97 - Dungeon Growth Log

### Chapter 97 Xia Ge dreamt that night. A pitch-black, eerie space enveloped in endless dark mist, devoid of everything, with not a hint of light. She walked alone in this boundless place, a sense of profound aimlessness weighing on her heart. "...Xiao Kui?" She called uncertainly, "Xiao Kui, are you..." there...? Her words abruptly stopped, her pupils contracted, and the dark mist before her parted to reveal a sharp arrow cutting through the air, aimed directly at her! She froze in place, unable to move an inch, watching helplessly as the arrow shot towards her. However, in the next instant, as if the space itself had shifted, the arrow grazed past her nose, and she found herself at the side of its trajectory— "swoosh—" "Clatter—" Like actors making their entrances one after another, countless giant bats emerged from the dark mist. Moments later, a figure, completely shrouded in black, appeared suddenly! Xia Ge's eyes widened— "Swoosh—" The sharp arrow pierced through the masked figure's head without deviation, directly between the brows. Blood slowly seeped from the forehead, soaking the black cloth. The scene replayed! The shrill, chaotic cries of giant bats filled the air. Xia Ge's heart pounded rapidly, her entire body drenched in cold sweat—it was a dream, this was just a dream, just a dream... But this person... was indeed... killed by her. "How does it feel... to kill someone?" A sinister, eerie voice entwined around her, cold and eerie, "Isn't it... quite wonderful?" "Who?!" Xia Ge spun around to look behind her, but all she saw were endless giant bats without a single human silhouette, "Who are you?! Come out!" "Who am I?" That voice was eerie and high-pitched, coming from all directions, filled with coldness and mockery, "Shouldn't you... know best?" "Squeak—" "...Death is actually a pleasurable experience. The ignorant masses are unaware. Only you and I together... can help them experience this joy." "Before that... let me bring this pleasure to you first." The voice was enchanting and tempting, speaking outright madness, but in a sing-song manner that made it seem natural. As his words fell, the countless giant bats seemed to receive an order and suddenly swarmed towards Xia Ge! "Ah—" Xia Ge's eyes flew open. She panted lightly, wiping her forehead, only to find it drenched in cold sweat. It was darkest just before dawn. She muttered, "Damn, what kind of nonsense was that..." Yet, in her dream, the feeling of being torn apart by bats, utterly powerless, clung to her, as if it had truly occurred. System: "What's wrong? Awake so early?" Xia Ge took a breath, "Yeah." System: "Had a nightmare?" Xia Ge glanced out the window, the sky was still pitch-black. At this hour, her senior sister would have already left by now. "...You could call it a nightmare." She retracted her gaze and held her forehead. Without anyone noticing, the moment she looked away, a small, bloodstained piece of cloth the size of a fingernail drifted down from the window, landing in the thick grass below. System: "What did you dream about?" Xia Ge looked weary, "That person I killed before." System: "It seems like your mental fortitude still needs work." Xia Ge twitched her lips, "Anyone with a good mental fortitude in such situations would be terrifying." "I'm a law-abiding citizen, you know." But no matter what. At the moment the arrow left her hand. Something seemed to have changed. = = "Is Big Brother going to the ghost tide too?" Chu Yi asked, looking up at Ye Ze. Ye Ze responded with an "Hmm," still somewhat uneasy as he turned his head away, "I have to go." Chu Yi was silent for a moment before softly saying, "I want to go with you too." Ye Ze instinctively took a step back, caught off guard, "Junior Sister Chu, you..." Chu Yi smiled faintly, "I'm just kidding." Ye Ze: "..." Chu Yi continued, "Just a joke. Big Brother's matters—I have some things to investigate on Jian Peak." "Last time, Big Brother asked me who was imprisoned in Jian Peak's mountain prison." She looked into Ye Ze's eyes, her voice soft, "I've found out." "It's..." Ye Ze suddenly interrupted, "I don't want to know." Chu Yi was slightly taken aback. Ye Ze said, "This is my