The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 216

Chapter 216: What’s This About Marrying First and Loving Later? 1

What’s it like to wake up and see a big red moon directly overhead?

Tao Ning would like to thank you for the invitation, she just successfully transmigrated.

Sleeping outdoors was a bit cold, and the ground beneath her was hard, bumping uncomfortably against her head.

Moving her stiff limbs, Tao Ning sat up on the hard surface and looked around.

This time, she finally noticed something was wrong. She wasn’t lying in the wilderness as she’d thought, but inside a dilapidated, deserted hut. The doors and windows were locked and bolted.

Perhaps fearing a sudden intrusion, the owner had also used a cabinet to barricade the door.

She used the term “owner” because the hut was scattered with various household items – a single pot, a single bowl, a single plate, a single spoon, and so on. Everything was singular.

Tao Ning’s hand, propped up on the bed, brushed against something soft. Looking down, she saw a few patched clothes folded beside her hand. They were washed almost white, but neatly arranged.

It was clear that someone had been living here, treating this place as a protective home.

However, these efforts were futile. Not to mention the already rickety door, which a five-year-old could break down, the large hole in the roof reduced the hut’s defense value to negative numbers.

Whether it was insects, rodents, or robbers and thieves, anyone could easily enter without any effort.

The large moon she could see directly overhead was visible because of the massive hole in the roof, which took up almost the entire ceiling of the small hut. Gusts of night wind blew in through the giant opening, making the thinly clad Tao Ning sneeze.

Starting with a single bowl, all equipment must be scavenged. Realizing her starting situation, Tao Ning fell silent.

She expected it to be tough, but not this tough.

A cold, mechanical voice pulled Tao Ning’s attention back: [Ding! Identity loading successful!]

[A matching landing point could not be found in this small world. Automatically generated identity: Tao Zi, a villager of Lingxiu Village, 18 years old.]

[Specific settings: Father unknown, mother deceased. Ten-year-old Tao Zi successfully grew up relying on mountain resources. Due to her parents’ early deaths, she is considered unlucky by the villagers of Lingxiu Village and is not allowed to live in the village, living in isolation.]

[In exchange for more resources, and yearning for companionship, Tao Zi frequently returns to the village, regardless of the weather, unfazed by the villagers’ disdain and expulsion.]

[Today, as usual, Tao Zi returned to the village and found everyone preparing for the Mountain God Festival rituals. No one was willing to talk to her, so she returned to her home after nightfall.]

[Seven days later, it will be Lingxiu Village’s Mountain God Festival. The Mountain God will awaken.]

Tao Ning absorbed the information displayed on the page. This was her automatically generated identity in this world, an outcast in Lingxiu Village.

This identity was quite suitable. No matter what she did, she wouldn’t attract much attention, giving her plenty of room to improvise.

Then, a familiar mechanical voice sounded in Tao Ning’s mind: [My dear host, although this is the small world you’ve had me searching for for years, because this small world is rather special, currently in the merging phase of two worlds, settlement may be difficult.]

The implication was that the system didn’t understand why she’d come to such a remote place, but it was very worried about her finances.

Tao Ning, burdened with huge debts, acted as if she were brushing dust off her shoulders, nonchalantly saying, “Whether it can be settled or not is a small matter, don’t worry about it.”

520 said something surprising: [Then isn’t this charity work? When did you become so kind?]

Tao Ning didn’t comment, getting out of bed and wandering around.

The hut wasn’t large. The walls were made of sturdy stone, so they didn’t have a large hole like the roof. The floor was paved with blue bricks, equally clean and tidy.

Over the years, as time passed, the plaster on the walls had peeled off, revealing the original stone underneath. Touching it resulted in a hand covered in dust. It had nothing to do with the word “beautiful.”

Tao Ning pushed the drawer containing daily necessities back in, her movements slow. The red-lacquered cabinet’s surface was mottled and shaky, on the verge of collapsing with any sudden movement.

Automatically generated identities would reference the original character’s personality. While the appearance might be completely different, some habits would merge with the original.

Just like now, Tao Zi did everything within her power perfectly, taking good care of herself even in this humble dwelling.

However, repairing the roof was too much for a helpless girl, so the hole in the roof had been left as is. As long as it didn’t rain, she wouldn’t have to worry about getting soaked.

Seeing Tao Ning touching and poking around, 520 didn’t disturb her, silently organizing bills on the side.

The summarized results brought it deep shock. The string of numbers was so long it didn’t dare read them aloud. Its host had truly accumulated debt through sheer skill, vividly demonstrating what it meant to be unburdened by debt.

This was the rhythm of a lifetime of work. Love-struck fools were truly terrifying.

