Did the Top-Ranked Girl Get Exposed Today? [HoloVerse] - Chapter 4

Feng Xiaoxiao did not retreat but advanced instead, taking a few light steps to confront Li Zhu head-on. With one hand, she formed a seal and summoned a shield to block Li Zhu’s piercing attack. With her other hand, she cast another skill, causing a dense, verdant green to sprout from the dark soil beneath her feet, rapidly growing and entangling Li Zhu’s lower body.

Seizing the opportunity while Li Zhu was immobilized, Feng Xiaoxiao tilted her head and called out to the woman lying motionless on the ground, “Give me the hairpin from your head.”

The woman, her eyes unfocused and still disoriented, hadn’t yet processed the request. Meanwhile, Li Zhu, his eyes bloodshot, broke free from the vines with a furious roar and charged at Feng Xiaoxiao, swinging his fists.

Feng Xiaoxiao nimbly dodged the attacks of the now monstrous Li Zhu, but in a moment of carelessness, her shoulder was struck by a swift punch. The dull ache of her shattered shoulder blade radiated through her entire body, and her health bar instantly dropped by two-thirds.

Staring at her nearly depleted health bar, Feng Xiaoxiao internally screamed curses at Wangyi Game Company: “How is it reasonable for a Flower Guardian to be this fragile? Is this even logical?”

As the sunlight grew brighter, Feng Xiaoxiao had already exchanged dozens of moves with Li Zhu.

“Give me the hairpin!” Feng Xiaoxiao’s movements were slowing due to her injuries, while Li Zhu grew increasingly frenzied with each passing moment.

Just as Feng Xiaoxiao narrowly dodged another of Li Zhu’s fierce punches, the woman finally stirred.

Her slender fingers pulled the white jade hairpin from her dark hair. Clutching it tightly for a moment, she mustered all her strength and threw it toward Feng Xiaoxiao.

The hairpin traced a streak of white light through the air and landed in Feng Xiaoxiao’s hand. Raising her hand, Feng Xiaoxiao caught it and thrust the sharp end outward, aiming for Li Zhu.

Under the sunlight, the white hairpin dazzled Li Zhu’s eyes. In that instant, the hairpin erupted in a radiant glow, blooming like a genuine peach blossom. Bathed in the light, Li Zhu froze in place.

Seizing this perfect opportunity, Feng Xiaoxiao leaped up, using the downward force of her arm to drive the jade hairpin deep into Li Zhu’s neck. In an instant, blood dyed the white peach on the hairpin crimson.

Li Zhu was dead, but the system gave no notification of task completion.

Wiping the blood from her hands, Feng Xiaoxiao approached the haggard-looking woman. She had heard about this quest from game guides beforehand. With Li Zhu’s death, the task had progressed to the next stage: listening to the intelligent NPC recount the backstory.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

Tao Niang stood rigidly in place. The grandmother she had regarded as her closest kin was now dead, and the lover who had sworn to stay with her for life was also missing.

In this vast world, she was suddenly left all alone.

With nothing left to live for, Tao Niang looked up at the young woman standing in the sunlight. “Everyone I held dear has left me now. What meaning is there in staying in this world alone?”

Overwhelmed with grief, she covered her face and wept, her large teardrops falling like beans, each one seeming to bruise the earth.

Feng Xiaoxiao felt a headache coming on. Sometimes, having NPCs designed to be overly realistic in games wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Like now, even though she knew everything happening here was just data-generated fiction, watching the woman cry her heart out left Feng Xiaoxiao at a loss, almost wanting to tear her own hair out in frustration.

“Stop crying,” she said awkwardly, crouching down and using her sleeve to wipe Tao Niang’s tears. “Stop crying…” Feng Xiaoxiao repeated the words dryly.

But the more she spoke, the harder the woman cried. Feng Xiaoxiao was so distressed she wished she could go back a few minutes and stab the hairpin into her own neck instead.