own business. I don’t want anyone else involved." The tall young man held his sword, then turned his gaze away, his lips pressed into a thin line, his expression carrying a hint of stubbornness. Chu Yi quietly acknowledged, "I see." Ye Ze responded with an "Hmm," "Thank you for your help, but..." "But I like Big Brother." Chu Yi looked up at him, her eyes filled with stars against the night sky, tender and soft, "So, everything of Big Brother's is everything of mine." Ye Ze abruptly stiffened. "Big Brother can refuse my olive branch, my clues, my affection, and everything I have," Chu Yi whispered, "But Big Brother cannot... refuse me." The young girl cautiously reached out, clutching the black hem of the boy’s clothes. In the soft moonlight, her apricot eyes shimmered with a glistening moisture. "If Big Brother refuses me." "I will die." Ye Ze was stunned. "I had nothing to begin with." She murmured, "What you gave me, is what’s truly mine." Ye Ze gathered his composure, then gently removed her hand and took a step back, speaking softly. "I’m glad you like me." "But I'm sorry, such inexplicable affection, I cannot bear." Having said this, Ye Ze turned to leave. Love is too shallow, while hatred is profoundly deep. His personal vendetta—he did not need another unrelated person to bear it alongside him. Everyone was the same. Chu Yi: "Big Brother is truly foolish." "Being like this, when will you be able to take revenge?" Ye Ze did not stop. "Big Brother can wait, but the two hundred souls of the Ye family who died in vain, will they hate Big Brother’s helplessness because of this?" Chu Yi commented softly. Ye Ze's steps halted abruptly, his fists clenched tightly, standing rigidly. Chu Yi looked up at the melting moonlight in the sky, her voice still gentle, "I heard that they didn’t even leave Big Brother a single dog." "I wonder about Big Brother's family..." Veins bulged on Ye Ze’s fists as he whipped around to glare at Chu Yi, "Shut up!!" Chu Yi closed her mouth, looking at Ye Ze with a gentle light in her apricot eyes. Ye Ze took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and finally said, "This is none of your concern." He then turned to continue walking. Chu Yi suddenly asked, "Is Big Brother angry?" Ye Ze did not look back. "I made Big Brother angry." She slowly followed Ye Ze, "Feeling furious? Feeling unreasonable?" "I’m really bad." Chu Yi laughed, "So bad that Big Brother surely doesn’t want to be with me." "Then just use me." Ye Ze: "Stop following me." "Only good people think about whether they want to share burdens with someone." Chu Yi continued, looking at his back, "But I have never been a good person." Thus, I am only fit to be used. "If I must be used by someone." Chu Yi slowly walked beside him, "I want to be used by Big Brother." Ye Ze: "What are you talking... nonsense..." The young girl on tiptoe covered his mouth. Ye Ze was about to struggle but froze upon seeing what she held. In Chu Yi’s hand was a familiar bell. Seeing his reaction, Chu Yi shook the bell, which made no sound at all. It was Chang Nian’s bell. "Big Brother, I'll tell you who’s in the mountain prison, alright?" Chu Yi's voice was low, "Use me, okay?" Use me. Need me. That way. You won’t leave me behind. Ye Ze stared at the bell, and in the young girl’s whispers, he was momentarily transported back to that night, under the gentle moonlight, hearing the mournful howls of that black dog and smelling the pervasive stench of blood. Since that year, his dreams, night after night, were filled with the bloody, sorrowful cries of his family. Night after night. "Brother Aze." Chu Yi gently took hold of his neck, whispering in his ear, "Good children don’t get candy." "Even for the innocent souls who died." "Big Brother should learn to use any means necessary." = = Chang Nian's hand brushed over the empty space where the bell used to hang for the third time. Empty. Li Liu, beside him, gave him a puzzled look, "What's wrong with you?" Chang Nian quietly retracted his hand, "Nothing." "Hurry up and eat. Are you too nervous? I wouldn't have guessed." Li Liu joked. Chang Nian glared at him, "Who's nervous? You're talking nonsense!" Li Liu said, "I heard our senior