Chapter 247: Slight Problem [PART 2]
After some time, Li Yao finally let go of Xiang Yu and stepped back.
"Senior brother, look! I brought you something," she announced cheerfully as she rushed toward Li Mei, who lay motionless on the ground where she had been discarded earlier.
Li Yao crouched down and began tapping Li Mei’s back with her finger, trying to wake her up. When there was no response, she tilted her head in confusion. "Hmm, that’s strange. I could’ve sworn it was still working a second ago," she muttered, continuing to poke at the unconscious girl curiously.
"It? Working?" Xiang Yu’s lips twitched at her choice of words.
[Do you see what we’re dealing with here?] The Empress’s voice suddenly appeared in Xiang Yu’s mind.
He was surprised at first but instantly recognized the voice. "What happened?" he asked telepathically, his eyes never leaving Li Yao who continued trying to get her cousin up, even lifting her to her feet and making her walk, only for her to fall once again.
The Empress let out a deep sigh. She then began recounting the entire ordeal to Xiang Yu...
Xiang Yu fell into deep thought as he studied Li Yao, who was still poking at Li Mei. He wondered if this was some kind of mental fragmentation from the intense breakthrough process, but that didn’t make complete sense. She had been normal immediately after the breakthrough, and even if this behavior was caused by the new form, she seemed too coherent and relatively "normal" for someone experiencing a genuine psychological break.
What if this childlike persona was some sort of defense mechanism? But then again, would it be caused by the form itself, or would it just be her mental state independent from the transformation? If it was the latter, then it meant that even if she managed to turn back to her normal form, she would still be stuck in this state. If that was the case, Xiang Yu thought to himself that he preferred she remain in this stronger form rather than being trapped in a weaker body during such dangerous times.
He shook his head, dismissing the spiraling thoughts. The situation seemed incredibly complicated, he would need to investigate it much further before drawing any conclusions.
He walked over to where Li Yao continued her relentless poking. "Stop pretending! I know you are awake," she said, pressing her finger against Li Mei’s pale cheek.
Xiang Yu grabbed Li Yao by her clothes like a cat and gently placed her to the side.
He then carefully lifted Li Mei’s limp body and retrieved a healing pill from his spatial ring. Supporting her head with one hand, he gave her a pill. She seemed to instinctively respond to the pill’s presence, swallowing it reflexively.
Moments later, her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she gasped desperately for air like someone who had been drowning. Her chest heaved as she struggled to orient herself.
"How are you feeling?" Xiang Yu asked gently as he carefully inspected her condition for any serious injuries.
When Li Mei’s gaze focused on Xiang Yu’s face, her expression immediately shifted to one of pure horror. She clutched desperately at his shoulders with trembling hands. "You have to help me! I... I... I..." she began frantically, her words tumbling over each other in panic.
"It’s okay, just calm down," Xiang Yu spoke.
"No! You don’t understand! A monster is—" she started to explain.
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Yao suddenly teleported, appearing perched on Xiang Yu’s shoulders. "Ah, she’s fixed now!" Li Yao announced, her expression brightening.
The moment Li Mei’s eyes landed on Li Yao, her expression twisted with even more horror. "You—you..." she stammered, unable to form coherent words before she promptly fainted again, falling backward onto the ground.
"Ah, she broke again," Li Yao observed with mild disappointment, instantly teleporting to appear beside the unconscious girl once more. She looked ready to resume her poking routine.
Xiang Yu quickly pushed her aside before she could start her "repair" attempts again. "She’s just a little shocked. She’ll be fine after some rest," he explained, though he wasn’t entirely certain of his own words, she seemed completely traumatized. What kind of things had she endured?
Carefully lifting her into his arms, he began walking into the sect. Li Yao followed behind him, occasionally skipping or teleporting short distances...
...
"...a common misconception about blacksmithing is that it’s all about hitting hot metal with a hammer until it looks right," Xiang Yu explained as he paced around the room. The blacksmithing students sat attentively at their workbenches, some scribbling notes while others leaned forward to catch every word.
He gestured toward the forge at the front of the room. "In reality, successful blacksmithing requires understanding the metal’s properties, precise temperature control, and knowing exactly when and where to apply force. The hammer is just one tool among many."
