Did the Top-Ranked Girl Get Exposed Today? [HoloVerse] - Chapter 17

Three hours ago, Feng Xiaoxiao was just a newbie level 32 Flower Guardian who had just entered “Tianxia.”

Three hours later, she became the “Mountain God” revered by the natives of Snowstorm Valley.

What did it feel like to become a Mountain God?

Feng Xiaoxiao: Thanks for asking. Overall, it’s not bad. To sum it up: fangirls +10086, reputation +10086, power +0.

Why was the power stat zero? Because she didn’t even have the authority to decide whether she wanted to be the “Mountain God” or not.

The NPCs had witnessed her descending from ten thousand meters in the sky, landing unscathed on the sacrificial lotus (thanks to the system’s newbie protection).

At the same time, silk ribbons fluttered around her (blown by the fierce wind), accompanied by the appearance of icy blue auspicious signs (courtesy of the system guide, Icy Blue).

Coincidentally, it was also their once-in-several-years grand sacrificial day.

No wonder the mountain folk firmly believed that Feng Xiaoxiao, who had suddenly fallen from the sky, was the “Mountain God” they had long yearned for.

Although she had inexplicably become a god in others’ eyes, Feng Xiaoxiao wasn’t particularly interested.

She clapped her hands and stood up from the lotus beneath her. She took a step forward, and the crowd retreated a step. This continued until Feng Xiaoxiao approached the leading woman, leaving the others with no room to retreat.

“Hey, move aside.”

The leading woman bowed her head in fear and trepidation, not daring to look directly at the Mountain God’s face.

But perhaps because Feng Xiaoxiao’s intention to leave was too obvious, the woman mustered her courage and blocked the path.

“Mountain God, you cannot leave!”

Hearing this, the other mountain folk belatedly realized that this newly appeared Mountain God was about to depart immediately.

“You cannot leave, my lord!”

Countless people crowded around, blocking Feng Xiaoxiao’s intended path. They didn’t dare to offend the “Mountain God,” but they formed a human wall to prevent her from leaving.

Feng Xiaoxiao opened the game panel. Just as Di Xiang had said earlier, the map and party functions couldn’t be accessed in Snowstorm Valley, preventing her from using the system to locate and reunite with Di Xiang.

Both of them had fallen into the valley together. She couldn’t decide whether to teleport back to the nearest waypoint to meet up with Di Xiang or break through the mountain folk’s encirclement and find Di Xiang using the red thread in her hand.

The mountain folk blocking her were still chattering incessantly, muttering things like, “The Mountain God cannot leave!” and “We still need the god’s guidance to overcome our difficulties!”…

Feng Xiaoxiao paid no attention to any of it.

She simply swiped the transparent panel in front of her, her fingertip hovering over the pitch-black friend channel.

Clearly, after arriving in this strange place, she was prohibited from contacting her friends.

She checked the other channels and, unsurprisingly, they were all locked and dark as well.

Feng Xiaoxiao suddenly had a bad feeling.

Seeing her remain silent, the mountain folk exchanged glances, stopped their kneeling, and slowly straightened up to approach her.

Damn.

She couldn’t teleport away now!

[System Prompt] You are currently in a special storyline! Chat channels have been disabled! Current status locked!

Feng Xiaoxiao stared blankly as the fanatical, superstitious mountain folk drew closer and closer.

“Mountain God…”

The first to reach her was a middle-aged woman who gazed at her pleadingly, unfolding a bundle in her hands to slowly reveal a small, pale face.

It was an infant less than a month old, its face now bluish-purple, breathing more out than in.

Tears streamed down the woman’s face, tracing the dried tear stains.

“This is my youngest daughter. I beg the mountain god to save her!”

Feng Xiaoxiao cursed inwardly. Even though she knew it was just a game scene, the realistic setting still startled her.

“If your child is sick, go find a doctor! What good will begging me do?”

She couldn’t comprehend this kind of behavior.

Instead of seeking help from what was truly useful and close at hand, the woman had come all this way to beg a fake mountain god like her.

What if she was of no use? What if she hadn’t appeared today?

Would this woman really let her child freeze or die of illness in this bitter cold?

The woman seemed not to hear her, holding up the infant, whose life was slowly fading, toward Feng Xiaoxiao. “I beg the mountain god to save my daughter!”

Though she hated to admit it, this time, the woman had guessed right.

Feng Xiaoxiao couldn’t stand by and watch a tiny life disappear before her eyes, even if it was just a string of cold data in the system, a stream of glowing code.

She sighed softly, broke off the nearest tree branch, shook off the snow, and silently recited the skill name in her mind, “Willow Branch Sweet Dew.”

Though it sounded like the name of a milk tea, it was actually the single-target healing skill Feng Xiaoxiao had acquired after reaching level 30.

She just didn’t know if it would work on NPCs.

At this point, she had no other choice but to give it a try.

Fortunately, the system hadn’t completely abandoned her. Though it had trapped her in this backward place where no one could hear her cries for help, at least her backpack and skills were still functional, even if their effects were greatly diminished.

As Feng Xiaoxiao waved the dark green branch and lightly tapped the air, a soft green glow flew toward the bundle in the woman’s hands. Before the eyes of the crowd, the child’s complexion visibly regained its rosy hue.