520 hadn’t appeared before because it was busy finding the coordinates of this small world, obtaining its location.

Initially, 520 received a string of numbers and thought it was just a small task. What could be difficult for a three-digit system like itself? Then it searched for decades.

Several failed searches didn’t dampen 520’s enthusiasm but instead ignited its fighting spirit, determined to find it for Tao Ning.

It, a single system, relying on a string of meaningless codes, searched for so long, like searching for a needle in a haystack among the vast stars.

Fortunately, it finally found the small world Tao Ning wanted. Only then did 520 discover that this wasn’t just a small world, but two small worlds in the process of merging.

This was different from a large world absorbing a small world’s energy and converting it for its own use. This small world was two weaklings merging, huddled together for warmth.

Two fragmented small worlds, to avoid being attracted and annexed by a large world, made a pact to merge, thus possessing the scale of a medium-sized small world. It was far from a true medium-sized world, but it avoided the danger of being annexed.

Because they knew they were special, the two world consciousnesses joined forces to hide themselves very deeply.

520 almost crashed from searching, using all its system connections to find it, only to be told by other system friends that there was no small world with this number.

520 was truly puzzled: [By the way, host, how did you know there was definitely a small world with this number?]

After asking, more doubts emerged: [And you specifically gave me clues, reminding me that the energy within this small world was very chaotic and that it might hide itself?]

Putting the clean dishes and chopsticks back into the basin, Tao Ning said, “Because my previous job was to do this, find small worlds with chaotic energy, and then archive them.”

520 didn’t understand: [What? Weren’t you admitted to the Marriage Group after three attempts in three years?]

Tao Ning: “Actually, I was specially recruited, do you believe me?”

[Hard to say.] 520 didn’t believe it, thinking Tao Ning was teasing it again. Who knew when the old fox was telling the truth and when she was lying.

It displayed the bill, [But there’s one thing I need to tell you, the points required to automatically generate a small world identity are: thirty million.]

Automatically generating an identity was much more complex than finding a landing point, and it also required much more energy. Therefore, most taskers would choose the landing point that best fit their soul rather than automatically generating an identity.

The most important point was that automatically generating an identity cost money, and it couldn’t be deducted from the rewards after settlement. It had to be paid upfront.

This time, Tao Ning was purely doing thankless work, self-funding the mission.

Because it was an automatically generated identity, everyone in Lingxiu Village knew those born and raised there. The sudden appearance of a new person would create an impact that this small world would have difficulty digesting on its own.

If any villager accidentally remembered that Tao Ning had suddenly appeared, it could trigger a series of reactions, easily causing the world to collapse.

Weak small worlds were just that weak.

To cover up the fuzzy memories regarding Tao Ning, the identity assigned to her was that of a happy-go-lucky simpleton whose parents had died, with the additional label of being cursed and bringing bad luck.

Of course, this description was based on the villagers’ perception of Tao Zi, entirely subjective and not objective.

520’s electronic voice was heavy: [So, in everyone’s eyes, you’re a fool.]

Tao Ning: “…”

Early morning, as dawn broke, a slender figure walked out of the hut.

The mountain mist hadn’t dispersed outside, the view obscured by the pervasive white fog.

Tao Ning looked back at her home. Her house, with its large hole in the roof, was surprisingly free of fog. The pervasive white fog outside didn’t affect the inside at all.

Looking back for a moment, Tao Ning lowered her eyes and pondered, drawing a conclusion.

The white fog of Lingxiu Village couldn’t penetrate the villagers’ houses, which were the safest shelters at night. But what the white fog contained at night, she didn’t know.

Also, yesterday’s character introduction page mentioned that the Mountain God Festival was in a few days, and the Mountain God would awaken.

Who was the Mountain God? What would happen when the Mountain God awakened? These questions were all unknown.

She also didn’t know if the crescent moon from last night had anything to do with the Mountain God Festival.

The villagers of Lingxiu Village, who lived here, must have a way to deal with the white fog. They couldn’t just plunge into it.

Remembering something, Tao Ning turned and entered the hut, picking up an oval bamboo lantern from the corner behind the door.

The lantern was covered with a layer of white tissue paper, without any markings. Looking inside, there was only a stub of an extinguished white candle. It didn’t seem special.

From the signs of use, it could be seen that this lantern had been used for a while. The outer layer of tissue paper had a few small holes but hadn’t been replaced.

Tao Ning took out a box of matches from her pocket and lit the candle inside the lantern. A warm yellow light flickered to life.

The lantern wasn’t big, only illuminating the area immediately around her. She didn’t know if it would be effective in the pervasive white fog.

