Chapter 6 "Junior Sister, are you... going to give..."
The grassland here is rolling and stretching, with only a thatched hut on the hillside not far away.
Ji Fuguang's phoenix eyes swept over them, his gaze deep and unreadable.
He suddenly lowered his eyes, his fingers pinching the butterfly hairpin in Sheng Zhiyi's hair, pushing it in further until it was firmly nestled in her hair, motionless. A slight smile curved his thin lips.
"Since Junior Sister wants to go there, then let her go."
Sheng Zhiyi glared at Ji Fuguang's back.
It sounds like you're making a big deal out of it, but that's a little Easter egg the author left for you!
An abandoned thatched hut stands atop a small hill, with thick thatch hanging from the eaves, and a winding stream beside it.
The two stopped at the door. Ji Fuguang's expression was indifferent. Suddenly, he said, "I know this place."
Sheng Zhiyi looked up and saw that his face showed no emotion, but a faint sense of nostalgia rose in his eyes.
"This is where I lived when I was a child, and it's also the home of my adoptive parents." He pushed open the door, which creaked slightly, and the whole room came into view.
The room was simply furnished, with a table in the center, a bed by the window, a few cabinets, and a loom in the corner, clearly indicating that the family was poor.
Ji Fuguang entered the room and touched each item one by one. The shadows of the thatched roofs covered half of his face, making his expression indistinct.
"This is my adoptive parents' bed. They work hard and always leave home in the morning frost and don't return until the stars and moon."
“My adoptive mother cherished this cabinet very much. She kept the key to the cabinet door close to her body every day. Even my adoptive father never touched it himself, except once—” He chuckled softly, “I got the key.”
Walking to the table, Ji Fuguang said in surprise, "I didn't expect to see this."
He picked up a small wooden bowl.
The wooden bowl was dark and rough, and when he held it up with his slender, jade-like fingers, it looked even more clumsy and dirty.
He laughed, as if he had seen something rare and precious.
"My adoptive father made this for me by hand. I thought it was broken long ago. At that time, I thought this bowl was very big, but now it seems a bit small."
He looked around the room, a smile playing on his lips, his voice soft, as if filled with endless nostalgia.
"The old residence has unexpectedly appeared in this secret realm. Now, it's even more mysterious than the dense forest of Biying Valley." Ji Fuguang slowly turned around, his phoenix eyes fixed on Sheng Zhiyi. "Junior Sister, do you have any clues?"
"How would I know!" Sheng Zhiyi looked at him defiantly.
You were the designated male protagonist of the entire book, who knows what the author was thinking at the time? Maybe it was just to let you reminisce!
"The original site was completely burned down and can never be returned to. It's truly thanks to Junior Sister that we can return to our old home today." Ji Fuguang tapped the cracked wooden door with his knuckles, causing a shower of paint chips to fall.
He wore a gentle smile, his phoenix eyes fixed on Sheng Zhiyi.
Sheng Zhiyi nodded repeatedly.
Yes, that's how you praise me!
If the affection level is higher, it will be easier for me to win over the player next time!
After leaving her old residence, Sheng Zhiyi walked along the stream in a cheerful mood.
She was unaware that a sudden gust of wind swept into the hut behind her, silently shredding all the objects inside into dust.
Ji Fuguang stared at her back with a cold, unsettling gaze.
The babbling brook sounds like the tinkling of pearls and jade pendants.
The familiar mechanical voice echoed again in Sheng Zhi's mind:
[Good afternoon, player Sheng Zhiyi!]
[A new strategy guide has been released. Please check your inbox.]
[Strategy Quest: Embrace Ji Fuguang to gain his favor.]
...
These tasks are getting harder and harder!
System, do you even understand the concept of taking things one step at a time? You've only known each other for a short time, and you're already holding hands and hugging? Ji Fuguang is a gentleman! He doesn't understand these things about romantic relationships at all!
Sheng Zhiyi felt a wave of dizziness. She thought it would be better to go back to the servants' quarters and chop firewood, at least that job seemed to have some potential.
Embrace Ji Fuguang...
