8 - Dungeon Growth Log

Xia Ge hesitated for two seconds between being a slave to the beautiful elder sister and continuing to copy the Dan prescriptions in the gloomy confinement chamber. Xia Ge: "Then, the Liuli Wood..." Gu Pei Jiu asked, "Since you don't need to take the exam, why do you still want the Liuli Wood?" Why wouldn't she want the Liuli Wood just because she wasn’t taking the exam? That's a lot of silver! Evidently, Gu Pei Jiu didn’t realize that her question had hit on Xia Ge's sore spot. As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Xia Ge's eyes widen in outrage. "Who said I'm not taking the exam?! How can I not take the exam?! If I do that, wouldn’t it be obvious that I'm relying on my looks to get through the back door?! I, Xia Wu Yin, walk the straight path and sit with integrity. How could I let people think of me like that?!" "And besides, isn’t Liuli Wood equivalent to silver?!" Gu Pei Jiu: "..." That’s the real issue here, huh? Xia Ge clearly had no shame. "Elder Sister, you also said that Danfeng disciples live by their integrity. Tell me honestly... are you coveting my beauty?" Gu Pei Jiu was speechless for a moment. Rarely did she seriously scrutinize the young man before her, who claimed to be endowed with beauty, upright and staunch, afraid of having his innocence sullied... Black hair trailing down like all Danfeng disciples, bound with a hairband at the end. However, while Danfeng disciples traditionally marked themselves with red, wearing the simple clothes of Danfeng disciples with pride, even the outer disciples who could only wear coarse cloth would tie a red ribbon at the end to denote their identity as Danfeng disciples. For some reason, this one had a green ribbon instead of red. Since it was tied at the end of his hair, two casual strands of hair hung loosely on either side of his face. Wearing the standard coarse cloth of an outer disciple, he had a dragon-shaped jade pendant hanging on his waist like a graceful gentleman. Yet, the right corner of the jade pendant seemed to have been gnawed off and was missing. The only part that could be considered praiseworthy was thus inexplicably ruined. Normally, hanging a beautiful dragon-shaped jade pendant would make one look like a fine gentleman, but his looked more like it had been scavenged, a poor imitation that was a pitiful sight. The only part barely worth looking at was a delicate and clear face that would blend into a crowd unnoticed. Eyes a bit like a cat's—seeming pitiful when wide open—otherwise unremarkable, but when narrowed, they revealed a crafty, cat-like cunning. Uncomfortable under her scrutiny, Xia Ge hummed a few times and emphasized, "...Anyhow, I’m not the type to use my looks to get ahead!" Gu Pei Jiu considered for a moment and gave a blunt truth. "Young Master Xia, to be honest, I don’t see any beauty in you at all." To emphasize that she saw him as a man and not a disciple or child, Gu Pei Jiu deliberately used a respectful term. She thought this would surely be a blow to the young man's ego. Considering this, Gu Pei Jiu felt a bit uneasy and began to prepare herself to offer some comforting words. But she still underestimated his shamelessness. Xia Ge, with a pained expression: "Elder Sister, I know I’m good-looking. You’ve also said that Danfeng disciples live by their integrity, so why say such a blatant lie against your conscience?" Gu Pei Jiu: "..." For some reason, Gu Pei Jiu had a nagging feeling that this brat was mocking the concept of 'integrity' upheld by Danfeng. A cunning little mouse. From her sleeve, she pulled out a piece of Liuli Wood and tossed it onto the only pearwood table left next to Xia Ge. "I never lie." Xia Ge’s eyes instantly lit up. Gu Pei Jiu noticed and felt, for some unfathomable reason, that the left eye held "poverty" while the right eye sparkled with "wealth." "If you’re determined to take the Danfeng entrance exam, I have no objections. But remember," Gu Pei Jiu said with a blank face, "You must pass the exam. If not..." Xia Ge reluctantly tore her gaze away from the Liuli Wood, grinning, "I absolutely must pass? So harsh?" "This was your own decision," Gu Pei Jiu said coldly. "I’m giving you a chance. If you fail the exam—" The next moment, Xia Ge suddenly felt a powerful killing intent surrounding her! Her pupils tightened, and her hand under the coarse cloth instinctively clenched as she barely restrained her reflex to fight back— The girl's voice was icy, "I don't care what your intentions are for mingling in Danfeng; I won’t let you stay." "You’ll have two paths." "Leave Danfeng, or spend your life copying the Dan Prescriptions." Xia Ge, realizing it was only a threat, allowed herself to relax slightly. She coughed, "Why so harsh... Elder Sister, you really scared me." Gu Pei Jiu looked at her, face expressionless. Xia Ge casually picked up the Liuli Wood from the table, pinching herself hard under her wide sleeves, making her eyes slightly red and her voice aggrieved: "What motives could I have... I really want to get into Danfeng. Ye Ze, who came with me, got in, and I want to wear the Danfeng robes and call him Senior Brother too... But I’m poor, and I really have no talent in alchemy..." [Ding! Obtained Liuli Wood from the back mountain!] Pretending to be pitiful, Xia Ge heard the system’s prompt and felt elated. Looks like it's genuine; the Elder Sister didn’t discard it for being stolen goods and replaced it. Not bad, genuine item—level up, here I come! Hmm? Taking the Danfeng exam? That's nonsense. Why should she take it? She