The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

"promised?"

Thinking that she couldn't get into Arima Memorial's Embroidery Dream anyway, she simply nodded perfunctorily.

Chapter 161 Shocking Change

After the chrysanthemum appreciation event, Xiu Xingmeng returned to her home in the north and began training alone in the training ground in the backyard of the Western-style house.

In this scenario, she didn't go to Treson, and the now-impoverished Northern family didn't seem to have the ability to hire a professional trainer, but none of that mattered.

Having already learned a lot from Chizuru Haibara, Hideyuki believed that she could come up with a reasonable plan even without a trainer, since that's how she'd always done it.

In the real world, she also trained alone during summer vacation while studying professional books. In the first script world, she was trained by the Holy King's halo when she was a child. For Xiu Xingmeng, this was not a problem at all.

Moreover, due to the decline of the Northern family, the only person in the mansion besides her grandmother was Xiu Xingmeng, which made it easier for her to avoid contact with others.

Training, competing, then returning to the mansion to train again and compete again—once you win the Emperor's Spring Appreciation and the Emperor's Autumn Appreciation, this scenario world will end. Xiu Xingmeng has absolutely no need to actively communicate with others.

As for that little bit of loneliness, Xiu Xingmeng didn't care.

She cherished the time she spent with Kasamatsu and the others, but loneliness was the norm for most of her life.

She's simply back in this environment again; Xiu Xingmeng is already used to it.

Just when Xiu Xingmeng thought that this script world would end in this cycle of training and competition, the mansion she had lived in for more than a month and had begun to get familiar with suddenly underwent a shocking change.

Fate struck like a raging tide, shattering Xiu Xingmeng's lonely cycle.

The grandmother of the Northern family, who looked unwell at first glance, suddenly fell seriously ill not long after the chrysanthemum appreciation event ended. She could no longer sit in her wheelchair to go to her favorite hall to wipe the past glory of the Northern family; she couldn't even get out of bed now.

Xiu Xingmeng naturally couldn't leave it alone. Her first thought was to carry her grandmother down the mountain to the hospital, but her stubborn grandmother seemed to have anticipated this day and refused to leave the mansion no matter what Xiu Xingmeng said.

Seeing that her advice was useless, Xiu Xingmeng had no choice but to spend most of her daily time by the bedside taking care of the elderly woman. Thanks to her mother's experience, Xiu Xingmeng was quite adept at it this time.

However, the grandmother in the north did not seem to appreciate Xiu Xingmeng's care.

“I’ve heard about the Arima Kinen race. It seems that you’ve already been included in this year’s Arima Kinen squad. That’s great. Winning such a race would undoubtedly bring even more glory to the Hokujo family.”

"So, Star Dream..."

The old woman lying in bed spoke weakly, but her eyes were still sharp. When she mentioned the glory of the Northern family, she seemed to have all her pain disappear and became radiant.

"Don't worry about me, go prepare for the Arima Memorial. I've already registered you."

"I reject."

Xiu Xingmeng put down the fruit knife and apple in her hand and interrupted her grandmother from the north with a blank expression.

Although she disliked this northern family, she could never abandon the seriously ill elderly man in front of her to participate in the competition; Xiu Xingmeng would never do such a thing.

"Just focus on getting better. Didn't you say you wanted to see me win the Emperor's Award for consecutive championships? Arima's commemoration is nothing to worry about."

Moreover, she didn't care about the glory of the Northern family; for Xiuxingmeng, completing the main quest was enough.

Upon hearing this, the old woman on the hospital bed remained silent for a long time, staring at the ceiling she had been looking at for who knows how many years, seemingly deep in thought.

When Xiu Xingmeng saw that she didn't speak, she picked up the apple in her hand again and started peeling it. The only sounds in the room were the two of them breathing and the rustling sound of the knife cutting through the peel.

After an unknown amount of time, Grandmother finally spoke.

"Xingmeng, have you ever hated me?"

Upon hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng paused in her hand holding the fruit knife, but she didn't respond and continued slicing as if nothing had happened.

"The classic Triple Crown was clearly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Saima Musume, but I forced you to give it up. She clearly had the ability to win the Triple Crown, but she had to endure those unwarranted criticisms."

"You must hate me for giving up so much because of the so-called glory that an old man talks about."

"I do not mind."

Xiu Xingmeng responded expressionlessly. Although it was a pity that she couldn't catch up with the classic triple crown in this script world, she still had other opportunities.

Moreover, she has participated in three Classic Triple Crown Competitions, winning the championship in every competition from the Satsuki Sho to the Chrysanthemum Sho. Therefore, for Xiuxingmeng, the Triple Crown is no longer an unattainable goal.

However, this behavior was interpreted differently by the grandmother in the north. She looked at the expressionless Xiu Xingmeng, sighed, and slowly spoke with an unprecedented look of desolation in her expression.

