Female Protagonist Assistance System

Chapter 29 : . Ancient Map Shop

Upon reaching their destination, as soon as Gu Xun'er stepped off, she felt a wave of heat rush towards her. Under this heat, she sensed the Dou Qi within her body begin to boil.

Gu Xun'er relaxed her mind and body to feel it, then said with some surprise: "The air here... almost 80% of it is composed of earth and fire attribute energy."

Xiao Han gave a faint "Mm" and said: "This place is most suitable for earth and fire attribute practitioners to cultivate. And because lightning attributes share commonalities with fire attributes, those with lightning attributes can also cultivate here with relative ease."

Hearing this, Gu Xun'er tilted her head: "Will Senior Sister come here to cultivate then?"

Xiao Han glanced at her, not quite understanding why Gu Xun'er kept mentioning her.

"I don't know."

Xiao Han withdrew her gaze and stepped forward: "Keep up."

The nearest town was a small city called Desert City. At the city gates, over a dozen armored soldiers holding spears were calling for entering travelers to pay the entry tax.

In the Gamma Empire, alchemists enjoyed treatment almost on par with nobility. The city entry fees at these gates were likewise waived by the empire for them. Although an alchemist wouldn't care about this small amount of money, this face-saving gesture was indeed quite appreciated by all alchemists.

Thus, Gu Xun'er and Xiao Han entered the city without any hindrance.

"First, we'll replenish our water supply, then we'll go meet someone," Xiao Han said, looking straight ahead as they walked down the street.

Gu Xun'er nodded.

After replenishing their water, Xiao Han brought Gu Xun'er to a map shop called "Ancient Maps."

Sweeping her gaze over the exterior of the shop, Gu Xun'er found that unlike other shops, this one wasn't lavishly decorated. It had a subtly ancient atmosphere.

The interior wasn't particularly spacious. The soft glow from two moonstones illuminated the shop quite brightly. There weren't many people buying maps, and the quiet atmosphere made Gu Xun'er wonder if they had come to the wrong place.

"Welcome, what would you like to buy?"

At this moment, a crisp voice sounded from inside the shop. Gu Xun'er looked towards the source and saw a girl about her age. The girl wore a light green, elegant outfit and looked cute and lively.

What caught Gu Xun'er's attention, however, were the pale cyan scales on the girl's exposed, snow-white arms. The scales looked just like snake scales.

"Qing Lin."

Then, Gu Xun'er heard her teacher's hoarse voice.

Qing Lin... was that the girl's name? Gu Xun'er glanced again at the cyan scales on the girl's arms, thinking the name quite suited her.

But... how did her teacher know so many people? It seemed like there were people her teacher knew everywhere.

Hearing Xiao Han's voice, Qing Lin was slightly stunned, then showed a delighted expression: "Ah, it's Teacher! What brings you here?"

"Just some business in the area," Xiao Han said. "Is Hai Bo Dong not here?"

Qing Lin replied: "Grandpa Hai Bo Dong went out to buy something. I'm not sure when he'll be back. I'll go find him."

Xiao Han was about to say it wasn't necessary when she saw the girl eagerly run out.

Watching the girl's lively demeanor, Xiao Han shook her head with a hint of amusement. Who would have thought that two years ago when she found her, she had been timid and extremely self-deprecating.

"Did you notice earlier?" Xiao Han suddenly asked.

Gu Xun'er hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Were those snake scales?"

Xiao Han nodded, then asked: "What did you think?"

She pondered for a moment, recalling the translucent, delicate cyan scales she had seen earlier. Although she hadn't touched them, Gu Xun'er felt that those scales must feel quite pleasant to touch.

So she said: "I thought they looked quite beautiful, and... they probably feel nice to touch."

Xiao Han: "......"

Xiao Han gave Gu Xun'er a look that was hard to describe.

Shouldn't girls like Gu Xun'er prefer to touch soft, fluffy things? Why would she want to touch snake scales?