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Tao Ning carried the lantern and walked towards the white fog. Amazingly, the ubiquitous white fog retreated upon contact with the warm yellow light, illuminating the area centered around the lantern.

After taking a few steps, Tao Ning stopped, looking at the old lantern in her hand with new eyes.

Examining the lantern from top to bottom, Tao Ning felt that its effect had nothing to do with the outer layer of tissue paper. There were no deterrent runes or anything else special about it.

It was just an ordinary lantern made of ordinary paper and bamboo. The candle was also ordinary, lit simply and primitively with a match.

As for what exactly worked against the white fog, she didn’t know yet.

Following her memory, Tao Ning walked towards the mountain path behind her house, planning to go up the mountain to take a look, not intending to go to the village to gather information first.

Since it was a Mountain God, it should live in the mountains. Rather than gathering information and preparing in advance, it was better to capture the thief first and then the king.

Perhaps influenced by all these years with Tao Ning, no matter what she did, 520’s first reaction was: Is she having a love-struck relapse?

The journey up the mountain was long. When the sun rose, the white fog covering the mountains dispersed instantly, but Tao Ning didn’t extinguish the candle.

Because it was a cloudy day, walking in the forest, she still needed the candlelight to illuminate her path. And she didn’t know if…

While climbing the mountain, she chatted with 520.

Busy for decades, finally having free time, it wanted to pour out all the accumulated questions at once.

For example, now, 520 asked: [There’s a question I’ve been curious about for a long time. You’ve been a screenwriter for so many years, you must have a deep understanding of this industry, and the thoughts of your peers.]

Tao Ning used a randomly picked-up hiking stick to brush aside the knee-high weeds, creating a path with her legs: “So?”

520: [So in that drama I watched, why did the screenwriter have the female lead put a whole chicken, without removing the innards, into the soup, and then feel wronged when the employer pointed it out?]

Suddenly attacked by distant memories, Tao Ning fell silent.

She hadn’t expected this stubborn system’s thoughts to still be stuck in such a distant time.

“…” Tao Ning asked, “How do you still remember this?”

520 argued: [Host, you also remember, so have you figured out the answer to this question?]

Tao Ning refused to answer this question. This was a doubt about the ability of a gold medal screenwriter, and she felt that thinking deeply about this question would lower her IQ.

Letting 520 roll around in her mind, Tao Ning insisted on not answering this question.

Truly having no other choice, after being silent for the entire journey, Tao Ning finally responded, she asked: “In the last world, my identity was a screenwriter, did you also play a part in it?”

520’s silence answered Tao Ning.

After walking for a long time, Tao Ning came across a bamboo forest. The wind blew through the bamboo leaves, the rustling sound constantly reaching her ears.

Tao Ning stood outside the bamboo forest, holding the lantern.

She looked into the bamboo forest, where shadows flickered. She seemed to see something stirring in the depths of the bamboo forest.

With a since-I’m-here attitude, she didn’t waste time and stepped inside.

The moment she stepped onto the path leading to the depths of the bamboo forest, 520 suddenly spoke: [Wait, the magnetic field here seems a bit off, there’s some powerful presence stirring.]

Tao Ning carried the lantern: “I know, I want to see what’s inside.”

Since that was the case, 520 didn’t persuade her further, only reminding her: [There’s only one chance with an automatically generated identity. If you encounter an accident and log out of the small world, re-entering will still require the same points.]

Tao Ning didn’t mind and continued deeper.

In Tao Zi’s memory, she had been to this bamboo forest. Many villagers had also been here, cutting down the bamboo on the outer edges to make various household items.

But few villagers would go deeper, and they extremely tabooed going into the depths of the bamboo forest, saying that there lived something that made it impossible to return.

All kinds of strange legends could stop everyone, but they couldn’t stop Tao Zi, this silly village girl. She had gone into the depths of the bamboo forest more than once, but every time she returned bruised and battered, without accomplishing anything.

Her safe return didn’t arouse any curiosity in the villagers, but instead made them feel that Tao Zi was even more unlucky.

She could return after going to such a ghostly place, so what good could she be?

Tao Ning continued along the path, recalling Tao Zi’s memories. In her memory, she always wandered around in the bamboo forest, searching aimlessly.

But there was nothing in the bamboo forest, only the same scenery everywhere. She naturally got lost inside, unable to find her way out.

Tao Zi wasn’t afraid after getting lost, relying on dry rations to force her way out. This happened more than once, and she had become accustomed to it, while the villagers thought she was like a monster.

There was nothing in the bamboo forest that injured her. What caused her bruises were the various bushes and branches on the way down the mountain, which would always scratch Tao Zi, who was dizzy with hunger and didn’t have the strength to push them aside.

