Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [178]

After Shenhe left, Jiang Bai returned to the group of frozen Treasure Hoarders. He couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

The men were clearly still conscious, even in their icy state. Their eyes followed Jiang Bai nervously, blinking as he moved.

They couldn’t speak, nor could they cry for help—only their pitiful expressions remained, silently begging Jiang Bai for mercy.

But Jiang Bai wasn’t exactly the benevolent type. Just because they looked sad didn’t mean he was going to thaw them out.

Whatever they’d done, they had clearly offended Shenhe—and that, in itself, was more than enough.

Why would I risk upsetting her just to help a few guys like this?

He was only here to satisfy his curiosity anyway.

Seeing that their eyes could still move even while frozen, Jiang Bai leaned in and tapped the surface of the ice with his finger. It felt cold and solid—real ice.

This adeptal art is seriously amazing. It can freeze someone solid and still keep them conscious?

He figured a full day like this would probably teach them a lesson.

After confirming they were truly stuck, Jiang Bai wandered over to their little camp to scavenge for anything useful.

Unfortunately, they were as poor as they looked. All he found was half a cooked rabbit leg.

The other half was still on the fire, roasting.

“Tch… how are you this broke?”

Under the shocked stares of the frozen Hoarders, Jiang Bai grabbed the roasting rabbit leg off the spit and took it with him.

He chewed as he went, grimacing between bites. “Tastes awful.”

Still gnawing on the leg, he activated a nearby teleport waypoint and warped to the Statue of The Seven closest to Qingyun Peak.

This particular statue stood on a massive floating stone slab, suspended in the air with no direct connection to the ground. When he first came here, it had taken quite a bit of effort to unlock.

Standing beside the statue now, he gazed out toward the distant summit—Qingyun Peak pierced the clouds like a blade, and atop it, faintly visible, was a teleport waypoint.

“Good. Having a waypoint makes things way easier.”

He launched himself from the statue and glided straight toward the summit.

Unbeknownst to him, Shenhe had also arrived nearby, searching for a quiet place to cultivate. She kept a discreet eye on Jiang Bai from afar—just in case he slipped and tumbled off the cliffs.

She didn’t have any special feelings toward him. She simply admired the thoughtfulness of preparing a birthday gift for someone important. Since she had the means to help, it cost her little to do so.

But seeing Jiang Bai appear in mid-air like this still took her by surprise.

Even for someone like her—who had learned adeptal movement techniques—getting here took time.

How was he this fast?

Jiang Bai had no idea he was being watched. He landed on a stone ledge at the base of the peak and began climbing up the rock face by hand, gripping crevices and ledges one by one.

Liyue had many mountains, but few were as sheer as this. Rising like spears into the sky, their bases were hidden beneath an endless sea of clouds, the drop below unfathomably deep.

Ordinary people wouldn’t dare even attempt such a climb.

Jiang Bai climbed with no ropes or gear, each handhold painstakingly earned. Anyone watching might find themselves sweating just from watching.

Shenhe appeared silently, standing on a twisted pine branch growing from the cliffside. She pointed to a nearby path, her tone still as cold and calm as ever.

“There’s a trail just over there. You can walk up.”

Jiang Bai froze in place, stunned to see her suddenly appear.

She came all the way out here… just to tell me that?

Is this what they call “cold outside, warm inside”?

“I… didn’t know.”

He scrambled onto a small ledge to catch his breath, then looked in the direction she had indicated. Sure enough, a winding, uneven path—like carved stone steps—climbed up the side of the mountain.

Without hesitation, he shifted toward the trail. Once he stepped onto it, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Each stair was wide and spacious, adorned with carved cloud motifs. It didn’t feel like something manmade—more like something shaped by adeptal arts.

Jiang Bai turned to thank her, but she was already gone.

“…She’s really got a style, doesn’t she? In and out like the wind.”

Muttering to himself, Jiang Bai pressed on.

There were only a few days left until Hu Tao’s birthday. Even getting her up here would take time. If he didn’t activate the path before sunset today, the whole plan would fall apart.

According to Shenhe, the mechanism could only be triggered when sun, moon, and stars appeared simultaneously—that brief moment between sunset and moonrise. Miss it, and you’d have to try again tomorrow.

Reaching the summit, he activated the teleport waypoint. Now he was truly standing above the clouds.

From here, the mountains below looked like brushstrokes in a pale ink painting. The three stone cranes required for the mechanism were clearly visible in the distance.

Jiang Bai unfurled his wind glider and flew toward the nearest stone pillar. After adjusting the crane’s orientation, he flew back, climbed to the next peak, and repeated the process—again and again.

Back in the old days, before wind gliders were a thing, seekers of the adepti had to scale these peaks by hand, risking their lives every time.

Compared to that, Jiang Bai’s method felt like cheating.

From a hidden vantage point, Shenhe silently observed him climbing and flying from one mountaintop to the next without pause.

He was drenched in sweat by now, but his face was glowing with excitement. The light in his eyes shone brighter than the setting sun.

Shenhe tilted her head, a trace of confusion flickering through her mind.

Why is he so happy doing something so dangerous?

Is it because he feels what he’s doing has meaning?

But… what does it mean for something to have meaning?

The red rope binding her—tied to seal away her mortal emotions—trembled slightly. Something unspoken stirred beneath its weave.

As twilight neared, Jiang Bai finally aligned the last crane. Now, all that was left was to wait for the moment when sun, moon, and stars converged—when the path would appear.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The sun lowered in the sky, its light turning soft and golden. From the opposite horizon, a crescent moon slowly emerged, and with it, the faint twinkle of stars—never bright, but always present.

Jiang Bai stared, breath caught in his throat.

A sudden gust of wind surged up from beneath his feet, as though trying to lift him into the sky.

He spread his wind glider and let the current carry him upward.

Through the clouds, a long staircase made of floating stone began to reveal itself—step by step.

He landed gently upon it and began to ascend.

The stairs led him to a vast platform, completely constructed from floating stone. Not just a bare ledge—this was a proper structure.

The ground was paved with smooth brick, and in the center stood a magnificent pavilion.

Ordinarily, winds at a mountain summit would be howling, fierce enough to knock a person down.

But here, the wind was gentle—calm, almost as if the area were shielded by an invisible barrier. The biting chill that should have accompanied the altitude was entirely absent.

Inside the pavilion sat a large chest, gleaming gold beneath the setting sun.

—

T/N: TREASUREEEE MAUIHYUAHUAHA

This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!