The moment Moon Shade heard the little purple-haired girl's voice, she confirmed her identity.
It's you, Unidentified Flying Object!
Ahem... Bailu, the current High Elder of the Luofu, is an extremely famous doctor on the Luofu known for her surefire cures, earning her the title of the Dragoness Medica.
From fan-made videos, Moon Shade remembered that the little one was often being chased.
Not pursued to be killed, but rather for sneaking out of the Alchemy Commission, after which she'd be chased by the guards and handmaidens assigned by the Vidyadhara clan.
She had originally wanted to stop Li Sushang from helping, since 'Sushang' was a Cloud Knight. If things escalated, who knew if any of the responding Cloud Knights would recognize her.
She wasn't very familiar with the local Xianzhou Sushang and couldn't play the part perfectly.
So, she could only wish little Bailu the best of luck.
However...
[Commission Quest: I Dream of Wandering the World with a Sword to See its Splendor]
[Details: The little dragon girl is fed up with sitting idly in her medical study and routinely skips her duties. Please help her escape her pursuers and play with her (Optional)]
[Reward: 30 Crystals]
Treasure chests couldn't spawn in the environments around the female bodies, but quests could be triggered.
These were limited to daily quests or small commissions, with crystal rewards typically in the teens or tens, never exceeding 50.
Regardless of the amount, completing quests was always faster than searching all over the Luofu for treasure chests to get crystals.
Moon Shade immediately changed her mind and told Li Sushang to go help.
These Vidyadhara guards and Cloud Knights had clearly not received the blessing of the Reignbow Arbiter before heading out today.
"Yee-ah~!"
Sprinting with all her might, Bailu's two little short legs were moving so fast they were practically turning into Naruto fish cakes.
"Darn it, stop chasing me! If you keep it up, don't blame me for getting rough!"
The little purple-haired dragon girl put on a fierce expression, but combined with her childlike appearance, it was more adorably fierce than anything, having no intimidating effect whatsoever.
The large group continued their relentless pursuit.
"Aaaah, if I don't show my power, you'll take me for a quack doctor!"
Bailu leaped into mid-air, turned, and grabbed the gourd hanging at her waist, pulling out the wooden stopper:
"Let me show you the secret weapon I've prepared, ehe~!"
She tilted the gourd and sprinkled its contents. A gel-like liquid floated out from its mouth, and in just a short time, the volume of the liquid exceeded that of the gourd itself.
The liquid spread across the ground in a thin layer, but when the Vidyadhara guards chasing her stepped on it, it was as if they'd achieved enlightenment at Longchang. They instantly transformed into top-tier breakdancers, spinning like tops on the spot using both their hands and feet.
"Bleh bleh bleh~ Now you know how amazing I am!"
Pulling down her lower eyelid with her index finger, Bailu playfully stuck her tongue out at them.
Her cheerful, giggling expression immediately deflated the moment she turned her head back around. Bailu's eyes widened as she frantically looked left and right.
"Huh? Why did they split up to surround me?"
"You're cheating! That's against the rules! I demand a rematch!"
There were people in front and to the left, a dead end to the right, and the pursuers she'd left behind were getting back up.
Darn it! For this escape, she had specially concocted a 'Skating Powder' from medicinal dregs to deal with her pursuers, but she never expected them to be so despicable.
"Noooo!!!"
Seeing the pursuers closing in from three sides and thinking of the boredom of being dragged back to sit around, Bailu immediately started crying and throwing a fit, nearly starting to roll on the ground.
"Lady Dragoness, you've lost. Please come back with us."
The Vidyadhara guards spread out, surrounding Bailu. Just as they were about to close the final gap, an aluminum can fell from the sky, stopping the guard responsible for that position from taking the final step.
"Who's there?"
"What person?"
The Vidyadhara guards looked around, searching for the source of the can.
"Stop looking. I'm over here!"
The guards all paused and followed the voice, looking up to see a graceful figure sitting leisurely high above.
