Did the Top-Ranked Girl Get Exposed Today? [HoloVerse] - Chapter 5

Feng Xiaoxiao’s expression momentarily wavered: “Gou Wen.”

“Oh, so you still recognize me.” Gou Wen, carrying a peculiar fragrance, slowly approached Feng Xiaoxiao like a slithering serpent.

Feng Xiaoxiao stood her ground without moving. Of course she recognized her.

In the world of Tianxia, there existed many NPCs indistinguishable from real people, and Gou Wen was one of the most distinctive among them.

When Feng Xiaoxiao was still a Sword Dream class player, she had numerous encounters with her. What left the deepest impression was Gou Wen’s rule of saving one person for every one she killed, along with her unpredictable moods.

One moment she might be smiling warmly at you, and the next, she could suddenly snap your neck without warning, a notorious madwoman.

Gou Wen stopped a few steps away from Feng Xiaoxiao with a faint smile. This distance was dangerous; if Gou Wen wished, she could end Feng Xiaoxiao’s life in an instant and send her back to the respawn point.

After all, Feng Xiaoxiao was no longer the top-tier player who could stand on equal footing with her in the past, she was now just a fledgling level-one novice.

“Little sister, aren’t you going to run? Or are you confident you can repel me?” Gou Wen toyed with the red umbrella in her hand, her gaze hook-like and fixed on Feng Xiaoxiao.

If the girl before her made any move, she would immediately make her taste the bitterness of death for ruining her plans.

“I can’t defeat you, and I can’t outrun your umbrella either.” Feng Xiaoxiao said with sincere honesty. She was just a beginner now, taking on a boss ninety levels higher was far beyond her capabilities.

Gou Wen was a level 91 NPC, towering over the majority of players who were only around levels 70 or 80.

Aside from the top-ranked max-level players and those of similar strength, she practically roamed Tianxia with impunity.

“You do have self-awareness.” Gou Wen wasn’t in a hurry to deal with Feng Xiaoxiao anymore. Instead, it was Tao Niang, who had been frozen in place since Gou Wen’s appearance, who moved before either of them.

Without even turning her head, Gou Wen lightly flicked her umbrella, sending the hairpin Tao Niang thrust at her flying. Tao Niang stumbled and fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face. “It was you! You’re the one who harmed Tao Yue, aren’t you?”

“Now, now, that’s not quite right. She willingly became a host to cultivate my medicinal snakes. In exchange, I cured your incurable illness, one life for another, a mutual agreement. How can you say I harmed her?” Gou Wen briefly shifted her gaze to Tao Niang for a few seconds. “Isn’t it good to be alive?”

Tao Niang felt as if struck by lightning. Though she had vaguely suspected the truth behind the scenes, hearing it confirmed was devastating.

The woman before her was the same “miraculous doctor” who had taunted her with an umbrella on the day Tao Yue told her there was hope for a cure!

Putting together what the woman had just said, Tao Niang, in her grief, finally understood the truth behind Tao Yue’s disappearance.

She couldn’t bear the thought that Tao Yue had suffered because of her. The long-suppressed blood in her chest finally erupted, staining the soil a glaring crimson.

Gou Wen seemed to have been anticipating this scene for a long time and cheerfully added more details.

“Oh, and my little medicinal snakes feed on the host’s flesh and blood once they enter the body. Over time, the body becomes hollowed out and completely contaminated with toxins, and the host’s face gradually becomes covered with sores and scars, transforming into someone else.”

Gou Wen’s lips parted sweetly, but the words she uttered were like arsenic to Tao Niang’s ears.

“That means, while you were gradually recovering and regaining your health, your dear sister was enduring bone-gnawing, heart-devouring pain every single moment.”

“Enough! You don’t need to say any more!” For the first time, the usually gentle and kind Tao Niang let out such a sharp, piercing cry.

She wept in unbearable agony, covering her face, unsure of whom to blame, should she blame Gou Wen for curing her, or Tao Yue for trading her life for hers?

It was all a sin born of her own existence. As soon as her gaze fell upon the peach blossom hairpin lying on the ground, and she suddenly snatched it up, thrusting it toward herself just as Feng Xiaoxiao had once stabbed Li Zhu with it.

But Feng Xiaoxiao, having sensed her intention, moved faster than her. She blocked the sharp tip with her bare hand, blood droplets rolling down the hairpin onto Tao Niang’s lapels, staining the peach blossoms red.

