Chapter 329: Poor Dragon Lady
Zhao Mingyue pulled out her black phone, and Bai Yu casually glanced at it. To her surprise, she found the Dragon Lady’s redemption quest, which looked almost identical to the earlier description. She couldn’t figure out where the differences lay.
[Quest: Dragon Scale]
[When I was still human, I hated scaly reptiles more than anything; even without touching them, I could feel that icy, slimy, nauseating texture. Ugh!]
[I was fed up with the excruciating shedding that made me want to scream, watching those scales curl up and dry from the edges like a filthy, tattered garment clinging to me. It took every ounce of strength just to strip it off completely.]
[What is a soul? I don’t believe in that nonsense; for the sake of my sister, I’m willing to endure anything.]
[I can hear her calling me again, whispering my name, gently caressing my cheek… She says I’ve stolen everything that should have belonged to her. She wants to devour me and take my place.]
[Doctor, tonight, your task is to help 521 retrieve her memories.]
[Hint: This quest has been restarted. You cannot receive quest rewards.]
If Bai Yu remembered correctly, the first time she triggered this quest was about seeking revenge for the Dragon Lady, which likely had to do with the Evil God and the Ghost Gate. She hadn’t grasped much at that time, so the hints had been abstract and hard to decipher.
Now, with the quest reappearing and more information available, the hints were a bit clearer. They mentioned the Dragon Lady’s shattered soul and another version of her—her shadow self.
As for the quest rewards, Bai Yu figured it didn’t matter if they were absent; as long as she still had the chance to draw, she was fine. That’s primarily what she lacked.
After scrutinizing the quest details, it was easy to understand that helping the Dragon Lady regain her memories wasn’t that complicated; defeating her shadow self would naturally restore at least some part of those memories.
What puzzled her were the words “redemption.” What did killing the shadow self signify for the Dragon Lady?
Previous redemption quests had indeed been closely tied to the concept of salvation, but this one felt more like a regular task. Given the contents, it seemed the shadow self wanted to replace the Dragon Lady—there was a story between them.
“It doesn’t look much different; just that the villagers are gone. The place seems like it’s been abandoned for years.” Zhao Mingyue walked down the path into Eternal Life Village, where there used to be a little archway at the entrance—now, it lay in ruins.
Most houses in the village stood intact; they had an eerie, desolate vibe, though upon closer inspection, they appeared quite clean. It was a paradox, like everyone in the village had simply vanished overnight.
“Hey Bai Yu, don’t those mountain of corpses you guys killed rot and stink?”
Zhao Mingyue pushed open a door to one of the houses, and to her surprise, it creaked open with a groan. In the courtyard were two dark red, shabby coffins, one of which had its lid ajar, revealing its emptiness.
Looking up, she spotted a black-and-white portrait facing away from her, hanging in the main room directly in front of the door.
Just then, a tattered red lantern hanging on the doorframe fell to the ground, startling Zhao Mingyue, who instinctively blurted out, “Bai Yu!”
“What’s there to be scared of? Just a little ghost. I mean, seriously, your Bai Yu could scare it off without lifting a finger!” The Dragon Lady exchanged glances with Bai Yu and spoke nonchalantly.
“This is all pretty normal, I guess. Considering how much time has passed, and the Evil God’s not around, Eternal Life Village has been a ghost town for years, so it makes sense for the surrounding ghosts to move in once it was vacated.”
“They don’t know anything else; they just saw this place empty and decided to settle down.”
“Alright, let’s keep moving. Let’s go check out the temple; maybe we can find something useful. There’s nothing left to see here; we’ve taken care of the threats, and what’s left are just some wandering spirits that can’t do much.”
As they walked towards the temple, the three of them surveyed their surroundings. Unfortunately, the air lacked any sign of the Evil God—those two pesky deities had long since fled to who-knows-where.
The temple had changed a lot since the last visit. Originally built in a cave, from the outside, you could only see the altar; it wasn’t until you entered that you could grasp the cave’s interior, covered in dense runes—the source of the Evil God’s power, with a connection to the Ghost Gate. Within this zone, the Evil God’s strength would be greatly amplified.
Unlike Bai Yu, who lacked such arcane array capabilities, that was one of the differences between her and the Evil God.
In addition, there was the mischievous malice; the Evil God could blend their will with malevolent intent to create all sorts of outrageous phenomena. This was what earned them the title of “God.” Take the Thousand Eyes Godmother, for example; the black mist she emitted was one such ability.
“What a pity, both Evil Gods are absent. I wonder if that embryo is still around.”
