17 - Dungeon Growth Log

Originally, Ye Ze had rushed in, sleeves rolled up, intending to heavily thrash the boy. But upon seeing the young man with his eyes covered, he was taken aback. “You…” “Your eyes… What happened?” “Got blinded by Lord Chu from Sword Peak’s radiance.” Xia Ge replied nonchalantly, then grinned, “Little Ze, how do I look now? Handsome?” Ye Ze sneered, “Quit spouting nonsense. Never seen anything uglier.” “Breaking into someone’s house without the owner’s permission, Ye Shi Xiong, this isn’t right.” Ye Ze’s sudden door-kicking entrance made Xia Ge fully experience what it means to smile on the face but curse internally. “……” Ye Ze’s face darkened. “Xia Wu Yin, you owe me an explanation.” Xia Ge sighed and nodded towards the window. “Some brat must’ve poked holes in my window paper. With the moonlight so bright tonight, I can’t sleep.” Ye Ze looked and saw that indeed, several holes were poked through the papered window, allowing the bright moonlight to illuminate the otherwise desolate room. Xia Ge sighed loudly, “I had finally tidied up and was about to rest. Then you come knocking uninvited… and even break into my house, Ye Shi Xiong. Never thought you’d be like this. Lucky I’m not a girl; otherwise, who would compensate for my chastity?” Ye Ze: “……” Xia Ge added earnestly, “Ye Shi Xiong, two nights ago I was caught by the senior brother on the back mountain, spent the whole night yesterday copying the alchemy manual, and now, finally, I can shut my eyes—let's be honest, even if there were sickles on the roof, or knives falling from the sky, I'm not leaving this room tonight!” Ye Ze: “You could go next door.” Xia Ge, expressionless, “I’m picky about my bed.” Ye Ze: “…” What nonsense. Ye Ze wanted to retort about the times he’d found Xia Ge sleeping anywhere, but the words stuck in his throat. Memories both embarrassing and otherwise washed over him. Lowering one's stature, no need to bring up the past. Xia Ge: “Can you leave now?” Finally, Ye Ze left with a dark face, shutting the door behind him. With the door closed, Xia Ge clutched his chest and sighed in relief. Finally tricked that brat out. But clearly, Xia Ge relaxed too soon. “Xia Wu Yin.” From outside came the still annoyed voice of Ye Ze. “Don’t sleep yet, I have something to ask you.” Xia Ge: “……” Won’t you ever stop! “Spit it out if you got something to fart.” Xia Ge fully expressed his impatience. This time, Ye Ze hesitated for a moment. “Are you going to say it or not?” Xia Ge's brow twitched. Even if you're the protagonist, shouldn't you have some sense of timing? Ye Ze finally spoke, bashfully, “Today… during alchemy class, I blew up the furnace…” Xia Ge: “……” Blowing up the furnace essentially means he exploded the alchemy stove. So, it seems Ye Ze really has no talent in alchemy. “Xia Wu Yin.” Leaning against the worn wooden door, Ye Ze slowly sat down, gazing up at the bright moon, his voice carrying a trace of fatigue. “Do you think… I’ll never achieve my lifelong wish?” Xia Ge: “Hmm, maybe.” Ye Ze: “……” For a moment, Ye Ze felt the urge to bust back in and beat the crap out of the shorter-than-average Xia Ge, teaching him what proper conversation is. Ye Ze held back, gritted his teeth, “Xia Wu Yin, has anyone told you that you’re incredibly irritating?” Xia Ge: “Don’t you tell me that every day?” Thus, Xia Ge really wasn’t good at comforting people. Ye Ze: “……” In a foul mood, Ye Ze didn’t want to argue with the brat but also didn’t want to leave. So he fell silent. Sometimes, when a person is feeling low, they just want to be alone. But after being alone for too long, they feel lonely and want someone for comfort. Unfortunately, the person he encountered wasn’t ideal. Ye Ze stayed quietly outside for a while. Inside, Xia Ge was helpless. The protagonist squatting outside like this wasn’t a solution. “Little Ze.” Xia Ge thought for a moment, “No matter what, you’re better off than me now.” Ye Ze slightly moved. “You have to always be better than me if you want me to call you Shi Xiong.” Xia Ge sighed, “Look at you now, so pitiful I don’t even want to acknowledge you.” Ye Ze: “……” Nothing good ever comes out of a dog’s mouth. Ye Ze got up angrily, “You better never call me Shi Xiong again in this life.” Xia Ge: “Is there breakfast tomorrow?” Ye Ze sneered, “I wouldn’t even feed you to dogs.” The sound of the young man's footsteps grew distant, and Xia Ge looked utterly dejected. “Hey, little puppet, am I really that hurtful with my words?” The System enunciated, “You are trash.” Xia Ge: “… Don’t be like that.” Xia