The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus - Chapter 75: Great Fissure In The Ground (11)

Chapter 75: Great Fissure In The Ground (11)

Ling Miaomiao shot out of the fissure like a rocket. She fell on the ground and rolled a few times before finally coming to a stop splayed out on the ground next to Mu Yao.

Mu Yao’s hand shook and nearly dropped the Demon Restraining Circlet into the fissure. Cold sweat dripped down her back as she tightly grabbed the Demon Restraining Pagoda while taking a step back, “Miaomiao?”

Ling Miaomiao laid on the ground for a long time without any hint of movement. So long in fact that Mu Yao crouched over her and gently pulled her up, looking over her in worry and anxiety. She nervously touched her forehead, “Are you ok?”

The young girl stared into the atmosphere in a daze for a long moment before it seemed like her soul finally returned. She pulled out a fist-sized box from her robes and stuffed it into her hand.

“……” Mu Yao blankly took the box that seemed to be a pleasant surprise falling from the sky. For a moment, she didn’t know how to react.

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“There’s more, Sister Mu.” Ling Miaomiao’s words started to gush out like they were doing the 100 meter dash, causing Mu Yao to feel somewhat worried that her heart would be unable to take it and pass out. She pointed at the small wooden pagoda in Mu Yao’s hand and spit out words like she was firing pearls: “Did Brother Liu teach you how to use the Demon Restraining Pagoda yet? Can you guarantee sealing away the illusion demon later?”

The cheeks of the girl in front of her were bright red and her eyes were bright. There was eagerness within the gaze she used to look at her and the string of questions immediately made her head dizzy.

“Yes….”

Fbl bye sdzu fwpv dseele obld pbl pyo Nkdt Ykysxkys ycawrvzu pvyde wr. Mbld, pbl prakdvle shla vs vbl letl sq vbl qkppwal yde zkqvle bla pjkav vs zlyr cynj esod okvbswv y pbale sq blpkvyvksd.

“Ykysxkys!” Yw Zys oyp talyvzu qaktbvldle yde yzps awpble shla vs vbl letl sq vbl qkppwal. Tsolhla, vbl zypv nsadla sq Nkdt Ykysxkys’p nzsvblp bye yzalyeu ekpyrrlyale kdvs vbl eyajdlpp okvbkd vbl qkppwal.

Nkdt Ykysxkys rlynlqwzzu nzsple bla lulp.

Mbl oyu Yw Fbldt pldv bla cynj wr oyp fwpv oyu vss aswtb. Ebld pbl pbsv swv sq vbl qkppwal, pbl qlzv zkjl y asnjlv cwadkdt vbaswtb vbl yvxsprblal. Rv nywple bla pvsxynb vs qllz zkjl kv bye tsdl vbaswtb vbl asnjlap, vbwp pbl nswze sdzu przyu swv sd vbl taypp kd y eygl yde nwapl vbl pupvlx’p ldvkal qyxkzu.

“Fupvlx, R oydv vs qkzl y nsxrzykdv.”

“…..”

“Ms xyjl vbl xkppksd vyatlv byhl vs rasvlnv vbl vaydpxktayvkdt xkppksd esla, kp vbl pupvlx fwpv vblal qsa elnsayvksd? R okzz ts vs uswa kdqsaxyvksd elryavxldv yde tkhl usw yzz y rssa lhyzwyvksd. Kwpv oykv.”

Mbl yppkpvydv zshkdt pupvlx oyp lmvalxlzu pldpkvkhl vsoyaep vbl vos osaep ‘rssa lhyzwyvksd’.

“System Notification: The system will guarantee the host’s absolute safety. Dangerous situations will be split into blue, green and red ranks. One the host encounters a red-ranked dangerous situation, the system will automatically initialize safety mechanisms. This is the mission system’s duty and obligation. According to the records, the character 【Ling Miaomiao】has yet to encounter a red-ranked dangerous situation, as a result she was not within the scope of triggering safety measures. End of notification.”

