Chapter 33: The Protagonist’s Default Setting

The night breeze was cool, rustling the leaves.

By an abandoned dry well in the backyard, Bai Yue found Xiao Yueluo.

She was sitting on the cold stone steps, arms wrapped around her knees, face buried deep in them.

Her slender shoulders trembled faintly.

Hearing footsteps, Xiao Yueluo didn’t look up.

She simply spat out a single word: “Get lost.”

Bai Yue looked at Xiao Yueluo, who seemed on the verge of shattering, and for once, a sliver of something called “guilt” arose in her heart.

She walked over slowly and sat down two steps away from her.

“I said get lost—can’t you hear me?”

Xiao Yueluo kept her head buried, refusing to look at Bai Yue.

“Having fun watching me make a fool of myself?

You win!

You’ve completely won!

Happy now?!”

“Xiao Yueluo.”

Bai Yue spoke, her voice not loud but exceptionally clear in the quiet yard.

Xiao Yueluo froze, jerking her head up to meet Bai Yue’s gaze.

That gaze was direct, unflinching.

“Wh-Why are you staring at me like that?”

Her voice trembled as she instinctively shuffled back, her back pressing against the cold wall.

“Come here.”

Bai Yue beckoned, her tone brooking no argument.

Xiao Yueluo breathed heavily, staring at her, but didn’t move.

“I said come here.”

Bai Yue raised her eyelids, her gaze sharp.

Xiao Yueluo gritted her teeth, but eventually shuffled over to stand before Bai Yue.

“You think I’ve taken her away from you, don’t you?”

Bai Yue looked out at the night sky, her voice softening.

“I don’t…”

She denied it instinctively.

“You do.”

Bai Yue mercilessly tore through her facade.

“Do you know that you’re being selfish?

You’re suppressing her, keeping her away from anything dangerous—and you think that’s protecting her.”

Bai Yue turned her head, her burning gaze fixed on Xiao Yueluo.

“But really, it’s just that you’re afraid of her growing up, afraid of her becoming brilliant, afraid of her… no longer needing you.”

Those words struck Xiao Yueluo’s heart like a hammer blow.

She trembled all over, her hands clutching her skirt so tightly her nails tore through the fabric.

“What do you know…”

She kept her head down, her voice cracking with barely concealed tears.

“She’s all I have.

If she leaves too…”

Watching this girl, who was usually as prickly as a hedgehog, finally drop all her defenses to reveal the raw, bleeding vulnerability beneath, a flicker of complexity passed through Bai Yue’s eyes.

This was the fatal wound of the Xiao Yueluo who met such a tragic end in the game.

Not because she was weak, but because her pride and insecurity had backed her into a corner.

“Who said that if she flies away, you’d be left behind alone?”

Bai Yue sighed.

“Loving someone, or wanting to protect someone—it’s never about keeping them tied to your side, hidden from the light.”

Bai Yue stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.

“It’s about watching them fly.

If they fall, you catch them.

If they soar high, then you train like crazy to fly up to them and stand by their side.”

Xiao Yueluo lifted her tear-blurred face, staring blankly at Bai Yue.

“So, Xiao Yueluo—do you want to be the stumbling block behind her, or the one who stands at the peak with her, crushing everyone who tries to bully her?”

“I…”

Xiao Yueluo opened her mouth, but found she had no words.

Seeing Xiao Yueluo’s dazed expression, Bai Yue reached out and gently placed her warm palm on top of her head.

A current of warm energy flowed from Bai Yue’s fingertips into Xiao Yueluo’s meridians.

Xiao Yueluo gasped, instinctively trying to pull back.

“Don’t move.

Let me see if your body is ready to restore your spiritual roots.”

Bai Yue said quietly.

Xiao Yueluo froze immediately, not daring to breathe.

The spiritual energy coursed through her meridians.

Bai Yue closed her eyes, her divine sense attached to that energy as she carefully examined Xiao Yueluo’s condition.

