Chapter 47: If He Doesn’t Show Up, I’ll Sign Him Up Myself~

“Grandma…?”

“Grandma… where are youuuu…?”

“Grampa? Have… have you seen Grandma?”

Little Yun Jin woke up, the small house feeling cavernously empty. She painstakingly climbed down from the bed and tried shaking her grandfather awake, but only a weak, rattling cough answered her.

Sniff… Yun Jin remembered then—Grandpa was sick, really sick, lost in sleep. He couldn’t carry her out to the fields to play anymore like he used to.

With no other choice, Yun Jin stumbled outside, seeking help from the villagers. But as the child’s soft cries woke the entire village, the gathered elders and neighbors could only exchange worried, helpless glances.

The most respected old woman in the village sat in the center of the ancestral hall, holding the tiny three-year-old Yun Jin in her lap. She sighed softly, “Yun Jin, dear… Grandma had to go away on important business. How about you stay with Granny tonight, hmm?”

“…”

Yun Jin was small, but she wasn’t silly. Even a child that young could read the pity and sympathy in the villagers’ eyes, could feel the heavy atmosphere.

That night, tucked into the old granny’s bed, Yun Jin couldn’t sleep a wink. She pretended to be asleep until the granny left, then scrambled up again, staring blankly out the window at the moonlit snow.

“Ahhh, the poor little thing…” she heard the elders murmuring in the main room.

“Her grandpa’s sick, and her grandma… well, she’s always been superstitious. Dunno who told her about some folk remedy, goin’ up the mountain seekin’ some kinda nine-colored ‘immortal medicine’…”

“Ehhh… Going up Northfall Peak in this weather? That’s practically a death sentence…”

“Shhh! Don’t speak ill of the spirits. We’ll all look after the child from now on.”

Yun Jin sat silently, listening. Even as a child, her hearing was exceptionally sharp. She could pick up sounds others missed, even the faint whispers of thoughts from the village cats and dogs.

“G-Grandma…” As deep night fell and the village lights winked out, the little girl curled up by the window finally let her lower lip tremble. Her eyes turned red, but no words came out. She just stared, desolate, towards the impossibly distant, snow-capped peak.

Staring… staring… drowsiness began to creep in. For a fleeting moment, Yun Jin thought she was hallucinating. High above, amidst the clouds rimming the distant sky, she saw… a tiny deer, bathed in a faint golden glow, running…?

Half-asleep, Yun Jin watched, mesmerized, as the little deer seemed to tread on air, growing closer and closer. Its antlers, shimmering with nine distinct colors, became increasingly bright and dazzling.

“Ah!” Yun Jin gasped, startled nearly tumbling off the windowsill. But curiosity quickly won out, and she pressed her face back against the cold glass, eyes wide.

Clip… clop… clip… The hoof steps were soft. The white snow-spirit with the nine-colored antlers landed silently at the village entrance under the cover of night.

For an instant, the divine deer’s golden, holy eyes met the wide, peeking eyes of the little girl at the window.

“I-I didn’t see anything…! D-Don’t catch me… pweashe… sniff…” Yun Jin’s tiny lips trembled. She scrambled backward, diving under her covers and pulling them tightly over her head. She remembered Grandma’s bedtime stories—naughty children who didn’t sleep properly at night would be snatched away through the chimney by the child-eating Fox Demon Witch! Thinking of the terrifying claws and fangs from the picture books, Yun Jin shivered, curling into a tight ball, barely daring to breathe.

But the soft hoof steps drew nearer… closer… escape seemed impossible—

“AH!” She felt the heavy quilt being lifted off her.

Yun Jin squeezed her eyes shut, covering her head, trembling uncontrollably. She dared only to peek through the tiniest gap between her fingers.

“Meeeeh?” Outside the window, the Nine-Colored Holy Deer held Yun Jin’s quilt in its mouth, tilting its head slightly. Its clear, pale-golden eyes were filled with gentle curiosity.

Divine deer and little girl stared at each other, mutually intrigued, for a long moment.

Perhaps driven by childlike instinct, Yun Jin slowly sat up, cautiously reaching a trembling hand towards the deer.

The Nine-Colored Deer let out a happy little hum and gently nudged its head through the window, letting its soft, warm cheek meet the little girl’s small, shaking hand.