was obviously not good at alchemy and would never pass it. With the Liuli Wood in hand and a level up, copying Dan Prescriptions forever wouldn’t be so bad. As long as she held onto the male protagonist's leg tightly, Senior Brother Ye would feed her, give her drinks, and she wouldn’t need to beg. Occasionally, she could even have a little drink, still enjoying all the welfare of being an outer disciple at Danfeng. Why bother taking the exam to serve others? Even if the one she would be serving was a beautiful Elder Sister—no way! Gu Pei Jiu stared at the tearful sly mouse, feeling that she was scheming something again. While Xia Ge shed her crocodile tears, calculating her delightful prospects, the melodious voice of Gu Pei Jiu rang out. “No matter.” Xia Ge looked up, her tear-filled eyes meeting the elder sister's dark pupils. Hmm? No matter what? “If you can’t, I can teach you.” —“Until you know how.” Xia Ge: "..." "Teach... what?" Xia Ge stammered for a moment, then belatedly asked. The delightful vision of her future was just unfolding... and it seemed to be abruptly cut short. The beautiful girl in Danfeng robes gazed at her, enunciating each word clearly. "Alchemy." Xia Ge: "..." No... Elder Sister, wouldn’t you, being the pinnacle disciple of Danfeng, be super busy... with lots of responsibilities? How do you have the time to teach this unmotivated slacker?! Shock! Xia Ge tried to dissuade her terrifying plan with her self-professed lack of talent, "Elder Sister, to be honest, I'm really dull-witted in this..." Gu Pei Jiu bent down to pick up the clothes charm Xia Ge had fatally struck and the female corpse possessed by the charm, glancing at her meaningfully, "Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re remarkably gifted." "Come to Shuxi at noon tomorrow. I'll teach you alchemy." With that, she turned to leave. With her back to Xia Ge— Xia Ge's expression stiffened. Elder Sister... It seemed... she had exposed something. {Little Puppet, reconnaissance} The wide sleeve of her cloth garment brushed over the scattered wood fragments on the table as Xia Ge slightly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Gu Pei Jiu's back. A flash of red appeared in her dark pupils. With her back turned... it seemed like a chance to kill her— [Ding! Reconnaissance activated! Name: Gu Pei Jiu Identity: Senior disciple of Danfeng Age: 16 Overall Strength: SS Beauty: SSS Height: 178 Weapon: Unknown Specific Rank: Unknown Specific Skills: Unknown Soul Detection: ...beep, beep... malfunctioning... beep...] Xia Ge: "..." Damn system! How can you malfunction when gathering data?! So embarrassing! [Ding! Soul detection failed. Here is the result of the available data comparison! Host, please check!] {...Wait, cancel that comparison!} [Host Age: 13 Level: 10 Rank: Puppet Apprentice Overall Strength: E Beauty (current): None (Ugly) Height: 156 Skills: {Ghostly Mist}, {Soul Captivation}, {One-Hit Kill} Weapon: None Incomplete data of the opponent, unable to compare!] The system thoughtfully provided a green data chart beside Gu Pei Jiu, with the humiliating comparison in one image, impossible to ignore. But what was worse, hurting Xia Ge the most, was that while all other text was green, her beauty and strength were highlighted in red, boldened. Her meager strength of E was pitiful against Gu Pei Jiu’s SS, and her ‘None’ for beauty being crushed by Gu Pei Jiu’s SSS. Xia Ge: "..." Damn system! Damn system!! And what's with the 'None (Ugly)' note in the beauty section?! Am I ugly?! Am I?! [Ding! Friendly reminder: Host, stick to your path and reach for the stars. Avoid recklessness, act within your limits.] Though inwardly grumbling, Xia Ge quickly assessed her own strength compared to this master sister who was clutching the clothes charm—and considered the chances of executing a one-hit kill along with the potential consequences. There was no doubt; this suddenly-arriving senior sister had already started to suspect her. It didn’t matter what she was suspected of. The fact was, she had drawn attention to herself. With this scrutiny, the risk of having her puppet techniques—something the system urged her to practice—discovered had increased dramatically. If anyone found out that she was practicing puppet techniques, it would mean certain death! Puppet techniques were absolutely forbidden and outlawed on the Wind and Moon Continent! This senior sister, merely sixteen years old, possessed an SS-level strength as rated by the system. Xia Ge tilted her head in frustration—it was no wonder she had lost so badly in the back mountain. Now the choice lay before her: should she continue to muddle through under this prodigious senior sister, cautiously treading as if on thin ice, or should she strike now and flee, wandering the earth? With E-level strength against SS-level, it’s naturally a losing battle, but with her ultimate move, a kill wasn’t entirely out of the question. However, on further thought, the disadvantages far outweighed the benefits... "Xia Wu Yin." The girl, clutching the clothes charm, halted her steps, still with her back to Xia Ge. Her clear, cold voice rang out. Xia Ge was slightly taken aback. "Remember, while Danfeng disciples live by integrity..." Under the wavering moonlight, casting a forlorn glow, the girl turned her head slightly, her picturesque features coming into view. "I also hope that every disciple can live the way they want to." (Note: The word "Danfeng" in this translation references a specific location or sect and has been capitalized for proper noun usage.)