The Mighty Mage

She soon arrived at the teleportation array hidden deep in the forest. With a wave of her hand, she took Long Yifan out of the space.

He blinked at the sudden light, then looked at her and the teleportation circle.

"Done already?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gu Jin nodded. "All finished. We can leave this world now."

Long Yifan gave her a soft smile. He reached out and took her hand. "Then let's go."

They both stepped onto the teleportation array. But nothing happened.

Gu Jin looked around. "It's not glowing. There's no mana. What now?"

Long Yifan turned to her and grinned.

"We have to kiss while channeling mana," he said seriously.

Gu Jin froze. "…Excuse me?"

He smiled innocently. "A kiss while pouring our mana together will complete the ritual."

Gu Jin's eyes narrowed. "You're making this up. I'm not that naive."

Long Yifan chuckled. "Worth a try."

Gu Jin raised her fist. "Try again, and I'll send you flying through the array, mana or not."

He laughed nervously and took a step back. "Okay, okay! No kiss! Just channel mana together!"

She then closed her eyes and interwove her fingers with Long Yifan's.

Together, they channeled their energy into the circle. Light slowly started to gather, and soon, the teleportation array began to glow.

The next moment, when they opened their eyes, Gu Jin and Long Yifan found themselves standing in a quiet valley. It was the other part of the valley, far away from the place where the humans were camping.

Long Yifan looked around, then raised his eyebrows. "Where are we?"

Gu Jin looked ahead and calmly said, "This is Aeryndale State."

Long Yifan blinked. "Ah, I thought so."

Gu Jin turned to him with a curious look. "How did you guess that?"

He gave a small chuckle. "I didn't know you were coming to save me. But when I saw you in that other world, I knew you must've jumped through one of the rifts to find me."

Gu Jin rolled her eyes but didn't deny it. That was exactly what had happened.

She then said, "Now I just need to take out Jiang Wei, Ming Rou, and Qin Ye from my space."

With that, she walked to a quiet corner in the valley.

With a flick of her hand, she took out the three people she had been keeping safe in her space. Then, without a word, she also brought out Jiang Xuelan and laid them all gently on the soft grass.

Gu Jin sprinkled some silver medicinal powder into the air. Slowly, the powder fell on their faces, and they began to wake up.

Jiang Wei was the first to sit up. He looked around in confusion, then turned to see Gu Jin standing nearby. His eyes sharpened, and his face turned serious.

"I never expected this from you," he said. "You used my trust to catch me off guard. Were you planning to kill us? Are you an assassin?"

Ming Rou stood next to him now, her body tense and eyes full of doubt. She didn't speak, but her expression said it all; she was suspicious, too.

Gu Jin simply raised an eyebrow and pointed behind them. "Look at your surroundings."

The group turned around and froze. Just a short distance away, the same valley from where they had begun their journey before was glowing faintly. This was the place where it had all started.

She said calmly, "I used a hidden technique to bring everyone back safely. I couldn't explain it before. That's why I had to knock you out."

There was silence for a moment.

Then Jiang Wei let out a helpless laugh. He shook his head and said, "I guess I was overthinking. You've done a lot for us. Thank you, Gu Jin. If not for you, I might've died and never seen my daughter again."

Gu Jin waved her hand. "Time for payment."

Without another word, both Jiang Wei and Ming Rou took out all the energy stones they had collected. There were nearly a thousand, glowing in different colors.

Gu Jin's eyes widened. "So many?"

She knelt down to look closer. Among the stones were rare ones filled with thunder and plant mana, extremely hard to find.

Just as she reached out to gather them, Jiang Wei spoke again.

"I know this isn't much. For what you did for us, I owe you. I'll do you a favor. Anything you want."

Gu Jin looked at him for a second and then said, "I'll think about it."

Then she packed away the stones and turned to leave.

As she walked away, the others exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

Suddenly, footsteps followed behind her. Gu Jin glanced over her shoulder and saw Qin Ye running up to her.

There was something strange in his eyes, an intense, almost crazy look.

"Gu Jin," he said, his voice shaking a little, "you still haven't helped me find my sister."

Gu Jin frowned and asked coldly, "What sister? You don't have one."

Qin Ye paused, his smile twitching slightly. "What are you talking about? Of course, I have a sister. You promised to help. You're coming with me to the rift again."

Gu Jin narrowed her eyes but kept her voice calm. "No need. You'll be going alone this time."

Qin Ye blinked. "What?"

Without answering, Gu Jin suddenly stepped aside and waved her hand. A new rift opened nearby, crackling with purple energy. Before Qin Ye could understand, Gu Jin gave him a strong push.

"Go."

He stumbled forward and almost fell into the rift. He looked back in panic. "What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!"

His plant vines shot out from his back, trying to grab the ground and stop him.

But Gu Jin was faster.

With a sharp strike, she cut through all the vines in one clean motion. Qin Ye's eyes widened in shock.

"Gu Jin! Stop!"

But she said nothing.

Seeing him fall into the rift, Gu Jin calmly looked away like nothing had happened. Long Yifan stood nearby, watching the scene without stepping in.

"Was he a spy?" Long Yifan asked seriously.

Gu Jin gave a slow nod. "Yes. I had this feeling for a long time, especially after we came to this valley. It felt like someone was watching me."

Long Yifan's eyebrows furrowed. "Who?"

"At first, I didn't know," Gu Jin said. "But then Qin Ye started acting strange. He looked at me like I was something he wanted to eat. Like prey."

Long Yifan's face darkened immediately. He glared at the rift where Qin Ye had fallen. His fists clenched.

'That bastard… How dare he think of you like that?! I haven't even gotten a kiss yet, and he dares to have those kinds of thoughts?! I should drag him back and beat him up!'

Gu Jin gave him a sideways glance and rolled her eyes. "It's not your place to say anything."

Long Yifan pouted but didn't argue.

She added, "He was probably sent by someone who wants to catch me. When I first came to Country J, I met a few thugs. I think they saw something they shouldn't have. Maybe one of them worked for a group or sold my information."

Long Yifan nodded slowly. "If that's true… I'll protect you no matter what."

Gu Jin rolled her eyes again. "No need. I still have work to do."

Long Yifan looked at her like she was some kind of superhuman. "How many tasks have you completed already?"

Gu Jin counted on her fingers. "One rescued my cousin. Two rescued you, and now I am going to collect resources from the mountain."

Long Yifan sighed deeply. "I'm coming with you."

"No," Gu Jin said quickly. "I don't want you there."

Long Yifan smiled cheekily. "If you don't let me come, I'll tell your family all about your dangerous adventures."

Gu Jin glared at him. "I should've left you to die back there."

Long Yifan chuckled. "You wouldn't do that."

Gu Jin gritted her teeth. "At least I wouldn't have to deal with shameless people like you."

She turned and stormed away. Long Yifan followed, smiling to himself. He knew she wasn't really angry. She just didn't know how to win this kind of argument.

Eventually, they arrived at a quiet hotel in a nearby town. Gu Jin opened the room door and walked inside.

Suddenly, a figure ran at her, fast!

Before Gu Jin could react, Long Yifan stepped in front of her like a wall. His face was calm, ready to block the person.

The figure stopped. It was a little girl, Mimi.

Both of them stared at each other before their eyes widened, and Mimi almost shouted at him,

"What are you doing here?"

It was clear that both of them knew each other, which was a bit surprising for Gu Jin.

Long Yifan narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "That should be the question I should ask, right? Considering that you are..."