Bathed in the deer’s holy light, young Yun Jin felt a wave of warmth wash over her. For a moment, the sharp grief of losing her family seemed to fade away…

“Ying ying!” The Nine-Colored Deer made a cute sound, pulling away from the girl’s touch. It pranced in a small circle outside the window, nudging the unconscious elderly woman slumped over its back, showing her to the little girl.

Understanding dawned. Yun Jin’s eyes flew wide: “G-Gran… Grandma!!”

“Ying!” The Nine-Colored Deer lifted its head proudly, winking as if expecting praise, just like a little girl showing off.

But Yun Jin was too stunned and frightened by her grandmother’s state to speak. Excitement and terror warred within her.

The Nine-Colored Deer waited patiently for a moment. Though no human praise came, it closed its eyes. Its antlers glowed with holy light, gently levitating the elderly woman and carefully floating her through the window onto Yun Jin’s small bed.

Yun Jin held back tears, rushing to her grandmother’s side. “Grandma!” “Grandma, wake uuuup!”

But her grandmother remained unresponsive. Yun Jin grew frantic, tears finally spilling over and streaming down her face. Unable to contain her emotions any longer, she burst into loud sobs.

The child’s cries once again roused the nearby neighbors.

The Nine-Colored Deer glanced around, then silently placed a bulging burlap sack by the window before leaping gracefully back into the night clouds and vanishing.

Later…

The village doctor arrived. Yun Jin’s grandmother woke up, weak but unharmed. When the villagers asked what happened, Yun Jin eagerly explained how a divine deer had saved her grandma. But when she climbed onto the windowsill to point out the magnificent creature, she found the spot empty. The divine deer was gone, leaving only the sack filled with nine-colored lotus flowers on the stone ledge—

“Later…” Yun Jin’s voice grew soft again, pulling He Yimo back to the present path. “Grandma used the nine-colored lotuses from the sack to make soup for Grandpa. Within a few months, his illness miraculously healed.”

“The oldest granny in the village said that many reclusive mountain folk used to live hidden in the snows of Northfall Peak… and the Nine-Colored Deer I saw that night might have been the legendary guardian spirit of the Northfall Snow Mountains, truly existing.”

“Granny said our little village, way down at the foot of the mountains, wasn’t technically part of the Nine-Colored Deer’s territory. It must have been that my Grandma, climbing the snow peak that night, encountered trouble and was mistaken for one of the mountain folk by the kind Nine-Colored Deer. It was sheer luck she was saved. And that sack of herbs… was a gift from the Nine-Colored Holy Deer.”

“After the story of my grandparents spread, our little village gradually adopted the custom of worshipping the Nine-Colored Holy Deer.” Yun Jin finished her tale with a gentle smile. She looked at the docile white deer beside her, her heart full.

“After I grew up, I walked all over the paths of the Northfall Snow Mountains. I saw countless wild snow deer, but… I never again found the Nine-Colored Holy Deer from that night…” Her voice held a touch of wistful longing. “That night… I never even got the chance to thank Lord Divine Deer properly!”

“Later, I met Senior Sister Mo, who came to Northfall to deal with some mountain bandits. With her recommendation, I was fortunate enough to become a disciple of the Wuji Sect… But coming here has taken me even further from my homeland. I fear I’ll never have the chance to meet Lord Divine Deer again.”

“Th-That’s why… when I saw Wangxue just now, I got a little lost in thought. Seeing another beautiful snow deer… she brought back so many childhood memories… And this incident, the [Snow Village Massacre]… I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days, always feeling this heavy, bad premonition in my chest. So, when the Immortal Alliance posted the investigation mission, I came straight to Ranmo Peak to find Young Master He!” Yun Jin concluded, clasping her hands together in front of her chest with a relieved smile.

“MEH!” At some point, Wangxue had lifted her head too, letting out a proud little bleat. She rubbed her face against He Yimo, seemingly waggling her tail and showing off about something.

He Yimo chuckled helplessly and ruffled Wangxue’s head in praise. Figures… Just like in Yun Jin’s childhood story… after all these years, this silly deer still hadn’t outgrown her love for human compliments.

Listening to Yun Jin’s description, many confusing points from the original story’s plot suddenly clicked into place for He Yimo.