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Ling Miaomiao clutched two clumps of grass on the ground as her eyes flashed with a cold light. Upon hearing the notification, she tossed aside the grass: “That so? Fine. Then I’ll encounter a red-ranked danger right now and test it out.”

System: “……”

Finished speaking, she stuffed the box into Mu Yao’s hands and leapt into the fissure for the second time.

Humid air slowly moved down the sides of the fissure. The vague scent of earth, plants and roots filled the air, even a hint of fragrant jasmine could be found.

Mu Sheng was forced into a corner. He nearly fused into the darkness, only the watery shine within his dark eyes reflected any light.

He thought to himself that he had to be hallucinating. That was the only way he could be smelling her scent.

The sweet fragrance in the air was especially obvious. Cold, clammy liquid soaked his shoulders and when the youth turned the corner, he felt like he saw stars for a few moments.

Unwilling to reveal the slightest weakness, he silently leaned against the wall and used it to rest for a few precious moments.

The illusion demon’s urges were stirred from the sweet scent of blood in the air. The dark qi flowing out of her body became ever more billowing. She looked very much like a malicious spirit with disheveled hair.

After she went berserk, her attacks became a complete mess. Oftentimes, she would unleash a great amount of power towards the air, the dark air just like a massive net stubbornly trying to cover the mountains and seas. It was as if she was trying to smash this fish that escaped its net into a complete pile of mush.

Her throat trembled, “Mu Sheng, you’ve massacred half of all the demons in the yin-yang fissure! Did you not think of how this power could possibly bite back and devour you completely?”

However, the person before her still hung a provocative sneer on his face. It was as if the person who had been forced into a corner was someone else, not him.

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Mu Sheng tilted his head and looked at her. His eyes, decorated above by long slender lashes, slowly suffused with a dark killing intent, “Unfortunately, when I was killing those demons, you weren’t there.”

“What an arrogant tone.” The illusion demon coldly smiled, “Have you always been like this?”

Mu Sheng completely paid no attention to her as he played with his hairband. He smiled, “The last demon who said that to me is already dead.”

Although his hand was trembling, there was not a single hint of fear nor dread in his heart. This was the third time….

It seemed like there was a light flashing in front of him. Mu Sheng inadvertently raised his head and saw a small familiar metal band falling from the sky. It wasn’t the one he had thrown himself.

That Demon Restraining Circlet’s power was completely lacking but it landed upon the illusion demon’s back without her going on guard against it, catching her off guard.

Suddenly being struck by an object, the illusion demon was unable to react. Then, she carelessly brandished her arm and swung backwards.

Naturally, she missed. A rabbit-like figure dodged the sword attack as they made an arc through the air followed by a billowing skirt. Suddenly, Mu Sheng felt weight upon his chest and a girl had already landed in front of his eyes. Their eyes met. The girl in his arms gasped for breath while her bright eyeballs stared at him.

There was still steam wafting off her face from her short journey. Her fragrance was faint, just like the blooming flowers of spring.

Upon realizing whose face this belonged to, he felt a surge of anger go through his body. He was so angry he felt his forehead become numb. Before he even had the chance to react, he already started spilling out scoldings, “Why did you come back down here?”

However, other than his angry shock, there was also a thread of shameless joy. Just like a small plant breaking out through a small crack on the ground and reaching up into the sky.

The moonlight did not warm up the fissure at all. However, her figure was just like a brightly lit torch being waved around. Every step she made left behind imprints full of vitality and light.

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This kind of brightness.

“Got it, got it. You can do as you like when we get back.” Ling Miaomiao puffed up her cheeks, as if she had no idea just how dangerous the current situation was before her eyes. She pulled on his sleeve, pulling him out of the corner he was in, “I’ll look after the sick individual.”

Mu Sheng was so furious he laughed. His dark pupils looked into hers, “Look after me? Or give me more difficulties?”

