INE Chapter 98: Chixiao

After watching the final outcome, the two of them returned to the Mountains and Rivers Chessboard.

Perhaps because their souls had been together in the end, they now found themselves in the same square on the chessboard.

At that moment, an electronic voice echoed.

[Ding! Congratulations, player, for completing the main storyline "The Bodhi Tree Was Never There." Considering the difficulty level of the main quest, your achievement points have been doubled.]

[According to system calculations, the player has earned 400 achievement points, and Gu Baiyi's favorability is 1000 points.]

[Please keep up the good work!]

Ji Rong: "…"

One thousand points of favorability, seriously?

[Dear, seriously.]

[After the player acquires the Chixiao Sword, the system will unlock new items in the shop for you.]

Ji Rong was about to ask what the new items were when she suddenly realized that her wrist had been held by someone the whole time.

Standing on the chessboard, she looked down at the wrist that Gu Baiyi was holding.

She simply stared at it, then lifted her eyes to meet Gu Baiyi’s, without attempting to pull away.

The grip was light, and the sensation of being held didn’t feel so bad.

There was no smile on Gu Baiyi’s face, but whenever Ji Rong looked at her, her lips would unconsciously curve into a gentle, albeit somewhat forced, smile.

It was a warm, deliberate smile, though.

That smile always reminded Ji Rong of the little girl Mei He had brought back to the sect, and her awkward disciple.

So, she slipped her wrist out from Gu Baiyi’s fingers. Taking advantage of the moment when Gu Baiyi froze in surprise, Ji Rong grasped her hand in return.

Gu Baiyi’s fingers were well-defined, fair, and smooth, feeling cool to the touch, like cold jade.

As Ji Rong held Gu Baiyi’s hand, she felt as though she wasn’t holding delicate, beautiful fingers, but a priceless piece of white jade.

She felt at ease, but on the surface, she nonchalantly said to Gu Baiyi, "Let's go. Let’s find the Chixiao Sword."

Gu Baiyi stood still, smiling, but made no move to answer or move her body.

She had truly been stunned for a while, perhaps since her rebirth, she had never been so dazed.

Looking at her expression, though, it seemed like she wanted to experience this dazed moment a few more times.

After a long pause, Gu Baiyi, still maintaining that forced, almost artificial smile, nodded and said, "Okay."

Ji Rong seriously suspected that the heroine might have forgotten something again.

But if she had lost her memory, it didn’t matter, as long as she didn’t suddenly go mad and jump into an abyss over some disagreement.

There was no sign of Mo Yu on the chessboard, and it was still vast.

Ji Rong, holding Gu Baiyi’s hand, wandered aimlessly in search of the Chixiao Sword.

She kept a calm expression, though inside, she felt a bit awkward.

When she first stepped out of the chessboard, she thought the Chixiao Sword would surely be right in front of her.

Now, it seemed things were different from the game.

After thinking for a moment, Ji Rong said to Gu Baiyi, "You were once the master of the Chixiao Sword. If you release your divine sense to search for it, it might respond."

Gu Baiyi understood this well and could have already acted on it.

However, as Ji Rong held her hand, she didn’t want to pull away. After all, finding the sword was secondary, this was the first time her Senior Sister had taken such an initiative.

But staying in the chessboard wasn’t a long-term solution.

Thinking of this, Gu Baiyi nodded, and Ji Rong let go of her hand.

Looking at her empty hand, she couldn’t help but feel a bit reluctant to let go of the warmth she had just felt.

After regaining her composure, she maintained a calm expression and performed a hand seal to release her divine sense to search for the Chixiao Sword.

Before long, her divine sense landed on a black piece.

The two exchanged a glance, then soared through the air, landing near the empty square.

Her divine sense entered the black piece, and a faint dark aura surrounded the chess piece.

The demonic energy was heavy, and the Chixiao Sword seemed to be a bit agitated.

Ji Rong glanced at the ominous-looking piece and asked Gu Baiyi, "Why is it so agitated?"

"… Baiyi isn’t sure either."

Gu Baiyi released another thread of divine sense, which entered the piece.

After a while, it seemed to have received a response.

But as she stared at the black piece, her expression turned a bit complex.

Ji Rong was curious but kept her calm demeanor, asking, "What did it say?"

Gu Baiyi thought for a moment and summarized the Chixiao Sword’s frenzied outburst into a concise sentence.

"It says, 'If Cangming is here, it swears it will never come out.'"

Upon hearing this, Ji Rong was stunned.

After coming to her senses, she couldn’t help but laugh.

So, this sword actually has a temper?

Ji Rong looked at the blood jade bracelet on her wrist, where the Cangming Sword was kept. The silver waves on its edges were growing more intense.

The Chixiao Sword clearly didn’t like it, and it seemed like the Cangming Sword didn’t care for the Chixiao either.

Ah, looks like you two have some grudges, huh?

Gu Baiyi, a little helpless, speculated, "It’s probably because the Cangming Sword used to belong to Yan Haiyao, and the Chixiao Sword was Chu Changli’s. These two swords must have often clashed in the past, which is why they don’t get along."

Ji Rong remained expressionless. "They’re just swords. What could they be sulking about?"

Ridiculous. She had collected all kinds of swords when playing games.

She had already collected three of the five legendary swords. Aside from the most mysterious one she had yet to find, hadn’t every other sword been available as long as she was willing to spend spirit coins?

But as it turned out, the Chixiao Sword had quite the temper.

Its stubborn and unreasonable behavior reminded Ji Rong all too much of Chu Changli’s shameless excuses for skipping class.

Just thinking about it made her blood boil.