The Dragon Lady walked into the temple, her eye catching the shattered statue lying on the floor. After ensuring no Evil Gods or ghosts lurked about, she approached the spot where she and Bai Yu had discovered the Evil God’s embryo before.
“What’s here?” Zhao Mingyue covered her nose, detecting a foul stench in the cave.
The source of the stench came from the offerings on the ground—those dolls were all made from living people, just covered in a layer of mud.
“Hmm… you have a little sister-in-law here.”
“What?” Zhao Mingyue looked up.
“Yeah, I mean it literally. Bai Yu’s body came from here; there were two embryo bodies here back then. Bai Yu took one, and the other sister was left behind.”
“Ahem, I see now.” Zhao Mingyue glanced at Bai Yu, who had just leaped down.
Quickly, she followed suit, strolling into the small room ahead.
The Dragon Lady wasn’t worried at all and continued, “So, Bai Yu, do you have a task now?”
“Yep.”
Bai Yu briefly shared the content of the redemption quest, trying his best to avoid any mention of the sc*m Game, making it seem less concerning to Zhao Mingyue.
“How can I be sure my shadow self is behind the Ghost Gate? Well, this gal has come looking for me more than once. Honestly, we both have the same thought: to devour each other.”
“I didn’t just come up with this thought recently; it goes way back. I didn’t know much back then.”
“I’ve communicated with her in dreams many times, and in a sense, I’ve become the one connected to her.”
“I’m just an ordinary person—well, at least I was back then. I can’t compare to her at all. From what I know, her strength skyrocketed after she became an Evil God behind the Ghost Gate. If she hadn’t been temporarily stuck outside, I might have been toast by now.”
“She wanted to use my body as a host for resurrection. She tried once but failed, leaving a bit of her power inside me, which led to this change.”
“To put it in her words, she wants me to live in eternal agony.”
“She succeeded to some extent, just not entirely.”
Without the sc*m Game, the Dragon Lady could imagine her end—not a pleasant memory. During that period, she was in such pain, her body moving uncontrollably towards becoming a reptilian creature. It was a dual torment of body and mind.
Her parents disappeared and became believers, leaving her alone to care for her sister. And let’s not forget, she was barely fifteen or sixteen at the time—nowhere near adulthood.
On top of that, she had the pressure of Eternal Life Village weighing on her. After all, she was the one who escaped with her sister; one day, one of them had to return. It was either her or Zhao Mingyue—one of them was meant to fulfill the holy maiden’s role.
With a missing soul and the curse of her body transforming, she single-handedly cared for her sister’s living expenses and education while facing external pressures from Eternal Life Village. It’s easy to see how the Dragon Lady survived those times.
During the day, she was exhausted, and at night, her other half tormented her, leaving her utterly drained.
Bai Yu began to understand why the Dragon Lady went insane during the sc*m Game—she was famous for being a complete nutjob among other madmen.
In such a high-pressure environment, it was surprising that she didn’t crack.
He also grasped Zhao Mingyue’s significance in the Dragon Lady’s heart.
To put it bluntly, she was the only light in her darkness.
In fact, the Dragon Lady had protected Zhao Mingyue extraordinarily well. Back when they first met, Zhao Mingyue didn’t even believe in ghosts—she was practically an atheist.
A little girl who had escaped from Eternal Life Village, who was also the Holy Maiden, yet hosted by the Burning Heart Goddess—an atheist. While she feared Eternal Life Village, it was merely the villagers she was scared of, hardly aware of the Evil Gods’ existence.
This wasn’t just a matter of Zhao Mingyue’s personality; it stemmed largely from the Dragon Lady’s protection.
The Dragon Lady said she didn’t feel the soul-ripping sensation when Zhao Mingyue was by her side. Bai Yu suddenly thought that maybe it wasn’t about Zhao Mingyue’s constitution but rather the Dragon Lady’s own psychological cues.
She had grown accustomed to having Zhao Mingyue around; her importance had overshadowed the sensation of her soul’s fracture.
As for why being with her caused this feeling too, well, that remained a mystery.
“So today, you’re going to help me take down that damned creature, right?” The Dragon Lady glanced back with a smile, “Just kidding! We’ll go in together. I won’t insist on soloing it; we’ll just jump in and beat her down together as hard as we can. The more brutal we are, the happier I’ll be!”
“I want to devour her piece by piece, and when she’s drawing her last breath, I’ll insult her so badly!”
“Who does that little minx think she is trying to eat me?”
“Ahem, am I just insulting myself here?”
If her body hadn’t been swapped out, the old her could have squished this creature with one hand.
But it didn’t matter. She didn’t believe this creature could outfight Bai Yu.
