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Chapter 48: Time to Eat
🕑 Added 2025-03-24 11:56:48 +0000 UTCIt had been two days since the disciples had returned from the Tianshui Secret Realm. Over these days, the various sects had sent disciples to the Tianyin Division to pay their respects following Meng Lan’s death.
Tang Yu had just taken over as sect leader, and with the Tianyin Division still in disarray, Mei He, as Meng Lan’s old friend, chose to stay behind to assist.
Mei He was busy handling affairs, and the disciples of Wanjian Sect couldn’t leave either, so they remained at the Tianyin Division for a few more days.
Returning to Haoran Residence, Ji Rong felt a swirl of emotions.
She looked at the plaque on the small pavilion, then at Gu Baiyi, who was smiling beside her, and thought to herself, this is unbearable.
How much longer would she have to share a room with the heroine?
Since the upheaval at Yunxian Cave, the little fox had yet to wake up, leaving Ji Rong alone to face the increasingly overpowered and potentially darkening heroine.
She had woken up that morning to find Gu Baiyi already in the courtyard, standing tall and poised, clearly preparing to practice swordsmanship.
Ji Rong thought that dealing with just the heroine might still be manageable, but recently, even her wife had started acting strangely…
It all started two days ago when a healer from the Tianyin Division was tending to Ji Rong’s injuries.
After the treatment, she was still reeling from the sharp, bone-chilling pain and sat dazed in the side hall. When she looked up, she saw a figure in white standing at the doorway, features as delicate as a painting, with a gentle smile—Mei He, the great beauty herself.
Seeing her wife, Ji Rong was overjoyed.
But to her surprise, Mei He frowned slightly, took her hand, examined it carefully, and after a long pause, asked, “Changqin, are you feeling better now?”
Ji Rong was stunned, thinking how absurd it was that her wife had taken time out of her busy schedule to check on her.
After all, the heroine was more seriously injured than she was, why wasn’t her wife checking on Gu Baiyi instead?!
Despite these thoughts, Ji Rong maintained her composure and replied, “Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader. This disciple is much better now.”
Mei He nodded.
Ji Rong assumed that was the end of it, but then Mei He unexpectedly asked, “Changqin, when you were in Yunxian Cave, did you see who subdued Yan Haiyao?”
Ji Rong had no idea, so she could only reply, “Senior Yan was attacking me at the time, and then a woman with white hair appeared. Since she had her back to me, I couldn’t see her face.”
“Did you see what sword she carried, or notice anything about her clothing?”
Mei He’s tone was calm, but Ji Rong could tell from her tightly pressed lips that her wife was far from at ease.
What was she expecting?
Sensing something was off, Ji Rong hesitated for a moment and decided to conceal the fact that the woman had wielded the Chixiao Sword. “The situation was too chaotic. I didn’t get a clear look.”
“I see.”
Mei He nodded and took a sip of tea.
Just as she was about to leave, with one foot already over the threshold, she paused.
Then she turned back and asked, “Changqin, have you ever heard of a certain legend?”
With the light behind her, Ji Rong couldn’t see Mei He’s expression, only the silver gleam reflecting off the Hegui Sword.
Help. She really didn’t want to hear about any legends.
But since Mei He had deliberately brought it up, she clearly expected a response. So Ji Rong had no choice but to grit her teeth and say, “This disciple would love to hear it.”
Mei He nodded slightly and said, “There is a legend that when a cultivator reaches the Returning to the Dust Realm, they are no longer bound by time or space and can travel between the past and the future.”
Ji Rong couldn’t help but scoff internally. This sounded like a blatant rip-off of a time machine concept.
While she was silently criticizing, Mei He smiled and continued, “A hundred years ago, my master left behind a letter before vanishing without a trace. Changqin, do you think it’s possible that she broke through to the Returning to the Dust Realm and went beyond the mortal realm?”
Ji Rong fell silent.
No way. In the game, Yue Qianqiu was just a text description. And typically, NPCs who only existed in people’s memories were as good as dead.
Mei He seemed to realize that her words had put Ji Rong in a difficult position.
So she smiled casually and said, “But that’s unlikely. It’s just a legend, after all.”
…
At this moment, Ji Rong and Gu Baiyi drew their swords, their blades aimed at the jade grass growing by the lake. Ji Rong casually swung her sword down, lost in thought.
She was debating whether to exchange for a Great Restoration Pill or save her achievement points for when more items were unlocked.
Because of this, her expression was indifferent, and her sword practice was equally careless.
When she snapped back to reality and saw the pitifully shredded jadegrass, she felt guilty.
Wasn’t this land part of Tang Yu’s property? Sorry, little brother.
She looked up and found that Gu Baiyi had already stopped her practice, watching her with a slight smile.
Indeed, the heroine was beautiful, and her smile was even more so. But Ji Rong didn’t find it refreshing, she found it deeply unsettling.
If she had to compare, the heroine’s smile looked just like when she got too invested in shipping a CP; kind, benevolent, and just shy of breaking the fourth wall to forcibly push two characters together.
Bathed in the heroine’s supposedly kind smile, Ji Rong felt a chill down her spine. She turned away, expressionless, and asked, “Junior Sister, do you need something?”
[Ding! Gu Baiyi’s favorability +10]
Ji Rong: “…”
She had just asked a simple question, why did that raise her favorability score?
[Dear user, I have no idea either~]
Gu Baiyi still maintained her slightly exaggerated smile. “No reason. I just thought the Senior Sister’s trimming of the moonlight grass was quite… unique, so I lingered a little longer.”
Faced with the heroine’s amused gaze, Ji Rong felt a headache coming on.
Where on earth had Gu Baiyi learned to spout such blatant nonsense?
