26 - Dungeon Growth Log

The girl in the red and white maple-patterned dress stood up, walked over to Xia Ge, and picked up the alchemy book that Xia Ge had tossed aside. Her slender, fair fingers turned to the page on [Vitality Pills], “Which one?” A cool, soothing sandalwood fragrance spread through the air. Xia Ge's face flushed red as she pointed to the item beneath [Glazed Wood]. [Zhe Mu] Gu Pei Jiu's voice was clear as she pronounced each character slowly and distinctly, “Zhe (zhe) Mu.” The girl’s sandalwood fragrance beside her was warm and gentle. Xia Ge sheepishly scratched the back of her head, “Oh, Zhe Mu, Zhe Mu... I’ve got it.” The system interjected with a derisive comment, “Oh dear, Zhe Mu, eh? Bright student.” Xia Ge: “…” Can this system be uninstalled? Seriously. Gu Pei Jiu asked, “Anything else?” Xia Ge pointed to the item below [Zhe Mu], [Jie Zi], “...this one.” “‘Jie (jie)’” “…” Gu Pei Jiu helped Xia Ge pronounce all the material names one by one until she was confident Xia Ge could read them herself. Then Gu Pei Jiu handed the alchemy book back to Xia Ge and coolly said, “Stay here and study. Don’t wander off. I’m going to get the materials.” After giving her instructions, Gu Pei Jiu left the alchemy pavilion. Xia Ge held onto the alchemy book, staring at the slender figure of the girl in red and white until she felt utterly hopeless. ...how embarrassing. Living to such an age, yet needing a 16-year-old girl to teach her how to read. She looked around; the alchemy pavilion at Liuxi had always been sparsely populated, and since the senior sister was the main disciple managing the area, one word from her was enough to keep everyone else out. The power of privilege. Tsk-tsk, reflecting for a moment, Xia Ge nonchalantly tossed the alchemy book aside. Those characters might be unusual, but she wasn’t stupid. She’d remember them after going through them once. After setting the book aside, Xia Ge retrieved a few green hawthorns, unripe green dates, and mulberries from her pocket. Hesitating briefly over the green fruits, she picked out a mulberry. The system commented, “That doesn't look ripe…” Xia Ge tossed the mulberry into her mouth, “Mm, the hawthorns aren’t ready to eat. I'll let them ripen. This mulberry still tastes a bit tart…” The system remarked, “These hawthorns are too green.” Xia Ge responded, “I could only find a few red ones earlier.” And she gave those to the senior sister, who didn’t even acknowledge them. Overall, a sad mood. The system snorted, “You were overly nice for no reason; how could your intentions not be suspicious?” Xia Ge felt wronged, “How can you say that? This time, I was genuinely thanking her!” As she spoke, she mistakenly bit into a green hawthorn instead of a mulberry. The discrepancy in size alerted her, but she still bit down out of habit. “Crunch.” Xia Ge spat it out immediately, jumping up three feet, “Whoa, sour! It’s so sour! My teeth are going to fall out!” The system: “…” Should it feel pity? Why doesn’t it feel any pity at all… Xia Ge found a cup of water to rinse her mouth, staring woefully at the green fruit in her arms, “Why is this stuff so hard to eat…” “Then put them down.” At the sound of the voice, Xia Ge instinctively stuffed the fruits into her clothes and grabbed the discarded alchemy book, pretending to study diligently, “Haha, senior sister, I’m reading... You came back so quickly?” The girl in the red and white outfit stood there with a basket, her eyes as cool and dark as onyx, watching Xia Ge silently. A green hawthorn rolled out from Xia Ge’s clothes, falling to the wooden floor. It bounced a couple of times and rolled to the girl’s feet. Xia Ge's smile froze for a moment. The air became unbearably still. The girl placed the material bundle from her basket on the redwood table, bent down to pick up the green fruit, and then looked at Xia Ge’s bulging clothes, “Throw them away.” “…” Xia Ge bundled up the fruits and pretended not to hear, “Ah, did you bring the materials, senior sister?” Gu Pei Jiu paused, and the green hawthorn still had a trace of warmth between her fingers. She gave a quiet “Mm” and nonchalantly put the green hawthorn into her sleeve before lifting the cloth covering