Chapter Twenty-Nine: The heroine still has space

The cellar, same as the last one. However, the entrance this time had been shifted from the Buddhist prayer room to the outhouse. And this outhouse was exceptionally foul! It made the air inside the cellar even more unbearable.

"And they talk about being so formidable—haven't seen them make more than a couple of trips all this time!"

"Do you think they're pulling radishes from a garden, just reaching down and plucking them as they please?"

"Hmph, I'm just afraid that even if they were radishes, they wouldn't pull them properly. Let's see what they're capable of today. If this is all the progress they’ve made, I’m going to—ugh, get me out of here! I have to get out; it’s absolutely putrid in here!"

That person really was a chatterbox, continuing to rattle on even after dumping them off. If not for the heavy, stifling stench of the cellar forcing her to gasp for air, she might have listened a while longer.

"Are they all unconscious?"

As the last sliver of light vanished, the chubby girl beside her leaned in and whispered. Bai Mianmian ignored her. She couldn't be bothered to speak... mostly because she suspected the Heavenly Dao was forcing the plot along.

In the novel, the heroine meets the hero while escaping, and that is supposed to happen today. If the hero is required to complete the "hero saves the beauty" sequence, then they wouldn't be able to escape today no matter what. The original host had fallen in love at first sight! Rather than opening her mouth to inhale more of the stench and struggling only to be forced to reset the scene, she would rather stay silent and conserve her strength.

"Er'ya!" The chubby girl refused to let it go, nudging and groping through the dark. Her chubby hand even smeared across Bai Mianmian's face.

"Er'ya."

Bai Mianmian remained unmoved. She had assumed the chubby girl, like other naive heroines, acted solely on courage. She hadn't expected the girl to be quite clever. Thinking Bai Mianmian had fainted, she had actually produced a small gourd and dripped a few drops of liquid rich in spiritual energy into her mouth. Within a few breaths, the lethargy caused by the anesthetic had vanished completely, and the restless heat from overeating tiger meat had faded away.

Bai Mianmian tugged at the girl's sleeve. The little girl was pleasantly surprised.

"Er'ya, how do you feel?"

"How do you think? I'm being suffocated to death."

"Oh."

"Why are you leaning on me? Are you in a hurry for me to die?"

"...It seems there are quite a few people in this cellar." As she backed away, she felt around the surroundings. This courtyard was small, yet there were over a dozen guards on duty. Neither of them dared to be careless; they hadn't even dared to open their eyes before being tossed in.

"Didn't you hear them say they were in a rush?"

"They said they were in a rush last time, too," the little girl mused. "Do you think people have become more cautious lately? Are children harder to kidnap now?"

"Why are you asking me that?" she retorted. "Here’s a piece of advice: save your breath. Don't run out of energy when the time comes to run; nobody’s going to feed us here."

"...Are you really incapable of martial arts?"

The little girl remained silent for a while before asking again. Bai Mianmian simply acted as if she hadn't heard.

"Er'ya, I know you aren't a bad person. If you were truly evil, you wouldn't just be talking. That day, I thought you looked like a fairy, and I wished that someone would come to save us. Then you appeared. I didn't expect those people to be so wicked, shifting all the blame onto you, and I certainly didn't expect you to hold such a grudge that even in such danger, you’d still want to teach me a lesson..."

The little girl chattered on incessantly, pouring her heart out about her perspectives and opinions. Bai Mianmian felt like she was being hypnotized.

"Can you give it a rest? If you don't think it stinks, I find it nauseating!"

"...Do you want a handkerchief? I brought two." She placed a fine cotton handkerchief, smelling of a faint, delicate fragrance, over Bai Mianmian's nose and mouth. Along with the scent came an indescribable sense of relief. This handkerchief had also been soaked in spiritual water!

"Trying to show off?" Bai Mianmian gritted her teeth. She was being serious—she was talking about the girl’s spiritual treasures. Someone with spiritual treasures could even soak their handkerchiefs in spiritual water. Meanwhile, a villainous supporting character like her had to sneak sips of the girl's water just to heal the wound on her forehead. "Move over, don't disturb my sleep."

"...Er'ya, I can't sleep." The chubby girl leaned in again. To show her sincerity, she produced a handful of melon seeds. Fresh ones, as if they had just been plucked from the stalk.

"Where did you get these?" Bai Mianmian sat up in shock.

The little girl mumbled, "Brought them from home."

Bai Mianmian: "..." That was a lie that wouldn't even fool a three-year-old. People in Hexi Village usually planted seeds during Qingming and harvested before the snow. If anyone had them left to snack on now, they would definitely be dried out.

Without hesitation, she started cracking them. The faint spiritual energy in the kernels left her feeling unsettled.

'System.' The system panel appeared. It was strange; despite being translucent, it cast no light in the darkness. 'Did the heroine's golden finger get an upgrade?'

'The system cannot access plot changes. If you have questions, please explore them yourself, Host.'

'...' She didn't even feel angry. It was as if she had sensed it all along.

'Host, it’s not that the system doesn't want to help, but its permissions are insufficient. If you are willing to complete the missions properly, the system might be able to upgrade its permissions. Then, I can update you on whatever you wish to know.'

'Get lost.'

System: '...'

The system was painting a pretty picture, but the host didn't want to eat. Bai Mianmian would rather not have the kind of permissions gained by harming others.

*Crack, crack, crack, crack.*

Her pace quickened. Finally, she reached out her hand: "Give me another handful."

The little girl, feeling guilty and trying to make amends, hesitated for a moment.

"Don't tell me you only grabbed this much. If you're planning something big, I don't believe you only brought this little bit of food. Or... are you hiding it from me? Did you bring cakes or something else?"

"No, I only took some seeds. I was afraid Grandma would find out, so I only dared to take seeds. Let me tell you, my grandma's pickled seeds are the best. Even though these have been stored for half a year, my grandma has a special trick for pickling them..."

The guilty little girl babbled on about how her grandmother could make dried goods taste freshly picked. Bai Mianmian focused on eating. Only a fool would pass up an opportunity to ingest more spiritual energy.

"Give me more."
"More."
"More."
"Give me a drink of water."

"Oh! I brought it on purpose. When I was locked in the cellar that day, I was so thirsty. I thought if I got caught again, I’d probably be thrown in a cellar once more. It’s better to be prepared than to be caught off guard, right?! Look, we need it now, don't we?"

Truth be told, Bai Mianmian had only asked for water to be difficult; eating too many melon seeds always makes one thirsty, even fresh ones. But when that small, crooked gourd landed in her palm, she lost even the desire to complain about the unfairness of the Heavenly Dao. The girl was the heroine, after all. Even a villainous supporting character like her had managed to secure access to the system warehouse. The Heavenly Dao was the grand architect of this world—how could it let its own "daughter" go without?

"Be careful, don't let anyone notice." After downing half the gourd, she reluctantly handed it back. The little girl was too guilty to notice the weight of the gourd.

"I'm full and hydrated. I'm going to sleep for a while; don't bother me." She found a comfortable position, using the pile of seed shells as a pillow. Perhaps because of the influx of spiritual energy, she felt a bit warm. It was a different kind of heat than the restlessness caused by the tiger meat—this heat was gentle, yet impossible to ignore.