That thin, tattered cloth-like thing suddenly dropped a leg, swinging wantonly in the air...
Qi Xu cleared her throat and called out, "I see you. Come down."
The girl in the white dress on the flower branch instantly twisted her head 360 degrees. Her neck contorted in an extremely twisted manner, blood flowing from all seven orifices as she let out an exaggerated, loud laugh. "Hee hee hee, why isn't big sister scared of me? Was my performance not good?"
Qi Xu really wanted to say... I'm terrified. We're participating in a highway survival game, not a horror game. Did you get the wrong script?
But as an expert, the more scared she was, the calmer she appeared.
So not only did she not retreat, she even took two steps forward, directly grabbed the girl's skirt, and yanked her down from the tree.
"Ouch! How can you be so rude? I almost fell!"
Only after pulling the person down did Qi Xu realize it was a young child, looking even two years younger than Zhu Fu.
"Why were you up in the tree? What's your name?"
"I was up in the tree to welcome the honored guest... wait, no, you don't have an invitation anymore, so you're not a guest anymore. As for my name..." The little girl stood there dumbly, thinking seriously for a long time.
"My name... What name do I have? My name... seems I've forgotten. Ah, never mind, it's not important. Come on, I'll take you to see the wisteria. I can even offer you a cup of tea."
The little girl skipped ahead, her bare little feet treading on the sharp, stony path, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.
Qi Xu followed closely behind, pondering what the girl had just said. No invitation, so not an honored guest. But that wasn't right; the invitation was only half-burned—the words "honored guest" were not destroyed.
So that must be a hidden trump card.
Qi Xu felt it wasn't thrilling enough, so she simply sped up to walk side-by-side with the little girl.
The little girl couldn't help but stop, asking puzzledly, "You're really eager."
"Because I like you! You look so youthful and energetic, skipping along is so cute! Your little feet are bleeding. Here, put these shoes on; then it won't hurt."
Qi Xu instinctively felt that building a good relationship with an NPC would be useful, so she followed her usual routine: first a compliment, then the gift-giving tactic.
The little girl stood dumbfounded as Qi Xu lifted her by the armpits and placed her feet into a pair of white sneakers. The shoes automatically adjusted to the girl's perfect size.
Qi Xu then took the opportunity to part the thick bangs covering the girl's forehead, pulling out a comb and hair tie to tie up her hair, revealing a smooth, large forehead.
Her hair was full of congealed blood clots, and a large patch on the top of her forehead was bald, making it difficult to comb. But Qi Xu had ample patience, and the little girl felt no pain at all. In fact, when Qi Xu patiently tried to comb out a blood clot, the girl simply pulled out another clump of her own hair, making herself even balder.
Qi Xu was speechless. This kid... But with that, the combing did speed up considerably. Qi Xu neatly gave her a high ponytail.
"There, that's more like it! So much more spirited! Who needs those droopy tendrils or bangs? This hairstyle suits you best! If you think it's not pretty enough, I can add a bow."
Having accumulated so much by now, Qi Xu's backpack was full of all sorts of strange things, more comprehensive than before the survival game even started.
The little girl just waited quietly, incredibly obedient.
"Hee hee hee, big sister, the hair you tied for me is so pretty. Next, let's go die together beautifully!"
Qi Xu nodded happily. "Okay, okay! Let's go. That sounds really fun!"
Anyway, she was going with the flow, doing whatever felt most enjoyable. At worst, she just wouldn't awaken a new skill. In the Color Secret Realm, one must follow one's whims! Only then could one gain the greatest rewards.
The little girl instantly stopped laughing, her expression suddenly turning icy. "I don't want to take you to see the wisteria anymore."
"Aren't you fond of dying? Then let's go die together." Qi Xu smiled with exceptional sincerity, even gently taking the girl's small hand. "I'll accompany you in whatever you like to do."
The girl first took Qi Xu back to the manor castle.
Contrary to Qi Xu's impression of the girl's pitiable state, the white-bearded butler, upon seeing the bloodstains on her, was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Soon, various doctors gathered around, giving the little girl a thorough head-to-toe examination.
Qi Xu also received many preferential treatments. Not only was she assigned a room, but the white-bearded butler also personally took her to enjoy a lavish meal.
Quite a few people were dining in the restaurant—men, women, old, and young—all dressed similarly to the little girl in dirty, mud-stained robes. The food was exceptionally sumptuous.
Qi Xu's palate, now spoiled by Master Chef, couldn't even call this food bad. She tasted this, sampled that, and in no time became the most eye-catching person in the room.
Everyone stopped eating, staring intently at Qi Xu with indescribable expressions—sorrow, despair, indifference, pity...
Qi Xu was utterly bewildered. I just ate a meal; it feels like I've committed some monumental blunder.
After the meal, Qi Xu wanted to find the girl who had brought her into the castle, but she couldn't locate her anywhere. Asking around yielded no information either.
During this process, she made a few new friends. She stayed in the castle for over ten days in a row, eating and drinking well every day, playing games like house, drop the handkerchief, kicking a football, and causing mischief with all the children.
The castle was full of laughter and joy, but Qi Xu could never find anyone willing to take her to see the wisteria.
Compared to the previous pink secret realm, this purple one was practically heaven. Aside from people occasionally pretending to be corpses to scare others, everything else was quite humane.
Except... she had no memory of any night. Qi Xu tried not eating the castle's food, not drinking the castle's water, even deliberately holding her breath at night—nothing worked.
The moment the midnight bell tolled, she would automatically slip into a deep sleep state.
Qi Xu also tried breaking the large clock, covering her ears tightly, deliberately blurring her concept of midnight, or even standing on top of the dining table instead of returning to her room. None of it had any effect...
Qi Xu was getting terribly bored. This was worse than being a bit tired. Moreover, whenever she befriended a child and agreed to play together the next day, he or she would inevitably disappear. This feeling made Qi Xu feel very depressed, yet she was utterly helpless.
Slowly, her mind began to grow somewhat confused. She simply started asking various people directly, "Hey, friend, we're best friends, right? Can you take me to see the wisteria?"
..........