“If I could, I wouldn’t want you to give up the classic Triple Crown. But the Northern curse forces us to do so.”

“Hoshimome, although you are still a child, you are a mature racehorse girl. Having won the Chrysanthemum Prize, you have the right and the right to know the reason for the decline of our Northern Family.”

Hearing her say that, Xiu Xingmeng was stunned for a moment, and then as if she realized something, she suddenly raised her head and looked at her grandmother in the hospital bed.

Phase 1 Task 1?

With a gasp of surprise, the semi-transparent blue screen appeared before her eyes, but she ignored it and continued to think to herself.

She thought that her grandmother, who valued the honor of the Northern family so much, would keep this tragic truth hidden until the very end, or at least until she had won the Emperor's Spring Festival and was preparing for the Emperor's Autumn Festival.

I never expected that she would say something just because I won the chrysanthemum award.

However, Xiu Xingmeng quickly realized that when she looked at her grandmother, who was as thin as a skeleton on the sickbed, and at those eyes that were no longer as sharp as before, she knew that this old woman from the Northern family knew that her days were numbered and that she was going to entrust everything hidden in her memories.

Following Xiu Xingmeng's gaze, the grandmother from the north spoke slowly from her sickbed.

"Bloodline... is the source of our power, but it is also our... curse."

Upon hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng's pupils constricted, and she immediately realized what her grandmother was referring to. She then silently switched the task menu to the panel interface.

[Blood of a Noble Family (Purple)]

[Introduction: In the world of horse racing, the theory of bloodline is never a joke. The bloodlines of those powerful racehorse girls do indeed contain unimaginable power, and the bloodlines that can become prestigious families are even more so.]

Racehorse girls with noble bloodlines possess talents unattainable by ordinary racehorse girls, and previously insurmountable limits become within reach. But is such power truly without a price?

Looking at the description of the "Blood of a Noble Family" skill on the panel, Xiu Xingmeng subconsciously spoke up.

"Bloodline...is it a curse?"

Chapter 162 The Curse in the Bloodline

"Yes."

Hearing Xiu Xingmeng talking to herself, the Northern grandmother nodded and continued, looking at the somewhat dazed Xiu Xingmeng.

"Perhaps you've already noticed this before: from your debut match to the Chrysanthemum Award, the speed at which you've been training your skills has actually been gradually increasing."

Xiu Xingmeng was taken aback upon hearing this, as she had not yet realized this since she had not inherited the script's memories.

After all, she had focused almost entirely on the competition and training during this period, but after her grandmother mentioned it, she immediately realized that something was wrong.

It took about a year from my debut match to the Kobe Shimbun Cup. During that year, I honed my skills in the script world to a level of 3A and 2B, which was pretty good, but still not comparable to the top-tier female racers.

However, in the month or so between the Kobe Shimbun Cup and the Chrysanthemum Appreciation, Xiu Xingmeng actually improved her stamina from A-level to A+-level. You should know that in the previous scenario world, she only improved her resilience from A-level to S-level after ten months of training.

Although the higher the attribute, the more difficult it is to improve, and endurance training is easier than root training, it is still amazing that such a significant improvement can be achieved in just over a month.

"Bloodline will guide us to gradually catch up with our ancestors, and it will be further sublimated as we grow older, until we truly inherit the bloodline of the Northern family."

"If one can fully bear the weight of this bloodline, one can possess the true talent of a world-class racehorse girl."

Hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng was stunned again. She didn't expect that her current training speed was not the limit. According to her grandmother, the bloodline of the Northern family seemed to be able to provide the younger generation with world-class talent.

As it happens, Xiu Xingmeng happens to know a racehorse girl with world-class physical talent, namely Golden Master.

In the month between the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby, she actually managed to train one or even several of her attributes to S-rank, which was simply unbelievable to Xiuxingmeng at the time.

Is it possible that I, in this scripted world, also possess this talent?

Xiu Xingmeng subconsciously looked at her palm, seemingly unable to believe that the blood flowing through her body contained such powerful strength.

But just then, her grandmother's voice came over again.

"but……"

“Our lineage has a flaw.”

"Perhaps because we are not used to the Japanese environment, our physical fitness is completely incomparable to that of our predecessors."

"Unlike our ancestors who could freely use the power in their bloodline and fully unleash their talents, our bodies will gradually become unable to withstand the increasingly surging power in our bloodline."

"The faster we improve through training, the faster our bodies break down until we can no longer compete."

As she spoke, the grandmother reluctantly punched her legs, which had long since lost all feeling. It was under this bloodline curse that her body had collapsed to this state.

Otherwise, given the physical condition of the racehorse girl, she would never have been confined to a cold wheelchair unless there was a major accident.

