Chapter 187: Yu Xiaotang’s Cleverness

Yu Xiaotang landed lightly on her toes, flipped nimbly in the air, and squatted steadily at the entrance of the western passage. She let out a breath and stuffed the last piece of candied hawthorn into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks.

“East side is done, south side is almost there,” Shen Yan’s voice came through the earpiece. “No rush on your end, observe the terrain first.”

“Got it, programmer uncle,” she mumbled in response, squinting as she surveyed the area ahead.

The ground was carved with circles of runes, spreading out like spiderwebs, while several palm-sized talisman papers floated motionlessly in the air. Not daring to move forward, she crouched down and brushed the dust in the stone crevices, her fingertips picking up traces of lingering Spiritual Breath.

“An anti-tracking formation… sensitive to real spiritual pressure but unaffected by fake signals,” she suddenly chuckled. “Isn’t this just like when you guys forge user requests while writing code?”

She pulled three yellow talismans from her Cosmic Bag, their edges adorned with crooked little human figures. On the back, they were labeled: “Ye Zhao-Style Sword Qi Simulator,” “Sister Luo Li Limited Edition Demonic Fire Generator,” and “Senior Sister Pei Yue Gentle Healing Wave Generator.”

“Hehe, the beta version just launched—perfect for a test run.”

She stuck the first one on the left stone pillar, stuffed the second into a crevice overhead, and hid the third behind a broken wall at her back. Then she leaped back two steps and flicked out a weak fire talisman, accurately striking the talisman on the stone pillar.

Boom!

A silver-white Sword Qi shot into the air, slashing straight at the cave ceiling, sending rocks clattering down.

“Holy shit!” a startled cry came from the shadows.

Three guards instantly darted out from the darkness, lunging toward the stone pillar. Immediately after, the talisman in the crevice activated as well, a ball of Purple-Red Demonic Flame soaring into the air, causing two more guards to turn and rush over.

Only one black-clad figure remained standing beside the crystal, hand on his sword hilt, eyes fixed intently on the spot where Yu Xiaotang had just landed.

“Just you left now~” she muttered softly, quietly slipping on a pair of light green cloth shoes—the “Silent Step Gauze Shoes” Pei Yue had given her, so quiet even ants wouldn’t hear her footsteps.

She edged along the cave wall, humming a children’s rhyme under her breath: “Little talisman flies and flies, blowing the bad guys all over the ground~ Little talisman hops and hops, going home tonight for hotpot~”

The guard’s ears twitched, and he couldn’t help glancing back.

In that instant, Yu Xiaotang suddenly swung her arm, sending the second simulated spirit talisman straight toward the guard’s feet—this time, it was a “Pei Yue-level healing wave.”

A flash of green light, gentle Spiritual Power spreading out.

The guard instinctively took half a step back, stepping onto a tripwire formation he had laid himself. Golden threads snapped out, wrapping around his arms and hoisting him into the air.

“Ouch, damn it!” the man cursed, struggling. “Whose little girl is this sneaky!”

“You set the trap yourself,” Yu Xiaotang chirped, popping out with a talisman-breaking rune already drawn in her hand, the tip of her Talisman Brush gleaming with golden light. “Besides, I’m a proper Talisman Dao genius, not some amateur.”

She rushed to the crystal, tapping its surface with her Talisman Brush.

Crack.

Seal patterns lit up, three black chains materializing out of thin air, swirling around the crystal.

【Warning: Illegal tampering Detected. Initiate Level Three Defense Protocol.】

“Level three? Quite the prestige,” she scoffed, biting the Tip of her Tongue and spitting a mouthful of vital blood onto her Talisman Brush.

The brush tip blazed with red light.

She swiftly drew three Nesting circles, each ring swirling with intricate runes.

“Stacked Explosion Talisman Array, first ring, Initiate!”

Boom!

The first chain shattered into fragments.

“Second ring, loading… Go!”

As soon as she shouted, the second chain shattered in response.

The final surge of black light thickened rapidly, its surface densely covered with counteracting runes.

“Boost defense by thirty percent? Wishful thinking.” She sneered, suddenly pulling out a half-eaten candied hawthorn from her mouth and smearing a circle of syrup onto the talisman brush.

