Chapter 101: Big Cousin Transforms into Little Cousin
Zhenwu Mountain Scenic Area, in the woods.
When Luxianbei and Huasang followed the hoof prints left by the Shuishu Beast and found it with Fu Xinyi, they saw from a distance that the Shuishu Beast was lying on the ground, resting on a pile of grass, looking somewhat displeased.
It was unhappy that Luxianbei had arrived too slowly. While waiting, it had even taken the time to prepare a simple grass mat for itself and Fu Xinyi.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a delicate girl? Luxianbei scoffed inwardly, stepping forward while pulling out spicy strips to hand to the Shuishu Beast, exclaiming, “Impressive, Big Cousin! Well done!”
The Shuishu Beast, with a proud expression, lifted its head toward Luxianbei and then sniffed the spicy strip packaging, grabbed two pieces, and chewed on them a few times, a unique sparkle appearing in its large eyes.
The spicy strips infused with spirit energy were as tasty as the silverfish from the water pool in Dachunyang Palace and had a nice spicy flavor—very good!
While Luxianbei bribed the Shuishu Beast with spicy strips and praised it, Huasang approached the unconscious Fu Xinyi, grabbed her collar, lifted her to take a look, and shook his head.
Then, as soon as he released her, Fu Xinyi softly fell back down, like a puddle of mud landing on the grass mat.
As a spiritual ability user, although her physical qualities were not weak, the Shuishu Beast, wielding the power of thunder, was even faster when it ran wild.
What Fu Xinyi experienced was even more intense than riding the front of a high-speed train, specifically a G-class b*llet train.
Without the traditional skill of Tanjiu spiritual ability users—“High-speed Mobile Object External Suspension”—to hold onto the Shuishu Beast, not falling during the ride was already remarkable.
“Really nothing left!” Luxianbei shook the empty bag of spicy strips, shrugging at the Shuishu Beast with a resentful look, “Big Cousin, if you want to eat more, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Hum!” The Shuishu Beast snorted, its expression seemingly accepting Luxianbei’s words.
Putting away the empty packaging, Luxianbei turned to Huasang, who was checking on Fu Xinyi’s condition, and asked, “How is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, not injured…” Huasang glanced at Luxianbei before looking back at Fu Xinyi, slightly frowning, “But what should we do next?”
“By the time it’s dark and we gather our nets, she will definitely be awake.”
By then, their act of taking the town guardian beast would be exposed.
“That’s indeed a problem…” Luxianbei thought for a moment, then said seriously, “Your junior sister hasn’t done anything atrocious recently, has she?”
“Shouldn’t be. Why do you ask?” Huasang tilted his head.
“That’s good! Then I can rest assured to act freely, let her sleep a bit longer, and also help her cleanse her spiritual platform to dispel her inner demons, which will aid her future cultivation!”
Luxianbei said expressionlessly as he quietly took out the Ling Tai Purification and gestured at Fu Xinyi’s head a couple of times.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!” The sword blade sliced through the air, making two sounds of wind.
Huasang, “？？？”
————
A moment later.
After lightly tapping Fu Xinyi’s head with the Ling Tai Purification again, Luxianbei used a spell formula to bind her to a large tree in the woods.
Worried that his junior sister might be taken away by wild beasts or their predecessors, Huasang kindly cast a series of defensive and illusion spell formulas for Fu Xinyi.
“Not bad, not bad! With this, she should be able to sleep until tomorrow, or even the morning of the day after tomorrow, right?” Luxianbei praised, while turning to the Shuishu Beast with a frown, “Now there’s just one problem…”
Huasang followed Luxianbei’s gaze to the Shuishu Beast and nodded, “Indeed.”
The Shuishu Beast was too large. It was fine on the way to Shizhou City, but once inside the city, it would definitely cause a commotion unless it was late at night.
“Do we have to wait until it’s dark to act?” Luxianbei grumbled.
Huasang, “…”
Understanding their meaning from Luxianbei and Huasang’s expressions and conversation, the Shuishu Beast slowly stood up, let out a low growl, and suddenly shook its body, causing dazzling electric arcs to spread from its scales.
Thick water vapor appeared out of nowhere, surging and rolling, wrapping around its massive form, resembling a giant egg, shrinking several times with each breath.
Once the lightning and water mist dissipated, the Shuishu Beast, which had just looked like a tall, majestic horse, was now only the size of a teacup dog, and with its flowing light golden fur, it appeared somewhat cute.
In the blink of an eye, Big Cousin turned into Little Cousin.
It lifted its tiny head, rolled its eyes at Luxianbei and Huasang, then swished its tail and hopped down the mountain.
Isn’t it common sense that divine beasts can change their size?
Otherwise, how could the successive heads of Dachunyang Palace bring divine beasts down the mountain?
