Translator: CinderTL
Only then did Lin Fan realize he was dealing with a person. He let out a long sigh of relief, his tone tinged with reproach. "Your Breath Concealment Technique is too good! You nearly scared me to death."
He hadn't sensed anyone in the corner at all. He'd only glanced over after hearing a sound and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Hearing the compliment, Huan Xi'er was overjoyed. "Hehe, it's not that good, hehe..."
Then he added, "Just average, hehe."
Lin Fan frowned, sensing something odd about this person. He seemed... not very bright.
"I am Lin Fan. May I ask your name, fellow cultivator?"
"I'm Huan Xi'er. I love my Godmother and hate Mo Xianxian." At the mention of Mo Xianxian, Huan Xi'er wrinkled his nose, his face contorted with disgust.
Lin Fan's lips twitched. Who asked you?
These two sentences confirmed his suspicion: this person's brain wasn't working properly.
"Brother Huan, do you know where we are?"
"Nope."
Lin Fan thought for a moment and rephrased his question. "How did you get in here?"
"The door wasn't locked," Huan Xi'er replied matter-of-factly.
"Never mind. Go play now."
Lin Fan gave up trying to extract any useful information from him and turned to leave.
Huan Xi'er felt utterly bewildered. Could it be... this guy's got a screw loose?
As dawn gradually broke, Xu Sanyan glanced at his panel. The Vitality he had accumulated overnight totaled just over two hundred, still insufficient to upgrade the Subduing the Heart-Ape Method.
With a sweep of his wide sleeves, the massive wooden doors slowly creaked open. After surveying the surroundings, he spoke softly, "Let's go. To the city."
"Yes," his followers replied.
Stepping out of the pavilion, Xu Sanyan tilted his head to gaze at the sun. The sunlight remained unchanging, rising and setting at the same time each day. The weather never varied. He often wondered if the sun hanging high in the sky was even real.
The broad street lay in ruins, scarred by the ravages of corpse demons. Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes, peering toward the far end of the street where three figures slowly emerged.
"Members of the Zuoqiu Clan?" he murmured to himself. The woman leading the group looked familiar, her round face and small, rosy lips bearing a striking resemblance to Zuoqiu Hui.
The trio halted, noticing Xu Sanyan's group. From a distance, the woman called out, "I am Zuoqiu Yu of Huai Lake. Greetings, fellow cultivators."
Observing the menacing appearance of Xu Sanyan's group, she had already guessed their identities and kept her distance, prepared to flee at any moment.
"Fifth Sister, those people look like members of a demonic sect," the young man beside Zuoqiu Yu said gravely. "If things turn bad, you run first. My brother and I will hold them off."
Zuoqiu Yu slowly shook her head. "We must not act rashly."
Xiang Tan leaned close and whispered, "Senior Brother, that's the Fifth Sister of the Huai Lake Seven Heroes."
Xu Sanyan nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips. What a coincidence, he thought. I keep running into the Zuoqiu Clan everywhere I go. He spoke reassuringly, "Little sister, there's no need to panic. I'm close to your eldest sister—we're practically family."
He had his eye on Zuoqiu Shu, and since she hadn't explicitly rejected him, he took it as tacit consent. Girls are just shy, he thought. I understand them perfectly.
No one understands women better than me!
Not a single woman he had set his sights on had ever escaped his... grasp. Zuoqiu Shu would be no exception!
Zuoqiu Yu froze, startled. When did our eldest sister get involved with the demonic sect?
"Fifth Sister, don't listen to his nonsense," the young man behind her cautioned. "He's clearly trying to deceive us into lowering our guard. We must remain vigilant."
Xu Sanyan waved dismissively, too bored to argue. "When you see your eldest sister, tell her to take good care of herself. Wash up and wait for me."
Qin Manyang pursed her lips, silently mourning for Zuoqiu Shu.