There was one time when Ji Rong finally managed to catch the notorious class-skipping queen, Chu Changli. She was just about to punish her with a hundred copies of the sword manual when that little rascal grinned and said, “Master, if I remember correctly, don’t you have a class at this time too?”

“…”

Ji Rong replied coolly, “And what of it?”

Chu Changli smiled slyly. “Master, if you hadn’t skipped your class, how would you have caught me skipping mine?”

Well then. The brat had seen right through her ploy to mask her own truancy by catching her disciples in the act.

Recalling this, Ji Rong couldn’t be bothered to give the Chixiao Sword a pleasant expression.

Like master, like sword.

The sword’s attitude was no better than its former owner’s.

Standing to the side, Gu Baiyi was originally planning to draw the Hanshui Sword and test a technique Chu Changli had created. Maybe using her own move would resonate with Chixiao.

But before she could act, Ji Rong stepped forward and drew her sword first.

She summoned the Cangming Sword from her bracelet and said coldly, “Let me handle this.”

Gu Baiyi took a step back with a faint smile.

She had a feeling the murderous aura in Ji Rong’s eyes could tear the Chixiao Sword apart a thousand times over.

And so, Ji Rong proceeded to perform all eighty-eight forms of Silent Mountains and Rivers directly at the black game piece.

By the time she finished, the poor black piece looked like it was about to turn white from sheer despair.

But Ji Rong wasn’t done. She even followed it up with a full demonstration of Yan Haiyao’s *Moon Over the Vast Sea

Of the five divine swords, she had already collected three. Aside from the most mysterious one that remained elusive, weren’t the rest all pay-to-win?

And yet, it turned out the Chixiao Sword had quite the temper.

That unreasonable, domineering attitude, it was exactly like Chu Changli's shameless arguments whenever she skipped class.

Just thinking about it made Ji Rong seethe.

There was a time when she finally managed to catch the notorious truancy queen Chu Changli and was about to make her copy a sword manual a hundred times as punishment.

But that cheeky brat actually smiled and said, “Master, if I’m not mistaken, don’t you have a class during this period too?”

“…?”

Ji Rong asked coldly, “And what of it?”

Chu Changli grinned, “Master, if you hadn’t skipped class, how would you have caught me skipping mine?”

Good grief, this little brat had seen straight through her. Ji Rong had clearly planned to use disciplining her disciple as cover for her own ditching.

Recalling that, Ji Rong couldn’t bring herself to show even a sliver of kindness toward the Chixiao Sword.

Like master, like sword.

The sword’s nasty personality wasn’t all that different from its owner’s.

Gu Baiyi stood to the side, intending to draw her Hanshui Sword and try one of Chu Changli’s original techniques on the game piece.

If it really was the Chixiao Sword, maybe striking the piece with one of Chu Changli’s self-created moves would yield unexpected results.

She was just about to draw her sword when Ji Rong beat her to it.

Ji Rong pulled out the Cangming Sword from her bracelet and said icily, “Let me do it.”

Gu Baiyi smiled and stepped back.

She had a feeling the killing intent in Ji Rong’s eyes was enough to flay the Chixiao Sword a thousand times over.

Then Ji Rong proceeded to demonstrate all eighty-eight moves of Silent Mountains and Rivers in front of that single game piece.

By the time the final move landed, the black piece looked so drained it was on the verge of turning white.

And Ji Rong still wasn’t satisfied. She went on to practice Yan Haiyao’s The Moon in the Sea, Washing in Waves from beginning to end as well.

At that point, the Chixiao Sword went from temperamental to submissive, and finally, after suffering the humiliation of seeing its rival’s techniques performed, it flew out of the chess piece on its own.

With a clatter, it crashed to the ground, utterly pitiful.

Gu Baiyi glanced at the sword, which now showed no trace of demonic aura, then looked at Ji Rong’s face, where a faint smile had appeared.

Without even weighing the pros and cons, she calmly picked up the Chixiao Sword and handed it to Ji Rong with a smile. “Senior Sister, you’re amazing.”

The sword vibrated and buzzed faintly in her grip, as if silently protesting.

How had it ended up with such a turncoat of a master?

Gu Baiyi felt the sword’s resistance, lowered her eyes, and shot it a cold glare.

Her eyes narrowed, and the temperature in them dropped several degrees.

The Chixiao Sword immediately gave up the struggle and went limp.

Ji Rong took the sword, now purged of all demonic aura, and examined the flaming patterns coiled around its hilt.

Up close, the sword actually seemed quite decent. It wasn’t nearly as malevolent as the legends made it out to be.

What she didn’t know was that as a legendary magic sword known to make its wielder invincible, the Chixiao Sword had never suffered such indignity in its entire existence.

The system’s robotic voice chimed in again.

[Congratulations, player has successfully collected the divine sword "Chixiao Sword." Achievement points +100]

[New store item unlocked: “Mountains and Rivers Chessboard.” You can exchange 500 achievement points for this item.]

Ji Rong: “…”

Seriously? A chessboard costs five hundred achievement points?

That had to be a condition set right at her limit.

She asked calmly, “So if I redeem the chessboard, I’ll be able to travel through time?”

[Dear player, this feature is currently not available to you.]

Ji Rong: “Then what the heck am I supposed to do with a glorified plate?”

[The "Mountains and Rivers Chessboard" is a key item in the main storyline. The system strongly recommends you redeem it!]

On one side, the system was strongly pushing the item; on the other, the price felt like outright robbery.

Ji Rong thought to herself, If the system’s pushing it this hard, there must be a reason.

Besides, the other items in the store didn’t seem useful to her anyway.

She gritted her teeth and comforted herself, she’d just treat it like buying treasure.

“I’ll take it.”