"Old hag, I was born with noble destiny in my veins! It is only right that you become my blood food, nourishing my blood servants! A tiny place like Longyin Village has never been worth my attention! All of you wretched low-borns deserve to die! Only great cultivators have the right to live in this world!"
Boom!
On the pitch-black rainy night, a streak of lightning split the sky, its glare flashing across the paper window. A shadow appeared on the window—someone raising a life-taking cleaver high, ready to bring it down on the head before them!
Jiang Shengxiang's face changed drastically. He kicked the door open and roared hoarsely, "Evil cultivator, let go of my mother!"
Everyone in the room froze at once.
The tip of Jiang Shengxiang's drawn sword stopped a hair's breadth from Yao Ranran's face.
"…Fairy Ranran?" Jiang Shengxiang stood there, bewildered.
A slender, jade-white finger reached out to gently push aside the sword blade.
Yao Ranran exhaled softly to the side. That was close—she had almost been killed by an ally!
Xiao Rong's eyes widened. He leapt up, slapped the sword down, and rapped Jiang Shengxiang sharply on the head. "Xiao Jiang, what on earth do you think you're doing?!"
Jiang Shengxiang's head buzzed. Looking around, he saw his mother sitting perfectly fine in a wooden chair. His gaze shifted and found that the "head" he had seen was actually a stranger's swollen, bloated face. From the man's robes, he could barely tell he was a cultivator.
It all clicked instantly.
The "life-taking cleaver" on the window was nothing more than one of Xiao Rong's vines.
Feeling the weight of everyone's stares, Jiang Shengxiang swallowed hard, then scratched his head with a laugh. "Haha… gotcha, didn't I? I was just joking with you all! Look at you, so serious! Hahaha…"
"A joke? My head was almost split in two."
Yao Ranran touched her flawless face, silently thankful he was just a rookie cultivator.
Xiao Rong's stern little face suddenly shifted, his tone lilting into a drawn-out "Ohhh~
So it was a joke! You really got us good—hahaha!"
Jiang Shengxiang wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. At least Rong-yé was willing to give him some face. Best to drop the matter quickly.
"Xiang'er, this is the one who's been killing across the surrounding villages!" Grandma Zhang said heatedly, stomping forward to slap the swollen-faced man with her cane hand.
"Pah! You low-born trash only waste food by living. It was I, this Zhēnrén, who gave you the chance to be reborn!" the man spat back, eyes full of hatred.
Smack!
Another slap landed.
Grandma Zhang trembled with emotion. "Li Dabao, I remember now! The village chief's son once told me about your family. The Lis had a son, honored as Dabao—Dabao at thirteen, who sold his sister for glory!
Heavens have mercy, Da Ya was such a good girl, serving your family for half her life, only to almost be sold to a crippled widower!
Wuuu… wuuu…"
Her words stirred the bound female ghost nearby.
It let out a heart-wrenching wail, two streams of blood-tears running down its empty eyes.
Grandma Zhang froze, then whispered in disbelief, "Could it be… you are Da Ya?"
"Da Ya… Da Ya… so I was Da Ya all along…" the bound ghost murmured.
Yao Ranran's brows knit tightly. This man had actually refined his own sister into a blood servant… and the ghost fog massacre from before—could it be…
She suddenly thought of a possibility and fixed her gaze on Li Dabao's unrepentant eyes. "The ghost fog rampaging in Longyin Village—was that your biological father?"
Xiao Rong and the others stiffened in shock.
Li Dabao laughed fearlessly. "That's right! My parents, and Da Ya, all became my blood servants! It's just a pity my mother was a useless mortal with no spiritual roots. I had to discard her early—otherwise I'd already have formed my Golden Core!"
Grandma Zhang's whole body shook with rage. "Those were your birth parents! How could you…?"
Li Dabao gave her a contemptuous glance. "It wasn't me— they offered themselves willingly! I was born with noble fate. My parents should pave the way for me!"
"Father… Father said…" the confused Da Ya suddenly spoke, "…Little Brother has noble fate… we must help him take the throne… he is a once-in-a-millennium talent… noble fate… noble fate…"
Throne?
Did the family have an imperial seat to inherit?
"Don't think that just because it's dark, you can indulge in wild dreams!"
Looking at Li Dabao's pig-like swollen face still curled into a smug grin, Yao Ranran slammed a fist into him. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious.
A visible dent formed in his skull.
Grandma Zhang nearly popped her eyes out.
"Good heavens, what is Fairy's fist made of?!"
Xiao Rong and Jiang Shengxiang instinctively edged closer together, swallowing hard.
"Da Ya is innocent. Li Dabao must die!"
Yao Ranran declared at once.
"Fairy Ranran, I have a way to let Da Ya reincarnate!" Jiang Shengxiang blurted. He ran into his room, rummaged under the bed, and returned with a stack of books, dropping them on the table.
"What's this?" Yao Ranran and the others leaned over curiously.
Jiang Shengxiang flipped through until he found an old yellowed volume. His eyes lit up. "This one! After Taishang Daomen declined, I dug this deliverance scripture out from under the Taoist's bed! There's even a page on the Art of Resentment Curses tucked inside—I don't know if it works!"
He handed the page to Yao Ranran.
"Art of Resentment Curses: Place this talisman upon the punished one's brow. The user may meditate upon the punished one's next life. Requires an extremely strong will…"
The text cut off—part of the page was missing.
Yao Ranran placed the talisman on Li Dabao's forehead.
"Let's try. If it works, Li Dabao will be punished for a lifetime. If not… it seems it won't cause harm either."
She closed her eyes.
Jiang Shengxiang and Xiao Rong exchanged glances. Yes, that logic checked out. They all wanted Li Dabao to pay for the villagers' deaths.
Three pairs of eyes focused on Yao Ranran.
A dozen thoughts flickered through her mind before closing her eyes, but one lingered. He called himself "noble fate"? Then give him a noble fate.
From all directions, faint lights began drifting into the village, gathering above the roof.
When Yao Ranran opened her eyes, Li Dabao's soul tore free of his body. His eyes bulged with terror. His mouth moved soundlessly.
"It worked!" Jiang Shengxiang and the others cheered.
-
Three months later.
Luoyang County.
An epidemic had driven pork prices through the roof.
Ten newborn piglets tumbled into a noisy, crowded pen.
One haughty white pig kicked aside its littermates, only to be swarmed and beaten by the rest.
Its eyes flared with rage. "I am the king of pigs! You stupid swine, move aside! The milk is mine alone!"
A storm of hooves descended.
The proud white pig lay on the ground, covered in hoofprints.
Until a splash of warm yellow liquid woke it.
Sweet, with a sharp tang.
Blinking, it thought it saw its past life.
Back then, it had not been a noble pig.
A loving couple had doted on him. An elder sister had cared for him.
"Oink oink—don't you dare poop in front of me—"
Plop!
A steaming, wave-shaped pile of yellow filth smothered its breath.
An indescribable flavor fermented in its mouth.
It regretted everything.