“Why…” Why save me?

“The spirits of Granny and Tao Yue in heaven would not wish for you to make such a choice.”

Feng Xiaoxiao said coldly, “Only the weak turn the blade meant to harm others upon themselves.”

That was because they had no other means left, only their own bodies as their final recourse, whether it proved useful or not.

“No one in this world can truly feel another’s pain. I cannot empathize with you, but out of humanity, I do not wish for you to make an irreversible choice in a moment of grief.”

“Am I weak?” Tao Niang’s voice was hoarse and halting.

“You are.”

“Afflicted with a congenital illness, your heart drifts like duckweed with nothing to anchor it. You’ve always relied on those around you as your reason to endure. Without them, you cannot live.”

Feng Xiaoxiao stated the facts indifferently. “Is the feeling of being alive so unpleasant?”

She had asked the same question as Gou Wen.

“Your life is the sum of two others. If you die now, both of their deaths would be in vain.” Feng Xiaoxiao slowly released her hand.

Each person’s fate follows its own path. No one could say whether Tao Niang giving up on taking her own life was the best outcome. Feng Xiaoxiao had done all she could, and her conscience was clear.

Tao Niang held the peach blossom hairpin in her hand as a breeze stirred.

Peach blossom petals danced in the wind, falling all around her. Yet what surfaced in her mind was a day two years ago, a spring day as beautiful as this one.

…

Back then, Liu Qing, having just recovered from a serious illness, mysteriously pulled her into the peach grove near the village. Shyly, she drew out a peach blossom hairpin wrapped in layers of silk from her chest.

With great care, she held the hairpin up to Tao Niang with both hands, opening her mouth several times only to blush into silence. The pink glow of peach blossoms spread across both their faces and ears.

“Xiao Tao…” “Sister Liu…” They spoke at the same time, startling each other with a glance, then quickly averted their eyes as if scalded by the other’s gaze.

“I…” “You…” The peach blossoms swirled more wildly in the wind, weaving a dream unique to spring.

In the end, Tao Niang couldn’t bear to see Liu Qing’s trembling hands. “Sister Liu, please help me put it on…”

“Ah? Yes, yes, I’ll help Tao Niang, no, Xiao Tao, put on the hairpin” Liu Qing stumbled over her words several times in her delight.

Carefully cradling the delicate hairpin in her palm, she fastened it into Tao Niang’s dark hair. Her face flushed with the blush of spring, making it unclear whether the flowers or the beauty was more enchanting.

Neither of them spoke explicitly, but everything was understood without words.

Only later did Tao Niang learn that the jade hairpin Liu Qing had given her in the peach grove was a family heirloom passed down through generations.

In a panic, she rushed to find Liu Qing, who was helping Granny fetch water, and urged her to take it back. Liu Qing only chuckled softly.

“Someone as wonderful as Tao Niang deserves something worthy of her. When I return from my sect, I’ll find something even more fitting for you.”

Nearby, Granny simply smiled at the young pair, their budding affection evident, causing both their faces to flush with the same pink hue as the blossoms around them.

Once again, a scene from the past unfolded before her eyes. She was shielded behind Tao Yue, the girl’s back gradually growing taller and straighter. Though she was the elder sister, she still felt like the little girl of old, protected by Tao Yue from all storms.

“Does Tao Yue have any wishes? And what about Granny?” The young Tao Niang nestled close to them, looking up with innocent curiosity.

A shooting star streaked across the night sky, as aged and youthful voices overlapped:

“My greatest wish is for Xiao Tao to grow up healthy.”

“To live well.”

Memories of the past flickered by like a revolving lantern. As her thoughts returned to the present, Tao Niang raised the hairpin several times, only to lower it again in the end.

Gently, she wiped the blood from the hairpin with her sleeve and tucked it back into her dark hair.

“I must live,” Tao Niang’s voice was hoarse, “live for myself, and for Granny and Tao Yue to see this world…”

“I will go to all the places they never saw in their lifetimes. I will live well, so that.”

So that what? Feng Xiaoxiao didn’t ask further.

[System Notification: Congratulations, player “Xiaoxiao Yue”, for achieving the accomplishment.]