the basket. Xia Ge took a deep breath, finally noticing the basket held about five or six freshly steamed buns. The cloth lifted, releasing a rich fragrance. Xia Ge’s eyes lit up immediately. “It was my oversight; I forgot you hadn’t eaten yet.” Gu Pei Jiu looked at the boy in rough clothes who was still clutching wild fruits, and an inexplicable feeling rose in her heart. If... he were to wear the plain garments of Danfeng, this child would look even better. So thin. “Throw those away.” Though her heart wavered slightly, her expression remained unmoved. Gu Pei Jiu’s voice remained indifferent, “Throw them away and come eat.” Grateful for the food given! Anyone who feeds is a benefactor! Xia Ge swiftly tossed the half-ripe wild fruits into a nearby wastepaper basket, and with the alchemy book in hand, sprinted over to the girl, “Thank you, senior sister!” “Xia Wu Yin, stop picking unripe fruits,” Gu Pei Jiu said, recalling the warm red hawthorns in her palm earlier. “...When you’re hungry, you need to say something.” Xia Ge nibbled at the meaty, juicy bun like a kitten, responding swiftly, “Senior sister, I’m hungry—so hungry that I can skip pill refining today?” The system: “…” What’s the logical connection between being hungry and not refining pills? Obviously none. Gu Pei Jiu stared at Xia Wu Yin, who claimed to be very hungry yet hadn’t even finished half a bun, “You have half a stick of incense time to finish. Then we start.” Xia Ge: “…” qaq Gu Pei Jiu: “Also, don’t throw wild fruits into the wastepaper basket. It’s for wastepaper.” Xia Ge pecked at the bun, “...Okay.” Gu Pei Jiu: “Xia Wu Yin, your alchemy book is upside down.” Xia Ge: “Senior sister... I’m eating.” “Then don’t eat and hold a book at the same time.” Xia Ge: “I…” The girl in the red and white dress was expressionless, her tone flat, “Xia Wu Yin.” Xia Ge: “…Okay.” ...How can anyone be this meticulous!? Give back those red hawthorns, you jerk! = = While Xia Ge focused on refining pills, Gu Pei Jiu was called away by a white-clad pupil, clad in mourning attire. It seemed something urgent required the three peak’s main disciples to discuss at the council hall of Lingsi Peak. Perhaps it had something to do with the thousand-corpse entourage of the demon cult that surrounded the village yesterday. Regardless, it seemed none of this involved her, Xia Ge, in any significant way. However… Before leaving, the girl in the red and white dress cast her a glance and left two sentences. “Xia Wu Yin, follow the method I taught you.” “You may dispose of any excess materials accordingly.” Whether intentionally or not, Xia Ge found herself with three sets of materials. Using the method taught by her senior sister, Xia Ge managed to blow up the alchemy furnace three times, leaving with two hideously unattractive black pills. The first time, she didn’t even catch sight of what the Vitality Pill looked like as the furnace turned to ash instantly. The second and third times, at least there were intact remnants amidst the thick ashes. After the third explosion, Xia Ge realized the profound wisdom behind her senior sister leaving her three sets of materials. Staring at the two hideously black pills in her hands, Xia Ge touched her chin, “System.” “Hmm?” “Just like how every chef hopes for their food to be praised, every doctor hopes to save their dying patients, and every artist hopes their work is appreciated by like-minded people—” The system: “...Can you speak plainly?” Xia Ge snapped her fingers, “I think the extraordinary pills I’ve refined should be shared with someone who can truly appreciate them.” …No such person exists. The system: “Remember, you are a disciple of Lingsi Peak.” Xia Ge: “Hmm?” What about being a disciple of Lingsi Peak? The system: “So remember, do not commit robbery and murder.” Xia Ge was incredulous: “How is that robbery and murder! I’ve refined the Spring Restoration Pill!” The system: “…” Wasn’t it supposed to be the Vitality Pill?! After a pause, the system tried to reason, “Your pill is too ugly; no one will eat it.” Xia Ge touched her chin, “I think so too… Hey, when I was browsing your points mall earlier, besides the buns from Jinjiang Bun Shop, there didn’t seem to be anything else