"This thing won't explode, will it..." I worried. I'm just a normal early-stage Red Qi cultivator, carrying a top-tier Black Qi demon core. Isn't that like putting gold on a dung heap?
Whale God raised her yellow eyebrows. That's right, her hair and eyebrows were both yellow. But what truly surprised me was that I now possessed night vision. I could even see the pores on Whale God's face clearly. Whale God raised an eyebrow: "I don't know if it will explode either. For now, leave it with you. If it's going to explode, I'll take it out myself."
My heart sank. If it really exploded, where would I find you!
Wait a minute, does Whale God mean she's going to follow me from now on?
"Let's go, I'm tired and a bit cold. I want to go down the mountain to sleep," Whale God said, shivering as she hugged her arms.
Her words made me notice something else. I seemed to still be inside Whale God, in a constant, warm temperature. I didn't feel the sub-zero environment at all. I guessed this, like the night vision, was a gift from the demon core. Conversely, Whale God, having lost her demon core, had become mortal and her resistance had weakened.
It wasn't just her resistance to the cold. My Qi-sensing technique hadn't deactivated. I saw three strands of black Qi above Whale God's head, slowly turning purple.
This was a big deal. I had to warn Whale God about the change in her aura. Whale God dismissed it: "Power is an external thing. Since I've decided to be human, it would be against heavenly principles to still possess supreme demonic energy."
"...But it's still fading. What color will it turn in the end?" I asked.
Whale God shook her head: "I'm not sure about that. Let's go quickly. I can't swim anymore. How about I ride on you back?"
"...Ride how? I can't turn into a giant whale."
"Just carry me on your back." After saying that, Whale God nimbly moved behind me, automatically climbing onto my back. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and her legs hugged my waist in the water.
I had expected carrying her to be a strenuous swim, but as I began, I discovered an incredibly potent "internal energy" within my current body. Using my hands and feet, I swam back to the hot spring area on the other side at almost a hundred-meter sprint pace. After placing Whale God into the warm water, I tried to stop and catch my breath. To my surprise, I didn't even gasp for air. Only my abdomen felt warm. I lowered my head and checked with my Qi-sensing technique. The black sphere's luminescence had dimmed slightly, as if the swimming had consumed its internal energy rather than my own stamina.
This was quite good. It was like having an Iron Man-style heart motor. His was a nuclear reactor. I wondered who was stronger, Whale God's black demon core or a nuclear reactor.
"Where did you two go?" Lin Xi asked. "You disappeared in the blink of an eye!"
By now, the afterglow had completely vanished, and the sky was completely dark. Coupled with our location, surrounded by mountains on three sides, under the night sky, it was almost pitch black. Lin Xi assumed I couldn't see her, which was why she had moved so close. She was also a good swimmer and knew how to tread water at an advanced level, allowing her to float one-third of her body out of the water.
She didn't know that I now possessed night vision, hehe...
After appeasing Lin Xi's questions and enjoying the view, I went to Chen Ke to have her continue teaching me how to swim.
As for Ya Nan, forget it. I wouldn't take advantage of my own people. Besides, crucially, it seemed she had already seen.
After playing for a while, I felt the water temperature around us rising, likely to 42 degrees Celsius. It was getting a bit too hot for me. They were also sweating profusely. So, we got out of the water one by one, put on our down jackets, and took a speedboat back the way we came, then a Mercedes down the mountain.
The scenic area staff swarmed around us, possibly wanting to interview them about the powerful yellow light that had shot into the sky. However, the local members of the Shakespeare organization blocked them, and we successfully descended the mountain to the small town where we had bought our down jackets.
The temperature here was much warmer than on the mountain. Swimming had been tiring. Whale God was already asleep in the car, and Chen Ke's eyelids were drooping. I quietly suggested to Lin Xi, "How about we stay here for the night?"
Lin Xi thought for a moment: "But there are no good hotels in town. Can you manage?"
"If you're okay with it, then I am," I said. I'm not some VIP; I can stay anywhere.
Lin Xi had the driver stop and called the local Shakespeare members to arrange accommodations.
The entire town had only one two-star tourist hotel. Furthermore, because we had driven away the previous tourists, only an expensive suite was left. It had two bedrooms and three beds. They asked if that would be alright.
"I'm fine with it. Are you okay?" I asked Lin Xi with a smile.