Chapter 47 Part 2

The triplets exchanged knowing smirks. “They won’t be able to complete their crafting challenge.”

Third Brother Zhao opened his palm. Resting in it was a piece of silver metal.

“We now control both the first and second challenges. The Moon Group certainly won’t score higher than us.” Third Brother Zhao said, “Today wasn’t a total loss. We’ll redouble our efforts tomorrow. If they won’t let us complete the challenges, we won’t make it easy for them either!”

Just as the Sword and Shield Group was holding its internal meeting, two knocks suddenly sounded at the door.

The three quickly fell silent and looked warily toward the door. A human silhouette was cast upon the windowpane.

Wei Yuan said slowly, “The Moon Group and Ruler Group said monsters come out at night. You can’t look directly at them.”

“It’s not a monster. It’s me.” A familiar female voice came from outside. “Let’s not beat around the bush. Your group’s missing item is with me. But I don’t know if our group’s stolen item is with you. So I’m letting you know: if it was you, let’s make an even exchange and pretend nothing happened.

If it’s not with you… hah, it seems quite a few people are playing dirty tricks behind the scenes. I know everyone’s concerns—afraid of being resented if their shady acts are exposed. So I have a suggestion. In five minutes, I’ll place the items outside. Everyone should also return other groups’ items, then come and retrieve their own. It’s so dark; no one’s identity will be revealed.”

So one could actually go outside at night.

Hearing the voice, Boss Zhao’s face unconsciously broke into a simple, honest grin. “How could we possibly be the ones who stole anything? But our group did lose something too.”

“Then I’ll be off. you consider it carefully. In five minutes, we exchange at the stone lion next to the temple.”

The shadow departed. Boss Zhao furrowed his brow, plunged into a dilemma. Should he go or not?

“If she could walk outside, that means it’s safe to go out, as long as you don’t run into any monsters.” Third Brother Zhao said, “But we can’t actually bring the item to trade. What if the other party just wants to trick us out of our stuff empty-handed?”

“You have a point.” Boss Zhao said, “It’s so dark out there. I might as well find a rock and pretend it’s the ore.”

“I think that’s doable.”

Three cobblers with their wits combined equal a Zhuge Liang. After a round of discussion, feeling the plan was solid, Boss Zhao slipped quietly out the door.

The outside was empty. The moon in the goddess’s hand emitted a blue fluorescent glow for illumination. There were no monsters at all.

…

Out in the desert, Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu had been squatting for a long time.

“You think she’s gone?”

“Probably gone by now?”

Zhu Ming peeked through the fingers covering her eyes. “I don’t see anything in this area. If we don’t look at her face, just her feet… should be fine, right?”

“Should be?”

So the two kept their heads low, focused on the ground, and advanced at a snail’s pace, ready to shut their eyes instantly at any moment.

Walking in front, Zhu Ming followed the moonbeam’s guidance to head back. However, within the dim field of vision ahead at ground level, a patch of deeper shadow suddenly appeared. She jolted and immediately squeezed her eyes shut.

“How insidious, lying in ambush!”

Wenren Tu closed her eyes too, egging her on. “Zhu Ming, go! Touch her! Touch her until she runs away!”

Zhu Ming squeezed her eyes shut, using her hands and feet to circle and test for obstacles ahead. “I think she’s figured out my aim. She keeps her head tilted up. I can’t reach her face.”

“Maybe it’ll work this time. Try again, try again.”

“Fine.”

With that, she swept her hand forward and touched something soft.

Soft?

Zhu Ming hastily withdrew her hand. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and slowly looked forward from the ground. She saw a pair of feet in small leather shoes, ankles slender and smooth. Following the line upward was a light-colored skirt.

Zhu Ming abruptly looked up. “Yin Yu! What are you doing here?!”

Even in the darkness of night, her identity was clear from her attire.

Yin Yu stepped forward twice, drawing closer to the faint moonlight. “Couldn’t sleep. Came out for a stroll.”

Wenren Tu also opened her eyes. She looked from Yin Yu to Zhu Ming, opting to make herself as unobtrusive as possible.

Zhu Ming’s face was a picture of disbelief. “Taking a late-night stroll? Do you think I’m stupid? And of all places, you just happen to stroll here?”

Yin Yu explained gently, “Because after coming out, I discovered two little fools playing dead in the distance and wanted to get a closer look to see who could be so silly.”

Zhu Ming/Wenren Tu: “…”

Yin Yu chuckled lightly. “This moonlight is beautiful, isn’t it? The stone book says when darkness falls, the Moon provides guidance. I was curious why only the Moon is different.”

Zhu Ming patted the little hammer she had unearthed. “I already dug up the item. If you’re hoping to get ahead of me, give it up.”

“Mingming always assumes the worst of me.” Yin Yu looked out toward the vast desert, revealing a smile that Zhu Ming couldn’t quite decipher. “The first time I came to the desert, I was awestruck by this boundless, endless sand. But something else left an even deeper impression on me. Do you know what that was?”