How annoying, why did she have to get this quest of all ones?

Feng Xiaoxiao sat quietly beside the woman, sharing her existential doubts.

The beginner village was full of various quests, but not every player received the same ones. Quests were randomly assigned by the village chief, while hidden quests had to be triggered by the players themselves.

Among the beginner quests, there is one widely regarded by players as the most dreaded task for newcomers, the “Eliminate the Village Tyrant” quest that Feng Xiaoxiao accepted.

The quest requires first defeating the tyrant Li Zhu and then uncovering the mastermind behind him. However, most new players are no match for the enraged Li Zhu.

What makes it even more frustrating is that even if players level up by completing other quests and return stronger, Li Zhu can still crush them with a single punch.

To defeat Li Zhu, players must obtain the keepsake of another NPC, Tao Niang, and her lover, the White Jade Peach Blossom Hairpin.

When the enraged Li Zhu sees the hairpin, he is affected by the residual purifying energy within it and enters a state of paralysis. During this time, even Feng Xiaoxiao’s level-one character can easily finish him off with a single slap.

This quest is neither too difficult nor too simple.

The difficulty lies in the fact that players are unaware of this hidden information and end up pointlessly sacrificing themselves to Li Zhu.

The simplicity lies in the fact that if players take the time to inquire around the village, they can learn about Tao Niang and the story of the hairpin. The villagers will mention that ever since Tao Niang received the white jade hairpin, she has always managed to turn misfortune into blessing.

Once players obtain this key information, the system prompts them to seek out Tao Niang to learn the backstory of the quest.

The normal process follows: Tao Niang tearfully recounts her past, and after being comforted by the player, she decides to let go of her former grievances and gifts the hairpin to the player, hoping it will help them achieve their goal of eliminating the tyrant.

Afterward, the player defeats Li Zhu, who has been harassing the village women, and the quest is completed.

But Feng Xiaoxiao’s quest is now taking an unconventional path.

Tao Niang often goes to the river behind the village to sit alone, and the tyrant Li Zhu’s house lies along the path she must take to get there.

Feng Xiaoxiao had originally planned to wait near Li Zhu’s house to intercept Tao Niang directly, obtain the hairpin, and then deal with Li Zhu right away, saving herself the trouble of running back and forth.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she approached, she witnessed Li Zhu, drunk and violent, kicking an elderly man. On the ground lay a frail and ill Tao Niang.

With the old, weak, sick, and vulnerable all present, Feng Xiaoxiao felt compelled to step in, it would have been a disservice to the core values she had upheld for years not to.

But perhaps the shock of witnessing her loved one’s death before her eyes was too much for Tao Niang, leading to the current situation.

The setting sun of dusk gradually stretched their shadows longer. Feng Xiaoxiao had already sat with the grieving Tao Niang until evening.

Her injuries had healed completely over time, and Feng Xiaoxiao rested her chin in her hand, idly watching a line of ants moving on the ground.

“Two years ago, I rescued an injured Liu Qing from the river.” Tao Niang began, her voice hoarse. After crying for half a day, she had vented her emotions and was gradually calming down.

Feng Xiaoxiao perked up, here it comes, the character backstory!

“She claimed to be a disciple of the Healer’s Realm Sect, who had fallen into the river after being targeted by enemies. She drifted downstream to Taoyuan Village, where I saved her.” Tao Niang reminisced, slowly immersing herself in the memories.

“I grew up without parents, with only my younger sister by my side. We were both raised by Granny’s kindness. I had never left Taoyuan Village before, and Liu Qing was the first outsider I had ever met.”

[Tao Niang: She came from that legendary major sect, knew everything, and even cured Granny’s chronic illness. My own lifelong ailments improved steadily under her care.]

[Tao Niang: Liu Qing and I spent every day together for half a year. When her injuries healed and she was about to leave, she gave me her white jade hairpin as a parting gift.]

