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Chapter 73: Barrier
🕑 Added 2025-04-30 13:15:17 +0000 UTCGu Baiyi’s expression was calm, so calm, in fact, it felt almost excessive.
She reached out with a fingertip, lightly tracing Ji Rong’s facial features as though caressing the scattered petals on the Phoenix Terrace.
She had done this motion many times before, both in the Demon Palace and on the Phoenix Terrace.
But now, for the first time, she could truly touch the person in front of her.
Gu Baiyi had already tried.
Simply relying on desire and resentment wasn’t enough to break through the eighth level of the Heavenly Demon Scroll—“Departing Flame.”
But what if it was restraint?
Gu Baiyi frowned slightly. She was already restraining herself as much as she could.
Though she had suppressed the heart demon surging inside her, when she looked at Ji Rong’s face, she couldn’t help but recall those countless nights spent wandering the dark corridors of the Demon Palace.
The nights in the Demon Sect were long.
Standing atop the Phoenix Terrace, Gu Baiyi would gaze quietly at the moon.
And as she stared, her thoughts would return to that question she had once longed to ask Mei He years ago: Why was I born? And what is it I should die for?
Yet even now, Gu Baiyi still didn’t have an answer.
She lowered her gaze to Ji Rong, leaned down, and let her vision blur.
Then, Gu Baiyi pressed a kiss to the center of Ji Rong’s forehead. When she straightened again, her sight was once more clear.
Clear enough to see Ji Rong’s calm, unwavering eyes.
Sometimes, Gu Baiyi wished she weren’t quite so clear-headed, at least then, she’d have an excuse to keep falling deeper.
Under Ji Rong’s steady gaze, Gu Baiyi lifted a hand and gently wrapped it around her waist.
Ji Rong continued to stare at her without blinking.
She refused to back down.
Fueled by a stubborn, inexplicable unwillingness to lose, she found herself wondering what exactly Gu Baiyi would do next.
But Gu Baiyi’s expression didn’t change. She merely pulled Ji Rong into an embrace.
Then, she lay down beside her.
Ji Rong: “…”
Are you serious? You’re making this really awkward for me here.
Gu Baiyi, oblivious to Ji Rong’s inner turmoil, was simply using this chance to practice “Departing Flame” and conveniently, to share a bed with Ji Rong.
As for which purpose came first…
Gu Baiyi pursed her lips where Ji Rong couldn’t see.
She couldn’t be bothered to figure that out.
Her gaze landed on the slender waist beneath the thin silk robe, then shifted to the hand resting on it.
It was her own hand, marked by a clearly visible scar.
A scar left behind after it had been crushed beneath someone’s shoe.
She could have used the Demon Sect’s Darkspring Pool to heal it, but she hadn’t.
For the past year, she had looked at that scar every day, recalling over and over the words Ji Rong had spoken to her atop the summit of Sky’s End Peak.
Did she believe them?
Not entirely. Ji Rong’s behavior had always been inconsistent.
But if Ji Rong truly meant to kill her, why had she taken her away after she was gravely injured by Feng He?
And if she didn’t believe it… then the evidence before her eyes would make her feel like a fool.
Staring at the scar, Gu Baiyi frowned.
Her fingers were ugly, dirty, even. Yet the silk beneath them was pure white, like falling snow.
Beautiful. Captivating.
She really wanted to stain her Senior Sister.
But not yet.
Gu Baiyi felt a wave of exhaustion.
So, she wrapped both arms around Ji Rong’s waist.
On the other side, Ji Rong could feel Gu Baiyi’s touch, light as a feather, yet it made her break out in goosebumps.
Gu Baiyi didn’t do anything inappropriate. She simply held Ji Rong, resting her head in the hollow of her neck.
Breathing in the faint scent of plum blossoms, she closed her eyes and fell into a contented sleep.
The soft rhythm of breathing behind her grew steady.
She actually fell asleep?
Ji Rong was in disbelief.
Is it me overthinking things… or has this lunatic Gu Baiyi been replaced by someone else?
Gu Baiyi’s body was a bit cold, but her breath was warm.