Ge hesitantly placed the puppet in place and removed the cloth from his eyes, pulling the door open. The young man hadn’t walked far, moving slowly, each step laden with confusion and despondency. A hundred steps away… just the right distance. Between being influenced and not, the soulful capture—just right. “Hey.” The night brimmed with stars, clear moon and breeze. The young man turned back, bewildered. The youth with the green headband tugged at the yellow cloth strip in his hand. Under the moonlight, his eyes were so bright no color could be discerned, only a glint like stars. “Ye Shi Xiong, pearls don’t stay dirty without effort.” “You’ve just been working in the wrong direction.” Those eyes, bright as stars, held an immense power. “I believe you will become the most dazzling person in all of Lingxi Peak, fulfilling your vow!” Ye Ze was momentarily stunned, then regained his senses, sneering, “From a dog’s mouth… Still spouting nonsense.” “Go back to sleep.” The youth with the green headband gave him a smile, radiant as the moon in the sky, clear as a mountain stream. Ye Ze paused, his voice lowering. “By the way, the senior brother told me… to let you rest well for two days and go to Suxi in three days.” “Got it, thanks for telling me, Shi Xiong!” “… Brat.” That night, the moonlight, stars, and the youth’s clear voice became an unforgettable scene for Ye Ze. So later, every time he recalled it, it pierced his heart. = = Seeing Ye Ze off, Xia Ge sighed in relief, shutting the door and tossing the cloth strip onto the table. Looking at the window paper he had just ruined, he sighed, “Why is it always me who gets hurt…” The System wisely stayed silent. “Forget it, in consideration of my meal ticket… does that mean I don’t have to go to Suxi tomorrow?” System: “You hadn’t planned on going anyway.” Xia Ge chuckled, “Little puppet, at least you understand me.” System: “……” Xia Ge took the little puppet out of his sleeve. The crystal-clear puppet, about the size of a palm, had long, human-like limbs. Under the moonlight, its black stone eyes glowed faintly, and its delicate shoulders were draped with fine black silken hair. It stared silently at him, as if it was gazing into his very being. Gently and steadfastly. Looking at the puppet, Xia Ge tilted his head. … It was like looking at a child. A child that needed love. “What a strange feeling.” Xia Ge remarked, “It’s as if I’m raising a child…” The System replied lazily, “That’s normal. Puppeteers form a psychic bond with the puppets they create. The puppets will absolutely obey your commands, but in return, they will require some of your emotional response.” “Emotional response?” Xia Ge was puzzled, “For a puppet?” A puppet is essentially like a robot, devoid of emotions, right? “Precisely because they lack emotions, they need emotions from others.” The System explained. Xia Ge: “…” Weird logic. “Generally, puppet synthesis will default to drawing emotions from you for the puppet you create.” The System said, “Ensuring your emotions give this little puppet a sense of security, preventing it from turning against you.” “Unlike demonized puppets, normal puppets, once created by their master, will have absolute trust in their puppeteer.” “But you must give your emotions, so it knows you won’t abandon it. Only then will it obey your commands and protect you forever.” “Ah… so every time I make a puppet, I’ll have to invest emotions in it?” Xia Ge asked. “Exactly.” The System replied, “But a person’s emotions are limited. The top puppeteers who can summon thousands of soldiers with a mere gesture don’t invest emotions in each one.” “So, there’s a second method.” “Wise puppeteers will place their emotions in one puppet, and when creating the rest, the puppet imbued with the master’s ‘feelings’ will act as the leader. The rest of the puppets will seek trust and security from this ‘leader’ puppet.” Xia Ge: “Ah, sounds complicated. But if the puppet is the leader, doesn’t it lack emotions itself? How can it lead the others needing ‘emotions’?” The System said, “That’s why all the top puppeteers in the world strive to create a puppet ‘leader’ infused with ‘emotions’.” Xia Ge: “… Don’t change the subject. What’s the downside of creating a puppet ‘leader’ using this method?” "The drawback of using this method is that, once the 'leader' is established, all the puppets created by the puppeteer will absolutely obey the 'leader' and no longer listen to the puppeteer. Moreover, because the 'leader' controls the other puppets, it will also demand a high level of