33 - Dungeon Growth Log

Xia Ge opened her eyes, and instead of the steamed buns she expected to see, a maiden was elegantly standing before her, gazing at her serenely. The maiden’s red and white robe was strikingly vivid, her black eyes, accentuated by a red hairband, were as deep as stones. Her lips, though untouched, were a natural crimson. Those eyes were now reflecting Xia Ge’s half-exposed face as she lay sprawled on her book. Her face... Wait, her face? Xia Ge jerked her head up from the book, exclaiming, "Senior Sister!" However, the ink on her face had already dried from her book, and with a sharp motion, she tore the book in half. "Rip—" The sound of the pages tearing was crisp and clear. "Thud." The book fell onto the table. Xia Ge, with half her face stuck to a page, was at a loss for words: "..." Is there a hole in the ground? If not, is there still time to dig one? Flustered, Xia Ge ripped the page off her face and awkwardly said, "Senior Sister, you’ve come so early today..." Gu Pei Jiu glanced at the sunlight streaming through the wide window of the Dan Pavilion without a word. Xia Ge, maintaining her composure, continued, "Senior Sister, the weather is quite nice today, haha." Those last two words carried an unmistakable awkwardness. Glancing at the half-torn page in Xia Ge's hand, Gu Pei Jiu covered a basket with a white cloth, "Go wash your face." "Yes, yes, I'll go right away." Just outside was a creek, and Xia Ge dashed to it hastily, using the water's reflective surface. ...Who is that? Who was the person with a face full of black characters? Is that really her? No, it can't be her!! Where was her incredibly handsome face? Who was this ugly person? That definitely wasn't her in front of Senior Sister just now! This person wasn't her! This person with a face full of black characters wasn't her at all! The system chimed in, "…Are you awake now?" Xia Ge: "..." Accepting reality, Xia Ge knelt by the creek and began scrubbing the ink off her face until it was clean. Staring blankly at the black water flowing downstream, Xia Ge finally felt awake. This meant that all the notes she had been writing down early this morning had ended up on her face instead of the Dan book. Wonderful. “Why did I fall asleep...” Xia Ge listened painfully to the questions coming from her soul. The system offered a subtle reminder, "Host, yesterday you were digging for twenty sanitary pads behind the mountain." Xia Ge: "…” Alright, alright, she got it. No need to keep reminding her. After tidying up her clothes by the creek, Xia Ge felt that at least the boy in the reflection looked decent and then silently returned to the Dan Pavilion. Upon stepping inside, Xia Ge, her face tense, cast an occasional glance at the steamed buns on Gu Pei Jiu’s table, "Senior Sister." Gu Pei Jiu did not move, she simply kept looking at Xia Ge without uttering a single word. Xia Ge: "..." Senior Sister, sometimes communication between people requires a bit of subtlety. It's an art... Didn’t Senior Sister see her yearning gaze at the steamed buns? Apparently not. Gu Pei Jiu merely tilted her head slightly and glanced at Xia Ge, seemingly puzzled as to why she was standing at the door rather than coming inside. Gentle sunlight highlighted the snow-white skin of the girl, and under her long eyelashes, her obsidian eyes reflected Xia Ge standing at the entrance. She seemed aloof and detached from the mundane world, yet the vivid red added a touch of warmth and humanity. ——Xia Ge, people are different; some are like grindstones, you have to push them to get what you want; others communicate subtly, often because they pride themselves on being clever and are outwardly proud. When they do things quietly for you, you must recognize it without pointing it out. ——Xia Wu Yin, if you’re hungry, say so. "Senior Sister, I'm hungry." Almost involuntarily, Xia Ge blurted it out. ... Instead of feeling ashamed, she felt a sense of rightful expectation. Senior Sister must be the first type of person. Upon hearing this, the girl in the red and white robe paused and then slightly smiled. "Come and eat." "Hehe." Xia Ge darted over, "Thank you, Senior Sister, for bringing me food again today. I promise to study hard and strive to become an outstanding disciple of Danfeng!" The system chuckled, "If you visited the back mountain less, your Senior Sister might be less worried." Xia Ge meticulously devoured the bun: {Shut up.