"Wait." Yao Ranran suddenly stopped walking.
"What is it?" Tang Xiangyin asked.
Yao Ranran didn't answer. Instead, she tugged Tang Xiangyin's hand and slowly led her to the left.
In the suffocating mist that blanketed the Tang estate, Tang Xiangyin was like a dim lantern casting the faintest glow. Borrowing that faint light, Yao Ranran finally saw what was ahead.
A towering yellow-stone rockery, more than ten meters high, loomed before them. Up close, its cliff-like walls revealed a smooth channel that once carried flowing water, now completely dried. Beneath the rockery, the pond had cracked open into jagged lines. Withered yellow leaves clung stubbornly to the edges, remnants of plants that had once thrived. Clearly, this rockery had once been part of a flowing water feature.
"Miss Tang, I've walked around the Tang estate for so long and haven't seen a single drop of water. Could it be that someone here fears water?" Yao Ranran mused, recalling the dried ancient well.
Tang Xiangyin hesitated, then shook her head. "Not fear. Perhaps… disgust."
"Disgust for water?" Yao Ranran raised her hand, spiritual power coursing through her veins. With a flick of her wrist, thousands of water droplets appeared and scattered.
The droplets burst upon the shriveled leaves, slipped into the cracked ground, and filled every gap.
Soon, the pond beneath the rockery brimmed with clear water.
Tang Xiangyin widened her eyes, only to shake her head again. "It's useless. Doing this won't help us unravel this formation."
Yao Ranran looked at the now-calm water and nodded. "You're right. Completely useless."
"Let's go," Tang Xiangyin urged, her voice turning faintly anxious. "If we delay any longer, I fear you won't make it in time."
Not make it in time?
Not make it in time to pick the perfect spot for a memorial tablet before keeling over?
The corner of Yao Ranran's mouth twitched as she studied Tang Xiangyin's back, silent thoughts running deep.
This woman carried a remarkable cultivation body—yet she was shackled by the flaw of having no spiritual root.
The Heavenly Underworld Six Yin Body. Yao Ranran remembered seeing it once in a game's records. It was a legendary, pure yin constitution, considered a peerless talent for cultivation. Anyone with this body, regardless of their spiritual root, could, upon stepping onto the cultivation path, cultivate a split soul like a Yuányīng Zhēnzūn and even command five souls.
Those five souls would all serve the main soul, meaning her cultivation speed would be five times that of an ordinary cultivator. But the woman before her had no spiritual root, yet displayed strange traces of cultivation. The Heavenly Underworld Six Yin Body was… questionable.
Clearly, something was wrong. Either she had been tampered with—her soul scattered—or perhaps her body had nearly been seized. And with her dazed expression and treasure-seeking behavior, Yao Ranran guessed that the "treasure" she sought was in fact herself.
Sure enough, once Yao Ranran gave voice to this thought, Tang Xiangyin's attitude toward her shifted. Though, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Yao Ranran was convinced she was being dragged in as cannon fodder…
With different thoughts brewing, the two walked past the rockery side by side, making their way toward the ancestral hall.
Splash!
From the pond beneath the rockery, a pitch-black head suddenly popped up.
Pei Xianqiao spat out water, then grabbed the half-drowned treasure-seeking mouse. Frowning, she asked, "Why is this filled with water now? How long were we down there?"
She cradled the soaked mouse and spoke softly to it.
The treasure mouse only squeaked blankly, "Zhi zhi—"
Pei Xianqiao chuckled and rubbed its little head. "You've done well again. Beneath this rockery, you found a Pure Yin Fiend Stone. If I gift this to Brother Fu, his hidden illness will surely ease."
The mouse's eyes sparkled. "Zhi zhi—"
Placing it on her shoulder, Pei Xianqiao scanned the misty estate. "When we first came in, I didn't even have time to explore properly. How has the fog grown this thick?"
"Zhi zhi—" the treasure mouse sniffed the air.
Moments later, it led her unerringly toward the Tang ancestral hall. Even in the dense white haze, its sense of direction was flawless.
At the Tang ancestral hall.
Yao Ranran stared blankly at the countless spirit tablets arranged before them.
"Pick one," Tang Xiangyin murmured dreamily. "I think the highest spot is best. Ancestors' tablets are always placed up high."
Yao Ranran tilted her head at her. "If your ancestors knew how eagerly you were thinking of others, they'd jump out and deal with you."
Tang Xiangyin blinked. "If I do this, will they come out to praise me?"
Yao Ranran nodded solemnly. "Exactly. They'll praise you as a truly filial child."
Tang Xiangyin's eyes lit up. "So it has that benefit too! If I can persuade my ancestors to appear, why not place your tablet at the very top?"
Yao Ranran's expression darkened. "If you want to do that, you need consent from both sides. Your agreement alone doesn't count."
"Oh? Then will you allow me to place your tablet at the top?" Tang Xiangyin asked, eyes full of hope.
"I will not!" Yao Ranran declared firmly.
Tang Xiangyin fell silent.
"Miss Tang, is that you?"
Tang Xiangyin turned her head, puzzled. "It sounds like someone is calling me?"
"I heard it too." Yao Ranran looked toward the fog where the voice came from.
The white mist thickened, swallowing everything in its folds.
Tang Xiangyin, as if entranced, stepped forward. "Who's calling me?"
"Miss… it's me…"
Tang Xiangyin frowned. "Such a strange voice…"
Sharp, hoarse—And utterly unpleasant.
"Miss… I am Yu Zhu…"
"Yu Zhu?" Yao Ranran caught Tang Xiangyin by the arm, then called back, "Which Yu Zhu are you?"
From the haze, a blurred shadow emerged. "Ru Meng has already died. Miss, don't be deceived by this woman!"
The figure stepped into view, pointing a finger at Yao Ranran with a shrill, affected tone.
Tang Xiangyin's pupils widened. "Yu Zhu… how did you grow so big?"
Yao Ranran blinked. "Truly enormous!"
Pu Dingping's cheeks flushed. Had he overstuffed them? The old man had said the real Yu Zhu was a large wet nurse. So he'd mimicked a mortal nursemaid and stuffed two fruits under his robes. That should have been convincing enough!
But was that really the focus right now?!
"Hmph! Don't try to distract her. Miss, the real Ru Meng was killed by this woman!" Pu Dingping roared with righteous indignation.
Tang Xiangyin stared calmly at his chest. "I know. What I'm curious about is… Yu Zhu, what exactly have you been through?"
Yao Ranran nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Yu Zhu, when you disguised yourself as a woman, why didn't you think to shrink your nearly two-meter frame as well?"
Two bright patches of red surfaced on Pu Dingping's cold face.
He had set out without bringing any high-grade disguise pills. The low-grade ones couldn't alter body shape at all. In his carelessness, he had overlooked this flaw.
"Miss, you see? That Yu Zhu is the fake one!" Yao Ranran seized the chance to fan the flames.
Tang Xiangyin frowned slightly.
Pu Dingping pressed forward insistently. "Miss, I am the real Yu Zhu. Please, you must believe me!"
Tang Xiangyin hesitated, her expression wavering.
Step by step, Pu Dingping drew closer. "Miss, I know all of your secrets…"
"What secrets?" Yao Ranran perked up with interest.
Pu Dingping leaned down, a smile curling at his lips. "The secret is… neither of you are my match!"