I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 9

Qi Yan stepped onto the second flight of stairs, pausing to catch her breath.

Bai Qing seized the opportunity to tease her again: “Little one, your stamina is really lacking. Tired already?”

Gritting her teeth, Qi Yan retorted since there was no one else around to overhear. “There are just too many steps! If you’re so strong, why don’t you come out and walk them yourself? Hiding in the ring, making me carry you up, and then mocking me!”

Bai Qing chuckled. “I’m so much older than you. Shouldn’t you show some respect for your elders?”

“Listen to yourself. Does that even sound like something a decent person would say?”

Bai Qing feigned surprise, her tone exaggeratedly dramatic. “Well, I am indeed not human, you know.”

“Shameless.” Qi Yan snorted. “Stinky fox, these steps just keep getting longer. Are you really sure there’s no other way?”

Bai Qing fell silent for a moment, as if weighing something in her mind, but ultimately replied, “No. You’re young and full of vigor. You should rely on your own strength to reach the altar.”

Dismissing the nonsense, Qi Yan stopped engaging and focused on climbing.

Though she bickered constantly with Bai Qing, Qi Yan could faintly sense that the fox was holding back a lot like how her current physical state might not be great. As she ascended, Qi Yan glanced down at the ring on her left hand. Occasionally, it seemed to emit a faint, almost imperceptible glow so dim that ordinary eyes wouldn’t notice. Qi Yan could see it, likely because of the spiritual bond between them. That weak light seemed to reflect Bai Qing’s own fragile condition.

Thinking of the bond, Qi Yan asked, “You keep saying we’re ‘married,’ but isn’t this just a spiritual contract? Why make it sound like an actual wedding?”

Bai Qing answered lazily, “A spiritual contract is extraordinary. For us demons, most spend their entire lives without forming one. It’s like souls intertwining binding your very essence to another. Describing it as marriage is perfectly fitting for you humans.”

Qi Yan let out an “Oh” and dropped the subject. If marriages could end in divorce, maybe this contract could be broken too.

“Still, this bond has its downsides. You can hear my thoughts whenever you want. Doesn’t that mean I have zero privacy?”

“I don’t eavesdrop on your thoughts all the time. That kind of communication drains spiritual energy.”

“Ah, I see.” Qi Yan understood Bai Qing’s unspoken implication. After a century of being sealed away, her spiritual power had suffered. Judging by how weak she was now, full recovery wouldn’t come quickly. To avoid wasting energy on trivial matters, Bai Qing wouldn’t use it unnecessarily.

“How long until your spiritual power fully recovers?”

“Not sure. But it’s tied to your progress. Since we’re bound, the rewards you earn from clearing the story worlds will benefit me too. So, if only for my own sake, I’ll keep you alive.”

Qi Yan suddenly felt more motivated. Since their short-term goals aligned perfectly, she trusted Bai Qing would genuinely protect her.

“How much do you know about the story worlds?”

“Not much. I’ll tell you more when there’s a chance.”

“Fine!”

While they chatted, Qi Yan had already climbed the final stretch of steps, and before her stood the massive base of the bronze deer. From a distance or below, it hadn’t seemed so imposing, but now that she stood beneath it, she truly grasped its enormity.

Qi Yan had seen temple statues before, but this bronze deer dwarfed every Buddha she had ever encountered. Including its golden base, it had to be at least three stories tall.

And if she factored in the stone steps she had just climbed Qi Yan turned to look back down. The figures of Huo Zheng and Tang Shanshan waiting below had already shrunk to tiny specks.

“Anyone with a fear of heights probably wouldn’t dare look down.”

Bai Qing remarked, “They call it an altar, but judging by the stone steps, the golden base, and this bronze deer, it doesn’t seem like an altar at all. It feels more like a place of worship.”

In Baishui Town, the surname Lu held prominence, all the original inhabitants here bore that name. The second attraction Sister Hong had mentioned was the Lu Family Ancestral Hall.

“Worship? Worship this deer?” Qi Yan tilted her head to gaze up at the towering bronze figure. “What deity does this deer represent in Baishui Town?”

“No idea. It’s my first time here too,” Bai Qing replied. “Little one, just because I’m sealed inside this storybook doesn’t mean I know everything. Fundamentally, I’m an adversary of this tale.”

Qi Yan had forgotten, Bai Qing was different from everything and everyone else in this story. From the way she spoke, it was clear she didn’t belong here. She had been sealed inside for some unknown reason, even reduced to a mere divination slip within the book.

“Then what about the beginner slips Huo Zheng and the others drew? Could they be like you?”

Bai Qing seemed offended, letting out a heavy huff before her spirit even floated out of the ring.

Qi Yan stared in surprise at the stunning beauty who had suddenly appeared before her. Before she could react, the woman reached out and tapped her forehead with a finger, grumbling, “Little one, do you think I’m some common, dime-a-dozen monster?”

Qi Yan covered her forehead and dodged back, glaring. “Stop poking me! Who said you were common? I was just asking if there might be other monsters sealed like you!”

