37: Chapter 37 Death Desert 20

So she admitted it?! The yellow-haired youth hadn't expected a single question to make the "Girl with Double Braids" admit her identity. He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased, and lifting his head, he asked, "So who exactly are you? What about the original Girl with Double Braids?"

The "Girl with Double Braids" tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her voice as soft as water: "Perhaps you have heard my name. I am called... Lady Ba."

Lady Ba?

To be honest, most people had heard the name, but very few actually knew the stories behind it. Several people instinctively looked toward Wolf-tail Guy, as he had demonstrated an extraordinary understanding of the stories in the "classic of mountains and seas" throughout their journey.

Wolf-tail Guy did not disappoint; in a calm tone, he recounted the story of Lady Ba.

Lady Ba is the drought goddess in mythology, also known as "Nü Ba." She wears green clothes and resides north of the Red River.

Legend has it that Chi You, after long preparations, forged many formidable weapons and gathered numerous spirits to launch an attack against the Yellow Emperor. Consequently, the Yellow Emperor dispatched Yinglong to the wilds of Jizhou to resist him. Yinglong is a flying dragon with large wings capable of unleashing monstrous floods to besiege Chi You.

However, Chi You was more skilled; he summoned the Wind Count and the Rain Master, causing Yinglong's army to lose their way in the endless wind and rain.

Then, the Yellow Emperor heard that there was a Thunder God in Thunder Marsh with a human head and dragon body. The Thunder God's mount, the Kui ox, would often pat its belly to produce earth-shattering thunder. Thus, he killed the Kui ox, made a large drum from its skin, and beat it to shatter the bleak wind and bitter rain created by Chi You. At the same time, the Yellow Emperor sent Lady Ba into the battle.

Lady Ba wore green clothes and could emit immense light and heat. She only needed to appear at the front lines and unleash her divine power, and the wind, rain, and fog would instantly dissipate, allowing the Yellow Emperor to finally capture and kill Chi You. Because of this, both Yinglong and Lady Ba earned great merit, but unfortunately, due to this immense war, both lost their divine powers and could no longer return to the heavens.

Thus, Yinglong remained in the south of the human realm, which is why the south has so much water and rain. Lady Ba stayed in the north, which subsequently caused the north to suffer from frequent droughts. Wherever she went, she would be cursed and driven away by people, known as the "Drought Demon." From the pre-Qin to the Han dynasty, the image of the Drought Demon was primarily represented by the image of a goddess, characterized as a woman dressed in green.

Wolf-tail Guy looked calmly at the green-clad Girl with Double Braids. "Am I correct?"

The Girl with Double Braids gently tucked her hair behind her ear, a serene smile on her face: "Most of it is correct."

She recounted the events of the past, and in her telling, the story took on a whole new appearance.

After the Yellow Emperor's victory, Lady Ba should have returned to the heavens to continue her life as a goddess, but unexpectedly, her green celestial garment—which carried part of her energy and allowed her to traverse the heavens and earth—was stolen without anyone knowing.

After losing the green garment, Lady Ba also lost the ability to return to the heavenly realm. The worst part was that the green celestial garment actually possessed one greatest ability: it could suppress the light and heat emanating from Lady Ba.

After losing the green garment, Lady Ba was unable to leave the Desert at all; otherwise, wherever she went, all life would be devastated.

For the sake of the people in the human realm, Lady Ba summoned the Yellow Emperor and entrusted him with two tasks.

The first was to ask the Yellow Emperor to set up a sealing barrier to imprison her within this small realm, so as to prevent the drought from spreading.

The second was to request the Yellow Emperor to search for the green garment that had been stolen from her.

The Yellow Emperor quickly fulfilled the first request; Lady Ba was firmly locked to this Heaven-Reaching Stone Pillar, and unless the seal was broken, she could never leave this small territory.

However, as for the second request, one could tell the result from the fact that Lady Ba was still unable to leave this space—the Yellow Emperor had broken his promise.

The yellow-haired youth's jaw practically dropped: "So you've just been staying in this crappy little place? How long has it been..."

Luo Yuejian was also stunned, thinking to herself that if it were her, she would have gone crazy long ago; the Yellow Emperor really wasn't a good person.

She didn't know if the story in this game was true or if it was just some nonsense made up by Miracle Company based on myths, but if it were true, Lady Ba was truly miserable.

Camo Uncle also looked quite emotional.

The only one unaffected was Wolf-tail Guy; he looked at Lady Ba and asked calmly, "So why have you been disguising yourself as a teammate and following us?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone came back to their senses. Camo Uncle frowned, "That's right, you've been pretending to be an ordinary person and infiltrating our team..."

It was terrifying to think about, and cold sweat broke out on Camo Uncle's back. He kept his thoughts to himself, paused for a moment, and continued from his previous question: "What is your purpose?"

Lady Ba smiled slightly. "You don't need to be so nervous. I followed your team actually to determine if you have the ability to help me."

"Help?"

"Yes, actually our goals are the same. The sealing formation here has imprisoned my energy, so much so that I am almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person, so I need capable people to help me break free from these shackles."

"I know you want to obtain the eye of the desert, and I also know where the location of the eye of the desert is."

"Where is it?" Camo Uncle asked immediately.

"The location of the eye of the desert is at the very center of this spatial barrier, which is where the formation eye is located." She turned to face the goddess statue, her gaze slowly shifting upward. The others' gazes followed hers upward, finally fixing on the chest area of the goddess statue.

"You mean the eye of the desert is the statue's heart?" Wolf-tail Guy asked.

Lady Ba nodded: "That's right. As long as you successfully retrieve the statue's heart, you can obtain the eye of the desert, and at the same time, the seal will be lifted, and I can leave this godforsaken place that has locked me away for thousands of years." Her smile was gentle: "You see, I was right, wasn't I? Our goals lead to the same destination."

The yellow-haired youth suddenly spoke up: "Hey, wait a second, I have a question. If you lift the seal and leave here, wouldn't your ability to cause land to become arid turn this land into a living hell?"

Even Luo Yuejian couldn't help but glance at him, surprised by this question. Why hadn't she noticed before that the yellow-haired youth was such a big-hearted person? His own life was hanging by a thread, yet he still had the time to worry about the local residents of the game world?