Chapter 484: Two Short Extras |
"Idol"
Zhongli Chun swung her hand fiercely, repelling the several evil ghosts before her.
Those evil ghosts had never expected to encounter such a formidable figure on this street, and they scattered in all directions.
Only then did she reach out and help the little girl up from the ground.
The little girl appeared to be seven or eight years old. Seeing her being beaten by a group of evil ghosts reminded Zhongli Chun of Little Xia, which was why she had stepped in to save her.
"Can you still move?" Zhongli Chun asked.
"I can..."
The little girl's face was covered in bruises, and blood trickled steadily from her nose. Yet, she did not cry. She merely pursed her lips and said, "Thank you, boss."
Zhongli Chun glanced around, noting the exceptional dilapidation of their surroundings. "Where is this place?"
"The Inner Yellow Springs?" It was Zhongli Chun's first time hearing of this place. She had been chasing a wealthy-looking evil ghost to rob him, and she had stumbled in here by accident?
"This is the legendary place where those who have crossed the Naihe Bridge but refuse to reincarnate live..." the little girl explained to Zhongli Chun.
"People who refuse to reincarnate? I see... That sounds quite fitting for me."
"Boss, are you also from this street?"
"Not exactly." Zhongli Chun shook her head. She looked at the seven- or eight-year-old girl in front of her and asked, "What about you? Why don't you reincarnate?"
"Because I..." The little girl's expression dimmed. "I was born a monster. My mother died in childbirth because of me, and my father saw me as a bad omen. I have nowhere to return to..."
"Then why not start a new life? Wouldn't that be better?"
"A new life..." The little girl shook her head slightly. "Isn't it fine here, too? No one controls me, and I don't need to eat or wear clothes. It's just like when I was alive—there's always someone hitting me, that's all. Besides, God hasn't treated me too poorly, since He let me meet you, boss."
"Could you... stop calling me boss?"
The little girl looked stubborn. She wiped her bloody nose, instantly smearing it across her face. "No, you are my boss! You saved my life, so from now on, I will follow your lead!"
Zhongli Chun pondered for a moment before telling the little girl, "If you want to exist in this world in your current state, you must never rely on others."
"Do you mean... I should cultivate my own power?" The little girl looked troubled. "But I'm young, and a mere girl. In this Inner Yellow Springs, I'm bullied all day long..."
"So what if you are a 'woman'?" Zhongli Chun interrupted her. "Women can enter the battlefield, and women can advise kings. If you have the will, gather all the suffering women on this street and form your own force. Then, no one will be able to bully you anymore."
These words seemed to open up an entirely new path for the little girl.
"An army of women...?" The little girl blinked. "Then will you be our boss?"
"No." Zhongli Chun shook her head decisively. "I am searching for someone, so I cannot stay long."
The little girl nodded with a trace of reluctance. "Then... boss, may I know
your name?"
"Zhongli Chun."
"Boss Zhongli Chun..." The little girl etched the name into her heart.
"What about you?" Zhongli Chun asked.
"My name is Wakajo."
Zhongli Chun stroked her chin with her slender fingers. "Wakajo? 'Weak girl'? That name sounds far too feeble. Let me give you a new name."
"The Magic Brush"
"This is a disaster!" Qu Xi stumbled into Du Yu's room, throwing the door wide open.
Du Yu, who had been lying on his bed looking at his mobile phone, jolted in fright.
"Holy crap?!" Du Yu stared blankly for a moment. "Qu Xi, shouldn't you knock first?"
"Du Yu... I-I messed up!" Qu Xi said, panicking. "The broadcast just ended, and I logged off normally, but I suddenly realized Ying Ning didn't come back with me!"
"What?!"
Ying Ning had always been Qu Xi's 'personal bodyguard', yet this time she hadn't returned?
Realizing the severity of the situation, Du Yu leaped out of bed. "You left Ying Ning behind in history?"
He hastily threw on his jacket and hurried out. "What's the situation now? Can we just descend directly and bring Ying Ning back?"
"The broadcast equipment is currently on cooldown. We can't go back for an hour."
"Then we'll use my portal!" Du Yu declared. "Do you remember the exact time?"
Before they even reached the hall, Dong Qianqiu walked over with a solemn expression.
"Du Yu... something happened!" Dong Qianqiu cried out. "In my thousand years working at the Legend Management Bureau, I've never seen such a bizarre situation..."
Du Yu paused slightly. "What is it, Sister Qianqiu?"
Dong Qianqiu grabbed Du Yu, dragged him all the way to the hall, and pointed at a screen. "Our equipment actually recorded a 'fairy tale'!"
"Uh..." Although Du Yu vaguely guessed what it might be, he still asked, "Wh-what fairy tale?"
"It's 'The Magic Brush'!" Dong Qianqiu looked incredibly confused. "In my memory, this fairy tale was clearly written by a Chinese author around 1950. Why would it be recorded in our equipment?"
Du Yu stared at the screen, an awkward expression crossing his face.
On the screen, a little boy who loved painting had actually picked up a jade-green writing brush.
The legend officially began.
But that writing brush wasn't omnipotent. Although drawing wind created wind, and drawing water created water, drawing anything else didn't work at all.
The legend officially reported an error.
"Wh-who says the fairy tales written by authors... are entirely made up?" Du Yu laughed awkwardly. "Maybe this one is actually true..."
Qu Xi wore a look of intense guilt, truly at a loss for what to do.
"You're saying it's true?" Dong Qianqiu blinked. "Then why does that writing brush look so familiar to me..."
"Never mind all that... Let's quickly descend and snatch the writing brush—no, I mean, let's go fix the legend..."
...