As soon as those words left her mouth, the smile on Chen Xiaoyan’s face froze. A sudden burst of goose-like honking laughter erupted from the crowd.
“Honk, honk, honk!”
“This little girl is so brave. She actually made the Boss speechless.”
“What a cute little vase. Honk, honk!”
“Do we really have children this small among our Heavenly Fragrance players? How come I never noticed before?”
“It’s not good for children to play games.”
Hearing the discussions around her, Shen Yue curled her lip, a flash of disdain crossing her eyes.
The Heavenly Fragrance player who had just been singled out and criticized by Chen Xiaoyan felt strangely aggrieved. She felt like everyone was being hypocritical, but she didn’t dare say anything. It wouldn’t be good if she were labeled as petty for picking on a child.
Chong Chong also looked quite young, roughly the level of a middle schooler. However, she simply had a petite figure rather than being young; according to the famous internet saying, she was a legal loli.
Shen Yue, on the other hand, looked like an elementary school student no matter how you sliced it.
Chen Xiaoyan couldn’t exactly lecture her, so she could only lightly tap the girl’s forehead with her finger.
“Little Shen Yue can do whatever she wants,” Chen Xiaoyan said, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
“Yay! A vase!” Little Shen Yue raised her tiny fists, her face instantly lighting up with a smile. She seemed to think a “vase” was something good.
“Uh, as long as little Shen Yue is happy.” Chen Xiaoyan rubbed her small head, her eyes full of doting affection.
Watching this scene, Chong Chong ground her teeth in frustration, though it wasn’t out of jealousy. ‘She’s just a little slip of a girl, what kind of threat could she be?’
Besides, the child really was adorable. Especially those eyes—they were incredibly lively and pure, as if they could speak. It made one feel protective of her, washing away any negative emotions. One only wanted to give the little cutie a big hug. What a wonderful little earthly elf.
“Xianyun, I’ll leave her in your care later.” If a fight broke out, Chen Xiaoyan would have to command the group and certainly wouldn’t be able to look after the little girl.
The three people at the front of the first team were Chong Chong, Xianyun, and A Curtain of Dreams.
Xianyun nodded and stepped out of the queue, taking Shen Yue’s hand to lead her to the first team. But Shen Yue broke free from Xianyun’s grasp and ran back to Chen Xiaoyan’s side. She hugged Xiaoyan’s leg and shook her head frantically.
“No, I want to follow Sister Xiaoyan!”
Chen Xiaoyan couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile. She knelt down and pinched the girl’s cheek. “Be good. Follow Sister Xianyun.”
“I won’t!”
“And why not?”
“I just want to follow Sister Xiaoyan!”
“In a bit, I’m going to be very busy and won’t be able to look after you. There are many bad people outside, and they will hit you very hard.”
Shen Yue clenched her tiny fists and tilted her head up, a proud expression on her face. “I’m not afraid! I’m very strong! The bad people can’t beat me!”
Chen Xiaoyan smiled bitterly.
“Fine, fine. I know little Shen Yue is very strong. Forget it, you can follow me. But you have to promise not to run around. Can you promise that?”
“I… cannot.”
“…” A dark line appeared on Chen Xiaoyan’s forehead. She took a deep breath. No matter how frustrated she felt, she couldn’t lose her temper with a child.
‘Good grief, where did this brat come from?’
Originally, she had hoped to have a child of her own one day, but that desire was now mostly extinguished. ‘Who could handle a brat like this? She doesn’t listen at all.’
“Little Shen Yue, be good. If you don’t listen, I won’t let you go,” Chen Xiaoyan said, feigning a serious expression.
However, Shen Yue was completely immune. she put her hands on her waist and looked fiercely cute.
“Hmph! If Sister Xiaoyan won’t let me go, I’ll just go by myself!”
“You—” Chen Xiaoyan started to speak but stopped, her expression shifting through a kaleidoscope of emotions. She pointed at the girl but ultimately gave up.
