It was not until this extraordinarily lavish dinner ended...
...that Jiang Ye finally managed to log back in.
He was so angry he could only stamp his feet inside Bai Zhirou's mind.
He muttered with annoyance, “Agh, I was so immersed in playing during the day that I didn't even notice my 'net fee' was completely overdrawn!”
...
Night fell deeper.
A Dharma Boat glided smoothly toward the outer sect disciples' residences.
Aboard the Dharma Boat, besides Gu Qingxue, the other three True Disciples had tagged along.
Just as the banquet was breaking up, the three of them had spoken in unison, insisting on “escorting Junior Sister Bai back.”
Bai Zhirou had felt thoroughly embarrassed by the grand gesture, declining repeatedly, but they insisted.
Gu Qingxue held her sword in her arms, staring at the three of them with a strange look on her face.
Gu Changqing coughed twice, trying to break the awkwardness. “Haha, the moon is really round tonight.”
Ye Jinghong nodded solemnly. “Indeed.”
Qi Linger hastily chimed in, “Yeah, yeah! It's so big and round!”
Gu Qingxue silently pulled her gaze back.
She looked at Bai Zhirou, her voice softening slightly. “Tomorrow, after you claim your pills from the Medicine Pavilion, come straight to Sword Peak to pick out a cave dwelling.”
“There happens to be a peak right next to my cave dwelling with a quiet and scenic environment. I'll go check tomorrow to see if it suits you.”
Hearing this, Qi Linger immediately protested, “Second Senior Sister! When I was picking a cave dwelling before, I wanted to be next to yours, but you said it wasn't suitable!”
Gu Qingxue said calmly, “Mm, it wasn't suitable for you. You are far too noisy on normal days, and I prefer quiet.”
Qi Linger: “...”
I really shouldn't have opened my mouth.
...
The Dharma Boat landed smoothly.
The four of them waved goodbye to Bai Zhirou, bringing a warmth to her heart.
Only after she entered her room and closed the door did Gu Qingxue's cool voice ring out in the night wind:
“Alright, what is going on with the three of you? Why did you all tag along in the middle of the night?”
The three of them froze.
“Haha, what could possibly be going on? We were just escorting Junior Sister Bai back.”
“Yeah, yeah! Strictly escorting her!”
“It is getting late. This seat shall take his leave first.”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment the words left their mouths, the three of them—looking like thieves with a guilty conscience—instantly flew away on their swords, running faster than lightning.
Looking at the odd trio, Gu Qingxue didn't overthink it, turning around to mount her sword and take flight.
...
Meanwhile, inside Bai Zhirou's room.
The young woman was sitting at the table with her legs spread wide, wolfing down the braised lion's head meatballs she had just packed back.
That was right—Jiang Ye had logged in.
He estimated that when his net fee was completely drained and he was forcefully kicked offline, the cooldown time was roughly eight shichen.
Jiang Ye devoured the food frantically while lecturing her, “Xiao Bai, you're still growing. How can you eat so little?”
“Your stomach is still empty; you're not even twenty percent full!”
Bai Zhirou feebly protested in her mind, “Eating too much makes you gain weight.”
Jiang Ye: “...”
The veteran player was rendered speechless. Can cultivators even gain weight? Are you questioning the metabolic mechanics of cultivators?
Immediately after, Bai Zhirou's voice rang out again, filled with emotion: “Still, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters are really so nice, coming out of their way to escort me back in the middle of the night.”
Knock, knock, knock.
Right at that moment, someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
Jiang Ye called out indistinctly with his mouth stuffed with meat.
With a flick of a hand seal, the room door opened automatically.
Outside the door.
Qi Linger poked her small head inside.
The moment she raised her eyes, she saw the very same Junior Sister Bai who had been “full after two bites” at the banquet, now wolfing down lion's head meatballs with her face dripping with oil.
“Yo, Senior Sister Qi! Come on in and have some?”
Jiang Ye raised a greasy hand and greeted her boisterously.
Qi Linger's lip twitched, and she gave an awkward laugh:
“No, no need. I ate my fill just now.”