Bai Qing withdrew her hand, eyeing her. “The slip that sealed me isn’t an ordinary one. I only ended up like this because I fell into an enemy’s trap. There’s no one else in this storybook like me.”

In other words, the slips Huo Zheng and the others drew wouldn’t be like hers.

For some reason, Qi Yan felt slightly relieved.

This time, Bai Qing didn’t seem inclined to return to the ring just yet. She floated beside Qi Yan as the two of them approached the bronze deer for a closer look.

Qi Yan reached out to touch the golden base, it was cold to the touch, with a layer of damp mist clinging to its surface.

“The season in this instance is summer, and the temperature doesn’t feel low to us, but this is really chilly. Even if the heavy fog blocks the sunlight, the actual temperature shouldn’t make such a big difference.”

Bai Qing hovered beside her, lost in thought, and didn’t respond.

Qi Yan circled the bronze deer once but found nothing unusual. The entire Drum Music Altar seemed to consist solely of this lone bronze deer there was nothing else of note.

“Wasn’t it called the Drum Music Altar? This bronze deer platform barely qualifies as an altar, but where’s the drum music? There are no drums here, nor any other instruments.”

She muttered to herself for a long while, only to realize Bai Qing hadn’t responded at all.

“Hey, what are you spacing out for?” Qi Yan turned her head to see Bai Qing staring up at the bronze deer, that same pensive expression on her face.

Bai Qing withdrew her gaze and said, “Nothing, just thinking.”

“So that’s exactly what I’m asking, what are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. I’ll tell you when I’ve figured it out.”

Qi Yan pursed her lips. “Fine. Should we head down then?”

They still didn’t know how Huo Zheng and Tang Shanshan were doing below, and there was clearly nothing more to see up here.

Bai Qing nodded, then with a spin, transformed into white smoke and vanished into the ring.

Alright, this fox couldn’t even be bothered to float down. Qi Yan didn’t want to argue about it either and quickly descended the bronze deer platform with a clatter.

As soon as she reached the bottom, she saw Huo Zheng and Tang Shanshan walking back toward the Lu platform, deep in conversation. Their expressions suggested something had happened.

“Qi-jie,” Tang Shanshan greeted her first when she saw her running down.

Huo Zheng asked, “How was it? Did you find anything up there?”

Qi Yan briefed them on the situation above. “This Drum Music Altar seems to refer to the bronze deer platform, but I didn’t see any drums or other instruments up there. What about you? Any discoveries down here?”

Huo Zheng shook his head. “Nothing. This entire plaza has nothing besides this deer platform.”

Tang Shanshan said worriedly, “Brother Huo and I checked every corner, but aside from weeds, there’s nothing left. Is this really the Drum Music Altar? Could we have taken the wrong path or missed the actual site? What if we’ve overlooked the real attraction?”

After a moment of thought, Qi Yan replied, “I still think this is the altar. The signpost wouldn’t be wrong, this was the only endpoint along that path.”

Huo Zheng mused, “The location shouldn’t be mistaken. Maybe this is all we’re meant to see today.”

Qi Yan agreed with his reasoning. After all, this was only their first day in this story. Games have progression, if they uncovered too many clues on the first day, there’d be nothing left to do later.

“We have three hours total, and one’s already gone. Let’s check out the other two places first.”

Huo Zheng and Tang Shanshan both agreed. The three of them left the altar and retraced their steps, heading next for the Lu Family Ancestral Hall.

“The prominent family in Baishui Town is the Lu clan. Judging by the bronze deer platform, they seem to revere deer. I wonder if their totem is also a deer. That altar must have some special significance,” Qi Yan remarked as they walked. “The setup feels less like a sacrificial ground and more like a place of worship, it seems tied to some kind of belief.”

“Nowadays, I mean, in our world, it feels like there’s much less of this feudal superstition.” Tang Shanshan commented softly.

Qi Yan chuckled. “Not at all. You’ve just grown up in a big city and haven’t seen much. Plenty of remote mountain villages still cling to the old ways.”

Huo Zheng nodded in agreement. “My family’s from a small village. Transportation and communication were underdeveloped until recent years.”

The three of them chatted as they walked, and this impromptu little team actually got along quite harmoniously. They looked like they could rely on each other for help in this world where life and death were uncertain.

On their way to the ancestral hall, they passed a fork in the road and ran into the bald man loitering there. He was alone and didn’t seem to have visited any of the three places Hong Jie had mentioned. Clutching a liquor jug in his hand, his face was flushed from drinking.

When he saw the three of them together, the bald man grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth, and drunkenly pointed at Huo Zheng. “You little punk, acting all proper and righteous, tricking two girls into following you around. What, planning to double your fun tonight?”

Some people just had a way of making others want to slap them the moment they opened their mouths. Qi Yan frowned, about to curse him out, when suddenly his ring burned hot. In the next instant, a wisp of white smoke shot out, darting straight for the bald man’s face.

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