Was there something not quite right with her disciple?

The system, however, thought nothing of it: [She's the female lead, after all. It's normal for her to have one or two interests different from other ordinary girls.]

Fortunately, Gu Xun'er hadn't shown any signs of looking down on Qing Lin.

Indeed, upon seeing those scales, Gu Xun'er had immediately understood Qing Lin's identity.

A child of a Snake Person and a human.

Gu Xun'er had heard before that near the Tageer Desert, there were occasional incidents of human women being assaulted by Snake People. According to common knowledge, when Snake People and humans had relations, human women generally wouldn't become pregnant. However, there were no absolutes, and there was an extremely rare chance that women who had relations with Snake People would become pregnant and give birth.

Yet even if they gave birth, infants with both human and Snake Person bloodlines generally couldn't survive past two years old. But this Qing Lin... seemed to be already thirteen or fourteen? How was this possible?

Gu Xun'er looked at Xiao Han with confusion. In her impression, the women in their teens or twenties that her teacher knew usually had some unique characteristics, like Xiao Yi Xian with her Calamity Poison Body.

So did this Qing Lin... also have something special that allowed her to live this long against the norm?

Xiao Han didn't notice Gu Xun'er's confusion. She swept her gaze over the shop's interior and nodded, saying: "It seems Hai Bo Dong is living quite comfortably here."

"Hai Bo Dong... is he the Ice Emperor of the Gamma Empire?" Gu Xun'er asked out of boredom.

"Mm." Xiao Han nodded.

"Then how does Teacher know him?" Gu Xun'er became curious. Logically, the friends a person makes often share a common trait, either all being experts of the same level or having similar experiences. But the people her teacher knew... were too diverse. From thirteen or fourteen to sixty or seventy years old, from Dou Zhe to Dou Huang...

"I saved his life, that's all," Xiao Han said casually.

Years ago, Hai Bo Dong had somehow offended the Snake People's queen, Medusa, and was being pursued and hunted by her. Although Hai Bo Dong was the renowned Ice Emperor of the Gamma Empire, he was no match for Medusa, a near Dou Zong. If Xiao Han hadn't coincidentally encountered them while looking for Qing Lin, Hai Bo Dong might have ended up sealed away as in the original story.

Because of this life-saving grace, Hai Bo Dong readily agreed to Xiao Han's three conditions.

The first was to take Qing Lin under his wing and raise her well.

The second was to temporarily settle in Desert City.

The third hadn't been stated yet, but Xiao Han already had it in mind.

Before long, Qing Lin returned with an elderly man with white hair. What caught the eye was the frightening scar from the old man's left cheek to the corner of his eye. Although his gaze was quite peaceful, this scar still added a hint of fierceness to his appearance.

Seeing the black-robed figure, the old man quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said: "Your Excellency."

Only then did Gu Xun'er realize that this ordinary-looking old man was actually the Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong.

Xiao Han nodded slightly, glanced at Gu Xun'er and Qing Lin, and said: "Shall we talk?"

Hai Bo Dong understood, knowing Xiao Han wanted to speak with him privately. He made a gesture of invitation and said: "Of course, this way please, Your Excellency."

Gu Xun'er watched the two walk towards the inner room. Although she was curious, she wisely didn't try to follow. Instead, she turned her gaze to Qing Lin, who was also watching the two leave.

Noticing Gu Xun'er's gaze, Qing Lin looked back at her. Upon meeting Gu Xun'er's eyes, she instinctively flinched slightly, showing a somewhat pitiful smile.

Gu Xun'er tried her best to appear friendly. Seeing Qing Lin's reaction, which differed from her earlier demeanor, Gu Xun'er had her own thoughts. It seemed this cute girl likely had some unpleasant past experiences.

She took the initiative to introduce herself: "Hello, I'm Gu Xun'er, Teacher Han Xiao's disciple."

