Chapter Twelve: Faith Restored
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Though Li Le's heart brimmed with laughter, none of it showed on her face; instead, she wore a look tinged with worry as she spoke, “Lie, are you… are you alright now?”
Lie bared his teeth in a lopsided grin, the bruises on his face twisting his smile into something a little grotesque as he forced himself to sound spirited, “I'm fine! I just took a tumble at the Big Stone yesterday, but it wasn’t a big deal. The shaman gathered some herbs for me, and now I’m all better!”
As if afraid Li Le wouldn’t believe him, he raised his voice, “Sister, you have to believe me! I can lift the Big Stone easily now!”
He was the undisputed champion of stubbornness—ask him, and he’d only say it was pride.
Li Le only smiled, saying nothing.
Heaven knows, listening to this little rascal’s words, she could barely keep from laughing aloud. If nothing else, the boy was certainly stubborn. He wouldn’t even sit on a stool, and the way he hobbled around, wincing with every step, not to mention the bruises on his face…
Ahem, she had to admit, Uncle Liu really didn’t hold back…
But seeing Lie gearing up, fists clenched, ready to go outside and lift that stone again, she grew anxious he might hurt himself anew and hurriedly interjected, “…Of course I believe you. But what’s so fun about lifting stones? Why don’t I teach you a game instead?”
The boy, all youthful curiosity, froze at her words, then asked, “A game? What’s that?”
Li Le smiled softly, arching an eyebrow, “A game is something that makes people happy. Or… is Lie too scared to play with me?”
She shamelessly used a little provocation on the child, without a hint of guilt, even the corners of her lips curled in amusement.
And she had to admit, the tactic worked wonders—at the very least, Lie’s competitive spirit was immediately kindled. “Scared? Not at all! How do you play it?” Forgetting all about the stone, he grabbed Li Le’s sleeve, eager for an answer.
Her smile deepened. “This game is called ‘Truth or Story.’ It’s great fun… First, we’ll play a little game called ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors.’ Whoever loses has to answer a little question from the other, or tell a story—”
Lie’s eyes lit up. “Rock, Paper, Scissors? How does that work?”
She laughed, “It’s simple. Rock crushes scissors, scissors cut cloth, and cloth wraps rock… We both go at the same time.”
...
“Haha, Sister, I won!”
“Oh dear, how did I lose? I’ll tell you a story about the Monkey King causing havoc in Heaven…”
“Legend has it…”
“Sister, what happened next? What did the Monkey King do after he caused chaos in Heaven?”
“That’s a story for another time…”
“Then, Sister, let’s keep playing…”
“Sister, I lost… What do you want to ask?”
“Tell me about the most interesting places you’ve been, Lie…”
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“Alright! Sister, next time I’ll definitely win…”
...
With a gentle smile, Li Le coaxed out most of what she wanted to know, then glanced at the light outside. Judging by it, it was already about four or five in the afternoon. She said warmly, “Lie, it’s getting late. I need to go back, or my brother will worry if he doesn’t see me…”
Lie looked at the sky in surprise, “Oh, it’s so late already… Sister, you have to go back…”
Li Le nodded, pointing to the dish of purple radish greens on the table. “My brother’s cooking is delicious. You should try some. I’ll come find you again tomorrow to play.”
Lie glanced at the oiled paper packet, then looked up longingly, “Sister, you have to remember to come! I want to know what happened to the Monkey King after that…”
A convincing smile played on Li Le's lips as she softened her voice, “Of course. Pinky swear—”
She stuck out her little finger.
Perhaps, throughout the universe, children were born knowing this ritual.
Lie hesitated only a moment before extending his own pinky and hooking hers.
“Pinky swear, a hundred years—never break it,” Li Le intoned.
“Now that we’ve done that, I’ll definitely come tomorrow!”
She watched as Lie’s eyes shone with anticipation, and nodded solemnly.
...
On the path back to the wooden hut, Li Le’s smile gradually faded, the pale golden light touching her pursed lips.
Just now, the system had chimed in her mind.
[Host: Li Le
Current Faith Value: 60
Lie: 10+50 (Note: Base Faith Value + Bonus Faith Value)
Ordinary Fogfolk: 0
Bound: Deathmist (Note: An eerie fog born of death)
Physical Attribute: Body of Mist (Note: Against all odds, you have created a miracle, gaining the power to control mist as a child of Deathmist, but your body is on the brink of death)
Location: Ghost Domain, Deathmist Territory (Note: One of the fearsome Demon Realms)
Remaining Life: 28 days (Note: Please collect Faith Value promptly to exchange for more time.)]
Li Le’s dark eyes flickered as she studied the faith value listed separately.
Lie’s faith value and bonus faith value were in a 1:5 ratio?
Only ten faith points had been added, yet she’d gained sixty in total…
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Was it because of his great potential? Would that ratio change in the future?
What about Bai’s ratio?
Could she use this to judge a person’s strength or potential one day?
...
Li Le’s mind raced, thoughts spinning as she tried to piece everything together.
A system prompt popped up:
[Detected that host’s remaining survival time is low. Exchange faith value for more time?]
“Exchange,” Li Le replied, her tone icy.
In an instant, sixty faith points dropped to zero, but her remaining days increased from twenty-eight to thirty-one.
[Remaining Life: 31 days 746:56:22]
With her speculation finally confirmed, Li Le let out a quiet sigh. The feeling of being hounded by Death itself was truly dreadful.
Thankfully, she had this clever workaround. Without it, she would’ve had no real solution.
As she neared the wooden hut, she paused in surprise—for a faint golden light flickered from within, much like candlelight.
Had Bai returned early? Or had someone slipped inside unnoticed?
She quickly dismissed the latter thought.
From her observations, the people here seemed to have excellent night vision. Only last night had she struggled to see clearly, making it difficult to focus while speaking with Bai…
So, the “candle” must have been brought back by Bai to help her see more easily.
The realization brought her up short.
She’d only just now noticed she could see the light inside the house from such a distance… Her body and vision must be adapting to this world, undergoing some sort of refinement or strengthening.
With this in mind, Li Le no longer hesitated. She quickened her pace toward the house, a genuine smile blossoming on her lips.
She had to admit, with her doubts resolved, her trust in Bai now far exceeded her trust in the so-called system.
“Bai!” she called out, eyes crinkling in a smile as she pushed open the door.
Sure enough, a wave of delicious aromas greeted her, and there at the wooden table sat that tall, familiar figure.
Bai Ye glanced up at her words, nodded, and said, “Come in and eat.”
“Alright!” Li Le paid no mind to his cool tone, cheerfully sat at the table, and picked up her spoon to eat.