I always believed the prerequisite for launching the Modifier Tool was was Ye Tan kissing me. But now that I carefully thought about it, I suddenly realised that I might have been a little mistaken..... The place were Ye Tan kissed me had never been my lips, but the centre of my forehead.
Looking at it from another angle, the cinnabar spot between my eyebrows could really be like a switch. But this place is too easy to touch normally, I constantly touch it when I have a headache or when I’m thinking about something, it’s especially hard to avoid when I’m washing up every day, so it shouldn’t be so simple.
As for what makes the difference.....
An extremely uncomfortable but reasonable guess emerged in my mind.
“.....A-Tan.” I tugged on his sleeve, “Kiss me on the forehead.”
Ye Tan was startled and lowered his head to look at me, and I fixedly returned the gaze. He seemed to be considering the command, but still didn’t make a move, hesitating for a long time until shyly saying: “You..... can you close your eyes.”
Hearing this, I closed my eyes, feeling Ye Tan’s breath slowly coming closer, until his warm and moist lips came to rest on the centre of my forehead.
Immediately after, I jumped into the Modifier Tool Interface.
I hadn’t guessed wrong.
As for what makes the difference between a kiss on the forehead and me touching my forehead.
.....could it be, saliva?
.....sigh, for a while, I didn’t know how to face it. This was indeed something I could easily accomplish by myself, and in normal times I absolutely wouldn’t accidentally trigger the command.
But why did I feel so awkward about it!!
I was about to alter the data, but on the other side my body slipped down from his shoulders, my breath and pulse completely stopping, and Ye Tan lost his head out of fear thinking something bad had happened to me, so he pinched my philtrum1 to give me first aid and I had no choice but to temporarily return. He was painfully pinching both my philtrum and my wrist, and I couldn’t help but groan in a low voice.
“Master?! You, you suddenly fainted just now!! Is something wrong?!”
I was stuck close to Ye Tan’s chest, and as I returned I could feel his heart pounding like a drum, his forehead already covered in cold sweat, so I hurriedly calmed him down: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing, I did that on purpose just now.”
Ye Tan was still in shock, so I spoke again: “I have an unusual constitution, if the space between my eyebrows is..... is kissed, I will sink into a deep sleep that looks the same as death..... because of this, my internal skill is sometimes high and sometimes low.” I was actually unable to say that wiping saliva on was also effective, so I had to vaguely cover it up, and I said, “It had actually happened a few times before, but I never knew what was causing it. I was able to confirm it just now.”
Ye Tan gradually understood, and spoke in alarm: “You, you knew.....”
I nodded and honestly said: “I always knew you were kissing me, I had just guessed the place wrong before.”
Hearing this, Ye Tan almost stood up to apologise and admit his guilt, but I didn’t budge from his embrace, so he could only lower his head and say: “This subordinate has offended Master, please punish me.”
I sincerely soothed him: “What are you talking about, I only dislike that you have done it so few times.” If he had kissed me a few times every night, we wouldn’t have been as passive to the degree that we have been today.
It might have been due to my astonishing words, but Ye Tan was speechless for a while, unable to answer. I knew the time was urgent, and I didn’t have time to slowly chat with him, so I ordered him to kiss me again.
This time, I entered the Modifier Tool at ease and altered the data. The attack and defence of the Lost Grains in the Vast Sea was ten thousand, and now that the Small Dull Sword was ruined, I turned the values of the black Han pine cypress sword to be one and a half times of that. I also realised just now that it turned out the sword had a name, it was called “Pine Wind2 ”. The sword blade was not inscribed, so it was not surprising that we didn’t know.
When I finished my changes, I noticed that Ye Tan’s current cultivation was already three thousand. In a short month, he had unexpectedly tripled the value..... I didn’t know how much hard work it must have ultimately taken. At this rate, he would be able to crush Ye Xiao within half a year. But I will absolutely stop him in the future, I won’t let him struggle so hard.
In addition to this, I was also celebrating, because my HP value, which was 10, had risen to 15 points.
I should be able to take a few tumbles before dying, I’m really strong, hehe.
I switched back when I was finished, and I was lying on Ye Tan’s lap, when he saw me move, he hurriedly withdrew his hands.
Did it seem like he was stroking my face just now?
Was it because my face got filthy from being on the road all day? I felt the place where he had touched, but I wasn’t able to feel anything, but I was too busy to take this into consideration, I stood up and said: “A-Tan, let’s go challenge the Lost Grains in the Vast Sea. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll kill me first.”
Ye Tan had come to more or less the same conclusion I had before: “This sword was cast by a disciple of One Sword Tomb, I’m afraid it doesn’t have a big hope for victory.”
I resolutely said: “This time we can win.”
When I spoke, Ye Tan didn’t think any more, and immediately nodded: “Okay.”
We sent someone to quickly make a report, Qiu Wujiu had been pulled awake after just going to sleep, so he was rather angry: “It’s still not daybreak, how are you in such a hurry to die.”
