The winter night was silent and eerie.
Xiao Rong planted his hands on his hips and let out a childish laugh, the sound sharp against the cold air. Around him, the falling snow seemed to answer, carrying a chilling wind that howled through the dark.
A shiver ran down his back. "Even if there aren't any evil creatures, Xiao Tang said not to go out too late at night!"
He turned, intending to head home.
Suddenly, a faint noise stirred the stillness. It wasn't loud, but in the silence of the night it was painfully clear.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Maybe it's just Lu Daizi turning over in his sleep."
Muttering to give himself courage, Xiao Rong stiffly twisted his head.
"Ahhh—!"
A scream tore through the long night.
Inside his hut, Lu Ziqian was jarred awake from meditation.
Xiao Rong stumbled into Yao Ranran's room, clinging to her like a frightened child. "Boss, there's an evil creature! The evil creature isn't dead yet!!"
Yao Ranran had already dismissed the blacksmith's forge the moment she heard his scream. Now, hearing his frantic shouts, she bolted out like a gust of wind.
"Which direction?"
"In Lu Daizi's hut! This one's stronger than the last. Black energy everywhere—it looked like the whole sky was being crushed down! His hut was swallowed up by it! Boss, hurry and save him!"
As Xiao Rong spoke, he pictured every possible gruesome scene that might have befallen Lu Ziqian, his young voice trembling on the verge of tears.
Yao Ranran stared at the strange sight across the way, then asked, "You're sure the evil creature went into Lu Ziqian's hut?"
"Yes! Boss, he won't die, will he?" Xiao Rong bit his lip, eyes wide and shining with unshed tears.
Yao Ranran shook her head slightly. "Look carefully. Who's that waving at us from over there?"
"What are you talking about?" Xiao Rong blinked in confusion and turned.
"Lu Daizi?! Why is he there?"
His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He rubbed them over and over, but Lu Ziqian's frail figure still stood on the cliff edge, smiling as he waved at him.
Yao Ranran's gaze darkened in thought. Was Xiao Rong sick… or had he really seen a ghost?
"Boss, when I woke up, I swear I saw a huge mass of black energy swirling in his hut! How can it just vanish like that?!"
Xiao Rong looked again and again, disbelief painted across his young face. In desperation, he flicked out his vines, glancing at Yao Ranran for reassurance.
"Boss, come with me and check?"
She wanted to confirm his condition anyway, so she nodded. "Alright, let's go."
"F-Fairy… Fairy, why are you here with Rong-yé?"
Lu Ziqian froze a moment, then quickly straightened his thin robe in embarrassment.
"Evil creature! Reveal your true form! Boss and I might spare your life!"
Xiao Rong lashed his vine, circling Lu Ziqian a few times, trying to bluff and intimidate him.
Lu Ziqian stared at them in confusion. "I'm not an evil creature, Rong-yé, Fairy Ranran… I just heard Rong-yé's voice, so I came out."
"You're not an evil creature? Then how are you still alive?" Xiao Rong narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Eh? I… I just didn't die, so I'm alive, I guess… Maybe even Yama doesn't want my wretched life…"
A flush spread across Lu Ziqian's cheeks. For an instant, sorrow flickered in his eyes as he muttered the excuse.
Xiao Rong realized belatedly that his question had been cruel. "I didn't mean I wanted you dead…"
"Xiao Rong had just woken up," Yao Ranran explained, "and thought he saw an evil creature in your hut. He feared it had possessed or killed you, so he dragged me here."
Realization dawned on Lu Ziqian. "Many thanks, Rong-yé… and Fairy Ranran…"
He stole a timid glance at her, then whispered, "Even if an evil creature did attack, I wouldn't lose to it so easily."
He was on the path of cultivation now. If even Village Chief Jiang could hold out for a breath against such beings, surely he wouldn't fall at the first strike.
"Then where did it go?!" Xiao Rong stamped his foot angrily. "That sly monster! It slipped away again!"
Yao Ranran's attention, however, lingered on Lu Ziqian. "The snow's heavy tonight. You should go back and rest."
His face burned red. "Thank you for your concern, Fairy. I'll return right away!"
He scurried back into his hut, shutting the door behind him. Only then did he lean against it, gasping for breath.
He was so foolish. Why hadn't he said more to the Fairy?
Lu Ziqian stood there, staring at the wooden door, unwilling to move.
"Boss, how can you just let him go back? What if the evil creature is still hiding inside, waiting for us to lower our guard, then devours Road Fool and all of Longyin Village?"
Xiao Rong's imagination conjured every nightmare possible. He didn't scare Yao Ranran, but he managed to turn his own face pale.
Yao Ranran chuckled and tapped his head. "Relax. I already checked his hut—there's no trace of evil energy. If there really were one, I'd kill it myself."
The warmth of her hand calmed Xiao Rong. "Alright then. Boss, don't let them escape!"
"Never. Now, go back to sleep."
As she left, Yao Ranran cast one last glance at the hut. Through the thin window paper, she could see Lu Ziqian inside, his gaze quietly following her.
Later, when Xiao Rong finally fell asleep after chattering endlessly, Yao Ranran found herself unsettled.
"This winter… why doesn't he seem to feel the cold at all?"
Her eyes drifted toward Lone Star Peak, falling on the faint candlelight flickering in Lu Ziqian's hut.
"No brazier, no fur coat. How has he lasted this long?"
Just as the words left her lips, the candle flame flared, blazing so brightly the hut shone like a miniature sun.
Yao Ranran froze.
Was she seeing things too, just like Xiao Rong?
Then a voice echoed in her mind.
"Didn't expect you to be capable of such tricks. Playing hard to get—an amusing tactic. But with such pitiful cultivation, even with Yu Weifeng backing you, it's unlikely you'll catch Shen Yuefu's eye."
The Dark Underworld Marrow pulsed, revealing a string of twisted words.
"Ah, and there's that Demon Sovereign Li Luoqi. I almost forgot about him. He's the devoted second lead!"
"Yao Ranran, have you been diligently practicing the cultivation method I bestowed on you?"
Of course not!
Yao Ranran sneered inwardly. She would never cultivate demonic arts just to become Li Luoqi's food!
A faint sizzling came from Lone Star Peak.
At once, Yao Ranran recalled the Dark Underworld Marrow, ignoring Li Luo1i's voice. She hurled out her claw hook and shot up toward the peak.
She had to see for herself—was there truly something wrong with Lu Ziqian, or had both she and Xiao Rong been fooled by their eyes?