WebNovels

Chapter 215 - You're Such a Good Person

 

Translator: CinderTL

 

Elder Ren lowered his head, pretending not to see anything. The other elders followed suit, glancing around as if searching for something.

The commotion startled the girl on the stone platform. She paused her activity and peered curiously in their direction.

"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes filled with inquiry. She craned her neck, peering around, and if one ignored the severed limb in her hand, she almost seemed endearing.

Hearing her childlike voice, Xu Sanyan's eyes flickered, and a plan formed in his mind. He smiled warmly and asked in a gentle tone, "Hello there! What are you doing here?"

The artificial sweetness in his voice made Elder Ren, standing behind him, twitch his lips in annoyance.

The girl waved the severed limb. "I'm playing a game. Do you want to join?"

"Sure," Xu Sanyan replied, glancing back at the elders to signal them to stay put. He then strode alone toward the high platform.

"What's your name, little sister?" Xu Sanyan asked casually.

"What's a name?" The girl tilted her head, her large eyes blinking in confusion.

Xu Sanyan reaffirmed his suspicions. Since gaining consciousness, the Nether Phoenix had never left the underground realm, her only companions the corpse demons. Her mind must be remarkably simple.

This was evident in the human form she had manifested. Generally speaking, a demon beast's outward transformation reflects its mental state. Her adoption of a girl's appearance suggested a mental age equivalent to that of a seven or eight-year-old child.

If that's the case, this will be much easier...

"How long have you been here, little sister?" Xu Sanyan asked, slowly approaching her.

"Hmm..."

The girl rolled her eyes upward in thought, then shook her head slowly. "I don't know. I've always been here."

"Aren't you lonely?"

The girl pointed to the corpse demons lurking in the darkness. "They play with me."

She paused, as if realizing something for the first time, and turned to Xu Sanyan. "Why can you talk? Why can't they?"

Xu Sanyan grinned, baring his teeth. "How about I take you outside to find some talking toys?"

"Ooh, really?!"

The girl's voice was filled with delight as she waved the severed limb in her hand, dancing with excitement. She had long grown tired of being trapped here and yearned to escape.

Suddenly, she hesitated, "But... I can't leave on my own. Do you have a way to take me out?"

Xu Sanyan's smile grew even more affable as he flipped his hand and produced the discipline ruler.

What a coincidence, he thought. The previous tenant's lease had just expired, and I had to ask them to leave.

"Try entering," he said.

Soul-Startling Wood could house divine souls. Though the girl's form appeared solid and indistinguishable from a living person, she was ultimately just a wisp of soul spirit. There shouldn't be any issues.

Completely unsuspecting, the girl casually tossed aside the severed limb. Her body flickered, transforming into a wisp of black smoke that seeped into the discipline ruler.

"Yay, I'm inside!"

Her delighted voice echoed from the ruler, which immediately began to tremble. "I can see you!"

"Having fun?" Xu Sanyan asked softly, his tone gentle as if coaxing a young relative.

"Giggle... It's so much fun!" The girl's laughter rang out.

Xu Sanyan's Spiritual Power surged within him, forming a luminous barrier that sealed the discipline ruler. The brown wooden ruler emitted a faint white glow, which quickly faded.

After a while, she seemed to have grown tired of playing and wanted to come out. The white light on the discipline ruler swelled, followed by the girl's slightly panicked voice, "Ah, why can't I get out?"

"It's alright. I'll release you once we're out of here," Xu Sanyan reassured her.

Xu Sanyan put away the discipline ruler and scanned the empty hall for other treasures before turning to leave.

"Alright then, but you promise you'll let me out, right?" the girl pleaded pitifully.

"Mm-hmm, don't worry. I'm a man of my word. I never lie. Everyone who knows me says I'm reliable," Xu Sanyan assured her.

"Mm, you're such a good person," the girl said, relieved. Her gaze, peering through the discipline ruler, curiously surveyed the group.

"Of course, everyone says so," Xu Sanyan replied.

Elder Ren and the others exchanged glances before lowering their heads.

"Let's go," Xu Sanyan said softly.

"Yes."

The group retraced their steps, passing the earlier battlefield. Xu Sanyan asked the girl curiously, "Did you create these corpse demons?"

"Yes, they're my friends. Why have they become like this?" the girl replied, showing no fear at the bloody scene. Her voice remained flat, with only a hint of curiosity.

"Can you control them?"

"I can make them stand still."

Xu Sanyan nodded and continued forward.

He wasn't ready to refine the girl yet. Waiting until he reached the Peak Stage of the Dao Seeking Realm would yield better results. Let her live a few more days, he thought.

Xu Sanyan gazed at the discipline ruler with a smile, murmuring to himself, "It's almost time..."

The girl tilted her head, confused. "What's almost time?"

"Heh, you'll find out soon enough."

"Oh..."

Reaching the well's edge, Xu Sanyan looked up into the pitch-blackness. The girl's voice piped up, "Every time I try to leave, I can only get this far. Something's blocking me."

Ignoring her, Xu Sanyan summoned a gentle breeze beneath his feet, his figure drifting upward like a wisp of smoke. He quickly emerged from the well, the girl sheltered within the discipline ruler encountering no resistance.

"Ah! I'm really out!"

The girl excitedly looked around, marveling at the scenery so different from the underground world. Her voice grew urgent. "Let me out! Let me out now!"

"Heh... Not so fast."

Xu Sanyan channeled his Spiritual Power, further reinforcing the discipline ruler.

Meanwhile, in a narrow alley, Zuoqiu Shu gripped her longsword, cautiously leading the way. Her younger sisters, including Zuoqiu Hui, followed in single file, with their second sister, Zuoqiu Chen, bringing up the rear.

Their group of twenty-two had been walking for what felt like an eternity, yet the alley seemed endless, with no end in sight.

"Eldest sister, let's split up," Zuoqiu Hui suggested, her voice grave as she pointed behind them. "I'll take some of the others and head that way."

This was the solution she had pondered for hours. They had already tried every conceivable method—scaling walls, smashing through them, even attempting to fly—all to no avail.

The walls were constructed from an unknown material, impervious to their combined efforts.

Flying proved equally futile. An invisible barrier seemed to cap the alley, allowing them to rise only a few meters before halting their ascent. Even when they strained to peer into the distance, their vision was obscured by a faint mist, rendering everything beyond indistinct.

As for scaling the walls...

Zuoqiu Hui felt a pang of sorrow. They had started with twenty-six members, but now only twenty-two remained.

The four who had attempted to climb over the walls had never returned.

Zuoqiu Shu stopped and turned to look at her third sister. She didn't want to split up; there was safety in numbers. But now, it seemed there was no other choice.

"Second sister and fourth sister will go with you," Zuoqiu Shu said, assigning the two highest-cultivation members of the Huai Lake Seven Heroes, aside from herself, to Zuoqiu Hui.

"Alright, Eldest Sister, be careful," Zuoqiu Hui nodded.

"You too," Zuoqiu Shu replied.

She still felt uneasy. Her younger sisters were like her own children; she had watched them grow up and shared an incredibly close bond with them. She dreaded the thought of anything happening to them, but now they had no choice but to separate.

Zuoqiu Hui led half the group in the opposite direction.

Zuoqiu Shu watched until their figures vanished completely before turning and continuing forward.

The alley was perpetually dark, the sky overcast. She lost track of time.

Suddenly, a faint sound reached her ears.

"Eldest Sister, I hear something!" Zuoqiu Zhen exclaimed, her voice trembling with excitement. The monotonous repetition of their journey had been driving her mad; at this point, even a corpse demon would be a welcome distraction.

(End of the Chapter)

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