Chapter 765: Uneasy

　　Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

　　Mu Qinghe then turned around and went toward the Dancing Lotus.

　　The barrier between the Mystic Forest and Mirror Lake was very distinct—there was a dam-like existence in the middle. On this end, the Mystic Forest was piled with many fallen leaves, while the other end was the glistening Mirror Lake.

　　The strange thing was that the dividing dam was very narrow, but not a single leaf on the Mystic Forest side had flown to the opposite lake area. The ripples caused by the lake also didn’t cross the boundary and arrive at the other side.

　　There seemed to be an invisible barrier in the middle that clearly separated the two sides.

　　Mu Qinghe quickly arrived at the narrow dam. He took a deep breath in, turned the force in his body, and flung his right hand.

　　A longsword flew out, floating in front of him!

　　Mu Qinghe jumped up and stood on that flying sword!

　　.

　　Just as he was about to fly forward with the sword, he unintentionally glanced from the corner of his eyes and realized that there seemed to be something flashing on the near side of the lake.

　　He squinted his eyes and focused; then, he was stunned. This was because the flashing thing was a piece of floating ice!

　　The light from the sunset shone on it, and the clear, crystal-like floating ice reflected the bright and dazzling light.

　　Mirror Lake was extremely wide, and it was surrounded by the Mystic Forest and the Red Moon Desert. It was spring and summer all year long as the lake rippled.

　　Why did a floating piece of ice suddenly appear?

　　“Lieutenant Mu, what’s the problem?” Shangguan Wan saw that Mu Qinghe didn’t move and chased him.

　　Mu Qinghe didn’t immediately reply as he surveyed his surroundings. As expected, he saw another floating piece of ice in a not-so-distant place.

　　Those floating pieces of ice swayed on the lake surface and looked very unassuming. If it weren’t because Mu Qinghe was coincidentally in midair and the light reflected off of them, he definitely wouldn’t notice the pieces of ice—just like how Shangguan Wan and the others couldn’t see this strange situation.

　　Mu Qinghe felt uneasy. “This Mirror Lake is weird.”

　　Shangguan Wan knitted her brows. “What’s weird?”

　　Mu Qinghe pointed his finger. “Floating ice had never appeared in Mirror Lake before.”

　　Shangguan Wan saw that Mu Qinghe looked solemn and thought that something major had happened. I didn’t expect that it’s just because of one or two pieces of floating ice?

　　She laughed and nonchalantly said, “It’s just two pieces of floating ice. I don’t think it’s anything important, right? If you’re really worried, why don’t you hurry up and retrieve the Dancing Lotus? Then, we can leave immediately, okay?”

　　Mu Qinghe knitted his brows even more tightly. “Third Princess, you might not know, but Mirror Lake is always like this all year round. This situation has never occurred before… I’m afraid that something amiss happened. For everyone’s safety, it’s best if everybody retreats immediately.”

　　“Retreat immediately? What about the Dancing Lotus?” Shangguan Wan was stunned. We met it with much difficulty, so how can we just leave like this? What should we say when we go back to Xi Ling? Also, my Yuan meridian…

　　“Lieutenant Mu, I feel that you’re overly worried. I know that you’ve stayed in Dahuang Swamp for many years and that you know this place very well, but how long has Mirror Lake existed? Do you dare to say that from the very day it existed, it has been like this? Perhaps when you didn’t know, such things have long happened. What do you think?”

　　Mu Qinghe couldn’t retort to this.

　　Shangguan Wan was bent on taking the Dancing Lotus away. “If you’re really worried, Lieutenant Mu, why don’t I get Elder Qiuxi to go with you?”

　　Upon hearing this, Elder Qiuxi wasn’t worried and was filled with excitement instead. “I will definitely follow the Third Princess’s commands.”

　　Being able to retrieve the Dancing Lotus is undoubtedly gaining good merit, and such a rare treasure is extremely precious! Even if one only touches it, they might benefit greatly! As for danger… Other than lake water, there is nothing else here. It also doesn’t look as confusing or messy as the Mystic Forest. Even if we really meet with some danger, we can just escape right back. How dangerous can it get?

　　Shangguan Wan nodded. “Then, I have to trouble you, Elder Qiuxi, Lieutenant Mu.”

　　Elder Qiuxi acknowledged her words and rapidly rushed to Mu Qinghe’s side.

　　Mu Qinghe glanced at him. Since he wants to court death, I can’t convince him otherwise.

　　“Lieutenant Mu, please—” Elder Qiuxi raised his hand.

　　Mu Qinghe didn’t say anything more as he rode on his sword and continued forward.

　　Elder Qiuxi followed him closely, and his pair of eyes was glued closely to the Dancing Lotus in the distant lake center.

　　Mu Qinghe kept looking down from time to time, and his expression gradually turned cold. This was because he discovered that there weren’t only two pieces of floating ice on the lake.

　　The further in they went, the greater the number of floating ice pieces. Also, they gradually gathered and connected together to form a large piece of ice.

　　The surroundings of that Dancing Lotus were filled by an ice layer.

　　Mu Qinghe stopped.

　　Elder Qiuxi hurriedly followed him and stopped. “Lieutenant Mu, why didn’t you continue going forward? That Dancing Lotus is right in front. We can get it right away!”

　　Mu Qinghe’s face seemed to be covered by a layer of frost. There’s definitely something wrong with this Mirror Lake. I’ve come to Mirror Lake many times, but every time I get close to it, I encounter all sorts of dangerous scenarios. This time, Mirror Lake is indeed too peaceful.

　　Not only did this not calm him down, but he became even more uneasy. Something must be off!

　　“Since you want the Dancing Lotus so much, why don’t you go first?”

　　Elder Qiuxi immediately chickened out. His gaze kept going back and forth between Mu Qinghe and the Dancing Lotus, and he was very conflicted. He really wanted to retrieve the Dancing Lotus, but he was also really afraid that something would happen. Mu Qinghe’s reaction is really unsettling…

　　Seeing that the two of them actually stopped, Shangguan Wan couldn’t hold back and pressed them again.

　　Elder Qiuxi was determined. Since there are so many people around, what’s there to be worried about? If I’m the one who retrieves the Dancing Lotus, my identity and status will definitely greatly improve after I return to Xi Ling.

　　Thinking of this, his balance finally tilted toward the side of desires.

　　He passed by Mu Qinghe and went nearer to the front. However, he wasn’t stupid and didn’t directly use his hands to retrieve it. It’s definitely not easy to retrieve such a treasure.

　　He flung his sleeves and threw out a rope as thick as a thumb, wrapping it around the Dancing Lotus’s stem.

　　After waiting for a moment, nothing strange happened.

　　Elder Qiuxi was more confident as he pulled his wrist back and tried to pluck out the Dancing Lotus directly.

　　But the moment he moved, the rope slid down the stem.

　　Elder Qiuxi fell backward. He looked up in shock and realized that the stem was as smooth as ever—its surface even had faint marks of water.

　　It was indeed hard to wrap around it using a rope.

　　After thinking for a moment, he set up a barrier around himself and put away the rope at the same time. This time, he used a longsword instead.

　　He went in closer step by step and finally raised his sword to slash it. But the moment the sword body touched the stem, it also slipped!

　　Before Elder Qiuxi could react, his body was dragged down by an invisible force!

　　Plop!

　　He directly went through the ice layer and fell into the lake!