Love from the Male Protagonist’s Harem - Chapter 34-1

Chapter 34 Studying Hard Part 1

Translated by Snowfall77

Throwing the golden twin dan she’d refined and her old danshu into her silver ring, Xia Ge now held a new blank danshu, given to her by Senior Sister, as happy as could be.

And since she was in a good mood, Xia Ge didn’t take a shortcut down the mountain, but walked on the bluestone steps instead.

The Danfeng path was made of 999 bluestone steps, with 9 curves and 18 bends, winding all the way to the top of Danfeng.  Although convenient, climbing the entire thing was a true test of endurance.

Walking down it, however, was an easy thing.  Suxi Pavilion was about halfway up the peak, and descending along the stone path, Xia Ge felt she was on ‘the righteous way.’

Other people were also coming and going on the path.  Many of the faces were unfamiliar, and many were very young, with no red Danfeng ribbon.

“These are all new Danfeng recruits, right?”

Watching the fresh faces go by, one by one, Xia Ge stroked her chin: “I guess the competition will be fierce this year.”

Time passed quickly when you acted the salted fish.

Then, just as an unconcerned Xia Ge had started walking again, an odd feeling flashed through her.

Footsteps abruptly halting, Xia Ge rubbed her chest.  This feeling……?

Wasn’t it like what she’d felt when she’d made her little Liuli puppet?

Her Liuli puppet was close!

Xia Ge quickly turned her head, staring after all the newly recruited children.  At a glance, she recognized none of them.  At least, she certainly didn’t see any ‘acquaintance’ that she knew.

And the strange feeling had been fleeting.

Xia Ge remained standing stock still.

“Little puppet, is my Liuli puppet nearby?”

The system’s tone was unsure: [A Minute Ago……Perhaps A Little Aware Of It?]

There was a split-second gleam of green light in Xia Ge’s eyes as her gaze swept over the crowd.

——{puppet reconnaissance}

[None.]

There were no puppets.

No puppet panel appearing, nothing.

Still…that split-second feeling, it couldn’t have been an illusion.

The system thought on it: [It’s Possible The Other Party Used A Baifu To Hide The Puppet From Its Master.  If A Baifu Was Employed, Even {puppet reconnaissance} Would Not Be Able To Detect It.]

Closing down {puppet reconnaissance}, Xia Ge rubbed her chin yet again: “Huh, isn’t this interesting……”

Taking advantage of Lingxi Sect’s recruitment of new disciples, the Thousand Souls Sect had sent a spy?

Moreover, both Bairen and Bai Luo were short and baby-faced.  Darken their deathly pale skin a little and either could easily assume a false identity.

Xia Ge had wanted to sneak her puppet into the Demon Sect.  Who’d known she’d suffer a major setback because of the distance?  But now that her puppet was back in range again, Xia Ge didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.

The system hesitated: [Host……What Are You Planning……?]

Xia Ge: “I’m not planning anything.”

“But it is a little baffling.”

Frowning, Xia Ge wasted a minute pondering before she continued: “All that aside, in the book, the Ye Ze-Lingxi Sect arc, was there anything about the Demon Sect?”

In the early parts of The Boundless Beauty of the Wind and the Moon the Thousand Souls Sect was in the background, only mentioned because it was a powerful demon sect that would help the male protagonist level up in later stages.  But before the protagonist became a ‘thigh,’ the Demon Sect was just a piece of the stage set.

[Host, There Are Parts Of The Plot I Don’t Remember.]  The system issued a gentle reminder.  [Some Of My Functions Suffered Damage And Can Only Be Restored By Continuous Upgrading.  However, You Must Behave According To The Plot……]

“”

Xia Ge’s eyes practically rolled out the back of her head.

A system that couldn’t recall big chunks of the plot, yet somehow expected Xia Ge to follow it unerringly?  What a load of bullshit.

If not for the fact that she was too lazy to care much, (for she had kept in the mind that following the story line saved her a great deal of trouble), and that furthermore, there was no way of knowing what the butterfly effects might be, Xia Ge would have turned this world upside down a long time ago.

Despite all that, due to her deeply humanitarian nature, she really would have to change some of the novel’s more bullshitty plot points in the future.

At the moment though, unable to detect a disguised Bairen or Bai Luo, Xia Ge let it go.  Demon Sect disciples would inevitably out themselves sooner or later, so it wasn’t like it was a pressing matter.

Setting her mind at ease with that thought, Xia Ge continued walking leisurely down the mountain.

“Hey, little puppet, why are you so set on me following the plot?

[I Don’t Know.  But–You Must Follow The Plot.]

“That’s very suspicious of you, little puppet.”

[……]

“Little puppet?  Hey, I was just teasing, don’t go silent on me.”

[……]

“I’ll get bored if you won’t talk to me.”

[……]

“Ai, never mind.”

With some small regrets, Xia Ge returned to her hut, promptly washing up and going to sleep.

System: [……]

Hold up!  Don’t you have a lot to do?!

What kind of ‘work’ was bathing and then sleeping?!

Outside it was only noon, the sunshine warm.  And even though the door was tightly closed, dazzling sunlight still streamed in through the damaged window.

But a resourceful person could find a way around the dictates of the heavens.

“Ah……so comfortable.”

Finding the strip of cloth she’d used as a blindfold last time, Xia Ge covered her eyes again.  She stretched and laid back down, giving a long complacent sigh: “If a person could just spend their life in bed, how good it would be.”

System: [……]

“Even if you don’t want to respond to me, little puppet, I still believe in you.”  Xia Ge curled up under her blanket, yawning: “So sleepy……”

The system paused, then answered: [You, Stop Talking Rubbish And Go To Sleep.]

正道   zhèngdào

the correct path / the right way (Buddhism)    The Righteous Way

butterfly effect

: a property of chaotic systems (such as the atmosphere) by which small changes in initial conditions can lead to large-scale and unpredictable variation in the future state of the system

上有政策，下有对策    shàngyǒuzhèngcè, xiàyǒuduìcè

the localities have their ways of getting around the policies made by the higher authorities