worth buying… You mentioned there were new cheap stock items recently. Are there any I can afford?” The system, slightly dazed by her abrupt change in topic, replied, “There are.” Xia Ge immediately opened the points mall, the green screen visible only to herself. She sorted by price range from 0 to 15 points and hit search. A slew of small miscellaneous items instantly displayed before her. Ranking first was the 15-point Jinjiang Bun Shop buns. Xia Ge: “…” Why does she feel an inexplicable dislike for those buns? She switched the sorting to descending order. This time, the first-ranked item was a 1-point product. Xia Ge stared at the top-ranked Seven-x Space sanitary napkins and fell into deep contemplation. A sanitary napkin costing only 1 point... This offbeat item being so cheap seems a bit illogical for the points mall, doesn’t it? The system explained quietly, “To accommodate your convenience, the price for sanitary napkins has been specially adjusted.” Xia Ge: “...Oh.” Unfortunately, this body of hers was too young and malnourished, not yet matured, so this cheap item really had no use for her right now. Xia Ge scrolled through the list for a while. Even though fifteen points wasn’t much, there were a lot of strange things for sale. Things like the “Mary Sue Holy Water” that could make objects and people emit a colorful holy glow, the “Burst Potential Gun” which gives you immense potential for a minute after being shot, and the “Paper Pill” that turned you into a paper slip for three minutes... Xia Ge was visibly excited. “These all look pretty fun…” The system ruthlessly doused her enthusiasm, “For long-term considerations, I suggest you save up points for sanitary napkins. Friendly reminder, with your current wealth, you can only buy fifteen pieces.” Xia Ge: “…” “Ah, whatever. What time is it? Is Ye Ze out of class yet?” The system: “...What are you planning?” Xia Ge, looking very concerned, pulled out the “peerless alchemy pill” from her pocket, “It’s been a day; he’s probably hungry by now.” “Host, if the male lead dies, this world will collapse.” With a look of genuine regret, Xia Ge tucked the Vitality Pill back into her pocket, “Ah, what a pity.” The system: “…” You really did plan to feed that to Ye Ze just now, didn’t you… “Alas, a true friend is hard to find, a soulmate even rarer to encounter in one’s lifetime.” With a wistful sigh, Xia Ge took a turn and headed down the mountain path, intending to take a shortcut back to the village. After only a few steps, she suddenly heard a sharp, sarcastic laugh not far away. “A lowly Danfeng disciple, deserved to be trampled underfoot!” Xia Ge, an outer disciple of Danfeng, thought: “…” Author’s Note: Hmm, I bought a lot of jelly today, feeling super happy, so here are a few thousand words for you to enjoy =w= Let’s all have a happy weekend together~ Come on, praise me, praise me! Second update at 11:30~ Love you all. = = 卧听南窗雨 threw a landmine at 23:17:19 on 2018-05-25 洛洛清秋 threw a landmine at 02:51:36 on 2018-05-26 洛洛清秋 threw a landmine at 02:53:40 on 2018-05-26 Thanks for your landmines, big guys~ = = Reader “单偶” irrigated with 5 nutrient solutions at 15:29:44 on 2018-05-26 Reader “戏精” irrigated with 1 nutrient solution at 12:20:30 on 2018-05-26 Reader “犹大的时代” irrigated with 10 nutrient solutions at 11:16:59 on 2018-05-26 Reader “淼淼大人” irrigated with 20 nutrient solutions at 10:46:52 on 2018-05-26 Reader “1” irrigated with 11 nutrient solutions at 10:26:25 on 2018-05-26 Reader “未寻” irrigated with 2 nutrient solutions at 10:00:56 on 2018-05-26 Reader “糯糯” irrigated with 10 nutrient solutions at 09:12:10 on 2018-05-26 Reader “安琪的铲屎官” irrigated with 1 nutrient solution at 05:43:29 on 2018-05-26 Reader “洛洛清秋” irrigated with 10 nutrient solutions at 02:53:40 on 2018-05-26 Reader “顾月笙笙” irrigated with 12 nutrient solutions at 00:40:56 on 2018-05-26 Reader “” irrigated with 5 nutrient solutions at 00:12:58 on 2018-05-26 Reader “苏麻花” irrigated with 3 nutrient solutions at 00:10:14 on 2018-05-26 Reader “135” irrigated with 10 nutrient solutions at 00:01:47 on 2018-05-26 Reader “团成一团” irrigated with 1 nutrient solution at 23:17:26 on 2018-05-25 Thank you, big guys, for the nutrient solutions qaq, love you all