It Turns Out The Master's Wife Is Actually Me [GL] - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

To Cheng Fu, her current silence was equivalent to a silent admission in Yan Li’s eyes.

Thus, the proud Sword Master Yan took a step forward with her long legs and naturally took the key Cheng Fu had just picked up. With a calm expression, she said: Since this key appeared here, it is likely there is a hidden compartment or a secret area in the room. Xiao Fu, why don’t you search along the walls?

Cheng Fu’s mind had been full of her Master’s slightly aggrieved look just moments ago, so she hadn’t paid much attention to the item she found. Now, looking at the golden key in Yan Li’s hand, she nodded: Master is right.

Before rummaging through the cabinets, she had checked the furniture and scanned them with spiritual energy, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Now that Yan Li had mentioned it so casually, she realized that the most expansive yet easily overlooked area was the four walls framing the bedroom.

The material of the walls was unknown, but the style was consistent with the furniture it had the same simple and crude quality: it was golden.

Cheng Fu’s heart skipped a beat as a sudden thought occurred to her. This entire courtyard couldn’t be built out of solid gold bricks, could it?

Shaking off the pointless thought, she began to scrutinize the walls. The base color was a solid gold with a thick texture. On it was a vivid, dynamic bas-relief of a golden dragon.

Cheng Fu cupped her hands, and a rich emerald-green color began to condense in her palms. She then spread her fingers and pushed forward; the gathered spiritual energy dispersed evenly across the entire room like a spring breeze.

Wherever the spiritual energy reached, she could precisely sense every detail on the walls based on the feedback of the energy fluctuations.

A moment later, Cheng Fu opened her eyes, which were clear and bright. She spoke with a hint of joy: Master, there is a protruding, complex structure behind the daybed. It should be the mechanism for a hidden compartment.

Yan Li had known of this arrangement all along. Hearing this, she nodded as expected and said calmly: Then move the daybed and investigate.

Once the daybed was moved, a very obvious trapdoor came into view. A dark, circular door was embedded in the floor, looking quite inconspicuous it seemed specifically designed for an escape.

Without hesitation, Cheng Fu knelt down, ignoring her image as she began to poke the small keyhole of the trapdoor with the key. With a click, the circular door opened and fell into the depths of the tunnel with a thud, followed by a long, echoing vibration.

Cheng Fu looked up at Yan Li, her eyes sparkling as she waved her hand: Master, come crawl through the tunnel with me.

And so, the untainted Wurong Sword Master, carrying her ethereal immortal aura, crawled into the pitch-black passage alongside her soot-faced little disciple.

This secret path seemed to have been unused for a long time. Dust hissed down from the ceiling of the narrow passage, scattering into the air like a misty fog on a humid day. Cheng Fu squinted at the falling dust and held her breath, afraid that a single exhale would send the particles dancing wildly.

Light gradually appeared ahead. After a few more steps, the path suddenly opened up into a bright, beautiful landscape it was a complete surface scene, with gentle winds, sunny skies, and the fragrance of flowers. The ground was covered in soft, lush green grass that stretched all the way to a slightly dilapidated small thatched hut.

As Cheng Fu walked toward the hut on the grass, the female proctor’s voice rang out once more:

Congratulations to the examinee for being the first member of the team to complete the first scene of the Inner Demon Realm. The completion time will be recorded in the final results to assist in the ultimate assessment.

Next, the examinee simply needs to wait patiently here for teammates to clear their scenes and reunite. Note: Members who fail to complete the first scene successfully will be deemed to have failed the test and will be sent out of the realm immediately.

The calm, emotionless voice flowed into her ears, making Cheng Fu suddenly think of System 068, which had a similarly mechanical voice. Her slender white fingers, hidden under her sleeves, curled slightly.

068 hadn’t appeared in a long time. This non-human system, born only for tasks, seemed to have changed its nature over the past few days, falling silent without a single reminder to perform a task. She hadn’t thought much of it before, but looking back now, things felt off.

Cheng Fu recalled the moment right before the Character Testing, during team training, when her heart had suddenly shuddered. After that, 068 had made one intermittent broadcast and never appeared again. In that broadcast, it seemed to say it was entering Standby Mode.

Why would it go into standby for no reason?

While she was dazed in thought, she was interrupted by her Master’s cold voice: Xiao Fu, let’s go look inside that house.

Cheng Fu looked ahead. The thatched hut was extremely crude. While described as “slightly dilapidated, a house made of straw was already humble enough; adding a few holes worn by wind and rain made it essentially uninhabitable.

What was it about a broken, ordinary thatched hut that piqued her Master’s interest? Cheng Fu thought with her limited brain capacity but still couldn’t understand.

