Chapter 10

If You Want It, I’ll Give It To You

Yu Pei was a bit confused.

Her deepest impression of the novel The Weakness and Salvation was that, aside from the main couple constantly healing each other, there was also the evil nature of Su Zhan.

The novel never mentioned where he came from, nor whether he was human, demon, or immortal. But hundreds of years ago, he single-handedly slaughtered all the cultivators on the mountain. Even today, his name is still used to silence crying children.

At the end of the novel, after the main couple had exhausted all their strength and allied with powerful beings from all realms, they barely managed to seal Su Zhan’s physical body.

And now…

Yu Pei stared at the fluffy creature.

It was still awkwardly wagging its tail in embarrassment.

…Where did the giant monster go?

She bent down and glanced at the ground.

Had it been buried underground?

Or was it possible she wasn’t reading the original novel but some kind of fanfiction?

Seeing the fluffy creature staring at her, Yu Pei cautiously extended her left hand, curling her fingers slightly.

“Come up.”

The fluffy creature stared at her palm but didn’t move.

After a while, it extended one tentacle, but after lightly touching her hand, it quickly retracted.

After repeating this a few times and confirming that she didn’t mind its approach, it finally hopped onto her hand.

Yu Pei lifted her hand and brought it closer to examine the creature.

She then realized that it not only had eyes, but it also had all its facial features. They were just obscured by the black, fluffy fur, similar to a small black cat.

She extended her right index finger and lightly touched its forehead.

—It was soft, warm, and fuzzy.

The fluffy creature squinted its eyes in comfort, a faint purr emerging from its throat, while its black mist-like soft tail unconsciously wrapped around her wrist.

【Interaction Point +1, +1, +1… 】

The system’s reminders kept ringing in her ears as Yu Pei happily rubbed its head.

But at that moment, the fluffy creature suddenly widened its eyes, showing signs of fur bristling.

Yu Pei thought it was about to attack again and prepared to defend herself, but then saw the creature’s body turning red at a visibly fast rate.

Immediately, the pink fluffy creature began jumping wildly on her hand.

The fluffy mass landed heavily but didn’t hurt.

Yu Pei: …

Did it have some kind of mechanism built into it? It jumped as soon as she touched it.

System: 【Please note, the following will be awarded to the player—Twin Reflection Mirror.】

Yu Pei suddenly felt her storage pouch grow slightly heavier.

She set the wildly bouncing fluffy creature aside and opened the storage pouch. Sure enough, she found two copper mirrors inside.

【The Twin Reflection Mirror consists of two mirrors: the main mirror for the player and the secondary mirror for another user. After each infuses their internal energy into the mirrors, they can see each other, even if they are thousands of miles apart, by pressing the red jade button on the main mirror’s handle.】

Isn’t this just like a video call? Plus, she could control the call time.

No wonder she needed to collect Su Zhan’s evil energy.

It turned out it was meant to be used here.

Yu Pei held the two mirrors, turning them over in her hands, and then asked in her mind, “Can these mirrors be modified?”

“Modified?” The system didn’t understand. “Why would the young master want to modify them?”

“I have a jade tablet, and this mirror isn’t very useful to me,” Yu Pei said, walking around the stone pavilion, eventually stopping at a corner. “But if I can leave the mirrors in the stone pavilion, I could use them to gather interaction points.”

The system didn’t get it: “But these mirrors can only show each other, they can’t be touched. You need to contact Su Zhan’s heart to gather interaction points.”

“That’s why I need to modify them,” Yu Pei crouched down, taking the Spider Demon Core from her storage pouch. She split it in two with spiritual energy and embedded one piece into each mirror.

This task seemed simple but was actually very tedious.

In order to prevent the demon core from corroding the mirrors while making sure it would function, she set several restrictive spells on the mirrors and adjusted them repeatedly for over ten tries before finally embedding the cores successfully.

After hiding the mirrors in a concealed spot, Yu Pei ran to the other end, holding the main mirror.

She pressed the red jade button, and slowly, the mirror began to reflect the image of the fluffy creature hopping around.

At the same time, the fluffy creature was distracted by the sudden appearance of the image in the corner.

It stared at the “figure” in the mirror, then looked back at Yu Pei, and finally glanced at the mirror again.

“Gu ji?”

Why was it in the mirror?

The fluffy creature wiggled its body, bouncing toward the mirror like a fireball.

It stood before the mirror, then hesitated before extending a tentacle.

Yu Pei extended her hand as well.

What her finger touched wasn’t the cold mirror surface, but rather a warm patch.

【Interaction Points +1, currently accumulated 11 points.】

System: ???

“What’s going on?!”

Why did the points increase?

“The Spider Demon can manipulate the surface of the earth. Using its core’s ability, it can create a mirror that allows for ‘distant touch’,” Yu Pei poked the soft tip of the tentacle and responded to the system in her mind, “But my ability is limited right now. I can only touch it, but I can’t pass through the mirror yet—you can think of the mirror as a thin sheet of paper.”

Although its use was limited, this way, unless there was an emergency, she wouldn’t need to think about infiltrating Demon God Mountain anymore.