She wore a moon-white dress complemented by Valkyrie armor that faded from azure to ice-blue. The hem of the skirt was adorned with an indigo pattern that bloomed like blue ink dropped into a cold pond.
"So ethereal! So cool!" Bailu's eyes widened, little stars appearing in them.
The graceful, ethereal aura emanating from Li Sushang was extremely attractive to the people of the Xianzhou.
"Ganging up on a little girl, what kind of skill is that?"
The chivalrous and heroic voice rang out, making the guards look at each other with strange expressions.
Bullying a little girl?
Do you have any idea what you're saying?
It's a good day when this little ancestor isn't bullying us!
If they let this little ancestor get away, they'd be the ones getting punished and replaced.
What's with her?
Li Sushang's demeanor clearly marked her as a Xianzhou native, or at the very least, an outworlder who grew up on the Xianzhou. Doesn't she know who the Dragoness Medica is?
"Who are you? How dare you interfere in the internal affairs of the Vidyadhara!"
There were moles planted by the Vidyadhara elders around Bailu to keep an eye on her. These individuals held no respect for the Dragoness and harbored the former pride of their clan.
They believed that the Vidyadhara clan would one day be great again, freeing themselves from their subservient position.
When someone tried to approach the Dragoness and help her escape, the face of the Vidyadhara captain in charge of the capture mission instantly turned cold.
"I am the eldest disciple of the Supreme Freedom School!"
Heeding Moon Shade's warning not to reveal her name, Li Sushang leaped down from the rooftop.
"Gentlemen, let's have a friendly match!"
With a clear cry, the figure, still airborne, spun around. Her right hand formed a sword finger and swept through a semicircle, instantly materializing twelve dark blue energy sword shadows that floated in a ring around Li Sushang.
The Ruoshui Sword had been transferred to Caelus's hands by Moon Shade via the system's equipment space and was currently being synthesized by Herta with the Water God Orb.
"This is!?"
This technique of materializing swords from qi made the Cloud Knights assisting the Vidyadhara guards on the perimeter widen their eyes. The Vidyadhara captain's expression was one of shock for a moment.
"It's an enemy! Watch the Dragoness... uh."
After his shock subsided, the Vidyadhara captain finally drew his weapon. The moon-white figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, the twelve azure sword shadows behind her like a flock of falcons taking to the sky.
The third sword shadow suddenly pierced the blue bricks of the pavement, frost spreading through the cracks and freezing the boots of two guards in ice.
A guard on the left swung his halberd, but it was blocked by the fourth and fifth sword shadows crossing each other. The remaining sword shadows abruptly scattered with blinding speed.
One aimed for a throat, another disarmed a guard, and two pinned themselves into a corridor pillar right next to a guard's ear without so much as scratching the skin.
"Borrowing your shoulder for a moment."
Li Sushang let out a light laugh, tapped her boot on the Vidyadhara captain's shoulder pauldron, and somersaulted through the air, landing out of the encirclement in front of Bailu.
Amidst the chaos on the ground, only her snow-white skirt remained spotless as the sword shadows dissipated back into qi.
"Little sister, are you all right?"
Li Sushang asked softly, looking at Bailu, who was clutching her medicinal gourd and shrinking back as if frightened.
"Hehe, I-I'm fine..."
Bailu gave an embarrassed laugh. Er, the commotion from this escape seemed a little bigger than usual...
But it's okay!
No one got hurt anyway. Right now, she was more interested in this... um, big sister.
What incredible sword skills!
What puzzled Bailu even more was that she felt this big sister looked familiar, as if she'd seen her somewhere before. But where?
Bailu scratched her head with her little hand.
Aiya, why can't I remember? Oh well, I'll think about it later.
"Big sister, let's get out of here, quickly!"
Bailu grabbed Li Sushang's hand.
Run, hurry up and run! Once they were completely out of sight, even without help, she was confident she wouldn't be caught.
On the other hand, if those old geezers found out about this, she would definitely be grounded!
"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, they absolutely cannot harm you."
Based on Li Sushang's years of experience listening to storytellers and watching plays, she figured Bailu was likely a 'caged saintess of the Dragon Clan'.
