Chapter 14: Reciprocity

Yun Miao never expected things could turn out like this. Realizing she had triggered a special event, she began to hesitate about whether to accept or not.

If she agreed… she was afraid she might regret it later; if she refused… she worried the opportunity would slip away in an instant.

Luckily, Ge Yan was merely delighted by Yun Miao’s talent and didn’t mean to make things difficult for the juniors.

Seeing Yun Miao’s hesitation, she told her to take her time and consider carefully—no need to reply immediately.

She also explained she would be staying here to guard Tan Xiaobai, and let Yun Miao and the others go rest in another room.

The commotion Tan Xiaobai caused was not small. People from the neighboring rooms came out into the corridor, curiously peering out.

Some had overheard Elder Ge’s words and were now eyeing Yun Miao with inquisitive gazes.

Huaxin knew that if they got surrounded by these people, it would be troublesome.

Her right hand casually rested on the hilt at her waist as she turned to the other three and said, “Let’s go take a walk on the deck.”

Yun Miao and the others had no objections, so the group immediately headed for the deck. Some people did want to come up and strike up a conversation, but Huaxin’s cold expression quickly scared them off.

The deck was empty. The moment the four stepped out, they were nearly knocked over by the howling wind.

Huaxin had trained with the blade since childhood and had a steady stance, so she quickly regained her balance.

Behind her, Guan Dahai and Gao Zhu supported each other and barely managed to stand.

Huaxin also wanted to help Yun Miao, but just as she reached out, she saw that Yun Miao was already on all fours, kneeling and crawling on the ground.

Huaxin noticed that the distant Xuantian Sect disciples, standing tall and exuding an immortal aura, were all looking over.

Even though she wasn’t the one crawling on the ground, her cheeks inexplicably burned with embarrassment. She hurriedly said, “Give me your hand, I’ll help you up.”

“Wait, I think I see a little dog.”

In the game, Yun Miao was completely uninhibited and didn’t care at all how the NPCs viewed her. She crawled quickly toward the pile of wooden crates in the distance.

Thanks to the thick bulwark blocking the wind, Yun Miao—who was close to the ground—crawled steadily, while Huaxin and the others, trying to follow, were blown back two steps for every step forward.

Yun Miao soon reached the pile of crates at the rear of the ship and peered through the gaps.

“Come here, everyone! There really is a little dog here!”

She saw a pitch-black little ball of fluff curled up deep inside the crates. It was extremely well hidden—if Yun Miao hadn’t been crawling, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

The little black dog lifted its head, its round eyes calmly meeting the bright black eyes outside the crack.

Yun Miao immediately acted like a keyword-triggered NPC and beckoned to the puppy, “Chu, chu, chu.”

The little black dog tilted its head, seemingly not understanding her.

Huaxin struggled against the wind to reach Yun Miao’s side. “Where did the dog come from?”

“That’s not a dog. That’s a Wolf Pup.”

A familiar cold voice sounded, making Yun Miao and Huaxin look up together. The female disciple who had previously announced the rules with a whip at her waist was already standing beside them.

Yun Miao sat down on the spot, pulled out her last small wildflower from her bundle, and handed it over with a bright smile. “Hello, my name is Yun Miao!”

Huaxin frowned again. Great, Yun Miao had definitely forgotten her earlier warning.

She watched the female disciple warily, afraid she’d accuse Yun Miao of harassment and kick her off the ship.

Ning Yu didn’t respond to Yun Miao’s greeting, nor did she kick her off the ship. She simply said coolly, “Are you like this with everyone?”

Yun Miao replied, “No, I only act like this toward people I like.”

“You like me?”

Ning Yu suddenly smiled. When she smiled, it was as if an ice sculpture had come to life—ice and snow melting, spring waters shimmering. But the words from such a beauty could be surprisingly sharp.

“But I don’t like you, you frivolous little brat.”

Wow, what a unique NPC.

Yun Miao’s smile grew even brighter. She stood up and tucked the wilted wildflower behind the beauty’s ear.

“That’s fine. It’s enough that I like you.”

“So you’re not just frivolous, you’re also arrogant.”

Ning Yu raised a hand to touch the wildflower at her ear. “Are you really not afraid I’ll kick you off the ship and end your path to immortality?”

Yun Miao replied, “I’m not afraid.”

“Why not?”

Yun Miao answered as if it were obvious, “Because some destinies are written by fate long ago. Whether or not this ship exists, I will definitely join the Xuantian Sect!”

***

Joining the Xuantian Sect was obviously the Main Quest for newbies—this was the game route the developers had set for players from the very beginning.

This Xianzhou, and even the Xuantian Sect itself, were all prepared for players.

Even if a full-immersion game could change in many ways, the only possibility was the player refusing to walk the quest path and choosing a different route.