It was the perfect temperature, yet the heat against Ji Rong’s neck felt like it was burning.
And with the spirit-sealing charm still stuck to her forehead, she couldn’t move at all.
Ji Rong was absolutely certain that her neck was the most useless part of her body.
Fragile and sensitive, it served no real purpose, but once severed, it meant death.
Now, with Gu Baiyi’s breath tormenting her, death might’ve been preferable.
Being this close to Gu Baiyi was even more unbearable than being kissed.
And yet she couldn’t budge an inch.
So Ji Rong had no choice but to suppress the tremble running through her body and force herself into a meditative trance.
Damn it. Let’s just pretend I’m completing a mission.
With the digital voice occasionally chiming in her ear, it really did feel like a simulation.
[Ding! Gu Baiyi’s favorability +10]
[Gu Baiyi’s favorability +15]
[Gu Baiyi’s favorability -5]
…
After one whole hour of “mission immersion,” Ji Rong was nearly suffocating.
In her mind, she told the system, “That’s enough! No more math problems. Shut it down, save it for tomorrow!”
[Understood~]
Even so, Ji Rong didn’t sleep a wink that night.
…
Early the next morning.
At dawn, the sound of a long, resonant bell echoed through the empty mountains. Gu Baiyi was still fast asleep.
Though Gu Baiyi remained unconscious, Ji Rong’s glare had already killed her a hundred times over.
Fortunately, a young monk stood outside the room and gently knocked on the door.
“Amitabha. Donor Ji, the abbot, has scheduled the scripture debate for mid-morning. Please make your way to the Mahavira Hall when the time comes.”
Only then did Gu Baiyi stir from sleep.
She rested her hand on the soft waist beneath it, displeased, but knowing Ji Rong needed to respond, she reached up and tore off the charm stuck to Ji Rong’s forehead, releasing the seal on her body.
She hadn’t expected the little monk to continue, “Also, Donor Ji, Donor Jiang asked this humble monk to inform you that she will visit at dawn.”
Gu Baiyi stared at the talisman in her hand and suddenly had the urge to slap it right back on.
…
Two hours later.
Jiang Fei sat upright in her chair while Gu Baiyi stood to the side, pouring her a cup of tea.
She accepted the tea and thanked her softly.
Jiang Fei took a sip, then lifted her gaze to look at Gu Baiyi.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that, despite Gu Baiyi’s gentle smile, the woman still wanted to kill her.
In fact, after a day had passed, that killing intent seemed to have grown even stronger.
But Jiang Fei didn’t mind.
Because Gu Baiyi still couldn’t beat her.
She looked away and turned toward Ji Rong, only to notice the dark circles under her eyes.
She recalled what the sect master had once said: before asking someone a question, it’s best to start with a little small talk.
So, Jiang Fei took another sip of tea and said, “The woods in this empty mountain are dense, and at night, highland apes often howl. If you’re having trouble sleeping, Junior Sister, I have a soul-soothing incense you might want to try.”
Ji Rong shook her head lightly and replied, “Thank you, Senior Sister, but I’m just not used to this place yet.”
Hah, what use is incense?
Forget incense, at this rate, even singing a full requiem wouldn’t be enough to suppress the King of Hell that is Gu Baiyi.
Just as Ji Rong was internally complaining, the system notification chimed.
[Ding! Gu Baiyi’s favorability +20]
Ji Rong: ?
She didn’t get it.
[Congratulations, Player. Including last night’s gain, you’ve now received a total of 240 favorability points from Gu Baiyi.]
Last night? What the hell?
Ji Rong thought to herself, All I did was sleep next to the heroine last night, how did that earn me so many favorability points? Still, not a bad deal.
Though Ji Rong had turned her down, Jiang Fei’s expression didn’t change.
She hadn’t offered the incense out of kindness, she just wanted to ask something.
She set down her teacup and said, “I’ve traveled north toward the desert these past few years, visited countless places, all in search of the answer to that question.”
Ji Rong nodded, thinking back to what Jiang Fei had said yesterday, trying to guess which question she meant.
