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Chapter 81: The Array Core
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 03:48:12 +0000 UTCWhat surprised Ji Rong was that she had initially assumed the vision was an illusion conjured by Gu Baiyi’s personal world, but the moment she wiped her eyes, the scene vanished without a trace.
The blood jade bracelet on her wrist shimmered with silvery waves like a surging tide, only to dim and retreat again the next moment.
The next day, when Ji Rong awoke, she found herself inside the meditation chamber of her room in Bodhi Sect.
She looked around at the small futon and low table, then down at her perfectly tidy clothes, and couldn’t help but rub her temples.
Images flashed in her mind, scarlet phoenix petals beneath heavy drapes, and those bewitching, spirit-like eyes and brows.
Ji Rong was shaken to her core. Don’t tell me… I actually had an erotic dream?
Just then, Gu Baiyi stepped into the room.
She carried a tray in her hands, with a bowl of bird’s nest porridge and a few pastries. If Ji Rong wasn’t mistaken, the characters etched onto the pastries were from Liuxiang Pavilion.
So here was the real question: how did the heroine manage to get all this breakfast without triggering the “Doubtless” restriction?
While Ji Rong was still puzzled over it, Gu Baiyi had already set the tray on the table. She was wearing her usual black guard uniform, completely different from the dark robe she wore in Ji Rong’s dream.
There was no strange expression on Gu Baiyi’s face, no unnecessary words. She simply smiled, picked up the bowl of bird’s nest porridge, and offered it to Ji Rong.
“Senior Sister, it’s time for breakfast.”
Faced with this scene, Ji Rong couldn’t help but question her sense of reality.
…Was it really just a dream?
Since she couldn't be sure either way, Ji Rong decided to play it cool. She nodded calmly, taking the porridge and spooning a bite into her mouth.
As she ate, Ji Rong thought to herself:
It had to be a dream. No matter how dense I might be, I wouldn’t be so stupid as to blow my own cover.
Still, her mind kept drifting back to that snowball lantern at the bottom of the steps, and that face; serene, clean, and clear as water.
She shook her head, trying to banish the thought.
But then, glancing down, she noticed the red dates floating in the porridge, and the gelatinous hue reminiscent of donkey-hide gelatin.
She frowned slightly, trying to place the taste on her tongue.
It took another spoonful before she detected the honey and lily flower within.
Gu Baiyi gave a gentle smile and said, “This is the first time I’ve ever made bird’s nest porridge. I had the ingredients bought in a hurry, so the taste may not be ideal. I hope it suits my Senior Sister’s palate?”
Ji Rong looked down at the bowl full of nourishing ingredients, thinking the flavor wasn’t bad at all. But…
Why would the heroine be making her tonic food?
Sticking to the principle of “don’t move unless the enemy moves,” Ji Rong maintained her calm facade and nodded lightly.
“It’s acceptable.”
After finishing the porridge, she set the bowl down on the table.
Gu Baiyi’s warm smile didn’t waver as she quietly took the bowl back into the tray. “Senior Sister must be tired after last night. It’s only right to replenish your strength.”
The words landed, and for a beat, the room fell into silence.
Ji Rong stared at Gu Baiyi. Gu Baiyi met her gaze with a smile.
In the small, quiet bedchamber, even Wu Yan’s breathing from outside could be heard.
Ji Rong’s mind flicked back to the scenes from the night before.
The empty, cold Phoenix Terrace. The vines wrapped around her legs. And afterwards, the tingling brush of spiritual energy on Gu Baiyi’s fingertips as it wiped away the marks on her body, like a featherlight kiss.
Of course, if she remembered correctly, Gu Baiyi had lowered her gaze back then, her face full of regret.
If the traces hadn’t been so conspicuous, Ji Rong was certain Gu Baiyi would never have wiped them away.
It took a long while before Ji Rong finally accepted the reality: she’d been slept with by Gu Baiyi.
Yes, not she had slept with someone—someone had slept with her.
Seeing that Ji Rong didn’t respond, Gu Baiyi merely smiled and continued, “Master Kongji will be giving a Dharma talk today, but I thought you might not be up for it, so I took the liberty of declining on your behalf.”
She paused, her tone soft. “Senior Sister… you won’t blame me, will you?”
Ji Rong stared at her with a look of deep contemplation.
Tea. So much tea.
The scent of it was overwhelming, like thick fog curling around her thoughts, leaving her disoriented.
After a moment, she gritted her teeth and replied with a blank face, “No.”
Gu Baiyi smiled even more gently.
As if worried the fire in Ji Rong’s heart wasn’t burning hot enough, she added sweetly, “That’s good.”
Ji Rong let out a cold laugh.
Heh. Taking advantage of me and still pretending to be the innocent one? Just wait. One day, I’ll make you pay for it all.
With that thought, she pushed the pastries toward Gu Baiyi and said flatly, “You should have some too, Junior Sister.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister, but I’m not hungry,” Gu Baiyi replied.
She paused, then added, “If Senior Sister isn’t hungry, then I’m not either.”
Ji Rong: “…”
We’re both cultivators who can go without food. What kind of mountain-tea spirit are you trying to act like now?
She couldn’t shake the feeling that the heroine had somehow evolved again, just in an even weirder direction this time.
But Ji Rong had a hundred years of experience countering this kind of tea.
Smiling politely, she said, “Oh? Even if you’re not hungry, Junior Sister should eat something. After all, you were… quite exhausted last night too.”
Gu Baiyi froze.
While she stood there in stunned silence, Ji Rong calmly took a bite of the pastry.
After finishing it, she slowly licked her lips, savoring the taste, and casually raised her eyes to look at the person across from her.
