92 - Dungeon Growth Log

After parting with Chu Yao, Xia Ge first went to the persimmon grove and filled a bag with persimmons. Weighing the heavy bag in her hand, Xia Ge finally felt that her trip to Sword Peak hadn't been a complete waste. On the way back to Dan Peak, she felt a bit uneasy. "Xiao Kui, Xiao Kui." She called out a few times, but there was no response. "Still not awake, huh." Xia Ge didn’t dwell on it much. Whenever she fell ill or lost consciousness, the system would enter standby mode. Maybe it was an old system, sometimes she would recover, but the system would still take a while to snap out of standby mode. It would be fine in a while. Currently, she had plenty to worry about. First of all, it seemed that Chu Yao had discovered her identity as a puppeteer. Although Chu Yao seemed inclined to keep it confidential, there were no walls without cracks in this world. Usually, once one person finds out, it means a second person will know, then a third, a fourth... Until it spirals out of control and many more people know. By then, she would probably have to pack her things and get out of Dan Peak. "Sigh, truly troublesome." Xia Ge plucked a blade of grass and held it in her mouth, her head full of worries as she descended the mountain. The second thing troubling her was also troublesome, yet somewhat simple. That is, evidently now, besides Chu Yao, there were already a “second” or a “third” person who knew about her identity as a puppeteer. The only positive aspect was that they weren't people from Lingxi Peak. They were from the Demon Sect. Through these few days of observation, it was apparent that Huo Bai had long been replaced by someone from the Demon Sect. The real Huo Bai was no longer around. She hadn’t taken any actions initially because she believed that the members of the Demon Sect thought the sudden disappearance of "Huo Bai" would be too abrupt. They likely filled the void with a fake Huo Bai until the real one recovered. But now... It was evident that it wasn't just that simple. Thinking back on it now, the reason for the replacement also might have been because they discovered her half-hearted counterintelligence ploy. Once the little puppet she placed on Bai Ren was exposed, they naturally couldn't let the "possibly controlled" Bai Ren continue as a scout, so they had to replace him. And since the little puppet was exposed, the Demon Sect more or less knew about her being a puppeteer. Soul Stealing is indeed troublesome for ordinary people, but for the Demon Sect, which treated puppetry as child's play, though the skill of Soul Stealing was easy to fall for, it wasn't difficult for them to break. "Sigh." Xia Ge threw away the blade of grass, feeling somewhat deflated. Back then, Xiao Kui’s scolding was right; she shouldn't have thrown that little puppet bomb. Exposed by Chu Yao, targeted by the Demon Sect. It was the worst, most foolish move she’d made, without a doubt. System: "Indeed, it was foolish." Xia Ge was startled, "You're awake?" System: "Hm." Xia Ge sighed, feeling melancholy, "Sigh, but basically, I achieved my objectives. The rest is just additional trouble." The system pondered for a moment: "Speaking of which, why didn’t you expose Huo Bai earlier?" Xia Ge: "I could never have exposed him." System: "Hm?" Xia Ge: "At first, I didn’t expose him because he was useful... borrowing his influence to deliver the Ghost Dragon Jade to Ye Ze was convenient." System: "That much I know, but what about after things settled?" Xia Ge: "Well, nothing happened to Huo Bai then, and I couldn't be sure if it was him behind that night’s attack, so I decided to observe further. After all, anyone can say anything, but some matters need evidence." System: "..." "Sigh, I didn’t expect him to be replaced." Xia Ge felt despondent, "Now, considering the other side has my identity as a puppeteer in their grasp, if they catch