Chapter 177
Ye Bai nodded, this time without holding back. A burst of golden light flickered around her, and in one breath, she leveled up to 60.
This drew some curious glances from Ottofis and the paper figure. To them, it probably looked like Ye Bai's strength had suddenly surged, or perhaps she had been playing the fool all along and was finally ready to show her true power—“no more pretending.”
Unaware of their thoughts, Ye Bai felt a pang of regret as she looked at the Codex of Death. The equipment requirement for the Codex was now “level greater than 60,” and her current level of 60 just wouldn’t cut it. She needed to complete her third class transfer and reach level 61 to fully meet the requirements. This annoying little bug in the middle was a real hassle; otherwise, she would have loved to experience the thrill of wielding that artifact right away.
So, with a heavy heart, Ye Bai stored the Codex of Death in her backpack.
Before that, a thought suddenly struck her. She glanced at the life branch hanging from her waist: “Wuming, can you still enter this leaf?”
The paper figure paused for a moment. “Hmm? Yes, I can.”
Ye Bai nodded and said, “Then how about you just reside in there from now on?”
Hearing that it was possible, Ye Bai felt a wave of convenience wash over her. This way, she wouldn’t have to keep using magic scrolls to summon the paper figure.
“Oh, okay, sure.” The paper figure quickly responded, leaping and vanishing from the Codex of Death, reappearing on the leaf of the life branch at Ye Bai's waist, becoming part of her new “accessory.”
Since the leaf was small, the paper figure was also tiny, and Ye Bai didn’t notice that a few more horizontal lines had appeared on its cartoonish face.
…
Ye Bai scanned her surroundings but couldn’t discern her current location in the divine realm.
However, not spotting any potential dangers nearby, she decided to return here.
Even though the paper figure had assured her it was safe, to prevent getting “lost,” Ye Bai still rode Ottofis and used the Source Water Drop.
At the same time, she noticed that her personal information now displayed Ottofis’s image and name in the mount section, something that hadn’t been there before.
She wasn’t sure if she had just overlooked it or if it was a change that occurred because Ottofis had just agreed to return to the territory with her. Ye Bai leaned toward the latter.
As she used the Source Water Drop, this time, the ethereal droplets fell, enveloping both her and Ottofis, transforming them into fluid.
“Splash…”
The fluid fell, and the two of them, along with the paper figure now serving as Ye Bai’s accessory, vanished from the divine realm, leaving only a trace of water on the ground.
…
Compared to the legendary space rifts in the divine realm, each traversal through the Source Well felt particularly lengthy.
But Ye Bai had come to understand that the discomfort during the transition was linked to her level. This time, she still experienced a strong dizziness, but she managed to endure it longer. Finally, in a daze, she felt her feet touch solid ground.
It was as if the illusory Source Well had transported her back to the dimly lit basement, where a warm oil lamp flickered quietly.
This was a room she knew all too well; right above it was her mayor’s office.
“Ah!”
The excited voice of Ottofis brought Ye Bai back to her senses.
The paper figure, residing in the accessory, eagerly looked around, exclaiming, “So this is your territory! It’s completely different from the divine realm…”
Ye Bai rubbed her head. Good, everyone was here. This time, she didn’t faint again, though it was a bit annoying that these two seemed more energetic than she was.
As she stepped up the stairs, Ye Bai suddenly remembered something she had inadvertently overlooked earlier.
Speaking of which, it seemed like she was still missing one thing…
“Alisio Bal Croni…”
As she spoke, the next moment, space twisted in front of her, and a cloud of black mist floated out. As the mist dissipated, the familiar figure of the demon Alisio appeared, hovering in mid-air.
Ye Bai raised an eyebrow. The summoning power of the Demon’s True Word was indeed formidable; she hadn’t expected to summon it even after leaving the divine realm. This must have something to do with the demon’s unique nature.
“You finally remembered me—wait, where is this place? The surface? It doesn’t look like it…” Alisio, who had been stuck in another infernal lord’s prison for many days, immediately complained as soon as he emerged.
However, upon seeing his surroundings and recognizing Ye Bai, Alisio’s expression changed dramatically, and he suddenly screamed:
“You, you, you’re not a demon?!”
Ye Bai had previously taken off the [Perfect Mask] when luring the Kraken and hadn’t put it back on. Many times, when exchanging important information with the paper figure, she would “manually shield” her demonic identity. This was the first time Alisio saw her without the mask, and it was also the first time he clearly understood her true identity.
Ye Bai looked at him in surprise. “I thought you already knew.”
She was genuinely surprised; she had assumed that, given the demon’s cunning nature, he would have figured it out by now.
“…” Alisio’s face turned green. In their later interactions, the effect of the Perfect Mask had always covered Ye Bai, leading the demon to believe she was an ancient and powerful demon who had somehow (most likely through deception) gained the assistance of the paper figure and the donkey.
Moreover, Ye Bai’s “entrapment” of the Kraken had been witnessed by Alisio, which made him wary.
And… considering Ye Bai’s subsequent actions toward him, it was hard for Alisio to believe she wasn’t a demon.
Realizing Ye Bai’s true identity was a heavy blow for Alisio. The contract was fake, her identity was fake… a demon had been deceived twice by a human! But what happened next completely shattered the demon’s defenses.
As Ye Bai ascended the basement stairs, she smugly said to Ottofis beside her:
“Come on, Ottofis, let me show you my territory.”
Even the name was fake!
---
Ignoring the devastated demon, Ye Bai led Ottofis up the stairs, arriving at the office upstairs.
It was morning, and sunlight streamed through the windows of the mayor’s office.
Ottofis curiously examined the various furnishings in the building, occasionally sniffing around.
Ye Bai took a stroll through the foreign affairs office, the finance office, and the public security department’s small room. After finding no urgent issues to address, she finally made her way to the first floor and opened the door to the mayor’s office.
“Creak—”
With the sound of the door opening, the patrolling guards and passing residents nearby all stopped in their tracks.
“It’s the lord!”
“The lord has returned?!”
After a long absence, the townsfolk were surprised to see the mayor’s office open, their faces lighting up with joy.
However, the first thing to appear was a gray-and-white… donkey head.
This startled the residents who were about to come up and greet her, causing them to freeze in place.
“Ah?”
Seeing this scene, the donkey wore an expression of human-like confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
The next moment, the familiar voice of their beloved lord rang out as Ye Bai stepped back from the door of the office.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, then cheered, rushing forward to greet Ye Bai.
Ye Bai also took the opportunity to introduce her new mount, Ottofis, to everyone.
Instantly, the townsfolk regarded Ottofis with newfound respect. Although it looked like an ordinary donkey, the fact that it had been chosen by their wise and mighty lord meant it was certainly no ordinary beast.
Besides, could an ordinary donkey display such a range of expressions?
After exchanging greetings with the residents, Ye Bai noticed more and more people gathering, so she quickly urged everyone to disperse.
But along with the dispersal came the news of the lord’s return, bringing back a marvelous donkey as her mount.
In the distance, a few players active in Bai Ye Town, under the accustomed gazes of the residents, transformed from physical forms to ethereal ones, logging off to report the appearance of Bai Ye in the territory to their respective civilizations.
Table of Contents