Ji Rong mentally replayed all of Gu Baiyi’s suspicious moments, piecing them together into a flipbook animation that ran on loop in her mind.
Eventually, she found the root of all evil, it had to be because Xie Bai had visited Haoran Residence two days ago.
That day, the wind was light, and the clouds were sparse. Ji Rong and Gu Baiyi had been getting along just fine, until Xie Bai came bouncing over to Haoran Residence for a visit.
This man seemed to think that bringing along his handy sidekick, Ye Chuyang, would somehow change the fact that he was perpetually idle. But no, Xie Bai’s entire demeanor practically screamed, "I’m so bored."
Of course, Ye Chuyang’s expression, devoid of emotion, was clearly saying, "I’m speechless."
Being idle was one thing, but the key issue was that Xie Bai had brought along an assortment of random tonics. Bringing tonics was still forgivable, but what was truly shameless was that he then proceeded to sit down and chat.
With a beaming smile, he asked, "Senior Sister, how is the injury on your hand? Has it healed?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Baiyi frowned slightly and instinctively asked, "Senior Sister was injured? How come Baiyi never heard about this?"
Ji Rong thought to herself that Xie Bai truly had a knack for hitting the sore spot. Back when she blocked Yan Haiyao’s sword strike, the protagonist had been possessed by Gu Xueyi and likely had no awareness of the event.
Moreover, the character design in the game had deliberately given Gu Baiyi long sleeves, so she had never realized she had appeared side by side with Gu Xueyi yet again.
Yet, as if afraid that Gu Baiyi might not know, Xie Bai excitedly added, "Senior Sister Gu doesn’t know? This matter is common knowledge! That day at Yunxian Cave, Senior Sister Ji was slashed by Yan Haiyao’s Cangming Sword. According to the little healer, that old man nearly chopped her hand off!"
Ji Rong: "..."
Watching Xie Bai’s exuberant expression, she had a sneaking suspicion that if her hand really had been chopped off, he would be the first to cheer.
Gu Baiyi was slightly taken aback. At the time, she had been possessed by her inner demon, with almost no awareness of what was happening.
However, when Yan Haiyao had approached, she had distinctly felt the overwhelming killing intent that nearly tore her soul apart.
Then came a sudden cool fragrance, making her breath catch. Even her inner demon seemed momentarily shaken.
A fire had ignited in her chest. Gu Baiyi didn’t know what her inner demon had seen, but she could feel its surging fury and murderous intent.
Now, hearing Xie Bai’s words, she already had a rough guess in her mind. Still, she spoke to Ji Rong in a gentle voice, "Senior Sister, you’re injured? Baiyi has some knowledge of medicine. If you don’t mind, I can take a look."
Ji Rong thought, "Some knowledge of medicine" was clearly an understatement. In the later stages, the protagonist refined so many pills that the entire Demon Sect could take one a day, she practically monopolized the industry.
At this moment, although Gu Baiyi’s expression was warm, her tone left no room for refusal.
Accepting her fate, Ji Rong relented. "Fine, go ahead. It’s not like I’ll lose another piece of flesh."
She lifted her sleeve, revealing the wound on her wrist.
The injury had not yet scabbed over, and the white medicinal powder spread across the blood-red gash made it look particularly gruesome.
It was clearly a precise and sharp cut, slicing through flesh and down to the bone.
Gu Baiyi stared at the scar, her hand hidden within her sleeve, tightening into a fist before slowly relaxing again.
After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and spoke, her voice slightly hoarse. "This wound is deep. Senior Sister, be sure to rest properly. You shouldn’t practice swordsmanship for the next few days."
Ji Rong nodded calmly on the surface, but inwardly, she thought: "My left hand is injured. Can’t I still practice with my right?"
Did Gu Baiyi think she could use this opportunity to train in secret and surpass her? Fat chance.
Thus, Ji Rong stubbornly continued practicing swordsmanship with her right hand, up until today.
At this moment, she was wielding her sword in her right hand, clumsily hacking away at the moonlit grass scattered all over the ground. She gloomily thought: "This is all Xie Bai’s fault."
Over the past two days, every time she practiced for more than an hour, Gu Baiyi would appear like a ghost at her side, smiling gently as she said, "Senior Sister, your injury hasn’t healed yet. You shouldn’t overexert yourself. You should rest."
The first time, Ji Rong agreed, thinking it was indeed time to relax.
The second time, she thought perhaps Gu Baiyi was simply bored in the Tianyin Division and wanted to meddle.
The third time, the fourth time… As the cycle repeated, her patience wore thin.
By the twenty-third time, Gu Baiyi stood there, gazing at the patch of land Ji Rong had ruthlessly "reformed" with her altered sword techniques, and gently remarked, "It seems Senior Sister has made quite the progress today. But your wrist is still injured. It’s time to rest."
Ji Rong could no longer endure it and coldly retorted, "Junior Sister, you must be joking. My left hand is injured, but I’m using my right. It’s not a problem."
"Oh? Is that so?" Gu Baiyi’s smile remained warm. Then, as if troubled, she said, "But Senior Sister has already been practicing for so long. It’s time to rest."
Ji Rong expressionlessly reminded her, "Junior Sister, we started practicing at the hour of Mao."
Gu Baiyi nodded. "Yes, at the hour of Mao (5 am)."
Ji Rong suppressed her urge to slap the feigning-ignorant protagonist and said, "It is now the hour of Chen. We have only practiced for one hour."
To her shock, Gu Baiyi appeared enlightened and said, "Oh, so it’s already the hour of Chen (7 am)."
Ji Rong’s right eyelid twitches. Her intuition screamed that Gu Baiyi was about to say something frustrating.
Sure enough, Gu Baiyi smiled and said, "The hour of Chen, it’s time for breakfast."
Ji Rong: "…"
Damn it.
