Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Bead of Shattering Delusions? No, it’s Xiaotao~
***
“As expected, you were much cuter when you were little!”
Lin Muyu puffed out her cheeks, glaring at Luo Chenxi with obvious dissatisfaction.
This guy had just emerged from the illusion and immediately returned to that annoying appearance that made people uncomfortable to look at, not changed one bit!
Luo Chenxi extended her finger and gently poked at her slightly puffed cheek, the corner of her mouth curving into a smile:
“You’re even cuter now though~”
“…”
Lin Muyu suddenly remembered the words she had spoken in the illusion, her heart tightened, and she calmly took two steps back.
She had a feeling that Luo Chenxi might be holding back some kind of revenge, but right now the most urgent matter was figuring out how to get out of this cursed place.
“Do you know how to get out of here?”
Lin Muyu looked up at the dream bubbles floating all over the sky. Those bubbles flickered with scattered light, looking beautiful, but the scenes within the dream bubbles carried an indescribable eeriness.
She knew these dream bubbles were all illusions of the disciples, but she didn’t have time to rescue them one by one.
The urgent priority was to get out first and find the elders to solve this.
“I’m not a know-it-all, how could I know everything?”
Luo Chenxi shrugged her shoulders with a relaxed tone. She only had a superficial understanding of illusions to begin with, so naturally couldn’t explain the reasoning behind it.
“What about Xiao Bai?”
Lin Muyu turned her gaze to the little fox crouched at her feet.
In her heart, Xiao Bai was much more reliable than that unreliable master.
Xiao Bai remained silent, but suddenly the tail behind it began to grow longer, the snow-white fur flowing in the light and shadow, extending until it disappeared beyond the reach of sight.
Luo Chenxi watched that fox tail grow so long it vanished from view, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes as she squinted thoughtfully.
“So Xiao Bai’s tail can stretch that long?”
Lin Muyu stared wide-eyed in amazement, unconsciously reaching out her hand, her fingertips tingling with the urge to touch that fluffy tail and feel what it was like.
Before long, that tail that had disappeared into the distance slowly retracted.
As the tail drew closer, Lin Muyu noticed the tip seemed to be wrapped around something. Looking carefully, it was actually a person.
“Let… let me go!”
A clear female voice rang out, like spring water tinkling in a mountain stream, but carrying obvious panic.
Lin Muyu curiously leaned closer and saw Xiao Bai’s fox tail wrapped around a young girl.
The girl had long pink hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders, and was currently looking panicked while being wrapped in the snow-white fox tail, like a piece of candy wrapped in cotton.
Her eyes were round almond-shaped eyes, pupils like black obsidian soaked in water, clear and moist. Right now, due to fear, a thin layer of moisture clouded her eye sockets.
Her skin was tender like a freshly peeled lychee, snow-white and translucent with a faint pink tinge.
She wore a pink veil dress that wrapped around her slender figure, looking particularly well-fitted.
Lin Muyu couldn’t help but compare their heights in her mind. The girl wasn’t tall, shorter than Luo Chenxi, but just a tiny bit taller than herself.
“What a cute girl…”
Lin Muyu sighed sincerely.
But the next second her face fell as she muttered to herself:
Why is she still taller than me?
She began to question life, was it because the original didn’t eat properly before, which is why she grew so short?
Or were all these people just too tall?
“Not as cute as you.”
Luo Chenxi suddenly interjected from the side, pulling Lin Muyu out of her height anxiety.
Lin Muyu ignored her teasing and turned to Xiao Bai with confusion:
“Who is she?”
Xiao Bai shook its head without answering, only pointing at the pink-haired girl with another tail, as if saying “ask her yourself.”
Just as Lin Muyu was about to speak, Luo Chenxi had already asked first:
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
Her tone carried a hint of scrutiny, someone who suddenly appeared in this kind of place had to be guarded against.
“I… I…”
The girl stammered, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s buzz, her eyes full of panic, tears swirling in her eye sockets and about to fall.
Lin Muyu quickly pulled Luo Chenxi aside:
“You scared her.”
Then she waved at Xiao Bai, signaling it to let the person go, before speaking gently to the girl:
“Don’t be afraid. She just has an impatient personality, she’s not a bad person. Just tell big sister here what happened.”
