Chapter 387 - 383: This Place... Is So Scary

Chapter 387: Chapter 383: This Place... Is So Scary

"Cao Cao, keep an eye out and tell me where to go. Since we’ve already used the Invisibility Talisman, let’s not waste it. We need to hurry and get to Nan’an Country before it wears off." Gu Nuan Nuan was still a bit bummed about being forced to use the Invisibility Talisman ahead of schedule. It pained her a little, too.

She still had a good number of Invisibility Talismans, but each one she used was gone forever. She couldn’t afford to waste them casually.

In truth, she could have shaken off her pursuers without the Invisibility Talisman. However, since she hadn’t bothered to conceal her identity before, it would have been easy for people to investigate her. Suddenly speeding up and vanishing in front of so many witnesses would have been reckless.

When she’d ducked into the women’s restroom, she’d had other options besides the Invisibility Talisman. If she hadn’t minded the trouble, she could have changed her outfit and hairstyle. But then again, she’d thought, ’Since I have a simpler, ready-made tool available, why bother with anything else?’ So in the end, she used the Invisibility Talisman.

After traveling a good distance, Gu Nuan Nuan received a mental map from Cao Cao, sent via its spiritual power, showing the shortest route to Nan’an Country. She knew that at her current speed, she had more than enough time to make it before the Invisibility Talisman wore off. Still, the more she thought about it while she traveled, the more frustrated she became. "It seems there’s some truth to the saying ’act boldly but live discreetly.’ How could I have completely forgotten the wisdom of our ancestors? And wouldn’t it be better to maintain a little mystery? I must have been out of my mind before. I think from now on, we should probably conceal our identities a bit when we appear in public."

"Haha, I told you so! Master, didn’t I try to tell you the same thing before? But you insisted on saying something like, ’I’m not doing anything shady, so there’s no need to hide from people...’" Cao Cao had no sympathy for Gu Nuan Nuan. It gloated, laughing hysterically without a shred of pity. Still not satisfied, it added, "This is what you get for not listening to your elders!"

Seeing it laughing so hard it was practically falling over, Gu Nuan Nuan got so angry she snatched it out of the air. She held it in one hand and pinched its cheek with the other, a wicked smile spreading across her face. "Ahem, and just how old are you? Don’t you know old people have wrinkles? I can help you look more like an old person. Free of charge."

"Master, I was wrong!" As they say, discretion is the better part of valor. The moment Cao Cao saw things were going south, it shamelessly begged for mercy, feeling no shame at all for being such a turncoat.

"Good, you know what’s good for you." With a flick of her wrist, Gu Nuan Nuan tossed it far into the distance like a ball, then dusted off her hands. When Cao Cao quickly flew back with a tragic, indignant look on its face, she raised an eyebrow. "Not happy about it?"

’How could I possibly be happy about that? I already apologized, and Master still threw me on purpose! Waaah, even a Plant Pet has its dignity, you know? Being tossed around like a ball...’

Cao Cao covered its face. ’So humiliating. Even if I wouldn’t get hurt from hitting the ground, Master can’t just bully me like this!!!’

’It’s so unfair.’

’Hmph. Mean Master~’

Cao Cao wanted to roll its eyes, but when it saw Gu Nuan Nuan’s wry smile, as if she were just waiting for it to agree, it instantly lost its nerve. Its shoulders slumped and it pouted, forcing out in a whiny, resentful tone that completely betrayed its words, "Not at all~"

After speaking, as if to ensure Gu Nuan Nuan understood its true feelings, it indignantly turned its head away.

"Oh, not at all, huh—"

Gu Nuan Nuan deliberately gave it a disappointed look. Her voice, however, told a different story, sounding cheerful and delighted. "Traveling is so boring. I just discovered that playing like we were just now is actually pretty fun, don’t you think? ...Aw, Cao Cao, why couldn’t you have stayed defiant for just a little longer?"

"..." Cao Cao subconsciously took a step back, eyeing Gu Nuan Nuan warily.

Gu Nuan Nuan just grinned mischievously at it.

With a yelp, Cao Cao stomped its foot and shot back into the Companion Space as if its tail were on fire, curling up and hiding its head like a turtle. Outside, no matter how far it ran, Gu Nuan Nuan could snatch it with a single reach whenever she wanted. The same was true inside the Companion Space, of course. ’But hiding in here at least feels a little safer than facing my master, who’s clearly turned to the dark side, right?’

’Master has turned evil! I’m so pitiful~’

Cao Cao began to snivel and wallow in self-pity.

Seeing its comical display, Gu Nuan Nuan felt no sympathy at all, and her shoulders shook with laughter.

"HAHAHA—"

Despite her laughter, Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t slow down one bit. She took the most direct route across the border and stepped onto the soil of Nan’an Country. A quick mental calculation told her the Invisibility Talisman would last for about another hour, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Still, she didn’t slow her pace. She needed to find a secluded spot to reappear and then put on a proper disguise.

After another fifteen or twenty minutes of nonstop travel, Cao Cao finally poked its head out of the Companion Space. It had been monitoring the outside world the entire time, so of course it knew Gu Nuan Nuan had already crossed the border. The pitiable, comical act from before was completely gone.

Its face was full of curiosity. Instead of flying on its own, it sat right on Gu Nuan Nuan’s left shoulder, looking all around. One glance was enough to leave it dumbfounded. "Master, this place, this place is—"

Before them was what was clearly a small village, yet it looked dilapidated and eerily silent. The houses were made of broken beams and shattered tiles; few were intact, and most were just shacks cobbled together haphazardly. Everywhere she looked, there were men and women in ragged clothes, some barely covered at all. As for the children, the older ones were slightly better off, most at least draped in scraps of cloth. Many of the younger ones, however, were running around completely naked.

But the horror didn’t stop there. Beyond the general disarray, the environment itself was filthy—garbage was piled everywhere, sewage flowed in open streams, and swarms of flies and mosquitoes filled the air with an irritating BUZZ. And the people here, adults and children alike, were just as dirty and unkempt.

Even more frightening was the apathy of the people. Every single one of them, their eyes dull and gray, wore an expression of having nothing left to live for.

Cao Cao gaped in horror. "This place... this place... it’s terrifying, isn’t it?"

Gu Nuan Nuan frowned. It was terrifying. Compared to her home in the Alliance, this place was the difference between heaven and hell.

She knew Nan’an Country was chaotic and that its people were generally not well-off—most, in fact, were poor. But the scene before her was far grimmer than she had ever anticipated.

She quickened her pace, speaking as much to reassure herself as she was to Cao Cao. "Nan’an Country has been in chaos for years, with all sorts of armed factions constantly popping up and fighting. It’s normal that they can’t take care of the people’s welfare. Especially here on the border—didn’t you see how all those houses were temporary structures? Maybe things will be much better once we get further in."