brother from Jian Peak isn’t going to the ghost tide this time, but Elder Chu is. I wonder if it’ll go smoothly." Someone nearby asked, "What about Beast Peak and Dan Peak?" Li Liu recalled, "I saw... the senior disciple of Beast Peak leading some people there. As for Dan Peak, it looks like only one senior disciple is going, no other disciples are participating." Chang Nian commented, "Why is Dan Peak so useless? Don't they have anyone capable?" A nearby disciple chimed in, "Sigh, without the capacity for self-defense, they'd just need protection from others. A Dan master who hasn’t reached Xuan level wouldn’t be able to quickly produce elixirs on the spot in that chaotic place. Going there would be a death sentence." Pondering, Li Liu said, "Currently, Dan Peak’s Xuan-level alchemists..." "To reach the Xuan level, one needs both a spiritual aperture and a Dan meridian," the disciple explained. "The Dan Peak's books on cultivating the Dan meridian were all burned centuries ago. Aside from the current senior disciple who’s naturally gifted with a Dan meridian and can truly produce Xuan-level elixirs, the others at the supposed 'Xuan level' are no better than 'pseudo-Xuan-level.'" "Pseudo-Xuan level?" Li Liu was curious. "Tsk, they have the spiritual aperture, but lack the Dan meridian, resulting in elixirs that lack sufficient spiritual energy. Thus, they can only produce inferior pseudo-Xuan level elixirs," the disciple took a sip of tea and sighed, "Dan Peak is in such a state now that even a pseudo-Xuan level is a rarity." Li Liu asked, "How do you know so much about this?" The disciple puffed out his chest with pride, "Do you know who I am?" Chang Nian scoffed, "Who?" "My name is Yao Qian!" The disciple pounded his chest, "My father is the renowned Yao Wuji!" Li Liu: "..." Chang Nian: "..." A nearby disciple, too forthright, blurted out, "Ah, your father is the one who sells fake medicine, Yao Wuji?!" Yao Qian sprang to his feet, slamming the table, "Who sells fake medicine?! Whose father sells fake medicine?! Your father sells fake medicine! Your entire family sells fake medicine! The medicines from our Wuji Apothecary are genuine and effective for all, what fake medicine?! Who said fake medicine?!" Yao Qian then engaged in a verbal spat with the disciple who accused his family of selling fake medicine, causing quite a commotion. Meanwhile, Chang Nian withdrew his gaze and touched his chest again. Still nothing. Inexplicably, it filled him with anxiety and restlessness. Last night, a blue-clad young girl's voice had been soft. —"Do you want to know where your sister is?" —"I can help you." —"But first... you have to help me with something." Chang Nian stood up, and Li Liu casually asked, "Where are you going?" Chang Nian replied, "Regarding the ghost tide, my brother didn't go, right?" Li Liu chuckled, "He didn't. With the two senior disciples going, your brother has to stay here to manage things." "Mm." Chang Nian said, "I'm going to find my brother." Author's Note: Transition chapter, more updates coming =3= = = **Yu Yue** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-29 23:39:04 **Yu Yue** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-29 23:39:23 **Are You Working Seriously Today** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-29 23:45:59 **Wang Chuan Liu Li Leng Mo Ling** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 00:17:27 **Cat Canned Food** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 01:21:50 **Star** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 17:24:17 **Color is Emptiness, Emptiness is Color** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:08:07 **my__** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:17:12 **my__** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:17:20 **my__** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:17:26 **my__** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:17:33 **my__** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:17:43 **my__** threw 1 grenade at 2018-07-30 21:17:49 **my__** threw 1 hand grenade at 2018-07-30 21:18:54 **my__** threw 1 hand grenade at 2018-07-30 21:19:01 Holding tightly onto the benefactor’s leg (tightly)