For Ikezawa, explaining his slip-up about Lingsha wasn't too difficult. While his "Don't rush" comment might have seemed odd in real life, it wasn't particularly embarrassing. The Chat Group, however, was a completely different story.
After his message, the group fell silent for a moment before Shu Cat reacted immediately.
Shu Cat: "Holy crap! You're just buying and reselling stuff between dimensions?!"
Shu Cat: "You're not even a cultivator! You're a scammer?!"
Clearly, everyone in the group was a seasoned internet user. Initially, Shu Cat had simply assumed he'd befriended a genuine cultivator, never suspecting otherwise. But now that Ikezawa's facade had completely crumbled, believing him would be downright absurd.
Ikezawa's scalp tingled with mortification. His usual toe-curling embarrassment felt like child's play compared to the buzzing in his head and the uncontrollable trembling in his limbs. He desperately wished he could faint and end this torment, but he couldn't.
He now had only two options:
Deny everything vehemently and scramble for excuses.
For example, were cultivators forbidden from having emotions? His master was Lingsha—was it wrong to be humble before her?
But there was a major flaw in his plan: the Chat Group's teleportation function. No matter how impressive his online persona, a face-to-face meeting would instantly expose his lies.
That left only one option.
Daoist Wuwei: "My esteemed seniors, I beg your forgiveness! I was wrong! I kneel and kowtow to you—thud, thud, thud!"
Daoist Wuwei: "Please forgive me!"
Shu Cat: "..."
Invincible Bro: "..."
Red Cape Hero: "..."
Peace Dove: "..."
Today I Want to Eat Soup Dumplings: "Huh? Wait, what's going on? I'm completely lost, Family."
Today I Want to Eat Soup Dumplings: "I went to sleep and woke up with a cultivator son?"
Apart from Soup Dumpling, the other four members simultaneously flooded the chat with ellipsis.
Lingsha couldn't imagine what the others were thinking, but she herself was genuinely stunned.
What a swift apology! And so sincere!
In truth, the worst thing after making a mistake was stubbornness—refusing to admit fault, refusing to repent, and letting the conflict escalate out of control. Was saying "I'm sorry" really so difficult?
In reality, people like Ikezawa, who apologized instantly, were rare.
But the effect was undeniable. Shu Cat was left speechless; continuing to scold him would have made him seem petty and narrow-minded.
Moreover, looking back, since Daoist Wuwei had joined the Chat Group, despite all his boasting and posturing, he hadn't actually caused any real harm to anyone.
Daoist Wuwei: "Sigh, what can you do? I was inexplicably transported to this bizarre and dangerous place, and when I stumbled upon this Chat Group, of course I'd try to get something out of it. You know, I almost kicked the bucket twice today!"
Daoist Wuwei: "So, what's the deal with this Chat Group anyway? How come there aren't any Big Bosses here?"
Shu Cat: "This Chat Group isn't some kind of 'System' at all. It's my Super Ability. The members are just my friends. Forget about finding any Big Bosses... Wait, Sister Peace is kind of a Big Boss."
Daoist Wuwei: "This is rough... spiritually and physically draining. This poor little rat is done for."
Daoist Wuwei: "When I first transmigrated, I had a beautiful girl as my teammate and a Chat Group System in my mind. I thought I was the protagonist, but it turns out I'm just a useless scrub."
Shu Cat: "Forget about being the protagonist. If the Chat Group is your 'ability,' then doesn't that make me even more of a protagonist?"
Invincible Bro: "I even have an Appraisal ability. Isn't that way more useful than your Chat Group?"
Red Cape Hero: "So, where exactly are you right now?"
Daoist Wuwei: "I'm in some dingy corner of a mountain cave. The entrance is crawling with monsters, and the inside is full of man-eating beast-eared girls."
Ikezawa slowly explained his predicament, sounding like he was complaining. Through their continued conversation, the group gradually learned that his original world had no Dimensional Rifts, and he had inexplicably transmigrated to this extremely dangerous place.
Red Cape Hero: "Honestly, just use the Chat Group's teleportation function and bail over to our world. That's all you need to do."
Red Cape Hero: "I'm an official representative. Your situation qualifies you as an Outsider, which comes with excellent benefits."
Ikezawa felt a pang of temptation, but after glancing at Lingsha, who was already resting on the grass mat beside him, he dismissed the idea. Leaving now would be a blatant betrayal of his teammate.
Meanwhile, Lingsha had stopped paying much attention to the group chat shortly after Ikezawa's outburst. Instead, her mind was consumed by the bizarre herbs she had encountered during the day, buzzing with ideas on how to use them to concoct medicines.
The simplest approach, she realized, was to process the herbs using traditional Chinese medicinal techniques. The distinctive, pungent aromas of Chinese herbs would allow her to better discern the effects of each herb at different stages of preparation.
To say she was excited would be an understatement. She felt like a child with a brand-new toy, utterly enthralled. Coupled with the discomfort of the damp mountain cave and the rough grass mat, she couldn't sleep all night.
Fortunately, her stamina far exceeded that of ordinary people. Even after a sleepless night, she remained fully energized. Early the next morning, after the Hunting Team had departed, she rose and ventured deeper into the cave to begin experimenting with the herbs.
"Come to think of it, didn't HSR's plot mention that Crimson Dragon Blood is an incredibly potent medicinal ingredient?" Lingsha mused inwardly. Crimson Dragon Blood... isn't that just my own blood? So, if I added a drop of my blood to the traditional Chinese medicine I'm brewing, could it trigger some miraculous reaction?
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she acted on it. She borrowed an arrow from a Beast-Eared Girl, pricked her finger with the sharp stone arrowhead, squeezed out a single drop of blood, and collected some water from a nearby stream. Her equipment consisted of Granny Xi's old stone mortar, originally used for grinding herbs.
The brewing setup was unbelievably rudimentary, and even the specific method she was using had been learned by Firefly, all the way in the Dragon Nation, through an online search.
Yet as the flames rose and the temperature climbed, a pungent odor wafted from the murky "Chinese medicine" in the bowl. Despite the crude methods, the result vaguely resembled actual pharmaceutical brewing.