Zuoqiu Yu and her companions seethed with anger, but outnumbered and outmatched, they dared not retaliate. Instead, Zuoqiu Yu demanded in a low voice, "Dare you reveal your name, sir?"
"My surname is Xu."
With that, Xu Sanyan turned and strode away. Xiang Tan glanced back at Zuoqiu Yu with a faint smile. "To earn the favor of the holy son is a blessing for your Zuoqiu Clan."
As they disappeared into the distance, Zuoqiu Yu scoffed softly and retrieved her child stone to send a message to her eldest sister.
Outside, the world was bathed in daylight, but within the Ghost Residence, eternal night still reigned. Lin Fan gazed at the severed head and torso of the female ghost, sighing softly. What a pity to lose such a beauty...
As the woman died, she dissolved into a wisp of green smoke, leaving behind only a crystalline stone on the ground.
He picked it up, examining it closely, but couldn't identify it. He decided to store it in his storage pouch for later.
Huan Xi'er, who had been hiding in the shadows, burst out, shouting excitedly, "Wow, wow! You're... amazing!"
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the dark, long sword, his eyes filled not with greed, but with curiosity.
Lin Fan turned his head. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know! I was just wandering around and ended up here," Huan Xi'er replied, looking genuinely bewildered. He had been walking in the opposite direction, yet somehow he had circled back to this very spot.
Lin Fan shook his head, dismissing the thought. He raised his sword and headed for the door. "Let's go. We should be able to get out now."
The two of them walked straight toward the exit.
When Lin Fan stood at the gate and peered outside, his mind went blank.
Gazing at the countless ghostly souls crowding the long street, he silently lowered his raised foot and muttered under his breath, "What the hell have I gotten myself into...?"
The pitch-black, dilapidated street before them had returned to its normal size. Street vendors, their shoulder poles dripping with blood, called out their wares, the swaying poles occasionally brushing against their tattered clothes.
Merchants lined the road, displaying strange, unrecognizable objects, their hands stained with dark brown grime.
Pedestrians jostled through the bustling street, creating a lively scene. If one ignored their unsettling appearances, this place would have been indistinguishable from any ordinary market.
Huan Xi'er, no longer his usual cheerful self, stood solemnly beside Lin Fan. He murmured, "This... doesn't seem like the secret realm we were in before."
Lin Fan retrieved his child stone and sent a message to Xu Sanyan, but received no reply. He nodded slowly. "You're right. We've stumbled into something extraordinary..."
"What should we do?" Lin Fan asked, feeling lost.
Huan Xi'er stared at him in surprise. "You're asking me? Everyone knows my brain isn't working properly..."
Just then, a vendor with a bamboo basket on his back stopped before them, his bloodshot eyes fixed on them. A sudden sense of danger washed over the two men.
The vendor slowly stretched his lips into a chilling smile. "Welcome, esteemed guests! Freshly made hot tofu—would you like some?"
"How much?" Huan Xi'er blurted out.
The vendor lifted the white cloth, revealing two square blocks of tofu beneath. One was white, indistinguishable from ordinary tofu, while the other was blood-red, resembling congealed pig's blood.
Lin Fan's eyes flickered slightly as a deep, resonant voice whispered in his ear, "That white tofu... it would benefit me. Find a way to acquire it."
A greedy glint flashed in the vendor's eyes as he pointed to the red tofu. "Two taels of soul spirit for the red tofu, three taels for the white tofu."
"Soul spirit?" Lin Fan felt a sense of foreboding. "How do I give it to you?" he asked gravely.
"Heh heh..."
The vendor's greed intensified, his grin stretching almost to his ears. "I have my ways. Which tofu will the guest take?"
Huan Xi'er was about to speak when Lin Fan clamped a hand over his mouth, turning to the vendor. "How many taels of soul spirit do I have?"
"We'll need to weigh you to find out..."
The vendor pulled a small scale from his basket, his voice growing increasingly gleeful. "A friendly reminder, guest: if you don't eat, you probably won't last two days..."
(End of the Chapter)
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