Watching the little figure of the Shuishu Beast, Luxianbei quietly asked, “Did we just get looked down upon by Big Cousin?”
“We can drop the ‘seems’ part,” Huasang replied.
Luxianbei, “…”
————
Having awakened from her deep sleep, Fang Ji opened her eyes.
Looking at the somewhat familiar ceiling, she immediately realized she was back in Qing Nang Herb Cottage of Dachunyang Palace.
Lying on the sickbed, she dazedly sat up, glancing around, and gradually sensed that the atmosphere in Qing Nang Herb Cottage today felt a bit off.
In the large hospital room, she was the only one there. The hallway outside was silent, and the busy Dachunyang Palace disciples she had seen earlier seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Fang Ji got out of bed, put on her shoes, and left the room. After searching around, she finally found a Dachunyang Palace disciple guarding the pharmacy at the end of the hallway.
It was a girl about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a small face styled in pigtails, squatting in front of a small purple copper alchemy cauldron, intently observing the changes in the flames beneath.
“Excuse me…”
Upon hearing Fang Ji’s voice, the girl looked up at her, their eyes met, and as she opened her mouth, a slight explosion sounded beside her.
“Boom!”
The alchemy cauldron exploded, the lid half-blown off, releasing a cloud of black smoke.
“Oh no!” The girl exclaimed, hurriedly turning around, frantically checking the alchemy cauldron, and her dimmed eyes gradually regained their sparkle.
The alchemy cauldron had exploded, yet her potion had actually been successfully brewed and looked exquisite, which, according to the recipe, was nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, in Fang Ji’s gaze, a faint golden glimmer gradually faded, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.
Then, she composed herself and asked again, “Excuse me, why is everyone in Qing Nang Herb Cottage missing? What happened?”
As numerous memory fragments resurfaced during her long slumber, she gained much insight into her own abilities, initially completing the grasp of her own fortune.
Though she hadn’t yet reached a level of control, she could slightly mitigate the misfortune inadvertently brought to others and create small miracles.
Although the price of averting misfortune was that she had to bear the corresponding misfortune herself, but…
After helping those who should be helped, finding a bad guy to drain his fortune shouldn’t be a problem, right? Fang Ji thought.
At this moment, she had yet to realize that unconsciously, she had deviated from the path of the Miracle Cult and began developing toward a strange direction.
“Hmm? Oh, oh!” The girl came back to her senses, looking at Fang Ji with an embarrassed expression, “Sorry to say, just now there was a little incident.”
“Uh, are you trying to ask where everyone in Qing Nang Herb Cottage went?”
“Mm-mm!”
Seeing Fang Ji nodding with a smile, the girl explained, “We received a notice this morning that a terrifying urban legend appeared in Shizhou City, and everyone in Qing Nang Herb Cottage went to provide support. Only two people were left to guard each floor. I don’t know any more details.”
Fang Ji, “…”
A terrifying urban legend appeared?
Could it be related to those guys who attacked us last night?
“Thank you!” Fang Ji smiled at the girl, then turned and left the pharmacy, heading outside Qing Nang Herb Cottage.
The girl’s attention was all focused on the unexpectedly successful potion she had created, overly excited, and when she saw Fang Ji, a wounded person leaving, she didn’t stop her for a moment…
A moment later.
Fang Ji stood in front of Qing Nang Herb Cottage, looking at the paths leading in different directions, lost in thought.
Where should she go next?
Find Luxianbei or infiltrate the Secret Society?
Luxianbei emitted a familiar aura that made her feel close, possibly that of the First Generation Miracle Saint’s remains, and the reward for infiltrating the Secret Society’s bounty mission might also be a Sacred Relic.
She had ample reasons to approach both.
Even though she had realized that Salih and Sheim were members of the Miracle Cult, she had no intention of acknowledging them.
Within the somewhat unclear memory fragments, the figure surrounded by golden light, possibly the Miracle Saint, had warned her more than once that the Miracle Cult’s current actions—searching for the First Generation Saint’s remains—contained a huge conspiracy.
Though she didn’t know what that massive conspiracy was, sharing life with that golden light-cloaked figure and recovering some memories led her to develop a strange mix of affection and fear toward the so-called Sacred Relic.
This strange emotion made her temporarily hesitate to trust any Miracle Cult members.
After pondering for a moment, unable to come up with an answer, Fang Ji finally decided to leave the choice to fate, taking a deep breath and pushing her fortune to the utmost.
The next moment, she heard a rustling sound coming from the nearby bushes. Following the sound, she quickly caught sight of two suspicious figures with a somewhat sneaky demeanor and faintly heard their whispers.
“Something big has happened… The Secret Society is doomed…”
“Quick, go to Chi Li Hall…”
“…”
Secret Society? Chi Li Hall?