Ah, well, as long as Master is happy. A woman’s mind is always hard to guess, and the Sword Master the number one combat power in the Five Spirit Domains—was no exception.

A gust of wind blew, making the desolate straw eaves look even more forlorn. Beneath the eaves was a half-closed straw door. Since it had no weight, the wind caught it, making it drift and sway.

Just as Cheng Fu stepped over the old, low threshold, a stronger gust blew the door wide open, revealing a black figure standing in the center of the hut. The dark silhouette was looking at the intruders in astonishment, looking somewhat dazed.

As their eyes met, the black-clad guard, Yongguan, spoke in disbelief: Young Master? How did you get out?

Yongguan could not see Yan Li behind Cheng Fu, as Yan Li had entered the realm with a wisp of her soul rather than her physical body. As a proctor, she could only be observed by the student.

After asking, Yongguan felt he had overstepped and lowered his head honestly to admit his mistake: This subordinate was impudent. I should not question the Young Master’s private affairs.

In his left hand, he held a freshly rolled dough skin, and in his right, a shallow wooden spoon, scooping filling into the center of the thin, resilient dough. The meat filling was colorful, looking like something crushed and mixed together.

It was one thing for the filling to be colorful, but upon closer inspection, there was actually a wad of crumpled paper mixed inside.

Before Cheng Fu could ask, Yongguan set the items down, completely forgetting his previous remark about being impudent, and asked again: Forgive my meddling, but since the Young Master was able to escape, why did you send word asking me to hide the sword manual inside the food and deliver it to your room?

This time it was Cheng Fu’s turn to look confused. She had never given such an order, yet Yongguan stood before her with an earnest, serious face. He didn’t look like he was lying.

She lowered her brows and thought deeply. Hiding a sword manual in the food?

—“Clearance Hint: If you can successfully learn the sword within three days, you will be able to use the learned moves to break through the door~”

Cheng Fu suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze bright as she looked at Yongguan: Keep doing it. Follow the original instructions and deliver the food with the sword manual hidden inside to my room.

Yongguan was stunned again but didn’t ask further. How could a servant fathom the master’s thoughts? He would just do as he was told.

Behind her, Yan Li’s expression didn’t change, but she stared fixedly at Cheng Fu’s back.

Cheng Fu also watched as Yongguan set back to work, diligently making soup buns and pastries. For a moment, the tiny hut was silent. Cheng Fu stared at Yongguan, but her mind was weighing matters regarding her teammates. Her gaze gradually went blank as her thoughts drifted.

After a while, Cheng Fu refocused and watched Yongguan making the buns. After thinking for a few seconds, she walked to the stove, rolled up her sleeves, and said: I’ll help too. Let’s move faster, don’t delay.

Yongguan was surprised. His movements paused as he saw Cheng Fu begin to mold the pastries with abnormal skill. Her technique was extremely refined and swift, her slender fingers flying. In no time, she had finished two, her speed far exceeding the clumsy Yongguan.

Yongguan praised: Young Master has great skill. My hands are clumsy; I am truly not suited for this work.

Cheng Fu smiled and picked up another unformed piece of dough to knead.

At some point, Yan Li’s figure quietly vanished, leaving only Cheng Fu and Yongguan in the room. The atmosphere fell silent again, save for the small sounds of them making the pastries together.

The pastries and soup buns were soon placed into a crude steamer. As Yongguan began to boil the water, Cheng Fu stood by, watching the white steam rising from the pot, and let out a long sigh of relief.

The waiting process is always long. She leaned back in a bamboo reclining chair at the entrance of the hut and squinted her eyes, no longer minding Yongguan, who was watching the fire.

From the roof of the dilapidated thatched hut, a short chimney puffed out curls of cooking smoke. Outside the hut, a cold, snow-haired woman suddenly appeared from the void and stood beside Cheng Fu. She didn’t say a word, just watched her quietly.

Inside, Yongguan, who was watching the fire, took a breath, his eyes showing a hint of joy. The two large plates of pastries and soup buns were finally steamed through. Each piece had a faint luster on its skin, looking very tempting.

The moment the steamer lid was opened, Yongguan’s expression changed, his face filled with unconcealed shock.

Why is one missing?

Yongguan, dressed in black, was completely baffled. He placed the first layer of the steamer on the stove, craned his neck, and began searching around the hearth. After searching for a long while, he found nothing.

Sweating with anxiety, he stepped out of the threshold and woke Cheng Fu on the bamboo chair: “Young Master, this is bad! A pastry has mysteriously gone missing from the steamer.

If it were just an ordinary pastry, Yongguan wouldn’t be this frantic. But these were the pastries used to hide the sword manual. If one was missing, the manual would be incomplete, and a full page couldn’t be pieced together.