“Oh. Then what brings you sneaking over in the middle of the night?”
At those words, Qi Linger seemed to recall her purpose, slipping inside like a thief and hastily shutting the room door.
Jiang Ye paused his chewing.
Raising an eyebrow, he gossiped in his mind: “Xiao Bai, do you like lolis?”
Bai Zhirou: “Huh?”
“Like Senior Sister Qi, a legal loli.”
Bai Zhirou broke down: “...Don't do anything crazy!”
Jiang Ye teased, “I've noticed you have great luck with women. One by one, they don't sleep at night and just love sneaking into your room.”
Bai Zhirou: “...”
By now, Qi Linger had already leaned in close to Jiang Ye.
The little pint-sized girl, usually so loud and brash, actually looked a bit shy and fidgety now.
Jiang Ye used a handkerchief to wipe the grease off his hands and face.
He felt that in such a solemn moment, he should show the NPC some respect.
Once cleaned up, Jiang Ye said with utmost seriousness, “Senior Sister Qi, I'm ready. Whatever you have to say, speak freely.”
Qi Linger let out an awkward chuckle and lowered her voice:
“Haha, since Junior Sister Bai asked, I'll tell you the truth. Don't tell anyone else, okay? It's pretty embarrassing.”
Jiang Ye straightened his back and nodded in promise. “Rest assured. It stays between you and me.”
With Jiang Ye acting so solemn, even Bai Zhirou in his mind grew nervous along with them.
Qi Linger took a deep breath, her eyes shining with excitement:
“So... how exactly did you cultivate your second personality?”
“Huh?”
The moment those words came out, even a veteran player as experienced as Jiang Ye was stunned.
Qi Linger completely opened the floodgates, gesticulating excitedly:
“Look! Your second personality comes out to fight and cultivate for you whenever you run into trouble!”
“If I had one too, I could just focus on eating and drinking all day, and then just close my eyes—”
“—and let my second personality come out to diligently cultivate for me!”
“When I wake up from a nap, my cultivation realm will have just naturally gone up! Wouldn't that be completely perfect?!”
Jiang Ye: “...”
Speechless.
You motherfucker really are a genius.
Do you think you're playing an idle cultivation mini-game or something?
Just then...
Knock, knock, knock.
The door was knocked on once again.
Qi Linger's excited expression froze instantly, like a frightened cat.
Jiang Ye raised his voice and yelled:
“Who is it?”
Gu Changqing's gentle voice came from outside the door:
“Junior Sister Bai, it's Senior Brother Gu. I have important matters to discuss. Is it convenient to open the door?”
Jiang Ye: “...”
Is this what they mean by 'wherever there is a Crouching Dragon, a Phoenix Fledgling is sure to be found within ten paces'?
When Qi Linger heard Gu Changqing's voice, she completely panicked.
After all, if word got out that she had snuck over to ask how to cultivate a 'second personality' just to slack off, how could she ever show her face on Sword Peak again?
She frantically looked around.
The outer sect disciple's single room was extremely crude—apart from a bed and a table, there was nowhere to hide.
Without a second thought, she executed a slide tackle right under the bed!
At the same time, she sent a divine sense voice transmission to Jiang Ye: “Whatever you do, don't tell Senior Brother Gu I'm here!”
Jiang Ye complained frantically in his mind: We're not having an affair! Why the hell are you diving under the bed?!
With a wave of his hand, the room door opened once more.
Gu Changqing walked in with a warm, refreshing smile on his face.
Jiang Ye anticipated him directly: “Here for the second personality?”
Gu Changqing's smile froze.
Immediately after, he nodded with a guilty conscience and lowered his voice, “Could we close the door first before speaking?”
Jiang Ye waved his hand, and the door slammed shut.
Gu Changqing put on that warm, gentle smile once more:
“Junior Sister, there were too many eyes and ears outside just now, so it was inconvenient for me to speak. Now, I have come specifically to ask about this second personality...”
Jiang Ye: “...”
He really wanted to applaud right then and there.
Holy shit, there's actually ANOTHER talent like this.
Knock, knock, knock.
The room door knocked once again, again, and again.
Rate on N.U.