There was never a scenario where the quest line itself rejected the player.

So as long as the player wanted to join the Xuantian Sect, she would definitely join the Xuantian Sect!

Ning Yu didn’t understand what Yun Miao meant, which only made her more puzzled—how could this green-robed girl behave so fearlessly?

Why did her gaze seem so certain, as if what she said was the truth of the world, the so-called destiny…

Players’ interests always come and go quickly. After giving away the flower, Yun Miao sat back down and started beckoning to the puppy again, “Chu, chu, chu.”

Ning Yu snapped back to herself and looked once more at the youthful, innocent girl in green. She could only think she must have imagined things just now.

How could an ordinary person understand destiny? She was probably just a naïve calf unafraid of tigers.

“I already said it’s a wolf… Forget it, do you really like it that much?”

Yun Miao replied, “It looks a lot like a dog I knew when I was little.”

She pulled a meat bun from her bundle and handed it to the puppy. Most of the buns were in Huaxin’s Storage Pouch, but the clever player had stashed a few in her own small bundle just in case.

The little black wolf sniffed it, then stuck its head out and took the bun from Yun Miao’s hand through the gap, quietly eating it.

It looked like it had just been weaned, its black fur fluffy and soft, with a faint milky scent. Yet it showed none of the panic of a pup separated from its mother—its calmness was almost excessive.

Ning Yu noticed Yun Miao’s voice grew softer as she spoke. Normally, she would never ask about such trivial matters, but today she couldn’t help herself.

“Was that dog also pure black? What was its name?”

“I called it Reserve Rations.”

Yun Miao watched the little black wolf eating the bun deep in the crate as she reminisced, “It was also a furry little black dog, very cute. I was only eight at the time, and my friend and I often went to play with it.”

“Later, my friend and I pooled our money to buy it from its owner, but the man said it wasn’t enough—he was raising it as a meat dog. But if we gave him the money, he promised he wouldn’t eat Reserve Rations in the future.”

“We believed him and gave him all our money. But a few months later, Reserve Rations was still eaten by its owner. I was heartbroken and angry.”

“I collected a pile of dog poop to get back at him, but before I could carry out my revenge, the man accidentally electrocuted himself while fishing in the river.”

Yun Miao looked at Ning Yu, her tone cold. “Do you know what this story teaches us?”

Several Xuantian Sect disciples standing guard at the bow were drawn by Ning Yu and Yun Miao’s conversation and quietly came over to listen. At these words, they immediately chimed in.

“I know, it means evil will be repaid with evil!”

“Cheating even little kids, how despicable!”

“Those who break their word deserve to be struck by lightning!”

Yun Miao said, “No.”

Another disciple ventured, “Could it be telling us… that even after becoming cultivators, we shouldn’t be arrogant, but must train diligently to control our power? If we can’t master our own strength, it’ll turn against us?”

Yun Miao replied, “Also wrong.”

Ning Yu became interested too. “Then what’s the reason?”

Yun Miao said fiercely, “This story tells us you never know which will come first—tomorrow or an accident. So you have to take revenge as soon as possible!”

“I was planning to stuff that pile of stinky dog poop into his cooking pot and under his bed, but just as I finished collecting it, the man up and died.”

“In the end, I could only scatter the whole bag of dog poop over his grave. Isn’t that the greatest regret in the world?”

“After that, I made sure to collect a pile of stinky dog poop every year and scatter it on Reserve Rations’ death anniversary, so that in spring and summer, the grass on that grave grew especially lush.”

“Only when I was twelve and got caught by someone else did I have to give up, full of resentment.”

“So that’s why you should take revenge right away. If you hold back, the longer you wait, the more it eats at you! If you retreat, the more you think about it, the angrier you get!”

“Even now, every time I think of it at night, I end up biting my blanket in frustration!”

A: ……

Huaxin was already used to Yun Miao’s personality, so her expression was still normal. But the Xuantian Sect disciples could barely keep straight faces.

It was all their fault for having such good hearing. Before their brains could react, this forbidden knowledge—complete with the stench of dog poop—had already wormed its way into their minds!

But that wasn’t the scariest part. The scariest part was… they kind of thought she had a point!

Ning Yu said, “Since you like this dog, I’ll give it to you.”

Yun Miao’s eyes lit up. “Really? Thank you!”

Ning Yu tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her tone returning to its former coolness. “No need to thank me. It’s just a fair exchange.”

“I’m going to name it Reserve Rations. Its nickname is Little Black!”

Yun Miao happily pushed aside the crates and picked up the little black dog.

“Reserve Rations, I’ll take good care of you. I’ll make sure you live to be an old grandma… oh, wait, an old grandpa!”

Her gaze shifted down and she quickly corrected herself.

The little black wolf seemed to be mute, making no sound at all. It just silently tucked its tail tight.