After Gu Baiyi left, Ji Rong fell into a long period of melancholy.
Part of it was because when Gu Baiyi was around, danger lurked at every corner.
But ever since she left, Ji Rong hadn't run into any venomous snakes while gathering herbs, her alchemy had been going more smoothly than ever, no more exploding furnaces.
And after she broke through to the Riding the Wind Realm, the bamboo in the green bamboo grove fell with a single strike. Completing sect tasks had become as easy as drinking water.
Every day, Ji Rong went through her routine; training with her sword, eating, sleeping, all in an unremarkably peaceful rhythm.
In her spare time, she would take out a little booklet and draw a stroke under the tally mark, celebrating the fact that she'd survived another day.
At night, after another routine day, she'd lie flat on her bed and begin to ponder the meaning of life.
Sure, her original intention upon entering this game world was to live like a salted fish, lying flat and doing nothing. And even the times she was forced to cling to life were merely out of helplessness.
What Ji Rong had envisioned was a Buddhist-style cultivation life. But now that she no longer had to cling to life, her journey as a villain had entered a leisurely phase. She'd stayed in her comfort zone for so long that things had started to feel...
A little too boring.
When sword practice became unbearably dull, she suddenly remembered that the heroine had already turned dark. So she asked the system, "What's Gu Baiyi's favorability towards me now?"
[Dear~ Still the same result. Gu Baiyi's favorability has exceeded the system's limit, it can't be calculated~]
Ji Rong: "…"
She was pretty sure what the system meant by "exceeded the limit" was below the lower limit, not beyond the upper.
But Ji Rong had been too "salted fish" this past year. She'd uneventfully broken through the mid-stage of Riding the Wind Realm, then again to its peak.
At such a young age, she was already half a step into the Stepping on the Moon Realm. Outer sect disciples looked up to her with utmost reverence.
But only Ji Rong herself knew, the reason she'd leveled up so fast was simply because she was bored out of her mind. With no dungeons to run, she had nothing better to do than grind cultivation every day.
And the reason she was this bored wasn't just because her villain path was dull, it was also because the system had absolutely no intention of giving her any new missions. According to the system, it was because—
[Dear! You'll need to break through to the Stepping on the Moon Realm before the system can unlock your next stage of missions~]
Ji Rong was crushed. She really wished she could just spend some money to instantly level up.
But alas, this wasn't a video game, so the only thing she could do was grind her cultivation the hard way to unlock the next mission.
So she woke up every morning to practice swordsmanship, trained again after lunch, and even practiced in her sea of consciousness while she slept at night.
Over time, she trained so much she was practically ready to cough up her sword. Life was becoming unbearable.
She even found herself hoping for some random NPC to come stir up some trouble, anything to bring a little excitement to her monotonous life.
But all the NPCs were living their own lives on schedule, each with their own business to attend to.
Ye Chuyang had encountered his great opportunity and gone down the mountain for tempering; Qiu Susuang came and went like a ghost, rarely seen; after Wei Zhiyuan was seriously injured, Wei Zongqiu disappeared too.
Her "main wife," Mei He, was trapped in the Divine Sect and hadn't returned in over a year. Even the lunatic Xie Bai had seemingly vanished into thin air.
At this moment, Ji Rong was sitting in the Yanhui Pavilion, watching the snow fall.
The world was blanketed in white, it felt as if she were the only one left in the entire cultivation realm.
She raised her cup and drank alone, looking at the empty stone benches around her and sighing softly.
Life really is as lonely as snow.
As she drank, the blurry image of her older sister appeared before her eyes.
Her sister stood beside a plum tree, calmly saying, "If you have time to sit here sighing, does that mean you've already found all five swords?"
"Five swords?"
Ji Rong chuckled, then murmured, "One is Cangming, one's in Feng He's hands, and the other three are missing. How am I supposed to find them all?"
Her sister replied, "When the time comes, you'll find them. But if you keep wallowing like this, even if the opportunity is right in front of you, you won't be able to grasp it."
Ji Rong said, "Even if I find all five swords, so what? This place is so dull, and I don't even know anyone here. Might as well be dead."
"No. There are people here you know."
Her sister said calmly, "You just don't know it yet."
Ji Rong blinked, about to respond, but in the blink of an eye, her sister had disappeared.
When she came to, she shook her head.
Her sister never played video games, how could she possibly be here? It must've been a drunken hallucination.
Snow continued falling on Yanhui Pavilion.
Ji Rong sat in the pavilion, gazing at the green plum blossoms scattered in the snow.
Each petal was pure and translucent, the green calyx against white petals looking just like decorative embroidery stitched by a seamstress.
For some reason, Ji Rong suddenly remembered the ribbon Gu Baiyi had used to tie her hair that day. The petals embroidered on it seemed just as tightly clustered.
Only, that flower had been cinnabar plum, not green plum.
Looking back now, perhaps Gu Baiyi hadn't worn it to match Ji Rong's pattern—but rather for the sake of the original host.
Ji Rong lowered her head, sipped her wine, and still couldn't figure out why Gu Baiyi would like the original host.
Even if it was part of the plot setup, falling for one's mortal enemy with no reason at all felt too far-fetched.
Then, Ji Rong suddenly remembered, didn't the system store have an item called "Gu Baiyi's Memories"?
She thought again, wouldn't 100 achievement points be better spent on a divine-level music manual like Brocade Zither? Why waste them on the heroine's memories?
