Chapter Eighty-Eight: Your Swords Are Not as Swift as Mine

After discussing matters with Yan Junior Sister, Xu Nuo returned to her temporary lodgings with Lu Ciyuan.

Since that day, Lu Ciyuan had remained in this state—no awareness, no sense of self, only the most basic instincts. Thankfully, he had already entered the fasting stage, so Xu Nuo did not need to tend to his food and drink.

What proved more troublesome for Xu Nuo was how to slip Lu Ciyuan into the purchasing team without arousing suspicion. She could disguise herself, but Lu Ciyuan clearly lacked this ability.

He Luo Jade Book spoke up, "Master, what's there to be troubled about? Isn't it good that you have me?"

Xu Nuo replied, "Aren't you a secret treasure belonging to the Cave Heaven Sect? I worry you'll sell us out when the time comes."

"How could you think that, Master? I belong to no sect or power—I serve only you," He Luo Jade Book insisted. "You can place people inside the Jade Book's space. No one would suspect a thing."

Xu Nuo had thought of this method, but recalling the inexplicable loss of Lu Ciyuan's memory, she felt an inner resistance.

He Luo Jade Book pleaded, "Master, trust me. My loyalty is solely to you; I have no divided intentions."

Xu Nuo was still unaccustomed to the second voice in her mind, and their communications were disconnected; sometimes, it was easy to mishear or confuse their conversations.

She had even complained about this to 007: "I already have a cute system, so why did I get a little sprite in my head?"

At the time, 007 had replied with cold logic: [Because He Luo Jade Book originally belonged to Lu Ciyuan.]

The dear Host had not only snatched Lu Ciyuan's two beautiful serpents, but also his divine artifact. Worse yet, she didn’t even use it, treating He Luo Jade Book as if it didn’t exist, tossing the two serpents inside and making the book raise them.

Faced with a plotline gone wildly astray, 007 struggled hopelessly: [Host, are you really planning to leave the Cave Heaven Sect? There are still many sect-related storylines left unfinished.]

[Perhaps you could prove to everyone that you were not threatened by Lu Ciyuan, nor are you involved with him in any improper relationship.]

Xu Nuo listened as 007 continued.

[With your luck value, you won’t suffer any harm from this.]

"And what about Lu Ciyuan?" Xu Nuo asked.

[He…] 007 hadn’t expected her to raise this point. [Didn’t you always care little for the target of the strategy?]

"I care very much." Xu Nuo replied outright. "Until I uncover the truth, I won’t let anything happen to him. I promised you before, didn’t I? I won’t abandon him."

The host finally placed importance on the strategy target—a good sign. Yet 007 still sensed trouble ahead. Then again, its premonitions were never positive.

The issue might not lie in Xu Nuo’s rebellious attitude or her indifference toward the target, but in Xu Nuo herself. She was a peculiar host, keen on pushing limits and causing chaos.

[Sigh…] 007 let out a mournful sigh. After years dominating the romance livestream team, this was its first real mishap. Tasks and missions had long ceased to matter.

"You still haven’t answered me," Xu Nuo pressed. "If I clear my name myself, what will happen to Lu Ciyuan?"

[Based on current plot developments, there’s a ninety percent chance he’ll be executed by the sect, facing yet another life-and-death crisis. He’ll follow a path similar to the original work: after causing havoc in the Cave Heaven Sect, he’ll be hunted throughout the cultivation world, pursued by both cultivators and demon clans. Rejected by all, he’ll walk a path of slaughter, step by step sinking into the deepest darkness…]

Xu Nuo frowned deeply. "Wasn’t the original story a male-protagonist power fantasy?"

007 said: [Exactly. The greater the trouble he faces, the more satisfying his revenge later, and the readers love it.]

"I don’t find it satisfying," Xu Nuo murmured, affectionately patting Lu Ciyuan’s dog head. "Without me, how would he survive?"

007: [Host, when did you become so lovestruck?] Although what Xu Nuo was doing would be ordinary for other hosts as part of their mission, for her, it was as if she’d become utterly intoxicated by romance.

Xu Nuo replied with complete conviction, "Isn’t this a love game?"

That was hard to refute, and 007 was left speechless.

On the second day of the planned departure, Lu Ciyuan was finally sent into the He Luo Jade Book.

He Luo Jade Book was so moved it nearly wept, "Master, I will surely live up to your expectations!"

Xu Nuo asked, "Tell me, this Lu Ciyuan—is he the same person I met in the trial the other day?"

He Luo Jade Book found the question odd. "Of course he is. Why ask?"

At last, the stone in her heart dropped.

"Then why did he lose the memory of that period?" Xu Nuo was most puzzled by this. Was it only a system bug?

"Um… I’m not sure," He Luo Jade Book said, incredulous. "Is there really something in this world I don’t know?"

Xu Nuo muttered, "There’s plenty in the world one doesn’t know."

He Luo Jade Book argued, "Impossible—I know everything. I’m very impressive!"