emotional security from its master. If the puppeteer fails to provide this sense of security, the 'leader' may turn against them." "Once the 'leader' turns against you, the puppeteer will be in dire straits." "The more puppets the 'leader' controls, the greater the emotional demand from the master. Therefore, powerful puppeteers can have many puppets, but they usually only have one 'leader'." Xia Ge understood. This meant that the 'leader' was created to manage the puppets for convenience. By investing emotions in the 'leader', they could control the entire puppet army through this single puppet. However, the emotional investment still had to be made by the puppeteer. The System paused, "In my records... five hundred years ago, there was only one puppeteer who created a 'leader' puppet with 'emotions'." Xia Ge raised an eyebrow, "Oh? That’s impressive." "But... it’s terrifying." The System seemed to recall something unsettling, "…Very... terrifying." "Hmm?" The System explained, "That 'leader' puppet developed self-awareness and 'emotions'. It fell in love with its puppeteer." Xia Ge: “That sounds like a plot from a trashy romance novel… Is this story called ‘The Dominant Robot Fell in Love with Me’?” System: “…” To emphasize how terrifying it was, the System lowered its voice, "Later, that puppeteer was imprisoned by the 'leader'. Five hundred years have passed, and their fate remains unknown..." "Oh, that does sound a bit scary." Xia Ge crouched to look at the puppet on the table, showing no interest in trashy romance novels. "Can you move?" She preferred straightforward, gritty cultivation novels over dominant CEO love stories. The Liu Li Little Puppet tilted its small head and blinked its black eyes, then suddenly smiled. …So cute, it's melting! How can it be this adorable!! System: “……” System: “I curse you!” At least show a scared reaction, you jerk! Such a perfunctory attitude! Occasionally, the System needed some sense of accomplishment too!! The System held back and finally came up with a malicious curse, “I curse you to be imprisoned by your own puppet for five hundred years!” “If the girl imprisoning me in a small dark room is this cute, even five million years is no problem.” Xia Ge happily stroked the little puppet’s hair, not at all concerned about the System’s curse. “I’d gladly borrow another five hundred years to stay in a small dark room with a cute girl~” System: “……” This trash. “Hey… by the way, what’s the difference between demonized puppets and regular puppets?” Xia Ge reached out to the little puppet. Under the moonlight, its crystalline body shimmered beautifully. It climbed onto her palm and obediently sat there, combing its hair with its tiny fingers. Xia Ge’s heart skipped a beat. So, so cute… This was her first puppet after all. = = The sky was studded with stars. ——“...I hope that one day...” “...How could you be so cruel?” “...It will hurt, can you bear it...” “Ah—” The heart-wrenching scream seemed to pierce through layers of mist, tearing through a thousand years of time. Gu Pei Jiu suddenly awoke, beads of cold sweat forming on her smooth forehead. The pale moonlight filtered through the green curtains, casting a serene glow over the delicate white porcelain vase on the window lattice, with a branch of peach blossoms looking especially charming. She sat up, her black silk hair cascading over her snow-white shoulders, highlighting her icy, jade-like complexion with a touch of allure. “Miss, did something startle you?” A soft inquiry came from a small figure at the door. Gu Pei Jiu paused and responded in a faint voice, “What time is it?” “Miss, it’s midnight. Miss, you…” She replied, “It’s nothing.” The small figure outside fell silent. Gu Pei Jiu rubbed her temples, her mind flashing to the green headband-wearing young man she had seen by day. Graceful and elegant, he was a fine young man. For some reason, Gu Pei Jiu thought of this phrase, then couldn't help but laugh at herself. Where was such a graceful young man? Just a cunning little fox with ulterior motives. But what was his purpose on Lingxi Peak? Gu Pei Jiu got out of bed, donned her robe, and rolled up the green curtain, letting the gentle moonlight pour in. ——No matter. Lingxi Peak… The girl slightly turned her head, her eyes as dark as onyx falling on the neatly folded robe by her bedside. Under the bright moonlight, the delicately embroidered maple leaves exuded a sense of warmth. As long as this robe was here, she would guard Lingxi Dan Peak. She was the head disciple of Dan Peak, and Dan Peak was her future.