Her gaze lingered on a Dachunyang Palace disciple for a few seconds, Fang Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she quickened her pace to follow them.
“Two senior brothers, please wait a moment!”
The two, already feeling guilty, stiffened at her call, abruptly turning around, their eyes filled with vigilance.
“Are you members of the Society too? I just joined not long ago, and this morning I wanted to contact the senior brother who brought me in, but couldn’t reach him, do you know what happened?”
That delicate face, ambiguous in gender, appeared harmless, and her gaze was sincere yet somewhat bewildered. The attempt to blend in was poorly executed, almost impossible to pass off.
However… it miraculously succeeded!
“d*mn! Sister, you really are like someone from the army coming in ’49!”
“You don’t know? Something big has happened! The Black Emperor seems to disallow our Society’s existence and is working to eliminate us!”
“Luckily you ran into us… Let’s go! Everyone still in Dachunyang Palace from the Society is gathered at Chi Li Hall, they’re preparing strategies!”
Hearing this, Fang Ji thoughtfully nodded, cupping her hands to the two, “Thank you very much, senior brothers.”
————
In Shizhou City, near the Small Commodities Wholesale Market, hidden within a maze of buildings in a short-term rental.
Hu Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed, immersed in meditation, as waves of colorless ripples spread through the air around him.
After a long while.
He sensed the members of the Secret Society hidden among the pursuit team, along with their surroundings, before opening his eyes, his expression gradually darkening.
The response speed of the Dachunyang Palace was much quicker than he had imagined.
Having only orchestrated two attack incidents, the remaining disciples had gathered together, forming small teams of four to five people into four larger teams of twenty to thirty, leaving him with no opportunity to take action.
“Humph, huddled together for warmth? So be it, that’s just the beginning!”
Although he couldn’t cause chaos among the Dachunyang Palace disciples responsible for the pursuit anymore, the situation still fell within his control.
The influence of Yangyi within Shizhou City was not limited to the disciples of Dachunyang Palace alone.
There were still many disciples within Dachunyang Palace who hadn’t participated in the pursuit.
As a last resort, he could even briefly awaken that great person…
Though he was reluctant to do so; after all, being at the mercy of others could lead to unforeseen consequences he had already experienced.
He needed that great person to exist, and he needed them to always remain asleep.
However, if he was forced into a desperate situation, he would have to break everything!
Hu Chuan pondered, channeling spirit energy to torment Zhang Shuo within his body until his anxious emotions settled, then he turned and picked up the badge from the bedside, infusing it with spirit energy to contact Wang Elder.
“My dear Wang Elder! It’s been so long, how’s the matter I entrusted you with? Why is there no progress at all?”
After a moment’s wait, Wang Elder’s voice echoed in his ear.
“d*mn it, you only know how to speak nonsense over there! Do you have any idea what the situation is outside right now?”
“Oh?” Hu Chuan hadn’t expected Wang Elder to dare speak to him this way, frowning and suppressing his displeasure, asking, “What happened?”
“I™ still want to ask you! I’ve been ambushed three times by unknown spiritual ability users! I™ don’t even know these people named Zhou Shufen and Zhang Yanli, but they insist I’m the one who killed them, and a bunch of people say that collecting copper will lead to d*ath…”
“d*mn it, I like collecting and crafting copper products. What’s wrong with that? Is having personal hobbies a crime? It’s utterly ridiculous!”
Hu Chuan, “…”
From Wang Elder’s words, he detected a hint of desperation.
He closed his eyes and sensed the whereabouts of the items related to Wang Elder’s little secrets, realizing those items had left the Zhen Ting Hall of Dachunyang Palace and had seemingly been abandoned by someone in the forests of Zhenwu Mountain. After a brief thought, he understood everything.
Thought you could use this method instead of showing ourselves? That’s a bit naive, don’t you think?
Hu Chuan mused, speaking to Wang Elder with a sarcastic tone, “I didn’t expect you, Wang Elder, couldn’t even see through such a crude sarcasm tactic? This is clearly someone causing a ruckus. If you lose your cool, it’ll work right into their hands.”
“Doesn’t concern you?”
“I’m not that despicable.”
“…” Wang Elder fell silent for a moment before snorting, “Humph, let’s hope it has nothing to do with you!”
After a pause, he switched tone, continuing, “You asked me to contact that guy, and he got back to me, saying he has goods to deliver, and they’re twins, just right for us, one for each!”
“Oh?” Hu Chuan’s eyes slightly brightened, “When will the delivery be?”
“Before dark!” Wang Elder laughed, “He’s already been playing tricks on that foolish woman.”
“Very well!” Hu Chuan smiled, “Tell him to meet at the old place later!”