She stood up and walked to the side. ‘I’ll let this brat do whatever she wants. She’s not cute at all when she’s disobedient. Once she gets beaten up by the people from Wushuang Lou, she’ll learn her lesson. It’s not like anything will actually happen in the game anyway. It’s good for her to experience the consequences of not listening.’
Seeing Chen Xiaoyan suffer a setback, Chong Chong couldn’t stop snickering. It was only when Xiaoyan glared at her fiercely that she finally restrained herself.
Regarding these two young girls, Chen Xiaoyan only felt mentally exhausted. ‘Xianyun is still the best. She’s quiet, elegant, and doesn’t cause me any trouble at all.’
Xianyun seemed to notice Chen Xiaoyan’s gaze and looked up at her with a confused expression. Chen Xiaoyan gave her a quick wink. Seeing this, Xianyun became even more puzzled. She quickly sent a private message.
Xianyun: ‘Boss, is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?’
Chen Xiaoyan: ‘It’s nothing. I just wanted to look at you.’
Seeing this sentence, Xianyun’s hand froze mid-air, her expression one of shock. An idea seemed to pop into her head, but she wasn’t sure, so she looked at Chen Xiaoyan several more times. Just when Chen Xiaoyan thought she was going to say something meaningful, she only replied with a single word.
Xianyun: ‘Okay.’
Chen Xiaoyan shrugged. ‘Fine, I was overthinking it.’
She had no way of knowing how much struggle was hidden behind that single word. When Xianyun saw the phrase “I just wanted to look at you,” her entire soul felt like it had left her body. Her spirit was flying with excitement.
She was a very realistic person who didn’t indulge in fantasies or delusions. Despite her excitement, she wouldn’t assume the other party was interested in her just because of that.
Chen Xiaoyan flipped through the list of Heavenly Fragrance players sent by Mu Qingxue and Liu Yue. After counting them, the numbers matched exactly. However, just to be safe, she still needed to do a roll call to confirm.
She clapped her hands twice to draw everyone’s attention away from Shen Yue.
“First team, second team, I’m going to do a roll call. Please answer when I call your name. First team, Liumeng.”
“Present!”
“Qiuball.”
“Present!”
Except for the three including Chong Chong, most of the Xueyan Pavilion members were there. Chen Xiaoyan also tallied the members from Sword Pavilion and the players from outside the guild to make it easier to distribute rewards afterward.
After the tally, she began assigning positions. After all, there were fifty people; she certainly couldn’t manage them all by herself. Wushuang Lou wouldn’t be so stupid as to just charge head-on and try to win in a single wave. Splitting into three teams would make it easier to provide support. She would just lead one team as the reserve force and commander.
Chen Xiaoyan thought for a moment and decided to lead the eleven Heavenly Fragrance players from outside the guild. Since these people weren’t officially part of the organization, they would be harder to manage. No, wait—including that brat, that made twelve.
“The captain of the first team will be Chong Chong. Chong Chong, come up and greet the players of the first team.”
Hearing that she was to be captain, the corners of Chong Chong’s mouth curled up in satisfaction. Among all the Heavenly Fragrance players, besides a monster like Sister Xiaoyan, the only one barely qualified to be her opponent was Yunyun Doesn’t Want to Heal from Wushuang Lou. Everyone else was just a little chick.
Chong Chong walked to Chen Xiaoyan’s side and waved to the players of the first team.
“First team, I don’t need to introduce myself to you. We’re all old acquaintances.”
“Boss Chong Chong is the best!”
“I thought Boss Xiaoyan was going to lead us. How disappointing.”
Chong Chong had only been gloating for a few seconds after being called “Boss” when she heard that last comment, and she immediately felt annoyed. ‘Even if Sister Xiaoyan is stronger than me, I, Boss Chong Chong, am not bad either, okay?’