} While watching Xia Ge eat her bun, Gu Pei Jiu slightly frowned, "Xia Wu Yin, that is not the right way to eat a bun." Nibbling at it cautiously as if it were a candy that would be gone once finished, she looked like a small bird that could be frightened at any moment. "...Ah, I’m used to it. I’ll change now." Xia Ge snapped out of it and tried to speed up. “It’s good if you change, no problem.” Gu Pei Jiu replied, casting a glance at the Dan book that Xia Ge's face had torn, before pausing slightly, "Very good." "…Huh?" Xia Ge, while holding the half-eaten bun, looked at her puzzledly. “You did very well.” Gu Pei Jiu said, "The notes were thorough." The system quipped, "I think your Senior Sister just wants to ask why you've suddenly changed your ways..." Focusing on the key point, Xia Ge remarked, "I also think I was pretty diligent." If only it hadn’t ended up on my face. Receiving praise for the first time, Xia Ge felt a bit happy. "Finish eating and then start refining." "Mm!" As Xia Ge was finishing her bun, Gu Pei Jiu picked up a dossier and turned a page. Pausing slightly as she read the contents, she looked back at Xia Ge, who had just appeared: "The entry exam is in six days. Before then, Lingxi Danfeng will be recruiting disciples from various villages. Those who will take the entry exam will not only include the current outer disciples but also others. Only six will be selected as true inner disciples." Xia Ge paused slightly while eating her bun. The system sighed, "Oh, it seems this time the difficulty is a bit high." Previously, Danfeng required only the successful refining of the Bigu Pill to admit new disciples. Why had they suddenly raised the bar? Xia Ge didn’t quite understand. "They're different." Gu Pei Jiu immediately saw Xia Ge's confusion, "Inner disciples have ranks too. The quality of the Bigu Pill can roughly estimate a disciple's aptitude for refining." "The disciples who can freely enter and leave each peak and the Dan Pavilion are the true inner disciples," Gu Pei Jiu explained methodically, "like Ye Ze." Xia Ge: "..." She acknowledged Ye Ze as a genuine inner disciple, but did he really have talent for refining? Stupefied. Nonetheless, Xia Ge began to grasp her meaning. In Gu Pei Jiu's eyes, only the top six in the entry competition could be considered inner disciples, those like Ye Ze who stood out. "Xia Wu Yin," Gu Pei Jiu continued, "if you are not among those six, I will not acknowledge you." Xia Ge was stunned. What did she mean by not acknowledge? "I won't acknowledge that you passed the exam. You will remain an outer disciple." The girl in the red and white robe stated plainly yet incisively, "Our Danfeng inner sect does not accept those who clearly could give their all but constantly hold back." The system mocked, "Host, you were seen through immediately, your acting is really poor, low rating." Xia Ge: "…” Please just shut up, I beg you. Finishing her last bun, Xia Ge always found that a full stomach brought a deep sense of security. Even the anxiety of being seen through dissipated as her belly filled. The boy with green hairband squinted his eyes and smiled. "Let's start, Senior Sister." Gazing at the bright morning light outside the window, Xia Ge thought of Ye Ze's exhausted tone from the previous day. ——Pass the entry exam. ——She had indeed been seen through. But it was indeed time to make an effort. So there was nothing to panic about. Kindling the flame under the golden pill furnace, Xia Ge began to prepare the materials. She noticed that there were once again more fragments of Liuli Wood than required. Xia Ge used a small knife to trim off the excess, "Senior Sister, there's too much Liuli Wood again." Gu Pei Jiu, engrossed in her dossier, responded naturally, "Keep the extra for yourself." "Oh." Arranging the materials, Xia Ge rolled up her sleeves, "Senior Sister, if I refine the highest quality Bigu Pill, can I skip remedial classes?" Gu Pei Jiu paused slightly, "Mm." Xia Ge hesitated, rolling up her sleeves: "..." Skipping remedial classes felt good, but that would mean no more free breakfast. ... Well, Ye Ze was leaving Danfeng, and she had a lot to prepare too. No time to be wasted on refining pills. Dragon jade, puppets, and clues for Zhenhun. The only pity was missing out on Senior Sister's steamed buns every morning and that gorgeous face. Such a pretty face, one that makes you feel shy just by looking at it. No wonder the system rated it a 3s beauty. With the intense heat of the furnace enveloping her, Xia Ge squinted slightly and began to drop the materials in, piece by piece. "Two parts of Zhe wood." "Three parts of Liuli wood." After a brief pause, about three seconds, Xia Ge continued tossing materials into the furnace. "Three ounces of silver carbon..." "..." Gu Pei Jiu's writing stopped momentarily, and she glanced sidewards at Xia Ge. The boy with a green hairband had a playful smile at the corner of his lips, but his dark eyes were lit by the furnace's fire. He gazed at the pill furnace, and the fire in his eyes looked almost like faith. For the first time, Gu Pei Jiu saw Xia Wu Yin like this. A serious Xia Wu Yin. After throwing in all the materials, he sat cross-legged in front of the furnace. His ink-colored hair flickered with beautiful red hues under the furnace's light. He closed his eyes and slightly gestured with his bandaged left hand. Gu Pei Jiu's brush accidentally left a small ink mark on the document— A pill incantation? This little rogue actually used a pill incantation? She had mentioned it before, and it was in the Dan book, but using it required some