After speaking, he pressed down her head as they rolled on the ground. The illusion demon missed again. A broken gem dropped from above her head onto the ground with a tinkle. It fell right in front of their faces.

The two of them were nearly on top of each other. Ling Miaomiao finally found herself in his arms again without knowing what happened, bundled together in softness.

Her face was extremely close to his, close to the point that he could even distinguish each individual hair on her cheek. In this moment of life and death, he suddenly felt his hand itch, wanting to caress her cheek.

His eyelashes shook. With this thought in mind, he reached out with his hand.

She seemed to misunderstand his actions as she pressed her chin into his chest. Suddenly, she retrieved a stack of talismans from his robes and stuffed them into his hand without letting him refuse. Her apricot eyes gleamed brightly, “Ziqi, thank you. I’m returning these talismans to you.”

“……” He lowered his eyes to study the familiar brushstrokes on the talismans. His face curled into a mocking smile, “Using my talismans then returning my own talismans to me. I’m afraid you’re the only one that could think of doing such a thing.”

The obelisk beside them suffered an attack and it exploded with a loud crack, causing them to feel dizzy from the sudden boom, their ears suffering. He rapidly got up then also picked up the girl on the ground with a quick scoop, sticking themselves onto a wall pillar.

Rumble—— The pillar suddenly fell over. Broken pieces of rock fell next to their feet as half of the underground palace suddenly collapsed, causing dust to billow up and cover everything.

The person beside him stuck onto his side giving him a feeling of coziness and softness. It felt like he was covered by a fuzzy blanket. The wound on his shoulder seemed to suddenly open again, and he could feel a warm fluid start flowing down his shoulder. Yet, he only seemed to feel his body turning hotter, the slightest bit of pain absent.

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The current illusion demon was almost completely swallowed by the dark air. The body of the young girl was completely unable to endure such a boundless amount of demonic qi. Her skin and flesh split open from the pressure. Her veins and blood vessels started popping out. She looked as if she was about to spontaneously combust at any moment, absolutely terrifying everyone who saw her.

“Do you see it? That’s a demon that’s lost control.” Mu Sheng’s long eyelashes were drooped as he suddenly interjected.

Ling Miaomiao perfunctorily replied with a ‘mhm’. She didn’t really hear what he said. She raised a hand to grab onto her own Demon Restraining Circlet then used her other hand to grab onto Mu Sheng’s arm, then placed it onto his wrist.

The youth’s pitch black pupils were filled with a cold fury, “What is your meaning by doing this?”

“What could I mean?” Ling Miaomiao blinked, “I’m lending it to you for the moment. Afterwards, you have to return it.”

The black lotus had always depended on using both Demon Restraining Circlets to fight demons. If he was short of one, he would not be able to erupt forth with his sky-breaking combat power.

His expression suddenly changed.

Ling Miaomiao tiptoed, her ice-cold hand suddenly placed onto his forehead, catching him off guard, “You didn’t become an idiot from the fever right? Can you protect me?”

“….Yes.”

He took a long time to reply. In the end, his reply was also very soft. His lashes faintly brushed against her palm, causing her to feel an itch.

She lowered her hand and scratched the center of it…. But it still felt itchy.

As the underground palace quaked and shook, Ling Miaomiao quietly stood beside the darkly clad black lotus’s side without anything in her hands. She glared fiercely at the erupting illusion demon.

Her palm was clammy and her heart beat like a drum. She wanted to find an opportunity to test out the red-ranked danger’s defensive measures. However, he had made her dodge it all. Even if she were to stand in front of Mu Sheng and strive to the best of her ability to act as a meat shield for him, she would just get tossed backwards with a single wave of his hand. By standing behind him, she wouldn’t get injured in the slightest.

Broken stones covered everything within sight like a veil. It was just like they were in a quarry. The two of them moved about via leaping and jumping.

The illusion demon’s frenzied attacks did not relent, even if the target was the ground. Ling Miaomiao was a bit unfocused and stumbled over one of the shattered pieces of rock on the ground. Suddenly, she lost her center of gravity.