When a tiny arm reached out of the bundle, flailing about, the child finally let out its first loud cry in days, instantly shattering the silence.

The mountain villagers, both awed and fearful, trembled as they made way for Feng Xiaoxiao, no longer daring to show the slightest disrespect.

“A miracle! This is a miracle!”

The woman, clutching her nearly resurrected child, laughed and cried like a madwoman, kowtowing repeatedly toward Feng Xiaoxiao’s retreating figure.

Feng Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead. A few more villagers cautiously approached, humbly begging her to heal their ailing family members.

Some had sick children, others had suffered injuries, each case was different, with its own peculiar ailment.

She sighed again, waving the dark green branch once more. Glowing specks, like fireflies in the quiet night, flew in all directions. Wherever the light touched, illnesses were miraculously cured.

Leaves withered and fell one by one, until even the last dark green leaf turned yellow and dropped. Holding the now completely lifeless, withered branch, Feng Xiaoxiao stopped the villagers who were about to make more requests.

“My divine power is limited. Today, I can only heal this many people.”

Her words sounded convincing, effectively calming the excited villagers who had witnessed her “miracles.”

“If you wish to witness more miracles, you must do a few things for me.”

She straightened her expression, her face stern.

“Great Mountain God, do you desire more offerings?” someone in the crowd timidly asked.

“Do you prefer vegetarian offerings or meat?”

“Not at all, not at all.”

Feng Xiaoxiao waved her hand, adopting an inscrutable expression.

“I am the mountain god, and immortals have no need for such worldly mortal offerings, you only need to find one, no, two people for me in this valley.”

The villagers breathed a collective sigh of relief upon hearing she required no further sacrifices, then focused intently on her subsequent request.

“One is a fellow immortal friend of mine, dressed in white robes, with an ethereal and exquisite appearance. She may have a snow-white fox by her side, that’s her auspicious mount.”

“Her temper might not be as good as mine, cold as ice. But if you can bring her here, for every patient like this,” Feng Xiaoxiao pointed at the cured infant, “I can heal one while she can save ten!”

“That’s truly remarkable!”

She gave a thumbs-up to the wide-eyed, astonished villagers.

Though they didn’t understand the gesture’s meaning, they grasped the essence of Feng Xiaoxiao’s words.

If they could find that white-robed immortal, they would gain another deity in their midst!

Then all diseases and troubles could be cured without medicine!

The villagers, energized as if injected with adrenaline, responded in unison to Feng Xiaoxiao.

Feng Xiaoxiao was quite pleased with the effect of her words.

“As for the other person…”

She frowned in deep thought, stroking her chin but coming up empty for the moment.

“‘Snowstorm Valley, Night Wanderer’, what kind of clue is that?”

She hadn’t found any related hints in the strategy guides before coming here. Fortunately, the cold weather here meant the Demon King’s bouquet would last longer before withering.

Feng Xiaoxiao turned to the lead woman. “In this place…” she carefully relayed the six words verbatim to the leader.

“The second task I need you to do is find anyone in the valley connected to these words, men, women, old, or young.”

After a moment’s thought, she added, “If it’s not a human but a yaoguai, that’s fine too, no restrictions on species!”

The villagers exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of the meaning behind Feng Xiaoxiao’s six words.

Snowstorm Valley, Night Wanderer?

The leader, a woman named Sasha, pondered briefly before respectfully addressing Feng Xiaoxiao, “This humble one, Sasha, will spare no effort with the others to fulfill the mountain god’s commands.”

“We will immediately send people to search for the first person you seek, though the blizzard outside may slow our progress…”

She feared Feng Xiaoxiao might become displeased and depart using her divine powers. While they had initially considered using sheer numbers to block the mountain god’s exit, after recent events, the villagers deeply realized the gap between themselves and a true “immortal.”

That wasn’t something mere numerical superiority could bridge.

Truth be told, Feng Xiaoxiao was inwardly anxious too. All her skills had cooldowns and mana costs; currently, apart from “Willow Branch Sweet Dew,” her other abilities were significantly weakened.

Even if she could temporarily repel and intimidate the villagers with her skills, if they resorted to overwhelming numbers, she’d quickly find herself in a tight spot over time.

Feng Xiaoxiao didn’t want to risk that possibility.

Since she’d have to search alone anyway, it was better to enlist the help of these villagers who owed her a favor.

Many hands make light work!

Though her red thread guidance might be more precise and faster for finding people, the villagers knew the valley paths better than she did.

Moreover, she was currently tied up here and had to play the role of their “mountain god” for now, taking things one step at a time.

Besides, Feng Xiaoxiao hadn’t forgotten her original purpose for coming here, to fulfill the Demon King’s commission of delivering flowers to his beloved.

She cleared her throat lightly, interrupting the mountain folk who had been whispering and discussing for a long time.

“About the second person I’m looking for, it might not even be human. Do any of you have any clues?”

Feng Xiaoxiao pondered the meaning of those words herself. Was the “night wanderer” necessarily human?

Or, just like the common term “sweetheart,” was “night wanderer” simply the Demon King’s way of rhyming or adding difficulty, casually using “human” to refer to all possible species that could be her beloved?

After all, judging by the Demon King’s own appearance and aesthetic tastes, Feng Xiaoxiao found it somewhat hard to believe that her beloved would be of the human species.