Qing Lin regained her initial liveliness and said: "Oh, so you're Teacher's disciple! I'm Qing Lin... Ah, please, have a seat."

As she spoke, Qing Lin quickly brought out two chairs from the shop, showing great enthusiasm.

Gu Xun'er sat down following her goodwill. After Qing Lin sat down, Gu Xun'er heard her envious voice: "I'm so envious of Miss Gu. Qing Lin also wants to become Teacher's disciple."

Gu Xun'er raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile warm yet with a hint of playfulness: "Just call me Xun'er."

"Then... Sister Xun'er," Qing Lin happily changed her form of address.

Gu Xun'er adjusted to a more comfortable sitting position. Perhaps because Qing Lin's aura was so gentle and harmless, Gu Xun'er, who had been constantly on guard since beginning her training, unconsciously relaxed her body and mind.

"How did Qing Lin meet Teacher?"

Honestly, she was quite curious about this.

Qing Lin sat on the chair, swinging her snow-white legs back and forth, looking incredibly cute: "Teacher saved me."

"Oh?"

Qing Lin hesitated for a moment before saying: "Sister Xun'er noticed too, right? The snake scales on my arms."

Gu Xun'er nodded, then smiled under Qing Lin's somewhat anxious gaze and said: "They're beautiful scales, looking like some precious jewelry."

Qing Lin was slightly stunned, then broke into a big smile. This Sister Xun'er was the first person since her birth, apart from Teacher and Grandpa Hai Bo Dong, who didn't despise or look down on her.

Seeing the sunny smile on Qing Lin's face, Gu Xun'er unconsciously showed a genuine smile as well.

Her teacher was indeed right; approaching others with kindness often brings unexpected kindness in return.

"I'm a mixed-blood descendant of humans and Snake People. I've always been looked down upon. My mother abandoned me after giving birth to me. It was a former mercenary uncle who took pity on me and adopted me," Qing Lin said. "Later, when that uncle passed away, I was driven out by some people who hated Snake People."

"At that time, I was starving and had no choice but to steal food from others. I knew stealing was wrong, but I really had no other option." As she spoke of this, Qing Lin still seemed a bit embarrassed. Her small face reddened as she said: "Then... then the first time I stole food, I was caught. That family beat me."

"I thought I would either be beaten to death or starve to death that day, but then Teacher appeared. Teacher seemed to be passing by, saw me beaten half to death, and rescued me from those people."

"Teacher is so kind. She took me to an inn, let me bathe, gave me good food, healed my wounds, and even arranged for me to live with Grandpa Hai Bo Dong. Grandpa Hai Bo Dong is also very good to me, always gentle and kind, never scolding or hitting me, and very caring."

Qing Lin's eyes curved in happiness, and Gu Xun'er could see she was truly content: "Thanks to Teacher, I wouldn't have such a comfortable life now. I used to endure so many scornful looks because of the snake scales on my arms, but Teacher told me not to mind others' gazes and to hold my head high. Teacher is so young, yet stronger, wiser, and more tolerant than anyone else."

Gu Xun'er blinked, feeling something was off.

Young...?

Recalling her teacher's hoarse, aged voice, Gu Xun'er began to doubt whether the teacher she knew and the teacher Qing Lin spoke of were the same person.

"You say Teacher is very young? But my teacher is clearly an elderly person."

Faced with Gu Xun'er's confusion, Qing Lin tilted her head: "Teacher is very young. Although I don't know why her voice is like that, Teacher's scent is clearly that of a young person."

"Scent?" Gu Xun'er hesitated. She didn't know her teacher had any particular scent.

Qing Lin nodded vigorously, as if afraid Gu Xun'er wouldn't believe her: "I'm a descendant of humans and Snake People, so I'm naturally very sensitive to scents. I can distinguish between the scents of young people and old people, and between women and men."

"Teacher is clearly a very young woman."