Yao Ranran twisted the rabbit's neck.
Snap!
The roasted beast leg in Wu Changde's hand slipped and fell to the ground.
Yao Ranran moved quickly, scooping it up before it touched the dirt for long. "Senior Brother Wu, it hasn't been on the ground for three seconds yet, you can still eat it!"
Hu Zhongcheng froze in the middle of turning the roasting spit. Meanwhile, Yao Ranran had already stripped the rabbit of its fur with swift hands, peeling it clean.
For a moment, the camp was utterly silent.
Wu Changde finally came back to himself. Gripping the meat in his hand, he blurted out in shock, "Fairy Ranran, weren't you always the one who loved fluffy little rabbits the most?"
What?
The original owner of this body loved fluffy little rabbits?
"Good thing I didn't give myself away!"
Yao Ranran took out a small knife and split open the rabbit's skin and flesh. She smiled as she worked. "That's right. I love little rabbits. They're so adorable."
Hu Zhongcheng's movements turned mechanical, the spit creaking as he rotated it. Somehow, the way Fairy Ranran said "love" didn't sound at all like the love they understood…
Wu Changde looked at the girl's bright, clear smile and the natural precision of her knife work. His mind drifted back to years ago.
That time, he had caught a rabbit in the valley near the sect. It was gentle and clever, with large, innocent eyes. He had planned to make it into a fine spirit meal—until Fairy Ranran appeared.
She had rescued the rabbit from his hands, feeding it sweet grasses every day. She would cradle it in her arms, chatting with it, letting it drink from mountain springs, chase butterflies, and prepare for the coming winter…
Sizzle!
The fragrance filled the air, rich and mouthwatering. Wu Changde inhaled deeply. Before his eyes, the rabbit meat glistened with oil, its color a lustrous red. It was neither greasy nor gamy—utterly irresistible.
"Senior Brother Wu," Yao Ranran said brightly, "I see you've been staring at this rabbit for quite some time. You must be a true rabbit lover as well. Here, take this, don't be shy!" She broke off a tender rabbit leg and held it out to him.
Tears welled in Wu Changde's eyes and slipped down his cheeks.
"Th-thank you, Fairy Ranran…"
Choking back sobs, he accepted the leg. He didn't know why Fairy Ranran had twisted the little rabbit's neck, but… the meat smelled heavenly.
…
Days slipped past on the road. Sometimes the autumn rain fell in silken sheets, hazy and dreamlike.
During the journey, Yao Ranran grew closer to Tang Xiangyin and learned her story.
Tang Xiangyin and Che Lingzhi were not originally connected at all.
Centuries ago, when the Eastern Wilderness Secret Realm opened, an evil cultivator carrying the Nether Ring entered Che Lingzhi's territory.
Another group of cultivators was present at the time. They all saw Che Lingzhi, and everyone wanted to claim it.
The evil cultivator lost control, driven mad by the Nether Ring. Though he was only one man, he slaughtered the entire six-person team. But he was exhausted by the time it ended. At his weakest, the Nether Ring turned on him, devouring its master.
That man was the one who refined Tang Xiangyin into a Nether Ring ghost slave.
From the fragments of memory left in Che Lingzhi's mind, Tang Xiangyin had once been the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Fenghua City of the Southern Region.
She had grown up in silk and brocade, carefree and pampered.
Until the evil cultivator came.
It was a stormy night.
The rain lashed down endlessly in the dark. Soaked to the bone, the evil cultivator knocked at the gates of the Tang residence.
A maid opened the door, and he requested a place to stay the night.
The benevolent Master Tang agreed.
From her maid, Tang Xiangyin overheard the news of the mysterious guest. Curious, she sneaked out for a look.
Master Tang caught sight of her shadow and quickly had her sent back, warning her not to come out again. It was late. She was to go to bed early.
But the rain only grew louder. Thunder rumbled like war drums, raindrops hammered against the window lattice, branches cracked in the wind, lightning split the sky. It was as though the heavens themselves were about to collapse.
Tang Xiangyin shivered under her soft silk quilt, unable to sleep. A gnawing dread churned in her chest, magnified by the storm's roar.
She called out for her maid. No answer.
Fear drove her from her bed. She slid open the door—
A wave of stench slammed into her. The metallic tang of blood mixed with wet earth filled her lungs.
And in the black of night, only the guest stood before her.
The Tang household—all 133 souls—had been hacked into pulp.
No rain could wash away such slaughter. Tang Xiangyin, the sole survivor, was refined into a soul slave.
Day by day, the Nether Ring eroded her mind. At last, when the evil cultivator was weakest, she clung to her eternal hatred and struck him down.
Without its master, the Nether Ring shattered. Tang Xiangyin's spirit was torn apart. Two souls entered Che Lingzhi, two were devoured by a copper mirror, and the rest dissipated into nothingness.
Che Lingzhi believed those two lost souls had gone to seek vengeance. Death was too merciful for that man. They would haunt him across three lifetimes if they had to.
Hearing the tale, Yao Ranran's heart was heavy.
No wonder, in the Tang estate within the Secret Realm, any guest who sought shelter would die. That was the last obsession Tang Xiangyin had left behind.
And Che Lingzhi, fused with four souls, had been changed as well. Whenever the story reached the part of the "guest," she would split into four frenzied fragments of soul and attempt a massacre.
Thankfully, Yao Ranran was strong enough to stop her. Otherwise, Wu Changde and Hu Zhongcheng would have discovered her long ago.
It was that same soul-splitting ability that had allowed Che Lingzhi to escape the Hong Guang Auction House.
Thinking of the auction, Yao Ranran felt a sharp pang in her chest.
"So the meat the Tower Master of the Suohong Tower sold was fake? She swallowed the real Che Lingzhi herself, and didn't even give you a single spirit stone?"
Tang Xiangyin sobbed. "Yes! That black-hearted woman never intended to give me anything. I gave her the freshest spirit meat, but she saw through my lie. She knew such fresh meat couldn't have come from some ancient cultivator, and she marked me from the start!
Fairy, I almost got eaten alive!"
Yao Ranran thought of the appraisal given by the Ancient Appraisal Mirror and couldn't help but feel that Xiangyin seemed… a little foolish.
Maybe it was because she had lost two of her souls.
Her wits weren't all there anymore.
Yao Ranran patted her head gently. "Don't worry. What's ours, we won't let anyone take away—not a single stone."
Those spirit stones, she would reclaim.
Tang Xiangyin rubbed away her tears with her chubby little hands. "If you say so, Fairy, then I can rest easy."
Since the Fairy cared about the spirit stones even more than she did, she could sleep without worry. Finding the most comfortable spot, she curled up, using her sleeve as a blanket, and drifted into a warm slumber.
Yao Ranran gazed down at the little dumpling in her arms, murmuring, "So plump… isn't it wasteful to sell just one slice of meat?
Maybe three slices would be better. Not too conspicuous, but enough to fetch a sky-high price. Just one deal, and we'd have enough wealth to live comfortably for the rest of our lives…
Then we could all retire to a little village, cultivate at ease, and grow old together. Wouldn't that be perfect?"
The night deepened like still water.
Wu Changde and Hu Zhongcheng took turns piloting the Scarlet-Beaked Cranes through the starry skies. Below stretched a desolate landscape, silent and devoid of life.