Female Protagonist Assistance System

Chapter 32 : . World of Molten Lava

One above, one below, Gu Xun'er met Xiao Han's still calm eyes, unable to suppress a hint of interest.

Xiao Han released Gu Xun'er's wrist, supporting herself with one hand on the ground. Looking at Gu Xun'er kneeling on her legs, a trace of obscure light flashed in her eyes.

"When did you find out?"

Xiao Han's voice remained as light as before, as if her identity hadn't been exposed at all.

Gu Xun'er leaned slightly forward, seemingly wanting to see other emotions in Xiao Han's eyes, such as curiosity or surprise. But clearly, she failed.

Xiao Han's eyes were like an ancient well, calm and undisturbed.

This made Gu Xun'er feel slightly frustrated.

"Qing Lin told me."

Hearing this, a trace of astonishment flashed through Xiao Han's mind. How could Qing Lin know her true identity? It shouldn't be possible; she had never exposed herself in front of Qing Lin.

"Qing Lin can smell the scent of age and gender on people. She told me you're a very young woman," Gu Xun'er's lips curled slightly. "So I guessed."

Xiao Han: "........."

She never would have imagined she'd be exposed for such a reason. The original story never mentioned Qing Lin having such an ability.

The system... the system also hadn't anticipated this at all.

Xiao Han couldn't help but raise her hand to rub her brow, exhaling deeply.

"Won't Senior Sister explain?" Gu Xun'er sat up straight, smiling gracefully.

Xiao Han's fingers supporting her on the ground curled slightly, but her expression remained unchanged: "Explain what?"

Gu Xun'er casually raised her hand to lightly brush a strand of hair by Xiao Han's ear, her slender fingers nimbly playing with the lock: "For instance, why Senior Sister decided to take me as a disciple. Or how Senior Sister could maintain an adult form at five years old. Or... why Senior Sister is so mysterious?"

Xiao Han's brow furrowed, a rare occurrence. She caught Gu Xun'er's hand, gently admonishing: "Speak properly."

Gu Xun'er's expression appeared somewhat innocent: "What do you mean by speak properly?"

Xiao Han clicked her tongue lightly, not responding.

With her silence, Gu Xun'er became more persistent. The young woman leaned in slightly again, her eyes filled with emotion: "Senior Sister hasn't answered Xun'er's questions yet."

Xiao Han felt somewhat uncomfortable with someone so close to her. She could clearly feel the warmth transmitted from Gu Xun'er sitting on her legs. Looking at the young woman's exquisite features and playful expression, Xiao Han suddenly felt her heart swell slightly.

Turning her head slightly away, it must be said that Xiao Han's self-control was astonishingly extreme. No matter how turbulent her inner feelings, she could still maintain a calm expression, her voice as cool and composed as ever: "Why I took you as a disciple... Tch, didn't I explain clearly? Your aptitude is good."

Gu Xun'er was clearly unsatisfied with this answer, but she felt she probably couldn't get any other response. So she curled her lips slightly and asked: "Then why help me suppress the Golden Emperor Skyscorching Flame? And Senior Sister's adult form..."

Xiao Han gave her a strange look: "Does helping a future disciple need a reason?"

Gu Xun'er: "........."

"As for the adult form..." Xiao Han pondered for a moment, then said, "You can understand it as a kind of secret technique for now."

Gu Xun'er stared steadily at Xiao Han for a long time before finally sighing slightly: "I wonder what kind of extraordinary person could have taught someone like Senior Sister."

Hearing this, Xiao Han's pupils contracted slightly, her breath hitched, and the color drained from her face.

Master...

Xiao Han clenched her fist, a trace of pain flashing through her eyes.

If she hadn't trusted Shen Ye so easily, how could her master, with his strength, have lost his life to those people?

It was all her fault.

Gu Xun'er naturally caught Xiao Han's abnormal reaction. She was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting Xiao Han to respond this way.

"Senior Sister?"

For a moment, Gu Xun'er felt at a loss. She didn't know what had happened to her Senior Sister to cause her, who was usually so calm and composed, to lose her composure like this.

Had she said something she shouldn't have?

Xiao Han closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, she had regained her usual coolness.

"It's nothing. You just won't be able to meet my teacher," Xiao Han looked up, meeting Gu Xun'er's eyes. She immediately saw the deep concern and care hidden in them. For some reason, she felt her eyes sting: "She passed away."

Gu Xun'er felt a lump in her throat: "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Xiao Han shook her head: "It's alright."

For a moment, the two remained silent, neither attempting to break the strange, quiet atmosphere.

Just then, a faint murmur came from nearby.

They both looked towards the sound and saw Qing Lin rubbing her eyes, getting up from the ground.

Then, she immediately noticed the two in their "intimate" sitting position.

Qing Lin's small face turned bright red, and she hurriedly averted her gaze, her voice soft: "Um... I didn't see anything..."

Xiao Han: "......"

Gu Xun'er: "......"

Your words seem to have quite a bit of ambiguity...?