talent. Unexpectedly... Pills could be classified into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystical, and Mortal. Only those graded Earth and above required a pill incantation. Regardless of their grade, every pill could be further categorized into three qualities: low, medium, and high. Previously, Ye Ze had said the Bigu Pill was brown, and that was correct. But the highest grade of the Bigu Pill was golden. He hadn't mentioned the golden pill, probably because he thought Xia Wu Yin couldn't even produce the brown grade at that level. A pill incantation could introduce spiritual energy into the furnace, enhancing the quality of the final pill. Being able to produce a golden Bigu Pill at least indicated the person had spiritual energy and could perform the basic spirit introduction. It was with a golden Bigu Pill that Ye Ze had claimed first place. Gu Pei Jiu withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyes. Inside the furnace, flames blazed. Xia Ge, eyes closed, was steady in his hand gestures. The creek's abundant spiritual energy was easily directed into the furnace. —Almost there! Xia Ge collected his hand gestures, opened his eyes, and the next moment, golden light burst from the furnace, a fragrant pill scent filled the air. In an instant, two golden pills shot out from the blazing furnace toward Xia Ge! With a quick grab, Xia Ge caught the pills, but then yelped and tossed them away immediately! "Ouch, ouch—hot! Hot—hot!" The system: "..." Can you maintain your cool for three seconds? If not, even one second will do. Eye-searing. [Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully refining: Huang*Bigu Pill (High)*2, reward: 10 system points!] A flash of red, and elegant, soft silks caught the tossed pills, setting them gently onto the red and white-robed maiden's table. Xia Ge, panting and blowing on her scorched palm, dashed over to Gu Pei Jiu, studying the two pills, "Wow, Senior Sister, did I succeed?" The two golden pills were different. One had fine red veins like blood threads, while the other was smooth, spotless gold, clean and beautiful. "It's a twin pill, congratulations." Gu Pei Jiu's eyes held a slight smile, "You succeeded." "Twin pill?" Xia Ge was puzzled, "What's that?" A twin pill is produced when one set of materials, combined with heaven and earth's spiritual energy, doubles the efficacy and results in two pills instead of one. This type of pill, made from a single set of materials but yielding two pills with slightly different effects, is called a [Twin Pill]. Gu Pei Jiu briefly explained and then pointed to the golden pill with the red veins on the table, "This one with red veins is the Crimson Blood Bigu Pill. According to records, its fasting effect lasts only three days, but it keeps a person in peak condition, without fatigue, during that time." Xia Ge was utterly amazed. "The other is a high-grade regular Bigu Pill. One consumption will keep you free from hunger for a year." "A year?!" Xia Ge was shocked, "A whole year without feeling hungry?" Gu Pei Jiu affirmed with a soft "Hm," thinking Xia Ge was marveling at its efficacy but was interrupted by Xia Ge’s genuine fear: "I’d never eat such a pill in my life, that’s terrifying." Gu Pei Jiu: "..." The system: "..." After a moment, Gu Pei Jiu nonchalantly changed the topic, "If your performance in the entry test is like this, securing a top three spot won't be an issue." Xia Ge chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll definitely succeed!" "Good, then." Gu Pei Jiu prepared to continue with the documents. However, the young boy stood by, unmoving, staring expectantly at her. After a while, Gu Pei Jiu raised her eyes to glance at Xia Ge, "Hm?" Xia Ge fidgeted, "Senior Sister... since I'm this excellent now, can I skip remedial classes in the future?” Gu Pei Jiu: "..." The smile in the girl’s eyes dimmed slightly, and her voice turned faint, "Sure." Xia Ge promised earnestly, "I will never forget Senior Sister's buns!" The system: "..." Something feels off here. ---- After finishing her tasks at the Dan Pavilion in the creek, Gu Pei Jiu was about to leave when an attendant from the herb room approached hesitantly, "Senior Sister... Do you still need the stored Liuli Wood?" Gu Pei Jiu paused, recalling the boy who had swiftly left after refining the golden Bigu Pill. Her expression was neutral, "Store it in the warehouse." "Understood." The attendant cast a secretive glance at the unexpressive girl in red and white robes, suppressing his curiosity. ...Where did Senior Sister get those dozen pounds of Liuli Wood? But upon closer inspection, it seemed as if it had been freshly picked... Author's Note: Back Mountain. Senior Sister: This little rascal has such a high failure rate in refining, better stock up more. Yes. Xia Ge—‘Excellent’—after searching the back mountain again: Where is the Liuli Wood? Where?! It was here a few days ago!! I’m mad!! Aargh! = = Well, I seem to have writer's block. 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