So It's a Soulslike, Huh?

"...Big Brother, why does Granny Gu want to kill Steward Wu?"

In the darkness of the Ancestral Temple, Little Wild Grass clutched Li Muyang's hand tightly and asked in an extremely quiet voice.

By then, the two of them had already spotted the Ancestral Temple's exit. Through the crack in the door, they could make out a faint glow from outside.

Faced with the old woman's bizarre demand, Li Muyang had no choice but to accept.

Because he had tried refusing.

After he refused the old woman's demand, the mysterious old woman on the candlestick let out a low, cold laugh.

Then every light in the darkness went out in an instant. Li Muyang felt some wet, sticky thing writhing in the dark, touching him.

And then...

[You have died. Game over.]

After he refused the old woman's demand, Jiang Xiaoyu's game character would die instantly.

So Li Muyang really only had one option. He loaded his save again, went through the whole sequence once more, and this time accepted the mysterious old woman Granny Gu's quest.

Little Wild Grass's question was also Li Muyang's.

He and Little Wild Grass were small fry in the stronghold, without any status to speak of.

Sending the two of them to kill Steward Wu... wasn't that just handing them over to die?

If Granny Gu had a problem with those demonic cultivators from outside, she could just take care of them herself. Why did she have to make a nobody like Li Muyang do it?

Li Muyang was utterly baffled, but he could only obediently do as he was told.

"Granny Gu must have her reasons..." Li Muyang said in a quiet, evasive tone.

That old woman was a little terrifying.

She looked kind and amiable, but the moment he refused her, he would die instantly, without even a chance to regret it.

Her ruthlessness gave Li Muyang an even deeper understanding of Black Cloud Stronghold.

He had originally thought that of the two factions in the stronghold, Granny Gu's side was at least friendly.

Now he knew better: neither side was any good.

One side was evil and brutal, the other strange and sinister, with only him and Little Wild Grass caught in the middle.

The later stages of this game looked like they were going to be rough...

Li Muyang and Little Wild Grass reached the Ancestral Temple entrance, but the tightly shut door happened to swing open. Granny Gu stood in the doorway, smiling kindly.

"That's enough, Little Fish. You two can go."

"Remember what you promised this old woman."

In the sunlight, the old woman's smile was kind.

But Little Wild Grass shrank behind Li Muyang in fear.

There was a Granny Gu inside the Ancestral Temple, and now there was another one outside... Could there be two Granny Gus?

Li Muyang said nothing more and left with Little Wild Grass.

As soon as they left the Ancestral Temple, a dialogue box popped up before Li Muyang.

[Black Cloud Stronghold is too terrifying. Maybe I should take Little Wild Grass and run...]

[We can't run. We won't get away. I have to find a way to kill Steward Wu. Only then can Little Wild Grass and I survive.]

[There were two Granny Gus in the Ancestral Temple. If I tell Steward Wu about it... will he protect me?]

Three dialogue boxes appeared before Li Muyang. This was the first time that had happened.

The system had always offered two choices before.

Clearly, the three choices corresponded to three different routes.

Li Muyang hesitated. The first choice, running away, was obviously a bad idea.

During the second-stage nurturing period, Li Muyang had also tried escaping Black Cloud Stronghold with Little Wild Grass, seeking a bit of excitement amid the dull daily routine.

But no matter how far the two of them ran, they were always caught and dragged back by the demonic cultivators of Black Cloud Stronghold.

The farthest they had ever gotten was several thousand li away. Li Muyang had taken Little Wild Grass there, and they had lived as ordinary folk under assumed names for half a month. Then, one night, the demonic cultivators of Black Cloud Stronghold had smashed through their window and taken them away.

The demonic cultivators of Black Cloud Stronghold clearly had some way of tracking Little Wild Grass.

Looking at the three choices before him, Li Muyang did what he always did and saved first.

After saving, he chose the second option.

At present, killing Steward Wu looked like it might be the main quest.

If he sided with Steward Wu, Little Wild Grass's nurturing route would lean toward becoming a demoness.

And the game was called Fairy... Wasn't that hint obvious enough?

He obviously had to raise Little Wild Grass into a lofty, otherworldly immortal maiden.

Though Li Muyang could hardly imagine what this sharp-tongued, wily little wild girl, who was full of schemes, would be like as an immortal maiden...

In any case, he would follow the main quest first.

Li Muyang chose the second option and left Black Cloud Stronghold with Little Wild Grass.

The difficulty of the third-stage nurturing had visibly risen by quite a bit.

The previous stage had only involved daily quests, but now he suddenly had to kill Steward Wu.

It was like having just gotten used to the tutorial and the controls, only to have the boss slammed right into the player's face.

That was one hell of a difficulty spike... A Soulslike, huh!

Walking through Black Cloud Stronghold, Li Muyang let out a long breath, his eyes nonetheless filled with excitement.

The difficulty had gone up, but he wasn't discouraged. He was actually delighted.

His past experience had already shown that the higher the difficulty of this game system, the richer the rewards.

Li Muyang had poured everything into the tutorial and achieved the perfect ending, only to receive a top-tier divine artifact like the Endless Spirit Rice Jar.

But the first two stages of this nurturing game had been too easy, and the rewards for beating them had been rather ordinary.

Now the difficulty of the quests had suddenly shot up in the third stage. Li Muyang could hardly wait to find out what the reward would be for clearing it.

Time was the one thing he had plenty of right now. He had no walkthrough and could only explore on his own.

But as long as the game was there, he would eventually clear it.

With Little Wild Grass, Li Muyang left Black Cloud Stronghold and headed into the mountains behind it.

The interior of these back mountains was almost hollow. A string of connected caves stretched through them, revealing a world of their own.

The demonic cultivators from outside, including Steward Wu, usually hid in the caves to cultivate, and had turned them into their own cavern abode.

Steward Wu had lived in the stronghold before, but two years ago the demonic cultivators living there had changed.

They seemed to take turns living in the stronghold.

Li Muyang led Little Wild Grass into the cold, damp caves. They walked over the slick ground and found Steward Wu waiting for them.

Steward Wu, dressed in a blood-red robe, looked thoroughly impatient.

"Where the hell have you been, boy? Why are you so late today?"

Steward Wu's gaze was hostile.

A system dialogue box popped up in Li Muyang's field of vision.

[(Apologize to Steward Wu and make up a lie to explain why you're late)]

[(Tell the truth and tell Steward Wu that Granny Gu called you over to help)]

These two options...

Li Muyang chose the first without hesitation.

The second one looked like a death sentence.

Telling Steward Wu he had gone to see Granny Gu, who had sent him to kill Steward Wu... Wouldn't that be asking to die?

Li Muyang made up a lie to explain why he was late.

But after hearing him out, Steward Wu's expression darkened.

"You clearly went to see Granny Gu, yet you don't dare tell me... Did that old hag ask you to do something nasty?!"

The next second, Steward Wu flung his robe, and blood-red light burst forth.

[You have died. Game over.]

Li Muyang jolted upright on the field ridge, looking confused.

"Damn! I died just like that?"

The third stage really was a lot harder. He kept dying at the drop of a hat. Death came more often than it had in the first stage, and there were traps everywhere.

Steward Wu, who had been fairly easy to deal with in the first two stages, now killed people at the slightest provocation.

It felt like every NPC in Black Cloud Stronghold had grown more bloodthirsty after the third stage began.

Could it be that tensions had escalated between the demonic cultivators from outside and the stronghold's local residents?

Curious, Li Muyang closed his eyes and entered the game again.