Xiao Han coughed lightly. Hearing this, Gu Xun'er understood and obediently got off Xiao Han. She still had her limits and knew that if she continued like this, her Senior Sister would rightfully be annoyed. So this time, she behaved and listened.

Xiao Han stood up, dusting off her clothes, her gaze towards Qing Lin somewhat hard to describe.

Who would have thought that she, Xiao Han, would be caught out by a little girl?

After the two stood up separately, Qing Lin finally turned back shyly, looking at Xiao Han in her black robe but without the hood. She called out softly: "Teacher."

After a long while, Xiao Han finally let out a deep sigh. Never mind, this wasn't Qing Lin's fault. She had been too presumptuous and narrow-minded herself.

"It's nothing," Xiao Han loosened the collar of her black robe. Since she didn't need to wear the hood anymore, she didn't need to keep her collar so tight. "Let's go find the Heterogeneous Flame."

Then she glanced at the two-headed fire spirit snake.

Meeting Xiao Han's gaze, the two-headed fire spirit snake shrank back, looking somewhat pitiful.

"Teacher, Little Ling knows where the Heterogeneous Flame is," Qing Lin raised her hand excitedly upon hearing this.

Gu Xun'er made an "oh" sound, looking at the two-headed fire spirit snake: "Little Ling?"

"I'm not quite sure..." Qing Lin stepped forward, her jade-green eyes fixed on the enormous creature before her, puzzled: "For some reason, I seem to have established a strange connection with it. I can sense its thoughts."

Xiao Han nodded slightly: "This is your innate ability. You'll understand later."

Qing Lin nodded obediently: "Little Ling says what we're looking for is beneath this lava."

Scanning the constantly churning lava, Xiao Han nodded. She had long known that the Green Lotus Core Flame they were seeking was beneath the lava.

But wouldn't it be too discouraging for little Qing Lin if she said it directly?

"Let it lead the way," Xiao Han said calmly.

Looking at the fiery red lava, Qing Lin's small body trembled for a moment, but she still issued the command to the fire spirit snake.

Even without Qing Lin's command, the fire spirit snake wouldn't dare disobey Xiao Han's words, fearing that this Yama would tear it apart if displeased.

Xiao Han turned her head slightly, saying to Gu Xun'er: "Come here."

With Gu Xun'er's current strength, without external protection, even a touch of lava would likely melt her.

The same was true for Qing Lin, but she had the fire spirit snake protecting her, so she wouldn't fear the molten lava.

Given the order, the fire spirit snake lowered its head, allowing Qing Lin to climb onto it. Then, a red energy emerged from its body surface, enveloping Qing Lin protectively.

The fire spirit snake then hissed and plunged into the molten lava with Qing Lin.

Xiao Han raised her hand, drawing Gu Xun'er into her embrace. Blood-red Tribulation Lightning appeared silently, and they followed the fire spirit snake into the lava.

"Splash—"

Floating in the scorching lava, Gu Xun'er gazed in amazement at the slowly flowing red-hot lava around her. The layer of blood-red lightning isolated them from the surrounding molten lava and high temperature. It was hard for her to imagine that she was currently immersed in molten lava.

Gu Xun'er raised her hand, wanting to touch the layer of blood-red lightning, but was stopped by Xiao Han's gentle rebuke: "Don't touch it."

The power of the Tribulation Lightning was hundreds or thousands of times stronger than this molten lava. If Gu Xun'er were to touch it even slightly, she would likely be reduced to ashes.

Obediently withdrawing her hand, Gu Xun'er leaned against Xiao Han's embrace, looking quite innocent and harmless: "Come to think of it, I forgot one question earlier."

Xiao Han turned her head slightly: "What?"

"From now on, what should I call you?"

Teacher, or Senior Sister?

Xiao Han was silent for a moment, then said: "Whatever you like."

Gu Xun'er then curved her eyebrows, smiling like a little fox: "Then... Senior Sister?"

Xiao Han's brow relaxed slightly. For some reason, she felt somewhat happy.

"Hold on tight," Xiao Han said in a deep voice, then increased her speed.

Gu Xun'er instinctively hugged Xiao Han's neck tighter, her body pressing even closer.

In this fiery red world, there seemed to be no other creatures besides the fire spirit snake. It was no wonder, given the extremely harsh living conditions here. Apart from anomalous beasts like the two-headed fire spirit snake that lived by consuming lava, even tyrannical magical beasts of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's caliber probably couldn't move freely here without being affected.

As they descended deeper, Gu Xun'er's sharp eyes noticed that the surrounding red-hot lava seemed to be taking on a slight green tinge.

The green color became more and more prevalent. Almost in the blink of an eye, they arrived in a world composed of green molten lava.

"Senior Sister, this is..."

Xiao Han glanced down slightly: "Look."

Hearing this, Gu Xun'er followed Xiao Han's gaze and immediately saw something radiating intense green light not far away. The green light enveloped this area of lava. As she focused her gaze, she faintly saw a green lotus flower standing gracefully within that green light.

Then, Xiao Han's voice sounded by her ear:

"Green Lotus Core Flame."