"What does 'selling bathwater for money' even mean?"
Tang Xiangyin blinked in confusion as she set down a wooden basin. "Xiao Rong said my bathwater is valuable, so I exchanged it with them."
Yao Ranran: ???
"You're running a bathwater business?"
Xiao Rong nodded furiously. "Mm! Mm! Boss, you have no idea how amazing Xiao Tang is!"
"Chirp… kukuku!" Even the phoenix joined in excitedly.
The corner of Yao Ranran's mouth twitched as she stared at the basin. "This is really water you bathed in?"
Tang Xiangyin shyly nodded, her cheeks blooming with red. "Fairy, I'll be able to pay back the spirit stones I owe you very soon!"
Yao Ranran looked at her deeply. "Xiang Yin, do you really understand how many spirit stones you owe me?"
She had saved Tang Xiangyin twice: once in the Eastern Wilderness secret realm, and once right under Qin Lusha's nose.
The amount Tang Xiangyin had promised her added up to over ten million spirit stones.
And now she wanted to cover that debt with… bathwater?
Yao Ranran honestly thought this was nonsense.
Too naive. Far too naive!
Tang Xiangyin squirmed under her gaze, her face red like a ripe apple.
"Fairy Ranran, I know how much I owe you, but this bathwater really is worth something. Even Village Chief Jiang used it and praised it!"
What the hell?
Jiang Shengxiang already used it?!
Yao Ranran froze in place, utterly dumbfounded.
The way these people operated… how was she even supposed to describe it?
"After Jiang Shengxiang used it, did he feel more energized?" she finally asked, unable to suppress her gossiping curiosity.
Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong lit up instantly, shouting in unison, "Full of vigor! He even broke through a level on the spot!"
Yao Ranran's eyes widened. "Your bathwater is that powerful? And… under what circumstances did he use it?"
Her imagination instantly conjured up a scene not suitable for children. She quickly shook her head, scattering the thought away with both hands.
No. She would rather Tang Xiangyin never learn of its effects than suffer that blinding image.
But Tang Xiangyin just smiled innocently. "I was trying to give Da Huang a bath, and it drank the water I used. That's when I realized my used water was different. What I gave Village Chief Jiang to drink was the same water.
But he didn't know it was bathwater." Tang Xiangyin stuck out her tongue bashfully.
Yao Ranran processed her words in silence, then muttered in astonishment, "So your bathwater can help break through realms?"
"Um… not really. Village Chief Jiang was already at his limit. My water only gave him the final push." Tang Xiangyin explained honestly.
But Yao Ranran's eyes glowed. Like Xiao Rong, she saw a golden road of wealth ahead.
"That means we don't have to cut your flesh after all!"
"Cut her flesh? Why would you do that?" Xiao Rong tilted his head, curious.
Ah, right. They still didn't know Tang Xiangyin's true identity.
Yao Ranran laughed lightly. "Nothing, I was only scaring her. If she didn't pay back the spirit stones she owed, I'd sell her off to cover the debt!"
"So that's it! Boss, you sound so domineering!" Xiao Rong clapped his hands, grinning as he buttered her up.
Yao Ranran's smile bloomed like a flower, dazzlingly beautiful.
Tang Xiangyin's heart skipped a beat before she quickly forced her eyes away. No, she couldn't be fooled by the Fairy's pure and flawless appearance. That wasn't a joke at all—it was a real threat!
Yet even knowing that, she couldn't muster a single word of resistance. Instead, she even thought the Fairy was stunning and heroic. Clearly, her brain had been gnawed by bugs…
"Fairy Ranran, Fairy Ranran, something terrible has happened!"
From the peak of Lone Star Mountain, Jiang Shengxiang came running, panting as he shouted.
The three turned to see his thin figure scrambling up.
The phoenix, upon seeing a stranger, instantly transformed into the form of a scrawny chicken.
Yao Ranran rushed forward with Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong. "Village Chief Jiang, what's so urgent?"
"Fairy Ranran, something…" Jiang Shengxiang began shouting, then froze as he realized they had already come down in front of him.
He caught his breath, his expression still anxious. "Fairy Ranran, it's Kuang Lei from Mingxia Sect! He brought a whole group of disciples to attack!"
Kuang Lei? That name sounded familiar.
Yao Ranran thought back, remembering the incident where he bullied the Zhou father and daughter.
"How does he dare bring disciples here? Does he not know there's a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě sitting in this place?"
Her voice wavered. To fool others was one thing, but in her own heart, she knew very well—there was no Divine Transformation Zūnzhě here.
"I don't know either," Jiang Shengxiang said nervously. "But this time he seems prepared. He completely ignored my words and even shouted for Sect Master Zhou to come out, otherwise he'll shatter the great formation!"
Xiao Rong puffed up his cheeks and raised his fists. "What arrogance! Boss, let's go teach him a lesson!"
Yao Ranran frowned. "What's his cultivation level?"
Jiang Shengxiang thought for a moment. "I heard their sect master is at half-step Nascent Soul at most. Kuang Lei himself should be at Golden Core."
Xiao Rong's fists immediately dropped. His eyes went wide. "Jīndān Zhēnrén?"
"Yes, mid-stage Golden Core, I think."
Xiao Rong whipped his head toward Yao Ranran. "Boss, if we toss Zhou Shengqian out right now, it's still not too late!"
Jiang Shengxiang: …
"That's not right…" Tang Xiangyin muttered, unable to bear it.
Yao Ranran only smiled faintly. "Perhaps Golden Core isn't too hard to deal with."
The three of them stared at her, stunned. The Fairy… seemed different now.
Meanwhile, inside a clinic in Longyin Village.
Pu Yehai finished packing his luggage. His black-and-white eyes gazed coldly at the empty room, and the corners of his pale lips curled upward.
"Yao Ranran, soon you'll know what it means to beg for death but be unable to die!
I'll make you watch every villager in Longyin die before your eyes, then sever your tendons, shatter your meridians, and destroy everything you hold dear!"
"Hehehehe…"
Knock, knock, knock!
"Physician Ye! Physician Ye, are you inside? Oh, my legs have started aching again! When I heard you were back, I got so excited I nearly fell!"
Pu Yehai's mouth snapped shut, his expression darkening. That old Zhao must have been sneaking liquor again. That's why the pain returned.
Fine. He would at least let the old man pass peacefully.
A gray mist coiled around him. The lamps inside the clinic flared to life as the wooden door creaked open. Pu Yehai's face hardened, but before he could speak, a flood of sixty- and seventy-year-old villagers rushed in toward him.
"Physician Ye, don't panic! Treat him first, we'll wait in line behind. We'll just chat while you work!"
"Right, what were you saying just now? Zhou family's little girl is marrying who?"
"Someone from the east side of the village, right? That young man's quite the sweet-talker…"
As they shared village gossip, Pu Yehai realized the truth. In exchange for gathering information… he had lost his freedom.
His eyes went hollow as he tended to them one by one. As long as he endured this moment, he could still go break the formation!