Chatting here in the middle of the night felt so strange to Zhu Ming. For Yin Yu, could she really just naturally ignore the conflict between them like this?

But she still played along. “I’m not a worm in your stomach. How would I know?”

So Yin Yu answered, “Life. Even in such an arid, desolate place, life stubbornly survives and thrives. It’s utterly incredible. Give life a little hope, and it can be this tenacious.”

Zhu Ming tugged on Wenren Tu’s arm, walking and rolling her eyes at the same time. “Ugh, I can’t handle these artsy literary women. Let’s go, let’s go. Vulgar commoners like us can’t communicate with her.”

Yin Yu unhurriedly kept pace beside Zhu Ming, speaking as she walked. “But I’ve seen a soul more tenacious than the life in this desert. Want to guess what? Fine, you don’t want to guess. When you do want to know, I’ll tell you then.”

Wenren Tu turned her head to look at Zhu Ming. “I think Yin Yu and that stone statue share a common trait—neither seems human. Why don’t you touch her too? Touch her until she leaves?”

Zhu Ming forced a smile. “Why don’t you do the touching?”

Wenren Tu muttered, “She’s not my ex-girlfriend.” Besides, back in the underground maze, Yin Yu had saved her once. Although she wouldn’t serve as her mediator, her opinion of her had shifted somewhat.

“Wenren Tu, can I borrow your shovel for a moment?”

Yin Yu had stopped at some point and made the request. “I forgot to bring mine when I came out.”

“What are you trying to do?” Zhu Ming looked back.

“Here.” Yin Yu pointed to a patch of shadow in front of her feet. “I told you, I was curious why the Moon’s guidance was so special. But besides that, I also wanted to know what the book’s guidance is. Even if the stone book doesn’t mention it, as one of the six objects the goddess holds, it must still have some significance. And now I’ve discovered it. The Moon’s guidance actually has two layers of meaning. One is your tool; the other is the book illuminated by moonlight.”

This patch of shadow right here was precisely the shadow cast by the book held in the hands of the Giant Six-Armed Goddess Statue, illuminated by the moonlight.

During the twelve hours of daylight, the book’s shadow changed drastically. But at night, this shadow was unique. More coincidentally, besides the book, none of the other four objects cast a shadow under the moonlight.

Zhu Ming looked at her, a smile slowly spreading across her face. “You’re sharing this intel with us just like that? Not afraid our group will surpass your score?”

Yin Yu gazed at her with a smile, moonlight seeming to spill from her eyes. “Is the score that important? I just want to slack off a little.”

Words unspoken spoke volumes. With just those two lines, Zhu Ming knew—Yin Yu also understood the rule she had guessed.

Crack.

“You two want to chat, do it somewhere else.” Wenren Tu stabbed her shovel into the ground, resigned. “I’ll do the grunt work, happy?”

There was only one shovel. With Wenren Tu doing the labor, the other two could take it easy.

This was precisely Yin Yu’s aim. She just had to stand by gracefully and wait for the result to be unearthed.

Zhu Ming walked a couple of steps away, then couldn’t resist turning her head to look at her. The longer she looked, the stranger it seemed.

Yin Yu brushed her hair aside and curiously looked down at herself. “What are you looking at?”

“At you.” Zhu Ming sized her up from head to toe. “Last time you fought me for stuff. This time, with A-Tu here, you’re so generous. Tell me honestly, are you targeting me specifically?”

Yin Yu thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes.”

Zhu Ming: “…”

Yin Yu also looked troubled. “Because Mingming’s angry face is just too cute. I can’t help myself. Besides, I also want to know how strong Mingming is when she’s angry. If only she could become a bit stronger…”

Zhu Ming started rolling up her sleeves. Wenren Tu instantly dropped the shovel and wrapped her arms around Zhu Ming’s waist. “Calm down, calm down! No fighting or brawling!”

“Let me go! I’m going to show her today just how cute I can be when I’m angry!!”

Zhu Ming flailed wildly. Through earnest persuasion, Wenren Tu finally managed to hold her back. She shoved the shovel into Zhu Ming’s hands. “Ignore her, let’s just dig!”

Held back by the rules, Zhu Ming could only gnash her teeth and silently channel her fury into the ground.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack! She dug furiously!

“Whew.” Having finally stopped Zhu Ming, Wenren Tu wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned a rather unfriendly gaze toward Yin Yu. “Nowadays, only elementary schoolers still pull the ‘I tease you because I like you’ crap. What’s your deal?”

“Ah.” Yin Yu had a sudden look of enlightenment, then smiled joyfully. “So that’s why I always want to tease Mingming? Because I like her? Well, that explains it. I truly do like Mingming very much.”

This time, even Wenren Tu felt the urge to roll up her own sleeves.

Luckily, Yin Yu didn’t say anything more infuriating. She watched Zhu Ming, who was huffing and puffing as she dug, and smiled calmly. “I wasn’t lying. I do hope Mingming becomes stronger.”