She Was the Only Player to Clear the Game

Qingming took it and gently stroked the fan's surface. Then his lips suddenly curved, and with a poof, the fan in his hand turned back into a Mushroom Person.

[Couldn't fool him for even three seconds.]

[No kidding. This is Qingqiu's nine-tailed fox!]

[Who was it who just said it could fool him? Now you're being a hindsight expert. Aren't you something!]

The Mushroom Person lay in Qingming's palm, not daring to move.

Xin Jiu saw two streams of tears flowing from its eyes.

Seeing the Mushroom Person cry, Qingming smiled even more happily. He opened his mouth, revealing two pointed teeth, and made to eat it. The Mushroom Person trembled even harder!

"Don't eat it!" Xin Jiu shouted.

The Mushroom Person's tears fell even harder. Its level was too low for it to speak yet. If it could talk, it would definitely have said, "Big bro, don't eat me!"

Smiling, Qingming set the Mushroom Person on the ground and handed it a bright red little fruit.

"Just teasing. Go home."

Clutching the fruit, the Mushroom Person scrambled away.

Xin Jiu thought that with those tiny legs and a journey of several hours ahead, all she could say was that it had a long road home.

Qingming pushed the tea forward a little, his voice cool. "Sit."

Xin Jiu sat down and glanced at Bubu, who huddled off to the side, pretending he didn't exist.

"..." What a spineless dragon!

"Um..." Xin Jiu stammered. "I didn't get the fan back because Yin Lingzi ran away, and I..."

"I'll give it to you."

"Huh?"

"The skill. I'll give it to you."

Xin Jiu froze.

"Fetching the fan was just an excuse. I only wanted to see whether you could survive Yin Lingzi. Since you survived, what's the harm in giving you the skill?"

Xin Jiu immediately fawned over him. "You really are a good person!"

"Do you really think so?"

"From the bottom of my heart!"

Qingming smiled without replying. He had Mind Reading, and he had heard every word Xin Jiu had cursed him with in her head.

Humans truly were a species that said one thing and thought another.

[Congratulations to player Xin Jiu on obtaining the skill: Fox Dream Flowing Fireflies (S-rank), upgradeable.]

[Skill description: Based on your own attribute points, you can absorb 40% of an enemy's attack. The higher your attributes, the more damage you can absorb.]

[You actually managed to obtain the nine-tailed fox's skill. You're so blessed! (crying emoji)]

[Tip: Don't forget to raise your attributes, or a high-level NPC can still slap you dead even if you can absorb 40% of its attack!]

"I'm going to help Bubu take human form. It'll take about a day," Qingming said. "Stay in the valley during that time. Don't wander off."

Xin Jiu nodded eagerly.

Qingming carried Bubu into the little bamboo cottage. After finishing her tea, Xin Jiu began wandering around the valley.

The valley was beautiful.

The bamboo grove was deep and secluded, the stream was clear, and flowers bloomed everywhere.

But what drew her attention most was the herb garden to the south. Enclosed by a fence, it was filled with all kinds of medicinal herbs. Some were even glowing; one look was enough to tell they were no ordinary plants.

Xin Jiu lingered outside the herb garden for over ten minutes, torn.

[Girl, what are you hesitating for? Get in there!]

[Grab a few plants while the fox is away!]

[Pick those glowing ones!]

[Isn't it wrong to pick someone else's herbs? Doesn't that count as stealing?]

[The fox never said she couldn't take any. He only told Jiujiu not to wander off. He probably meant she could pick whatever she wanted, as long as she didn't strip the place bare.]

In the end, Xin Jiu didn't take any herbs, but she did go after the fish in the stream.

The water here was excellent, and every fish was plump and succulent. Xin Jiu grilled three in one go and felt truly refreshed after eating them.

That night, she lay on the grass, looking at the stars.

This was Qingming's territory, and no hostile NPC dared approach. Xin Jiu had a rare chance to relax, and as she lay there, her eyelids began to droop.

She fell asleep.

She slept deeply and didn't notice the little animals approaching.

They gathered around Xin Jiu, studying her curiously and conversing quietly in their animal language.

"Is this the newly selected inspector?"

"She looks so weak..."

"Can she reach the top of the tower like this?"

"Why would Qingming give his skill to someone so weak?"

Xin Jiu rolled over. She hadn't actually woken up, but the little animals were startled and scattered all at once.

It was nearly evening the next day before the door to Qingming's little bamboo cottage finally opened.

The viewers in the livestream had been waiting in unbearable suspense. Everyone wanted to know what Bubu's human form would look like. By now, Xin Jiu's livestream had six million viewers.

Qingming came out first, looking a little tired.

Xin Jiu looked behind him and saw a little boy of about four peeking around the door.

"...!"

He had very fair skin, fluffy-looking short black hair, and clear violet eyes. A pale gold mark shaped like a dragon scale flashed briefly in the middle of his forehead, and he wore white-and-gold Daoist robes.

"Bubu?"

Bubu ran over and flung himself into Xin Jiu's arms.

Looking at Bubu's little face, so beautiful it hardly seemed real, Xin Jiu praised him. "So you're this good-looking?"

The livestream erupted.

[Aaaaaah! Bubu is so cute!]

[Dragon cubs really are beautiful!]

[What an absolutely precious little darling!!!]

[Come here to Auntie!]

Qingming walked over. "As Bubu levels up, he'll gradually grow."

"Levels?"

"In human terms, Bubu should be Lv.7 right now. Lv.100 is the maximum."

"How does he level up?"

Qingming thought for a moment, then said, "By killing NPCs for experience or triggering fortuitous encounters."

"Got it."

Before the two left, Qingming called Bubu aside for a private conversation.

"Have you really decided to go with her?"

Bubu nodded firmly.

"You know the tower will soon be thrown into chaos. She might not be able to protect you then. Staying here is safest."

No matter what the people at the top of the tower did, it wouldn't reach the first five floors.

But Bubu still decided to leave with Xin Jiu. "She was the only one to clear the Great Selection, and she even gained inspector status. I believe in her."

"The difficulty back then can't compare to what it is now."

Bubu still stood by his decision.

Seeing this, Qingming didn't force him to stay. He took Bubu's hand and walked over to Xin Jiu, reminding her, "If you're not in a hurry to leave the maze, you can go find the Human-Faced Tree."

"The Human-Faced Tree?"

"If you can beat the Human-Faced Tree, you can ask it for a black fruit. That fruit can help you forge a greatsword."

Xin Jiu's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know I once had a greatsword?"

Qingming smiled. "All the NPCs in the tower know that a player cleared the game, and that player's weapon was a greatsword."

"They all know?" Xin Jiu was even more surprised.

"Don't worry too much. They can't recognize you for now, but that might change once you get the greatsword."

When Xin Jiu said nothing, he continued, "If you're afraid, you don't have to retrieve that sword."

Xin Jiu wasn't afraid. She was thinking about Qingming's words. The game had descended only after she cleared it, yet now the game's NPCs all knew there was a player who had cleared it.

Why was that?

She stared into Qingming's eyes and asked bluntly, "Do you know something?"

"Such as?"

"Such as, this is clearly a game, so why did it descend into reality? And you're clearly an NPC from the top of the tower, so why did you come to the second floor? Most importantly, why do you all have minds of your own?"

That was what Xin Jiu couldn't make sense of, no matter how hard she thought.