Although Gu Baiyi had drunk a lot of mountain spring water in the morning, at this moment, watching that scene, her mouth inexplicably felt dry.
She had already mastered the eighth level of "Yufei," the “Departing Flame” technique. But now, facing her Senior Sister’s expression, instead of subsiding, her desire only grew stronger.
She reminded herself to stay in control, otherwise, she’d be swayed by her inner demons.
So Gu Baiyi stiffly averted her gaze, lowering her lashes to conceal the depths of her eyes.
Seeing this, Ji Rong gave a subtle, satisfied smile and said, “No more playing around with Junior Sister. Let’s talk about something else now.”
Gu Baiyi felt a slight flutter in her heart, but her expression remained calm, her lips still curved in a gentle smile. “What is it?”
Ji Rong looked at the faint smile on Gu Baiyi’s lips and couldn’t help but think, what are you hoping for, heroine?
Then she opened her mouth and mercilessly shattered Gu Baiyi’s expectations: “Something serious.”
Ji Rong: “…”
Gu Baiyi: “…”
She hadn’t been expecting much to begin with… but now, maybe she was.
Meanwhile, Ji Rong suddenly realized she’d meant to say “Let’s talk about doing missions,” but the word “missions” had been automatically silenced.
She didn’t know if it was the Heavenly Dao intervening, or the system limiting her.
She recalled how others could fluently talk about sect missions without issue, but whenever she tried to say “do missions,” it would get censored.
Damn it, are players not people too?
Before Gu Baiyi could completely misunderstand, Ji Rong quickly rephrased, keeping it concise: “We’re going to retrieve the swords.”
…
The Qingjing Pavilion was named for its tranquility. The room was simple, the exterior unadorned with ornate stone carvings, only a few bodhi trees had been planted.
It had rained for days in the remote mountain range, and many bodhi fruits had fallen beneath the trees.
As Master Kongji was giving a Dharma lecture in the Grand Hall, only a young novice monk was present in the courtyard, sweeping up fallen leaves and scattered fruits beneath the bodhi trees.
As he swept, he softly recited verses about enlightenment.
Unknowingly, dusk began to fall.
He looked up slightly, watching a white egret glide past the mountain ridge.
He set down his broom, pressed his palms together, and softly chanted, “All things have spirit. Amitabha.”
But just as he did, two figures silently appeared in the courtyard. Unseen and soundless, they strolled through the covered walkway, passing by several meditation chambers.
After locating Kongji’s quiet room, the two figures leapt into the air and slipped in through the window, one after the other.
They were about to shut the window behind them when a hand suddenly reached out to stop it.
A woman in black hissed, “Who’s there?”
Her eyes were sharp, it was Gu Baiyi.
A flash of silver gleamed like frost. She had drawn her sword and now held the Hanshui Sword against the intruder’s throat.
But the moment the figure landed lightly on the floor and turned slightly, Gu Baiyi didn’t lower the sword. Instead, her eyes narrowed. “Miss Jiang, what are you doing here?”
Jiang Fei didn’t respond. She simply glanced at the blade hovering an inch from her throat.
Then, with a light gesture, she casually pushed it aside.
The motion seemed effortless, but to deflect a sword from someone in the middle stage of Stepping on the Moon was no simple task.
But this was Jiang Fei.
So not only did she push the blade away with ease, she even pulled a preserved plum candy from her sleeve and, in front of both Gu Baiyi and Ji Rong, popped it into her mouth and chewed quietly.
After finishing the candy, Jiang Fei calmly said to Gu Baiyi, “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question?”
On the other side, Ji Rong removed her invisibility spell and revealed herself.
She looked at Jiang Fei, momentarily speechless.
Why was the big boss getting involved too? This part of the plot wasn’t supposed to include her!
But Jiang Fei, staring at Ji Rong, had a very serious expression. Slowly, she said, “I heard Junior Sister wasn’t feeling well and thought I’d come check on you. But imagine my surprise when I saw you and your bodyguard flying out from the Buddhist Temple and heading straight for Qingjing Pavilion, looking quite… mysterious.”
At the word mysterious, Ji Rong felt like Jiang Fei really wanted to say sneaky.
Jiang Fei paused, then added thoughtfully, “Although I don’t know what Junior Sister is planning, the way you broke the formation outside the pavilion was… rather crude.”
“Oh? I wonder what advice Miss Jiang might have,” Gu Baiyi said gently, though she still hadn’t lowered her sword. After all, the one who broke the formation was her.
“You were far too forceful,” Jiang Fei said bluntly, never one to sugarcoat things. “Every formation has a core. You only need to enter it and strike the eye directly. Why resort to killing intent?”
Ji Rong nodded in agreement.
As a player familiar with the game mechanics, she actually knew the formation outside the Qingjing Pavilion very well.
She had been about to undo it carefully when Gu Baiyi raised her sword.
A mark in the shape of a blazing feather lit up between Gu Baiyi’s brows. Just like the heroine in the game who could slay with a single strike, her face was calm but her movements were swift and decisive.
With one slash of “Sanzu Wangchuan,” the formation shattered instantly into dust.
Then she turned, and a small feather mark bloomed on her earlobe like a red mole, cold and sharp, alluring without being flirtatious.
It was a vibe that screamed late-stage unstable heroine.
And yet, this black-clad maniac, after destroying the formation so ruthlessly, quietly sheathed her sword and reined in her aura.
There was a smile in her eyes as she looked at Ji Rong and said, “Senior Sister, the formation is broken.”
Her voice lifted slightly, as if she was in a particularly good mood, there was even a hint of anticipation on her face.
Ji Rong stood frozen in place.
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
The heroine had used the fastest, most brute-force method to break the formation… all just to…
…get praised?