[Tao Niang: She promised me that after returning to her sect to inform the elders, she would come back for me and stay with me for the rest of our lives.]

Tao Niang seemed to relive that day, the gloomy rain, Liu Qing holding an umbrella in the drizzle, her solitary figure gradually fading from view.

Clutching tightly the token of love that still carried Liu Qing’s warmth, Tao Niang suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to pull her back, no matter the cost.

Whether by feigning distress or using threats, she couldn’t just let Liu Qing leave like that.

Because from the moment Liu Qing resolved to depart, a disquieting premonition had lingered in Tao Niang’s heart, refusing to fade.

Sure enough, after that day, Liu Qing vanished without a trace. Two years had passed since she left, yet there was no news of her return, not even a single letter.

“Even if sect affairs were overwhelmingly busy, could she really not spare a moment to send a letter to me, so far away?”

Tao Niang sank back into painful memories. “I’ve thought of many excuses for her, but none can convince even myself. Even Granny and my younger sister urged me to forget her sooner.”

“How could a promising disciple from a prestigious orthodox sect willingly spend her whole life with a country girl like me?”

Feng Xiaoxiao watched the ants finish moving and patted Tao Niang’s slender shoulder reassuringly, then asked perfunctorily, “Do you have any clues about your sister Tao Yue’s disappearance?”

Of course, Feng Xiaoxiao knew the reason, but the system wouldn’t let her skip steps just because she understood the situation. To advance the quest, she had to gather relevant clues continuously. Only when the system judged that she met the conditions to unlock the next phase would the quest objectives update accordingly.

Tao Niang looked up in surprise. “How did you know my sister has been missing for days?”

Feng Xiaoxiao thought, If I said the system told me, would you believe it?

Mentioning this made Tao Niang’s tears, which had just stopped, flow again.

[Tao Niang: After Sister Liu left, my health began to deteriorate again. One day, Tao Yue suddenly returned and told me she had found a miracle doctor who could cure me!]

[Tao Niang: After that, Tao Yue left early and returned late every day, never letting me see her face clearly. Half a month ago, she left a letter saying she was going on a long journey, and she hasn’t returned since.]

[Tao Niang: I always felt that Tao Yue was hiding something from me…]

[System Prompt – Quest Accepted: The Mystery of Tao Yue. (Previous Summary: Tao Yue, Tao Niang’s younger sister from Taoyuan Village, has been missing for several days. Please find her whereabouts!)]

Seeing Tao Niang’s current state of confusion, Feng Xiaoxiao knew she wouldn’t get many clues to advance the quest from her. The remaining clues.

Her gaze fell on Li Zhu, who had been lying motionless on the ground for half a day. She rubbed her hands together, preparing to search the body.

Just as Feng Xiaoxiao reached out to touch Li Zhu, a sudden change occurred!

A writhing foreign object burst through Li Zhu’s thin flesh and flew out. From nowhere, a concealed dart shot straight toward Feng Xiaoxiao’s vital spot.

Under the dim sunlight, the dart gleamed with a purplish-black hue, clearly coated with deadly poison.

Feng Xiaoxiao, already prepared, activated her Jierui technique to form a protective shield over her vitals. With her other hand, she swiftly seized the foreign object by its seven-inch spot, it was a black snake about three inches long.

The dart was deflected by the shield and clattered to the ground. Feng Xiaoxiao said coldly, “Since you’re already here, there’s no need to hide in the shadows.”

“You’re quite young, little sister, yet your skills are impressive, you actually managed to kill the Gu body I painstakingly cultivated.”

From behind the lush peach tree, a woman in crimson robes slowly emerged. Her face was as radiant as peach blossoms, adorned with a clever, charming smile. Holding a pink paper parasol lightly against her shoulder, she wore a full-faced smile, yet her tone carried a subtle chill.

“Tell me, should I settle this debt with you, dear sister?”