Chapter 98
"Uh, you really don’t have to be so polite..." Ye Bai recalled how the paper figure had always addressed her with utmost respect, using honorifics even when it didn’t know her name. Now that it did, it was calling her "my lady."
The paper figure immediately replied, "No problem, Bai Ye da ren."
Ye Bai: "..."
After a moment, she turned to the donkey. "Ottofis, Unnamed, do you want to leave the Divine Realm with me?"
She used the name the paper figure had given the donkey, as it seemed to have accepted it well.
At this point, Ye Bai was no longer focused on fully taming the donkey to bind it as a mount. It was clearly not an ordinary donkey, so she decided to treat it like a person and ask directly.
"Leave the Divine Realm and come to my territory." To avoid any misunderstanding, she added a clarification.
"Ah uh!" Not only did the donkey shake its head, but the paper figure also explained regretfully, "Right now, the Source Water Drop can only carry you. Until your divine blood fully awakens, neither I nor Ottofis can leave with you."
Ye Bai was taken aback at first, then realized that this was the Divine Realm, not the myriad realms.
She had thought about whether the donkey and the paper figure would want to come with her, but she hadn’t considered whether they could.
The paper figure could see 'information,' and before Ye Bai's divine blood awakened, she couldn’t take them out of the Divine Realm. The term 'divine blood awakening' corresponded to the third transition at level 60 for divine blood users. Before level 0, the bloodline was thin; after level 20, it began to revive; at level 40, it grew; and at level 60, it awakened.
The Source Well was originally a structure meant for players who had reached level 60 after the third transition, with a minimum corresponding level of 60.
In other words, Ye Bai was essentially 'sneaking' in, unable to receive normal treatment. She could only traverse between the two realms alone, and being able to bring out items was already quite good; clearly, she couldn’t bring out living beings.
Realizing this, Ye Bai felt a twinge of regret. "Not even in your cursed form?"
"Nope." The paper figure shook its head, glancing at the now somewhat glum donkey. "We'll wait for your return near the Source Water Drop mark."
It seemed there was no other option...
Ye Bai nodded slowly. The mark of the Source Water Drop was a coordinate she left behind in the Divine Realm. It served as a transit save point; after leaving from this position in the Divine Realm, the next time she used the Source Well in her territory to return, she would appear here again.
Before leaving, Ye Bai fed the donkey all the bread from her backpack and drew a 'cake' on the stone wall for the paper figure. It picked it up with a curious expression and ate it. Although its face showed a mix of emotions afterward, overall, they had a pleasant farewell meal.
As night fell, Ye Bai chose a safe spot, took out the Source Water Drop from her backpack, and selected to use it.
The small, ethereal droplet slowly expanded, soon enveloping Ye Bai. A ten-second loading bar appeared before her, and a downward force surged from beneath her feet.
"See you next time!" Ye Bai waved goodbye to her two new companions in the Divine Realm as she was encased in the droplet.
"Goodbye."
"Ah uh."
"Whoosh..."
As the paper figure and the donkey bid farewell, the droplet containing Ye Bai suddenly fell to the ground, transforming into a small droplet-shaped mark.
Ye Bai had completely left the Divine Realm.
Once she was gone, the remaining donkey and paper figure exchanged glances.
"I wonder when she’ll come back..." the paper figure sighed, a hint of melancholy in its tone.
"Ah uh."
The donkey instinctively made a sound, but quickly realized it was addressing the paper figure and immediately switched to a proud grin.
"Ah uh ah uh!"
"What are you so proud of? I’m clearly more useful than you!"
"Ah uh ah uh!"
"I can do it too!"
...
As Ye Bai returned through the portal, she once again experienced that sensation of her soul being squeezed and twisted. Even with her previous experience and mental preparation, she still felt a wave of intense dizziness.
The distortion of time seemed to directly affect her mental state; even with her eyes closed, she could still see it.
After what felt like an eternity, when Ye Bai regained consciousness, she caught a faint herbal scent and felt the soft touch of a bed beneath her.
Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on a bed in a room she recognized immediately as the herbalist's ward she had visited with Lucy.
Sunlight streamed through the window, and if she listened closely, she could hear the sounds of villagers chatting and trading in the nearby market.
A sense of inexplicable peace washed over Ye Bai. This must be what it feels like to be home...
Just then, the door curtain was lifted, and Lucy, with her golden hair wrapped in a white cloth, entered carrying a bowl of herbs.
Seeing Ye Bai sitting up in bed, Lucy's face lit up with surprise. "My lady, you’re awake!"
"Yes." Ye Bai rubbed her head and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Did you bring me here?"
Logically, she should have reappeared at the Source Well after returning from the Divine Realm.
Lucy quickly set the bowl of herbal soup on the nearby table. "Yes, some villagers found you unconscious in the village square and rushed you here."
Ye Bai was momentarily speechless. "You all acted fast."
According to her previous experience, this discomfort seemed to be a side effect of low-level travel to the Divine Realm, but it wouldn’t last long. If the villagers had been a bit slower, she would have woken up on her own.
"It was the workers from the storage area; they just happened to have a cart on hand," Lucy nodded with a smile.
She had to thank her decision to build the sawmill early... Ye Bai thought to herself. The sawmill could process logs into planks in bulk and produce rough wooden transport tools. Right now, goods in her territory were transported using handcarts, but in the next phase, once she acquired calves through trade, she could switch to animal-powered transport.
Thinking of this, Ye Bai felt a familiar fire ignite within her to develop the infrastructure of her territory.
"My lady, you should drink the medicine first." Lucy brought over a bowl of green herbal soup, and the bitter smell immediately doused Ye Bai's rising spirits.
"I’m fine; can I skip it?" Ye Bai negotiated with Lucy.
Lucy smiled. "No way."
Now a professional herbalist, Lucy exuded an air of authority. Ye Bai met her gaze for a moment before finally conceding, pinching her nose and downing the herbal concoction in one go.
"Well done, my lady!" Lucy immediately clapped in praise.
【Herbalist 'Lucy' loyalty +2】
With her tongue still bitter, Ye Bai thought: ...Alright, it was worth it.
After Ye Bai finished the medicine, Lucy suddenly remembered something and slapped her forehead.
"Oh! I almost forgot, Lady Dilina is waiting outside! She’s been worried since she heard you were unconscious. I need to tell her the good news." With that, Lucy turned and hurried out the door.
Hearing Dilina's name, Ye Bai immediately thought of the quest and quickly opened her backpack—
Exquisite fabric cushion, perfect mask, dragon language spirit whistle, Codex of Death... She counted each item, and all four items obtained from the Divine Realm were safe and sound in her backpack and equipment slots. Seeing this, Ye Bai felt a wave of relief. It seemed that under these circumstances, she could only not bring living beings out of the Divine Realm, but items in her spatial backpack were still allowed.
Moreover, since the Perfect Mask and Codex of Death bore the dragon's mark, they had a 'binding' effect. Even if Ye Bai were killed, as long as her opponent was not an ancient dragon, they wouldn’t drop anything from her.
Now that there were no ancient dragons hunting her down, in a way, the negative effect had turned into a positive one.
As for the issue of the Codex of Death not being equippable and taking up space in her backpack... well, having an artifact take up a slot was an honor for the backpack.
Lost in thought, she heard hurried footsteps approaching. It was Lucy leading Dilina into the room.
Dilina's hair was slightly disheveled. Upon entering and seeing Ye Bai standing and smiling, she surveyed her from head to toe before raising her chin slightly, regaining her usual proud demeanor, and exhaling with a smile.
"It seems my wristband has worked wonders."
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