Did the Top-Ranked Girl Get Exposed Today? [HoloVerse] - Chapter 23

“Is it over already?”

Feng Xiaoxiao still seemed a bit uncertain.

Di Xiang gave a soft hum in response to her earlier question.

After a moment of silence, a server-wide announcement completely ignited the passion of all online players in “World Domination.”

[World Announcement] Players [Xiaoxiao Yue] and [Di Xiang] have jointly completed the hidden side quest in Snowstorm Valley, “The Death of the Mountain God”!

[World Announcement] Players [Xiaoxiao Yue] and [Di Xiang] have jointly completed the hidden side quest in Snowstorm Valley, “The Death of the Mountain God”!

…

The world announcement repeated several times before leisurely displaying the next announcement.

[World Announcement] The special map “Snowstorm Valley” is now fully open to all heroes! After the update, heroes can accept quests to restore the four seasons of “Snowstorm Valley” and break all curses!

[World Announcement] Players [Xiaoxiao Yue] and [Di Xiang] have achieved the first kill of the “Mountain God,” earning the permanent title “Terrifyingly Formidable”! The dungeon boss “Mountain God” will enter the memoir challenge; defeating it will grant a large amount of experience and rare items!

[World Announcement] Players [Xiaoxiao Yue] and [Di Xiang] have cleared the nine-player dungeon on hard difficulty as a duo, unrivaled and unstoppable!

…

Feng Xiaoxiao and Di Xiang dominated the world channel visible to all players.

But more than that, she was more concerned about the last sentence of the world announcement.

“What does ‘nine-player dungeon, hard difficulty’ mean?”

Feng Xiaoxiao said expressionlessly, “Does it mean that this was originally meant to be cleared by a nine-player team?”

Di Xiang nodded reservedly, “If nothing unexpected happened, this side quest should have required nine players to cooperate: three responsible for restraining the mountain villagers, three for seizing the offerings collected by Sasha, and three for disrupting the ritual.”

“But then an unlucky person like me unexpectedly showed up and just happened to land at the NPC’s key ritual site, directly triggering the storyline, right?”

“Can’t call it ‘unexpected,'” Di Xiang corrected her, “You probably have an item related to the former Mountain God on you, which is why you were inadvertently drawn to the ritual.”

“Hua Ji, that demon king.”

Feng Xiaoxiao was no fool. The only extra item she had was the bouquet given to her by the Flower Sea Demon King, which carried the demon king’s aura, and she had been carrying it with her all along.

If the demon king was indeed Hua Ji, one of the two great demon kings who served the Mountain God and left Snowstorm Valley years ago, then everything made sense.

“She set us up.”

Feng Xiaoxiao calmly concluded.

“Mm.”

“After delivering the flowers, we’ll go back and cause trouble for her.”

“Alright.”

Neither of them paid attention to the world channel, which was now in an uproar.

[World Channel]

[Healer’s Realm] Xue Mei: ???

[Healer’s Realm] Chi Mei: Let me translate. The three question marks above represent three things: One, she knows Di Xiang, but who is this Xiaoxiao Yue? Two, why are the two of them teaming up to clear a nine-player hard dungeon? Three, they actually managed to clear it??

[Healer’s Realm] Xue Mei: Thumbs up.jpg

[String Song] Guo Ying: The two roses speak the truth.

[Healer’s Realm Top Rank] Meng Zhongren: That top-ranked player is just too overpowered, truly terrifyingly formidable.

[Guardian Light Top Rank] Danhuang Liuxinbao: I second that.

[String Song Top Rank] Bu Ranchen: I second that.

[Celestial Feather] Wang Mo: Mountain God dungeon, second run, need two more, looking for a healer and a tank, the rest can be anyone.

[Celestial Feather] Wang Mo: I’ve started a team recruitment for the “Death of the Mountain God” dungeon. Current count: 2/9. Click to join now!

[Healer’s Realm] Xian Yun: @Wang Mo. You’re such a tryhard.

[Celestial Feather] Wang Mo: One more word and you’re kicked from the team.

[Guardian Light Top Rank] Danhuang Liuxinbao: Count me in.

[String Song Top Rank] Bu Ranchen: Count me in.

[Healer’s Realm Top Rank] Meng Zhongren: Still need a healer? @Wang Mo.

[Celestial Feather] Wang Mo: @Meng Zhongren. Welcome.

[Celestial Feather] Wang Mo: @Bu Ranchen. If your skills are trash but you’re a whale, leave on your own.

[String Song Top Rank] Bu Ranchen: I’ll cover all auction costs.

[Celestial Feather] Wang Mo: @Bu Ranchen. Welcome.

…

The world channel was bustling with teams forming on the spot. The first clear of the newly released dungeon offered the richest rewards, and the first five teams to clear it would also receive additional prizes and permanent historical recognition.

Now that Feng Xiaoxiao and Di Xiang had taken one spot, four remained.

All kinds of channels were buzzing with activity. Top-ranked players with strong skills formed teams and rushed into the dungeon, vying for a place, while major guilds also sent teams to tackle the challenge.

The extra rewards were secondary; most of those entering now wanted to leave their mark in the dungeon’s clear records.

Once their names were recorded, every player entering the dungeon would see the IDs of those five teams. Guilds could also use this to build their reputation and attract new members.

This was also a prime opportunity for top players and major guilds to show off. Setting aside the various in-game benefits, it wasn’t about anything else, just one word: cool.

Over there, Feng Xiaoxiao used the “Willow Branch Nectar” skill on the unconscious Wen Li and the infant. After confirming they were both safe, she placed the child in Wen Li’s arms and picked up the mountain god’s head from the ground.

Freed from the lingering resentment, the mountain god’s head bore a compassionate expression, with half-lowered brows and eyes that seemed to smile even without a smile, giving off a soothing and gentle aura.