"I shall lead you to fight your way out of this cage!"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't kill them, don't kill them!"
Bailu jumped up and hugged Li Sushang's arm, genuinely afraid that she would cut someone down with her sword. Then Bailu would be the one who'd have to heal them.
"Just kidding... Hold on tight!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Bailu felt her vision sway. She instinctively held on tight to the brown-haired girl.
When she came to her senses, Bailu found that she was being carried and was now standing on the eaves of a building, rapidly moving away from the encirclement.
Bleh bleh bleh~
Bailu silently stuck her tongue out at the stunned Vidyadhara captain.
That guy was sent by the old geezers of the clan. She disliked him the most!
Li Sushang carried Bailu, leaping across rooftops and walls, only landing after they were far away from Cloudford.
"Yay, we escaped!"
Bailu cheered, "Thank you so much, big sister!"
"It was nothing, don't mention it."
Li Sushang smiled and waved her hand, then crouched down in front of Bailu and said:
"By the way, little sister, how did you get targeted by those people? Where is your father?"
"I don't have a father." Bailu automatically ignored the first question.
"Then what about your mother?"
"I don't have a mother either."
"..."
This answer made Li Sushang pause for a moment, then fall silent.
[Don't get sentimental just yet. The Vidyadhara don't have parents.]
Moon Shade's words left Li Sushang completely bewildered.
How can a person not have parents?
[Also, don't judge a book by its cover. This little one might be several decades older than you.]
That is, not counting the 500 years she was asleep.
"My name is Li Sushang."
Moon Shade took back control of the body. While mentally explaining the Vidyadhara's self-sufficient reincarnation mechanism to Li Sushang, she started chatting with Bailu.
Playing with Bailu was an optional objective. Although it might not affect the reward, she decided to do it anyway.
Ten minutes later, Bailu was skipping ahead, very happy.
As the 'figurehead High Elder', she had always been watched over by the guards and handmaidens sent by the Vidyadhara elders... No, 'watched over' isn't the right word; 'confined' would be more appropriate.
In the Alchemy Commission, naturally, no one was willing or qualified to play with her. Now that she had met a big sister who would, the child was beyond happy.
"Hey, it looks pretty lively over there. Let's go take a look."
"Okay."
Before long, they heard a girl's clear and lively voice.
"Step right up, step right up, don't miss out! Come see little Guizi's spectacular acrobatics show! Ladies and gentlemen, if you have money, please spare some change. If you don't, your applause will do!"
In the middle of the area, a beautiful young girl with bright orange hair stood amidst a pile of acrobatic equipment. A phone was set up in front of her, and she was shouting loudly with a gong in one hand and a mallet in the other, looking full of energy.
"Today, for all you fine ladies and gents in the audience, we'll be performing 'Eating Noodles While Doing a Handstand'!"
The moment they saw this figure, both Moon Shade and Bailu froze.
Bailu blinked, looking at the girl with the long, reddish-orange ponytail. "Acrobatics... acrobatics... I remember now!"
She whipped her head up to look at the brown-haired girl beside her.
She finally realized why Li Sushang had felt so familiar!
She had been passing by once and happened to see this 'Little Guizi' and another friend performing the 'smashing a boulder on the chest' trick. Then, Little Guizi's hammer nearly knocked the soul out of the other performer!
And she was the one who treated the patient.
She remembered, wasn't her name Sushang!
Bailu's eyes widened, finding it utterly incredible.
The idiot who performed the boulder-smashing trick and the sword-wielding immortal big sister who saved her were the same person?
That's impossible!?
Noticing Bailu's gaze, Moon Shade paid it no mind. Her impression of Guinaifen wasn't very deep and could be summed up in two phrases.
Acrobatic-stunt-pulling girl, and Sushang's best friend.
She wanted to back away, but it was too late.
Guinaifen's eyes lit up. Her gaze swept past the wall of people and saw the girl who had just walked in. She stood on her tiptoes, waved, and exclaimed in pleasant surprise:
"Shangshang!"
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin