Qiao Qiao adorably tilted her head and said, “It’s me.”
Yang Chaoyu: ?
“You mean…”
Summoned beasts, familiars, disciples, and the like?
“Wasn’t Cousin asking how I became like this?”
Qiao Qiao wore a princess-pink tutu, white stockings, and an enormous white bow clip in her hair. As she spoke, she spun around, making her little skirt sway and her bow seem to fly, causing the heart of old auntie Yang Chaoyu to stir restlessly.
Yang Chaoyu: I’m absolutely not a pervert. She’s just too cute, and I want to… I want to pet her!
She gripped her own hand and thought: No, you have to Control yourself.
No, I’m about to lose Control!
Qiao Qiao watched her somewhat chuunibyou-like movements. Although she did not understand, she did not ask and instead continued the previous topic: “Cousin, your special ability is turning ghost generals into cards and taking them away.”
“Huh?” Yang Chaoyu emerged from her chuunibyou world in an instant.
“What ability?”
“The ability to suppress ghost generals,” Qiao Qiao said, enunciating every word.
Yang Chaoyu felt that her brain was not quite up to the task. After sorting through the current situation and combining it with Qiao Qiao’s explanation, she decided to take it slowly. “I have an ability that turns ghost generals into cards and lets me take them away?”
“Yes.”
Qiao Qiao nodded repeatedly, her bow and braids swaying together~
Yang Chaoyu: One day, I’ll overcome my fear and touch them!
“What are ghost generals?”
“Wasn’t it said that ‘Vortexes’ are produced by special magnetic fields and attract special things? As far as we know, these special magnetic fields originate from ghosts, and what they attract are also ghosts. Under the influence of a ‘vortex,’ not only humans, but ghosts that were once human, can possess a certain degree of ability. Those who possess this kind of ability are collectively known as ghost generals.”
“So you’re a ghost general too?”
Qiao Qiao nodded.
Yang Chaoyu asked again, “You have your own special ability.”
Qiao Qiao nodded.
Yang Chaoyu no longer found the bow, braids, and little skirt cute. What if the bow was actually a hidden weapon? What if the braids could strangle prey like snakes? What if the skirt was a spatial treasure that could instantly produce two Gatling guns?
After all, Qiao Qiao was a ghost general.
“Can I Suppress you too?” she asked.
Qiao Qiao nodded.
Yang Chaoyu drew in a sharp breath, feeling that her situation was extremely dangerous.
She had never arrogantly assumed herself to be the chosen one, believing that gaining an ability would make her stronger.
After all, in stories, aside from the protagonist, there were countless cannon fodder, the protagonist’s underlings, harems, cheap masters, and so on. One might even become part of the enormous group of supporting characters who were slapped in the face, exploited, or even beaten to death because of their own conceit.
After these people obtained powerful Abilities or treasures, those things would be snatched away by others, they would die from arrogance, or they would suffer backlash from the magical treasures and weapons because they relied on them too heavily.
Even if she could Suppress ghost generals, couldn’t the other party resist?
Just look at two thousand years of dynastic changes in the Dragon Nation.
Suppression and counter-suppression lasting for so long was an unchanging law.
She did not want to become cannon fodder.
She unconsciously glanced at the coffee table and swallowed. “Then that card is… your true body, or?”
“It’s only a vessel,” Qiao Qiao said.
Yang Chaoyu: I thought burning the card would be enough to destroy the ghost or something.
“Oh, right. The materials used to make cards are extremely expensive and special, so they generally cannot be destroyed.” Qiao Qiao tilted her head and thought for a moment. “If you really wanted to destroy one, you would probably need the legendary Samadhi True Fire.”
“Then… then what benefit does this ability actually have for me?”
Qiao Qiao: “For you, probably none. For us, it has great benefits.”
Yang Chaoyu turned to stone.
Then she walked to the sofa and lay down.
“I’m lying flat. Just use counter-suppression on me. I give up resisting.”
Qiao Qiao came over and looked at her in confusion. “What’s counter-suppression?”
Yang Chaoyu explained the succession of feudal dynasties to her.
