12 - Dungeon Growth Log

"Ahhhh—there’s a monster behind us, ahhhhh—" Xia Ge, regaining her composure, quickly shut her eyes in a terrified pose, clutching tightly to the child. She screamed loudly, “Ahhhh, we're gonna die—help us, ahhhh!” A shrill scream could momentarily break the [Soul Capture] trance, stirring the affected soul to temporarily follow her orders subconsciously! ——They’re shut. Those beautiful eyes, shut tightly. Shut?! Chu Yao suddenly snapped back to awareness, inexplicably anxious. So restless. She wanted... she wanted to see those eyes again. ...Is he calling for help? Save him! ——It's her duty! “Shk—” In an instant, Chu Yao's long sword reversed in her hand, the young girl did not even turn around. Instead, she stared unwaveringly at the green-headband boy trembling like a fool with his eyes shut, clinging to the little girl. Her eyes didn’t blink as her reverse grip on the sword struck straight into the forehead of a demonic puppet with a blue-face fanged mask trying to ambush them! With a slight downward tremor of Chu Yao's long sword, the puppet was split in half from the forehead, collapsing thunderously. Anyone who wants to harm this person... must be killed, no matter who! That thought, like wildfire, raged uncontrollably in her mind. “Hey.” The young girl's voice was slightly lowered. Xia Ge kept her eyes shut tightly, hugging the terrified little girl, her whole body trembling slightly. Is she caught? The puppet's secret technique, [Soul Capture], could control the soul fires of all puppets from grades A to E, as well as human souls from grade A to SS. Human strength could be graded from F to 3S, and souls could be classified in the same way. However, she was just an apprentice puppeteer, temporarily only able to control lower than grade B puppet soul fires and people of similar soul grades. But it would still have some influence on levels A to 3S. Jianfeng's sword cultivators primarily focused on strength and swordsmanship, rarely studying soul arts. So this Jianfeng girl... definitely got hit just now! Being controlled currently is fine, but once she comes to in a few days, Xia Ge would be done for!! Damn! But the only fortunate thing was that this person probably didn’t know who she was. Xia Ge's brain worked quickly. Her [Soul Capture] was seldom used, not very proficient, and probably wouldn’t affect the other party for long. She gave the order to “save,” which corresponded to issuing a command. Given her current level and the other party’s strength, she should no longer be influenced once this single “command” was fulfilled. Calm down, Xia Ge, calm down. Xia Ge slowly composed herself. ——Just one stunning glance. Chu Yao tried to speak in her softest voice, but what came out sounded more like a command, "You, open your... open your eyes." Even though she longed to see more, how could she manage? Seeing that dwarf's face reminded her inevitably of last night... Thinking of everything that happened to her chest last night. Chu Yao: "..." Can’t be gentle at all. Xia Ge: “...” She wasn’t dumb! Seeing she didn’t respond, Chu Yao settled her mind and tried to coax him: “...Open your eyes, I'll show you some magic." Chu Yao thought, no matter how cheeky, it's just a kid. Xia Ge: “...” Hey… this kind of idiotic conversation would only deceive a child, right? She had just tricked the six-year-old girl in her arms three seconds ago, and the kid hadn’t fallen for it. But never mind, spinning tales with eyes open or closed, she was a pro at both! Xia Ge: "Sister... you’re really cool! But the cape that just flew over seemed to scratch my eyes... I’m blinded by your coolness, can't quite open them..." ...Scratched by a cape? Blinded by coolness, can’t open? What kind of hogwash was that? Before Chu Yao could reply, Li Liu suddenly shouted, “Danger—” This time, quite a few demonic puppets had attacked the village, but in Chu Yao's eyes, they were mere trash. “Forget it.” Eyeing the mindless puppets charging at them, Chu Yao had no time for the fibbing boy. She elegantly twirled her long sword and reached to pat the head of the stunned little girl in Xia Ge’s arms. Her gaze inadvertently brushed over Xia Ge’s blue headband, “This little guy won't watch, but you better watch closely. I rarely perform magic for anyone—” The little girl, with hollow eyes, stared at the demonic puppets rushing at Chu Yao like insurmountable peaks, her pupils narrowing to pinpoints, overtaken by despair in an instant. Chu Yao turned back and beamed at the girl, showing her sharp tiger tooth. Her almond eyes, light brown, gleamed in the last rays of the sunset. “Remember, this trick is called—” The young girl slightly raised the tip of her sword, targeting the rushing demonic puppets, and swept it lightly! “Shhh—” All the puppets came to a halt. Xia Ge, still with eyes shut, wasn’t sure what had happened. But in the [Soul Capture] state, she was acutely sensitive to puppet soul fires. Right now, all the puppet soul fires were extinguished. Xia Ge’s calm and composed expression cracked for a moment. …She had thought the Jianfeng rescuers might be impressive, perhaps incredibly so. But not this strong! An oppressive silence. Countless scythes clashed and were rebuffed by sword energy, and surging killing intent enveloped the surroundings! Under the endless afterglow of the setting sun, amidst the dazzling sword energy, the young girl’s voice held a hint of smile and vitality. “One sword, sundering mountains and rivers.” The slashing sword energy, dangerously intimidating, made everyone instinctively step back, including Li Liu and the surrounding outer sect disciples, as the charging puppets halted in their tracks, scythes slipping from their grasps. When Chu Yao finished her words, their bodies disintegrated swiftly, fragmented. The wreckage of the puppets fell like rain, cut effortlessly by sword light under the setting sun, mingling with the orange hue, condensing into a single point of light in the hollow eyes of the bun-haired girl. It pierced through the infinite darkness, heralding the dawn of hope. “…” In the wake of stunned silence, the villagers’ murmurs began, “...Is it over?” “It’s over!!” “No wonder… it wouldn’t have mattered if no one else came, Master Chu alone is enough!" “With just one sword…” “Isn’t this Master Chu's renowned ‘one sword to sunder mountains and rivers’ already honed to such a level? How delightful!” “What incredible strength! Master Chu is surely the top contender of this Jianfeng Ling inquiry! The title of Jianfeng’s first disciple is within reach!!” “Indeed, heroes emerge at a young age!” “…” Li Liu glanced at the green-headband boy, still squatting and hugging the little girl tightly, covered in dirt. In a daze, he uttered the interrupted sentence. ——“But…” ——“You’re just a kid too.” However, the other party clearly couldn’t hear his thoughts. He closed his eyes for a moment, reining in complex emotions, then remembered what was underfoot. Looking down, Li Liu realized he’d stepped on a half-wrapped sesame seed pancake. Originally golden and crisp, it was now covered in dirt and further smeared by his anxious fidgeting. Rather... pitiful. This pancake seemed... However, before he could think further, a loud yell abruptly pierced the air, “Ahhh—” Li Liu was startled and looked up, seeing the green-headband boy holding the little girl with a face full of despair— “Damn, where’s my pancake?!!”