Thinking about this, Tao Ning stopped, raising her lantern, suspecting she had seen wrong.

She saw a cave, something she had never seen before, appearing in front of her.

The dark cave entrance was like the open mouth of a monster, enticing unknowing passersby to enter.

Tao, the unknowing passerby, Ning walked towards the cave entrance without thinking. She was looking for the stirring presence in the bamboo forest, and now the anomaly was directly in front of her. Why not take a look?

520 was truly scared by this series of gloomy scenes and hid early, finding a few comedies to calm its nerves.

Walking down the steps, the surroundings were very quiet, so quiet that only Tao Ning’s light footsteps could be heard. Finally, she reached the ground of the cave.

Before she could catch her breath, her ears twitched slightly, as if she heard faint sounds of water.

However, there was only one path under her feet. Tao Ning didn’t pause, walking directly deeper.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Tao Ning, who was thinking that she seemed to be going upwards, suddenly found herself in an open space. A light brighter than the one in her hand shone in, making her, accustomed to the darkness, raise her hand to shield her eyes.

After a while, she opened her eyes, her pupils constricting.

Who would have thought that inside a cave, countless red candles were burning, densely packed, covering the ground? Each red candle was connected by red threads, forming a complex and unknown totem.

Enclosed in the center of the red candles was a small pool of water, reflecting the shadows of the red candles, making everything appear eerie and bizarre.

It was the sound from this pool that had attracted Tao Ning’s attention. Clearly, this was a deep pool.

Any normal person, seeing this eerily red scene, would only run away.

But there was someone audacious enough to not only not flee in panic but also step forward to carefully observe the red candles covering the ground.

A moment later, she kicked away the candles and red threads together, easily breaking the balance between them, causing something to change quietly.

The red threads ignited upon contact with fire, the intricate connected pattern burning away, leaving only red candles all over the ground in an instant.

This wasn’t the end. The person standing among the red candles walked deeper with unstoppable momentum. The further she went, the harder it was to remove the candles.

Soon, Tao Ning hit a snag – one candle wouldn’t budge, as if it had grown together with the ground.

Tao Ning stared at the candle, her eyebrows furrowing slowly, muttering, “How is that possible?”

Then she raised her foot again, kicking away the extremely stubborn red candle. The red candle flew towards the cave wall, illuminating it for a moment, some images flashing by.

Tao Ning, who hadn’t paid attention to that side, carried the lantern and walked towards the pool. She was going to wash the bloodstains on her hands.

While climbing the mountain earlier, Tao Ning had accidentally scratched her palm on a branch. Her hand had been sticky all the way, and she couldn’t stand it, determined to wash her hands.

Her blood-stained hands stirred in the cold pool water, washing away the crimson marks, finally stopping the bleeding.

The sound of splashing water echoed as someone washed their hands by the shore.

Beneath the deep pool, something seemed to be disturbed. The cold, calm surface of the water boiled, something about to emerge.

Suddenly, the wind and clouds changed color, and a strong wind blew through the cave. The red candles fell to the ground, but the rolling candles didn’t extinguish. They rolled into the pool without extinguishing, sinking with their faint light until they disappeared.

Tao Ning raised her hand to cover her face, her peripheral vision catching something, her gaze pausing.

At some point, a figure had appeared in mid-air, floating like a red cloud. Her red clothes were enchanting, her black hair like a cloud.

Her long hair almost reached the ground, her face as white as snow, her lips as red as blood. Her eyes were as black as the painted eyes of a paper doll, looking down at the pool, making people tremble at the sight.

Of course, it was a tremble of fear. No one would casually be attracted to a ghostly woman.

The figure floating in the air was undoubtedly beautiful, with a fairy-like cinnabar mole between her eyebrows, but she didn’t have a trace of the aura of a living person.

From the moment she appeared, the temperature in the cave dropped sharply, and the light in the lantern beside Tao Ning suddenly went out.

An ominous aura permeated the air, every detail proving that this was no ordinary person.

A low, hoarse voice, with an ancient tone, echoed in the cave, asking, “Who are you?”

Tao Ning shook the water off her hands, abruptly standing up, her voice so loud that it echoed through the cave: “A villager from down the mountain!”

The red-clad figure tilted her head, her red lips slightly parting, speaking slowly and deliberately: “What?”

The figure in the empty cave seemed particularly small, but her attitude was unprecedentedly inflated.

She looked up, her eyes reflecting the shimmering red figure, her crisp voice, slightly accented, saying: “Hello, beautiful lady, let’s be friends!”

Xuan Miao: “…?”

Where did this fool come from?