Chapter 324: Is this Little Dragon Girl’s Aesthetic Really That Questionable?
As the stone door in the basement slowly shut, Bai Feng’s heartbeat ticked up a notch—probably because now he couldn’t make a run for it if he wanted to.
He stared down the dim tunnel ahead, swallowed nervously, and tried not to panic.
“Teacher, what’s wrong?”
Shui Xi Yu turned around, holding a not-very-bright oil lamp in her hand. The flickering flames cast a spooky smile on her face, making her look like she was auditioning for a horror movie villain.
“Nothing much, let’s keep going,” she said casually, as if leading her students into a haunted house was just another day at the office.
Bai Feng shook his head and forced himself to stop drifting off into his wild thoughts.
Following Shui Xi Yu’s lead, they soon reached a pretty spacious room. Inside, there was a huge table cluttered with bizarre glass and crystal artifacts—you know, the kind that probably shouldn’t be out in the open—and, inexplicably, a big bed sitting right in the corner.
He stared at the bed for a while, totally perplexed. Why the heck was there a bed in a secret basement study? Was Shui Xi Yu planning to host a sleepover party with spirits?
Just then, Shui Xi Yu noticed him eyeing the bed and chuckled, explaining, “Oh, I’ve been researching Array formations down here lately, so I put a bed here for naps between experiments.”
Bai Feng nodded, noticing the slightly wrinkled sheets and quilt—apparently, someone had already tested whether the bed’s comfortable.
“Teacher, come over here.”
Shui Xi Yu put down her oil lamp, blew it out, and the entire room sank into perfect darkness. Not that it was a problem for a seasoned cultivator like Bai Feng—his spiritual sense was as sharp as a hawk. Even in blackness, he could clearly see Shui Xi Yu fiddling with her ‘lamp’ mechanism.
“Teacher, look!”
She activated a formation, and the leftmost ‘lamp’ burst into life, glowing with a soft, white pearl-like light. From afar, it looked like a tiny, luminous orb the size of a fist, lighting up the entire room.
“Not bad at all,” Bai Feng said, walking closer to examine it. “And the spiritual energy flows pretty steadily too.”
Shui Xi Yu blushed sheepishly and giggled, “Haha, actually, I whipped this up ages ago, and I’ve been working on these other ones the past few days.”
With that, she clicked the switches of several more lamps, revealing a menagerie of bizarrely shaped, multicolored lights. The last and most impressive one resembled a neon-lit, rotating sign you’d see outside a barber shop—except this one was an explosion of colors and spun endlessly.
“Teacher, what do you think?” Shui Xi Yu asked eagerly, eyes sparkling like she’d just handed him the key to the universe.
He looked at the kaleidoscope of lights, then at her expectant face, and suddenly wondered—does this Little Dragon Girl’s taste in aesthetics maybe, just maybe, need an overhaul?
“Uh… it’s pretty good,” he muttered, attempting to be polite. “But honestly, wasting such a fancy light just to spin around? You could add sound-reactive features. Let the lights dance to music. Also, fewer colors might look more elegant—sometimes, a simple color scheme beats a rainbow explosion.”
“Wow!” Shui Xi Yu’s eyes lit up. She grabbed a pen and paper immediately. “Teacher, you are a genius! That’s a fantastic idea—I know exactly what to do now!”
Relief washed over Bai Feng’s heart—the Little Dragon Girl’s aesthetic salvation might still be achievable.
Meanwhile, an odd idea floated through his mind: Maybe he could mod the rotating lights into a tiny RGB accessory for the Retainer to enhance its functionality. That thing desperately needed a name change and a serious overhaul of its basic logic. Honestly, it was starting to look like an engine of chaos, cobbled together from a mountain of sloppy code.
As Bai Feng’s mind wandered into a wild territory, Shui Xi Yu watched him silently, not bothering to interrupt his thoughts. She chose the basement not because it was some symbolic location—well, okay, maybe she had a tiny secret crush—but she had learned to suppress those thoughts. She knew it was too soon, too risky. At least for now.
She gently shook her head, trying to clamp down on the little dangerous feelings bubbling up inside her. She was more worried about losing Bai Feng’s favor than about any “special activities” in the shadows.
“Teacher…”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“I have some questions I want to ask.”
Bai Feng paused his train of thought and walked over, taking the paper from Shui Xi Yu’s hand. “These should be straightforward to answer.”
“Oh, right!” he suddenly remembered. “I’ll be leaving in a few days. If you have any questions, better ask now.”
“Already? So soon?”
“Most of the issues are sorted out. Staying longer on Eastern Continent isn’t really necessary anymore. Plus, you all are about to get busy soon.”
“Yeah… I guess so…”
Shui Xi Yu lowered her head slightly. Will she really not see her teacher again after this? During their time together, she’d mainly been studying Array formations, but her heart had grown a little more dependent on him. It all started with her reading the books and letters he’d given her—those moments of hope in her lonely, fearful, and revenge-fueled escape. He had been like a kind, trustworthy elder, always guiding her, making her want to draw closer and lean on him.
When she set out for the nearby town outside Heavenly Sword Sect, she was amazed—beyond her expectations, Bai Feng was so young! He looked more like a reliable big brother than an elder. His careful tutelage had made her feelings deepen, mixing respect with a pinch of admiration.
She wanted to stay by his side, absorbed more lessons from him, and just keep him in her life forever…
“Shui Xi Yu?”
“Yes! I’m listening!”
She hurried to lift her head, her previously dull eyes suddenly bright.
“Pay attention in class. Don’t space out again.”
“Got it, Teacher!”
She nodded quickly, but the lingering feelings from earlier still didn’t fade away. Not even after she forced herself to focus.
—
“Tiger’s finally gone,” Bai Feng said, stretching lazily. This morning, He Yi had been taken away, headed for Southern Region. Without that ‘trusted sidekick,’ he felt a lot more relaxed.
He also negotiated a few business deals, establishing preliminary cooperation. More details would need to be ironed out with He Yi and others at Yu Ling Long—an opportunity to deepen their alliance.
He strode out of the now-empty courtyard, waving to Bai Yu Mo and Yun Yue Yao waiting outside. “Let’s go.”
With the Divine Monarch already gone from Eastern Continent, there was no reason to stick around.
He’d prepared everything—the training with Shui Xi Yu was thorough; with her current Array level, he couldn’t promise victory but losing was virtually impossible. Even in the worst case, he’d still control over a third of Eastern Continent.