She sighed somewhat forlornly before continuing.

"The racetrack makes racehorse girls shine, and their bloodline becomes more active under the stimulation of their competitive spirit and desire to win, which may even lead to premature awakening."

"That's why I stopped you from participating in the Satsuki Prize and the Japanese Derby, because I wanted to wait until the time was right before letting you step onto the field."

Grandmother didn't continue speaking, but quietly watched Xiu Xingmeng's changing expression, waiting for her to fully process the information. Grandmother knew how impactful it was for a teenage racehorse girl to be suddenly told that the family's bloodline was cursed.

If she could, she would have preferred to wait until Xiu Xingmeng was more mature before speaking up, but time was running out, and she seemed unable to wait any longer.

After a dozen seconds, Xiu Xingmeng finally sorted out her thoughts and looked up at her grandmother to ask.

"What do you mean by 'the time is ripe'? Does it mean I am now qualified to carry on the bloodline of the Northern family?"

This was also the point that puzzled her the most, because according to her grandmother, the power of bloodline would gradually increase with age.

But if the time is ripe now, does that mean my physical condition is now capable of controlling the power of my bloodline?

Wouldn't that mean I possess world-class talent comparable to a gold master? But if everything is that simple, why did my grandmother's tone sound so difficult?

Instead of answering Xiu Xingmeng's question directly, Grandmother changed the subject.

"Do you remember what I told you before about the Northern flavor and the poetic drama?"

"They were also racehorse girls from the Northern family, right? But I don't understand why they had to be adopted out."

Although she didn't know how her grandmother wanted to answer her question, Xiu Xingmeng still agreed.

Furthermore, she also had doubts about the two racehorse girls. If her grandmother wanted to restore the glory of the Northern family, why did she have to adopt the family's racehorse girls? Even if they weren't talented enough, wouldn't it be a contribution to the Northern family if they could run on the racetrack?

Seemingly having guessed what Xiu Xingmeng was thinking, the grandmother spoke directly without pausing.

"The curses of the Northern Family are also different. The more talented the racehorse girl, the more she will be attracted by the power in her bloodline and gradually get closer to her ancestors. On the other hand, the racehorse girls who are not good at running will be much less affected by the pull."

"The Northern-style child has the fewest curses. At most, her bloodline has absorbed the nutrients needed for growth, which may prevent her from growing tall, but she can still live a peaceful life."

"But the bloodline of that child in the poetry drama is a bit stronger, which gives her the opportunity to step onto the G1 stage. Fortunately, she is not very talented and can only be a background character. The curse she carries only causes her to have nosebleeds occasionally."

When the topic of the poetry drama was brought up, Grandmother's brow twitched slightly, a rare occurrence, and she said with a hint of helplessness.

"But sometimes I really don't know if her nosebleeds are due to a curse in her bloodline or because she's just too stupid."

However, she quickly became serious again and spoke solemnly to Xiu Xingmeng.

"They were adopted because they didn't need to bear the curse of their bloodline. Rather than being trapped in a desolate northern home, they could forget this history and enjoy their own lives."

"But Xingmeng, you're different."

“You have crossed that boundary and are destined to be drawn by the power in your bloodline to inherit the glory of the Northern Family, but the curse of your bloodline will always accompany you.”

At this point, Grandmother suddenly smiled with relief at Xiu Xingmeng.

"But it's alright, the time is ripe."

"The curse that has plagued the Northern Family for so many years will end in my generation, and you will restore the glory of the Northern Family."

No sooner had her grandmother finished speaking than there was a knock on the door behind Xiu Xingmeng.

Chapter 163 Passing the Torch

Xiu Xingmeng was somewhat surprised that this dilapidated Western-style mansion hidden deep in the mountains would have other guests.

Moreover, judging from her grandmother's words, she seemed to have anticipated this long ago; the Northern family was not as simple as she had imagined.

Grandmother didn't explain, but coughed before speaking to the door.

"Perfect timing... then come in."

Upon hearing this, the person outside pushed open the door and entered. A middle-aged man with stern-faced, upturned eyes carried a safe into the room. He first nodded to his grandmother before looking at Xiu Xingmeng and speaking.

"Miss Star Dream".

His words suggested that he already knew Xiu Xingmeng, but Xiu Xingmeng, who had not inherited the script's memories, did not recognize him at all and subconsciously looked at her grandmother with a questioning gaze.

However, the grandmother from the northern family still didn't explain. Instead, she stared intently at the box in the middle-aged man's hand for a long time before finally speaking.

"Let's double-check one last time, is everything alright?"

“I swear on the honor of my family, this is the final product.”

The grandmother, who always valued family honor, softened her expression upon hearing this, nodded to the middle-aged man, and then spoke.

"That's good... I don't have time to oversee this matter anymore."