me, it means I'll soon be fully exposed too." System: "... Sounds like you're in a precarious situation." Xia Ge: "Not really. Don't be so pessimistic. Take it one step at a time. It can't get any worse than before." System: "That fake Huo Bai tried to kill you today, didn’t he?" Xia Ge: "If he could kill me, would I still be making a living?" "Huo Bai doesn't matter much, but I'm just afraid the Demon Sect will have more troublesome schemes up their sleeves afterwards." Amidst such casual banter, she managed to return to Dan Peak in relatively good spirits. Who would’ve thought her cheerful mood would be short-lived, as she saw an unexpected person at the entrance, her stride suddenly stiffening. "... Senior Sister?" Gu Pei Jiu glanced at her, her tone neutral: "Back?" Xia Ge snapped out of it, forcing a sheepish smile: "Senior Sister, it’s so late, why are you still up? Were you waiting for me?" Gu Pei Jiu nodded lightly. Xia Ge: "..." "You skipped your afternoon and evening classes." Gu Pei Jiu stated, "The instructor complained to me, asking me to discipline you properly." She looked at Xia Ge, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the bright little wooden puppet at her waist, and her furrowed brows eased for just a second. "Where did you go?" "I... today I got called over by that senior sister from Sword Peak." Under Gu Pei Jiu's gaze, Xia Ge’s eyes flickered, "In the interest of promoting harmony between Dan Peak and Sword Peak, I heroically sacrificed my time to chat about life with that senior sister from Sword Peak... I didn't really do anything." "Skipping class without reason.” Gu Pei Jiu summarized. Xia Ge denied it immediately: "No! I..." Gu Pei Jiu just looked at her silently. Her eyes reflected the moonlight, carrying a subtle chill. Xia Ge’s bluster died down after a moment, and she meekly lowered her voice: "I’m sorry, Senior Sister, I skipped class without a reason." Gu Pei Jiu said: "Today, with that senior sister... what exactly did you do?" Xia Ge: "..." What did she do? Saying she ate meat and drank wine would surely get her in trouble. Xia Ge tried hard to justify her truant day: "That senior sister said she wanted to teach me something." Gu Pei Jiu: "Teach what?" Xia Ge thought for a moment: "Archery." System: "..." Gu Pei Jiu: "..." "Archery?" Gu Pei Jiu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Not sure if the target was bats or geese?" Xia Ge's expression wavered slightly, "Well, it could've been pheasants... maybe." "Isn't it good to learn another skill?" Seeing that the senior sister's expression was displeased, Xia Ge bowed her head obediently, "Senior Sister, I was wrong. You can punish me with copying apprenticeship lessons." "I'm not your Senior Sister." Gu Pei Jiu's tone was indifferent, "You have many Senior Sisters, you don't need me." With that, she turned to leave. The blooming white flowers reflected the moonlight, casting a hazy glow as the red and white figures of the young girl seemed to disappear with each step. "No, no, no!" Xia Ge's mind went blank as she dashed to Gu Pei Jiu’s side, grabbing her sleeve. After a moment’s hesitation, she whispered, "It’s not like that." Gu Pei Jiu turned to look at Xia Ge holding her sleeve. The young girl looked up at her, eyes shimmering like a cat's, full of an innocent yet pitiful charm. "It's not like that." She murmured softly, "There's only one of you." Gu Pei Jiu averted her gaze to the distant flower trees, remaining silent. Yet she didn't continue walking. Xia Ge, clutching Gu Pei Jiu’s hand, mumbled, "It's true, Senior Sisters can be many." Gu Pei Jiu didn’t look at her. "But you're different," Xia Ge’s voice hinted at a slight grievance. Gu Pei Jiu asked, "How am I different?" Xia Ge pondered, "You treat me well." Senior Sisters can be numerous. But someone who treats me so well, there’s only one. Gu Pei Jiu gazed at the flower trees