Her meridians were wide and flexible—though still a bit blocked here and there, they had largely been nurtured back to health.

Xiao Yueluo, however, was staring at Bai Yue’s delicate face just inches away.

Her cheeks flushed a deep red.

Her eyes darted away, not daring to meet Bai Yue’s gaze.

Tiny beads of sweat began to form on Xiao Yueluo’s forehead, trickling down her pale cheeks and dampening the stray hairs at her temples.

Her thin clothes were soaked through with sweat, clinging to her body and outlining her curves in a way that was strangely alluring.

Bai Yue raised an eyebrow.

Her gaze unconsciously carried a hint of scrutiny and amusement.

It wasn’t hot out.

The night breeze was even a little cool.

Even if she was nervous or scared, the amount and frequency of sweating was far too abnormal.

Why was she so prone to… moisture?

A game setting flashed through Bai Yue’s mind.

Though the original game never explicitly stated Xiao Yueluo’s spiritual root attribute—only that she possessed an excellent cauldron constitution—combining her current physiological reactions with her past personality traits…

Water spiritual root?

It should be a pure Water-type Heavenly Spiritual Root, just ruined.

That’s why, when her emotions fluctuated violently, the Water-attribute spiritual energy inside her would lose control and seep out as sweat.

“What’s your spiritual root attribute?”

Bai Yue suddenly asked.

“Eh?”

Xiao Yueluo was so flustered she didn’t know where to put her hands, caught off guard by the abrupt question.

But before she could answer, Bai Yue had already pushed her spiritual energy toward Xiao Yueluo’s spiritual roots.

“Nn～!”

A short, stifled moan escaped Xiao Yueluo’s throat.

Spiritual roots—the core, the most vulnerable forbidden zone of a cultivator.

The forced intrusion of foreign spiritual energy brought an indescribable stimulation.

Xiao Yueluo’s body completely lost control in that instant.

Her muscles, which had been tense, instantly softened like water.

Her legs couldn’t support her weight.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed forward.

Bai Yue reacted quickly, reaching out to steady her by the waist, half-holding her in an embrace.

The person in her arms trembled like a leaf in the wind, gasping for breath.

Her eyes were dazed, physiological tears welling at the corners, even her toes curling involuntarily.

“Wh-What’s… happening…”

Xiao Yueluo’s voice was weak, laced with an unbearable whimper, utterly lacking strength.

Her hands pushed weakly against Bai Yue’s chest, but couldn’t budge her at all—it almost looked like reluctant acceptance.

Bai Yue didn’t stop.

Her divine sense had already confirmed the situation.

Indeed.

Soft, dense, and ever-flowing.

A Water-attribute spiritual root, just as she suspected.

Bai Yue clicked her tongue inwardly.

As expected of the game’s official female lead—this constitution was truly top-tier.

This world’s female leads sure did come with the classic cauldron physique.

Once her spiritual roots were restored, cultivating Water-attribute techniques would be twice as effective.

And if she were to practice dual cultivation…

Ahem.

She was getting ahead of herself.

Bai Yue pulled her thoughts back, her gaze falling on Xiao Yueluo’s flushed face.

She’s kind of cute!

Unable to resist, she pinched Xiao Yueluo’s cheek.

The texture was excellent.

Then her fingertips gently brushed across Xiao Yueluo’s cheek, parting the damp strands of hair, and lightly squeezed her reddened earlobe.

Cool to the touch, soft and delicate—the feel was exquisite.

So squishy.

Xiao Yueluo’s entire body stiffened at the sudden intimacy.

Her earlobes were her most sensitive spot.

Being squeezed like that, her face turned crimson all the way to the roots of her neck.

She wanted to struggle, but Bai Yue’s silent examination had her heart in her throat.

She didn’t dare pull away.

She could only let Bai Yue pinch and prod her face as she pleased.

“The attribute… is it… no good?”

Xiao Yueluo’s voice carried a distinct tremor.

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