Turning around to write on the white board behind him, Xiang Yu continued his explanation about metal grain structure and stress distribution. But as his brush moved across the board, he noticed that the usual sounds of rustling papers and quiet murmurs had completely ceased. The room had fallen into an unnatural silence.
Pausing mid-stroke, he slowly turned around to see what was happening. His eyes immediately found the source of the distraction.
Li Yao pressed her face against the room’s glass window, trying to see what was happening inside.
"You guys study by yourselves. I’ll be back," Xiang Yu spoke. Without waiting for a response, he disappeared from the classroom.
The moment he materialized behind Li Yao, she spun around to look at him. "Senior brother! You came out! Can we play now?" she asked, immediately beginning to bounce around him in excited circles.
Xiang Yu held his head in his hands, feeling a headache building. Of course I came out—what were you doing? he thought in exasperation, but he kept these thoughts to himself. Instead, he forced his expression into a sweet smile.
"Why didn’t you wait for me where I told you to?" he asked.
"It’s so boring! I don’t want to wait," she replied with a pout, crossing her arms over her chest. Then, as quickly as the sullen expression had appeared, it vanished, replaced by eager anticipation. "Play with me now!" she demanded, tugging insistently at his robes with both hands.
Xiang Yu let out a sigh and retrieved a communication talisman from his sleeve. He quickly sent a message to Liu Qing, instructing her to inform all students that they should study independently, as all classes would be canceled for the remainder of the day.
"Okay, what games do you want to play?" he finally conceded.
He thought to himself that he should probably use this opportunity to study her condition more closely and see if he could find any kind of solution to her problem. It would be quite problematic if something dangerous happened while she was still trapped in this unstable mental state.
"Yippee!" Li Yao jumped up in joy when he agreed. "Hmm, let’s see, what should we play..." She began counting on her fingers with intense concentration. "There’s ’Guess the Exploding Meridian,’ ’Pin the Soul on the Cultivator,’ ’Musical Dismemberment,’ ’Hide and Don’t Breathe,’ ’Torture Tag Extreme Edition...’"
Xiang Yu’s eye twitched involuntarily as he wondered why all her games had such strange names.
"How about this," he interrupted quickly before she could suggest any more, "let’s play doctor. I’ll be the doctor, and you’ll be the patient."
"Oki!"
"Take a seat," Xiang Yu instructed, gesturing toward a smooth boulder nearby. She skipped over and sat down as instructed.
Retrieving a small notebook and pen from his spatial ring, Xiang Yu also sat on a rock opposite her.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Mom says that Yao Yao’s name is Li Yao, Yao(瑤) as in the character for beautiful jade," she recited in a sing-song voice, placing her hand over her chest. "Dad and Grandpa call Yao Yao ’Xiao Yao.’ Yao Yao loves Mom and Dad the mostest, and Mom and Dad also love Yao Yao the most!"
"What about Grandpa?" Xiang Yu asked, noting the way her expression had shifted slightly when she mentioned him.
Her smile faltered for a moment. Seeing that she clearly didn’t want to discuss that topic, he quickly moved on. "How are you feeling today?" he asked.
"Hmm," she placed her finger thoughtfully on her chin in contemplation. "I feel great!" she said excitedly.
"Was it the same yesterday?" he asked.
Her expression changed dramatically, becoming somber and distant. She shook her head slowly.
Xiang Yu raised an eyebrow and quickly noted down this reaction. "Why wasn’t it the same?" he asked.
"Yao Yao is afraid of the darkness," she whispered.
"What did you say?" Xiang Yu asked, not entirely certain he had heard correctly.
But as he spoke, her entire demeanor shifted again, this time becoming desperate and frightened. "Senior brother... help me... Yao Yao doesn’t want to go back there," she began, her voice suddenly breaking with terror.
Then, her body began glitching, flickering between her normal form and this one. A brilliant blue light suddenly burst outward from her form, forcing Xiang Yu to cover his eyes against the overwhelming light.
When the light finally dimmed and he could see again, the transformation had been reversed and she was back to her usual form.
Base Li Yao sat on the rock, looking around in confusion.
"Senior brother?" she spoke in surprise as she took in their surroundings with bewildered eyes. "Wasn’t I on the mountain peak just now? What happened?" She immediately clutched her head with both hands, wincing in pain. "My head hurts..."