"It shouldn't be. First, look at his handwriting—girls usually write more neatly and delicately. Their diary layouts would also be prettier."
"But this journal... the script isn't exactly messy, yet that careless style? Clearly not a girl's hand."
The host analyzed aloud.
The audience nodded in agreement. Even the Martial Arts Prodigies in the guest seats showed approval.
"True enough. But if it's a boy? He'd be awfully sentimental."
"Maybe he was hurt," Liu Xiyun murmured from the guest section, eyes fixed on the diary.
"Hurt? What kind of hurt? Just scrapes from falling over?" A fellow prodigy girl beside her snorted with laughter.
"Xiyun, you don't actually believe in that mythical herbal formula too, do you?" She turned to Liu Xiyun.
Liu Xiyun stayed silent, watching quietly.
The diary flipped open again, revealing more entries:
*[This mountain has one annoying flaw—after rain, some paths turn muddy. Carrying an umbrella? A total pain!]*
*[But it was worth it. I found the herb I needed. Tucked in a valley corner—no climbing, no long hike. Just... easy pickings! My luck’s unreal today!]*
*[Speaking of luck... I swear the heavens balance things out. My good fortune met someone cursed with terrible luck.]*
*[You wouldn’t believe it if you hadn’t seen it. That poor soul got swept down the mountain by a mudslide. Covered head-to-toe in shit-yellow sludge. If I hadn’t seen the landslide myself, I’d have thought he’d fallen into a manure pit.]*
*[Still, when he landed right in front of me... leaving him there wasn’t an option. A life’s a life. I carried him home.]*
"The journal’s owner has a kind heart," the host commented. "As descendants of Huaxia, we should uphold this spirit of courage."
The audience murmured praise.
"Well done!"
Unnoticed by all, Liu Xiyun’s brows furrowed slightly on the guest stage. The diary’s description stirred old memories within the young prodigy.
"Turn the page!" the host urged before Liu Xiyun could dwell further. The staff flipped the journal.
*[So unlucky! Whose luck was it anyway—mine or hers? Getting her home cost me my umbrella and left me just as shit-yellow...]*
*[This kid can’t be older than thirteen or fourteen. What was a little girl doing alone on the mountain? Weird. I’ll need to find her family in the village later.]*
*[Where are her parents now? For now, she needs a proper wash. If she catches a cold like this... well, that’d be a mess.]*
"Though propriety matters," the host mused, "she’s just a child. The writer shows pure kindness—no ill intent. He’ll likely clean her up and search for her family next."
The diary turned again.
*[HOLY CRAP!]*
*[This kid’s got curves—but that’s not the point! Look at these wounds! Cuts from rocks and branches in the mudslide. She needs medicine fast. That pale face... she might not last long...]*
*[The best healing herbs on QiHuang Mountain grow past the Death Marsh. But with this rain? Crossing it might give me a cold...]*
*[Ugh. Whatever. A stomachache’s no big deal. A real man pushes forward. Can’t let a kid wake up laughing at me! Fine. Skip the shower—I’m going to gather herbs now.]*
"QiHuang Mountain? Death Marsh?!" Gasps rippled through the audience. Even the Martial Arts Prodigies stiffened.
Liu Xiyun’s calm gaze sharpened. Her pupils contracted sharply.
*Thirteen or fourteen? 2034?* The timeline clicked. That was when she’d gone there with her elders to find herbs.
*That place...*
*QiHuang Mountain.*
She remembered everything.
*Could it really be him?!* Her composure shattered.
"Xiyun, you don’t buy this either, right?" The prodigy girl beside her frowned. "A normal person surviving there? Bragging about gathering herbs in the Death Marsh? Who does he think he is—some TV hero?"
"He—" Liu Xiyun started, but her eyes snagged on the diary’s words: *"HOLY CRAP!"* Annoyance flickered in her eyes as she abruptly turned away.
"I don’t know!"
Her sharp tone puzzled the other girl, who tilted her head.
*What’s wrong? Who upset our national sweetheart?*