“Adding a sweet-flavored bug—let’s see how you compile this!”

The final ring of the talisman array crashed down.

The crystal shook violently, the black light contorted for a few seconds, and finally cracked with a sharp snap.

【West Node: Severed Complete】

The moment the system notification tone sounded, Yu Xiaotang stuffed the candied hawthorn back into her mouth, clapped her hands, and stood up.

“Done! Way easier than homework~”

Shen Yan’s resigned voice came through the headset: “Next time, don’t touch the talisman brush with food. That could trigger a ‘sweetness overflow error.'”

“Got it, got it, old programmer.” She stuck out her tongue and looked up toward the center of the cave. “Next, is it your turn?”

“Wait until I confirm the status of the other two sides,” Shen Yan said. “Don’t move around recklessly—there might still be hidden surveillance over there.”

“Don’t worry, I’m clever.” She shook the coin-adorned hair tie on her head, then suddenly lowered her voice. “But… do you think what’s behind that door could be Ye Shi’er?”

The communication channel fell silent for a second.

“Uncertain,” Shen Yan’s voice deepened. “But after all the nodes were severed just now, the energy frequency of the puppet pool changed, as if someone was restarting the main program.”

“Be careful then,” she said, unusually serious. “If he dares to attack you, I’ll use my newly developed ‘super invincible explosion talisman’ to blow up his base.”

“Thanks,” Shen Yan chuckled. “When this is over, I’ll treat you to ten sticks of candied hawthorn.”

“You said it!” Her eyes lit up, but just as she was about to speak, her ears twitched.

A faint sound of footsteps echoed from the distance.

She immediately shrank back into the shadows, holding her breath.

Two guards emerged from a side passage, supporting an injured companion, speaking in low voices.

“The main control is down. What do we do?”

“Wait for orders. The higher-ups said we just need to stall them.”

“But that woman on the east side is ruthless—one slash per person. We don’t dare get close.”

“The one on the west is even weirder. She used talisman paper to trick us into splitting up, then ambushed us herself.”

“I heard she comes from a talisman dao family and has been drawing restriction talismans since she was a child.”

“No matter how skilled she is, she’s just a little girl. Does she really think she can change anything?”

Listening, Yu Xiaotang slowly curled her lips into a smile.

She gently pulled out a blank talisman paper, quickly drew a smiling face on it, and added a line of small text: “You’ve been hit by a cuteness strike.”

Then, channeling her spiritual power, she folded the paper into a paper airplane and gave it a gentle push.

The paper airplane glided silently through the air toward the three men overhead.

Pop!

The talisman paper exploded, releasing a cloud of pink smoke.

“Ah! My face!”

“What’s happening? Why do I have a pig’s nose now?”

“Hahaha, you guys are so ugly!” Yu Xiaotang jumped out, laughing. “This is called a ‘cuteness attack’—specialized for curing all kinds of defiance!”

The three men frantically wiped their faces, roaring as they charged toward her.

She turned and ran, shouting as she went: “Shen Yan! The west side is secure. The enemies are all amateurs—I can handle them no problem!”

“Don’t get reckless,” Shen Yan reminded her. “Ye Zhao is withdrawing from the north side, and Pei Yue will be back soon. Stay where you are and don’t cause any more trouble.”

“Got it!” She stopped in her tracks, leaning against the crystal platform to catch her breath as she gazed toward the central area.

There, Shen Yan stood at the edge of the Puppet Pool, the faint glow of his phone screen casting his figure in shifting light and shadow.

A sudden warmth bloomed in her chest.

He was the one who should have been hiding the most, yet he always charged ahead, directing the entire operation with a stream of terms she couldn’t understand.

“Hey,” she whispered, “if anything happens to you, I’ll never help you modify your Code again.”

Before her words fully faded, the red door at the bottom of the pool trembled slightly.

A low, mechanical voice slowly echoed:

“Welcome… back… Experimental Subject Number Seven.”

Yu Xiaotang’s head snapped up, her pupils contracting.

From the crack in the door, a pale hand slowly extended, the Tip of the Finger dripping with dark red liquid that sizzled as it hit the ground.

(End of Chapter)