Chapter 4: A Girl in the Wardrobe and the True World

At this very moment, Bai Yu was curled up inside the wardrobe, cradling her head, not daring to make the slightest sound.

The footsteps had already reached just outside Bai Yu’s room, and someone was about to enter.

A distinct click signaled the bolt being drawn, followed by the soft push as the door swung open.

“Hmm, Xiao Yu isn’t here?”

Inside the room, Lu Xingyao glanced around, her expression laced with confusion.

Pressing a hand to her chin, she paused to ponder; if Bai Yu wasn’t here, then who had sent her that message just now?

“Don’t find me, don’t find me!”

Inside the cabinet, Bai Yu silently prayed, invoking every deity she had ever known.

“Wait?!”

Lu Xingyao’s nose twitched, as if catching a faint scent.

“This spiritual aura?”

Lu Xingyao moved towards the wardrobe in the room; initially, the entire house was permeated by the same spiritual aura, preventing her from immediately noticing the anomaly here.

However, the spiritual aura emanating from this specific wardrobe was considerably denser than its surroundings, strongly suggesting it was the source of the essence.

And the owner of this spiritual essence was none other than Bai Yu, whom she knew so intimately.

“Why would Bai Yu be hiding in the wardrobe?”

Lu Xingyao hesitated, wondering if Bai Yu had perhaps encountered some danger.

For safety’s sake, Lu Xingyao took a step back, clenching her small fist, a faint glow flickering across her knuckles.

This was her unique secret art, capable of enhancing a specific part of her body.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Xingyao abruptly pulled open the wardrobe door.

Before she could even discern what lay within, she swiftly retreated a step, bracing herself against any sudden attack.

Yet, the anticipated assault never came; instead, she found a petite girl huddled inside, facing the back of the wardrobe as if in silent repentance.

“This…”

Lu Xingyao was momentarily stunned; the white-haired girl before her was crouched in the wardrobe, hands clasped over her head, trembling uncontrollably.

“Don’t catch me, I’m a good person, don’t catch me for experiments!”

The girl cried out hoarsely, tears welling in her eyes.

Lu Xingyao’s temper instantly vanished.

Dispelling her spell, she rushed forward to embrace the girl, gently stroking her head.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, little sister, no one will hurt you.”

Lu Xingyao absolutely couldn’t bear to see such an adorable little girl cry.

Bai Yu sniffled a few times before slowly raising her head, her gaze falling upon Lu Xingyao’s face.

It was still that familiar, beautiful face, but now it wore a distinctly different expression.

“Xingyao…”

Tear streaks marred the girl’s lovely little face, yet they failed to diminish her ethereal beauty.

“You know me?”

Lu Xingyao froze for a moment; she had never seen this girl before, so how could the girl possibly know her?

Moreover, this was Bai Yu’s house, so why was such an adorable girl present here?

At that thought, Lu Xingyao suddenly realized: the spiritual aura emanating from this girl!

Instantly, a horrifying answer formed in her mind.

Coupled with the abundant spiritual energy filling the house, this clearly indicated a secret art awakening.

Could this white-haired girl actually be Bai Yu?!

But how could that be?

She saw Bai Yu’s spiritual essence every day, and it was clearly at the level of an ordinary person.

Furthermore, with no ceremony performed, how could he have awakened?

Nevertheless, just to be sure, she voiced the question.

“Are you Bai Yu?”

Her tone was filled with doubt; she would sooner believe Bai Yu had run away from home than accept that this girl was him.

Yet, the girl simply nodded, her reply laced with a sob.

“Mm-hm.”

At this moment, Bai Yu’s mind had completely crashed; she had no thought of lying, simply answering whatever Lu Xingyao asked.

The current situation was entirely beyond her ability to resolve.

“It really is you, Xiao Yu! What on earth happened? How did you end up like this?”

Lu Xingyao quickly pulled Bai Yu to her feet, wiping away her tears as she spoke.

“I… I…” Bai Yu choked out, dissolving into fresh sobs.

Hearing Lu Xingyao’s words, Bai Yu’s tears began to flow uncontrollably once more.

‘What’s going on?’ she thought. ‘Why am I, a grown man, crying so easily now?’

‘I didn’t even cry during the hardest times before, and now it’s just because I’ve turned into a girl.’

‘Just…’

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, we can talk about it later.”

Seeing Bai Yu in such a state, Lu Xingyao felt a pang of pity, utterly unable to reconcile this weeping girl with the boy she once knew.

Lu Xingyao sighed, then picked Bai Yu up, carried her back to the living room, and poured her a glass of water.

After shedding so many tears, she certainly needed to rehydrate.

Bai Yu, indeed parched, drank the entire large glass of water in one go, having been unconscious for a day without a single sip.

Only after Bai Yu had calmed down did Lu Xingyao slowly begin to speak.

“Xiao Yu, can you tell me what exactly happened now?

This matter is very important, involving many unknown aspects of this world!”

Lu Xingyao’s expression was grave, attempting to impress upon Bai Yu the seriousness of their current situation.

Having finished the large glass of water, Bai Yu’s mind cleared somewhat, and remembering her earlier tearful state, a faint blush crept onto her small face.

“It’s like this.”

Bai Yu was just about to recount everything she had experienced to Lu Xingyao, who, it seemed, was privy to these mysterious occurrences.

After all, she had just witnessed Lu Xingyao kick an iron door clean off its hinges—a feat certainly beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human.

[Don’t tell her about me. It will be to your benefit.]

The woman’s voice echoed in her mind once more, stirring a surge of irritation within Bai Yu.

‘She has the nerve to speak,’ Bai Yu thought, ‘when this whole mess is all her doing.’

Still, Bai Yu didn’t completely disregard the woman’s words.

After all, this unknown entity resided within her mind and seemed quite mysterious.

If the woman were to suddenly turn hostile, Bai Yu knew she wouldn’t be able to resist.

Therefore, for now, she decided to follow the woman’s instructions and observe.

She reasoned that even without mentioning the woman, she could simply attribute everything to the strange book.

At this very moment, with her tearful state behind her, Bai Yu’s intelligence once again took the forefront; she now felt incredibly shrewd.

She mentally struck a pose, hands on her hips, feeling incredibly shrewd.

Following this, Bai Yu recounted her experiences to Lu Xingyao, detailing the peculiar box and the book that contained a strange, tumor-like growth.

“A black tumor?”

Lu Xingyao lowered her head in thought, her intuition strongly suggesting that this tumor was the root cause of everything.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Xingyao looked at Bai Yu, her gaze firm and resolute.

“Xiao Yu, do you want to know about the true world?”

“The true world? Do you mean those magical powers?”

Bai Yu glanced at the iron door that had been kicked away, still finding the reality of it unbelievable.

How could a human possess such immense strength, especially such a young girl? It seemed utterly fantastical.

[Listen to what she has to say.]

The woman in her mind prompted Bai Yu once more.

‘Of course I know!’

Bai Yu grumbled internally, feeling as though this woman truly thought her a fool.

Lu Xingyao nodded.

“Exactly. The source of power like mine is called a Secret Art, and we are known as Secret Art Masters.

It is the origin of all mysterious powers in humanity.”