[Revealing Smallness]

Chapter 7: Showing Small

Inside the Lai Fu Inn, Ji Li followed Lu Xun's gaze toward the inn's entrance and locked eyes with the newcomer.

The newcomer wore black robes, stood at least 185 centimeters tall—taller than Lu Xun, who was just over 180—and was so fat that her torso resembled a sphere.

It fit the saying, "Every story has a fat person," except most stories feature a fat man, while this newcomer was a woman.

She seemed to try her best to dress in an immortal, otherworldly style, striving to match the secular image of celestial beings, but her sheer size made it all futile.

Lu Xun noticed her because he knew she was genuinely a cultivator.

Despite her bulk, she could fly—like a hot air balloon.

Her name was Murong Yan. Her parents likely hoped she'd be as free and light as a swallow, but their wish turned into a poisoned blessing.

Lu Xun knew of her and remembered her name because, after the open beta, she served as a "Novice Village Mentor"—but not for Wei County's novice village; she was assigned to neighboring Greenwood County.

He had no idea why she was in Wei County.

In Tian Chen Continent, there were countless cultivation sects, too many to count, but every sect needed disciples to sustain itself.

Thus, cultivators weren't impossible to find; they showed off in the mortal world to recruit followers!

It was like prestigious universities having no shortage of applicants, while diploma mills operated on a "catch as many as you can" principle.

Anyone with cultivation potential was fair game. Many new players fell for it, thinking their future was bright, only to delete their accounts and start over in regret.

But Murong Yan was different. She wasn't from a diploma mill; her sect ranked among Tian Chen Continent's top-tier institutions—like a 211 or 985 university—though it was somewhat unusual...

Standing at the entrance, Murong Yan naturally noticed Lu Xun and Ji Li staring. She was used to high turn rates.

But when she saw Lu Xun's face, she froze.

Cultivation sects weren't short on handsome men; in fact, they had plenty.

Heaven was cruel like that—giving others talent and beauty in one package.

—While giving you nothing.

Still, she had never seen anyone this handsome.

Even by her standards, he was the most beautiful man she'd ever met.

After a brief glance, Lu Xun looked away and paid the shop assistant to take him and Ji Li to their rooms.

The shop assistant turned to Murong Yan with a fawning smile. "Please wait a moment, ma'am. I'll take these two guests upstairs and be right back."

Murong Yan nodded without any air of superiority, then sat on a long bench, which creaked under her weight.

Poor thing.

She watched Lu Xun and the others head upstairs, and when she spotted Ji Li's Wedding Dress Sword, she couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

With her experience, she recognized it as a magic sword and saw that Ji Li was just an ordinary martial arts girl.

"A treasure is a crime," Murong Yan thought to herself.

Upstairs, Lu Xun entered the Celestial Room Number One, only to have Ji Li slip in after him.

"What, are you dead set on sharing a room?" Lu Xun asked, startled.

Ji Li's face was hidden behind her veil, but her ears were red. "I'm going to sell these weapons. Are you coming?"

"No." Lu Xun waved a hand lazily.

Clearly, Ji Li hadn't given up. This annoying girl still wanted to use him as a cauldron and was probably afraid he'd run away.

"Then... how about I split the silver with you?" Ji Li proposed.

Lu Xun: "..."

He looked at her seriously. "These are clearly my spoils of war. I gave them to you."

"But I carried them all the way here!" The heavy hammer slipped slightly, and she hoisted it up, sounding a bit aggrieved.

Fine, he'd stop teasing her. Silver was of little use to Lu Xun anyway; he had enough to last a while.

After a few seconds, Lu Xun stroked his chin. "It's not like I can't go with you..."

"Take off your veil and let me see," he said with a smile.

Truth be told, he'd planned to take her out anyway. Seeing Murong Yan gave him a new idea and a preliminary plan for his own development.

Asking her to remove her veil was just to pass the time and tease her. Besides, he was a bit curious about her looks.

He hadn't heard her name while playing Tian Chen, so she wasn't an important character, but they'd traveled together and she'd briefly been his mount—what harm was there in seeing her face?

Besides, this was the first time he'd met a girl trying to capture him as a cauldron. He found it amusing and wanted to know what she looked like.

Ji Li had been looking down, but at his words, she turned and hurried toward the door, muttering in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "Then I'll... go freshen up in my room first."

Lu Xun: "..."

He shouldn't have told her to take off the veil.

A full quarter of an hour passed before Lu Xun finally heard a knock at the door.

He opened it, looked down, and burst out laughing with a "pfft."

I'm a heartless account-leveling machine, professionally trained—no matter how funny something is, I won't laugh. Unless I can't help it.

This little girl who'd been shouting about catching him as her Cauldron had developed quite well, so Lu Xun, though he sensed she still had some childishness about her, hadn't imagined she was that young.

But what kind of little face was right in front of him now?

Bright eyes, white teeth, incredibly cute—Lu Xun even thought she still had a bit of baby fat!

Are you a middle schooler or what!

At such a young age, thinking about finding a Cauldron—your mindset needs some education! It needs purifying!

Ji Li wasn't tall to begin with, and taking everything together, she looked like a middle school girl who'd stuffed two things into her clothes—a little kid whose development was a bit too eager!

Seeing Lu Xun laughing so brightly, she was first dazed by his charm, then snapped back: "I should be angry right now!"

So, puffing up with anger, she said, "I knew you'd laugh!"

As she fumed, her little face grew even rounder. She lifted her chin and puffed out her chest: "Hmph! I'm really not as young as you think! I'm plenty old!"

"Oh? Then tell me, how old is 'plenty'?" Lu Xun asked with a grin.

"I'm sixteen! I just have a young face!" Ji Li looked up at him, and for some reason, unconsciously rose onto her tiptoes.

Sixteen—on Earth, that's still a child, but in this world, it was indeed an age for marriage.

In some small villages, girls married at eleven or twelve, and child brides were common.

This world was full of malice toward lolis.

So now it seemed, this stinky little sister was just naturally baby-faced and... ahem.

"She's three years younger than Lu Yu," Lu Xun thought, immediately recalling his biological sister back on Earth.

Just then, a knock sounded.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

Thank you to every reader for your tips~ With you all here, I have no fear of starting over~