Xu Nuo pressed further, "If someone treats another well, but that person never feels moved, what does it mean?"

He Luo Jade Book replied, "That’s perfectly normal. Not everyone reciprocates affection. If he never feels moved, it means he’ll never fall in love with you."

Xu Nuo said, "Thank you for the lesson."

007 interjected: [Host, don’t listen to that useless book. The whole point of this game is to make the strategy target fall for you one hundred percent. There would never be a game designed to be unwinnable.]

[The game’s setting is: whoever treats Lu Ciyuan well, he will fall for.]

Xu Nuo asked, "So he loves the kindness shown to him, not the person themselves?"

[Why get hung up on this?] 007 insisted: [It’s just a game. Lu Ciyuan is a string of programmed codes; just enjoy the process.]

"All just data," Xu Nuo laughed, suddenly enlightened. "You’re right, Little Seven—I don’t need to worry so much. I was getting caught up in appearances."

With that, clarity washed over her, and Xu Nuo felt invigorated and light.

"Miss Xu!" Yan Junior Sister called from afar, waving.

"Coming!" Xu Nuo strode toward the departure point. This was the cultivation world; outside the Cave Heaven Sect lay broader lands, countless mountains and rivers waiting for her to explore.

The purchasing team was small, but because a demon clan spy had escaped, the exit inspections were especially strict. Xu Nuo passed without a trace of demonic aura.

In all her time in the cultivation world, aside from the He Luo Jade Book illusion, this was her first time leaving the sect.

Making an excuse to separate from the group, Xu Nuo and Yan Junior Sister walked for a long time, moving far beyond the sect’s surveillance. Only then did Xu Nuo remove her disguise and bid Yan Junior Sister farewell.

Yan Junior Sister was still very worried about Xu Nuo, uneasy at her wandering alone, uncared for. Usually shy and reserved, she clung to Xu Nuo, offering endless reminders.

Xu Nuo felt as if she were a child being fussed over by her parents before going out.

At last, Yan Junior Sister said, "Miss Xu, if you or your companion Lu encounter any trouble out there, you can always contact me."

Xu Nuo accepted the jade token Yan Junior Sister handed her.

Then Yan Junior Sister suddenly asked, "Miss Xu, are you truly together with him?"

"Ah?" Xu Nuo was caught off guard.

Yan Junior Sister raised her head, her pale eyes gazing at Xu Nuo.

"Yes," Xu Nuo nodded, then resumed her usual nonsense, "I love him desperately. Without him, I couldn’t survive."

Yan Junior Sister was stunned, then deeply touched.

After bidding her farewell, Xu Nuo set off alone. She ate good food, enjoyed the scenery, and played as she pleased.

He Luo Jade Book couldn’t help but speak up, "Master, didn’t you say you loved Lu Ciyuan? Why not let him out?" The demon clan member had been trapped in its illusion for over half a month, not to mention tending those two serpents—it wasn’t a nanny.

"It’s precisely because I love him that I can’t bear to let him out to suffer. Right now, both the cultivation world and the demon clan are hunting him. What if he’s pursued again?" Xu Nuo said, "I couldn’t protect him."

He Luo Jade Book replied, "You make a good point, but something feels off."

007 thought privately: The truth is, this master has never once asked how Lu Ciyuan was doing inside, nor cared at all—silly child.

During Xu Nuo’s carefree days among mortals, the Cave Heaven Sect and the entire cultivation world were in turmoil.

Somehow, news leaked: the He Luo Jade Book had appeared, and its holder had fled into the mortal world.

Xu Nuo looked at her own wanted poster on the city wall, her image sketched out in ink. Suddenly, the roasted meat in her mouth lost its flavor.

Xu Nuo grumbled, "That’s an ugly drawing."

[That’s not the point,] 007 said. [The point is your days of leisure are finally coming to an end.]

Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, "What, Little Seven, are you dissatisfied with me?"

007’s tone was laced with schadenfreude: [Dear Host, stop bantering and run!]

Cultivators were not bound by mortal laws—in fact, they paid them no mind. While most cultivators disdained bullying mortals, in special circumstances, their arrogance was on full display.

Like now, as a group of cultivators suddenly swooped through the streets on flying swords, heedless of mortal lives, charging straight toward Xu Nuo.

"Let’s see where you run today!"

Xu Nuo clicked her tongue at them, flashed an incomprehensible international gesture, and drew her own flying sword.

Flying sword mastery—who couldn’t do it?

Xu Nuo sped past the cultivators on her superior-grade immortal sword, a mere blur before their eyes. Sorry, but your swords can’t match mine.

"Chase her! She has no cultivation; she can’t get far!"

The pursuers would not give up, sticking to Xu Nuo like persistent shadows.

Indeed, as they said, Xu Nuo had no cultivation and could not maintain her speed for long. Soon, she slowed.

"Ha ha ha…"

The group of cultivators closed in, sealing all paths of escape. "Let’s see where you can run now."

"Quickly confess where the demon went. Spare yourself from death."