Cen Ji stood there, speechless.
Ban Lan said slowly, "Compared to getting married, I might prefer to go to the Azure Phoenix Forest to accompany Huang."
"Do we really have to go?" Cen Ji didn't know why he asked that question.
"Definitely." Ban Lan smiled, her eyebrows curving like a crescent moon.
However, the moon is always cold.
*******
Baiqi Mountain is not large, but it hides the Crane Feather Palace very well.
Ban Lan looked up at the sky and asked, "Did the Crane Feather Palace really exist?"
Cen Ji said, "Crane Feather Palace has existed for over a hundred years, how could it be fabricated out of thin air?"
Ban Lan said helplessly, "Then it's because we two are really too stupid."
Ban Lan tilted her head back and counted the white clouds in the sky.
The sky was so blue that she didn't want to look down. But her neck couldn't withstand being tilted back for so long and was starting to ache.
Ban Lan could only lower her head slowly, as slowly as possible, for fear of hurting her stiff neck.
Suddenly, she stared at a huge rock on the hilltop and froze.
“Cen Qi, look at that stone, doesn’t it look like a crane feather?”
Cen Ji looked up as instructed, but after a long while, he couldn't discern anything amiss.
Seeing that he still looked confused, Ban Lan said, "Idiot, come over here and look from my direction."
Cen Ji stepped forward, and upon looking up, his expression froze.
The huge boulder was clearly shaped like a feather.
Cen Ji and Ban Lan exchanged a glance and immediately decided to go up the mountain to investigate.
“Your feet…” Cen Ji hesitated and looked at Ban Lan.
"It's been so many days, he's already better." Ban Lan patted Cen Ji's shoulder casually, as if comforting a younger brother who was ten years younger than her.
Baiqi Mountain is not high. The two climbed for more than an hour before reaching the giant rock.
But once they reached the top of the mountain, the two were dumbfounded. There was nothing there but giant rocks and vegetation, let alone the entrance to Crane Feather Palace.
Ban Lan finally gave up.
She sat with her back against the giant rock, muttering, "What? It's such a small place, not even a trace of Crane Feather Palace. Could it be that they've all hidden underground?"
Upon hearing this, Cen Ji frowned for a long while, then suddenly strode forward and helped Ban Lan up.
Ban Lan was startled and said, "You're not letting me sit down?"
He remained silent. He pulled Ban Lan aside, looked the boulder up and down, and then pushed it with all his might. With a loud bang, the boulder moved a few inches away, revealing a dark hole.
Ban Lan leaned over and saw that the cave entrance led to a bottomless staircase. She tugged at Cen Ji's sleeve and asked, "How did you know the entrance was here?"
Cen Ji said, "Because of your reminder."
Ban Lan asked in surprise, "Me?"
Cen Ji said, "If the people of Crane Feather Palace can hide underground, can't they also hide in the mountains?"
Ban Lan tossed her head smugly and said, "Thank goodness I reminded you. How could someone as rigid as you have thought of that?"
Seeing her smug look, Cen Ji wanted to reach out and pinch her cheek. But as soon as his hand moved, he suddenly realized something, and as if he had been frozen in place, his whole body stiffened. Then, he turned around very awkwardly to look at the bottomless black hole.
Ban Lan, oblivious to his unease, continued, "It's pitch black here, we can't see anything, how are we going to get down?"
Cen Ji squatted down, feeling waves of cold air emanating from the cave, which made him feel uneasy.
“I’ll go down first. You wait here. If…” Cen Ji paused for a moment, then said, “If I haven’t come out by today, you can leave.”
Ban Lan remained silent for a long time, sitting blankly at the entrance of the cave, looking like a lifeless mud doll.
Suddenly, she reached out and gently touched the fine stubble on Cen Ji's jaw.
Cen Ji felt his mind go blank for a moment, and he let her cold fingers linger on his chin.
She was lost in thought, murmuring repeatedly, "Cen Qi, Cen Qi... I like you, I really like you..."
Ban Lan's expression was very serious, with a kind of intimidating solemnity.
Cen Ji swayed slightly, silently breaking Ban Lan's daze.
"You don't..." Cen Ji opened his mouth, but Ban Lan pressed his lips against hers.
Ban Lan smiled and said, "Wrong. You should say, 'I don't like you.'"
Cen Ji's lower lip trembled.
"Is it because you care about me?" Ban Lan asked slowly.
"No," Cen Ji replied hastily.
Ban Lan lowered her head and said, "Whether I live or die is none of your business."