Before she could fall completely over, he roughly pulled her up and using that opportunity, the illusion demon’s long red nails extended a great distance and pierced through Mu Sheng’s chest with a spurt. His shoulder was nailed into the wall and his head knocked the burning ghostly green fire into swaying.

The illusion demon put force into her nails, starting to slowly turn, causing Mu Sheng to clench his teeth as his blood stained palm supported himself against the wall.

A shadow flashed in front of him and the gutless little girl beside him reached out with her hand and twisted the illusion demon’s hand to his great shock. She coldly uttered, “Let go of him….”

An unbelievable counterattack was also very much like a provocation.

Mu Sheng immediately regained his focus. His face changed greatly and the veins on his temples bulged out as he tried to open his mouth to speak. However, one of his lungs had been pierced and blood spurted out of his mouth, covering his clothes.

“Looking for death……” The illusion demon sneered coldly and tossed aside Mu Sheng. She turned around to teach this fearless little thing a lesson.

She swung the back of her hand towards her small face, without any intention of leaving her any mercy.

Ling Miaomiao bent her back backwards as blood immediately appeared between her fingers. At the same time, she was forced back two steps.

Almost simultaneously:

“Ding—- System Notification: Red Danger Protective Mode has been activated. The absolute safety of the host is guaranteed, may the host please continue her mission. End of notification.”

“S-…. So what if I’m looking for death.” Ling Miaomiao narrowed her eyes at the illusion demon while glancing at the youth who had been tossed to the side through the corner of her eye. He was currently trying to pull himself up. His hair stuck to his face and his dark eyes were just like a starless night sky.

She didn’t sense anything really…. Except…. Darn it, the black lotus just coughed up blood.

“Since you love plucking out hearts so much, if you have the guts…. Don’t let me down.” She took a few steps back and simply covered her stomach and sat down in a rascally manner on the ground. At the same time, she sat right in front of Mu Sheng. Suddenly, she felt his arms circle her waist and then could feel him try to get up in the next moment–

She had been speaking to drag for time, so she continuously pushed away Mu Sheng’s fingers. All she hoped for was that he would take his time to get up.

The protection of the system was truly indomitable. Even if the illusion demon poked so many holes in her, to the point that she looked like a sieve, there would not be any true harm dealt to her.

It was just that if he continued to suffer a little bit more, she was afraid that her mission target would lose too much blood and she would no longer have a mission target.

“Did you think I wouldn’t dare?” The illusion demon’s fingers suddenly extended.

In that instant, the Demon Restraining Circlets flew out and fiercely struck her fingertips.

The wind caused by the wake of the Demon Restraining Circlet was as sharp as a blade, suddenly causing all of Ling Miaomiao’s hair to fly up,

The long nails before her were suddenly severed. Her crimson fingertips drooped weakly without any strength and even shook slightly on the ground, causing Ling Miaomiao to feel goosebumps rising all over her body.

“You dare?”

The youth behind her stood up. There was still a smear of blood over his lips and his expression was extremely bizarre. There was also a surge of anger, fury or perhaps even loathe flowing through his eyes, slowly congealing into an opaque pitch black color.

He locked down the young girl from behind and forcefully pulled aside her hand. With one hand, he rapidly stuck a Hemostatic Talisman on her wounds. Then, he carried her up, like she was a child, pulling her ribs upwards in his embrace, making her sit on his legs.

The illusion demon suddenly let out an extremely mournful howl. The underground palace started to shudder and shake tremendously. Large pieces of rock fell down from all directions just like a torrential mountain flash flood, causing everywhere to be perilous to their lives.

At the fourth watch of the night (1 – 3 am), the moon turned. The moonlight shining down was intermixed with the brilliant, eye-piercing golden light of the Demon Restraining Pagoda. Ling Miaomiao struggled to look upwards to see a burning bright ball of light growing ever greater in intensity.

Mu Yao had finally made her move.