But… she really was too curious.
Ji Rong tried to convince herself, these memories might hold the key to her favorite ship. Spending 100 points to uncover the truth behind a potential CP collapse… kind of worth it?
Just as she made up her mind and was about to summon the system, the system suddenly spoke up on its own.
[Ding! Since the player has already reached the peak of the Riding the Wind Realm, the system is now unlocking a special item—Original Host's Memories.]
Ji Rong: ?
How was that supposed to be some kind of "special item"?
Granted, ever since she got the Cangming Sword, she'd often dreamed about the original host at night.
But the scenes were all mundane, either she was practicing her sword, or on her way to practice. She rarely even left the house.
Which made Ji Rong all the more puzzled, why would someone so zen and obsessed with sword training do something like poisoning and framing the heroine?
Was it really just… because the plot demanded it?
Even back then, Ji Rong had thought the whole "poisoning the heroine" thing felt off.
After all, Wantangju didn't even keep any antidotes on hand. The original host had always been reclusive and disinterested in making friends.
If she had really poisoned herself, it would be like saying she thought her life was too long.
Thinking of this, Ji Rong's gossip-loving heart flared up again. She asked the system, "How many achievement points would it take to unlock the original host's memories?"
[The player must spend 30 achievement points to unlock one key memory fragment of the original host.]
Ji Rong: "…"
Thirty points for one memory fragment? You might as well just rob me.
[Mystery Shop limited-time event now open. Please choose wisely, player.]
Ji Rong thought to herself, in games like this, limited-time items are always a steal.
Her curiosity got the better of her, and after a moment of hesitation, she grit her teeth and said, "Fine. I'll exchange for one and see what happens."
[Please confirm: Do you wish to spend 30 achievement points to exchange for "Original Host's Memory" ×1?]
"Yes."
[Confirmed. Exchanging achievement points—]
[Ding! Congratulations, player. Exchange was successful. Assistant will now initiate automatic plane transfer.]
Ji Rong blinked, confused. Wait, what's a plane transfer?
Before she could even ask, a powerful force yanked her consciousness into the depths of her mind.
Once she regained her footing, Ji Rong realized she was now standing on the open sea.
She looked down and saw massive waves crashing around her, the gale winds churning up layers of frothy snow-like spray.
Well, her sea of consciousness sure wasn't calm today.
Right then, standing at the eye of the storm, three bubble-like spheres floated in front of her, each upheld by a column of water.
The three memory orbs shimmered and sparkled like crystal balls.
[Please choose a memory fragment.]
Ji Rong suddenly understood, so these were the original host's memories.
She stared at them for a while but couldn't tell any difference between the three. So, she just reached out and grabbed the first one. "This one, I guess."
The next second, the world spun violently as she was sucked straight into the memory orb.
Tossed and turned in the swirling vortex for what felt like ages, Ji Rong finally opened her eyes to a hazy, dreamlike scene. Everything, from the bonsai plants to the people walking past, was cloaked in a misty veil, blurry and indistinct.
Ji Rong rolled her eyes. Damn junk system. What is this potato-quality resolution? How am I supposed to see anything clearly?
Just as she was grumbling, a pair of hands gently pushed open a door and in that moment, everything came into focus.
Straight ahead, bamboo leaves swayed like waves in the ocean.
In the distance, white egrets waded through a waterfall, soaring up toward the sky.
The scene was familiar, Ji Rong recognized it instantly. This was Wantangju.
She was now just a soul, standing quietly amidst the bamboo grove, watching a woman in gauzy robes practicing her swordsmanship between the trees.
The woman raised her sword and slashed at a bamboo stalk with a swift and fierce move, but not even the outer layer of the bamboo was scratched.
Her expression didn't change, as if she had expected this outcome. Calmly, she struck again.
Ji Rong could feel the chilling pressure radiating from the woman, an aura that kept everyone at a distance. This had to be the original host.
The woman raised her sword again. Her face was as emotionless as before—but this time, Ji Rong suddenly heard her thoughts.
Tired. I don't want to keep doing this.
Ji Rong: "…"
She stared at the woman's cold and aloof expression, almost doubting her ears.
Just then, a stalk of bamboo in the distance suddenly toppled over.
As the bamboo fell, a silhouette in purple appeared from the shadows.
It was Gu Baiyi, her delicate features and soft gaze unmistakable.
She seemed surprised to see the original host there. After a brief blink, she gave a somewhat awkward smile and said, "What a coincidence. Senior Sister Ji is here on a sect mission too?"
Ji Rong felt so immersed she nearly responded to the original host.
But when she saw Gu Baiyi's shy and innocent face, she realized, this was Gu Baiyi before her dark transformation. The heroine was still pure and naïve at this stage.
Ji Rong wanted to shout at the original host: This kind of heroine is rare, treasure her while you can!
But the woman only stared coldly at Gu Baiyi for a long moment, lifted her chin slightly, and replied arrogantly, "What, are you proud of finishing the sect mission before me?"
Ji Rong: "…"
Girl, could you sound any more like a villain?
And yet, what the original host thought inside completely floored Ji Rong.
Her face remained icy, eyes full of disdain, but her inner voice said:
I think I saw her at the initiation ceremony. I asked the Master about her—she's a Gu. Very pretty.
She's probably my Junior Sister?
So… what am I supposed to say now?
Forget it. I can't think of anything, I'll just say something random.
Well, I said it. It sucked.
So annoying.
Sigh.