After all, the Wanjian Sect’s exam questions varied each year. The one Jiang Fei got back then might not be the same as hers.
Jiang Fei fell silent for a moment before continuing, “But even after all these years, I still haven’t found the answer.”
“I still remember the question I was given back then: What lies at the northernmost point of the world? And what lies at the southernmost?”
Ji Rong froze.
That question was a bit… absurd.
Jiang Fei opened her palm and looked down at the preserved plum candy resting there.
She said, “But when I reached the northernmost point, I saw nothing. Just a barrier in front of me, or rather, a massive wall.”
Gu Baiyi narrowed her eyes at Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei didn’t seem to care that Gu Baiyi was still standing there, nor did she try to hide the topic. She simply popped the plum candy into her mouth and began to chew slowly.
When she finished the candy, a faint smile appeared on her face. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth, so the sect master once told me, when faced with uncertainty, eat a candy. After you finish it, think again.”
“But that day, I stood before the wall and ate thirty-one pieces of candy. And I was still unwilling to accept it.”
Her expression was serious, even a little stubborn.
She asked, “Why is there a wall there? Why should there be a wall?”
Ji Rong was at a loss for words.
Was she supposed to tell Jiang Fei, You’re just an NPC. That wall is a placeholder the devs never got around to finishing?
But the more she thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed.
NPCs were just pre-programmed characters. They weren’t supposed to have thoughts this complex.
Then Jiang Fei said calmly, “So I flew upward, riding the wind for thousands of miles. I once believed the sky had no end, but when my spiritual energy was nearly depleted, I saw another barrier above the clouds…”
Ji Rong thought to herself, Sounds like you hit another invisible wall.
Still, she asked out loud, “And then what, Senior Sister Jiang?”
Jiang Fei fell silent again, lost in memory, revisiting a moment from ten years ago.
When she’d broken through layers of clouds, a golden barrier had appeared before her.
It resembled an enormous net.
It was vast, so vast it could cover the entire sky, hiding whatever lay beyond.
Strange and unintelligible runes were inscribed upon it, symbols she couldn’t understand.
So she reached out with her hand, channeling spiritual energy to touch the barrier.
She frowned. She could feel it, there was no way through.
Jiang Fei withdrew her hand, took out more plum candies from her sleeve, and ate them, one after another.
Then she raised her peachwood sword and unleashed a sword strike at the barrier.
That strike was powerful enough to summon the waters of the Yangtze River and hold its own against silence itself.
But when her sword shadow hit the barrier, it was as if it sank into water, without even the faintest ripple.
Frustrated, Jiang Fei struck again. And again.
But the barrier stood firm, like a towering mountain, unshakable, insurmountable.
When her spiritual power was drained, Jiang Fei’s face was full of confusion.
She couldn’t understand.
After all these years of life, it was the first time she felt so… utterly at a loss.
And just as she lowered her sword in defeat, the barrier began to crack, just a tiny fissure.
Jiang Fei froze.
She thought she had broken through it, but no.
It wasn’t the barrier that cracked.
It was the golden clouds in front of the barrier that split open.
A beam of light shone through.
A blinding, dazzling light.
Jiang Fei looked up and saw swirling, endless clouds glowing in that brilliance.
The golden cracks in the sky looked almost like the pupil of an enormous vertical eye.
She had the eerie feeling that it was silently, indifferently watching her.
And then, she lost consciousness.
Ever since that day, no matter how many sword strikes she hurled at the sky, she never saw that vertical eye again.
As she finished her tale, Jiang Fei popped another plum candy into her mouth and began to chew.
Ji Rong was silent for a long time.
She had never expected that the invisible wall would… grow an eye.
At that moment, Gu Baiyi, who had been standing quietly like a guard, suddenly spoke.
Smiling faintly, she said to Jiang Fei, “Miss Jiang, have you ever considered… maybe that wasn’t a wall.”
Jiang Fei frowned slightly. “If it wasn’t a wall, then what was it?”
Gu Baiyi recalled the barrier she herself had seen in the azure sky of a past life.
She said slowly, “Maybe it was a door.”
“A door that no one has ever been able to open.”