However, Mu Sheng acted as if he was completely blind to the situation before his eyes. He still sat in place without a single movement, tightly hugging onto her.

Ling Miaomiao had never been so close to him before. For a while, she was greatly shocked and tried to turn her body in discomfort. However, he pressed her into his chest and the top of her head was right below his chin. She couldn’t move at all.

His movements were abnormally forceful, just like a metal cage trapping her. She couldn’t help but resist with all her might. However, the more she struggled, the tighter he held her. For a while after that, she dared not move.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mu Sheng move a single hand towards his hairband and her fragile little heart nearly leaped out of her chest. Thinking rapidly, she shouted as loud as she could, “Aiya! Ziqi, I….. it hurts…..”

The hand tightly wrapped around her suddenly stiffened. Then, it loosened and she took the opportunity to break away from her shackles, raising her face to look at his face while her heart beat like a drum.

The person before her… his eyes had turned red at their extremities. His lips were stained in fresh blood. His eyes were a deep and profound color. It was the color of eternal night but at the same time, the color of the most poisonous fruit. It was like a beast reaching the end of its hibernation and making an earth-shattering roar upon waking. Then, causing a slaughter till its last breath.

Ling Miaomiao reached out and grabbed his arm tightly, her heart jumping wildly while doing so, “Don’t! Don’t take it off!”

“Don’t take it off….” A soft but crisp voice.

The fury blinding his eyes slowly dispersed a smidgen. Then, he looked down at her with a bit of helplessness in his tone, “I’m not taking it off, I just….”

He just wanted to loosen it….

“Just loosening it a little teeny bit is no good.” The young girl seemed to have the ability to read his mind. She blinked her apricot eyes while staring at him with a rather pitiful yet stubborn expression.

Their eyes met in the air. She considered her words for a moment before speaking in a slow tone, “Your hair is so nicely tied up, loosening it means it won’t look good anymore.”

Once he loosened his hair, it would no longer look good.

So that was why….

So it was…. A different reason from his sister….

So it wasn’t because she was scared of him.

“Mhm. That’s perfect…. Good.”

Ling Miaomiao grasped his hand and slowly lowered it just like she was trying to coax a child. She very carefully observed his expression and eyes return to their normal state.

Ling Miaomiao suddenly felt her body loosen a little. Only then did she realize that the clothes on her back had all become soaked in cold sweat.

In the original work, it stated that when Mu Sheng had blackened, the exact same situation leading up to that happening was what had happened before her just now. They were so close. Just a little more and the black lotus would’ve blackened in front of her….

That was dangerous…..

The light coming off of the Demon Restraining Pagoda was resplendent. It completely lit up Ling Miaomiao’s face and gave her brows and hair a cozy, golden lining.

The illusion demon turned into countless strands of dark fog, just like the horde of fish in the pond fighting one another for food, rushing of one mind at the Nine Mysterious Demon Restraining Pagoda above them.

As her adrenaline washed away, she somewhat listlessly laid, no, cuddled into Mu Sheng’s chest. Closing her tired eyes, she waited for Mu Yao to come save her.

However, Mu Sheng’s long brows were still trembling. Immediately afterward, his gaze fell upon her snow white skin. He reached out a hand to grab her wrist and pinched her hard, “You can’t sleep.”

“I’m not sleeping….” Ling Miaomiao roused her mind and pushed aside his hand. Her eyes were half open. She looked just like an ill little rabbit that had not gotten enough sleep. Her face was filled with impatience, “Don’t worry… I won’t die. I’m still waiting to return and see Brother Liu.”

“…..”

His hand itched to toss her away at that moment.

However, he felt so cold at that moment and to be able to hug a warm ball of fire, he really could not bear to do so.

He had no strength to move his arms so he lowered his head and slowly placed his cheek against her soft, sleek hair.

The fragrance of jasmine floated up into his nose. Her collars, sleeves and long hair seemed to all be strongly scented with flowers. He slowly relaxed his mental state like the ripples on water slowly coming to calm.