I tried to coax him with a few kind words, but he still wasn’t happy. He took us on the road back to the altar with a murderous look, paid his respects and beat the drum, all the steps were the same as before.
I looked at the boundless, cold tip of that Lost Grains in the Vast Sea, and couldn’t help but be a bit regretful, so I sighed and whispered: “What a pity, it’s such a beautiful sword.”
Ye Tan unsheathed Pine Wind and weighted it in his grasp, already feeling something was different, and hid the trace of shock in his eyes. He muttered a plan to himself and, rather than directly cutting down the sword, he slowly pressed the tip against the Lost Grains in the Vast Sea’s body.
He breathed in deeply, and his knuckles turned white as the sharp tip of Pine Wind moved forward.
The sound of the wind abruptly stopped, and only a delicate sound lingered.
The Lost Grains in the Vast sea was not broken.
But the blade of Pine Wind had punctured right through it.
——Unexpectedly, a hole had been chiselled out of the rigid edge of the Lost Grains in the Vast Sea.
There was absolute silence in the tomb.
Everyone looked stunned.
“The outcome has already been decided, there is no need to insist on breaking it, right? It’s a good sword, destroying it would indeed be a pity.” Ye Tan’s calm voice washed over the vacuum of the tomb, and his words resonated, he slowly returned Pine Wind to its sheath, and he retreated back behind me with a restrained, docile expression and spoke in a low voice: “Just now, you said the Lost Grains in the Vast Sea was beautiful, I hope this carving pattern is not enough to affect your opinion.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
Every time I casually said something, he always took it seriously, thinking of a way to properly satisfy both sides.
Qiu Wujiu was dumbstruck for a long time, the waves of clouds in his eyes gathering and dissipating several times, until suddenly he fell down on both knees and blankly knelt down.
I hurriedly went to help him up, but he made a long bow to the ground in a great salute, and spoke in a trembling voice:
“One Sword Tomb welcomes the ascension of the Sect Leader——”
When he said these words, it was like a stone splashing into the sea, inciting thousands of waves as the densely-packed, deathly-quiet crowd in the tomb suddenly fell to their knees one by one, devoutly carrying out their worship, praising in loud waves of chants, so loud even the deaf would be able to hear them.
I was stunned.
Just now, we had been sheep waiting to be slaughtered, and now suddenly were being offered to take charge, this plotline had really made a dramatic change.
I hurriedly held up his shoulders: “Senior, what does this mean? Why is it suddenly the Sect Leader.....”
“Shut up!” Qiu Wujiu suddenly cursed me without restraint, “How are you in a position to speak in front of the Sect Leader?! You’re still not kneeling.” As he said this, he strongly twisted me around, and when my body had turned he ruthlessly kicked the back of my knees and I plopped down into a kneeling position, falling in front of Ye Tan.
.....fuck.
Qiu Wujiu’s movements were too quick, and Ye Tan didn’t have enough time to react, shouting: “Stop treating Master rudely!”
“Master?! How could the Sect Leader lower himself!” Qiu Wujiu unsheathed his sword, and angrily spoke towards me, “As long as Sect Leader gives the command, we will immediately kill this invalid, and Sect Leader can have his freedom! Of the people under the heavens, not even the emperor is fit to act as a Master for our One Sword Tomb’s Sec Leader!”
Ye Tan helped me stand in a great rush, carrying me to sit on the altar, and carefully checked my knees for scrapes. He frowned as he heard this: “When did I agree to be your Sect Leader.”
“If you don’t want to lead us, why did you come to alter One Sword Tomb’s foundation? If you don’t become our Master, how will you alter One Sword Tomb’s rules?” Qiu Wujiu urged, and brandished his sword in confusion as he roared, “You either change the rules or this first of the month will be the day you two lose your heads! We have guarded the true sword for many generations, and now the Lost Grains in the Vast Sea has been destroyed, how do you want our group to deal with this?!”
As the crowd under the altar heard his words, their passion was also aroused, and they began loudly shouting and calling out. I was afraid giving the wrong answer will instantly lead to a rebellion, and we will be crushed into a meat patty.
With my heart alarmed and my body leaping, I turned to Ye Tan and gave him a meaningful look. Ye Tan didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, and had no alternative but to answer: “Alright, I agree.”
Although it was a little unexpected, and the road ahead of us was bleak, we still managed to take back our two small lives in the end.
This wave will, probably, make us steady profit.
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1 In chinese acupuncture, the philtrum (the vertical groove atop the upper lip) is also known as the 人中 renzhong or ‘human centre’, and it is considered an important acupuncture point for first aid since apparently it can be used to restore consciousness, calm someone down, stop seizures, etc. Top.
2 松風, a poetic way to refer to wind blowing through a pine forest, also the name of a music piece played in the guqin (traditional chinese string instrument). Also a type of tea I think. Top.