bathed in moonlight for a while. "Do you like it?" Xia Ge, holding Gu Pei Jiu’s hand, was momentarily confused by the question but instinctively replied, "I like it! I like Senior Sister the most!" No matter the situation, admitting she liked her was always the answer! Gu Pei Jiu’s fingers trembled slightly. After a long pause, she spoke quietly, “I meant the wooden puppet.” Xia Ge: "..." Xia Ge's face reddened slightly, "I... I like the puppet too. And... I like Senior Sister." Gu Pei Jiu didn’t move. Xia Ge, sensing the lingering anger, promised again with full conviction, "Don’t be mad. I won’t skip classes again or lie. I’ll attend all my classes diligently... I won’t let myself fall ill either." The moonlight was gentle, flowers blossoming brightly. By the end, Xia Ge felt a sudden sorrow. "If only... I could really do it." Gu Pei Jiu, unconsciously looking down, saw the girl’s red eyes and sorrowful expression. Why couldn’t she do it? Gu Pei Jiu paused, not voicing the question. She only sighed lightly, "Why are you crying?" Xia Ge: "I'm not a good child." Gu Pei Jiu: "No one is born virtuous." Xia Ge's eyes were red: "But 'at birth, humans possess genuine goodness'." Gu Pei Jiu: "..." Gu Pei Jiu considered, then said, "You haven't descended into irredeemable evil." Xia Ge: "So, you’re not mad at me anymore?" Gu Pei Jiu: "Hm." But before Xia Ge could smile, Gu Pei Jiu added, "But from now on, you’re not allowed to go to Sword Peak." Xia Ge: "... Huh?" Gu Pei Jiu didn’t look at her. “Did you hear me? Say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.” “You could say ‘no’, or you could lie to me and say ‘yes’.” Xia Ge: “...” So, she could lie, but Gu Pei Jiu might stay angry... right. Softly, Xia Ge replied, “Yes.” Gu Pei Jiu looked at her. Xia Ge raised her hand, “I didn't lie.” But she couldn’t help but add, “But what if something happens? I might still need to go to Sword Peak.” Gu Pei Jiu: “You can tell me.” Xia Ge mumbled, “Alright.” Then she thought for a moment, “So, am I still punished with copying the Dānshū?” Gu Pei Jiu asked, “Do you want to copy it?” Xia Ge immediately shook her head, “No, no, I’d rather not.” After finishing their conversation, Gu Pei Jiu continued, “The midterm exams are coming up soon. Don’t fool around too much.” Xia Ge shivered, “Huh? Midterm exams? What are we going to be tested on?” Gu Pei Jiu just looked at her. Xia Ge: “...” Xia Ge silently fished a persimmon out of her pocket and stealthily slipped it into Gu Pei Jiu’s sleeve, “Uh, Senior Sister, this persimmon is super sweet. I brought it especially for you from Sword Peak. I wanted you to try it earlier.” Pouting a little, she added, "But who knew you’d get mad after just a few words." System: "..." If not for the exams, you wouldn't have taken it out, would you? Gu Pei Jiu: “...” Xia Ge looked up at her expectantly, her cat-like eyes gleaming. The persimmon in her hand still carried the faint warmth from Xia Ge’s body. Gu Pei Jiu asked, "Do you want to know what the exams are about?" "Not at all. I never said that. Haha, Senior Sister, don’t overthink this..." Xia Ge smiled brightly, tugging on Gu Pei Jiu’s sleeve and looking up at the moon. "But if you insist on telling me, I wouldn't mind knowing... The persimmon is really sweet." System: "..." How can someone be so shameless? Gu Pei Jiu calmly took the persimmon, "From Sword Peak?" Xia Ge sensed something unfavorable, "... Yes." "Hold out your hand." Xia Ge obediently extended her hand. Gu Pei Jiu placed the persimmon back into Xia Ge’s hand, her expression indifferent, “Then take it to bribe your Senior Sister at Sword Peak. She’s so kind; surely she’ll tell you the answers.” With that, she turned and left. Xia Ge: “...” Xia Ge: "Ah, Senior Sister! I picked this from Beast Peak!! Beast Peak!!" Author's note: Xia Ge: Senior Sister, please give me the exam topics _( :3 ∠)_ Gu Pei Jiu: = = = =