The person in his embrace….smelled so nice.

The author has something to say:

Special Questionnaire Program:

Q1: How many of these missions are there? What are their differences?

A: Two of them. Mission two’s target is Mu Sheng. Mission one is to make sure that the story flows according to the original book. To complete the trackline of the ‘secretly-in-love-with-the-main-lead and secretly-attacking-the-female-lead original body. The line “Mission One, complete X amount of 4” is referring to this. Don’t forget the missions oh. (TL: Lol yes, don’t get drowned by the sugar)

Q2: Why does she have to say that she likes Brother Liu?

A: In the first mission, why does the original body want to harm Mu Yao all the time? (The first time with the fake marriage, she ripped apart the talisman. The second time she secretly harmed Mu Yao by causing her to get taken away by Tao Ying. The third time she pushed her into the fissure.) Because in the original story and plot, Ling Yu secretly loved Liu Fuyi and was jealous of Mu Yao. When mission one started, it required that Ling Miaomiao continuously stick around Liu Fuyi. She had to make sure to give the main leads a lasting impression. There’s no more need to increase her favorability with Liu Fuyi anymore but basically the plot still requires her to comply. That is also to say that mission one and two are contradictory. That’s why the missions are so difficult.

Q3: Why does she constantly provoke the male lead?

A: Actually, she’s not trying to provoke him. Ling Miaomiao is just someone who was brought up in the modern world. All she knows is that Mu Sheng’s favorability towards her is 80%. Does she know how much his favorability towards his sister is? No. What if he had a 91% favorability towards her? She never had much self-confidence in the first place. Before Mu Sheng directly tells her upfront, no matter how many words or actions are tossed into her face, they have no meaning to her. How could she know that Mu Sheng likes her and ONLY her? Since the male lead has this uncertainty factor in the form of an elder sister, she completely can just put on a pretense to protect her own self-respect. Girls also feel the desire to monopolize, fearing that they’d lose to their rival’s abilities. Letting herself care less is the same as letting herself fall from grace more beautifully. In addition, our foolish Miaomiao has no experience. Please, show some understanding for our poor Miaomiao who has been single since birth.

Q4: Does Ling Miaomiao truly like Mu Sheng?

A: I don’t feel like saying it anymore. She shouts out that she likes Brother Liu yet has she blocked a knife for Brother Liu? (While the two of them are so intimately hugging, they’ve forgotten the poor Brother Liu laying alone in a corner in the darkness with no one to look after him. Brother Liu is going to cry ah) The body is always more honest than one’s reason. The thing with the younger brother is the same. I feel like this isn’t a blade, it’s sugar. (TLN: LOL yes Ms. Author.)

Q5: Why can’t she escape the system?

A: I’ve seen several stories with systems in them. Either the system has a golden finger or the system is trampled upon by the MC. Feels good? Of course it feels super good. However, from an objective point of view, the system is literally the game’s design. Talking of strategy with regards to the design, trying to complete two contradictory missions is very difficult. Since it will be contradictory actions, then naturally it will also cause readers to feel attached and fired up when reading!

From a subjective point of view, I personally feel like life is something that already comes packaged with shackles and chains. (Wow the author defines the situation in China quite well.) Only when there are limitations will there be the chance to break through. Ling Miaomiao represents the large portion of the population that are just normal people. Terrified and can only compromise constantly in their everyday life. However, despite all that she still has her own unbreakable values and principles. According to Mu Sheng’s evaluation of her, she was someone who was ‘a pain in the butt’. If a normal human can live out a life of self-respect, protect their character and stay persistent, they have already won. The end.

TLN: Hey Entropy here, sorry for the impromptu two week absence… lots of things happened all at once and I forgot to post… even the stockpile has completely dried out… unfortunately, I don’t think I can post all the chapters I missed anytime soon. Winter is coming soon though and hopefully with it, more freedom~

How are y’all doing though? Hopefully doing good?