After touching her hand, the little fluffy creature seemed to have discovered something new. Its round, glistening eyes stared unblinkingly at the mirror.

Whenever Yu Pei moved, it followed, its eyes rotating in sync, quietly watching her.

The two of them, back to back, stared at each other—big eyes meeting small eyes—through the mirror for a good while.

In the end, it was Yu Pei who broke the gaze first.

It was time to go back.

She glanced toward the door.

The dim moonlight seeped through the gap in the door, casting a narrow beam of light.

If she didn’t leave soon, she feared she might run into Chi Shu.

The candlelight flickered, burning brightly but almost halfway gone.

Chi Shu, however, wasn’t sleepy and poured himself another cup of tea.

“Now to enter the Heavenly Realm Academy, one needs someone to recommend them, write a letter of recommendation, and then pass the examination to be admitted,” he said, “Therefore, most people join a sect first, then enter the academy. I wonder about you—”

He stopped midway through his sentence.

He looked at the red-faced Zhu Yu, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Zhu Yu replied, moving the hand that had been resting on his chin to his forehead, gently rubbing it while also blocking his gaze.

The lingering warmth from his touch remained, along with a faint itchy sensation.

His head lowered even more, leaving only his flushed ears visible.

After so many years with Peipei, he had never seen her touch his head.

Chi Shu couldn’t understand this person more and more.

No wonder he could mingle with those people from the Spirit-Taming Sect—they were all equally neurotic.

“Since your uncle is willing, there’s no need to worry about the letter of recommendation,” Chi Shu suddenly changed the subject. “Those disciples from the Spirit-Taming Sect came to see me just now, saying you were looking for someone?”

“Yes, why?”

“You’re looking for Yin Yi?”

Zhu Yu suddenly raised his head, no longer smiling.

“Why mention her?”

“Her brother, Yin Lan—you should know him—he’s an old friend of mine and often mentions her,” Chi Shu paused slightly, his indifferent expression softening, “I just asked Yin Lan. According to him, it seems that Yin Yi is also interested in joining the Heavenly Realm Academy. If you’re looking for her, perhaps you can wait until after she’s admitted.”

“No need,” Zhu Yu firmly rejected, “I’ve already found her.”

Found her?

But he hadn’t left Demon God Mountain this afternoon.

However, Chi Shu had no intention of prying into his personal matters, so he simply nodded in acknowledgment.

“It’s even better that you’ve already found her,” he stood up, “I’ve said enough about the academy, the rest can wait until you’re enrolled.”

Sensing that Yu Pei’s presence had left the Demon-Suppressing Formation, Zhu Yu didn’t stop him and stood up as well.

“Thank you for today. Once I’m at the academy, I’ll treat you to tea.”

As he reached the door, Chi Shu hesitated for a moment, then turned around and said, “I mean no harm, but if your mood often swings, sometimes causing… fits of madness, the Heavenly Realm Academy also has celestial doctors skilled in treating mental ailments. It might be worth trying.”

Zhu Yu:?

“This advice…” Chi Shu added, “can also be passed on to those others, it’s harmless and might be beneficial.”

Zhu Yu: ??

Not long after Chi Shu left, Yu Pei arrived.

As soon as she entered, Zhu Yu focused on observing her expression.

Once he was sure she wasn’t angry because of the little furball’s craziness, he sighed in relief and asked, “Did you handle everything?”

“Mm.” Yu Pei almost floated in, “Did Chi Shu notice anything?”

“No,” Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow, “Are you still worried about my work?”

Only then did Yu Pei relax. She took the water he handed her and drank it all in one go.

Finally, she could rest!

Even when dealing with cats and dogs, once performance is involved, it’s exhausting.

Zhu Yu didn’t ask what she had done but brought up another matter: “Are you going to the Heavenly Realm Academy?”

Yu Pei became alert, “Who told you?”

“Yin Lan,” Zhu Yu replied calmly, without a hint of embarrassment.

“He’s your brother, so you should be calling him ‘brother,’ why do you always just call him by name?” Yu Pei lay down on the table, “Fine, I only got the letter of recommendation. Whether I pass the exam is still uncertain. I’ll just take a nap for a bit, I’ve used up too much spiritual energy today, I can’t walk anymore.”

Zhu Yu didn’t respond, instead pressing the teapot lid and gently rubbing it.

The breathing by her ear grew longer, and only then did he shift his gaze, giving her a look.

Then, he leaned forward slightly, raising one hand.

His fingertips trembled slightly, growing closer and closer to her forehead.

When the distance was less than half an inch, he suddenly stopped, not daring to come any closer.

He gently brushed aside the loose hair on her forehead. Although he hadn’t touched her, the back of his ears still became warm.

He didn’t know what he was doing or what he wanted. It seemed that every movement was driven by instinct, yet constrained by it as well.

“Peipei,” Zhu Yu called softly, “What do you want that for?”

Naturally, there was no reply.

He rested his head on the table, most of his face hidden behind his arm, leaving only his bright eyes visible as he looked at her.

After a long while, he muttered to himself, “If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”