The Silent Zhu Li

"Why are you here?"

Having her disguise stripped away didn't stir much emotion in Chen Xi.

The abilities of a Transcendent are ever-changing; it was perfectly normal to have a flaw exposed by someone else at some point.

Zhu Li stood up upon hearing this. Instead of responding, she pulled out a yellow sticky note and placed it in front of her.

Under the glow of the headlights, Chen Xi made out the content of the writing.

[I want to talk to you.]

"You can't speak?" she asked in surprise.

Zhu Li nodded after hearing this.

Chen Xi had originally assumed she was just aloof; she never imagined the other party would be mute.

Talking, huh... that could work.

Zhu Li clearly wasn't some background character; she might even trigger a few CGs.

"Alright." She opened the door, and the red-haired girl followed behind her like a well-behaved child.

Chen Xi walked toward the kitchen and turned around, saying, "Do you want something to drink? There's milk and grape juice in the fridge."

Seeing the red-haired girl reach for her pen again, Chen Xi simply spread her hands. "Milk is on the left, grape juice is on the right."

Zhu Li's hand, mid-motion with the pen, paused; she clearly hadn't expected this.

After a moment of hesitation, she pointed to the left.

Chen Xi poured her a glass of chilled milk, and the two sat on opposite ends of the sofa.

Since Zhu Li couldn't speak, Chen Xi took the initiative. "What did you want to talk about?"

The red-haired girl seemed to have anticipated this, pulling out a pre-written stack of sticky notes and flipping through them skillfully.

[You are the armored Transcendent who took the Pupil of Rain Lord, right?]

Chen Xi chuckled, downing her grape juice in one go. "It's me. What about it?"

"Are you going to report me to the Countermeasure Bureau?" She looked at Zhu Li, who shook her head violently and flipped through the sticky notes.

[That is not what I meant.]

The ink on this page had long since dried and was wrinkled; it was clearly one of Zhu Li's standard phrases.

[Thank you. If you hadn't intervened, many people would have surely died.]

As she turned to this page, she looked at Chen Xi with a smile.

Feeling embarrassed by the praise, Chen Xi picked up her empty glass and pretended to keep drinking. "It was just a casual effort."

"Is that the only reason you came to find me?"

Zhu Li shook her head and flipped to the final page.

[Seven days from now, I will explode.]

"Huh?!"

A reason she had never imagined appeared before Chen Xi, to the point where she rubbed her eyes to confirm the content on the note once more.

"What do you mean... you'll explode?"

Zhu Li had clearly anticipated any questions she might have, flipping to a few pages further back.

[Exactly what it sounds like. Seven days from now, the flames within me will burn at their peak, and then I will explode.]

To communicate more efficiently, she continued flipping through the pages.

[Hiding won't work. Going to a remote place won't work. Committing suicide early won't work. Letting others kill me won't work.]

[The fire can only be quelled by being killed by the hand of the Rain Lord.]

[In reality, the Legend I command is not the Vermilion Bird you imagine.]

[It is—the Flame Ghost.]

[A type of Legend that feeds on the negative emotions of others. I don't even need to hunt wild Legends for my strength to grow steadily.]

[Once I reach the Third Order, my body will undergo a massive explosion, and I will subsequently become a vessel for the Flame Ghost.]

[I originally intended to die at the hands of the Rain Lord on purpose, but then you appeared.]

Zhu Li stared at Chen Xi, her eyes filled with a longing for life.

Survival is a human instinct; given a choice, she naturally wanted to live for six more days.

[So please, after you command the Rain Lord, kill me on the night of the sixth day.]

Having read all the notes, Chen Xi suddenly understood what had happened in the previous loop.

Zhu Li, having long since accepted her death, had simply used all her magic to protect the citizens, then left the Rain Lord severely wounded before dying at its hands.

It was just that the Rain Lord had kept a recovery ability in reserve, which led to the scene they had arrived at.

"I understand."

She did not ask Zhu Li why she hadn't sought help from higher-level existences; the other party had clearly already tried every method and was truly at her wit's end to have chosen this path.

[Thank you]

[I won't disturb your rest any further, goodbye]

Zhu Li put away the sticker, stood up, and walked toward the door.

"Goodbye." Chen Xi bid her farewell, only to find the red-haired girl standing blankly before the iron door.

Zhu Li looked at her and silently pointed outside the door.

"What's wrong?" No sooner had Chen Xi finished speaking than a knocking sound came from outside.

"Chen Xi! Open the door, will you?" Lin Yue's voice had incredible penetrating power.

Even through the door frame, Chen Xi could imagine the scene of her pounding on the door outside.

Zhu Li looked at the bewildered black-haired girl, pondered for a moment, and then actually strode toward her bedroom.

"Ah?" Chen Xi hadn't expected her to pull this move at all, so she didn't even have time for the thought of stopping her to arise.

Who on earth taught you this?

She desperately wanted to go in and drag Zhu Li out, but Lin Yue was still calling out urgently at this very moment.

"Chen Xi, are you tied up by Wu Xin? If you don't answer me, I'm going to use Shadow Form to come in."

Chen Xi helplessly raised her voice on purpose: "Don't! I'm getting dressed!"

Hearing her shout, Lin Yue outside was clearly stunned: "Ah? Oh."

Chen Xi rested one hand on her collar as she opened the door for Lin Yue, creating the illusion that she had just put on her top.

"It's so late, why are you still coming over? Aren't you going back to the dormitory?"

She leaned against the door frame, looking helplessly at the big golden retriever standing before her.

"It's because I was worried about you..." Lin Yue said to herself, having already walked into the living room.

"I was afraid Wu Xin would come to steal the Rain Lord's eyes in the middle of the night."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Chen Xi explained the control mechanism of the Rain Lord to her.

Upon hearing this, the composed and strategic look on Lin Yue's face instantly collapsed.

The girl thought rapidly, searching for any other excuse to stay at Chen Xi's house.

Cry again?

No, that would be too embarrassing.

After the transformation that night, her mindset was no longer that fragile.

Knowing exactly what she was thinking, Chen Xi took the opportunity to pour her a full glass of milk: "Miss Lin Yue, go home after you finish this glass of milk."

It wasn't entirely because of Zhu Li that she was shooing Lin Yue away; she herself not only needed to supplement her knowledge regarding the Legend, but also had to create a burner account to send messages to Lin Yue.

Knowing that Wu Xin wouldn't make a move, she really didn't have the time to indulge Lin Yue's nonsense.

Lin Yue didn't answer her, simply holding the cup silently, resting her upper lip on the rim and moving it, pretending she was drinking the milk.

Chen Xi wasn't in a hurry either, just sitting in front of her, browsing the forums while quietly watching her performance.

Five minutes later, the blonde girl finally admitted defeat and surrendered.

"I'm leaving, okay? I'm leaving, you don't need to see me out." Lin Yue stood up to leave.

She walked to the door and looked back at Chen Xi, who was sitting on the sofa, unmoved.

Due to the orientation, the light where Chen Xi sat was relatively dim, and moonlight shone through the bedroom window, casting two shadows.

...Two shadows?

Lin Yue looked in horror at Chen Xi, who was still sitting calmly in her spot.

Your house is haunted and you don't even know it?!