This task is truly a dead end.
Or should she pretend to faint and have Ji Fuguang pick her up?
But what if Ji Fuguang is very proper and uses a spell to get her up? That's a much better possibility than if he carried her up.
Sheng Zhiyi couldn't help but tap her head, trying to come up with a good idea.
"Watch out!"
With a sharp shout, Ji Fuguang's long sword flashed like a startled swan amidst the snow, arriving in an instant!
It wasn't until a few strands of hair were sliced off by the sword energy and floated down that Sheng Zhiyi realized the sword had already been drawn.
What a fast sword! It's three times faster than when it stabbed the golden python!
Sheng Zhiyi quickly took a step back, subconsciously drawing her sword, and then looked in the direction Ji Fuguang was pointing.
The sword flashed coldly, pointing straight at the ground.
A little girl, about seven or eight years old, was curled up on the ground. She wore a pink hibiscus dress and had her hair in pigtails. Her small body was trembling violently with fear. She covered her face with her hands tightly, as if that would allow her to escape from everything.
"Who are you, and why are you in this secret realm?" Ji Fuguang's voice was deep and cold.
The little girl ignored him, her hand covering her face remaining motionless.
Do you think that by closing your eyes and covering your ears, you can pretend that nothing happened?
Sheng Zhiyi was both amused and exasperated. She squatted down and nudged the little girl's arm, "Show us your face and let us see what's going on."
The little girl froze, seemingly realizing there was nowhere to hide, and slowly lowered her hand and raised her head.
The moment Sheng Zhiyi saw her face clearly, she was slightly taken aback. The girl had beautiful features, and now, with a cold, long sword pointed at her, tears welled up in her eyes, which she stubbornly held back.
"Are you a flower fairy?" Sheng Zhiyi asked with great interest.
"How...how did you know?" The little girl's eyes widened in surprise, and she hurriedly looked down to check her hands. "No...no branches or leaves are showing."
Sheng Zhiyi lightly tapped the end of her eyebrow with her fingertip to indicate.
At the tail of the little flower fairy's eyebrow, several small, pink petal patterns suddenly appeared, growing naturally from her flesh and bones.
Realizing the flaw in her transformation technique, the little flower fairy's face fell in dejection. But when she caught sight of the gleaming sword tip, her eyes immediately filled with pleading: "I...I just wanted to play with you...I didn't mean to harm anyone!"
Having been isolated from the outside world for a century, she had just taken human form and encountered outsiders. She was tempted to play around, but was easily outmaneuvered.
Just as Sheng Zhiyi was about to speak, she saw Ji Fuguang's thin lips slightly upturned, a smile on his face, his voice clear and melodious like a spring gurgling over stones, yet carrying a chilling undertone:
“Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.”
Before the words were even finished, the longsword shot forward, its tip instantly piercing the skin of the little flower fairy's neck.
"etc!"
Sheng Zhiyi blurted out, then stood up and looked at Ji Fuguang expectantly.
She raised her hand and gestured slightly to indicate the location. "Senior brother, she's just a minor demon; it won't have any effect!"
"Besides, I don't think she's possessed by any demons, nor is she some heinous monster. Why can't we spare her life?"
Sigh, Ji Fuguang was great in the early stages, except that he was a bit too humanist!
If we want to achieve great things, we must make more friends and fewer enemies!
"I beg you, senior brother, to spare her life!" Sheng Zhiyi looked up, her almond-shaped eyes shining brightly, like stars in the sky.
“Three times,” Ji Fuguang said calmly.
"What?" Sheng Zhiyi didn't understand the sentence because it seemed to come out of nowhere.
"If she had malicious intentions, she had at least three chances just now..."
Ji Fuguang raised his slender fingers and lightly traced them across Sheng Zhiyi's fair neck, the movement elegant yet carrying a deadly chill, "I can sever your throat with a sharp blade."
The trace left by those fingertips sent a phantom-like chill through Sheng Zhiyi's neck.
She instinctively shrank her neck and touched her head.