The corners of its lips lifted slightly, smiling at Feng Xiaoxiao.

What the hell.

Feng Xiaoxiao wiped her face. Did she just see the statue head in her hand smile at her?

Shaking off the residual snow clinging to her clothes, she noticed that the snow covering the ground had been completely scraped away during Di Xiang’s earlier fight with the “mountain god.”

Stepping on the exposed black soil, scattered traces of white snow guided her path ahead.

She called out to Di Xiang but didn’t ask about the process of turning into a cat, and Di Xiang didn’t offer to accompany her to turn in the quest.

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Feng Xiaoxiao turned around calmly, her steps steady as she crossed the stone bridge, her back to Di Xiang.

Only when she was sure she had left Di Xiang’s line of sight, and the gaze fixed on her back gradually faded, did Feng Xiaoxiao’s expression twist, and she broke into a run, screaming internally.

What had she just done???

She had stuffed Di Xiang, who had turned into a cat, inside her clothes and even complained about the awful meowing! She had beaten up the Snow Woman in front of Di Xiang and had her innermost, unspeakable thoughts exposed by the Snow Woman!!!

Most importantly, Di Xiang had been there the entire time!

She had heard everything.

Feng Xiaoxiao really wanted to die right now.

She returned to the temple in a gloomy mood. Without Sasha to guide them, most of the remaining people in the Snowstorm Valley were descendants of the cursed mountain villagers.

For three hundred years, they had watched their bloodlines live and die, while their own appearances remained unchanged.

Ageless, but that didn’t mean they had lost the ability to feel pain.

Immortal, meaning the years had worn them down, grinding them away like the wind-eroded statues in the forbidden land, hollowed out by insects and ants, riddled with holes.

No one stopped Feng Xiaoxiao anymore. As if sensing something, they quietly followed behind her, gathering before the temple.

Under the silent gaze of the crowd, the temple doors swung open. Step by step, Feng Xiaoxiao walked in and returned the statue’s head to its rightful place.

Dust washed away, the statue restored.

As the long-missing head returned, under the compassionate gaze of the statue, faint lanterns lit up one after another in the night.

Tiny flowers, long buried under heavy snow, struggled to emerge, shaking off the snow and blooming with white and blue petals.

One after another, today, as the snow ceased, countless white and blue flowers illuminated the snowy ground and dark soil. The valley, frozen for so long, welcomed spring again after three hundred years.

Across the mountains and plains, the flower stamens bloomed.

From afar behind the mountain villagers, a tall figure approached. With the first villager’s exclamation, everyone watched as the figure slowly walked through the sea of flowers, stirring ripples in their wake.

Feng Xiaoxiao followed the villagers’ gaze but saw nothing except the Snow Woman, her entire body formed of ice and snow.

In the eyes of these mountain villagers, who was this person crossing the flower sea, returning on this snowy night?

The Snow Woman quietly arrived before the temple. The crowd automatically made way for her, both afraid to look directly at her face and unable to resist stealing glances.

The Snow Woman accepted their gazes calmly, holding a bouquet of white and blue flowers and placing it beside the mountain god’s statue.

The blue and white stamens trembled gently, their soft petals brushing against the Snow Woman’s icy fingers.

With a soft blow from her, the flowers scattered like swirling snow, flying toward the villagers behind her. A few villagers, enveloped in the petals, turned to dust.

The vast majority of the villagers only felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from them, a shackle that had long weighed upon them disappeared with the deity’s final blessing.

The mountain god, who had brought both infinite blessings and endless curses to the people of the Snowstorm Valley, left one last blessing in the final moments of her life.

A hundred years later, it finally bloomed into a sky full of fluttering petals, delivered by the Snow Woman.

“Where are you going?”

Feng Xiaoxiao called out to the Snow Woman, who showed no intention of staying.

“Worldly desires trouble me. I shall return to the place where my heart finds the most peace, to bring eternal tranquility to the slumbering deity.”

She would return to the place where Feng Xiaoxiao first met her, to continue guarding the mountain god’s remains and prevent others from disturbing her eternal rest.

Regarding the events at the stone bridge earlier that day, Feng Xiaoxiao asked no questions and said nothing more. She simply took out the bouquet entrusted to her by the Demon King to give to his beloved and placed it in the Snow Woman’s arms.

The Snow Woman sniffed it lightly, puzzled, then understood after a moment.

“So it was her.”

“An old acquaintance entrusted me to give this to you.”

They spoke at the same time. Feng Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together. This tangled web of relationships seemed to have left no one with their wishes fulfilled.

Regarding the springtime gift sent from afar by Hua Ji, the Snow Woman said nothing more. She merely plucked the most vibrant and beautiful flower and placed it into her empty chest cavity.

Where no heart had ever beaten before, now only a frozen flower resided.

“The flower is beautiful. Thank you.”

“I will treasure it.”

The Snow Woman left.

[System Notification] Player has completed the [Shengjing Flower Sea Demon King] commission “Flower Delivery.” The Demon King has gifted you a large amount of experience and the special atmosphere item “Flower Mist”!

[System Notification] Player has completed the hidden quest “Restoring the Statue.” Unknowingly, you seem to have received a trace of the mountain god’s lingering blessing!

Feng Xiaoxiao first checked the description of the special item.

[Flower Mist]

Introduction: Crafted by its previous owner from ninety-nine different types of flowers, using it grants a five-minute trailing petal effect and falling flower rain!

A new buff has appeared in the status bar, likely the lingering blessing of the Mountain God just obtained.

Mountain God’s Blessing (Incomplete): When attacked, there is a chance to nullify the damage taken. After nullification, the blessing enters a cooldown period. The higher the damage nullified, the longer the cooldown, and vice versa.