She had seen plenty of shy kids like this in her previous life, and had long since perfected the art of coaxing people.
Plus with this face that looked completely non-threatening, she was confident this time would go even more smoothly than in her previous life.
But as soon as the girl spoke, Lin Muyu froze in place as if hit by a paralyzing spell.
“Um… actually, I’m already 5,000 years old…”
The girl’s eyes were clear with a hint of innocence, not looking like she was lying, but these words sounded unbelievable no matter how you heard them.
“What, 5,000 years old?!”
As soon as Lin Muyu’s exclamation fell, Luo Chenxi also raised an eyebrow, and even Xiao Bai lifted its head, looking at the girl with more scrutiny.
‘5,000 years old… could she be a weapon spirit?’ Luo Chenxi stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Xiao Bai also nodded quietly: ‘She’s almost as old as this fox, not bad.’
“Y… yes.”
Seeing their reaction, the girl was so scared she shrank her neck, her little face scrunching up pitifully.
Only then did Lin Muyu snap back to her senses, realizing her reaction had been too strong. She quickly spoke gently:
“We were just a bit surprised, don’t be afraid.”
Although she wasn’t sure if the girl really was 5,000 years old, looking at her appearance, she was clearly no different from a shy middle school student.
Lin Muyu stopped dwelling on the age issue and continued asking gently:
“Then what’s your name? Why are you here?”
Upon hearing this, the girl’s eyes reddened slightly, and if you looked closely, you could see tears sparkling in her eyes:
“I… I don’t have a name. I was living peacefully in the mountains, then suddenly someone captured me and brought me here… wuu wuu wuu…”
Luo Chenxi looked at this scene, a flash of doubt crossing her mind:
‘No way, this is really a 5,000-year-old weapon spirit?’
Xiao Bai also tilted its head with a disgusted expression, as if thinking:
‘This is too embarrassing for us older folks!’
Lin Muyu quickly pulled the girl into her arms, gently patting her back and comforting her softly:
“It’s okay, big sister will definitely take you out of here. Don’t cry anymore.”
She had completely forgotten that the person in front of her was actually about as old as her ancestors, and was just treating her like she was comforting a wronged little sister.
Only this scene looked a bit strange, the one being comforted looked like the older sister, while the one doing the comforting looked more like the younger sister…
The girl cried in her arms for a while, her emotions gradually calming down. Sniffling, she said:
“Wuu… that person who captured me called me the ‘Bead of Shattering Delusions.’ That name sounds so ugly…”
“Bead of Shattering Delusions?”
All three of them froze upon hearing this name, each having their own thoughts.
Luo Chenxi frowned slightly:
‘This name sounds familiar.’
Xiao Bai swished its tail:
‘Shattering Delusions? Could it be…’
But Lin Muyu only had one thought:
‘It really is ugly. How about calling her Xiaotao(Little Peach)? It matches her pink color so well~’
Before Luo Chenxi and Xiao Bai could speak, Lin Muyu had already blurted out:
“I think it’s ugly too. How about calling you Xiaotao?”
This statement made both the person and fox helplessly hold their foreheads.
Shouldn’t the focus right now be on the background behind this name?
And this naming was way too casual, wasn’t it?
Though thinking about Xiao Bai’s name, “Xiaotao” didn’t seem so hard to accept.
“Xiaotao…”
The girl murmured this name, and her originally sad eyes gradually showed a smile as she said in a soft voice:
“Mm, this name sounds really nice. I like it very much.”
“?”
Luo Chenxi and Xiao Bai beside her exchanged glances, both seeing helplessness in each other’s eyes.
This really sounds nice?
“Speaking of which, Xiaotao.”
Lin Muyu finally remembered the important matter and asked seriously:
“Do you know how to get out?”
Xiao Bai had specifically brought her back, so it must be related to the method of getting out.
“How to get out…”
Xiaotao lowered her head, thought for a while, then shyly turned her gaze toward Lin Muyu.
Just as Lin Muyu was wondering why she was looking at her like that, Xiaotao suddenly moved closer shyly and whispered a few words in her ear.
“Ah??”