In the original story… Snow Village is destroyed, the Nine-Colored Deer disappears. The Immortal Alliance issues a large-scale investigation. Yun Jin and the protagonist go to the ruins seeking clues. Later, guided (manipulated) by Jiang Jinyue’s ‘spoilers’, Yun Jin finds a clue pointing her towards the ruined temple in the back mountain’s secret realm. Then, Jiang Jinyue also ‘guides’ the protagonist to the back mountain. But by the time the protagonist arrives, it’s the night of the full moon. At the last moment, the Nine-Colored Deer sacrifices its life to bless Yun Jin. Yun Jin breaks free of her restraints just long enough to warn the protagonist entering the temple: “Run! Senior Brother Gu… is the murderer who slaughtered Snow Village!”. As her words fade, Gu Wanglan skewers her with his sword. Immediately after, the smiling face of the Life Mother Goddess appears in the sky above the temple. Yun Jin and the Nine-Colored Deer are sacrificed together, kicking off the boss battle between the protagonist and Gu Wanglan…

Ahhh, no wonder Yun Jin was so sensitive to clues about the Nine-Colored Deer in the original story! She actually had a resonant experience with the divine deer when she was three! Makes sense!

Watching the girl and the deer interacting affectionately, He Yimo felt a warmth spread through him. His gaze softened as he smiled and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, Senior Sister. If my Wangxue here is silly enough to survive in the wild until she met me… then the Nine-Colored Deer, the guardian spirit of the Northfall Snow Mountains, surely wouldn’t be easily captured by some evil cult, right?”

“Meh… Meah?” The little deer looked up, startled. She wasn’t sure whether to be offended or pleased. It felt like she’d been insulted, but maybe complimented too?

Meanwhile, Yun Jin nodded, completely believing him. “Heehee, Young Master He is right!”

“Meh…?! ;A;”

Wha—?! E-Even you think I’m silly?! Q_Q Little deer used Shocked Pikachu face. It’s not very effective…

“It’s just… I heard from the Immortal Alliance that Snow Village… fell victim to a Western Region evil cult…” The single stray strand of hair on Yun Jin’s head drooped, and her expression grew melancholic as sadness washed over her.

Thinking about the gruesome images of Snow Village, He Yimo could only purse his lips and silently press his hands together. “Ah… I only said the Divine Deer was okay… I didn’t say Snow Village…”

“Hm?” Yun Jin tilted her head, looking at He Yimo, confused why his sentence trailed off.

He Yimo took a deep breath and forced a strained smile. “About Snow Village… well, aren’t we heading there right now on this Immortal Alliance mission to investigate the truth?”

“Oh, oh! Right! We should hurry then!”

(Back at the Wuji Sect Main Hall, Immortal Alliance Mission Registration)

“Senior Sister Jiang, did… did you fill out two application forms?” Chen Jianxin asked, confused, looking at the two tokens the red-dressed girl held. Every disciple registering for this large-scale mission received an Immortal Alliance token, which they needed to present later to claim their merit points based on their contribution. But Chen Jianxin had just noticed Jiang Jinyue had taken an extra token.

“Yep~♡ My veeeery bestest friend didn’t show up, so I had to sign him up first, teehee~♡”

“B-But why didn’t he come? Is he really too lazy to even register?”

“Oh, that’s not iiiit~” Jiang Jinyue took the token engraved with the character 【He】 (何) and slyly tucked it behind her back, clutching it tightly. Her eyes curved into cheerful crescents as she raised a finger to her lips, her smile full of hidden meaning. “Because~♡ if a registrant takes the base reward but doesn’t participate in the mission at all, according to the rules, their reputation points with the Alliance get deducted…”

“Huh?! There are people who’d do that?! Just freeload?!” Chen Jianxin looked completely baffled. He scratched his head. “But… with so many disciples, how can the Alliance even keep track?”

Jiang Jinyue shrugged, her enchanting eyes scanning the flow of people at the main hall entrance—

“Oh, the Alliance doesn’t need to check~♡ If he doesn’t show up, I’ll just report him myself after the mission ends! Easy peasy!”

“EH?!”

“Alright, alright~♡ Stop asking about my business! Worry about yourself!” Jiang Jinyue flashed a cool smile and turned away.

In an unnoticed corner, she tied a thin red string to the 【He】 token, then carefully tucked it away, hidden high up on her thigh beneath the band of her white, over-the-knee stockings, the fabric digging slightly into her soft flesh.