"Hahaha, of course we'll be on the mountain. I thought Physician Ye would dislike the dark and gloomy Gu Ling Mountain, but it turns out Physician Ye also wishes to visit!"
Xiao Rong sat on the chair, swinging his short legs and laughing innocently.
Pu Yehai placed several plates of fresh spirit fruits on the table. When his gaze swept over Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong, a brief flash of surprise flickered in his eyes.
"You both broke through?"
Xiao Rong's mouth was stuffed full of fruit, making it impossible for him to speak.
Tang Xiangyin gave a gentle smile. "Yes, all thanks to Fai—"
She abruptly realized she had almost spoken too much. The matter of the supreme spirit vein was still a secret. Even though Ye Hai had stayed in Longyin Village for quite a while, it was not something that could be revealed casually.
"They're both bright and hardworking. Just from a night's effort yesterday, they managed to break through."
To prevent Tang Xiangyin from exposing the matter of the spirit vein, Yao Ranran shamelessly praised the two lazy fellows.
"I see…"
Pu Yehai appeared thoughtful.
He knew they were simply brushing him off.
Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong were far removed from the word "bright"!
Tang Xiangyin stuck out her tongue playfully, embarrassed, then picked up a spirit fruit from the platter, ready to pop it into her mouth.
"If you don't want an upset stomach, best not eat things from outside carelessly."
Yao Ranran sat calmly beside her, transmitting her voice in secret.
Tang Xiangyin froze, her little mouth half open. She swallowed back her saliva and stared at the fruit, fidgeting with it in her hands instead of eating it.
Pu Yehai noticed her odd behavior and smiled faintly. "Miss Tang, aren't you usually the one most fond of this fruit? Yet today you seem in no rush."
Tang Xiangyin lowered her head, holding the fruit. She didn't understand why the Fairy told her not to eat it. She had eaten plenty these past days with no issue!
"I…"
"She ate some unclean fertilizer on the way here, so she can't eat more spirit fruit!"
Yao Ranran quickly interrupted.
The three present all froze in shock.
"What… Miss Tang likes eating fertilizer?"
Pu Yehai asked in disbelief.
Tang Xiangyin's cheeks turned crimson. "I… I…"
Her instinct was to deny it, but her reason told her the Fairy must have a purpose.
"Yes, I had never tried it before, and I was curious, so… I sampled a bit!"
At the moment Yao Ranran feared she would expose the truth, Tang Xiangyin instead nodded firmly as though sacrificing herself.
The room fell silent.
Xiao Rong glanced at the fruit in his hand, and suddenly his stomach churned with nausea.
"Physician Ye, where is your latrine?"
Pu Yehai blinked. "Behind that door."
Xiao Rong flung out a vine and shot off like an arrow.
Silence descended once more.
"Cough, cough, cough…" Pu Yehai hacked into his hand, then looked at Yao Ranran. "The Fairy should be able to eat these fruits though?"
Yao Ranran hesitated, then gave a small nod.
Pu Yehai smiled faintly. "That's good. Then my fruit was not picked in vain."
Yao Ranran lifted a fruit, then asked casually, "Physician Ye, where are you from? I don't recall seeing these fruits before in Shiyan City."
Pu Yehai covered his mouth and coughed softly. "I am not from Shiyan City. My birthplace is Lianbi City."
"Then why not remain in Lianbi City? Why choose to live in Longyin Village? As far as I know, Physician Ye has no acquaintances here."
Yao Ranran feigned curiosity.
Tang Xiangyin was stunned.
Fairy Ranran seemed… different today.
Pu Yehai lowered his eyes. "Once the Fairy eats that fruit, you will naturally know why I chose to stay here."
Yao Ranran raised a brow slightly.
So the fruit really had a problem.
Tang Xiangyin watched nervously. Would the Fairy eat it?
Yao Ranran did not hesitate. She smiled and bit into the fruit, swallowing.
"Physician Ye's invitation is so sincere. How could I refuse?"
Tang Xiangyin's mouth fell open.
If even the Fairy ate it, did that mean she could try it later too?
"Hehehe…"
Pu Yehai left his chair and stood.
Tang Xiangyin looked up at him in confusion.
"Physician Ye, why are you laughing?"
Pu Yehai's lips curved faintly. "Laughing at your ignorance!"
Tang Xiangyin's brows furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really not understand? When this Fairy Ranran came to your door, did she not warn you of anything?"
Pu Yehai's eyes lost all warmth as he fixed his icy gaze upon Yao Ranran.
"Xiang Yin, he belongs to You Yan Gate."
Yao Ranran pulled Tang Xiangyin behind her, speaking calmly.
The fruit slipped from Tang Xiangyin's hand and rolled across the floor. Her gaze turned dazed.
"You Yan Gate… aren't they all demon cultivators…"
"That's right. I am demon cultivator Pu Yehai!"
Pu Yehai's stare was cold and piercing.
Yao Ranran did not look surprised, only puzzled. "Why target Longyin Village so early? What drew you here?"
"Hatred!"
Pu Yehai roared, then doubled over in a fit of coughs.
"…"
"You hate me?" Yao Ranran blinked in confusion.
Pu Yehai glared at her pure eyes and refined face, bitterness surging in his chest.
"Of course it's you! Did you forget the demon cultivator Pu Dingping you slew?"
"Pu Dingping?" Yao Ranran muttered uncertainly.
"He was my younger brother!" Pu Yehai rasped through gritted teeth.
Yao Ranran shook her head. "I don't know him."
Pu Yehai: "…"
"I've killed demon cultivators before. Are you sure this Pu Dingping really died by my hand?"
Yao Ranran was genuinely worried he might be falsely accusing her of another's deed.
Pu Yehai's veins bulged with rage. "In the Eastern Wilderness Secret Realm, you slew the five death-substitutes my master gave to Dingping. How could you not know? Other than you, those wastes of Yun Gu Sect could never have done it!"
Eastern Wilderness Secret Realm…
His words stirred Yao Ranran's memory.
Yes, there had been one she fought long and hard to kill.
So that had been his brother Pu Dingping.
"No, the Fairy was with me the whole time. She never killed a demon cultivator by that name!"
Tang Xiangyin tried desperately to defend Yao Ranran.
But Pu Yehai's face grew ever darker, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
Yao Ranran transmitted hurriedly to the slower Tang Xiangyin.
"Did you forget the blood-colored monster I fought for so long? That must have been Pu Dingping."
Tang Xiangyin: "…" Alright, so it really was the Fairy's kill!
"You went to the Eastern Wilderness Secret Realm too? Then both of you must die!"
Pu Yehai no longer restrained himself. A surge of demonic qi exploded outward, sealing every window and door of the house. The three were trapped within a closed formation.
"I hadn't expected you to be on guard against me! But the poison I used wasn't only in the fruits. It was on the very chairs you sat upon!"
The room shifted. The chairs they had touched now fumed with black mist, then melted into foul black pus in the blink of an eye.
Tang Xiangyin's hair stood on end. "Fairy, what do we do? We're poisoned!"
Yao Ranran touched her robe. Already, several layers of defense at her back had been corroded. The black toxin still gnawed relentlessly. Soon, it would touch her body.