[Peach Blossoms Still Smile in the Spring Breeze: (Tao Niang Survival Ending). You have obtained the accessory “Fallen Petals’ Resting Place,” which permanently increases your HP cap by 40%.]

[System Notification: Congratulations, player “Xiaoxiao Yue,” for receiving the gratitude of Tao Niang, Tao Yue, and Granny Chen. You have gained EXP +5000, Premium Peach Blossom Wine ×5, Peach Blossom Sword ×1, and the bound outfit “Peach Blossom Snow” ×1.]

[System Notification: Congratulations! You have reached Level 10!]

“How interesting.” Gou Wen, who had been stirring up trouble while watching the entire scene from the sidelines, was thoroughly satisfied with the spectacle.

“Oh, it’s getting late.” Gou Wen lazily closed her red umbrella and reached past Feng Xiaoxiao to take the small snake from her hand.

The previously struggling medicinal snake, sensing a familiar presence, obediently coiled around Gou Wen’s arm.

“There’s another poor soul waiting for me to fulfill their wish. Little sister, we’ll meet again.”

With a light step, Gou Wen melted into the night at a speed barely perceptible to the eye. Only the faint, peculiar fragrance lingering around Feng Xiaoxiao served as proof that a woman in red had once been there.

Feng Xiaoxiao rubbed her face. Finally, she’s gone. She had been afraid that Gou Wen would suddenly go mad and disrupt the normal course of events.

As long as Gou Wen didn’t cause trouble, the biggest challenge in the “Eliminate the Village Tyrant” quest was defeating Li Zhu, not confronting Gou Wen. The system wouldn’t be so cruel as to pit a newbie against a top-tier boss in the starter village.

Lucky and oblivious players might complete the quest without even encountering Gou Wen, as she would simply take the medicinal snake and leave. Even those unfortunates enough to run into her would most likely escape unscathed.

Gou Wen’s time was precious. Her visit to Taoyuan Village was solely to collect the poison bait she had planted two years earlier.

Even if players interrupted the cultivation process of the medicinal snake, she usually couldn’t be bothered to retaliate. She wouldn’t go out of her way to crush an ant underfoot.

This was the safety net the system provided for players, they were so insignificant that she couldn’t be bothered to lift a finger against them.

[System Notification: Congratulations! You have completed the Taoyuan Village quest “Eliminate the Village Tyrant.” You have gained EXP +2500, skill upgrades, and attribute improvements.]

[System Notification: Congratulations! You have uncovered the mystery behind Tao Yue’s disappearance (). You have gained EXP +1000.]

[System Notification: Congratulations! You have reached Level 15!]

Feng Xiaoxiao was generally quite satisfied as she began to examine her rewards. The accessory “Fallen Petals’ Resting Place” obtained from Tao Niang’s survival, was a deep crimson hair ribbon with embroidered peach blossoms at its ends.

“Fallen Petals’ Resting Place” (Special Accessory): Permanently increases maximum health and provides continuous health regeneration when equipped.

The “Peach Blossom Snow” outfit was a pink-and-white cloth dress, tied at the waist with a matching pink ribbon forming a long knot that draped down the skirt, exuding an elegant and fresh style.

“Peach Blossom Snow” (Bound): Wearing it enhances skills.

The “Peach Blossom Sword” was a flexible blade, with entwined flowering branches from hilt to blade, buds ready to bloom.

Attribute Bonus: Attack Power +80.

Feng Xiaoxiao wasn’t particularly interested in the remaining items and didn’t bother checking them one by one. She gathered her disheveled hair from the earlier fight into a loose, long braid, securing the end with the hair ribbon.

She then equipped the “Peach Blossom Snow” outfit, successfully changing her attire, and wrapped the soft sword around her waist. Graceful and radiant, she seemed to glow with vitality.

The system never gave out unattractive appearances. As Feng Xiaoxiao glanced over herself, an untimely thought crossed her mind: Like a peach blossom turned spirit.

But since the map was Peach Blossom Village, it made sense for the system’s dropped items to be closely related to the current setting, a bunch of “peach blossom this and that” wasn’t strange at all.

Feng Xiaoxiao closed the interface and returned to Tao Niang’s side. “What are your plans from now on?”

Tao Niang’s eyes were still red, but her state was much better than the previous confusion and helplessness.

“Thank you, miss.” she said solemnly to Feng Xiaoxiao. “Might I trouble you with one more thing…”