“But she didn’t, which further proves that she has no intention of harming anyone,” Sheng Zhiyi suddenly thought of something and clapped her hands. “Right, the little flower fairy lives in the secret realm, so she must be quite familiar with this place. We don’t need to explore the way one by one.”
She looked down at the little flower fairy and asked softly, "Don't you think so?"
The little flower fairy looked at Sheng Zhiyi with some confusion, "I just... just transformed into human form..."
Sheng Zhiyi wished she could cover her mouth. Silly girl, why do you say everything out loud?
She quickly reminded him, "Have you ever seen any special places where treasures are hidden, places guarded by powerful monsters, or other special locations?"
Perhaps Sheng Zhiyi's reminder was specific enough, because the little flower fairy thought for a moment and timidly spoke up: "Not far from our Phoenix Feather Clan's habitat, there is a place where weapons are scattered... but..."
She glanced nervously at Ji Fuguang, her voice trailing off, "Those weapons are old and broken, do they even count?"
Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords!
These divine weapons, lost in the ancient battlefields of gods and demons, are hidden in a secret realm where the sun never shines, and their spirits are dormant, naturally causing them to lose their luster.
"Senior brother, let's scout ahead on the way. It won't take up much time, how about it?"
Sheng Zhiyi looked intently at Ji Fuguang with her almond-shaped eyes and tried her best to persuade him, "Anyway, we don't have any clues here yet. Maybe we can find something there. Besides, this little flower fairy has only just transformed into human form. I doubt she would dare to lie to us. It's probably true!"
"It really is true..." the little flower fairy murmured softly.
Sheng Zhiyi quickly nudged her, telling her not to speak.
Ji Fuguang glanced at Sheng Zhiyi and calmly sheathed his sword. "Since Junior Sister insists, let's go."
Sheng Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords, she couldn't help but feel grief and indignation.
She put on a grand show, but in the end, it all came to nothing but benefit Ji Fuguang.
The weapon in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords is Ji Fuguang's natal weapon!
Ji Fuguang, Ji Fuguang, after I've won you over a few times, you've gained quite a bit of benefit!
The little flower fairy led the way, with the two following closely behind. The secret realm was unpredictable; it seemed to be a vast, flat plain, but after the little flower fairy turned several corners, the scenery suddenly changed, and a deep, dark ravine appeared abruptly.
"This...this is it." The little flower fairy stopped at the entrance to the valley, her voice trembling.
A chill permeated the valley floor, with wisps of white mist rising and shifting within. Deep within the mist, a long sword could be vaguely seen, its blade rusted and dull. Further in, the view was obscured, suggesting that many more weapons had likely been left behind.
"Can...can I go now?" the little flower fairy asked timidly.
Sheng Zhiyi sighed inwardly. The little flower demon was truly kind and innocent. She had led them here through many traps, but she hadn't tried to use them to escape. Instead, she had obediently brought the two of them here.
She rummaged through her storage bag and pulled out a jade bracelet. She took the little flower fairy's hand and slipped it onto her wrist: "Thank you for leading the way. This bracelet, though a mortal object, is exquisite and lovely. Consider it a token of my gratitude. You should go back now."
The little flower fairy twisted her wrist a few times, glanced up at Ji Fuguang, lifted her skirt, and turned to run away.
In that instant, the sword light burst forth, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, directly devouring her unsuspecting back!
"Thump!"
Sheng Zhiyi bumped into Ji Fuguang's arms, almost knocking him to the ground.
The sword energy was deflected, veering off the little flower fairy's chest and piercing her shoulder, drawing out a cloud of blood. She screamed in agony, her pink dress stained crimson with blood.
"Run!"
Sheng Zhiyi shouted.
This time, the little flower fairy was clever; she ran forward without looking back and disappeared after a few turns.
Sheng Zhiyi wrapped her arms around Ji Fuguang's arm, slowly raised her head, and met Ji Fuguang's gaze.
Ji Fuguang slowly curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile, his entire body exuding the fragrance of pear blossoms as cool and icy as a blade.
"Junior Sister, don't you want to give me an explanation?"
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