's guess. He could not bring himself to abandon her, so he needed to at least explain himself somewhat.

　　"Which… which dynasty did you travel to?' Lin Lu followed with another question.

　　"I don't think now is the time for that… Listen, we're going to be facing things that are much more dangerous that what we've seen in the forest. If you come along…"

　　"I'll be obeying your orders, sir." Lin Lu suddenly straightened her posture and saluted Li Yiming with fiery eyes.

　　"Oh…" Li Yiming was caught a little off-guard by Lin Lu's sudden change of behavior. 'No wonder she decided to become a soldier when she could have been a model… Well, so much for the excuses I've prepared…'

　　"Alright then. Starting from now, no matter what happens, you'll need to keep control of your curiosity. We'll answer your questions when the time is right." Li Yiming nodded at Lin Lu.