Qiao Qiao understood and said, “That won’t work. My ability is ineffective against you. Besides, if I overthrow you, I’ll have to return to 1302. I don’t want to go back.”
Yang Chaoyu instantly relaxed.
Ineffective was good, ineffective was wonderful. She was completely safe now.
But she soon realized that she was still a weakling. Her ability could be considered Control-type, but it could only take ghost generals out of the ‘vortex’; it could not order them around. The only effect that could restrain them was that if she died and the card ability disappeared, the ghost generals would return to their original ‘vortex.’
What kind of ability was this, anyway?
It was not even as useful as her card game!
In the game, she could at least order the paper people to fight, then obtain materials that enhanced them, making them stronger before sending them into battle again.
Although it was extremely recursive, still…
Yang Chaoyu paused and asked Qiao Qiao, “Why did you come out? According to what you said, you could become stronger inside the ‘vortex’ because of its special effects, right? Once you came out, wouldn’t you…”
Qiao Qiao tilted her head. “Why do I need to become stronger?”
The room fell silent for a while.
“Generally, after becoming a ghost, isn’t it because of resentment or something? Then you need to become stronger to seek revenge, fulfill an uncompleted wish, or something like that?”
Yang Chaoyu herself did not understand why she had to explain this. Wasn’t Qiao Qiao supposed to deliver an impassioned speech at a time like this?
Qiao Qiao thought for a moment and said, “Then it’s probably related to the memories I’ve forgotten. Since I’ve forgotten everything, I don’t have much desire to become stronger.”
Looking into Qiao Qiao’s clear eyes, Yang Chaoyu remembered what she had seen while searching for clues inside the ‘vortex.’
The Qiao Qiao in those clues had struggled in agony and wailed incessantly. The one at the stairwell had eyes filled with loathing and hatred, completely different from the girl before her now.
Something stirred in her heart.
Perhaps her ability had additional effects that Qiao Qiao simply did not know about.
As she thought this, Qiao Qiao spoke again. “Because I don’t want to go back, I’ll do my best to protect you. In a certain sense, you’re my master.”
The girl’s hair appeared flaxen, perhaps because she had not received enough nutrition. Under the morning sunlight, it possessed a golden sheen. She was very small, with a round, chubby face. Even the fine down on her skin was dyed with that beautiful color, making her face seem enveloped in a faint glow, like an angel descending into the mortal world.
Yang Chaoyu thought to herself: Five- or six-year-old Wen Shaoqiao really is an angel, not only in appearance, but in personality as well.
She raised her hand and ruffled the girl’s hair. “I’m an adult. I’ll protect you.”
Qiao Qiao was utterly oblivious to the mood. “You’re too weak.”
Yang Chaoyu felt as though an invisible greatsword had pierced through her chest, and a mouthful of old blood caught in her throat.
Seeing her look so devastated, Qiao Qiao patted her and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you properly.”
Another greatsword appeared, and Yang Chaoyu’s health bar emptied.
That hurt too much!
“Go away and let me lie here,” she said weakly.
Qiao Qiao instead came up to her, pinching and patting her face to make her open her eyes. “No, you have to get to work.”
“What work?”
Qiao Qiao tilted her head toward the phone.
Yang Chaoyu was puzzled when the phone vibrated. Then the screen lit up:
【MN】streamer “Rainy Waves,” please proceed to Xiaosi Garden at midnight tonight to participate in the first livestream for newcomers. Those who arrive will receive a 10 merit points reward, regardless of performance. Arriving late will be considered forfeiting, and 100 merit points will be deducted（Those with insufficient merit points will have the corresponding amount deducted from their relatives’ merit points according to the closeness of their blood relationship）.
Rainy Waves…
It took Yang Chaoyu a moment to remember that it was just a name she had randomly come up with when her brain had short-circuited earlier.
But it seemed she could no longer change it.
She still remembered that Sandao never used his real name, but instead used an alias. Should she use an alias too? But this alias…
As she was thinking this, Qiao Qiao said, “This mission will be very easy.”
Yang Chaoyu endured for a long time before finally holding back her retort:
For you, perhaps. For me… that might not be the case.