Chen Xiaoyan didn’t notice Chong Chong’s reaction. She looked at the second team and checked the list. One of the Heavenly Fragrance players left an impression on her. She had participated in the Mountains-and-Rivers Competition before, and her strength was decent.
“The captain for the second team is I Want to be a DPS Healer. Come up and greet the second team.”
“Eh?”
The player “I Want to be a DPS Healer” had competed against A Curtain of Dreams in the Mountains-and-Rivers Competition. Her skill was quite good, and she had a deep understanding of Shushan’s skill mechanics. If Xiaoyan hadn’t told Yumeng to attack the player directly, she probably would have been toyed to death by the DPS healer.
The DPS Healer was dazed. ‘I have so little presence in Sword Pavilion, how did this Boss sister notice me?’
Recalling her embarrassing performance in the Mountains-and-Rivers Competition, her face flushed with shame. But since the Boss had called her name, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk up.
“Boss Xiaoyan.”
“Hmm, you seem very nervous?” Chen Xiaoyan saw through the girl’s anxiety at a glance.
The DPS Healer gave an awkward smile but didn’t answer.
“Don’t be too nervous. Just relax.”
“Okay.”
Regardless of whether she listened or not, Chen Xiaoyan began introducing the DPS Healer to the Sword Pavilion players in the second team.
“I Want to be a DPS Healer—you all probably saw her in the Mountains-and-Rivers Competition. Her skills and awareness are both good. If anyone thinks they are stronger than her, you can come up for an assessment to replace her.”
The players of the second team remained silent. Seeing no objections, Chen Xiaoyan nodded in satisfaction.
“Very well. Then I Want to be a DPS Healer is the captain of your second team.”
“By the way, the two teams only need to listen to the commands of your captains and me. Do not listen to anyone else,” Chen Xiaoyan added as a final reminder. She couldn’t guarantee that there weren’t any moles among this group of female players.
Originally, Chen Xiaoyan had wanted to give the captaincy of the second team to Xianyun, but since Xianyun wasn’t very familiar with the people from Sword Pavilion, she gave up on the idea.
Then, she looked toward the players from outside the guild.
“I will serve as the captain of the third team. Does anyone have any objections?”
Little Shen Yue was the first to speak. “I have no objection!”
“Yeah, of course we don’t have objections. With a Boss leading us, what kind of fool would refuse?”
“Exactly, exactly.”
“+1.”
Chen Xiaoyan smiled slightly upon hearing this. “Are you sure? You should know that I’m definitely on Wushuang Lou’s ‘must-kill’ list. The other side will send many people to target me.”
“Ah, this…”
The eleven players of the third team fell silent. After a brief moment of hesitation, they all declared they weren’t afraid. Even if they were afraid, there was no way to back out now. Backing out would surely lead to being mocked by others. No one wanted to be the first to stick their head out.
With all the arrangements complete, Chen Xiaoyan adjusted the team positions so that the teams were adjacent to one another. Done.
She sent private messages to Mu Qingxue and Liu Yue, informing them that the healer squad was ready. Both of them replied with a synchronized “OK.”
She could finally take a break. Right, there were still Daily Quests to do. Chen Xiaoyan opened the quest interface and checked the sect dailies. There were no new quests, so she didn’t need to do them.
“The teams have been adjusted. Stay with your respective teams and don’t run around. The sect daily quests have refreshed, so take a look. However, do the sect dailies after the guild war is over. Have you done your daily cultivation tasks? If not, hurry up and do them.”
The path outside was very clean, but they were girls after all; she couldn’t let them sit on the ground to meditate. Following her words, most of the Heavenly Fragrance players left the area, leaving only a small portion behind.
Chen Xiaoyan and the three from the first team returned to the inner room. Having the title of Great Disciple, she had to do the daily cultivation task. Twenty points of Lingqi was quite enticing.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Chen Xiaoyan opened her eyes and checked the game time. It was 12:00 PM. The game time was synchronized with the real world. She checked her private messages again, but Mu Qingxue had not sent anything yet.